Under the new operations, dubbed the 12th wave, some Turkish academics were arrested on charges of playing a part in attempts to unseat the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) through an armed uprising. In addition, the headquarters of some nongovernmental organizations -- including the Support for Modern Life Association (ÇYDD) headed by Professor Türkan Saylan, who is presently undergoing cancer treatment -- were searched while a member of another NGO was arrested.
The shock over the 12th wave of the investigation was felt among those who had already been suspicious about the motives of Ergenekon from the very start. They, therefore, did not want to believe that academics or NGOs could be involved in alleged criminal acts. Since there has been no official explanation of the alleged crimes of the academics or NGOs subjected to the investigation, I cannot voice any opinion on the specific cases of either.
However, Turkey's history does have instances of the involvement of academics in military coups, such as that of May 27, 1960. Oral Çalışlar, a columnist for the Radikal daily who served time in jail following the 1980 military coup, told the Taraf daily on April 19 that universities and their academics had joined the military sponsored resistance against the government of the time, a movement which culminated in the 1960 coup. Some academics and journalists later became deputies in the new parliament set up after the coup, Çalışlar reiterated.
Similarly, before the Sept. 12, 1980 military coup, chaos had been created within universities, where students from leftist and rightist ideologies clashed almost every day. Even today, do not be surprised if you hear from a university professor, a lawyer, a journalist, a prosecutor, a businessmen or a deputy that they will not rule out coups. Some participants in current Turkish TV programs from those professions do not see any problem, either, in defending coups directly or indirectly while strongly criticizing the Ergenekon prosecutors as well as the government.
The basic reason behind the deepening polarization in Turkish society over Ergenekon has been the acceptance of military coups as something normal in society and that the military has been wrongly perceived as the savior of the country when it has been facing political, economic and social unrest. Yet, in actuality, the Turkish military's heavy involvement in politics is the main source of instability in the country, as the past five different types of military interventions into politics have proven.
If we come back to the current trends and the future of the Ergenekon case in general, we observe that no one, not even the government itself, is sure where this investigation will lead.
However, I also wish, as Turkish Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Günay said recently, that if Turkey manages to come out of the Ergenekon investigation strongly and successfully, democracy will for the first time win against coup supporters (Zaman, April 22).
On the other hand, my well-informed Turkish sources agreed with the increased speculation that the inquiry will not go further in touching the politically powerful Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). There are already several retired generals serving in jail on charges of masterminding the coup plots against the government, while some active duty and retired military officers are already accused of being part of Ergenekon and facing trial.
It is understood that the political authority has struck an informal deal with Gen. İlker Başbuğ, the Turkish chief of general staff, that TSK's high-ranking either retired or active duty officers will not be scrutinized further over the Ergenekon investigation out of fear that any further digging into the TSK will further agitate them.
Gen. Başbuğ's April 14 speech, made at the War Academies Command in İstanbul, also aimed at calming down TSK members over the serious links to Ergenekon of some of the military, as well as reducing the reaction to the TSK commandership coming from the military over what it sees as the indifference of their commanders to the civilian prosecutors' inquiry into their former and current members.
Even the current state of Ergenekon, under which some senior retired generals have been arrested over their alleged links to coup plots alone, has the potential to play a significant role in deterring the TSK from further coups or attempts to destabilize the country.
In the meantime, there are serious question marks over what and who actually triggered the Ergenekon investigation in a country where political authorities have never had the courage to go after the coup plotters or investigate them in Parliament.
There is no single answer to that question but the emerging view is that the Ergenekon case is a "Made in Turkey" product and there is no outside support for the investigation itself. Perhaps, global dynamics and their influence on Turkey -- dictating a more transparent and open society -- may have played a role in triggering some prosecutors to go after the country's unresolved coup-related problems.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, President Abdullah Gül, the head of Turkish national intelligence and to a certain extent Gen. Başbuğ are, however, believed to be the few members of the hierarchy who are best informed about Ergenekon.
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