Since Alexandros Grigoropoulos was killed by Greek riot police on Dec. 6 the world has been witnessing what Greek commentators have dubbed the worst riots since World War II.

Grigoropoulos was only 15 years old and was probably an anarchist by conviction. That said, he was a human being and it is for this very reason that Greeks have reacted so strongly to the death of this unfortunate teenager. The riots immediately reminded us of the state of affairs in Turkey when it comes to police shootings and the murder of young people who run away from the police, who fail to stop when asked to do so or, worse, who have been taken into custody, as was the case with Engin Çeber.

This country already has a shameful record in terms of how its security forces treat its citizens. The European Union harmonization process, particularly the golden years of 2002-2005, precipitated a movement in favor of the citizen against the state. Regretfully, we have seen a return to our dark years in recent months and as every citizen ought to be -- very forcefully demonstrated by the Greeks -- we should be concerned, as well. The Turkish struggle to put the state in its right place -- in a normal democracy -- is an ongoing one and is by no means over. Despite the hope and glitter that was offered in recent years, the state has a remarkable capacity to come back and regain the upper hand in the domestic balance of power. The instinctual response to the Kurdish question is very illustrative in regard to this trend. The murders of Çeber and others are worrying, but this is not really what concerns me most. What troubles me most is the lack of reaction to the killings of citizens in Turkey’s prisons or streets. It is the infuriating silence that pervades the masses when one of them -- once again -- has been murdered. It is the seditious stillness that suggests that whatever is done to the people, they will not put up an appropriate reaction to the treatment they are being subjected to. In that sense, our Greek neighbors have more to show and, therefore, it should be no surprise that the last fatal police shooting of a minor in Greece was in 1985. We can hardly keep track of the casualties we as a people suffer at the hands of the security forces -- be they police or soldiers.

This situation should be causing great discomfort among Turkey’s conservative democrats. After all, Turkey’s conservative democrats not only have the political responsibility to voice their concerns and objections, but also the moral and ethical obligation to object. This is the crux of the matter. Will Turkey’s conservative democrats succumb to the lure of power and be co-opted by the nationalist-conservative establishment within the state bureaucracy? Or will they continue to move ahead with transforming this country into a normal and transparent democracy? Will the nationalist instincts within the Muslim-conservative camp obtain the upper hand and dominate the discourse, or are we going through a transitory and tactical period that remains committed to the ultimate ideal of establishing a normal, livable democracy? Time will tell. The greatest fallacy is to believe that Turkey’s conservative democrats can transform this country by aligning themselves with the nationalist state elite. If that were the case, the flag leading the drive to democratize this country would inevitably change hands. Turkey’s conservative democrats must understand what is at stake.