When asked about the allegations concerning 3rd Army Commander Gen. Saldıray Berk, who is facing charges of involvement in terrorist activities in an ongoing investigation in Erzincan, Başbuğ expressed his strong disbelief in the justness of the investigation. “In our meetings with our army commander, he was asked his views regarding the allegations about himself. He told us many times that he has nothing to do with the charges directed against him.” This prompted severe criticism of Gen. Başbuğ for intervening in the judiciary in a way that is unacceptable in a nation where all citizens are equal before law.Acknowledging that the presumption of innocence is an important principle of law and that everyone should respect this principle, Radikal’s İsmet Barkan says while keeping this principle in mind, one should not fall short of respecting another important legal principle and make comments on an ongoing case like a lawyer or prosecutor. He says even if Gen. Başbuğ thinks the suspect or suspects in an ongoing judicial case were treated unjustly, he should not have disclosed his views. “The same principle is binding undoubtedly for the prime minister, members of the government, the opposition, the press and everyone, but just because others are violating this principle, nobody should feel they themselves also have the right to violate it,” explains Berkan.
Bugün’s Ahmet Taşgetiren is also rather disturbed by Başbuğ standing up for Gen. Berk even though the case is still in progress. “There is an indictment in question that was prepared by the prosecutor’s office and accepted by the court, and Gen. Berk is among the leading suspects. You, as the chief of General Staff, can say, ‘We looked at the indictment, there is no offense in question, we are behind Berk.’ There is no need to hold a trial after your statements. You tried him and released him. You saw yourself as having the authority to do so,” Taşgetiren tells Başbuğ.
Drawing attention to the irony, he says he is sure Başbuğ will continue to make statements that the judiciary is independent and that no one can interfere in a judicial process, despite making a direct intervention in the judiciary.
“It is possible to understand criticism of suspects being held in detention or in jail for a long time before a trial. But talking about a suspect and saying, ‘He did not commit an offense in our view, we are behind him,’ is nothing but an intervention in the judiciary,” contends Taşgetiren.
On Başbuğ’s support for Berk, Radikal’s Oral Çalışlar also interprets this move as a direct intervention in the judiciary and an attempt to challenge it. He explains that Başbuğ and his fellows in the TSK have to understand that they are equal like other citizens before the law. In his view, Turkey can become a state adhering to the rule of law only when an environment is formed in which they are made to understand this reality. “Unless this happens, ‘the supremacy of law’ and ‘independence of the judiciary’ will be nothing more than empty clichés,” suggests Çalışlar.
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