Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 11 2008
Illegitimate solidarity
by ETYEN MAHÃ?UPYAN
The most recent arrests made as part of the preparation of the
indictment for the Ergenekon file was actually a delayed step because
the possibility of associating the concerned actors — retired
generals, businessmen and journalists — with a probable coup attempt
has already been publicized owing to their actions and statements.
In other words, they have never concealed their ideological stance and
political intentions. Of course, this alone may not be a criminal
element, and this is the probable reason for the delay in taking
action to proceed with arrests. This latest "move" of Prosecutor
Zekeriya Ã-z was made with reference to the Ã`mraniye case. That
is, it is asserted that the people who will likely be arrested have a
connection to weaponry found in Ã`mraniye and assassination plans.
This is a very important development because it is not that easy to
find evidence that their plans were actually put into effect, while it
appears that the so-called Ergenekon network has made its mind up on
the necessity of staging a coup and decisions on how to stage it. In
such a broad ideological network, individual actions of many may be
consistent with the general stance and tendencies while they may not
imply the existence of a chain of command and order. However, if a
connection is established between this network, with access to heavy
weaponry, and incidents like the murder of Hrant Dink (a
Turkish-Armenian journalist assassinated in January 2007), it will be
possible to prove that attempts were made to implement the coup
plans. The arrest of a retired military officer like Å?ener
Eruygur, who has so far enjoyed immunity, will change the quality and
characteristic of the Ergenekon case. It should be noted that Eruygur
is an influential figure
who made at least two coup plans to topple the Justice and
Development Party (AK Party) administration during his term in office
as Gendarmerie commander and sought social legitimacy for a probable
coup by mobilizing the media.
Therefore, it is possible to say that the circle surrounding the
coup-lovers is closing in. In response to this, it has been observed
that the coup supporters resort to two methods. First, they seek to
ensure that the closure process is completed without any compromises;
in other words, they seek to make sure that the AK Party is closed
down. The (Supreme Court of Appeals) chief prosecutor’s oral statement
— which excludes not only law but also logic and reason — may
express a state of panic because in his recent presentation, the chief
prosecutor not only presented constitutional amendments made to lift a
ban on wearing headscarves at universities as evidence for
backwardness but also relied on an argument implying that those who
wear a headscarf should be denied normal citizenship rights. In short,
the AK Party closure case is disconnected from not only the law but
also basic human values. The justification for the closure of this
party is sought in ideological discrimination, and Kemalism is openly
presented as "just" discrimination.
The closure case not being influential enough to offset the Ergenekon
file has apparently increased the panic. The impossibility of the
statist media to extend open support for those seeking to stage a coup
reinforces this deadlock. For this reason, a phony "symmetry" argument
that compares the closure case and Ergenekon is created. Arguments are
raised to prove that both sides politicized the judiciary in an
attempt to become "neutral" and the readers are invited to become
apolitical. The actual argument is the allegation that the AK Party
paid attention to Ergenekon in response to the closure case. However,
the Ergenekon file was opened before the filing of the closure
case. If a countermove should be sought, we have to argue that this
closure case was submitted to render the Ergenekon investigation
ineffective and therefore it was actually part of the coup process. In
addition, we are dealing here with those who are trying to close a
party that did not commit any crime and a network which for years
sponsored murders to accomplish a coup. Perhaps we have to talk about
"illegitimate solidarity" — and not symmetry.
There are currently particular attempts to make Turkey enter a chaotic
atmosphere. Those who fail to generate the chaos needed by the coups
now seek to make the people ambivalent and create chaos in their
minds, with effective assistance by the media. If they succeed, the
coup will achieve its goals and Turkey will be subjected to becoming
an underdeveloped and embarrassing country. At that time, we will no
longer be bothered to go back, analyze and ask why we are like this
because at that point, immorality will stand right before us in vivid
detail.