Writer Pala says military interferes with private lives of its members

“The TSK has become an institution in which even the clothes worn by family members of officers are questioned. It was not like that when I entered the military. No one asked me if I prayed when I was selected for a career in the TSK. But we were later ordered not to select students who pray or go to Quran courses no matter what their qualifications,” he told Today’s Zaman for Monday Talk.

Pala, who entered the TSK in 1982, was expelled in 1997 by a decision at the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) on grounds that he was engaged in anti-secular activities. He was neither questioned over the charges nor put on trial.

Almost every year Turkey witnesses fierce debates over the YAŞ meetings, during which the TSK and the government decide on promotions and retirements within the military. The YAŞ meetings are also an occasion in which officers suspected of engaging in anti-secular activities are expelled from the TSK.

Officers expelled from the military do not have the ability to appeal to a judicial body or ask for a review of the dismissal decision.

Known for his academic career and novels, Pala recently published a book in which he describes his “painful” years in the military. He answered our questions regarding these experiences and more.

What reasons led you to write this book?

There are three reasons: First, I have been through experiences that have had a changing effect on the history of Turkey, and so I wanted to document my experiences. Second, it would not sit well with my conscience if I did not write it. Third, and most important, I have 1,665 fellow soldiers with whom I share the same fate. We were all expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] without going through any legal trial process. They are not as lucky as I am because I have a profession outside of the army, but they were mostly people who were trained only as army officers. This book also tells their story in a way. This book also aims to work to return honor to these people. I hope Turkish officials who read the book will take a step forward in that regard. Otherwise, I have no need to write another book as I have more than 70 already. I’ve already made arrangements to donate the profits from this book to two associations.

Which associations are these?

The Association of Justice Defenders (Adaleti Savunanlar Derneği) and the Divan Literature Foundation. The former was established by people who were expelled from the TSK, and the income obtained from this book will go to the education of their children.

You wrote the book in 2003 but did not publish it. Why this delay?

A question remained in my mind with every year that passed. I asked myself whether or not the TSK would be harmed if I release the book. I also did not want to present an image of a fight between me and the TSK. My only interest is to contribute to the cleaning up of the army by having those who committed wrongs removed. I cannot harbor any enmity toward the TSK because is very dear to me. In December of last year, I asked myself whether or not to have the book out by Feb. 28 of this year.

And?

And I took it to my publisher in December. There were no revelations yet about the Sledgehammer plot (a security operation plan allegedly devised by a group within the TSK to systematically incite chaos in society through violent acts that would eventually lead to a military takeover). The reason why I finally did it this year is that delaying to tell about the suffering of those 1,665 people would only lead to their further suffering because their voices would not be heard. We are talking about 1,665 people, but if you take into consideration their families, the number of people who suffer from the effects of the Feb. 28 process jump into the thousands.

In your book, you wrote that in 1995 there was no issue in the country more pressing for the military than the issue of reactionaryism. Media reports recently said the military had the same concerns in 2002 and that this is why the Sledgehammer operation was planned. What is your take on this?

Although the terminology in the Sledgehammer plan sounded very familiar to me, it is hard for me to talk about plans without seeing them in the whole context of the documents. But I am no longer involved in TSK affairs because this hurts me deeply. I have devoted myself to arts and literature.

‘People excluded from military based on identity’

In the preface to your book, you mentioned military officers who use the ideology of the left, which was crushed by the Sept. 12, 1980 coup, as you also mentioned, and hide behind Atatürk’s ideals. This makes it appear as if the Feb. 28 process was the product of these people, who seem to be leftist. Is this a reasonable reading of your words?

I did not say the Feb. 28 process was a product of leftists in the military, but these people were mostly those who caused me to suffer. And they used Atatürk’s ideals in a crooked way. I read Atatürk’s original address to the nation (“Nutuk”) and I know what Atatürkism means. It does not imply imposing one’s ideas on others.

Is it reasonable to say that no matter whether they are leftists or rightists, some people in the military abuse their power and form gang-like structures in order to continue doing this and to cover up their wrongdoings?

İskender Pala, a writer and scholar who was expelled from the military One of the rare experts in divan literature, he is currently a professor of literature at Uşak University and İstanbul Kültür University. He has several books on literature, and his recent novels have sold hundreds of thousands of copies. Until he wrote the book “İki Darbe Arasında” (Between Two Coups), he was known only for his academic and literary identity. But the book recounts his own story in the military from 1982 to 1997, when he was expelled from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) by a decision of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) on grounds that he was engaged in anti-secular activities.

I would not call this structure a gang-like structure because the military system is based solely on rank, and people are of higher rank can easily impose their ideology on those of lower rank.

You give examples in the book about how students who take tests to enter the military were eliminated in interviews. One example of this is interviewees being asked what book they would save if they had only one option, Atatürk’s “Nutuk” or the Quran.

I have heard that this question was being asked, but I did not encounter it myself. I did, however, witness situations in which officers questioned student like that: The officer would ask the student what a “fossil” is. The student would answer the question within his knowledge. The officer would then ask about a word that rhymes with fossil and ask what “usul” (English: procedure, form) is. The rhyme scheme would continue and the officer would then ask, “What is ghusl?” (an Arabic term referring to an ablution, or ritual washing, of the whole body required by Islam in specific circumstances). The student’s answer gives the officers an idea about the student’s identity and religious background, and this determines whether or not they will be accepted into the military.

You write in your book that non-Muslims, Alevis, Kurds and Roma were not accepted into the military.

In 1985, when I entered the military, this was the case. This changed after the Feb. 28 process. Instead of not accepting Alevis, military officers began to reject graduates of religious vocational imam-hatip high schools or students who attended Quran courses.

‘Secularism does not contradict Islamic rules’

You indicated in your book that you were not tried before being expelled from the military. It appears you were not questioned on issues such as your views on the principle of secularism, either, although you were accused of being involved in “irtica,” or reactionaryism, which is mostly used to describe objecting to the principle of secularism.

Right, I was never asked about the complaint letters, which bear no signature and claim I was involved in reactionaryism. The naval commander-in-chief was recently quoted in the media as saying, “Writing letters but not signing them equals dishonor.” When I read about this, I thought about how my folder was full of unsigned complaint letters against me. So was I expelled from the military based on such dishonor? No one doubts I was a good soldier, but at the same time I was a religiously observant person.

Have you thought about the issue of secularism?

I have. Institutions naturally have rules, but these rules should not restrict people’s basic rights and freedoms. In my understanding of secularism, people should live their spiritual life separately from their worldly affairs. In other words, religious affairs are completely separated from the affairs of the state. In a secular system, I should have no right to ask anyone about why they have this or that belief system. Likewise, no one should have the right to ask me the same question. A person can be religious and at the same time a good citizen who perform his or her duties well. In my understanding of secularism in the TSK, for example, if I am a higher ranking officer, I have no right to ask women who are below me to shorten or lengthen the length of their skirts based on religious understandings. This should not be in the area of my duties. But the TSK has become an institution in which even the clothes worn by family members of officers have been questioned. It was not like that when I entered the military. No one asked me if I prayed when I was selected for a career at the TSK. However, we were later ordered not to select students who pray or attend Quran courses no matter what their qualifications.

Do you support a type of secularism in Turkey similar to what is in place in the United States or in Germany?

I have been longing for a system of secularism as is seen in those countries.

And you think such a system would not contradict the rulings of Islam?

They would not contradict at all. As I understand Islam, a person can tend to his or her worldly duties while also being an observant person. This is also possible in the TSK. No one can claim I neglected my duties because I was praying.