At first glance, this thesis seems to be true. But the truth is that the thesis was produced by those who live in ivory towers and are unaware of the perceptions of Ergenekon in the street. To an eye that sees things superficially, the picture is this: While the Susurluk investigation was being sabotaged in the past, civil society organizations exerted great efforts and organized rallies to keep the investigation going. Similar reaction was not shown with respect to the Ergenekon investigation because neither the conditions nor the picture is the same.
The point that those commentators sitting in their ivory towers ignore is that there were attempts to cover up the Susurluk network, but the people and the media shouted, "No, don't cover it up." On the other hand, however, as the judiciary keeps the Ergenekon investigation going and the government emphasizes judicial independence, certain elite groups and unfortunately some media organizations cry, "No, cover it up." As long as legal procedures move forward as they should, people will naturally not hold any rallies or demonstrations. The real reaction will come if some attempt is made to openly block the investigation. It is for this reason that some groups are not doing this openly but are trying to throw a wrench into the investigation's gears through deception. Are the people unaware of their plots? Of course the entire nation is closely monitoring developments in the Ergenekon investigation.
The results of a survey published on Monday in the Milliyet daily smashed to pieces the Ergenekon-probe-has-no-popular-support lie. A survey conducted by A&G in 33 provinces tried to determine popular perceptions about Ergenekon. The results are telling. Of those polled, 61.7 percent believe Ergenekon exists, while 20.3 percent say, "I don't believe there is an organization called Ergenekon." The remaining 18 percent consist of those who have "no idea about it." In these types of surveys, the interviewees' level of education is of particular importance. Interestingly, 62 percent of university graduates accept the existence of Ergenekon.
At this point, the survey introduces the respondents' political affiliations. Thus, 74.9 percent of the respondents who will vote for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) believe in the existence of Ergenekon. This figure is 64.3 percent for supporters of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and 51 percent for the fans of the Republican People's Party (CHP) (38.5 percent according to the graph). This has the worst implications for the CHP. Senior CHP management, which has boasted of being the lawyer of the Ergenekon network, has to take this high rate among support for the investigation and rethink the matter once more.
Last week, the Yeni Şafak daily published a similar survey, only this time conducted by the Genar polling company. According to this survey, 71 percent of the people see the Ergenekon investigation as the state's attempt to purge clandestine networks within itself. Only 28.5 percent believe the government is using this investigation to silence the opposition.
It is high time that media organizations realize that concrete documents, information and claims obtained or made within the scope of the Ergenekon investigation are closely monitored by ordinary people. Despite what? Despite all those attempts to dilute and discredit the investigation. The nation knows well that if the foregoing surveys had been conducted in the headquarters of some papers and TV stations, their results would have been markedly different. This is because certain media organizations are very picky about illegal networks. When weapons were first unearthed, they said, "Will a coup be carried out with these shotguns and firecrackers?" When heavy weapons with obscured serial numbers were later found, they had to make references to "some formations left over from the time of NATO."
Worst of all is an attempt by those who represent the judiciary to discredit the Ergenekon investigation. Italian prosecutor Felice Casson told Zaman, "The biggest obstacle to the investigation came from the judiciary." When they attempted to remove a bold 26-year-old prosecutor from office, guess who protected him: the Italian version of the Supreme Board of Prosecutors and Judges (HSYK). The nation expects the judiciary to protect its members, not to play tricks.
