April 19, 2012

Hizmet movement and military coups

İhsan Yılmaz

With the democratization of Turkey and the new mentality of the judiciary it has created, prosecutors can now tackle past coup attempts and successful coups, the most recent being the Feb. 28, 1997 coup process.

I call it a “process” since the toppling of former Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan's government was not a result of a sudden abrupt direct military takeover. Instead it was a long period of psychological warfare. There was a consent manufacturing campaign coupled with direct coup threats.

A few days ago, the most prominent leader of the Feb 28 coup, retired General Çevik Bir, was arrested. This has resulted in a panic among the coup's supporters. In order to hide what they did in the past, they argue that the Hizmet Movement also supported the coup and sided with the generals against the Erbakan government. This is a distortion. It is not the first time, nor will it be the last time these media personalities resort to such distortions as they know very well that sometimes these distortions may be swallowed by some sections of society.