The AKP Indicted
Mustafa Akyol’s column translates some of the statements attributed to PM Erdogan listed in the indictment as evidence to close the AKP party. Akyol argues that many of these statements sound perfectly reasonable. How, then, can they be considered evidence of a “crime”? Here is Akyol’s translation of the prosecutor’s explanation:
Prosecutor: “For the actions of a political party to require its closure, these actions do not necessarily have to be defined as crimes in the penal code… It is enough that these actions have become public and include a particular topic.”
Akyol: So there is no criminal action that the prime minister or his party has taken, but they simply spoke too much on a “particular topic” that the chief prosecutor and his comrades did not like!
(Click here for Akyol’s column)
The Ergenekon Arrests
The people newly arrested in the Ergenekon case (including columnist Ilhan Selcuk) have been accused of being involved in the plot to destabilize Turkey economically and politically in preparation for a 2009 coup. Apparently the indictment of AKP and its eventual closure (deemed to be a foregone conclusion) was to be the beginning of this period of chaos, causing economic decline and then social unrest. According to the newspapers, telephone transcripts and the contents of at least one suspect’s computer indicated that they knew about the indictment before it was filed. If this is indeed the case, as it may well be, the AKP has to be careful not to play into the conspirators’ hands by overreacting. There is a great deal of anti-Erdogan feeling developing, in part because of the high-profile middle-of-the-night arrests and his refusal to acknowledge that his party might have gone too far too fast. This is the time for Erdogan to demonstrate statesmanship (which involves measured reform and compromise), rather than macho street confrontation (We’ll show you!).
For a blow-by-blow account of all the Ergenekon-related arrests and a list of those arrested so far, click here (in Turkish).
There is a great deal of anti-Erdogan feeling developing, in part because of the high-profile middle-of-the-night arrests and his refusal to acknowledge that his party might have gone too far too fast.
Dunno, I’ve heard (and partially agree with) ‘not far enough,’ and too fast in the wrong direction too. The stress placed on the observation that one of the parties involved is an elected and legitimate power seems to cause people to automatically assume that they are a force for good. The implicit acceptance of this premise in itself is dangerous especially if the heavy-handed and perhaps illegitimate systemic restraints will be removed. On the other hand, of course, this just means democratic opposition is weak, unorganized, unprincipled and ineffective — nothing that the AKP can fix.