If this is not a piece of disinformation or black propaganda it is a perfect example of ignorance. Under the title “A NATO Without Turkey?” Schenker gets angry with the West because “Western pressures have compelled the Turkish military to remain in the barracks, and refrain from interfering in political developments ... as the secular, democratic, pro-Western republic established by Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the early 1900s is undermined.” The logical end of this analysis is that the West should allow the military to intervene in politics. Forgetting the democratic principle of civilian supremacy over the military, the author speaks embarrassingly in the name of the West. Thank God Turkish people and institutions are more “Western” than this “expert” working in a Washington-based think tank.His implicit suggestion is that Turkey should be ruled by the military that is committed to secularism and the West. Such logic lacks any democratic vision and wisdom. The interesting point, though, is that such an implicit call for military rule is done through a newspaper, the Wall Street Journal Europe.
While Turkey is taking historic steps in terms of addressing the Kurdish question, facing the Alevi issue, admitting mistakes committed by the state toward non-Muslim minorities and making peace with Armenia, the talk of illiberal policies pursued by the government is not convincing at all. The author seems blinded by his ideological or personal commitments.
The only two examples the author recalls are the tax fine given to the Doğan Media Group, which indicates at least one origin of this op-ed, and the Ergenekon case. On the latter, the recent European Commission report stated that: “This is the first case in Turkey to probe into a coup attempt and the most extensive investigation ever on an alleged criminal network aiming at destabilizing the democratic institutions. … This case is an opportunity for Turkey to strengthen confidence in the proper functioning of its democratic institutions and the rule of law.” (p. 6-7).
The Turkish military is certainly supposed to be committed to NATO and Western political values. But unfortunately, the evidence suggests otherwise. Just a few days ago, it was leaked to the media that the General Staff headquarters had run some 40 Web sites in which a NATO ally, Greece, is openly targeted, as part of the military’s psychological warfare activities. Notwithstanding NATO’s defensive character and the principle of good neighborly relations, an “action plan” prepared in the Operations’ Section of the General Staff as revealed last June envisages provocations of conflict with Greece, a NATO ally, and Armenia in order to fan nationalism and push the government into trouble.
It is also well known that among the ranks of the military there were some top commanders who called for quitting NATO. They asked for an alliance with Russia, Iran and China against the West. Some of these nationalist-Kemalist generals are now being tried in the Ergenekon case for plotting a military coup against the elected government. What is more worrisome is that the military appeared to show solidarity for these suspects. This was also criticized in the European Commission report.
“Recent developments suggest that while Turkey’s military leadership remains committed to the state’s secular, Western orientation and the defining principles of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization.” I wish the author were right. Unfortunately the prevalent mindset in the military is that the West continues to plot against Turkey’s territorial integrity, supporting religious and ethnic minorities.
Schenker points out Turkey’s Israel policy to prove that Turkey is departing from the West. This gentleman should not forget that it was Bülent Ecevit, who described Israel as committing “state terrorism” in 2002 over the atrocities in Jenin.
A country which reminds Israel that it uses disproportionate force vis-à-vis the Palestinians and that it commits war crimes is accused of ending its pro-Western orientation. Come on. Does Israel represent the West? Neither Western institutions nor Western countries including Turkey can bear the burden of an Israel that commits war crimes. I would like to remind this gentleman that last week in the UN General Assembly the Goldstone report was approved with the votes of 114 countries. The countries that voted for the approval of the report included European states such as Switzerland, Portugal, Ireland, Turkey, Slovenia, Cyprus, Serbia, Bosnia, Albania and Malta. Have all these countries diverted from the West under Islamist governments as well?
“The West is losing Turkey.” It is not. It is not the West but the Kemalist authoritarian elites and their foreign partners who are losing their privileged status in Turkey.
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