Turkey Analyst,
vol. 2 no. 8
24 April 2009

WHAT THE COLUMNISTS SAY

The latest – the 12th wave – of police searches, detentions and subsequent arrests in connection to the Ergenekon investigation led some commentators who support the investigation to nevertheless question the way it is conducted. Particular attention was paid to the role played by the Fethullah Gülen movement, which is believed to be heavily implanted within the police. Some commentators suspect the Gülen movement of attempting to subdue secularist NGO’s. The annual speech by the Chief of the General staff, General Ilker Basbug at the War academy was interpreted as indicating that the power of the Gülen movement is of growing concern for the military.

CAKIR: THE CHANGED PERCEPTION OF THE ERGENEKON INVESTIGATION
Ruser Cakir in Vatan notes that there has been a nagging question on the minds ever since the Ergenekon investigation started: Is it really about neutralizing a terrorist group that had sought to sow chaos in the country, thus creating conditions that would precipitate a coup, or is it about silencing the neo-nationalists that are the AKP’s most virulent opponents? In the wake of the 12th wave of arrests, that question must be somewhat revised: Is there also a third power, a societal force, which seeks to neutralize a rival societal force? Clearly, that third power is capable of acting on its own, causing potential trouble for the AKP.

TURGUT: THE MILITARY SHOULD ENGAGE THE GÜLEN MOVEMENT
Serdar Turgut in Aksam urges the General staff to engage in a dialogue with the Fethullah Gülen movement. Turgut, a Marxist, writes that the republican enterprise has alienated the peasant masses, challenging their religious beliefs and instituting a system of economic exploitation. I don’t subscribe to the assessment of the Chief of the staff General Ilker Basbug, that the “cemaat”, the brotherhood, constitutes a threat to the republic. On the contrary, the Fethullah Gülen movement has actually contributed to shoring up the republic, by extending assistance to the economically destitute and socially and culturally uprooted masses. The military should seek out ways to conduct a dialogue with the movement. We are in great need of a new, societal contract. The Turkey of the future will be a much more religious society, and that is a fact that just has to be recognized. The Gülen movement, as well as the change that has taken place in CHP, the Republican people’s party (which courted religious feelings in the recent election) is a sign of this evolution.

KORU: IS THERE REALLY ANY NEED TO BE AFRAID OF THE GÜLEN MOVEMENT?
Pro-Government Fehmi Koru in Yeni Safak notes that General Ilker Basbug stated that membership in religious brotherhoods stands in contradiction to modernity, as that represents a stage where individuals should have become autonomous. Koru disagrees. In fact, individuals who feel alienated and threatened by modernity have everywhere sought refuge and solace in group identities and in membership in religious brotherhoods. The reality of the “cemaat” is thus a part of the reality of “modernity”. Don’t religious brotherhoods (or a brotherhood, if there is a single one that is singled out) sometimes give reason to concern? Of course, they may be guilty of some exaggerations, but these are all part of the defense mechanisms that have been developed against the perception of “threat”. Democratic states, ruled by the law, don’t fear groups any more than they fear individuals. That is, if they are really democratic.

BAYDAR: THE 12TH WAVE THREATENS THE LEGITIMACY OF THE ERGENEKON INVESTIGATION
Oya Baydar in Taraf, who declares herself to be in ideological opposition to the views that are promoted by The Association for the defense of the modern way of life (CYDD), nevertheless finds the police raid against the secularist NGO and its founder Professor Türkan Saylan unacceptable from a moral as well as from a legal perspective. “I believe that this raid has put the Ergenekon investigation, which I otherwise wholeheartedly support, under suspicion. The Ergenekon case is about ridding Turkey of an undemocratic mentality; now with this action – decided by I don’t know who and for what purpose – that focus threatens to get lost.”

KÜTAHYALI: THE SAME SOURCE SMEARS TÜRKAN SAYLAN AND FETHULLAH GÜLEN
One thing was made abundantly clear in the speech of General Ilker Basbug, Rasim Ozan Kütahyali in Taraf writes: The General staff has set itself as mission to roll back the influence exerted by the Fethullah Gülen movement, notably in the education sector. In the wake of the 12th wave of Ergenekon arrests, much attention is paid to the Kemalist NGOs. The Association for the defense of the modern way of life and the Foundation for modern education (CEV) have the right, just like the Fethullah Gülen movement, to conduct their activities according to specific ideological preferences. The fact that the General staff singles out the Gülen movement, creating the impression that the ground is being laid for a move against its schools, is nothing that anyone with a thread of conscience should be able to condone. Unfortunately, the Gülen movement media is using the same language to smear the Kemalist NGOs as is used against Fethullah Gülen. They are recycling disinformation that emanates from a branch of the General staff. The Kemalist NGOs are accused of being involved in “missionary activities”, in allusion to the fact that Türkan Saylan’s mother was a Christian, and of supporting the PKK. I urge the journalists of in particular the daily Zaman to think twice before disseminating such disinformation; they should notice that the Gülen movement is similarly accused of furthering the interests of an alien power, the United States, in Turkey. In the eyes of the amoral, nationalistic ideology that has reigned in Turkey since the beginning of the twentieth century, Türkan Saylan is as intolerable as Fethullah Gülen. I wonder if the day will ever arrive when we will finally stand together against these abject manipulations.

BELGE: THE REAL ISSUE SHOULD NOT BE LOST OUT OF SIGHT
I will state it at once: I cannot understand why the home of Türkan Saylan was searched by the police, and I felt disturbed by it, Murat Belge in Taraf writes. Saylan has said “no to Sharia and no to coup”, and I have no reason to doubt her sincerity. Yet, we should not forget that “the friends of Ergenekon” are quite a few, and ready to exploit every incident, illogically or nor, to their own benefit. Yes, Saylan’s home was searched, but after all, she was not detained. And yes, she has said “no to coup”, but the fact remains that she heads an organization that has played a considerable part in the propaganda for a coup. And it is not altogether unreasonable to assume that a search of her home could reveal things about those whom she has herself described as her “fellow comrades”.

The Turkey Analyst
The Turkey Analyst is a publication of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute & Silk Road Studies Joint Center, designed to bring authoritative analysis and news on the rapidly developing domestic and foreign policy issues in Turkey. It is published weekly, and includes a topical analysis, as well as translations and summaries of selected Turkish news reports. It is edited and compiled under the supervision of Svante E. Cornell, Halil M. Karaveli, and M. K. Kaya.

The analyses appearing in the Turkey Analyst are often written by the three Editors. The Turkey Analyst occasionally publishes signed guest analyses.

The Joint Center
The Joint Center was created in 2005 through the merger of the Central Asia-Caucasus Institute, at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies, and the Silk Road Studies Program, at the Stockholm-based Institute for Security and Development Policy.

The Turkey Initiative
The Joint Center launched a Turkey Initiative in 2006 in order to improve understand of Turkish domestic and foreign affairs in Europe and the United States.

To Subscribe:
To subscribe to the Turkey Analyst email announcements, please contact Martina Klimesova with an email containing "subscribe Turkey Analyst" in the subject line.