Army's Place in the Politics of Turkey
Share on Facebook Share on Twitter
 
Other articles
 

Semdinli [1], known as the second Susurluk[2], shows what the situation of power balances among ruling classes is. When the state in the state which came to open in Susurluk became undeniable fact, there also appeared raising voices for a "Clean Turkey". The final of this process is known: The state could not try itself, the state in the state. The counter-guerrillas have not been brought to justice. In Semdinli, the Kurdish people caught the state in the state red-handed. Upon this, the voices for a "Clean Turkey" started to escalate again. But, this time, the Government has proved that it is not in the strength to try the state in the state, the counter-guerrilla gangs organised around the general staff of army.

The government was taken to court together with the army and state in the state, and gave a task to the Republic Prosecutor, Ferhat Sarikaya, to prepare an indictment. The Semdinli court case prepared by this prosecutor was enough to get generals into action. This court case was a first case against the generals in the history of the re- public. The indictments were clearly showing that there was the state in the state; as a first time through its official organ, the state was pointing out to the state in the state and that the gang hierarchy is a systematic inner-state structure. Through this indictment, the future general staff of army is wanted to be involved in the interrogation as the first time with the reason of being one of the prominent members of the hierarchy.

The indictment caused mixing up of everything, pressurized the balance of power among the ruling classes and showed the place and strength of the army within the politics. The Army has given its message at the highest level: Be careful, those who would tamper with this case then will find us against them! As a result of the pressure from the general staff of army, those who are on the heights of the state, bourgeois parties and other institutions begun to make statements -as if they have agreed before- one after another on the subject of excluding the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, Yasar Buyukanit and so the army from the indictment and on the necessity of not frazzling the army. And the government made a step backward. The Chief of Security Intelligence Branch was dismissed from his post because of saying "the job would become tougher if the thief is someone inside the house" in his speech made in the Parliamentary Commission. And there started an interrogation process against the prosecutor who prepared the indictment. In the end the "superiority of justice" is replaced with the "superiority" of the army, the general staff of army and Yasar Buyukanit, and the government -who tried to take the state in the state into court-, has come across with almost being tried. This show-game was played before 70 million of people.

What has Semdinli shown?

Firstly: A part of the ruling classes is on the side of struggling against the state in the state, terror and counter-guerrilla gangs in the framework of bourgeois laws.

Secondly: Those who consider every way and methods as relevant in the fight against terrorism. This part is on the side of struggling against "terrorism" by remaining as a force state in the state and protecting the counter-guerrilla forces.

The incidents have shown how strong the latter ones are. Following Semdinli, it once more became clear that the army, which frequently came to the agenda due to the EU-membership and which has lost little bit of position in the politics as a result of the pressures from the pro-EU section of the bourgeoisie, for example TUSIAD (Association of Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen), is in the strength to force government to make a step backward and to get the backing of the state. The army still, as it was in the past, holds the word of power within the fascist dictatorship.

The pro-EU section of the bourgeoisie, the section which is on the side of "democracy", was not able to show any strength to wage an organised struggle for the "superiority of law" against the army, state in the state and counter-guerrilla gangs by making the Semdinli and the indictment of the prosecutor as a pretext. Let along the organised struggle, they even could not raise proper voice. The "roaring" of general staff of Army, H. Ozkok, and later "He was a Buyukanit (-means big monument in Turkish-), now he really become much bigger monument" statement of him was synonymous with warning of boundaries against the others. The President, who always talks about the superiority of the law, took his place on the army side right at the beginning. The army has shown his limits to the Prime Minister Erdogan who said "the incident will be investigated where ever and to whom it leads" during his visit to Semdinli on 22 November 2005. The touching of Semdinli to the army and Buyukanit has also touched Erdogan's statements! Everyone touches each other, but no one touches Buyukanit. This is also a reality, because touching the army at the highest ranks would mean the army's end in the politics as well as blocking the advancement of those who want to be on the government, to come to the highest levels within the state: Bringing the army at the highest ranks to the justice means to force the army to act within the borders of law, to recognise "superiority of the law". This would mean for the army to give up the historical mission that it draws for itself; to give up from constantly being on the power. On the other hand, to fail in touching the army at the highest ranks would mean to suffer from touching of the state. I.e. the army could block the way of those strikers who want to be on the heights of the state.

[1] At 9 November 2005, the counter-forces of the state were caught by the Kurdish people when they were carrying out a bombing in the Semdinli town of N. Kurdistan. Thereafter, the labourers in, at fist, N. Kurdistan and Turkey entered into a process of intense actions in order to render Semdinli's account and to obtain the enlightening of counter-guerrilla killings

[2] The incident in Semdinli is discussed as being the "Second Susurluk" among the public opinion of Turkey. Susurluk incident is a name given to the traffic accident that brought to open the organic relations among Mafia-State-Politics trinity on 3 November 1996. That is to say that Susurluk meant the fascist regime's dirty and dark network and organisational relations.
 

