These were the shameful days of democracy. Mesut Yılmaz was asked to form an alternate government relying on deputies resigning from the DYP. In Turkey, where Süleyman Demirel was serving as president, a nonviolent intervention was staged. The man who was overthrown in the coup would pioneer a postmodern coup. Ergenekon was present on Feb. 28 as well. Its task was to prepare the groundwork for an intervention in the democratic process. A call was made to argue that secularism was at stake and that the republican gains were being jeopardized; this call was extended to the universities, the judiciary, the business world, unions and media. There was a coalition of five sets of actors promoting the coup process. They held secret meetings on how to ignite public reaction and justify the coup they sought. The decisions made at the Encümen-i Daniş were concretized in the MGK.
Those who think the Feb. 28 coup was staged to deal with religious institutions are wrong or misled. Feb. 28-like coups are staged by those who are unable to accept the fact that the people come to power through democratic mechanisms. They harbor enmity and hatred with respect to the people’s desire to observe their religious duties. They hate İsmet İnönü for pioneering the process that transitioned to democracy and a multiparty system because democracy requires the rule of law; and once the rule of law is in effect, their domination is jeopardized. Democracy is freedom of thought and expression, and they do not like this because it undermines their domination and hegemony.
Because this is the case, the mentality of Encümen-i Daniş that created Ergenekon does not favor Turkish membership in the European Union, even though it argues it does.
Will Feb. 28 remain alive for 1,000 years, or will it come to an end? This is the answer to this question: When Turkey becomes an EU member, Feb. 28 will be over. Once this happens, Ergenekon will be over as well; it will turn into an insignificant group and society. In other words, only democracy can remove and eliminate an authoritative entity looking down upon the people.
The biggest obstacle before democracy and EU membership is the presence of the Ergenekon terror organization, because this organization is a center of murders, provocation and terrorism. It is not without reason that all those interrogated or arrested as part of the investigation into Ergenekon expressed the thought that they were chilled to the bone by all they had seen. Those who do not favor democracy support Ergenekon for some reason.
The outcome of the upcoming March 29 elections is of greater meaning than a simple local election. Even the outcome of the Ergenekon investigation depends on the results of March 29. If the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) administration faces some obstacles, this process will be halted. Let us read an excerpt from a column by İlhan Selçuk, who was taken into custody in connection with the Ergenekon investigation: “Zekeriya’s future does not look so bright. In the indictment, what prevail in this document are the AK Party’s tricks rather than the principles of legislation in Turkish law. However, prosecutor Zekeriya Öz should ponder the conditions he has to deal with. There is a tomorrow for the present day.” I wonder what made Selçuk write these sentences; I wonder who encouraged him. Is it because of the developments eroding the Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine’s (GATA) image and increasing concerns and doubts?
Feb. 28, Ergenekon, the March 29 elections… It looks like the prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, best understood the seriousness of the matter. What he said at a rally in Diyarbakır is quite important for this reason. He said they were aware of attempts and efforts made and being made to facilitate the work of gangs. He added that democracy has been consolidated in this country so that it can no longer be sabotaged. And he lastly underlined one point that I think is most important: He said the Ergenekon operation is one of the leading developments that has pleased people in the region. Even solving a few mysterious murders out of thousands will carry Turkey to an irreversible point with regard to the Ergenekon case.
I also wonder why the Democratic Society Party (DTP) is not addressing this. I wonder if the delivering of a speech in Kurdish during a group meeting held at Parliament happened because Erdoğan made mention of Ergenekon in Diyarbakır.
March 29 is more important than Feb. 28.
