Today we can clearly see the impact of these rallies in dividing society. There are so-called civil society organizations run by a circle who appreciated the fact that they could not get rid of a political party that had arrived in power through democratic means and who have begun to regard all methods as legitimate in the struggle to oust this government. Well, we should also note somewhere the great media support provided to these allegedly democratic rallies at the cost of fanning the flames of polarization. It was utterly surprising to see the great media support for these rallies and their rhetoric, given the marginality of the introverted, polarizing, hatred-inspiring, anti-EU, anti-US, anti-globalization, anti-privatization views expressed by the rallies' promoters. It did not escape attention, either, that the rallies were a coordinated marketing effort designed to portray the attendees as normal people, as if there were no efforts to get organized toward an anti-democratic goal, as if they were the sincere cry of people who were on the brink of exploding due to the policies of the government.
However, the people who attended those rallies were traveling from one province to the next to give the illusion of widespread support and stood behind the fascist statements delivered from the stages. Considering otherwise would be tantamount to undermining and belittling the free will of the people who attended the rallies and to mocking their intelligence, since they were clearly conscious that their support of the rallies meant supporting an anti-democratic intervention. And it was because they were aware that they were running from Ankara to İstanbul, from İstanbul to Manisa and from Manisa to İzmir. A certain part of the media was perfectly aware that this was how the whole thing was being organized, and they gave a wide coverage to the rallies, despite knowing their content, encouraging the holding of more rallies. If a certain part of the media is called "Ergenekon Media" today, it is for very valid reasons and this part of the media itself created those reasons.
Nowadays a new series of rallies is being held. On the one hand, the leftover powers from the republican rallies of last year frequently gather to support the people arrested in the Ergenekon investigation and, on the other, an incomparably greater crowd of people flock to the country's squares to raise their voice against all actions likely to encroach upon their democratic rights. And the Ergenekon Media is displaying exactly the same behavior. While not giving any coverage to the anti-coup rallies based on democratic demands, they continue covering the rallies held by the Atatürkist Thought Association (ADD), which has evidently become a focal point of anti-democratic plans and actions, to support the Ergenekon terrorist organization.
But people have finally woken up to a democratic conscience, whatever the Ergenekon supporters might do from now on. The Turkish nation, which is now staying clear of all provocation, is declaring at the top of its voice that it will defend its democratic rights. We should interpret the tens of thousands who gathered in Bursa to attend the rally held by the Common Sense movement as signaling that they will no longer be democrats only in terms of casting votes. They will now stand behind their votes.
For the first time in Turkey, people are raising their voices against coups, military interventions and attempts to redesign society and politics through anti-democratic means. The greatest defense against the attacks launched at democracy from the squares is itself being held in the squares. This is a first and it is overlapping with the general demands of the society much better.
The ADD rallies, with their rapidly dwindling supply of influence and adherents, are being held to downplay the investigation into the Ergenekon terrorist organization, just as some media outlets are doing. These rallies are designed to promote the efforts of a certain part of the media to undermine and play down the investigation by chanting slogans like "Traitors in parliament, patriots in jail" and "Ergenekon, Agartha, Lord of the Rings."
While the division in Turkey is being sharpened, the division in the media is becoming clearer. Now we can much more clearly see which media organs are civil and democratic, and which ones are "laser-guided" and anti-democratic. The increasingly loud voice of the squares against Ergenekon and how the media approaches these rallies are functioning like a litmus test to help the Turkish nation see everything clearly. The masks are falling. The truth is being revealed in all its nakedness.
