So how can we put the latest turn in the investigations into numerous past attempts at overthrowing the democratically elected government in Ankara (commonly referred to as the Ergenekon case) into perspective? Let me start by writing about a related issue first, then closing the loop.
I am not surprised at all that at times when holders of public office are under the utmost scrutiny mishaps -- if that is the right word -- will not go unnoticed. People in almost all European democracies are much more alert with regards to what to tolerate and what rather to not. Add to this a generally speaking lukewarm economic climate -- at best -- and financial hardship experienced by many citizens, it is then only logical that expense-related escapades by elected office holders are something the public simply does not approve of anymore. In some cases serious fraud has been brought to light (think claiming housing allowance for a second home albeit living within commuting distance from Parliament already), in others, a snack purchased out of public funds earmarked for other office expenditure and given to a colleague without returning, in this case, the rather small amount of monies suffice to demand that particular person's resignation. Peccadilloes, not having read the fine print of one's contract, petty crimes or outright fraud -- we have had it all.
On a totally different scale, yet still within the realms of unacceptable behavior, is when public office holders or other personalities in elevated positions, but ordinary citizens, too, begin to plot against a democratically elected government by whatever illicit means imaginable. This may range from distributing material inciting hatred within society in order to create chaos on the streets to its most dramatic variety, devising plans to kill innocent people, which is nothing but plain terror, albeit in a new disguise. Most such acts are to be found somewhere in the middle.
Some acts, as mentioned above in the first paragraph about the issue, would merit nothing more than an official warning, whereas others ask for the involvement of a public prosecutor.
Yet, what starts small may end up big. Let me explain. Someone who knowingly cheats on his very own state and public institutions by pocketing tens of thousands of funds in whatever currency (for example, by claiming that a second house needs to be rented or bought near Parliament in order to go about business despite the fact that person has a fixed abode located only 15 kilometers away) lives in the ill-fated illusion that she or he “owns” the state, and is thus “allowed” to further benefit from her or his position in society without paying respect to any rules or regulations. On top of that, these people already enjoy perks and financial rewards well beyond the reach of an ordinary citizen.
This “owning of the state” may turn even more absurd when members of the political classes, the military or academia or any other elevated profession for that matter, including the media, decide to take things into their own hands and devise plans to topple the democratically elected government by whatever means possible.
It is a malice that can only be tackled from the very bottom, by establishing a fully functioning civil society as the baseline for democracy. As you can see I am not limiting my commentary to the country from where this article was penned, but I have included, for example, the United Kingdom in the list of acts by public figures that must be brought to light, too.
Whether stealing a Mars bar and getting away with it, a housing subsidy and being caught red handed or ultimately the creation of 40 plus websites disseminating anti-government propaganda of a non-democratically, non-tolerable nature, the people have a right to learn about it, and if necessary to prosecute.
In this regard, what happened early on Friday in Turkey is nothing more than a further step in the direction of establishing civilian control over all matters related to their very own state.
