But why are some people offended by these detentions and, essentially, the very existence of the Ergenekon trial? When we look at the common characteristics that these people share, we can easily find the answer to this question.
The common characteristic of all of these people who have been offended is their desire to rule Turkey with a mandate which has not been given by the will of the people and with a totalitarian mentality that sits well with the single-party mentality of the Republican People's Party (CHP). It is for this reason that they always resort to illegal or anti-democratic methods.
To gain the upper hand, they create a lot of noise and attempt to instill doubts about the legitimacy of those who have been elected by the nation. They did it to Adnan Menderes. They did it to Turgut Özal. They are doing it to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Whenever they resort to illegal methods, they are always caught red handed. This is what happened when they paved the way for previous military coups; this is what happened when they hid from the events of Feb. 28, 1997; and this is what happened when they embraced the e-memorandum of 2007.
This is what happened when they were rallying in their gowns of judges and rectors. This is what happened when the head of the Higher Education Board (YÖK) and the rector of İstanbul University attended a rally calling on the "army to take action." This is what they did when they shamelessly created the monster of Article 367 in order to prevent Parliament from rightfully electing a president and when they defended this plot "in the name of the law" or "in the name of the constitution." This is what they did when the CHP lost any hope of being elected to government, but continued to send messages to those centers of power and became a frequent visitor to the Constitutional Court. Yet what we get is their utter indifference to reasonable criticism and their pretense to be acting justly. They behave as if they are always right or they deserve to be the main player. They always escape criticisms and accusations and act as if they are always right.
From now on, I will call them "coup-mongers," as they seek the help of military coups d'états against the national will and the rule of law. These coup-mongers unceasingly attempt to trade law with coups, the will of voters with the will of a totalitarian rule. They trade the freedom of expression with formalized patterns of thought.
These coup-mongers are at work again, but this time, they are panicking. Do you have any idea why three CHP deputies went to the house of former YÖK President Kemal Gürüz while the police were searching his house? The police officers are doing their job as instructed by the prosecutor, but what is their business there? Then, how can we talk about the independence of the judiciary?
How can the boldness of the existing president of the Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV), who is still a member of the judiciary, be explained when he acted as if he was a bodyguard of Sabih Kanadoğlu while his house was being searched? Who are you intimidating?
Why did Hikmet Çetinkaya, a columnist at the Cumhuriyet daily, come hotfoot while a charitable foundation of Bedrettin Dalan was being searched?
What about the following words by Hüsamettin Cindoruk, a former parliament speaker? "Certain institutions, including the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK], should not be offended too much. Please refrain from some emotional and calculated moves that would pave the way for a coup d'état."
To sum up, the panicked coup-mongers are again at work, collectively with politicians, journalists, politically motivated judges, academics, etc. Again, the TSK is being provoked. "Will you still keep silent? Won't you do your job?" They are urging and provoking it into action.
However, the message of the Ergenekon trial is obvious. There was once an organization in Europe known as "Gladio," established as a joint project of the US and the UK in NATO countries to fight against the spread of communism. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, this project was no longer supported by the CIA. But those who were primed with the taste of power did not accept being wound up. They imagined that they had duties to perform. This was the opportunity long sought by those who hold the official ideology and the enforcers of the bureaucratic guardianship. Those who lost their prestige as coups took place openly wore the gloves of Ergenekon.
Today, the nation seeks democracy, the rule of law and the accountability of everyone. Those who claim to be unaccountable, without responsibility and refuse liability for everything, and who lose their temper, arguing that no one can search their home or that no one can question them, are now the ones being offended.
