Turkey Analyst,
vol. 2 no. 20
9 November 2009

WHAT THE COLUMNISTS SAY

The role of the military in politics is once again at the focus of attention in the Turkish debate. The revelation that a blueprint for a coup may indeed have been prepared at the General staff has led to a more or less general condemnation of the perennial military habit of intervention in politics. Most columnists have taken it for granted that plans for the undermining of the AKP government – by means of agent provocateur operations directed against civil society – have indeed been made up at the General staff, although there are diverging views concerning the role of the Chief of the General staff General Ilker Basbug in the process. Several columnists demand his resignation. The tone of the public debate clearly suggests that the military is in the process of being politically marginalized, put on the defensive, and with the traditional deference to it belonging to a bygone era.

ALTAN: THE END OF THE MILITARIST REPUBLIC
Mehmet Altan in Star writes that the judicial authorities have established that the General staff document that details the plans for how the AKP government was going to be undermined is indeed an authentic document, with the signature of Colonel Dursun Çiçek. What is there more to say? Yet, the General staff still refuses to get the message. It tries to subvert the rule of law by its efforts to protect the officers implicated in the coup plans. The insistence of the military to steer the state and politics, instead of concentrating on defense matters and on developing military technologies, hurts its own prestige. The refusal to face up to the reality, the efforts to cover up the matter of Colonel Çiçek fatefully damages its credibility. I hope that the military will soon realize that we have indeed reached the end of the militarist republic, and that the transition to a democratic republic can take place smoothly and painlessly.

MERT: THERE IS NO ABSOLUTE POWER THAT LASTS FOR EVER
Nuray Mert in Radikal rejoices at the fact that the attempts of the military to subvert civilian politics have now once for all come to be generally regarded as utterly unacceptable. Yet, I can nevertheless not suppress an anxiety that we may eventually find ourselves in a situation where one form of authoritarianism has been substituted with another one. However, the fate of the once all-powerful military is instructive. Those who wield supreme power today would be wise to take appropriate notice of the fate that has befallen the once so mighty military that used to inspire fear in every quarter. There is no absolute power that lasts for ever.

KISLALI: TO MONITOR AND COMBAT RELIGIOUS REACTION IS THE DUTY OF THE MILITARY
Mehmet Ali Kislali in Radikal recalls that it is the duty and responsibility of the military, according to the law to protect the constitutionally defined republic. And has not religious reaction and separatism long since been the two main threats to the republic? Has not the General staff always monitored the activities of religious reaction? So why does the revelation that a unit within the General staff has prepared a blueprint for how these threats are going to be combated cause such uproar? From a distance, it seems that the document that bears the signature of Colonel Dursun Çiçek is a draft intended to be submitted for the overview of his superiors.

BERKAN: A STRANGE HIERARCHY
Ismet Berkan in Radikal writes that the root of the problem is that Turkey has a very strange hierarchy: We have a people; it is owned by the state, which in turn is owned and ruled by the military. Obviously, the hierarchy should be the reverse: The state and the military should defer to the people. The military regards itself as standing above not only parliament and government, but also as standing above and outside the confines of the constitutional order itself. It believes it knows better than everybody else, and that it has the right to steer politics, if need be by subverting civilian governments. It makes clumsy attempts at societal engineering that are doomed to fail. It is time the military retreats into minding its own professional matters.

KORU: LET’S LEND THE MILITARY A HELPING HAND
Fehmi Koru in Yeni Safak writes that Turkey has undergone a breathtaking change during the last couple of years. We can all observe the changes, in politics, in social life and in our laws. The aspiration to become a full-fledged democracy, together with the courageous ambition to seek EU membership, has taken Turkey from being an inward-looking country that was embroiled in troubles with almost all of its neighbors to the dynamic country it has now become. We are a short step from qualifying to the first league of democracy. There is only one area where change is halting, difficult, and that is the civilian-military relation. I am confident that there is realization among the military that it has to adapt to the change, and that the necessary measures are indeed prepared. Yet there is also the fact that old habits and traditions can be difficult to shed. Even certain legislation stands in the way of change. So shouldn’t we try a different approach? Of course, I am not suggesting that we should refrain from enforcing the laws in the case of the blueprint for a coup. But we should also try to lend the military a helping hand in the adjustment to change. Shouldn’t we for instance consider revising the famous article 35 that regulates the internal workings of the military, and that is interpreted as inviting military to interfere in politics, in a way that befits a mature democracy?

ÇONGAR: GENERAL BASBUG SHOULD RESIGN
Yasemin Congar in Taraf writes that se has two expectations concerning the meeting between Prime Minister Erdogan and the Chief of the General staff General Ilker Basbug (that was held on October, 29): First of all I expect that General Basbug will give a full account to the Prime Minister of what has transpired in his headquarters and about his own personal role in the matter. Secondly, I take it for granted that the Prime Minister upon receiving this information will subsequently take whatever appropriate measures that are called for in the matter. If Basbug has indeed been involved in the preparation of the blueprint for a coup, or in its cover-up, then he should immediately hand in his resignation. If he has not been involved, then he should immediately hand over those officers that are implicated in the matter to the law enforcement authorities. Ultimately, what will make it easier for Basbug to do the right thing is that his superior (the prime minister) makes it unequivocally clear for him that this is what he expects him to do.

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.

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