Democratic Control of the Military is Imperative

Public debate during the past week in Turkey centered on the question of whether a document titled "Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism," seized by the police in the offices of a former military officer now a defendant under arrest in the Ergenekon case, was authentic or not.

The measures prescribed in the document, carrying the signature of a colonel on active duty, included using agents within the media and the party to help discredit and split the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government, and planting arms and ammunition on the premises of educational institutions affiliated with the Gülen Movement, which were to be discovered in military raids, making it possible to declare the movement a terrorist organization.

There have been claims in the media during the past week that the document is fake and that it was prepared by groups outside the military, possibly even by circles affiliated with the Gülen Movement, with the aim of discrediting the military and provoking a severe conflict between the government and the military. Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ also cast doubt on the authenticity of the document by telling a newspaper editor that the military's investigation so far had not verified it.

Many clues so far, however, point, toward the document's authenticity. The primary clue is that the military has a record of implementing similar "psychological warfare" campaigns in the past. A second clue is that if the General Staff had been able to establish definitively that the document indeed had nothing to do with the military, it would surely have made an immediate statement to that effect and taken action to discover and punish those responsible, whoever they may be. A third clue is the statement by a former military commander, sent into retirement a few years ago when he was expected to become the chief of general staff, to the Taraf daily. The retired four-star general said his contacts in the military had informed him of the preparation of such a "plan" by a certain "team" within the military, most likely without the knowledge of Gen. Başbuğ, as early as January 2009.

These and other clues seem to suggest that the document is indeed authentic and was possibly prepared by people within the military affiliated with Ergenekon ― a clandestine criminal organization charged with conspiring to overthrow the elected government ― possibly with the purpose of playing down the investigation into the organization and gathering support for members of the military arrested for being part of it. The fact that the a military court has prohibited the media from reporting and debating on the document and that the colonel who allegedly prepared the document has, at least so far, refused to testify before civilian prosecutors has triggered suspicions that there is an attempt to cover up the affair, as in some previous cases of wrongdoing by military personnel.

All the clues to the contrary do not, however, exclude the possibility of the document being proven fake, that is of it being prepared by circles outside the military. That would indicate that there are circles trying to provoke a serious confrontation between the elected civilian government and the military. Those responsible for such heinous provocation, whoever they are, will have to be identified and punished. If the document is proven to be authentic, on the other hand, that is, if it is proven to have indeed been prepared by the military, with the consent of the General Staff or without it, the military personnel responsible for it, whatever their ranks, in the former case including the chief of general staff, will have to be sacked from the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and brought before justice immediately.

Whether the document is authentic or fake, the basic lesson to be drawn out of the whole affair is that the TSK has to quit the political role it has assumed since the introduction of democracy in the middle of the last century. Rich experience shows that this is absolutely imperative if the TSK is to preserve its integrity and credibility and to properly carry out its only duty, that of protecting the security of the country.

Turkish democracy has three major interconnected deficiencies that await correction. The highly authoritarian official interpretation of secularism has to liberalize to guarantee religious freedom. The highly nationalistic official identity policies have to liberalize to guarantee all citizens full freedom to enjoy their ethnic and cultural identities. To achieve those goals, the TSK, who regards itself the self-appointed guardian of official policies, has to yield to full civilian democratic control. This is surely in the interest of both the country and the military. There is no doubt that official policies formulated during the founding period of the republic nearly a century ago no longer meet the requirements of a country that has gone through immense socioeconomic and political change since then.