Democratic initiative crosses important threshold

The week began with two critical questions: The first was what the atmosphere would be like in Parliament during the discussion of the democratic initiative. The second question was related to the investigation of a junta within the military. Would legal action be taken against Col. Dursun Çiçek, who avoided going to the prosecutor’s office to testify for two weeks despite evidence that he signed an action plan to discredit the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement? What would the government’s stance on these issues be? Would Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan take a step back in response to the opposition’s harsh criticism or would he continue to argue for “more democracy and more freedom for everyone”? The Republican People’s Party (CHP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) voiced the same criticism in different words. While CHP leader Deniz Bayal called the initiative an “İmralı-government cooperation” -- suggesting that it was prepared in line with the wishes of outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan, jailed on the island of İmralı off of İstanbul -- MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli made the same point by calling the initiative a “PKK-AK Party cooperation.”

The government maintained a clear stance in both cases. Erdoğan emphasized once again that they were determined to take new steps in pursuing the initiative. The first step had to do with the junta issue. While Col. Çiçek went to court to testify several days later, Erdoğan summoned Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ to the Prime Ministry and reiterated that the junta in the army should be eliminated. The lengthy meeting was different from their regular weekly meetings in terms of both its timing and its content. It is commonly accepted that Çiçek, who was later released pending trial, did not commit the crime of planning a coup by himself. Çiçek’s denial that he signed the plan is considered to be evidence that he committed the crime upon an order from a superior. Those who ordered the crime are now ordering him to deny signing the document. As for Çiçek, who is denying that the signature on the plan is his, he is saying nothing more than “the gods want a sacrifice.” The public is waiting for those who ordered Çiçek to draw up this plan to be revealed. Carrying out an order that constitutes criminal activity is defined in the Constitution as a crime. But ordering an action that constitutes a crime is even a bigger crime.

The general sentiment is that Erdoğan, who called Başbuğ to the Prime Ministry to meet a day earlier than their scheduled weekly meeting, does not want junta supporters to be protected.

Refusing to back down on eliminating junta supporters from the army, Erdoğan is equally determined to proceed forward with the democratic initiative despite opposition. He did not pay heed to objections against holding the first parliamentary discussion on the initiative on Nov. 10, which marks the anniversary of the death of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic. Instead he argued that discussing peace on Nov. 10 would be a good way to honor his memory on that day. After heated preliminary talks on Tuesday, Erdoğan acted like a captain steering his ship during the discussions held on Friday.

Recalling the importance Atatürk placed on Parliament and peace, he asked, “Can we ensure peace in the world without ensuring peace at home?” To prevent the anticipated atmosphere of tension from the opposition, the AK Party leader managed his group very well. Despite harsh criticism, the AK Party did not show any reaction to Baykal or Bahçeli.

During his own speech, Erdoğan warned Baykal and Bahçeli to control their groups when their members starting making objections. This was an important move. It was critical that images of tension did not overshadow discussion of the initiative. Interior Minister Beşir Atalay, who spoke on behalf of the government, gave the first hints on what the initiative would entail and noted that this was a process that was still continuing. Although the steps that will be taken were not officially outlined, the leaders of all four major political parties in Parliament were in agreement on the steps that would absolutely not be taken. While this weakened the hand of the CHP and the MHP, which were both giving the impression that they were staunchly opposing for the sake of opposition, the democratic initiative successfully completed its first stage.