Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 27 2008

To fight with gangs needs to fight with our genes

by AYSE KARABAT

Since the police detained more than 30 people recently on suspicions
that they are members of a shadowy clandestine network that seeks to
create a chaotic atmosphere in Turkey to prepare for a military coup,
millions of questions have been flying in the air.

First of all, we should keep in mind that these people have not been
brought in front of a court yet. But maybe since we are so sure about
the fact that these kinds of gangs have been a part of our political
culture for years, almost everybody is convinced that they are
involved with the Hrant Dink assassination, the slayings of
missionaries in Malatya and the Daniþtay attack. But the first
question that keeps everyone busy is not whether they are guilty or
not, but if there is enough evidence.

The second question is the nature of the investigation. Is this an
investigation against the "deep state" or is it an operation aiming
at some elements of the deep state. Because when you look at the
names of those under detention, the first thing you should notice is
that they were so public. They were everywhere, they were making
provocations against intellectuals, they were blaming everyone who
was not with them, accusing almost everyone of being traitors. Maybe
for this reason they came to the point of being unbearable for the
real "deep state."

Another important question is to what extent this operation will go.
For example, if they were aiming at a military coup, who would carry
out this coup?

Everybody is also discussing whether the government will be brave
enough to follow through to the end. Finally, will we be able to live
in a country that is free of these kinds of gangs?

The pessimists are saying that the government, which is dragging its
feet on dealing with Article 301, may not go any further. The
optimists are recalling the victory speech Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdoðan made right after the July 22 elections. In this speech
he promised to fight against such gangs.

All these questions and discussion points are right. But there are
more questions to be asked. For example, will society show its
reactions to these gangs and give the courage to the judiciary and
security forces to go through to the end? Will society send the
message of "enough" to those who are protecting these gangs?

What allows these gangs to survive is the understanding of their
relation to the order of things in Turkey: The superiority of the law
can be put aside, when it is necessary. A part of society is agreeing
with this, too, because our sense of justice was harmed a long time
ago. In general, we don’t believe that our judiciary is functioning
well. This is why instead of applying to the court when we have a
problem, we prefer to solve it for ourselves. This is one of the main
reasons that we have these gangs. Will society able to change this
attitude and will we really be able to believe that everyone without
any exception recognizes the superiority of the law?

Will the society change its mentality about the state? Will the
society be brave enough to think that the state is just an entity
composed of citizens — citizens who are not only subjects but also
individuals with rights? Once society accepts this fact, will it
question the persons who are claiming that they are representing the
state?

Strong belief — or, to put it more correctly, strong perception of
some state officials who think that they are above society — is one
of the main reasons for the existence of these gangs. Since some
believe in this, the natural outcome is that citizens are not
valuable and the law is something forgettable because ordinary
citizens don’t understand the state’s affairs and don’t have the
ability to understand the high interests of the state. Will society,
citizens who are totally aware of their rights, force a change in
this understanding? Will society be brave enough to face up to its
history and its understanding of negative nationalism, which creates
countless ‘others’ as enemies?

These understandings have engrained themselves in society through the
education system and became almost a part of our genes. Will we be
brave enough to fight against our genes?

To get rid of these gangs, the right question is not if the
government will be brave enough to go through to the end, but if the
society will be brave enough to go through to the end.

Because, as Edmond Burke puts it, "The only thing necessary for the
triumph of evil is for good men to do nothing."

27.01.2008
AYSE KARABAT