This is detrimental to good governance, the protection of key freedoms and the consolidation of liberal democracy. It results in violations of civil and political liberties and the kind of undemocratic situations we witness in despotic regimes.Recent revelations and developments in Turkey regarding the clandestine Ergenekon organization reveal significant conceptual, practical and ethical challenges to the contemporary understanding of good governance, justice and democracy.
Top judges, military personnel and the educational elite, whom we expect to be liberal, secular and democratic, have been contriving against democracy, the democratically elected government and civil and political liberties and working to establish an authoritarian regime. Their own words, recorded and later published, express plans and commitments to detach Turkey from her European and American counterparts and even to exterminate thousands or millions if necessary for the triumph of their ideology. This is deeply alarming, not only for Turkey but also for the region and other countries. This flawed ideology -- with its thirst for political power, status and interests; its aversion to freedom, democracy and especially to religion and the expression of faith in civil society; and its use of public resources against the public for its own material interests and other ulterior motives -- shows clearly what the elite group understands of freedom, rights, good governance and justice.
The situation is more than enough to perplex all men and women of common sense and good conscience. For the sake of illumination, let me contrast it with a few events I witnessed in England some years ago while I was there doing my postgraduate studies.
On one occasion, two convicted Irish Republican Army (IRA) members escaped from a prison in Northern Ireland -- the home secretary resigned, taking full responsibility on himself for the failure to protect people from terrorists and for failing to keep the two convicts behind bars. In another instance, during a power outage the health emergency back-up system suffered a one-minute delay in the processing of incoming calls that led to a delayed dispatch of ambulances, resulting in five deaths -- the minister of health resigned. Later, a very prominent politician and minister resigned after it became known to the public that he had had lunch with Cypriot tycoon Asil Nadir and had given him a watch as a gift.
Now let us turn back to our own officials -- those military personnel, university rectors, judges and other state bureaucrats, still working or retired. They have been coming together in public or in secret, organizing public panels, attending meetings in public or in exclusivist salons, hosting criminals and discussing criminal acts in their state-provided offices during office hours, plotting to topple the democratically elected government and organizing schemes to eliminate all who would not condone their actions. They were photographed and wiretapped by police by the order of the investigating courts. Their offices and houses were searched and relevant notes, plans and caches of weapons and ammunition found and confiscated. The texts, recordings and other details of the plans of the accused are being revealed and published every day. There are revelations from henchmen and personnel who have now turned state witnesses in the case.
Unfortunately, in spite of 17,000 unresolved killings of civilians in southeastern Turkey, the loss of almost 50,000 people in total so far and the loss of property, wealth, resources and opportunities to the whole nation, we have not seen any resignations, nor any internal investigation resolved within the state institutions concerned. Still the judges and military personnel argue that all that has been revealed and presented in the courts is an effort to discredit the honest and conscientious people who defend the nation, protect the people and preserve the revolutionary principles of the republic against internal and external enemies working to divide the nation and change the system. Still these people talk and act as if they are immune to all accusations, ethical norms and judicial rulings. With their choking grasp on our rights and freedoms, they assume that they are untouchable.
Democracy and good governance are supported by the synergy of separation of powers, by direct accountability before the people, rendered through free and periodic elections, and by an honest and totally independent judiciary that oversees the application of the law and the implementation of constitutional rulings. The rule of law requires the application of the law to all citizens without any exception, which ensures accountability, fairness, justice and human rights.
Turkey has already started down the path of no return in the fight against organized crime and various gangs. Sooner or later, their grasp will be pried loose, and the self-proclaimed “untouchables” will pay for what they have done. Then the Turkish people, as per Eliot Ness' famous line, “will have a drink” of justice and good governance as they deserve.
