Bringing the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to an equal level with militaries in modern democracies will make Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ a distinguished leader whose name will go down in history. Turkey's history of democracy throughout the multi-party period has been riddled with coups, interventions, juntas and unrest within the military. But that period needs to be over. Both the way history has unraveled and the country's evolutionary dynamics reveal that it cannot continue this way forever.The people in the streets are tired of the “coup” game. Everyone is aware of the high cost the nation is forced to pay when there are interventions in politics. Everyone wants a better future for their children. The people want to see the military as the “military” not as a “political actor,” taking a stance on every controversial issue. Don't Başbuğ and his officers at General Staff headquarters see that standing in the center of political debates weakens the military? Isn't it clear that if things continue the way they are, the TSK will suffer more serious troubles in the future? Is it possible to get away with everything simply by declaring everyone anti-regime or anti-military? Don't they realize the major role the “military drenched in politics” played in key failures during the fall of the Ottoman Empire?
Certainly General Başbuğ is aware of this. What he needs to do is cure this “illness” in the military. We don't know if he has “urgent cleanup” plans, but in the middle-to-long run, he needs to initiate a plan to facilitate the adoption of a democratic culture by military officers, starting with military high schools. This is critical, as an organizational culture not up-to-date with contemporary values will slowly eat away at the fundamental structure of the TSK.
Regardless of what people say, a parliamentary democracy does operate in Turkey. Everything takes places in front of the nation. There is a dynamic and energetic public. Political crises that block Turkey's progress and confine its horizons should not be allowed. Just like other parties that came to power and then left, the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is a political party that will sooner or later leave power -- if not in the next elections, then in the one after that.
There aren't many examples of parties serving as the single ruling party three consecutive times, but this is normal in a young and dynamic society. Turkey can no longer be controlled through paranoia or military decrees. That chapter has closed. Society reacts to military interventions and decrees through civilian politics.
The Turks, who until recently were uneducated but intuitive people who made sound political decisions, are today educated and modern people open to communication with the rest of the world and are still able to make rational decisions. The Turkish state needs a strong military, but it doesn't need “military saviors.” Başbuğ has a serious responsibility. He must display a strong democratic stance, as expected from him during this critical period, and prove this not just with his words but also with his actions.
Turkey has witnessed generals such as Memduh Tağmaç, who was “obliged” to release memorandums saying “I can't control my subordinates” during the 1970s. It is possible for a modern general to be remembered like this! Başbuğ should at least be able to display the same stance displayed by former Chief of General Staff retired Gen. Hilmi Özkök against “memorandum proponents” in the military.