 

Archive

 

2020
January
2019
December November
October September
August July
June May
April March
February

 

Army's Place in the Politics of Turkey
fc Share on Twitter
 

Semdinli [1], known as the second Susurluk[2], shows what the situation of power balances among ruling classes is. When the state in the state which came to open in Susurluk became undeniable fact, there also appeared raising voices for a "Clean Turkey". The final of this process is known: The state could not try itself, the state in the state. The counter-guerrillas have not been brought to justice. In Semdinli, the Kurdish people caught the state in the state red-handed. Upon this, the voices for a "Clean Turkey" started to escalate again. But, this time, the Government has proved that it is not in the strength to try the state in the state, the counter-guerrilla gangs organised around the general staff of army.

The government was taken to court together with the army and state in the state, and gave a task to the Republic Prosecutor, Ferhat Sarikaya, to prepare an indictment. The Semdinli court case prepared by this prosecutor was enough to get generals into action. This court case was a first case against the generals in the history of the re- public. The indictments were clearly showing that there was the state in the state; as a first time through its official organ, the state was pointing out to the state in the state and that the gang hierarchy is a systematic inner-state structure. Through this indictment, the future general staff of army is wanted to be involved in the interrogation as the first time with the reason of being one of the prominent members of the hierarchy.

The indictment caused mixing up of everything, pressurized the balance of power among the ruling classes and showed the place and strength of the army within the politics. The Army has given its message at the highest level: Be careful, those who would tamper with this case then will find us against them! As a result of the pressure from the general staff of army, those who are on the heights of the state, bourgeois parties and other institutions begun to make statements -as if they have agreed before- one after another on the subject of excluding the Commander of the Turkish Land Forces, Yasar Buyukanit and so the army from the indictment and on the necessity of not frazzling the army. And the government made a step backward. The Chief of Security Intelligence Branch was dismissed from his post because of saying "the job would become tougher if the thief is someone inside the house" in his speech made in the Parliamentary Commission. And there started an interrogation process against the prosecutor who prepared the indictment. In the end the "superiority of justice" is replaced with the "superiority" of the army, the general staff of army and Yasar Buyukanit, and the government -who tried to take the state in the state into court-, has come across with almost being tried. This show-game was played before 70 million of people.

What has Semdinli shown?

Firstly: A part of the ruling classes is on the side of struggling against the state in the state, terror and counter-guerrilla gangs in the framework of bourgeois laws.

Secondly: Those who consider every way and methods as relevant in the fight against terrorism. This part is on the side of struggling against "terrorism" by remaining as a force state in the state and protecting the counter-guerrilla forces.

The incidents have shown how strong the latter ones are. Following Semdinli, it once more became clear that the army, which frequently came to the agenda due to the EU-membership and which has lost little bit of position in the politics as a result of the pressures from the pro-EU section of the bourgeoisie, for example TUSIAD (Association of Turkish Industrialists' and Businessmen), is in the strength to force government to make a step backward and to get the backing of the state. The army still, as it was in the past, holds the word of power within the fascist dictatorship.

The pro-EU section of the bourgeoisie, the section which is on the side of "democracy", was not able to show any strength to wage an organised struggle for the "superiority of law" against the army, state in the state and counter-guerrilla gangs by making the Semdinli and the indictment of the prosecutor as a pretext. Let along the organised struggle, they even could not raise proper voice. The "roaring" of general staff of Army, H. Ozkok, and later "He was a Buyukanit (-means big monument in Turkish-), now he really become much bigger monument" statement of him was synonymous with warning of boundaries against the others. The President, who always talks about the superiority of the law, took his place on the army side right at the beginning. The army has shown his limits to the Prime Minister Erdogan who said "the incident will be investigated where ever and to whom it leads" during his visit to Semdinli on 22 November 2005. The touching of Semdinli to the army and Buyukanit has also touched Erdogan's statements! Everyone touches each other, but no one touches Buyukanit. This is also a reality, because touching the army at the highest ranks would mean the army's end in the politics as well as blocking the advancement of those who want to be on the government, to come to the highest levels within the state: Bringing the army at the highest ranks to the justice means to force the army to act within the borders of law, to recognise "superiority of the law". This would mean for the army to give up the historical mission that it draws for itself; to give up from constantly being on the power. On the other hand, to fail in touching the army at the highest ranks would mean to suffer from touching of the state. I.e. the army could block the way of those strikers who want to be on the heights of the state.

[1] At 9 November 2005, the counter-forces of the state were caught by the Kurdish people when they were carrying out a bombing in the Semdinli town of N. Kurdistan. Thereafter, the labourers in, at fist, N. Kurdistan and Turkey entered into a process of intense actions in order to render Semdinli's account and to obtain the enlightening of counter-guerrilla killings

[2] The incident in Semdinli is discussed as being the "Second Susurluk" among the public opinion of Turkey. Susurluk incident is a name given to the traffic accident that brought to open the organic relations among Mafia-State-Politics trinity on 3 November 1996. That is to say that Susurluk meant the fascist regime's dirty and dark network and organisational relations.