21 November 2009 / STAR AHMET KEKEÇ,
I can’t lie: I really liked the sign reading “Coup-loving lawyers, welcome to Taksim” that was hung from a hotel window during the “cübbeli” (a reference to the robes worn by lawyers and judges) protest that took place there the other day.
Some newspapers greeted this little story with headlines “The poster that shook up Taksim.” But actually, there was really nothing too earth-shattering about that poster. The İstanbul Bar Association has unfortunately failed the test put to it. They can march and shout slogans as much as they want because the truth is, the words “İstanbul Bar” and “law” no longer go together. How can our lawyers talk about the “supremacy of law” and then follow this with words about how “we are the foot soldiers of Mustafa Kemal [Atatürk]”? Or how about how they clamor for “an independent judiciary” and then back the same coup-supporting organizations that would actually eliminate the chance for such a system? The İstanbul Bar Association says it opposes wiretapping but then doesn’t lift the slightest finger when it comes to a politician whose phones were tapped illegally for six years. My feelings? Since you love the law so much, fight not for the state but for the individual. Don’t be a soldier, be a real lawyer.
