FROM TALAT PASHA TO HIS CONTEMPORARY WANNABES
Cengiz CANDAR

Turkish Daily News
July 28 2008

You can understand contemporary Turkey only when you are able to see
the connection between the legacy of Talat PaÅ~_a and the Ergenekon
gang

On last Friday, daily Hurriyet ran a story titled "Young Turks In
Action" along with a photograph. "Young Turks" in the photo were old
men now with gray hair, or some were bold, and some even had beer
bellies. The photograph itself seemed like a joke to the expression
"Young Turks."And the story was starting with a sentence like
"The Talat PaÅ~_a Committee organized a ‘Young Turks commemoration
ceremony’ in front of the first Assembly building at Ulus, Ankara, for
the anniversary of the Young Turks revolution in 1908." It was said
in the rest of the story that left wing nationalist Dogu Perincek,
who is in jail now as for the involvement in the Ergenekon crime
network and whose Workers’ Party wins less than 1 percent of votes
in every election, was complaining about the arrests of Emin Gurses
and the party’s secretary and the Talat PaÅ~_a Committee member
Ferit Ä°lsever. "People attacking on our committee leaders are now
dismissing the chair of Turkish History Society from office. But the
Talat PaÅ~_a Committee is determined to remain in its struggle under
the leadership of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, or TRNC,
founder President Rauf DenktaÅ~_."

Ergenekon suspects

So, the Talat PaÅ~_a Committee and its "leaders" are now the
Ergenekon suspects!Three of its leaders are the Ergenekon suspects
and its gray-haired, bellied remnants commemorated the "Unionists"
(Ä°ttihatcÄ&# xB1;lar) of the Ottoman Period at the so-called ceremony (Young
Turks Commemoration Ceremony). In fact, Talat PaÅ~_a was the key leader
of the Unionists. He is the "number one man" behind — as we discuss
it whether or not to refer as the "genocide" or "forced emigration —
the murders of tens of thousands of the Ottoman Armenians. He was, at
the same time, one of the leading figures behind the fall of the huge
Ottoman Empire, as the predecessor of our Republic. So, the Unionists
have a tradition of ruining the state. And forming a "deep state" means
ruining the "state" anyway. And today it means obstruction of "a state
based on rule of law" which is synonymous with "hostility towards the
European Union" at all costs.I keep talking about the ideological
bound among the "Ergenekon men," "Unionists," "neo-Nationalism"
for days. Everything is now being laid before eyes. That is some of
the Ergenekon suspects are leaders of the Talat PaÅ~_a Committee at
the same time. In the 21st century, isn’t it obvious what are these
people who form a committee and naming itself after one of the most
problematic political figures of our history after and what is their
"ideological formation" by looking at the name of this committee
and its track records?So, whose advocate is Deniz Baykal? Can you
see?This Ergenekon crime network investigation has been so serious
from the start. But they did refuse to see this. They even did not
include even a single piece of information in their newspapers. But
when the things go out of hand and turned impossible to hide, they,
including leftist and rightist columnists, began to look down,
denigrate and kid with this case. The Hrant Dink murder is the most
important political murder of our near past history; it was the most
serious one.Circles who are acting recklessly and showing opposition
to the Ergenekon case took the stage as the so-called friends of Hrant
Dink. But we will not allow these humbugs and these phony friends. Of
course we do not know the course of the Ergenekon case and how it
would be concluded but despite all odds we know for sure that this
"file" is the most critical "judicial inquiry" of our near past and
extremely important stop in the county’s democratization process. We
wouldn’t know of how the Ergenekon suspects will come to an end but
we very well know who wants to dilute such a gravely serious "file"
and who attacks on groups pursuing this case.

The litmus test

We will not forget them and we will not let anyone to forget them. And
in every single turn of their prospective careers we will make
them face this Ergenekon "litmus test." In the days to come, the
"party closure case," which is of pivotal importance in progress
of democracy in Turkey, will be concluded. All about Turkey, both
inside and outside, are in halt for months and until the verdict is
reached in this case.The decision will help us to better see our near
future. If the government party is not dissolved by the top court and
if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is not banned from politics,
this will of course mean the end of a huge obstacle before Turkey’s
path to democracy. If the ruling party is shut down, Turkey will
face "turbulence" for a few months, but will definitely save itself
after a period.The course of the Ergenekon case is more meaningful in
terms of democracy in Turkey, compared to the "party closure case,"
although it doesn’t seem so at first.You can only understand this
when you are able to see the connection between the legacy of Talat
PaÅ~_a and the Ergenekon gang.

–Boundary_(ID_WMrPiOdLwyCRRB7F/PJ7LQ)–