Bar associations’ political stance questioned on Lawyers Day

There has long been an apparent dichotomy between these two groups, but the schism deepened when Turkey accelerated its efforts to settle accounts with coup plotters with several landmark investigations such as the one into the Ergenekon terrorist organization, which has been hailed as the trial of the century in Turkey, and when steps were taken by the government to improve Turkish democracy, such as the recent constitutional reform package. “Unfortunately, most of the bar associations in Turkey have had a pro-status quo stance for years. However, a period of change has started with the recent events,” says Rıdvan Kaya, the chairman of the Freedom Association (Özgür-Der).

While bar associations from big cities -- notably İstanbul, Ankara and İzmir -- stand behind those suspected to have been involved in anti-democratic acts, a counter-movement from many Anatolian bar associations voices strong support for steps taken to strengthen democracy and the rule of law.

Lawyer Ergin Cinmen, who organized the “One Minute of Darkness for Light Forever” protest after the 1996 Susurluk incident, a car accident that exposed links between the Turkish state, the criminal underworld and security forces, is critical about the position some bar associations have taken recently. Underlining that Turkey should have a full-fledged democracy to settle all its problems, Cinmen says all institutions, including bar associations, should also contribute to this process. “Personally, I don’t approve of the recent stance of the İstanbul Bar Association. It has been working as though it were a bureau of a certain political movement. A bar association is not a political party, since membership in a bar association is an obligation for all lawyers in Turkey.  It is not voluntary. So it should not adopt such clear-cut and sharp positions on critical issues. They should in general work to improve democracy,” he told Today’s Zaman.

In fact, the İstanbul Bar Association has recently been at the center of controversy due to its stance over several ongoing judicial processes and the perception that it immediately takes the side of the status quo on every occasion. The biggest protest against the association came late last year, when the İstanbul Bar Association organized a march in İstanbul’s Taksim Square against allegations that the telephones of members of the high judiciary had been wiretapped despite Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin’s denial of the claims. The Young Civilians, a pro-democracy group, unfurled a banner reading “Pro-coup bar, welcome to Taksim” on the Taksim Square Hotel to demonstrate their stance against members of the İstanbul Bar Association.

Most recently, hundreds of lawyers staged a protest at an İstanbul Bar Association ceremony on Saturday at which Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) Deputy Chairman Kadir Özbek was given an award, though his position entails no role directly related to the law and he is only responsible for the appointment of members to the court.

The İstanbul Bar Association awarded Özbek the Mahmut Esat Bozkurt Law Award over the weekend. Hundreds of lawyers who are members of the bar protested the decision, waving banners and shouting slogans during the ceremony. Bozkurt, a former justice minister who served in the early years of the republic in the 1920s, is known to have been a hard-line ultranationalist. Many of the foundations of the Turkish judicial system were created during his term in office. “Respect for lawyers first,” “Whose bar is this?” and “End the judge syndrome” were some of the banners the protesting lawyers held up on Saturday when Özbek was called to the stage to accept his award.

Stating that the award case once again showed the İstanbul Bar Association’s politicized stance, Kaya said he thinks the association is sharpening its discourse as the Ergenekon probe gets deeper. “However, I think bar associations will in the long run have to keep up with Turkey’s process of democratization,” he added.

In the meantime, strongly criticizing the weekend’s protest against Özbek, İstanbul Bar Association head Muammer Aydın announced yesterday that llegal action would be taken against those who were involved in the protest. He also added that some of those in the group of protesters were not lawyers.

Reform package dominates this year’s Lawyers Day

Messages and speeches by members of bar associations across Turkey on the occasion of Lawyers Day, celebrated in Turkey since 1958, also reflected this dichotomy among Turkey’s bar associations. Aydın, who delivered a speech at a meeting of the association over the weekend to mark Lawyers Day, took the occasion to slam the government’s reform package, which aims to curb the power of an entrenched judiciary and to bring Turkey closer to EU democratic standards. Arguing that the changes are to weaken the principle of separation of powers, he said in the end all power will be taken over by politicians.

In contrast to the İstanbul Bar Association, various bar associations from across Turkey expressed their hope and support for the proposed changes. Issuing a message yesterday, Kastamonu Bar Association head İhsan Darende said they are hopeful about judicial reform. Noting that although the amendment package of the government is still promising despite some shortcomings, he underlined that what Turkey needs is a new constitution.

Lending support to the reform package, Kayseri Bar Association head Ali Aydın also said it is obvious that the current Constitution, drafted by the perpetrators of the Sept. 12, 1980 coup, cannot respond to today’s needs. “We are the supporters of every kind of initiative launched to improve human rights and freedoms,” Aydın said.