Under normal conditions, one would never expect both the editor-in-chief and Ankara representative of a paper, which boasts itself as being the intellectual paper of the left, to be accused of being members of Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist organization with members from various state agencies, the military, politics, the business world, academia, the media and other civilian sectors charged with plotting to overthrow the government. This is because in universal terms, a left-wing intellectual paper is supposed to side with the people and democracy, not with powers that try to bypass elections. However, this is not what happens in Turkey. Also, if you do not know much about the recent history of Turkey, you will most probably become confused by the state of affairs in Turkey and find yourself siding with the pro-Ergenekon sentiment that is being continually pushed.
In Greece, Spain and other countries that have suffered great sorrows like Turkey -- from military inventions and shadowy networks nested within the state -- the left has always pioneered in the struggle for democracy. Actually, this is the role expected from leftist ideology, which claims to defend and support people, society and the weak. Except for few cases, the left has always acted in compliance with this expectation around the world. But the reverse has always been true for the Turkish left. It was the left that glorified May 27, giving rise to the tradition of military coups led by pro-coup generals throughout the history of the republic. Since then, the idea of seizing the government by the same methods has been the constant desire of the leading leftist figures such as Doğan Avcıoğlu, İlhan Selçuk, Uğur Mumcu and Doğu Perinçek.
Accordingly, it is not surprising to see important leftist figures involved in the pro-coup network unearthed by the coup diaries and the Ergenekon investigation. It is not strange to realize that in Europe, the left would oppose Gladio-like counter-guerrilla networks, while in Turkey, the leader of the left-wing Republican People’s Party (CHP) defends Ergenekon.
As I was trying to answer the question “Why is this so?” Mümtaz’er Türköne’s latest book, “Darbe Peşinde Koşan Bir Nesil: 68 Kuşağı” (A Generation Seeking Military Coup: ’68 Generation), came to my rescue. Enriched with autobiographic passages, Türköne’s book contains important hints to many of the questions that have been intriguing me. In a nutshell, he argues that the ‘68 generation mentality adopted by the Turkish left is a unique mentality with no analogue in the world.
I read it in one stretch, and its absorbing quality is no doubt attributable not only to the interesting topics it deals with, but also the methods employed in presenting them to readers. Although he has extensive proficiency in recent history, political theory and practice, Türköne followed Cemil Meriç’s advice for keeping academic terminology out of the book. He analyzes the Turkish left with an emphasis on the ’68 generation in a simple and concise manner.
Türköne not only discusses the characteristics of the Turkish left, but also provides an explanation as to why the Turkish left sides with pro-coup generals while its counterparts in Europe do the opposite: “The Turkish version of the ’68 generation is nothing but the civilian extension of a planned leftist military coup. While the young people in Europe from the ’68 generation sought freedoms, ours were raging in street skirmishes to pave the way for a military takeover.” Statements given by the leading representatives of the ’68 generation confirm Türköne’s argument. Some of these statements seem so familiar that we get the impression we are reading the Ergenekon indictment, not incidents that happened 40 years ago. For instance, Mustafa Celil Gürkan, who was as influential and active as Deniz Gezmiş in the ’68 generation, says: “All of us were supporting the pro-coup generals. We wanted the army to intervene in politics as it did on May 27. We conducted night demonstrations to ensure this.” He also explains how he was able to be released within just two weeks by using his judicial connections -- despite having participated in armed attacks.
The stories related by Professor Erdal Yavuz, who was a student leader in the public administration faculty at that time, sound quite familiar, too. Yavuz says in May 1969, three colonels told him that the military was seeking justification for a military coup and, to this end, they would open fire on rallying professors and judges, and some of them would die. They had one request: Keep students away from this rally. Yavuz informed his friends Mahir Çayan, Doğu Perinçek and Uğur Mumcu of this plan. All of them approved of it. They agreed because the conservatism of the time led them to fantasize: If only a military coup would occur so that Mümtaz Soysal could be made prime minister and Muammer Aksoy president.
Reading this, one no longer feels any surprise in seeing Selçuk and Mustafa Balbay indicted. They are still guided by their old habits. To understand today, one must read Ergenekon with the events of 40 years ago in mind.
