Justice

My dear readers!

The title of the article contains a single word: JUSTICE. However, since JUSTICE has largely lost its function in our country, or is open to all kinds of manipulation by the government, i.e., the EXECUTIVE POWER, and is thus "fragile and broken," I found it appropriate to place a hyphen between the words.

Today, in our country, it is possible to see the inscription "JUSTICE IS THE FOUNDATION OF PROPERTY" in every courthouse or courtroom. The word "PROPERTY" here does not refer to "REAL ESTATE," as many of us might think. "PROPERTY" is a word of Arabic origin. It means "State, Country, Sovereignty, Order, etc." This sentence was first uttered by the Second Caliph of Islam, Hz. Omar. In this case, we can rephrase the sentence as: "JUSTICE IS THE FOUNDATION OF THE STATE."

Hz. Omar's words formed the basis of Islamic courts for centuries. When evaluated within their own time, they are extraordinarily impressive and true. However, under today's conditions, considering that the STATE and the INDIVIDUAL frequently confront each other, these words have lost their value. The correct phrasing should now be: "JUSTICE IS THE FOUNDATION OF BEING AN INDIVIDUAL AND A HUMAN BEING."

I would like to state clearly: Every individual who receives a fine or prison sentence due to the decisions of courts forced to be partisan or whose will is suppressed feels helpless, insignificant, and powerless because of the injustice they suffer. They are no longer an independent "INDIVIDUAL" or a "HUMAN BEING"! The process is cruel because things they did not write or do have been attributed to them.

In this situation, the individual, tossed about, deprived of their rights, like a child who has been slapped, shrinks into a corner, withdraws, and becomes alienated from life. How could they not! There is a huge STATE against them. They spend all their wealth to seek their rights but ultimately know they must accept the punishment that will be given. The feeling of HELPLESSNESS that fills and suffocates their heart also turns into a murderer that kills the INDIVIDUAL AND THE HUMAN BEING.

Life is full of paradoxes (contradictory and opposing situations). Those who distort JUSTICE for their own interests when they hold power, in time, lose their power, and this time they cry out "JUSTICE! JUSTICE!" Unfortunately, life is built on action and reaction. The phrase "An eye for an eye, a tooth for a tooth!" is even found in sacred texts. There has never been an exception to this. Those who act unjustly are treated in the same way when their turn comes.

Many examples of this can be seen in the history of the Republican Era. For instance, between 1957 and 1960, with his oppressive, provocative, and even vengeful approach, Adnan Menderes was restricting freedoms and censoring the press, while at the same time threatening opposition party leaders (especially İnönü) with lynching scenarios, almost preventing them from leaving their homes.

When Adnan Menderes and his friends were detained after the May 27, 1960 coup, they hoped that JUSTICE, which is the fundamental right of every human being, every individual, would be served as they wished. However, the coup plotters implemented their own justice. They responded to vengeance with vengeance.

The Democratic Party, which disregarded JUSTICE during its own rule, also ignored the warnings of the opposition. When Menderes's Democratic Party brought up the INVESTIGATION COMMISSIONS on April 18, 1960, in a parliamentary meeting, which granted extraordinary powers to its own deputies and aimed to close İnönü's CHP, İnönü gave a historic reply: "You are in the panic of criminals... Even I cannot save you!"

39 days later, on May 27, 1960, a military coup occurred. Despite all of İnönü's sincere efforts, the coup plotters executed Menderes and his friends.

For democracy to proceed transparently and properly, three fundamental rules must be in simultaneous application: these three principles, called "Separation of Powers," are briefly named LEGISLATURE (Parliament enacting laws, meaning the restriction or complete abolition of Decree-Laws issued by the President), EXECUTIVE (Council of Ministers), and JUDICIARY (Courts). There is now a visible and evident reality: the Presidential Government System, adopted through the referendum on April 16, 2017, is not suitable for Turkey's reality.

In an immature democracy, this system leaves the door open for the concentration of LEGISLATIVE, EXECUTIVE, and JUDICIAL powers in a single hand, i.e., dictatorship. It is true that with the existing form of government, decisions are made and implemented quickly, but there is no mechanism to control the correctness of these decisions. As a citizen, our only wish is to abandon the Presidential Government System as soon as possible and return to a strengthened Parliamentary System (SENATE + PARLIAMENT). Only in this way can the JUDICIARY and LEGISLATURE fully regain their freedoms.

My readers may have questions about what the SENATE would be for when there is already a PARLIAMENT. Legislation, i.e., lawmaking, is within the authority of the PARLIAMENT; the implementation of laws is within the authority of the PRESIDENT/PRIME MINISTER/COUNCIL OF MINISTERS, i.e., the executive; and evaluating violations of laws and imposing necessary penalties is within the authority of the COURTS, i.e., the judicial power. Currently, there is only one person who considers irregularities that may occur in these three independent powers, either ex officio (on their own initiative) or upon application: the Chief Public Prosecutor of the Court of Cassation. It is absolutely necessary for fair governance that this burden be taken from one person and given to the SENATE. I want to give an example: My readers will remember how President Donald Trump, in the US, which is governed by a Presidential System, trembled with fear before the Senate, fearing impeachment.

Only one question remains: Who will oversee the SENATE? The SENATE is a transition point between the three powers (legislative, executive, and judicial). Since it does not represent any of these powers, it does not need to be separately overseen.

PART TWO

GREETINGS TO ALL FROM CLAUDETTE, IĞDIR'S FIRST AMERICAN DAUGHTER-IN-LAW...

The first young person born in Iğdır to go to America for education was Mazlum Aras, son of the late Bağır Aras.

