Was there a weapons depot? No. There was only a mention of lost weapons. Those were never found. Were there assassination plots? No. Labeling people according to their ideologies, videocassettes for blackmailing, bombings, murder... None of these were at hand with respect to Susurluk, but media organizations were storming in a teacup nonetheless. This was because, with a wrong move, the political figures of the time mistakenly described Susurluk as an unimportant and trivial event. Eventually, the well-established rule of politics stepped in: The government that failed to wind up its shadowy network was toppled by that network.
On the other hand, what do we have in the Ergenekon case? Everything! Plots for military takeover of democratic governance, establishing organizations to this end, organizing events to create chaos, assassinations, burying weapons in the ground, categorizing people according to their ideologies, plotting to kill well-known Armenian and Alevi figures, and the list goes on. The information and documents obtained have already been made public in about 2,000 pages of the indictment. A supplementary indictment is being prepared. Meanwhile, new detentions are being made, from retired generals to military officers on active duty. Some of them are being released. This means that the legal process in underway.
If the Ergenekon investigation unearths a network that is much more far-reaching, deeper and more dangerous than Susurluk, then why do some people defend so blindly this network? Moreover, why do those who in the past aggressively defended democracy against Susurluk opt to pose themselves as in favor of the Ergenekon network? Why do they act so as to negate all their past actions? Adopting a negative stance against the shadowy networks was the right thing to do in the past. Those who were sincere in their past stance must show the democratic courage, saying that the Ergenekon investigation must go wherever it may reach.
Those who are detained as part of the Ergenekon investigation insistently claim that they respect the judicial process. For instance, Kemal Yavuz said: "I still respect the police department and judicial organs." While the former commander says so, those who declare themselves as Ergenekon's lawyers are barking at the judiciary and the police department. Who is right? Those who are plus royaliste que le roi? These days some ask insistently: Why do those detained under the Ergenekon investigation start to keep silent? Actually, the answer is simple: First, there must be concrete information and documents in the case file and, second, the suspects are respectful of the legal process and expect the prosecution to proceed in a healthy manner. Isn't this the question that must be asked? Why do those who do not know the content of the case file speak so sharply and why are they so sure of themselves -- although every day new weapons depots are being unearthed -- and attempt to put pressure on the judiciary?
For instance, until when will this Supreme Board of Prosecutors and Judges (HSYK) be hanging over the Ergenekon network like the sword of Damocles? Everyone knows that this HSYK has been convicted in the collective conscience of the nation by removing the Şemdinli prosecutor from office. Now, this board is being mentioned in all scenarios related to the Ergenekon prosecutors. A few days ago, one of the HSYK members said to the Radikal daily that they might convene on Thursday to discuss Ergenekon. Won't the general public ask: Are you plotting a new Şemdinli?
There is also the head of the Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV), who continues to act as a prosecutor. This guy is utterly Mr. Wrong and his statements are foul. If you are so ambitious, then remove your prosecutor's cloak and stop giving political statements in the building of the Supreme Court of Appeals and start a political career. Unfortunately, when you speak, you disparage your fellow colleagues and cast a shadow over the judicial independence and confirm the suspicions that the judiciary has been politicized. Yet, weirdly, not a single criticism is raised against him from certain media organizations. Also, interestingly, he is creating a number of excuses in front of the busybody "Ergenekon lawyers" of the media who in the past organized democratic actions against the Susurluk network. Go with it! But be sure that the collective conscience will this time not allow those attempt to conceal Ergenekon. Those who exert their best efforts to hide Ergenekon must learn their lesson from Susurluk if they do not want history to record their names as network members.
