‘Piece of paper’ ends military’s myth

I was stunned to hear such comments from a key figure who had been in this country long enough to see the whole picture. So was Cengiz Çandar, my colleague from a rival paper. He looked indifferent when we told him, in detail, how the demonic mind of the militarists and enemies of democracy works, taking him for a long tour d’horizon of oppression, pain, suffering and desperation people here felt over the decades in their struggle for freedom and rights. All the time he spent here, the diplomat had understood nothing of how arduous such a fight can be if your adversary is armed, ruthless and equipped with a devilish mind.

Meanwhile, real responses come in the form of revelations. After what many within the militarist, undemocratic camp had hoped would be a time long enough to make people believe otherwise, forensics specialists established that the (in)famous “document,” written by a certain colonel at the General Staff headquarters, is authentic. The original is now in the hands of prosecutors in İstanbul, followed by a letter from an officer whose identity is not known. This letter indicates that more than 15 officers and soldiers -- some of whom are generals -- are part of a “junta” involved in plotting even after the summer 2007 election victory of the Justice and Development Party (AKP).

Conspiracy theory? Hmm. The best the “militarists at heart” within the loyal-to-the-state-no-matter-what press could do was to take attention away from the very fact that we now have an original document revealing clandestine activity inside the top command by asking questions such as “Why was it leaked to the press?” “Why was it delivered to the prosecutors now?” and so on. But while this journalistic sleepwalking was taking place, a number of officers and soldiers were already called in for interrogation.

The communiqué issued on Monday by the top command was, too, in a mood of sheer defense. It declared a “reset” of an internal investigation, but devoted much space for condemning “leaks to the press” and demanded that those sharing the story with the public be punished.

This latest episode in what could be called the “demythification of the military” (a process through which an institution is forced to be transparent and accountable through the help of a diverse media) exposes even further how utterly ridiculous one can become by refusing to face the reality of today, but instead still find value in the illusion that in the electronic age, in a democracy, things will be kept secret from the people as in those “golden” Cold War days.

The opportunity the latest revelation presents the top echelons of the military is very clear. It has come to the end of the resistance to change, after almost two decades of static, arrogant behavior following the end of the Cold War.

The remarkable political evolution in Turkey -- however disjointed it may be -- means that high-ranking officers must now either reform their powerful institution, learn to respect the will of the people expressed in free elections, cease forever all subversive activity aimed at damaging democracy, stop seeing free citizens as “internal enemies,” be accountable and focus only on protecting the territory of the republic against hostile action from outside -- or they will inevitably face more scrutiny and exposure and further humiliation.