A CLOUD OF QUASI-AUTHORITARIANISM

Hurriyet Daily News
Dec 1 2009
Turkey

Nowadays, Turkey is discovering itself once more by going through a
new period, a period coupled with changing dynamics along with various
‘openings’ that have taken place during the past few years. This
period gives the people and writers alike enough courage to question
some of the dark sides of Turkish history, as well as the powerhouses
that have been untouchable throughout the decades.

Nowadays, Turkey is discovering itself once more by going through a
new period, a period coupled with changing dynamics along with various
"openings" that have taken place during the past few years. This
period gives the people and writers alike enough courage to question
some of the dark sides of Turkish history, as well as the powerhouses
that have been untouchable throughout the decades.

Turkey is striving to put behind a period of quietness when it comes to
some taboo subjects and events. Even Mustafa Kemal Ataturk is not being
spared from this new spirit of criticism, and I have always believed,
just like Falih Rifki worried in his great book, "Cankaya," that the
worst thing we did to Ataturk was to elevate him to another god.

I am very much in favor of squaring the account with the past. I am
against the idea that some events and periods of history should not
be discussed. On the contrary, I think our recent history and even
the history of Islam must be questioned meticulously, even if it is
very hard to find anyone who does the latter.

While many pundits enjoy the fact that they finally, after decades
of oppression, are able to openly question the misdeeds of the past,
or the current regime and most importantly the actions of the Turkish
Army, I just stare at this newly found spirit and tell myself how
much progress Turkey has made over the years towards becoming an open
society. For I seriously believe that the most significant trait of an
open society is to have an environment in which anyone can engage in
honest discussions, even if some of them may hurt the national pride.

>From the tragic events that happened to the Armenian people during
World War I to the Turkish wealth tax in 1942, from the violent
1955-1956 street protests to the periodic overthrow of civilian
governments by the Turkish military, I am all for getting to the
bottom of these controversial episodes.

Just a few years ago, it was surreal to even imagine that any active
military officer could be detained, leaving aside getting arrested by
civil authorities. Now it seems that the arrest of a military officer
is becoming ordinary news. Let me be clear: I do not, at any rate, just
get excited when I run into news about an arrest. I do not think every
single military arrest or detainment is a sign of a better democracy,
in contrast to the opinions of many columnists.

I do, however, think that it is an important development if the arrest
of "anyone" is based on substantiated evidence. But I worry that,
for example, many of the arrests that are being made in the ongoing
"Ergenekon" investigation may not be according to universal justice
and prosecution principles. Holding many civilian and military
officials alike in custody for years, without being able to bring
concrete evidence is very disturbing. Overlooking the distinction
between suspicious writings or tapped phone conversations without
attested exhibits for a committed crime is too big a mishandling. As
mad as some people could be, justice cannot and should not be a way
of getting payback for some of the wrongdoings of the past or being
on the other side of the discussions.

Turkey’s free minds should have enough latitude to ask tough questions
to find out the real reasons behind some of the disturbing historic
episodes or unfair treatments of different segments of the society that
have shaped today’s Turkey. Once we reach a level of trust and honesty
and once we know that everyone at the table wants to see Turkey on
the road to perfection, then we will realize that we are all actually
not that far from each other. Turkey has enough personality, history,
tolerance and many more elements to succeed in such an endeavor.

One of the cornerstones of any functioning democracy is freedom of
the press, and today in Turkey this watchdog is being oppressed in a
fashion that has never been seen in recent history, except during the
periods of strict military rule. So I ask the question to those who
claim that they want nothing but an open and accountable Turkey: Why
is it that those sharp-witted intellectuals fall short of questioning
today’s nightmares or hardly make a passing by commenting about
the hurdles that Turkish democracy is facing while they impeccably
question Turkey’s past.

Intellectuals, who deem to dig into the roots of the past misdeeds,
prefer only to show mere "tolerance" for the foreign press for its
criticism of the dark clouds that travel over Turkey. Many of those
opinion makers assert or imply that they choose to be quiet about
today’s powerfuls’ misbehavior, simply because there is no alternative
out there, and that if we do not support this administration,
we might just slide back. I think it is this miscalculated view of
things that today makes Turkey’s democracy failing or fragile. If the
consciousness pens keep failing to show their backbones, when they are
needed the most, against the most powerful, we are not progressing
towards a better working democracy, but are giving way to another
authoritarianism to take the baton from the predecessor.

Avowing tenderness for those who have courage to stand up does not
mean one does one’s homework, but one only ignores it. Those pundits
might still want to act like they are die-hard democrats by displaying
mercy to others and "allowing" them to do their homework; actually
it just turns them into a sort of chameleon-like democrat, who has no
difficulty blending with the color of contemporary powerhouses. These
timeserving and score-settling minds, however, could be equipped with
sharp-witted and strong historic references, but in a real world,
lack the necessary democratic spirit, and seem that they cannot get
away from being dragged into the past all over again.

It excites me to see recent open discussions in the Turkish press,
for they will give me hope that we are finally finding a way to reckon
with the past’s ghosts. I feel proud in showing them to our peers
in the West. Then, when I see the cloud of quasi-authoritarianism
wandering over Turkey’s skies, and also those very audacious pundits
become mum over these heart-joggling menaces to the Turkish democracy,
I restart wondering, whether this whole new chapter that is taking
place is just another sign of hitting the forces which are now weak
or on the defensive side. Then I become pessimistic again and begin
to think, whether this seeming era of enlightenment of free-spirited
debate is just another chapter of a mere power struggle. And I find
myself losing a lot of sleep over this scenario these days.