We believe in the basic legal premise that people are innocent unless proven otherwise, so rather than accusing Gürüz of complicity in the murders carried out by Ergenekon or other unlawful dealings and activities, here I will evaluate his deeds against his own claim: “I am an Americanist to the core.”
Now, Ergenekon is known for its enmity toward Americanism and American political interests and values. Supporters, defenders and those accused of being members of Ergenekon express this position on a daily basis in their press releases, media appearances and in the trial itself. Can we forget the media coverage of protests against the investigation into Ergenekon in which the protesters displayed banners saying “No to the USA, the EU and NATO”? Are we now to ignore their argument that they have no interest other than saving Turkey from American hegemony, that they are striving to prevent Turkey from becoming a mere satellite state of America, and that Turkey needs new political alignments other than those with America and Europe? Indeed, Gürüz took part in such demonstrations and encouraged his colleagues to take part too.
So, what does “Americanism” mean? Americanism is normally regarded as a loyalty, strong affection or support for the nation or culture of the United States. It involves attachment to very basic concepts underlying the experience of being American. The list of concepts may vary according to different people but it usually involves principles or values such as freedom, equality, individualism, respect for faith and the rule of law. A broader list of definitions includes “faith in a greater power, a rooted concept of morality, the rule of truth, mutual freedom, equal access to representation, respect for private property, equality of opportunity, personal responsibility, presumption of innocence, the due process of law, local governance and a national focus.”
Yet, if the “Americanism” Gürüz claims for himself involves the principles and values above, then Gürüz is not an “Americanist” at all. What Gürüz did during his chairmanship of YÖK, what he achieved through the people he assigned to universities and committees, and the ways he and his associates ideologically interpreted and interfered with the democratic process and parliamentary and government affairs can by no means be reconciled with any of the values expressed in any adequate definition of Americanism.
As an example, remember the almost 40,000 female students who were not admitted to lectures, lecture halls, campuses and universities, and for that reason lost their places at university -- never mind their impaired psychological, financial and social status because of such fascist discrimination. There was the academic sacked because his headscarved mother came in a car to pick him up from the campus after working hours. In the same way, headscarved students are not awarded their diplomas, or are denied the positions in their department or university that they have truly earned. Young women’s headscarves have been pulled off by Gürüz’s colleagues in abusive and aggressive scuffles. People have been blacklisted or not promoted because of their likely political or religious inclinations or even because of the type of music that their spouses listen to at home. State grants and student or research admission quotas are allocated unjustly and ideologically. I will not go into further details of why Turkish universities are failing in terms of accredited academic research and publications in the scientific field. There is not space enough in this column to list the reasons for such failures, nor the financial misdemeanors and corruption at the administrative level. Nonetheless, the academics involved in all these misdeeds and failures are never too busy to show off in meetings and protest marches claiming that the regime is threatened.
America is a nation of freedom and laws, founded upon a written constitution. This produces the rights and opportunities and provides the moral backbone by which all else is supported. People from various cultures, faiths, religions and races live and work in the US. There are headscarved students, lecturers and administrators in American universities. They are not seen as a threat to education or society and its values. Americans benefit from such people and lead the world in education, science and politics.
When it comes to the self-proclaimed Americanism of Gürüz or people like him, we cannot but ask whether it is self-deception, delusion or a simple political game to protect their own interests or plots, now that their schemes and unlawful dealings have started to emerge. One day they enjoy their meetings under the banners of “No to the USA, EU or NATO” and “Ordu Göreve” (”Turkish Military to Your Mission,” meaning that the military should come out of their barracks for a new military coup). The next day, when their schemes are revealed, wishing to be unquestionable, untouchable and protected, they are “Americanist to the core.”
Or are they, as Bernard Chazelle of Princeton University describes them, in “a pathological condition of old lineage which feeds on a witch’s brew of hypocrisy, resentment, illiberalism and a deep-rooted aversion to change”?
