Reform drive sparks treason debate

Turkey stands as one of the few countries in the world where citizens are easily accused of high treason. Civilians, political parties and civil society groups often accuse their opponents of “betraying the country” if they are engaged in acts deemed against the interests of the country, according to a recent study by Parliament's Research Center. Accusing an individual of treason, however, is one of the strongest imputations in other countries.

Among the issues whose supporters were accused of betraying the country are the referendum held on the Annan plan to reunite Cyprus, plans to demine Turkey's border with Syria and reforms passed to harmonize Turkey's legislation with those of European countries. The government's recent efforts to settle the decades-old Kurdish question sparked heated debate among politicians, with some accusing members of the government of high treason.

The leaders of the Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have on various occasions charged Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his Justice and Development Party (AK Party) with cooperating with terrorist groups and working to undermine the country's territorial integrity.

The Parliamentary Research Center's study on the debate over treason has, however, revealed that thousands of people have been charged with betraying the country wrongfully.

Turkey's oversensitivity toward treason dates back to the first years of the republic. According to the study, 59,164 people were tried for treason during the early period of the republic. More than 41,500 of these were bastinadoed. The rest were either punished with pecuniary penalty or had their assets confiscated by the state. In the following years, the İstiklal Mahkemeleri (Independence Courts) decreed that 1,054 people be executed on the grounds that they betrayed the country during the Independence War.

The İstiklal Mahkemeleri were extra powerful courts established in the early days of the republic to try the opponents of the republican regime. Historians, however, believe the number of those executed then were at least double the official figures.

The first law on treason was passed by Parliament on April 29, 1920. According to this law, anyone engaged in written or oral acts against the legitimacy of Parliament was deemed a traitor, and would be punished by death.

In February 1925, acts mixing religious affairs with state affairs were added to the scope of treason. Around 1,800 people were tried on such grounds up through 1991. Sixty-nine of these people were executed.

The İstiklal Mahkemeleri had wide powers and expanded the scope of treason to include opposition to the Hat Law, which prescribed that every male must wear a hat in the public sphere; assassination attempts against Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the modern republic; attempts to bring Shariah rule back to the country; organization of individuals around communist ideals; and engagement in corruption and espionage. More than 7,500 people were tried under these laws, and 3,280 received various punishments.

The Law on Treason was amended in 1991 at the behest of the late President Turgut Özal, who said the law encouraged citizens to join terrorist organizations.

The scope of the law is, however, still quite wide when compared to other countries. According to the law, anyone who damages the unity of the state or the territorial integrity of the country, cooperates with enemies, urges people to fight against the state, acts against national interests, collects soldiers in favor of foreign countries, damages military facilities or directs financial aid to an enemy country is a traitor.

Different interpretations of this law encourage citizens, especially politicians, to accuse others of treason.

For the past two weeks, MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli has accused the government and several intellectuals of succumbing to terrorist demands because they argue that a democratization package is needed to tackle the Kurdish question. Bahçeli has implied several times that the government and those intellectuals are traitors.

According to Professor Erdoğan Sürat, the main reason behind the frequent use of the notion of “treason” is polarization in society.

“Parties use this word to win over greater grassroots support. Turkey is witnessing a war of sovereignty. Those who wish for their side to reign over the country have always accused others of treason. … There may be circles against change in any society. You can call them an unprogressive group. They are usually passive. However, they are reactive in our country. Unfortunately, it has always been them who accused others of treason,” Sürat noted.

Sırrı Sakık, a Muş deputy of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), complained that it is very easy to accuse people of betraying the country in Turkey.

“The reason dates back to the first years of the republic. Turkey has tried to create enemies for itself since the very first years of its establishment. This tradition keeps going,” he said.

How do treason laws work in other countries?

The Parliamentary Research Center's study on treason has revealed that the application of the Law on Treason is highly different from the application of similar laws in other countries.

Under the United Kingdom's laws, for example, high treason is the crime of disloyalty to the sovereign amounting to an intention to undermine their authority or the actual attempt to do so. Offenses constituting high treason include plotting the murder of the sovereign; having sexual intercourse with the sovereign's consort, with his eldest unmarried daughter or with the wife of the heir to the throne; levying war against the sovereign and adhering to the sovereign's enemies, giving them aid or comfort; and attempting to undermine the lawfully established line of succession. Several other crimes have historically constituted high treason; they have included counterfeiting money and being a Roman Catholic priest in the realm.

Treason against the United States consists solely of levying war against the country or adhering to its enemies or giving them aid and comfort. The US has tried roughly 30 people on charges of treason throughout its history.

The German Criminal Code stipulates that whoever undertakes with force or through threat of force to undermine the continued existence of the Federal Republic of Germany or to change the constitutional order based on the Basic Law of the Federal Republic of Germany is guilty of treason.