The people he refers to are clear: retired Gendarmerie General Commander Gen. Şener Eruygur and his squad who are accused of preparing the Sarıkız (Blond Girl), Ayışığı (Moonlight) and Yakamoz (Sea Sparkle) coup plans for overthrowing the government. One does not need to have vast knowledge to understand that Arınç does not target the entire Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). His words, “these pashas,” refer to the pro-coup generals, not the TSK. Reporting his words as if they target the entire TSK creates tension between the civilians and the military. It is wrong to do this and yield to this plot.
Whether you like it or not, the person in question is a former parliament speaker and an experienced politician. Those he criticizes are the same people with whom he had met officially. Didn’t Arınç and Eruygur meet during their terms? Didn’t they talk about democracy? My point being that it is very likely Arınç is making special reference to the people who are accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
One aspect of this issue is related to the media. Some media organizations assume a provocative role whenever military and civilian relations are laid on the table. Their ill-intentioned role -- summed up as “come on and berate those civilians” -- must be treated with common sense. In particular, the military must adopt a sensible approach to this role. This is because it is not the army, but the illegal network within it that is being targeted.
“Inciting the military to rebellion” is regarded as an offense under the military criminal code. If attempting to overthrow the government had not been an offense, then Col. Talat Aydemir and Maj. Fethi Gürcan would have not been sentenced to death. It follows that plotting to overthrow the government is an offense under the military law. There is talk about a network that was organized without the command or knowledge of then-Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök. At that time, some journalists cooperated with them and ran the headline, “Young officers uncomfortable.” Özkök held a press conference and said: “I condemn these reports. I question if those who publish such reports really love this country and nation.” It must not be acceptable, on the behalf of the General Staff, to defend a network that had been condemned by a former chief of general staff.
Unfortunately, during the press conference routinely held on Fridays -- to which only a limited number of media organizations were invited -- the officer in charge, acting on behalf of the General Staff, responded to Arınç. In my opinion, this was unnecessary because Arınç was not targeting the collective personality of the TSK, but only the retired generals who are standing trial on charges of plotting to overthrow the government, creating chaos, inciting the military to rebellion and the like. Of course, the people in questions are innocent until proven guilty. But this does not require us to ignore the claims about them or pronounce them innocent. For this reason, the military should not be oversensitive.
When Arınç was criticized in the press conference, this provided a golden opportunity for some media organizations to discredit all politicians -- with an emphasis on Arınç. Naturally, Arınç reacted to this campaign and defended himself: “The duties of this country are well established. Their responsibilities and accountabilities are well known. We are being ruled by civilians. We are not a country under military guardianship. We are a democratic country. It is unbecoming for the military to berate civilians and hang over civilians like the sword of Damocles. The TSK consists of pure and clean kids. For this reason, no one has the right to discredit this institution.”
It is known that Arınç is an outspoken politician and he never hides what he really thinks. Thus, in Ankara, it is said, “Arınç is the conscience of the party.” He does not mince his words. I do not suggest that everything he says is true as this cannot be said about any mortal. But his every word is sincere. It is wrong to create a rift between the military and civilians by building on candid words -- words that I believe were said with good intentions. What harm can come to someone who becomes calmer, more tolerant and more fair-minded? Also, criticizing the pro-coup mentality does not discredit the military, as the wrong done by a small group cannot be projected to the entire structure.
