Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP
Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site kontron.UUCP
Path: utzoo!lsuc!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!bellcore!decvax!decwrl!pyramid!voder!kontron!cramer
From: cramer@kontron.UUCP (Clayton Cramer)
Newsgroups: net.politics
Subject: Re: American troops in Turkey, S. Korea
Message-ID: <504@kontron.UUCP>
Date: Fri, 31-Jan-86 13:28:42 EST
Article-I.D.: kontron.504
Posted: Fri Jan 31 13:28:42 1986
Date-Received: Thu, 6-Feb-86 21:57:31 EST
References: <502@whuts.UUCP> <11000118@uiucdcsb>
Organization: Kontron Electronics, Irvine, CA
Lines: 23

> 
> 
> Written cramer@kontron.UUCP 
> 
> >Turkey had an election a little while back.  While the election process
> >wasn't as democratic as the U.S. or Western Europe, by comparision
> >with the elections in Hungary (which you have expressed such enthusiam
> >for) and the elections in Nicaragua, Turkey's election was quite democratic.
> 
> Mr Cramer, there is not "much" or "little" democracy. Either there is democracy
> somewhere or there isn't. In Turkey as every informed person knows there is
> still dictatorship of the most brutal form, where political prisoners and
> minorities such as armenians and kurds (sp?) are tortured and sentenced to 
> death every day. Don't forget that chief is still the brutal dictator 
> Evren (sp?). Europe has virtually broken any relations with Turkey.

The original comment that I was responding to was full of apologies for the
Hungarian and Nicaraguan elections -- I was pointing out that RELATIVE to 
those two countries, Turkey appears to be more democratic.

Also, democratic systems aren't hostile to torture and death sentences.
Democracy is just a way of making decisions by majority rule -- it certainly
is no guarantee of decency.