We guess a certain media group will react this way; developments prove we are right; we predict there will be attempts to provoke that institution, and it happens. Slight changes in the arguments affect the routine, but this pattern is about to turn into a boring game.
The volunteer defenders of Ergenekon are now relying on their new trump cards. It appears that they are basing their defense on a discourse pointing to revenge for the Feb. 28, 1997 "postmodern coup" and assault on government institutions. They make references to the connection between the Feb. 28 coup attempt and certain figures who are now being detained. Retired Gen. Kemal Yavuz, who was involved in the Feb. 28 process, Sabih Kanadoğlu, who was appointed as a top prosecutor three years after the Feb. 28 process, and Tuncer Kılınç, who became the National Security Council (MGK) secretary-general in 2001, are used to complete this design.
Another project of the defenders of Ergenekon is to make sure that state institutions are provoked and react to the developments. Once again, their eyes were turned toward the General Staff headquarters. I am not sure whether they jump to conclusions based on the drapes in the windows of the building, but they didn't find what they were hoping for after a lengthy meeting. They got nothing out of the extraordinary meeting, which the spouses of top commanders attended. The last hope was a warning by the Supreme Court of Appeals. And that did not happen, either. Those who are familiar with the law would conclude that a statement by the court was in fact impossible. The Zaman daily noted that any statement or explanation by the court would be seen as an insinuation of the institution's view and as an intervention into the ongoing investigation. The quality of journalism is detected in such difficult days. When it became obvious that no statement would be made, rumors suggested that Supreme Court of Appeals President Hasan Gerçeker would make an informal statement and that the court's unease with allegedly illegal wiretappings would be announced. Gerçeker ended the speculation, stressing that they supported the smooth operation of the law in all cases. Despite intense questions by some members of the press, Gerçeker made no further comment.
Allegations over the evidence obtained through wiretapping also became futile. The president did not make any statement on this matter, either, even though they attributed some remarks to him that he never made. Gerçeker dismissed the claim that wiretapping may not be considered evidence and stressed that legal wiretapping can lead to admissible evidence. So he did not endorse the media allegations and, in fact, this was something that would never happen because even members of the judiciary have been arrested on the basis of legal wiretapping in the past.
Those who were unable to find the support they were seeking from state institutions do not want to accept this fact. They avoid admitting that the Ergenekon investigation has been handled by the judicial mechanism since its inception. But this avoidance does not change the reality. We all know that the operations are not carried out to fulfill the desires of adventurous police chiefs. There is strong resistance to admitting that in this process, not only instruction by the prosecutor but also a court decision is needed to proceed with arrests. The media also ignores the fact that the initial arrests of the defendants are ordered by the relevant courts. Those who listen to Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) Chairman Ömer Faruk Eminağaoğlu would think that bandits kidnapped men and dragged them to the mountains. However, we all see that the legal mechanism is working smoothly in this case. Ironically, the pro-Ergenekon actors are currently enjoying the benefits of the EU process that they were strongly opposed to. The greatest restrictions on the security forces were introduced by the EU harmonization packages. Let me paraphrase the initial question: What is illegal in this process?
