They portray an image that leads to suspicions in the public’s mind that some members of the judiciary are collaborating and even partnering with junta members. The fact that scandals that would no be seen in any other countries in a hundred years are seen in this country every week increase concerns that the issue is not just about an image, but that there are also some problems based on concrete data. Taking a look at just the events that happened this week and the debates over the judiciary are enough to understand this. Col. Dursun Çiçek, whose signature on a junta action plan that plots a conspiracy against the society and politics has been confirmed, appeared before the civilian judiciary after nearly 20 days of resistance, and of course he was arrested. Çiçek had appeared before the judiciary before but was not arrested. He was released 18 hours after being held in custody because the document was a photocopy. After the original of the document was sent to the prosecutors leading the Ergenekon investigation in a letter written by an anonymous military officer and the Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) determined that the signature on the document was produced by Çiçek’s hand, it became necessary for the colonel to give another statement to the prosecutors. But he did not go for a long time. Even the privates accused of destroying the documents were not referred to the prosecutors for a long time. The General Staff also didn’t send the surveillance tapes from the day certain documents were destroyed according to the informant’s letter to the court, either. But anyways. This time Çiçek was released 43 hours after being held in custody. Why? Because there was “no suspicion of him running away.”
Unfortunately, the decision to release him has led to the question of whether there is a connection between the judiciary and some junta supporters. In fact it has increased suspicion of whether some deep structures are being protected by the judiciary. It is for this reason that a significant number of dailies have not been able to understand the reason behind this odd decision. It is for this reason that the Milliyet daily referred to the situation as “Çiçek Taxi,” (an apparent reference to the speed at which the decision was made) and Radikal said, “He went in and out.” The headline “Arrested for 18 hours for photocopy, arrested for 43 hours for original” is indicative of the impression the event has left in people’s hearts. Frankly, reaching this decision despite so much evidence has undermined the faith people have in justice once again.
The public conscience will ask, “What is the reason behind persistently releasing someone despite so much concrete evidence against him?” The potential answer(s) to this question leads to serious implications that complicate the judicial mechanism. According to the image that has been portrayed, people are either going to say, “The justice system functions differently for civilians and differently for military personnel and grants privileges to military officers,” or they are going to say: “Çiçek is in such a critical spot that if his position is exposed, all junta work will unravel. Therefore, special attention is being put on this position, and there’s no harm seen in putting the law through hell.”
We cannot look at this as a personal hostility because we don’t know who Dursun Çiçek is. Besides, the issue is not about if someone is arrested or released. It is about how someone can be protected despite the fact that his signature was confirmed by forensic medicine on a document which actually lays a trap for the whole society. The judiciary has once again been damaged seriously. That is because the latest decisions taken by the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) are involved in the event, and it feels like once again there is pressure and favoritism.
During that week there was a juridical debate that was funnier than a comedy movie.
Ömer Faruk Eminağaoğlu, who is the president of the Judges and Prosecutors Association (YARSAV) and continues his duty as a prosecutor in his spare time(!), and a judge from Sincan, most of whose decisions were claimed to be political, put their heads together and started the process that led to a raid on the Telecommunications Directorate (TİB). Right after the raid was carried out, special news deliveries were made to some media organizations. They claimed the judiciary was wiretapping telephone calls of the judiciary. This is nothing new. Indeed, it is a regular procedure to wiretap someone from the judiciary if he or she is the subject of an investigation. On the other hand much evidence emerged that there was a link between the Ergenekon case and many judges and prosecutors. Wasn’t it discovered that some members of the judiciary had said, “Do you have an orders for me” to Ergenekon suspects? During this process, didn’t we learn about a prosecutor who requested retirement and started to get ready to become a notary after it was revealed that he had invited the president of the Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces (VKGB), who is currently in Silivri Prison, to his room while interrogating a writer?
Didn’t the same prosecutors file lawsuits against newspapers because their names were mentioned with Ergenekon? Moreover, the man is both a prosecutor and the chairman of an association. Even that is understandable. But he is acting as though he is defending the Ergenekon suspects and telling them how they need to act when giving testimony. This is the situation. Unfortunately, there are suspicions that there is actual cooperation between some members of the judiciary and deep formations. Under the current circumstances which is more correct to say: “Wow, they were actually listening to the judiciary,” or “Wow, some members of the judiciary were supporting illegal organizations”? Experiences around the world show that dark organization cannot survive without support from the judiciary. Therefore, if there is a concrete reason to suspect a link, those who are leading the investigation will start the legal process and monitor phone calls through the judiciary (even if it is a judicial member). This is not illegal.
Besides, the TİB is not where interceptions are actually made. It is a unit where bureaucratic records of gendarmerie intelligence, police intelligence and national intelligence interceptions are kept and where the interception process is monitored to ensure that it is conducted according to procedure. But for some people that is not important. For them, starting an outcry that “everyone is being listened to” is more important then the truth. Since there were some media organizations that were in line to spread this message, there was no reason not to turn it into a show, and ultimately that is what happened. Some media organizations (especially a news station that appears to be objective but is actually an Ergenekon trumpeter) facilitated the spread of an incorrect perception. While talking about wiretapping and eavesdropping, we forget the real question: “Why were requests made to monitor the phone calls of some members of the judiciary, and what concrete evidence was there that led the judges to respond in the affirmative for the request to intercept phone calls?”
With the position it has taken and controversial decisions it has reached, the judiciary has given the image that it is involved in politics, and this has caused serious damage (although some judicial members don’t care about this). At a time when trust in justice has weakened, we are also experiencing a media problem. Unfortunately, some members of the media continue to directly and sometime indirectly support junta supporters. That said, it seems there is along way ahead before democracy is fully established in this country. Despite this serious picture we have before us, no one should think Turkey will turn its back on the participatory and pluralistic democracy orbit it has entered. It will not turn back. Just as juntas are outdated, facilitating juntas is also outdated.
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