Many say extensive media coverage of a chief of General Staff’s statements is uncommon for a democratic state, particularly one wishing to join the European Union, while others argue that he was justified.“It seems as if we have reached an era of coups. There are pages-long interviews with Chief of General Staff Gen. Başbuğ in the newspapers of the Doğan Media Group. If there is no question of a military coup, there are two possibilities: support for the Justice and Development Party [AK Party] government is rapidly falling in surveys or the government has sent a message to Doğan asking it to ‘lend support to the military.’ No matter what the case, it is very certain that Milliyet’s Fikret Bila has become a member of the military command,” comments Star’s Ergun Babahan over Başbuğ’s interviews with dailies.
With regard to the frequent interviews Başbuğ is giving nowadays, Milliyet’s Derya Sazak says he can’t remember a time, including during the Feb. 28, 1997, postmodern coup, when chiefs of General Staff talked so much. “In the media, Başbuğ’s statements cover nearly eight columns, the prime minister’s statements cover only two columns and the main opposition leader’s statements find coverage in only one,” says Sazak. He equates the need for members of the military to talk so much with the recently uncovered military plots code-named “Sledgehammer” and “Cage” as well as with the suicides of soldiers and the trial process into the coup plots. He says the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) feel the need to respond to the allegations in the coup plots, which all include subversive plans to trigger chaos in the country with the ultimate goal of a military takeover, at the level of the “chief of General Staff.” Considering the fact that the trial process of TSK personnel who were allegedly involved in the preparation of those plans continues, Sazak says the military should pay the utmost attention to keeping the fragile balance between its institutional respectability and efforts to clear the individuals of the charges. “The way to get rid of the so-called psychological warfare against the TSK should not be through the strengthening of military tutelage,” he suggests.
He thinks that Başbuğ’s statements may help serve the transparency and accountability of the TSK, noting, however, that a Turkey where the chief of the General Staff constantly feels the need to make statements that make it to the front pages of newspapers seems far-removed from being a candidate for EU membership and more like “a third world country.” “Normalization cannot be this way,” suggests Sazak.
Looking for the possible reason behind Başbuğ’s consecutive statements to two big dailies, Hürriyet’s Cüneyt Ülsever says the reason is simple but important: Başbuğ could not ignore the demands of TSK supporters and society to make a statement and take a stance in the wake of the recent allegations about the TSK and some of its members. Unlike other columnists, Ülsever says Başbuğ had to speak out about claims that he had remained passive in the wake of allegations about the TSK.
