It is still the most effective and most striking indictment of the Ergenekon probe. Those who have doubts about Ergenekon will have nothing to say after this indictment, which clearly depicts what Ergenekon is and who it operates with in the utmost detail. It is about how Ergenekon is hindering or trying to block the Ergenekon investigation. This case is like a logbook of the Ergenekon investigation.
When the Taraf daily first published the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism undersigned by Col. Dursun Çiçek, it came as shocking news. On June 26, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ held a press conference and stated that the document was a “piece of paper.” He also gave the prosecutors the “task of proving that this document is fake.” This case that hinges upon what Başbuğ scorned as a piece of paper will start on June 28, about one year after the press conference. And everything will find its proper place even before it starts.
The power of a piece of paper
The document undersigned by Col. Çiçek was an official document prepared within the normal functioning of the chain of command at General Staff headquarters. This document depicted how the military would set up plots and conspiracies against its own citizens. According to the document, weapons would be planted in the houses of religious people which would then be found during searches. These people would be portrayed as members of a nonexistent organization, and the military could meddle in politics in this context.
The Erzincan investigation that culminated in the arrest of the Erzincan chief public prosecutor indicated that this plan was being implemented. It was truly scandalous. A criminal plan was prepared at General Staff headquarters and was implemented by an army commander, a chief public prosecutor, a gendarmerie commander and intelligence officers in Erzincan. The fourth Ergenekon indictment naming seven defendants tells us how this plan was drawn up at the General Staff, while the Erzincan case explains how this plan was put into action.
The indictment also indicates another important point: how the Ergenekon investigation is being systematically blocked by the General Staff. The audio recordings from the indictment prove that the defendants are being protected by high-ranking officers and that several assurances have been provided to them. A plan was drawn up to save Col. Çiçek, the ostensible author of the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, and in this context, various assignments were made. The force commanders expressed support for the defendants just to boost their morale.
The content of the indictment clarifies a major doubt. This high-level support of the defendants adds credibility to the suspicions that the plans had been prepared directly upon instructions from the chief of General Staff.
With the Erzincan case, which will start on May 4, we will be privy to the affairs conducted at the main headquarters of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
What Ergenekon members and supporters hope for
Ergenekon is collapsing. A substantial number of its members are trying to survive the myriad legal actions against them. Moreover, this organization is still hiding within the shady labyrinth of the state. Thus, we can safely assume that they will resort to whatever is available to them in order to ward off these actions. A good opportunity for them is the ongoing parliamentary debates over the constitutional amendments. If they can prevent this package from being enacted, thereby inflicting some damage on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), will this come as a relief to them?
If the constitutional amendments are passed by Parliament without a hitch and referred to a referendum, it will be endorsed by a majority of the public. It is suggested that approval will not be less than 65 percent. If this package is adopted and the Constitution is amended, these articles will be the last nail in the coffin of Ergenekon. But, what if the package does not pass?
The AK Party has secured the parliamentary majority that would enable it to take the package to referendum. The easiest way to prevent the package from being realized is that the Republican People’s Party (CHP) secures 110 signatures for its petition to the Constitutional Court, demanding that it block the execution of the package, i.e., holding the referendum. For this to happen, two conditions must be fulfilled. First, the CHP has to collect 110 signatures for its petition, and second, the Constitutional Court has to decide to abrogate the package. Can these conditions be fulfilled? Yes, from a theoretical perspective. But what will happen next?
This scenario, noted and warned about by Okay Gönensin of the Vatan daily, concerns what is impossible to implement and how Ergenekon members draw up their plans. The referendum will be prevented by the Constitutional Court. The annulment decision will be justified with reference to the first unchangeable articles of the Constitution. The chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals will open a new closure case against the AK Party, accusing it of attempting to change the regime. The AK Party deputies who undersigned the bill for constitutional amendments will lose their positions as members of Parliament. Subsequently, the AK Party will lose its majority in Parliament. And a coalition government will be established by the CHP and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). The ultimate thesis on which this scenario is based is important. Having learned their lesson, the voters will give a heavy defeat to the AK Party in the elections. This is the point where the scenario logically collapses.
If this scenario is implemented in some way or other, the AK Party will garner possibly 65 percent of the national vote in the next election, thereby obtaining the majority to amend the Constitution at will. Indeed, the voters have shown in numerous cases in the past that they have never given the go-ahead to the conspiracies that disregard their will. The e-memorandum of April 27 is the latest example of this.
The package that the AK Party is trying to pass is not only about constitutional amendments. The entire power structure in the country will change after this package. As the fourth Ergenekon indictment is giving start to the lawsuit that marks the end of the Ergenekon case and that shows the place of this network within the state, the constitutional reform package will show who is boss. Voters are aware that they are the true boss.
By attending the parliamentary negotiations, the MHP has at least contributed to the legitimacy of the package. The CHP, on the other hand, is entirely occupied with throwing support behind the efforts at salvation of Ergenekon. This is a quagmire. The CHP is losing credibility whenever it appears side-by-side with Ergenekon.
The polemics that occurred between Ertuğrul Günay and the CHP deputies while the article that will allow the coup generals of Sept. 12 to be tried, as was previously proposed by the CHP leader, was being negotiated at Parliament summarized the situation of the CHP. Günay, who is the current culture minister of the AK Party government, is a former CHP member. The CHP deputies, who actually backpedaled on their previous proposal, asked their former colleague, Günay, “What do you understand from being a deviationist?” Günay replied: “I understand the enemies of democracy who would frequently refer to such concepts as social democracy, social justice and national will but who would hope for a military intervention when they see that they cannot compete with those who are democratically elected to office.”
The package is not about only constitutional amendments. The fourth Ergenekon indictment does not imply a case against only seven people. The fierce struggle between those who control the state with their weapon of power and the people who are the true owner of the state continues.
