Coup Discussion

For several days now, the Turkish media has been searching for answers to the question that was asked in Washington, on the other side of the Atlantic. There are different opinions; there are those who take it seriously and those who think it is a joke… For instance, Mahir Kaynak, is just one the people who takes the question seriously. There is no need to be intimidated by his response, because what he says is not a knowledge product but just an analysis.

This paragraph comes from an article concerning Kaynak on the issue: “Today, I also feel pity for both the victims and the assassins, but I think what I should do is to anticipate this project. I guess I will be faced with a situation similar to the 1980 coup. In such a situation, some people will try to prevent it, they will be declared heroes, for a while we will think that they are ruling the country, and after that they will go on vacation…”

Kaynak describes the type of coup as “similar to the 1980 coup.” What is the reason for the recent incidents in the country? Because the recent events have interesting similarities to the ones that occurred prior to the 1980 putsch. These recent events are like rehearsals of fights in the streets and squares around the country.

For a long time, the hand of darkness has been exerting immense efforts to split the society. Firstly, the Alevi-Sunni rift and then the Nationalist-pro-American or the pro-EU struggle, and lastly, the Kurdish-Turkish clash…

This has equivalents in the political arena as well. Some circles evaluate the Justice and Development Party’s (AKP) Pro-EU policies from an extremist viewpoint, there are even people who portray this as a betrayal. They view developments in Cyprus and Northern Iraq from the same perspective. The marginal groups, like Dogu Perincek, until recently had described the extensive foreign policies of the government as disaster scenarios. However, there are currently many left-wing and right-wing parties in the line of Perincek.

Even the serious parties construct their policies on the basis of the “conspiracy theories” published in Perincek’s Aydinlik Magazine, theories which were once forgotten, lost in the pages of the magazine. Unfortunately, the polarization tension in the society has increased instead of decreasing.

Unfortunately, I have to say that a great deal of distance has already been covered in this direction; the events have moved onto the streets, the egg and gun attacks on the prime minister reveal this. I am one of those who think that Turkey has come face to face with a scenario in which anything can happen.

The thing I have difficulty understanding is that those who experienced difficulties during the 1980 coup are again taking action to foment a coup. Look at the recent events from this perspective and you will once again see the faces you know, those who played the same roles previously. It is certain that they will play central roles in the upcoming events which we will all experience.

Here in this land, there are many places where people who fail to learn any lessons from the past, live. And didn’t our poet Mehmet Akif Ersoy write, “They say history consists of repeated events, if one had learned a lesson would it be repeated?” I wish we could learn our lessons from the mistakes of the past, and not make the very same mistakes again.

When you see this scene, you can’t say “No, there won’t be another coup in this country again.” If we wake up to the sound of tanks again one morning, I am sure that the first thing the army will do that morning will be to destroy the circles that are playing the “friendly forces” role.

Anyway, we should not lose our cautious optimism, there will be no military coup in Turkey, the Muslim identity and democracy which is shown as a role model. These lands might witness unsuccessful coup bids, like the putsch Talat Aydemir once attempted…