This marks an important step toward curbing military powers in politics and in meeting one of the critical criteria set forth by the European Union in Turkey's bid to become a member of this European club.
This is despite the fact that both the military and the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) in particular raised their objections to the amendment, with the latter stating that it will take the matter to the Constitutional Court.
This amendment has not only raised hopes among Turkish intellectuals that the political authority will finally refocus on democratic reforms after a break since 2005, but will also strengthen the civilian administration's ability to both rule and govern the nation enabling civilian democratic oversight of the country's highly politicized Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
A military continuously busying itself with politics and staging different sorts of coups, as it has five times from the 1960 military coup until 2007, when it released an e-memo against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), not only inflicts damage on Turkey's credibility and progress but also on itself, hindering it from becoming a professional and effective armed force.
A column written by Milliyet's Hasan Cemal on Wednesday, in which he published some excerpts from the diaries of former Navy Forces Commander retired Adm. Özden Örnek concerning his criticism of the TSK, prompted me to go back to his memoirs in depth.
As will be seen below, Örnek displays the mindset of the TSK, reminding us how important it is for the political authorities to address this problem by ultimately ensuring the civilian democratic oversight of this institution.
Retired Adm. Örnek's diaries were first published by the now-closed political weekly Nokta magazine in its March 29-April 5, 2007 issue. The focus on his diaries has continued to be on his revelation of two coup plans named Sarıkız (Blonde Girl) and Ayışığı (Moonlight), prepared by a former senior general facing a prison term over his alleged role in the plot to unseat the government as part of the Ergenekon investigation and trial.
The coup attempts were understood to have been prevented by then-Turkish Chief of General Staff retired Gen. Hilmi Özkök.
The second indictment accepted by an İstanbul court that will begin trial on July 20 has proven that the diaries published by Nokta belonged to retired Adm. Örnek. Here are some excerpts from Örnek's diaries that display how the TSK has become inward looking over the decades, almost completely cutting its ties with civilians:
“Can a community entertaining itself at military lodgings alone and shopping at military-run markets establish a relationship with civilians? There have neither been civilian friends of officers nor have civilians had friends in particular amongst high-ranking officers.
“As time has passed, in the early 1990s, when it was realized that the relationship [with civilians] could not have gone on like that and that the necessity for transparency has emerged, a fashion of transparency has spread within the TSK. There are two dimensions in relations [of the TSK] with civilians. Firstly, how does the TSK view civilians? ... Secondly, to what extent is the TSK open to civilian society for them to understand the Turkish military? The issue of media accreditation has been discovered by the Turkish General Staff. It can be seen without in-depth thinking that this policy [media accreditation] is against all laws, and finally, even the Constitution. As long as our [the TSK's] viewpoint toward civilians is not changed, changes in our attitudes [toward civilians] cannot be more than a deception. It is regarded as sinful [by the TSK] to have contact with the AKP as long as they are in power. You will immediately be accused of being against Atatürkism [Kemalism]. But nobody [within the TSK] can answer the questions, ‘OK, we think differently from these people, but how are we going to establish dialogue with them? How are we going to convince each other of our own beliefs?'
“The civilian notion of patriotism is weak. They, in general, act in line with their self-interest, disregarding their nation and the people. They [the civilians] are lazy, will not work and only care about earning money easily. For that reason, members of the TSK work very hard and because they make sacrifices, they, the members of the TSK, deserve everything. Where can we go with this kind of view? Until recently, the TSK wouldn't have even consulted civilian experts on the academic viewpoint. We were reacting as if we had been living in the 1700s. The TSK is the pioneer of everything. This idea has been so widespread, and trust in civilians has been so low that the TSK finally set up its own institutions, providing masters and doctoral studies, and instead of meeting its requirements from the private sector and from the other sectors of the state, it has begun owning everything. How long can this [mindset] last?
“Such types of attitudes and views [of the TSK] are special for those inward-looking societies. How can one deny the society that comes from within?
“First and foremost, we [the TSK] made Atatürk our idol. While he himself said, ‘It is not important to see me, but it is important to understand my ideas,' we associated him with his ideas and commemorate them with his sculptures, pictures and posters everywhere. This cannot go like that. While talking, on the one hand, about a necessity for Islam to meet today's conditions and that it should be reformed, we, on the other, do not open Atatürk's principles to discussion, as if Kemalism will last forever.
“Thus, those principles become dogma rather than a road map. ... If Atatürk were alive he himself would have had criticized this situation the most. The second issue is that, it is necessary to save society from the influence of the land forces. They want their views to be dominant at all state levels, and they want everybody to think like they do and to act like them.
“The state's decision-making process has long been influenced by the Turkish General Staff. It has become customary to consult the General Staff before making decisions on internal and external affairs. Those in government could not make decisions freely [from the General Staff]. For that reason, if any decisions made were not liked by the people, an easy answer was ‘because that was what the military wanted.' This habit has been the result of coups. There have been events that necessitated the military's right to speak. But this intervention has turned into a kind of ruling [of the nation]. For that reason, courageous steps were not made in foreign policy issues in particular.”
In the final analysis, the more steps that are taken toward civilianization, the more tension is raised in the status quo.
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