TURKEY: COLUMN CENSURES LAND FORCES’ DECISION TO SUSPEND RELATIONS WITH FRANCE
Yeni Safak, Turkey
Nov 17 2006
[Column by Ali Bayramoglu: "Do the Soldiers Make the Decisions?"]
There have been two incidents that have drawn my attention in
recent days. The first of these was what Rahsan Ecevit [wife of the
recently deceased former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit] said about the
organization of her husband’s funeral in the interview that she had a
few days ago on NTV with Can Dundar. Mrs Ecevit said: "When General
Staff Chief [Yasar] Buyukanit, when he came to express condolences,
said that the commanders had met together regarding the arrangement
of the funeral, I deferred to them, and the military arranged the
funeral."
For the state ceremony to have been organized directly by the military
is, to put it frankly, a rather strange state of affairs.
In parallel with this, the second such incident occurred the day
before yesterday.
Ground Forces Commander General Ilker Basbug announced that "all
military relations with France have been suspended in response to the
French Parliament’s passage of a bill that punishes the denial of the
‘Armenian genocide’."
The very next day, that is, yesterday, a response to this announcement
came from the French Ministry of Defence; it declared that the French
Defence Ministry "did not see Turkey’s decision to suspend its military
ties with France as the sign of a crisis or an important problem
between the two countries." Additionally, French Defence Ministry
Spokesman Jean-Francois Bureau, stating that they had "taken note of"
the statement made by Ground Forces Commander Ilker Basbug, said:
"This was not a statement by the political authorities."
What had attracted my attention was thus evidently noticed and utilized
by the French…
They are saying that the statement did not come from the Turkish
Ministry of Defence, and that they have their doubts as to whether
the statement reflects Turkey’s political will.
Certainly the natural thing is just what the French have done… The
response to Ilker Basbug’s statement did not come from the [French]
Ground Forces Commander or the Chief of the General Staff. The
response was given by the Defence Ministry, which has both the
political authority and the responsibility for this matter.
Let us now pose the question:
How is it that, on a topic that involves Turkey’s official stance, and
thus requires political will, and consequently on a topic that entails
bearing political responsibility on the basis of the decision made,
the military bureaucracy makes this decision and then so comfortably
announces it?
How, and with what right?
Just yesterday, we were talking about the existing "confusion in
authority, responsibility, and legitimacy", which blocks the natural
lines of communication in Turkey. Even if some of the decisions
taken are proper ones, the way in which they are taken, or else the
situation in which those who take them are not "responsible", contain
clues regarding the direction the regime is going to hold to in the
days ahead.
The decision in question -and let us assume it was the right one,
since a good many of us believe it was -is of this sort; it is of an
essentially political nature.
Because it is a decision that could have an impact on, and determine
the orientation of, Turkey’s international relations. And the
institution that according to the laws possesses the authority to
take steps in this regard is the institution that has the obligation
and responsibility to account for the steps that it takes, that is,
the political administration.
For this reason, the subordination of both the military authority
and the civilian bureaucracy to the political administration is one
of the most fundamental principles of democracy.
Otherwise, the mechanism of representation, authority, and
responsibility is impeded.
But in this country, everything runs backwards…
Since those who bear no responsibility for the political decisions
that they make are able to make them, we are unable to get out of
our difficulties, and the country is unable to escape from chaos…
What statement is the Ministry of National Defence going to make now,
I wonder?
It will probably say that the statement by the military was known
to it.
But it seems that this game no longer convinces even the French…
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