Mazlum, who completed primary school in Iğdır and middle and high school as a boarder at the French Saint Joseph High School, graduated from the ITU Mechanical Engineering Department with honors. For his master's degree, he took the overseas scholarship exam organized by the Ministry of National Education in those years. He earned a high score, qualifying him for a Master's degree at the world-renowned MIT (em ay ti) University.

Unfortunately, Mazlum, who spoke French fluently like his native language, did not have English at a level to immediately start at an ambitious university like MIT, so he voluntarily gave up going to MIT. He wandered around, and eventually, fate led him to the University of Minneapolis in Minnesota, Central America. There, he married a girl named Claudette. They had two daughters.

I compiled Mazlum's life story, his love with Claudette, and his experiences in various countries in my book titled "Mazlum and Claudette," which I published last year.

Mazlum passed away at an early age due to heart disease. According to his will, his ashes were scattered in the Atlantic Ocean. He left behind two orphaned daughters, Nuran and Aysel.

Claudette never remarried. Who knows, perhaps Mazlum's memory prevented her. She focused on her daughters' education. After Aysel and Nuran got married, Claudette wanted to retreat into solitude. For this, she traveled across America. She bought a house for herself in the vast forests of Oregon State. Her closest neighbor was miles away. She realized she couldn't stay alone in this house in the middle of the forest. She decided to live with a renowned American writer and thinker as her life partner. She made sure her surname remained ARAS.

Last year (2020), forest fires broke out in Oregon State. Thousands of acres of forest burned to ashes. A fire, fueled by the wind, with flames reaching into the sky, rapidly approached Claudette's house. Claudette, at 88, could have gotten into her car and driven away quickly, but her 92-year-old life partner, Edgar, had suffered a brain hemorrhage a few months earlier and was bedridden. It was impossible for Claudette to move Edgar to the car. There was no one nearby to help her.

Her two daughters lived in a nearby city, but the road through the forest was closed due to the flames. They couldn't come to help their mother. Claudette took her cat in her arms and took refuge in Edgar's room. She had accepted it; they would burn together. Just then, she heard the sound of a helicopter. The first aid helicopter had come to help the house, which had been spotted via satellite. The helicopter took the three lives and lifted off.

Claudette stayed in a shelter with her life partner Edgar and her cat NEKO for about six months. She was lucky because the wind had changed direction at the last moment, saving her house from burning. Painfully and tiredly, the three lives returned home. They started life anew.

Claudette's greatest hobby was stained glass art (gluing colored glass pieces to form a motif). She had gained serious expertise in this field. Today, Claudette's reputation has spread beyond state borders. Although she is invited to many exhibitions, she has to decline these offers to avoid leaving her life partner Edgar alone for even a second.

Claudette is now 89 years old. She is still passionately dedicated to her art with great meticulousness and seriousness. In our last correspondence, she sent me pictures of her last three works. I wanted to share these magnificent colors and motifs with you.

Claudette says that even though she is far away, she relives Iğdır and Mazlum every day. Who knows, perhaps the emotion that ignites her passion for art in Claudette's heart is her longing for Mazlum's memory. We wish her, her life partner Edgar, her cat NEKO, and her family long and healthy days.

PART THREE

A BITTER MEMORY: DDT (dee dee tee)

New generations, i.e., Generation Y (born after 1980) and Generation Z (born after 2000), have not heard the name of this chemical.

In my childhood years, the name DDT was a part of our daily lives. DDT was a very toxic insecticide. (It is the abbreviated name of the chemical compound DichloroDiphenylTrichloroethane).

DDT was sold everywhere in small tins. People used DDT haphazardly for many purposes. For example, DDT was sprayed with backpack pumps to protect trees that had bloomed or started bearing fruit from insects.

However, DDT found more use in the home environment. Since Iğdır was humid and hot, especially in summer, it created a suitable environment for all kinds of insects to breed. Everywhere was teeming with harmful insects and pests such as cockroaches, bed bugs, lice, fleas, houseflies, mosquitoes, mice, etc. I remember well: We often used DDT in the kitchen of our patisserie. For this, there was a special pump called FLIT.

Once indispensable in homes: The DDT FLIT pump

Much later, the harms of DDT were understood, and it was completely banned by the end of the 1970s.

A YOUNG MAN FROM TAŞLICA VILLAGE

It must have been 1972. I was a middle school student. It was summer. It was my duty to stand at the cash register in our patisserie in the afternoons. It was one such day. A gentleman in a white uniform entered:

"Is Mr. Mecit here?"

"No! My father went to Kars for the day."

"A young man who says he's your relative is seriously ill. He wants to see Mr. Mecit."

My father wasn't there. I handed the cash register to Latif and went to the State Hospital with the gentleman. On the second floor, in a room, I saw a young man lying on a bed. His shirt was off, and he was lying half-naked. He was breathing rapidly and speaking in broken sentences. It was clear the poor man was in great pain. I asked the gentleman next to me what had happened. The young man had recounted his experience as follows:

"I live in Taşlıca village. I sprayed a lot of DDT on my undershirt to kill the lice and fleas on me. I put on my shirt and set off on foot towards Iğdır. When I arrived in Iğdır, I could no longer breathe."

The healthcare worker in the white shirt clarified the situation further: "As he sweated, his body absorbed the DDT. All his organs are currently poisoned. We gave him serum, but we are in a helpless situation."

The healthcare worker took me to the corridor:

"Inform your father immediately! This young man has only a few hours left to live."

I ran back to the patisserie, but I couldn't reach my father right away. When my father arrived in Iğdır late that night, I told him what had happened. My father immediately went to the hospital but returned with a sad expression. The young man had passed away. May God have mercy on his soul!