The Constitutional Court’s decision to overturn a law that limited the military judiciary’s scope of duty has disappointed those who were hopeful. The civilian court’s decision did not come as a surprise. The day the Constitutional Court announced its annulment decision, I wrote that it was “too early for [Col. Dursun] Çiçek and his ilk to be happy.” But some people continued to go against the current. There are some people who continue to argue that the issue is going to be referred to a military court even though it constitutes a crime that was committed with the participation of civilian individuals, in a nonmilitary location and unrelated to a military duty and that targeted nonmilitary officials. These claims are being made by retired high judiciary members. That is just too much.Aside from retired chief prosecutors, people standing trial in the Ergenekon terror organization and their official and honorary defenders are also voicing the same opinion. Their insistence on having a military court deal with the issue only serves to intensify the clouds of criticism over the court. They keep repeating the same demand as if they are asking for their acquittal. By looking at this insistence, the public could start believing in the criticisms about the military judiciary. If we were to tell a foreign expert who is unaware of the debates in Turkey that a group of civilian suspects are “dying” to be tried in a military court they would get confused. Military courts are a fact reluctantly accepted in the theory of law. Ideally, they shouldn’t exist at all, but if it’s absolutely necessary then they should be confined to a very limited space. The current state of military courts in Turkey is subject to criticism in many areas from its location in military posts to its personnel rights and commitment to the chain of command. The criticisms in question cannot be ignored because they are predicated on international agreements Turkey has signed. Just like how we wouldn’t be able to explain to European lawyers our dual judiciary and the authority of military courts, neither would we be able to explain to them why some people are longing to be tried in them. Actually, let alone Europeans, they can’t even offer a satisfying reason to the Turkish people.
In the meantime, we have another “cosmic” adventure that should not be forgotten among the “sledgehammer” noises and “northwind” (poyraz) breezes. The investigation into two military officers working at the General Staff’s Tactical Group Command who were caught near the house of Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç is as important as the others. We have yet to learn about the results of the investigation conducted at the cosmic rooms of this institution. Still, there were two important developments. First, Hıfzı Çubuklu, the legal consultant to the General Staff, stated that no offense could be substantiated, but the documents which were exposed will be burned. Apart from the fact that he did not have the authority to make such a statement, he may even be charged with meddling with the ongoing investigation and obstructing the administration of justice. Çubuklu continues to be a major nuisance for the headquarters with his statements. Previously, he had blundered as he was making a statement about the letters sent by some whistle-blowing unknown soldiers. He also had acknowledged the existence of some provocative Web sites and even claimed that these Web sites were operated by the General Staff upon instructions from the Prime Ministry. These instructions were never found, and no one believed that a government would want itself to be profiled by the military. The second development is that the one of the accused military officers filed an official complaint. Maj. İ.G., on whose computer it was claimed that police found a list of 80 people, argued in his complaint that a “state secret was disclosed.” In effect, this is a confession. I don’t know if he had consulted Çubuklu for a piece of advice, but this complaint seems to substantiate the claims. If there is really such a list, and if the claims are true, then things will be quite hard for Maj. İ.G. and his advocates.
