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Ihsan Bal
Head of USAK Science Committee |
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Tuesday, 9 March 2010
The detention of 49 people, most of whom are retired high ranking military officials, as a result of the operations simultaneously conducted in 9 different cities on Monday, February 22, has caused much bewilderment for many.
Thus, the unique concept of a confusion-creating mechanism, which has almost become our "national character,” has come to work in this process as well. The alleged conspiracy theories caused apples and oranges to be confused and half-truths and half-falsehoods to be intermingled. As we have often done before, reasonable discussion has been abandoned, only to be replaced by the comfort of conspiracy.
How should we make sense of what happened? It must first be noted that the truth is much different than what those diagnosed with conspiracy disease have tried to convey. According to the Turkish Language Institution (TDK), conspiracy means "a collective secret decision and order against one person or an institution.” "It is undeniable that conspiracies happen but trying to explain everything by conspiracy theories is very misleading. This is a conspiracy disease, the result of which for the person diagnosed with that disease will be hatred and feeling of outrage against anyone he/she sees responsible for his/her problems, getting overtly aggressive and gradually adopting a pathetic and hopeless state of mind.”[1] We can now go back to the recent discussions with this perspective in mind.
If a secret plan is being mentioned, does it not make more sense to look for that plan inside the Sledgehammer Operation Plan, which was to happen in 2003? This is why the Chief of Staff announced that they decided to examine that plan and opened an executive investigation about it. The judiciary opened another investigation based on the documents and information it received about the same plan. The prosecutors must have had grounded doubts/ suspicion if they decided to search people’s houses and keep some under detention. Upon that Turkey was swirled within such a conspiracy storm that resemblances to occupying forces were established and alleged claims of the U.S. undermining the Turkish military have been expressed.
Yet, conspiracies mean completely secret plans and deeds while judicial judgments are based on facts. As much as one occurs underground and in the dark, the other is opaque and observable. If there is a conspiracy, there cannot be law and functioning judicial order. Therefore, there are two shelters for those who believe they are facing conspiracies: first, the rule of law and independent courts and judges; second, rights and freedoms with as much opacity as possible. This is why it is misleading to account for the recent detentions with conspiracies. Casting doubt on the judiciary by blaming prosecutors and judges and going even further by implying their links abroad not only makes the situation more irresolvable but also makes it harder to investigate articulated conspiracy charges.
Some good might still be extracted from the negative atmosphere. We could try to get rid of the conspiracy disease we are so inflicted with and face our own problems. If we showed the courage to do so, ways to solve our problems could be found. Besides, we could grasp that conspiracies based on secrecy would not be possible in opaque judicial processes. More, we could reach a consensus on the point that only a society that defends democracy, touches the "untouchables,” and favors clarity over darkness could get rid of the conspiracy traps.
The gist of the matter is this: only a strong democracy, functioning rule of law and a just and independent judiciary can reveal conspiracies that are themselves exceptions in a society. Otherwise, restricting the powers of the officials, blocking law reform, sanctifying the appointed ones and implying abroad connections behind the cases that are only the courts’ matter from now on gets no country nearer the ’democracy port’.
If shown patience, the court process will reveal what is the truth and what is conspiracy. Yet, it is worthwhile to ask: is it not a typical ’oriental cunningness’ to look for conspiracy traces in an opaque trial and to try to prove that no conspiracy could be found in institutions where the secrecy is worshipped and cosmic rooms are found?
[1] * İhsan Bal, Alacakaranlıkta Ter’rle M’cadele ve Komplo Teorileri, (USAK Yayınları: Ankara, 2006), s. x.
Prof. Dr. Ihsan Bal
Director of USAK Center for Security Studies
A Time Collapse in the Kurdish Problem
