“All Segments Should Be Included in the Decision Process for Good Governance”

CHP Congresswoman Aylin Yaman with whom we’ve talked about civil society and politics relations, points out that the importance of social policies has increased during the pandemic process. Thinking that the city council model should be transferred to public institutions in order to establish an effective dialogue and collaboration between the public and civil society, Yaman says that civil society has great duties about the formation of a good governance system.

Aylin Yaman pointed out that the importance of social policies became more evident during the pandemic process that had coincided with an economically troubled period in Turkey. Saying that CHP’s declarations on citizens should have been overcoming the epidemic without experiencing any income problems were not taken into account by the government, Yaman stated that social policies have not been implemented effectively.

Evaluating the pandemic process in terms of the rights of the elderly, Yaman noted that the restrictions that were only imposed in Turkey but nowhere else in the world are violation of human rights. Reminding that there is a large segment of people over the age of 65 who live on a pension or who have to work, Yaman said that the pandemic process has been very wearing for this segment who could not receive any income support to sustain their lives.

According to Yaman, the condition for the formation of a good governance system in civil society is the establishment of transparent and correct communication techniques, as in other management systems. For this reason, it is not possible to establish a good system with the “I know everything” approach and the “one-man regime” in the current Presidential Government system. It is necessary to involve all segments, including those who have opposing views, at every stage of the decision process, based on reason and scientific foundations. In addition, it is important to encourage the participation of the public in NGOs for the establishment of an effective governance system.

Stating that political parties in Turkey do not prefer to branch out in relations with civil society, Yaman reminds that CHP has a Civil Society Relations Unit operating under CHP Vice Chairman. Yaman thinks that if the dialogue between politics and civil society would be open enough, civil actors would ask the decision makers to listen to them first and then ask them to give assurance that their suggestions would be implemented. She also notes that this current polarization could only be overcome if such a relationship of trust would be established between the two sides.

“The city council model should be transferred to public”

According to Yaman, who thinks that the City Council model should be taken as a basis for the effective participation of civil society among the decisions in local governments, it is possible to make better decisions with a structure that includes representatives of every subject. Yaman gives the example of the elderly camps project of Mersin Metropolitan Municipality and Turkish Alzheimer Association’s Mersin branch, and thinks that it would be possible to detect problems quickly and on time if NGOs would be included in the decision process.

Yaman, who plays active roles in many non-governmental organizations, lists what needs to change in civil society as follows as an insider : “Civil actors should develop their empathy skills a little more, look at the issues from the perspective of the other side, be more challenging and should  follow current developments. To achieve all this, civil actors must include more women and young people among themselves.”

“Civil society has a great responsibility for the hope to bloom again”

Aylin Yaman notes that in order to establish an effective dialogue between the public and civil society, public institutions should organize events and workshops where both the public and NGO representatives would be listened to. Reminding that the Turkish Medical Association is not represented in the Coronavirus Scientific Committee, Yaman underlines that policy makers must make decisions by listening to all parties. Lastly, Yaman says that feelings of helplessness and hopelessness are common in the society in Turkey, and emphasizes that civil society has a great responsibility in overcoming this and for the hope to bloom again.