This bloodiest-ever alleged coup plan has led the government to swiftly consider changes in the law that will reduce the military’s appetite for coups. But the government’s determination alone does not seem to be enough to stop the military in its plans as the opposition parties in Parliament are loath to get on board.
At least some steps have begun to be taken to halt the military’s interference in politics and in internal law and order. One of those has been a plan to abolish a secret protocol signed between the Turkish General Staff and the Interior Ministry in 1997 called the Cooperation for Security and Public Order (EMASYA). This allows military operations to be carried out when internal security matters are deemed to be at risk without prior approval from the civilian administration.
The European Union’s Progress Report of last year again urged Turkey to abolish this secret protocol as part of its compliance with the union’s democratic standards. This protocol is seen as the de facto continuation of the Emergency Rule Region (OHAL) abolished in 2002. Ironically it was signed by now-retired Gen. Çetin Doğan when he was the 1st Army commander in 1997. Doğan is accused of being one of the main masterminds behind the recently exposed Sledgehammer coup plan. Gen. Doğan has denied the bloodiest aspect of the 2003 coup plan, which he said was a war game, and told various TV stations that war game scenarios are part of the EMASYA protocol.
The Sledgehammer plan has once again brought to the agenda the rationale behind the military’s role in internal security threats that should normally fall under the jurisdiction of the civilian authority. The government should rewrite the national security policy papers defining internal and external threats that have traditionally been written by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
Another area that should be scrutinized is the military’s declaration of temporary security zones in the Kurdish-dominated, war-stricken southeastern and eastern regions. Lawyer Barış Yıldırım said in an article published in Radikal daily’s supplement, Radikal 2, on Sept. 6 of last year that temporary security zones are being imposed in violation of the law. He describes this practice as another area of the de facto OHAL implementation.
One of the areas that have long been neglected by the civilian authorities has been the unaccountable status of military budgets, including extra budgetary funds earmarked for defense. Whether coincidental or not with the Sledgehammer revelations, the government has decided to accelerate the process for approval of a bill regarding the Court of Auditors that has been awaiting approval for almost four years. The draft law is intended to bring the spending procedures of Turkish institutions up to international standards of accountability and transparency. The adoption of a Court of Auditors law in particular will be critical for ensuring the civilian democratic oversight of the Turkish defense budget, which currently is not subject to any type of civilian control.
The Court of Auditors bill, after some changes being made, is scheduled to be debated at a parliamentary commission in the coming weeks before being adopted by Parliament. The afore-mentioned revitalized steps to curb the military’s role in politics, turning it into a more accountable and transparent institution, are small but important ones taking into account the TSK’s centuries-long influence in political life. It has staged five different sorts of military coup since 1960, and as the disclosure of new coup plans in 2009 tells us, more radical reforms are required to curb the military’s appetite to stay in power.
Writing a new constitution to replace the military-dictated document of 1982 is vital in ending military trusteeship.
