Mr. Başbuğ has surprised me twice on behalf of the members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). The first event was when he had collected all the generals behind him and showed an unloaded light anti-tank weapon (LAW) to journalists, calling it a “pipe.” On that day, I felt very sorry about the country’s misfortunes. A chief of General Staff should not put himself in such a situation and he should not feel the need to put on such a show because the office he holds has a certain respectability and representativeness. The picture which showed him holding an unloaded LAW told us one thing very clearly: The chief of General Staff couldn’t manage the process in the best way possible. Every move he made was putting the TSK in a difficult position and the military’s loss of standing could be seen in the polls. Why were the generals not bothered by this poor management? And why did they insist on promoting the wrongs as if they were right and acting as if nothing had happened in the face of the confused looks of the general public? Why were these people who received a high-level military education suffering from such a lapse of intellect?
The second event that surprised me was when the he invited Sabattin Önkibar, a columnist at the Yeniçağ newspaper, to his office at the General Staff and chatted with him in a lengthy conversation five days after Önkibar had insulted Başbuğ along with Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Aslan Güner. In his June 24 article, Önkibar had referred to Başbuğ as a “tall version of Hilmi Özkök,” implying that Başbuğ was trying to be worthy of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He was particularly disturbed by Başbuğ’s statement that a state of emergency is not needed in the Southeast. “Are you the spokesperson for the AKP [Justice and Development Party]? Why do you lend political support to Tayyip Erdoğan?” he asked. And he also asked: “How can we explain why Başbuğ joined forces with the AKP? What is behind this?”
This was the second time a journalist had addressed the chief of General Staff with such audacity, the first one being Mustafa Balbay. But we know now where Balbay got his courage. He had acted as the mouthpiece of the generals who had been preparing to overthrow the government by running the headline, “Young officers uneasy,” in the Cumhuriyet newspaper. Balbay was speaking on behalf of someone from the TSK, receiving instructions from them, and was threatening then-Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök.
Balbay’s airs are now being adopted by Önkibar.
It is not normal for Başbuğ to transgress the law and ignore the judiciary, even though there are only a few weeks left until his retirement. Who is pressuring Başbuğ? When it was stated that 3rd Army Commander Gen. Saldıray Berk could not attend his court hearing because he “had an assignment at the headquarters of the General Staff,” those who are knowledgeable about military affairs were surprised. What assignment could be given to an army commander at the headquarters of the General Staff? Could they not control Gen. Berk? If so, under the pressure of whom is Gen. Başbuğ speaking? How can we explain a chief of General Staff’s being forced to invite a columnist from a newspaper which ranks in 21st place in terms of circulation to the headquarters of the General Staff after being insulted in an article by the journalist and then say to him, “Your paper is the most popular one at the TSK”?
The Ergenekon case is certainly disturbing the tutelage types. They have obviously sworn oaths of resistance at the TSK, the high judiciary, in the political circles and in the media in particular.
Well, what will happen then? Can the status quo resist the ever-increasing democratic maturity of society, the brave voice that says, “That’s enough,” the existence of an alternative media and a government which is determined to wield its power and push ahead with Turkey’s process to obtain EU membership? Never.
But there must be a suitable way out of this tug of war. The solution is evident. We must come together on democratic grounds where the rule of law is upheld and everyone is accountable and each institution performs its duties.
First, we need a common sense to reduce tension and curb polarization. Everyone should stop escalating the tension. Everyone should bury their hatchets. Otherwise, it will be too late for the country. Every person, institution and group should try to fix their mistakes. Honest, conscientious and principled people should stand up.
The Constitutional Court may lead the way in this regard. There is still time.
