In a change from the past, civilian prosecutors can now investigate the military’s most secret units, military officers who are involved in crimes are being tried and the military, which has until now been very actively engaged in Turkish politics, is removing itself from the political domain. Analysts say all of these things signal a process of normalization in Turkey, of Turkey becoming a country which is ruled by civilians free from military tutelage.According to Zaman’s Mustafa Ünal, the presidential elections process in 2007 was a turning point for Turkish democracy as a government resisted a military memorandum -- the April 27 memorandum which aimed to prevent Abdullah Gül from ascending to the presidency because the military was skeptical about his secular credentials -- for the first time. He says if the April 27 memorandum had worked, the military would have had the final word and would have managed to bring its candidate to the presidency, and the military’s habit of meddling in politics would have continued. However, he said this did not turn out to be the case as the government stood firm in the wake of the military memorandum and the public stood behind the government, not the military, as it brought the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) to the power again in the July 22, 2007, elections. “If we are talk about a struggle, we can name it a democracy struggle. There is no war between the government and state institutions. What is going on is the labor of normalization. It is the fight between the old and the new, status quo and change. I say this as a person coming from a tradition that blesses the military,” explains Ünal.
In his view, Turkey is undergoing a major transformation and the balance in the country was re-established at the start of Turkey’s European Union accession talks. “Many radical reforms have taken place in Turkey in many fields. Turkey has become a more open society through the help of these reforms. Mistakes or wrongdoings in the military are no longer being covered up. The society questions everything. The level of consciousness of the people on the street has risen,” explains Ünal.
Yeni Şafak’s Ali Bayramoğlu admits that there is a power struggle in Turkey which not only comprises the fight between the big powers but is also a fight between mentalities. He says the fight is between the supporters of democracy and change and those who feel empathy for the murderer of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink, who fail to cover the Ergenekon trial -- a shadowy crime network which has alleged links within the state and is suspected of plotting to topple the government -- in their newspapers, who turn a blind eye to the coup plans discovered within the military. “This is a beneficial and healthy struggle. Yes, there is a power struggle. Will you ignore the existence of problems and facts or will you confront with them? This is the point,” says Bayramoğlu.
