April 4, 2014

The regime's character in Turkey

Bülent Keneş

My foreign colleagues have been frequently asking whether I expect an operation against me and the Hizmet movement in line with an order from the government of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. "No, I don't expect it," or "Yes, such a thing is a possibility," I reply, though these answers seem to be diametric opposites of one another. Then, I proceed to explain my answers. Whether there will be an operation against me or the Hizmet movement is dependent not on legal/legitimate activities by me or the Hizmet movement, but on what kind of regime the Turkish Republic will evolve into under the administration of Prime Minister Erdoğan.

If Turkey will continue to be part of the free and civilized world and assert itself as a democratic country guided by rule of law, albeit in a limping manner, I say that there will not be large-scale crackdowns in the form of witch hunts utilizing completely illusory claims and allegations. Despite the fact that Prime Minister Erdoğan made such high-sounding remarks and threats -- like, "We will enter their dens," or "We will uproot them," both before and after the elections -- I stress that these accusations and threats cannot be used as the basis for unfair and illegitimate operations. Therefore, I underline the fact that I don't expect any operation under current circumstances -- about which I force myself to be optimistic.

"However, if the Erdoğan-ruled Turkey starts to isolate itself from the world and show signs of ever-increasing authoritarianism, or if it turns into a despotic regime like North Korea or Uzbekistan, then things will change," I say. "Then, anything is possible," I note and add: "In such a case, those who are supposed to be concerned or scared of such an unfortunate situation will not be the members of the Hizmet movement only. Such a development will make life unbearable for all citizens from all walks of life. Therefore, this will be a horrific process in which everyone, not only the members of the Hizmet movement, should be concerned.”

In other words, if Turkey does not turn into a despotic regime like North Korea or Uzbekistan, and if it does not abandon its claim of being a liberal democratic country guided by rule of law, no witch hunt can be launched in connection with the opposition that stems from principles, beliefs or views of a specific social group. No unlawful or unfair operation can be launched to repress or intimidate dissident groups who have objections to certain policies. Of course, any person who breaches the law or commits a crime must be investigated and tried irrespective of his or her affiliations. But those who would conduct said investigation or seek prosecution must stick to legitimate grounds with determination. For this reason, it is essential that the ruling party, which is eager to launch an operation against the Hizmet movement using unfounded claims or pretexts, be acquitted of all allegations against it of corruption, bribery, fraud and unlawfulness.

In a country that claims to be a democratic one guided by rule of law, no election can serve as grounds for such an acquittal. Even if you secure 95 percent of the national vote, this does not eliminate concrete evidence of corruption, bribery and graft. A ballot box is not a washing machine that can acquit those who are accused of involvement in crime and unlawfulness. History will remember that those who believe they can acquit family and government members implicated in graft and bribery allegations by bringing them to the balcony on the night of an election victory are wrong.

Moreover, no election result can legitimize or endorse the arbitrary closure of social media outlets like Twitter and YouTube in an effort to prevent the dissemination of graft and bribery evidence. It does not authorize anyone to hurl unfounded accusations at a specific social group, define them as a "parallel structure" and "undermine" them by entering their "dens." No election result can be provided as a justification for the intention to start a war with Syria in an effort to derive domestic political benefits.

A democratic regime that is based on rule of law cannot launch massive attacks against various dissident social groups with different beliefs or lifestyles without suspending its democratic characteristics. Yes, but isn't there a risk of the regime largely losing these democratic qualities, which have already been enormously eroded in recent months? There is, of course, such a risk, especially in light of recent unlawful acts and arbitrary practices. But obviously, it is not only the Hizmet movement that should be concerned about these ill-intentioned developments. Moreover, Turkey's democratic modern makeup and institutional memory would not allow such a dictatorial regime to be created or maintained.

Nevertheless, strong concerns that the decision the Constitutional Court, the highest authority of appeal, made on Wednesday about the lifting of the Twitter ban will not be implemented show that Turkey's quality of being a democratic country governed by rule of law has been quickly waning. Therefore, there is the strong possibility that Prime Minister Erdoğan and his colleagues/family members -- facing unprecedented graft and bribery allegations -- might desperately head for despotism in order to save themselves from prosecution.

The prime minister's recent anti-democratic and unlawful performance indicates that he might want to establish a despotic system and that he has a serious penchant for this. In this atmosphere, where laws and the judiciary are effectively sidelined, it is not a distant possibility that law -- as the obstacle to the systematization of despotism -- could be eliminated altogether. This is dependent more on whether society will allow such a thing to happen rather than on Prime Minister Erdoğan's will and intentions. Although Erdoğan and his aides do not inspire any confidence, we must continue to believe in the democratic sensitivity of society and in the established institutions of the country.

The fact that, although five days have since passed, the prime minister received no message of congratulation for his election victory from any democratic country is a clear indication of the pathetic state of him and his party -- if he is ready to see it as such. The success Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and EU Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu -- who interact with their foreign counterparts more frequently due to their responsibilities in international relations -- obtained in justifying the Twitter and YouTube bans, the most concrete sign of the anti-democratic shift of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) in recent years, is indicative of the potential success of the government's effort to clothe the regime in despotic garb. With their striking ingenuity, Davutoğlu and Çavuşoğlu may be able to find justifications for the erosion of values Turkey is suffering from due to the government's recent policies and since the country is distancing itself from the democratic and free world. But there is still ground for optimism, to assume that the country and the nation will not tolerate such a deviation.

Published on Today's Zaman, 04 April 2014, Friday

Related Articles
Print | Save as PDF