Old taboos are finally being questioned, and those that do not serve us are being put to rest. The ability to now publicly scrutinize important social and political figures has also been refreshing. Slowly, we are becoming a freer and more prosperous country and moving out of a fog which has hung like a black cloud over our hearts and heads for nearly a century; this process is both painful and promising.First of all, a little mayhem is an inevitable side-effect of change and progress anywhere. While most developments in Turkey have been overwhelmingly positive, they have often thrown the country into a perceived state of creative and constructive chaos. Sadly, some people tend to stress the “chaos” part of this description, turning a blind eye to the words “creative and constructive.” Yet, the act of seeing the cup half empty is human nature; without something being destroyed, a new and more beautiful thing cannot replace it.
Those who do not realize that it is time for new and grander things to come falsely think that they can preserve tradition with their futile resistance, and they often maintain their stubbornness even if it is no longer possible to maintain the old system. This is an approach to life that I truly fail to understand.
The Ergenekon case is a perfect example of the difficulties Turkey faces with respect to change and progress. While several years ago there may have been less resistance to shady, behind-the-scenes “justice,” today this is not the case -- justice has not yet been served, but there has certainly been ample protest. Consequently, a group of people who used to steer a country of 70 million by shadowy means are today losing control altogether in the labyrinths of the bloodshed they nurtured and the conspiracies they set in motion. It is fortunate to see that the decent people are now as courageous as the traitors in this country. Few unlawful or inhuman acts now go unpunished, and this trend is only strengthening.
Consider what happened just this summer and ponder over the great conspiracy planned and carried out by a prosecutor, an army commander and several National Intelligence Organization (MİT) staff members. They sought to press false charges against innocent people to portray them as members of a nonexistent terrorist organization and then try them at military courts in Erzincan. We should not forget how the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) rushed in and eventually succeeded in ousting the specially authorized prosecutors who revealed this conspiracy.
Recall further that a department of the Supreme Court of Appeals violated all conventions only to release the conspiring prosecutor and his collaborators. And throughout this process the military continued to keep 3rd Army Commander Gen. Saldıray Berk in office, even as prosecutors charged him with being the leader of a terrorist organization based on collected evidence. He had begun to be tried in a court of law. Think about the fact that Turkey was forced to live with the fact that an army located in Turkey’s most critical region was being commanded by a person suspected of being the leader of a terrorist organization.
Take into consideration the claim made about 15 days ago by the Bugün daily that some military officers are members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Note also the fact that some military officers working at critical positions in the military referred to PKK militants as “our men” and asked people to shoot down Heron unmanned aerial vehicles (UAVs). Worse, note also that the investigation into these claims has been put off for three years, as if to imply that these military officers were not alone in their actions.
We are talking about a betrayal that implies the involvement of admirals, generals and even the General Staff, which failed to finalize the investigation. It is not surprising to see the same names in the Headquarters Houses network, which are pro-junta extensions of the pro-Ergenekon Workers’ Party (İP), led by Maoist Doğu Perinçek. This betrayal gives us concrete evidence about the existence of illegal networks, called the Ata Houses and Republic Houses, which are shady organizations in the naval and land forces similar to the Headquarters Houses in the air forces, and their unlawful actions.
But, unfortunately, for some reason, the commanding generals of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) still prefer chiding politicians and the people over cleaning up this mess within the military. Obviously, this betrayal, which they are content to live with, is neither the only nor the first one. Indeed, such indifference to such scandalous betrayals can only be seen in organizations where such betrayals are considered normal. Thus, it can be concluded that the decay and putrefaction in the military is not limited to the traitors who talk about shooting down the Herons.
This does not apply to the decent and honorable military officers and other members of the military who serve the country, risking their lives. Still, the current image of the military is indescribably unfavorable. What we see in its current image is a military that causes its own soldiers to die because of the mines it has laid and which rushes to cover up this scandalous error while putting the blame on a terrorist organization. This is a military that failed to launch an investigation into a military officer who caused four soldiers to die by giving one of them a defused hand grenade until the press covered the story; a military that is suspected of facilitating terrorist attacks launched at critical times and the responsibility for which was assumed by the PKK after long periods of hesitation and which claimed the lives of dozens of soldiers; and a military that, in this context, fails to give convincing answers to questions on negligent acts concerning the Dağlıca, Aktütün, Reşadiye, Sarıyayla and Gediktepe attacks.
Then, let us touch on the facts that were exposed last week: There is an interesting photo showing the son of Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ posing in a friendly manner with a PKK operative who is now under arrest, and the military officers’ active involvement in the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) coup plan with more than 20 generals and admirals. As you already know, the İstanbul 10th High Criminal Court decided to arrest 102 suspects of the Sledgehammer indictment on Friday. Some of them are retired generals and former force commanders while others are on active duty at critical positions. Is there any other country in the world with a military about one-tenth of whose generals are indicted for offenses amounting to treason and, worse, are still kept on active duty?
These images do not befit any military. Seeing them, one is inclined to say, “You don’t need enemies if you have such an army.” More work ought to be done by the decent and honorable military officers to remove the bad apples from the military.
