By: Ali Bayramoğlu’s *
Big picture is emerging day by day.
Chief of Staff, with his hands tied, gives the name of the brigadier general in his testimony, who tells him “let’s get you in touch with our leader Fethullah Gülen”.
We learn that part of the coups take the directive to act from civil “brother”s. İmam of the SAT commandos who went to Marmaris to take Erdoğan, BBDK expert Kemal Işıklı confesses. He tells that he was on vacation slightly before July 15, he came to İstanbul upon instructions from his superior imam from Kayseri, again upon instructions, that he invited the SAT commandos one by one to his house, and he gave the instruction to these SATs that his superior brother met one by one, ‘Someone named Kemal will arrive, do whatever he asks’.
It is obvious that the coup attempt is not the job of Gülen’ists in the army alone, but the whole Gülen organization with military, civilian, civil servants. This coup attempt does not just point to an armed attempt, but also shows how much the state is surrounded and brought so close to collapse.
It is clear, that this situation makes the grand discharge a necessity.
It is executed, and the first balance sheet looks like this: 13,000 arrested, 45,000 officers in public institutions decommissioned, 2750 judges and prosecutors, higher judges, 123 generals arrested (33 percent of all army generals), closed universities, foundations, associations, unions…
These are sharp, but inevitable steps…
And the State of Emergency, unlike thought and spread by those who think “July 16, where were we on July 14?”, is not “Erdoğan’s extraordinary legal order”.
This is the inevitable means of these measures.
However, something as important as these issues, as we have voiced repeatedly, is to pay attention to justice, equity, and rules of law during this discharge, staying away from arbitrariness in judicial measures and taking short cuts, and not to turn this discharge into a witch-hunt.
This matter, with both of its sides, discharge and restructuring, and execution in accordance with legal principles, will determine not just today, but the future as well.
Legitimacy and violation in discharges like this, is like a delicate balance. Whichever outweighs the other; the results will be formed accordingly. Violation is dirt, it smudges existing clean tissues, and it impairs the right initiatives. Legal processes like Ergenekon and Balyoz are recent examples in this matter.
The state is on the verge of collapse in terms of judicial and military functions and institutions, and all political actors, up to a certain extent, have a responsibility in this.
This state needs to be cleaned up and rebuilt quickly…
This, in a way, is a form of foundation. As in every foundation, the tools you use, principles and approach you adopt will create the spirit, shape the future.
It is for this reason, apart from the positive aspects of these measures, situations like the arrest of the lawyer Orhan Kemal Cengiz, or the arrest decision towards Nazı Ilıcak, where she was clearly used by the Gulenists, and supported them, but her involvement with the coup, her being an organic part of the Gulen organization creates reservations, leads to question marks.
One should bear in mind the following:
Just like yesterday, where every dissentient was not an Ergenekonist, today, not every dissentient is a Gülenist. We must know that any initiative, any reasoning that uses such formulas in these times, goes to hunt, that descends to settle accounts, is poisonous.
We need to wish and demand, that the system, with its political power, judiciary and police, refrains from this.
It is for this reason, that both President Erdoğan’s and Prime Minister Yıldırım’s, and the opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu and Bahçeli’s approach to the subject and to one another are extremely positive. The president should fulfill its function of adding all political parties to this foundation, and to embrace everyone. Political power should make it a habit to inform the opposition about the steps they are taking, to get the opinion of the opposition, at least to be in a state of relations, and if possible, with the implication of a constituent power, should lead the creation of a common principles poem. The opposition should adopt the notion to participate in this process without waiting for invitation, and to play a constituent and positive role.
We hope, we want.
*Source: YeniSafak newspaper, Translated by Middle East Observer
