By: Ismail kilicarslan *
Let me start by saying this much: I think that we have sufficient evidence that this coup attempt is “unsuccessful”. Of course, we will still maintain a continuous and unending state of caution while saying, ‘what if they try again’, until further notice.
Now that the coup attempt has been unsuccessful, there are urgent things needed to be done by the state that repelled the blow joining hands with the nation. The first is to ensure immediate and accurate manifestation of justice; and the other is to surpass the ‘structural issues’ that we have witnessed during this coup attempt.
Lets start from the manifestation of justice. I am the people. I am those that were on the streets that night, I am those who were martyred, I am those who were wounded. Therefore I have the right to dream crazy punishments for all those who participated in this coup attempt, who supported it, and who prayed for it to be successful. For example, I can imagein that if I get my hands on those scoundrels who martyred Halil Kantarcı and Mustafa Cambaz brothers in Çengelköy, just like in the movie Seven, I will give them antibiotics to ‘keep them from dying’ in order to make them ‘desire death’. I can wish to practice unimaginable ways on them for days, months, without being tired. But, the name of the device that ensures that I cannot simply implement these (I’m talking while keeping the values I believe out of this conversation), is state.
You can understand where I am bringing the conversation to. The police officers that arrested the coup (whose friends were also killed in the bombing) not being good to these dishonorable scoundrels is pleasing my soul. But, it’s as the name suggests, a ‘soul’. So, if we demand ‘justice’, we must first demand it for our enemy. I think none of those scoundrels should be hurt during the arrest process. This is worthy to us, to our sense of justice.
Another aspect of the matter is the manifestation of justice with ‘immediate and most ruthless criminal punishments’. I think the Department of Justice will implement a state of emergency in this regard, and these cases will be connected to results quickly.
It is also clear where I stand on this currently widely spoken ‘execution request’. I have never been against an execution decision in certain crimes where there is ‘approval of the people who took direct damage’. I am not against execution as a way of punishment in crimes like murder of women, rape, child abuse, homicide, and the like. So I say yes to execution for all murderers that ‘directly killed people on the night of the coup’ –given that the execution decision is on the relatives of the martyrs.
We were saying ‘the manifestation of justice’, right? I think every member of the FETO organization from the floor to the ceiling must receive varying amounts of punishments. But I must say that turning this issue into a witch-hunt without getting evidence, proof, and connections will affect ‘manifestation of justice’ in a negative way. For example, we must prevent labeling of people as ‘FETO member’ just to supplant someone by saying ‘this is the time’. I would like to give two examples in this regard.
First example is from Bursa. They are trying to supplant Şahin Arat and Hüseyin Toprak brothers from their positions in the municipality, who have been known for their support of National Vision, and who contributed towards the upbringing of thousands of young men in Bursa as part of the fight against FETO. As you can see, Bursa Metropolitan Municipality, which can be called the worst municipality in the fight against the parallel settlement since 17-25 December, continues to add new ones to its list of scandals. Sure, we shouldn’t look to far for those who make these beautiful plantations on the fertile lands of Bursa. Someone was saying, ‘I realized they were coups that night, you can call me a fool’. That’s him. But at this point, why President Recep Altepe, a National Visionist from the core, a close friend of Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is doing these things remains a mystery.
My second example is the author of ‘Sezai Karakoç East’s Seventh Son’, one of Sezai Bey’s close students, very well known writer amongst our neighborhood’s literature and culture community, Turan Karataş. Brother Turan had to resign from his office of Chairman of the Ataturk Cultural Center, where he has been working for a while now. Because he was threatened by the president of the high institution, ‘either you resign yourself or I have to give your name to the ministry with certain doubts’. Anyhow, the state officials will surely disregard this crazy affair, and the injustice against Turan brother will be eliminated. But, is this what should be done for God’s sake? Where is the mercy?
It is possible to bring similar examples… Dozens of people have already reached me with similar victimization cases. I think that these victimizations will be eliminated once the government initially and clearly makes a ‘definition of a FETO member’. Otherwise, the innocent will suffer with the guilty, and our sense of justice will be hurt.
We haven’t discussed these ‘structural issues’. We are out of space. Hopefully, for the next article…
What was Niyazi Yıldırım Gençosmanoğlu saying: “Finding bread, water, work may be delayed / Finding stone for the foundation may be delayed / Finding a head for the state may be delayed / Justice can not be delayed, it should be served”.
*Source: YeniSafak newspaper, Translated by Middle East Observer
