In addition, there isn't a governmental office to oversee military and civilian institutions and monitor irregularities. The existence of such an office under the political authorities would not guarantee that irregularities would not occur, but its existence, supported by a Parliament functioning as a legislative branch in the real sense of the term, would strengthen the transparency, accountability and good governance of all institutions without exception.
According to columnist Hasan Cemal of the Milliyet daily (Feb. 15), there is weakness on the part of the government and Parliament in relation to the Turkish military. Other common characteristics of the country's elected representatives are their helplessness in responding to extra-legal pressure by both the state and the military when necessary, Cemal says, adding that this situation prevents the proper implementation of the democratic rule of law in Turkey.
The responsibility of elected political authorities in the creation of these abnormalities in Turkey is huge, since the government has never demanded an account of the wrongdoings of the military, Cemal says. He cites an attempt by İstanbul deputy Ufuk Uras last year to initiate a parliamentary probe against failed coup plots, codenamed Sarıkız (Blonde Girl), Ayışığı (Moonligt) and Eldiven (Glove), in 2003 and 2004. But Uras has been unable to find support for his motion from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) or the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP), Cemal notes.
Uras later collected 22 signatures, primarily from the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), and handed over his motion for a probe into the coup plots to the Office of the Parliament Speaker. In his motion he called for an investigation into coup plots to prevent such incidents for the sake of democracy and demanded that Parliament thwart any future attempts to interfere with its work as a result of coups.
There have been five coups of differing methods staged in Turkey since 1960, with the last one taking place on April 27, 2007, when the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) issued a late night e-memorandum on its Web site against the AK Party.
Parliament has not yet taken any action in response to Uras' motion and it is not expected to do so in the future due to the weaknesses of the political segment against the TSK.
Similarly, Parliament's committees neither fulfill their duties of democratic oversight of the military's budget nor initiate probes over motions seeking clarification of military projects contracted to foreign companies.
One of the country's most shocking allegations of corruption was made against Turkey's 1980 coup period air forces commander, Gen. Tahsin Şahinkaya, over the purchase of Lockheed Martin-made F-16 fighter jets. Irregularities in the purchase of the jets were investigated in all the countries involved except Turkey. Şahinkaya was accused of making personal gains in the F-16 purchase, but this incident was not probed in Parliament and the file was closed.
Similarly, a parliamentary investigation opened in 2003 over allegations of corruption surrounding Turkey's purchase of $1.5 billion worth of airborne early warning and command (AEW&C) aircraft from Boeing could not be concluded because the relevant bureaucrats refused to hand over information required for the probe, hiding behind state secrecy laws.
Another project under which Israeli company IMI modernized US-made M60A1 battle tanks in Turkey's inventory was surrounded by allegations of wrongdoing. But again the investigation was blocked.
Recently a motion for a probe of Turkey's attack helicopter production agreement with Italy's AgustaWestland last year was swept under the carpet even though there have been allegations of corruption surrounding the project.
Parliament should have used its authority to investigate all of these allegations for the sake of accountability and good governance and to remove any doubts concerning these multibillion dollar military projects.
A joint program initiated by the European Union and Turkey recently in the fight against corruption may open the way for Parliament to conscientiously fulfill its responsibility. The program was launched at a conference held yesterday in Ankara, titled "Developments in Judicial and Legislative Ethics." This program is hoped to serve as a platform for academics and officials to share their experiences about the application of ethical standards in legislative, executive and judicial services.
