These intellectuals and journalists, who often have conflicting ideas, were exclaiming one truth in unison on the front page of the newspaper: “Junta supporters should be removed from our army.” The Radikal daily did not come out with a similar headline for no reason. What was it that brought people together? The action plan popularly known as “The Plan to Finish off the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and Gülen,” first published by the Taraf daily on June 12, had sparked major debates. Suspicions were raised when debates were taking place over a photocopied version of the action plan as the original document was absent. But actually and unfortunately, there was no need to be suspicious. It was obvious that illegal activities like this plan have been happening within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) for a very long time. Even worse, it was no secret that evidence seized after the exposure of certain junta activities was being concealed. For some reason, memorandums, notes, addendums and secret recordkeeping never stopped.
Despite several previous incidents, the relevant authorities did not pay the required attention, and unfortunately, our army suffered another blow. But it was evident that the situation would eventually come to this point because there were no repercussions for issuing addendums and memorandums and keeping secret records on people. This in return encouraged junta supporters and made them brazen. Eventually what happened happened, and the original copy of the document, which was suspected of being a photocopy, was revealed. The Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) decisively proved that the document was prepared at the General Staff headquarters and signed by Col. Dursun Çiçek. This meant junta supporters and collaborators no longer had anywhere to run to.
Today they place a weapon in someone’s home, tomorrow…
It was at that point that the Turkish media united against antidemocratic gangs within the TSK and said, “That’s enough.” A photo of Ahmet Altan, Yasemin Çongar, Oktay Ekşi, Hikmet Çetinkaya, Ertuğrul Özkök, Sedat Ergin, Ahmet Taşgetiren, Taha Akyol and Oral Çalışlar on the front page of the Zaman daily had a single message. Despite differences in our opinions, identities and lifestyles, we all have one thing in common: DEMOCRACY.
Although the junta named the document the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism and although some television stations (including respectable news channels such as NTV) continue to persistently use this title shamelessly when covering the story, this was a plan to create discord, directly targeting the people and politics.
It not only devised a trap for the ruling power, the AK Party, but it also planned heinous conspiracies against Fethullah Gülen. That was not all. The plan aimed to organize a chain of events that would provoke Alevis and incite enmity and separatism. It sought to excite the people by sacrificing the state’s sensitive foreign policy preferences for everyday interests and by using psychological warfare tactics such as exploiting sacred and mournful memories including those of our fallen soldiers.
One does not need to have a particular outlook or ideology to oppose this plan. Everyone, every person who respects human rights is expected to say: “Enough! This is what undermines our military. This is what puts the TSK and the people against each other. This is what humiliates Turkey in the eyes of the world.” And ultimately, that is what was said.
Take, for example, the Cumhuriyet daily’s Çetinkaya. Everyone knows how biased he is against Gülen. But despite that fact, he expressed his reaction on a television program called “Tarafsız Bölge” (Neutral Zone) on CNN Türk, saying: “I have voiced many criticisms about them, but this plan is just wrong. You can’t place weapons in their homes and dormitories and then charge them with being a terrorist organization.”
This was a manifestation of a conscious and a heart. It was the right thing to say. Even if we have different opinions, even if we don’t enjoy each other’s company and even if we harbor a degree of anger toward each other, when it comes to illegal bullying, we need to support each other. Without this kind of maturity, brazen people who place weapons in someone’s home and then file a police report today will do the same to another person tomorrow.
Right when we were saying Turkey, and its rightists, leftists, liberals, etc., had honorably passed the democracy test, some people attempted to deviate from their original solid stance, dilute the matter and distort the situation. Either they were scolded by someone or they became disturbed by the stories in the media. For example, they blathered about something called a signature machine. Can you believe it? The media first covered the existence of a wet signature on Friday, Oct. 23. But the General Staff has not yet offered the slightest convincing explanation. Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, who attended official celebrations, did not respond to a single question. First Army Corps Commander Gen. Hasan Iğsız, who allegedly ordered the preparation of the document, is keeping his lips sealed although journalists are insistently asking him questions. Some journalists are making up ridiculous excuses to blow up the truth exposed by the document. This is more than just being officious.
It’s important for common sense to support democracy
It’s just mere rhetoric and nothing else. The Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader put aside his years of experience and started defending a criminal organization, asking question such as why the original signed copy sent with the whistleblower’s letters was delayed for so many months. He never even referred to those who needed to be held accountable.
A man who was apparently involved in the junta put his life on the line and informed the prosecutors. But some of the media’s warranted officers are instead trying to castigate the whistleblower almost as if to question the reason why he is coming forward. Although they appear to be opposing Çiçek, whose signature is on the document, they are actually attacking the anonymous whistleblower.
The worse part is that some people who claim to be legalists and sign their name with title “professor” are displaying the most appalling fascist behavior and suggesting that it’s supposedly wrong for the military to interfere in politics but it’s acceptable for it to plot against a religious community. What a shame. These people should be called pro-junta professors. Indeed anyone that describes placing weapons in the homes of innocent people as a legitimate “struggle” should be considered within the scope of counter-reactionaryism for this person clearly lives in a tunnel from at least five centuries ago. Besides, the plan not only targets the Gülen movement but also envisions traps for Alevis as well as nationalist circles.
There has always been and perhaps always will be exceptional fascism. There is no need to pay heed to the distortion and dilution efforts of marginal groups. What’s important is that common sense takes a stand behind democracy. This line has been established to a certain degree. It is exactly from this point that we need to start to take action in order to eliminate camps and polarizations, in other words from democracy. There may be people who make zigzags or don’t have a strong backbone. But everyone must know that any intervention into democracy will be met by a united resistance. This is the triumph of democracy and the triumph of law. I hope those in charge of the TSK will realize this truth and pioneer Turkey’s jump to an advanced age by sorting out the junta supporters from within the army.
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