Hand grenades are largely associated in our minds with a crate of hand grenades seized in a shanty house in Ümraniye three years ago and those that were dug out of the ground in the Zir Valley and Poyrazköy. The claims that the serial numbers of the hand grenades seized on Wednesday were scratched out and that they were of US origin instead of being produced by the state-owned Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE) and that the final destination of the truck was the Special Forces Command, which also includes the counter-guerrilla forces, have raised strong suspicions in our minds. The fact that regulations were not followed during the transportation of the ammunition and that the police department was not informed adds credence to the suspicions.The prosecutor’s office is conducting all sorts of investigations including criminal examinations. Our suspicions are being examined by competent and proficient authorities. There is no need to worry.
However, there is a growing concern that is becoming embedded in the general public, a concern that authorities need to tackle and eliminate. A truck full of bombs is nothing compared to several trucks full of suspicions and claims that scare us to death.
I have recently been to several cities and have chatted with the readers of Zaman newspaper. I understand that the nightmare haunting Turkey has been eliminated and that everything will be settled with a legal framework from now on. The armed tutelage era has ended. Now, we will just bury the corpse in a proper manner. However, I have been receiving strong objections to my optimistic comments. The common concern: What if bad things happen again? These concerns should be eliminated so that society can be relieved and people can stick to their business as usual. But how can this be done? How can we persuade the worrying crowds that the era of military coups has ended? How can we be sure that the bombs getting our attention will not be used for the massacre plans meant to kill the people directly as in the Cage (Kafes) or Sledgehammer (Balyoz) plans?
What can prevent a coup?
Isn’t it possible for several crazy Turks, who feel unhappy that there is no longer a country or a state to be saved, to come together and make plans for a coup? Of course, it is possible. But, is it possible for them to be successful? Absolutely not. So what happens? We end up with an aborted coup and the defendant in jail for a coup attempt.
A coup can be prevented by punishing those involved in the coup attempts. Arrests made on charges of coup planning and trials are the most effective method for preventing potential future coup attempts. For the first time, Turkey is trying those charged with attempting coups in a series of investigations. Anyone who dares to be investigated by specially authorized prosecutors may go ahead and make plans for a coup.
In the Ergenekon investigation, Turkey is investigating coup attempts within a legal framework. Despite numerous attempts to discredit the investigation and professional efforts to block it, the trials of the criminals have started. Still, the turning point was the legal amendment that allows military personnel to be tried in civilian courts. Although it was overturned by the Constitutional Court, the courts managed to construe laws so as to continue to try the military officials’ offenses associated with coup attempts. Thus, a coup attempt can be fully litigated. Those threatening weapons are like knife blades to the courts.
The second method for preventing coups is to lift the armor of confidentiality. The military used to defend itself by hiding behind a veil of confidentiality. The bill concerning the Court of Accounts, which is on the agenda of Parliament, envisages that military expenditures should be audited through normal financial review mechanisms. The General Staff opposes this review citing confidentiality considerations, according to a news story by Yurdagül Şimşek in the Radical newspaper. In order to live in a country where financial inspection of orduevis (dining facilities for members of the military) cannot be conducted because of confidentiality considerations, we must push for this review instead of canceling part of our faculties. If the military authorities continue to cite military security considerations then we can access this so-called confidential information from NATO sources or the Web sites of the strategic research centers and show the printouts to the General Staff.
With the legislation allowing military personnel to be tried in civilian courts, Turkey has ended an era. With the financial review by the Court of Accounts, a new era will start. Coups? Well this is how they are prevented.
The Nationalist Movement Party’s (MHP) consistent position against coups has ensured that the prevention of coups is no longer a governmental responsibility but a requirement of common political wisdom. Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal has desperately positioned himself in the anti-coup camp, which should be seen as a very significant move that discourages coup attempts. What does that mean? Coups are deprived of their civilian supporters.
When the first photocopy of the “Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism” was published, Baykal stated it was a fake document designed to provoke a conspiracy. “Everyone must accept that this text cannot be considered a document. The prime minister must illuminate this conspiracy,” he said. On the other hand, he says today, “If such a document had been prepared at the General Staff, this must be clearly exposed.” He even suggests that it is not sufficient to launch a probe into Col. Dursun Çiçek only but also into all those connected to him.
The importance of Baykal’s position
The current position of Baykal is important in two respects. First, given the high level of information to which Baykal has access to, he starts to believe that there was a possibility for a coup. Second, anti-coup discourse has become an indispensable part of civilian politics. As the saying goes, we sort things out while traveling. Turkey is dumping the dirt of past 50 years into the dusty bin of history, and it is doing this in a calm manner. It sends the coup plotters to jail. It tries coup attempts boldly and without skipping anything. There remains only the need to change some old habits, like those who conduct coup politics based on Alevis. Referring to the claim in the indictment that a third army commander committed discrimination by building schools only in Alevi villages, the CHP criticizes it, saying the prosecutor regards it as an offense to build schools in Alevi villages.
Do CHP politicians think that Alevis are so naive? An Alevi would ask: “Is it the job of an army commander to build schools, be it in an Alevi or Sunni village?” or “Will I accept favors by a person who aspires to overthrow the government and who engages in conspiracies to this end and builds a school in my village?”
For God’s sake, haven’t you learned yet that it is a great unfairness to Alevis to associate Alevism with the tradition of coups? The thing is not an army commander building schools in Alevi villages but said army commander attempting to abuse Alevism for the sake of his coup plans. What do you say about this abuse?
There is a truck full of bombs and several trucks full of claims. Will mad people emerge to load new claims into new trucks? Those crazy types who are not afraid of the specially authorized prosecutors... I don’t think so.
