Whenever such things happen, everybody becomes an expert, and new scenarios emerge. Tensions soared over the unfortunate statement that was made by main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, when he said that the Semdinli indictment was a coup plotted against the military. Everybody was talking about military-civilian tension. I also paid a visit to a politician who is not only experienced and knowledgeable enough to answer the question, “What is happening” but also “What will happen”? He said 2006 will be very hot year, and three significant steps will be taken in a bid to put the government under siege. What he told me was not a mere prediction or senseless conspiracy theory; whatever he said were facts based on knowledge, documents, experience and also intuition. Here is the three-stage siege setup:
Just as in the polemics over the ban on alcohol, some news reports and commentaries claim the government has got a secret agenda. Don’t be fooled by the progress made towards the European Union; these are the kind of people with a “Milli Gorus” (National View) background, a strong political tendency in Turkey, striving to drag the country to a certain point. A step like this probably would not yield much result, but it would work towards increasing tension between the government and the media.
Another step that is under way is to tighten the circle a little bit and then push the government into a corner with allegations of corruption. The most influential names in the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), if possible, should be implicated in such allegations, or their relatives should be made victims of corruption allegations. This is a difficult path to tread and can cause despondency to both the party and the individual. That is why the government has to re-examine itself and exert maximum efforts to avoid anything that might lead to speculations.
The most difficult circle is related to the security syndrome. In several parts of the country, terrorism has begun to rear its ugly head again. Bombs are exploding; violent marches are being held, and even an atmosphere of fear is being created by coordinating mysterious events. The segregationists are used as pawns. The public is hopping mad over funerals for police and military officers. That is the most dangerous development; it should not be allowed to cause provocations.
This is the nightmare scenario I have tried to explain in one paragraph. In fact, this nation cannot tolerate the slightest crisis. Once the economic balance is disturbed, it will require huge efforts to put it back on track. Political instability was blamed for the worst economic crisis in 2001. It was not politics/politicians alone who footed the bill of chaos and insecurity, though!
Turkey’s recent past is full of adventures which have destabilized the country. Each adventure dragged the country a decade back, led to social conflict and eliminated Turkey from the race against other countries. One does need not to think about the distant past in this regard; the February 28 events caused great harm to Turkish politics, the military and media. All organizations which were part of the adventure paid an enormous price…
For some reason or other, things are easily forgottten. There is a big mistake some people tend to make when they adopt a “Let this government go no matter how ” approach to events, when they bring the military up against politicians for this purpose, and when they link all political parameters with the concept of internal security or with presidential elections. It is at this point that the media is taking a very senseless approach. The more fascist questions are addressed to Chief of Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok, the more Ozkok’s response and attitude clinch the notion of democracy. Ozkok taught a lesson on democracy by saying, “We are a first-class state” when the media, as it were, called on the military take over of control. We have a picture that is sad for the media but pleasant in terms of democracy…
Despite all these things, there is no need for desperation! For one thing, Turkish people are now able of taking a more careful look at what is going on, in comparison to the past. Secondly, all organizations and institutions are well aware of the fact that negative effects from a possible crisis would shake Turkey to its roots, and also that certain people will be held accountable. “There is no substitute for the military and the courts,” said Justice Minister Cemil Cicek. He is absolutely right! Is there a substitute for Turkey?
March 16, 2006
