What is Erdoğan's battle for?

Cafer Solgun

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is growing increasingly bellicose and ill-tempered. He is having rows not only with other political parties, but with everyone.

We need to make a correct assessment of the reasons for his battle. Apparently, we have to do this if we want to make sure our democracy is protected when we come out of this chaotic environment.

Since Dec. 17, 2013, when the graft and bribery probe that implicates senior government officials and relatives of the prime minister -- and even before then -- Erdoğan has been hurling open insults every day at rallies, meetings, ceremonies and on TV programs at everyone who dislikes or criticizes his policies and his governance style or mentality.

It could be argued that no power or government likes criticism. This is an element of power that can be understood and tolerated and it is quite natural for Erdoğan to dislike criticisms and like praise.

In democratic countries, leaders try not to show their dislike of criticism and they work hard to prove that unfair criticism is unfair. In general, they adopt a defensive position toward the general public and the organizations that gauge the pulse of the public, such as the media. This is what democracy entails. Those who represent and govern the country are responsible for being accountable to those who entrust them with this authority. Their position (power) and their responsibility (governing the country in compliance with laws) are transient and not due to their divine destiny.

A particular characteristic of our prime minister is not his dislike of criticism, but his penchant for quarrel in an effort to suppress criticism. Since the corruption probe became public on Dec. 17, he has been harshly accusing, defaming, threatening and discrediting anyone who criticizes him and his polices or who voices concerns or objections about them. "Coup perpetrators," "traitors," "spies," and "Hashashin" are a small subset of the verbal ammunition he uses in this battle. Can we say that he is just responding to "criticism?”

Can we say that he is so short-tempered in order to thwart the "attempted coup" against him? No, this is not correct. First of all, it is wrong to say that there is a coup attempt targeting him. This, I think, is a tactic Erdoğan has developed to cover up the graft and bribery allegations against members of his party. Even if we suppose that there is really a coup attempt against him, the correct way to combat it is to resort to laws, not to shout at rallies. But we see that there has not been a single judicial investigation launched to examine these so-called coup claims.

"The ruling party is having a row with the Hizmet movement after years of sharing power with it," some offer as an explanation of the current crisis, but I think this is a dishonest, irresponsible or unethical approach to the problem. It is our essential, civic responsibility to refuse and reject all forms of tyranny, injustice and discrimination.

Moreover, this problem does not concern only the Hizmet movement. By redefining the problem this way, Erdoğan is attempting to conceal his real plan. The prime minister is waging battle against businessmen who speak of their concerns about developments. He uses his hatchet against media outlets that do not applaud him. He slashes columnists who refuse to voice nothing but appreciation of his acts. He quarrels with other political parties (not political competition). He stigmatizes citizens who criticize his party's polices, labeling them Gezi Park protesters. He is at odds with the members of the judiciary and the law enforcement authorities who launched the graft and bribery probe. He even charges at the members of his own party who dare to voice their concerns.

But what is this battle for? This is the critical question for the ongoing problematic process.

We can reformulate this question: Will Erdoğan's "parallel state" or "attempted coup" rhetoric be enough to conceal the real reasons for his battle?

I will continue to discuss Erdoğan's battle in a future column.

Published on Today's Zaman, 24 February 2014, Monday