Turks Across the West Wring Hands as Vote Looms<br />The founder of Turkey, Ataturk, would never say yes to this." — Akin Caldiran, 82, a retired veteran of the Turkish<br />military in Lansing, Mich. "I am not going to vote, as I believe it is not going to make a difference.<br />I believe that he is a blessing for Turkey, considering the old Turkey<br />that was everything but democratic and fair to their own citizens." — Zuleyha Baran, 40, a translator in Mannheim, Germany.<br />"I am not bothered to vote, as I do not believe that this election would make any difference.<br />In some European countries with large Turkish populations, tensions have been high recently: Officials from President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s party, known in Turkey as the A.K.P., tried to campaign in Germany<br />and the Netherlands and, when rebuffed, responded with a stream of harsh insults.<br />If I believed that this was a fair election, though, I would vote ‘no.’ I think it is too<br />late to get on board the democracy train again." — Hakan Gokce, 42, a teacher in London.<br />The Turkish Republic in every period has been faced with coups." — Ayse Tusem Gungor, 20, a student from Antwerp, Belgium (translated from Turkish).
