As Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, we have to hope that it was a “courtesy” visit. At least it has to be kept within such limits; it should not have other effects. Both the skeptical and supporters of this visit, which was the first by new Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, draw different conclusions about it. The controversial visit makes this possible for both sides. But it will not be a promising development if it is seen as more than a courtesy visit.The TSK and all other public institution will lose ground in Turkey. After the trial of retired Adm. İlhami Erdil the public began to think that the TSK does not tolerate crime and criminals and this sentiment got stronger with the stance of the General Staff during the Ergenekon operation. However, after this recent visit, this sentiment will also be weakened. Some people have written that army officers are worried that they will be abandoned by the TSK if they have any troubles even though they are ready to sacrifice their lives in the fight against terrorism. But these writers are not right in what they write. There is no example of the TSK or the state abandoning its soldiers who fought against terrorism. Eruygur and Tolon were living in military facilities under strict security measures until they were arrested. The problems they are having now have nothing to do with their struggle against terrorism. If these writers want to empathize with army officers, they should empathize with the ones who are killed in shadowy assassinations. It seems that some of these assassinations will be revealed by Ergenekon operation, though. It was just yesterday that one chief of police was arrested for being a member of a prostitution gang. When compared with the arrested generals, the charge being leveled against this police chief as serious, but no one expects the police department to pay a courtesy visit to this police chief.
If this visit to Kandıra Prison, where Tolon and Eruygur are being held, exceeded the limits of a courtesy visit, then it will begin to harm Gen. Başbuğ, too. The thesis that he is determining the limits of his authority after arriving in office and showing that he will not be content with the area that was restricted in recent years should not be true. It is impossible to claim that Gen. Başbuğ couldn’t think of the fact that this step gave those who didn’t like Gen Büyükanıt a big opportunity to criticize him. The critics of Büyükanıt have already started. The strict hierarchy of the TSK does not allow one to create conditions that will criticism of a general. Also, the chief of the general staff does not administer the TSK all by himself. The term “command echelon” is not a coincidental expression. Büyükanıt’s closest associate was Gen. Başbuğ. The new chief of general staff does not get a chance to question the previous one, and doing so would not be a smart move. Başbuğ will not ignore the fact that each critic targeting Büyükanıt targets him, too.
Drawing different conclusions from the visit to the retired generals at Kandıra Prison will cast a shadow over the ideas of the rule of law and the independence of the judiciary. Will verdicts in favor of these two generals show that the judiciary is influenced by the TSK, or the will the opposite decision show that there is tension between the TSK and the judiciary? This discussion should end immediately. In fact, it should not have started at all. Limiting this last visit to the retired generals in the boundaries of a courtesy visit is inevitable. We want to believe in this option, even though the other options are equally possible.
Note on YARSAV: We are following the developments regarding the medical documents that excused Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) President Ömer Faruk Eminağaoğlu, a prosecutor at the Supreme Court of Appeals, from his mandatory military service. And this discussion is happening while many young people are happily going for their military service and some others are dying in Turkey’s fight against terrorism. The military prosecution has not yet taken action. Eminağaoğlu is alienating the public from the military, which is a crime. While defending himself, Eminağaoğlu asked, “Was it me who made those mistakes on these health reports?” If he is right, then whoever prepared those reports should be tried. Do you think our new chief of general staff will be so careful about this issue, too?
