Turkey Analyst,
vol. 2 no. 21
23 November 2009

WHAT THE COLUMNISTS SAY

Turkey’s political atmosphere remains highly tense. The government’s “Kurdish opening”, which was debated in the parliament, (and which Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan re-baptized “an opening for national unity”) continues to be assailed by the nationalist opposition parties.  A landmark statement by Onur Öymen, the deputy chairman of the Republican people’s party (CHP), in defense of the crushing of the rebellion of Alevi Kurds in the Dersim region in 1937 (where tens of thousands of civilians perished at the hands of the military), set the tone of the parliamentary debate and was widely commented. Moreover, media reports that the government has ordered the conversations of several senior magistrates suspected of being involved in coup schemes tapped – an allegation that was vehemently denied by the Prime Minister – served as a new reminder of the power struggle that rages within the state establishment. The publication by the daily Taraf of yet another alleged blueprint for a coup, this one allegedly prepared at the headquarters of the Navy. It contained detailed accounts of planned terror schemes among other to assassinate non-Muslims in order to blame the crimes on Islamists with the intention of undermining the AKP government. The publication led liberal commentators to conclude that powerful forces within the military are still resisting its relegation from the pinnacle of state power.

ŞAHIN: A STATE AT WAR WITH ITSELF
Haluk Şahin in Radikal admits being extremely worried by the specter of a Turkish state at war with itself. The institutions of the state – the government, the armed forces, the judiciary – have all to a certain extent turned against each other. In such circumstances, I ask myself if a state thus divided can stand guard against foreign threats, if the state institutions will be capable of jointly managing difficult projects. The same questions apply to the very values that used to unite our society. Is there still anything left that can be called “the Turkish nation”?  If not, what has it been replaced with? Is it only religion that glues us together? Before disaster hits us, we must succeed in doing what we have never before succeeded in, that is, in reaching a societal concord. I don’t know how that will come about, but I put my hopes in wise men and institutions taking the lead. Or has everyone become a warrior?

ÇANDAR:  THE SENIOR MAGISTRATES HAVE NOT UPHELD THE RULE OF LAW
Cengiz Çandar in Radikal writes that he has no qualms at all with the alleged tapping of the telephones of senior magistrates. I have no particular respect for the magistrates in this country; indeed I very much doubt that they have any deeper knowledge about or respect for the notion of the rule of law. Wasn’t a closure case initiated against a party that had received 47 percent of the votes in the name of the “law”? Hasn’t it been revealed that senior, and not so senior, magistrates have been involved in the Ergenekon coup schemes? I would only be pleased if such people are being tapped; by all means, go ahead. Indeed, the struggle to free Turkey from the rule of the military-bureaucratic complex, the effort to have the General staff comply with the rule of law is simultaneously a struggle to secure the independence of the judiciary.

ALPAY: A TURKISH MIRACLE
Şahin Alpay in Zaman rejoices at the “Democratic opening” that Prime Minister Erdoğan has initiated. The ideological evolution of the cadres of the AKP, the same cadres that once formed the nucleus of Turkey’s “Islamist” movement, is indeed a Turkish, 21st century miracle. It is an astonishing fact that these cadres, opposed by rival parties, the military and the judiciary have come to take the lead in the struggle for more freedom and democracy. There are several explanations for this remarkable evolution: The rise of a class of pious entrepreneurs that embraces democracy, the role of the EU accession process. But the most important explanation is that Turkey’s pious Muslims have come to realize that their own freedom depends on their ability to emancipate everyone, Kurds, Alevis, non-Muslims and others alike who have suffered under the regime of military-bureaucratic custody; they recognize that they themselves can only be free if everyone else enjoys the same freedom. Thus, there is ample reason to be optimistic about the prospects of the Democratic opening.

ALTAN:  A SAVAGERY SHIELDED BY SILENCE
Don’t underestimate the force that threatens us, writes Ahmet Altan in Taraf. The blueprint for a coup that our daily has rendered public shows that there are still plotters in the armed forces that are prepared to commit the most dreadful of crimes, including blowing up children, in order to subvert the government.  But what scares me as much is the shield of silence that protects these would-be perpetrators. Where are the politicians, lawyers and prominent media personalities that could have been expected to condemn the preparations for terrorism? Why do they remain silent? The media is still awash with articles that try to minimize the importance of the Ergenekon conspiracy. And don’t forget the speech of Onur Öymen, the deputy chairman of the Republican people’s party (CHP); it illustrated that the CHP believes that Dersim, where Alevi Kurds were massacred in 1937, offers a model for how the Kurds should be treated today. You should see the big picture: Plotters in the armed forces that make up plans for terror, a media that turns a blind eye to their savagery and a CHP proposing “massacre” as solution. It’s obvious what they will do to the Kurds if they emerge victorious.

CAN: THE ERGENEKON CASE NEEDS A CONSCIENCE
Eyüp Can in Hürriyet writes that the Ergenekon case is hampered by ideological bias and that on two accounts: Being an ideological enemy of the government can lead to charges of criminality, and concurrently ideological opposition to the government leads many to dismiss the very real subversive plans that have been uncovered. Eyüp Can notes that the journalist Mustafa Balbay of the daily Cumhuriyet, who has been incarcerated for nine months accused of being a member of the Ergenekon terror organization, defended himself in court for the first time the same day that the daily Taraf made public the terror schemes of a unit within the Navy. Nobody with a conscience can claim that these two cases are related to each other; yet, the Ergenekon indictment does make such a claim, as Balbay is indeed charged with having coordinated terror plots. Unfortunately, the Ergenekon case does not distinguish between those who have resorted to criminal activities in order to subvert the government and those who have worked ideologically to achieve that aim. And then there is the other side of the coin: The plans that were uncovered by the daily Taraf reveals the existence of a terrorist cell within the headquarters of the Navy. Several of the members of this cell – of the rank of major and lieutenant colonel – are indeed already held in detention in connection with the Ergenekon case. If only half of the allegations are true, everyone with a conscience in this country ought to be jolted. Yet, those who for ideological reasons view the Ergenekon case with skepticism turn a blind eye to these outrageous schemes.

AKYOL: THE LESSONS OF DERSIM
Taha Akyol in Milliyet writes that the crucial question for Turkey is if the country’s different ethnic and cultural identities will be able to co-exist. As our prejudices against “the other” are deeply entrenched, we are a society that is easily flammable. Our fault lines are of a kind that can cause earthquakes. The unfortunate speech of Onur Öymen, the deputy chairman of CHP, is the most recent example of insensitivity to “the other”.  Öymen revealed his authoritarianism when he lauded “the crushing of rebellion”, and he displayed an utter insensitivity to the emotional heritage bequeathed by the use of disproportionate violence in Dersim in 1937. The lesson that I draw from this speech is that everyone in this country needs to mind his words about “the other”. The AKP should desist from annoying the seculars, the CHP from annoying the conservatives, the MHP from raising alarm among the Kurds and the DTP from employing a rhetoric that causes irritation among the majority of the country.

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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