Ecevit and the Military Differ in the Way to View Gülen

Keeping with tradition, the military made a significant announcement on Victory Day, disclosing its uneasiness.

They military and Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit differ in the way they view Fethullah Gülen.

Ecevit is not alone in this respect. His coalition partner Mesut YIlmaz doesn't have a rigid stance on the Gülen issue either. YIlmaz, too, believes that Gülen's activities are not of a "reactionary" nature. He thinks that launching a hunt for reactionaries without finding material evidence would open greater wounds. But he doesn't say that clearly. Ecevit, meanwhile, has not altered his attitude for years.

For example, during an NTV program on March 29, 1998, he said:

"I cannot understand the way certain circles portray all kinds of religious allegiance as 'reactionaryism.' I cannot digest the way every community which gives priority to religion is considered reactionary. .. I met with Gülen three times. On none of these occasions did we refer to politics. We talked about Turco-Islamic Tasavvuf culture into his own being.

"We discussed the relationship between philosophy and religion. I saw that he was quite open-minded on those issues. He is definitely against the fundamentalist moverment in Iran. He reacts coldly to the Wahabi movement - that is, the Saudi Arabian mentality. He has made it clear that in Turkey he does not support the Welfare Party [RP]. Certain religious brotherhoods suggested that his own group found a political party and he rejected that idea.

"He has 250 establishments, 100-150 of which are abroad. These are being viewed with suspicion. However, those who visited [those schools] saw that religious education is not being given there, that the education is not being given there, that the educational system was not anti-secularist. Ataturk's picture is hung at all those schools. And the Turkish national anthem is being sung. That leaves the issue of Gülen's not wearing a tie. But all of the people around him wear ties. The impression I have is that it's a community which is inclined towards the secular republic. Maybe it wasn't like that in the past. But a lot has changed in Turkey and in the world. We have to grant that people, too, can change. If there are any suspicions, there is the state [to deal with such matters]. If he fuels reactionaryism, we will investigate him and prevent that."

Ecevit made that statement when he was the deputy prime minister of the Mesut YIlmaz government which was formed after the Welfarepath government fell from power. At that time, Gen. Çevik Bir was deputy chief of General Staff. And, speaking privately to members of the press, Gen. Bir said that the YIlmaz government was inclined to forget all about the National Security Council's (MGK) Feb. 28, 1997 decisions, criticizing the fact that the government was not doing anything about Gülen.

Since then, Ecevit has not changed his attitude.

And, in the latest instance, he announced that he was aggrieved by the warrant issued for Gülen's arrest.

The military thinks Gülen engages in deception

The way the military views Gülen is quite different.
The military has an extremely hard-line reaction to Gülen.

The military has the conviction that, unlike Erbakan, Gülen proceeds discreetly and "from the depths," infiltrating the ranks of the bureaucracy and conducting a massive operation of "laying siege to the state" internally and from abroad by using en enormous economic power, the source of which is unknown.

The military believes that Gülen's ultimate goal is to transform Turkey into a religious state.

Significantly, in its criticism of certain religious elements, the General Staff went Gülen up as a target. In the past, the General Staff would merely refer to "certain circles." It would criticize only a certain mentality. The reason for this latest development is the fact that while graduates of the imam-hatip training schools cannot join the army, there is no obstacle preventing graduates of Gülen's schools from joining the army, This situation is upsetting the General Staff very much.

Starting with Ecevit, politicians say: "We don't have substantial evidence in our hand. And we can't launch a hunt for reactionaries without evidence." The military, on the other hand, refers to certain recorded speeches and to certain attitudes which make it suspect that Gülen has ulterior motives. It stresses that these speeches and actions do not date back to a distant past, and that even though Gülen may have been sorry later, his specific mentality has hardly changed.

The General Staff sees Ecevit as the main obstacle in the Gülen issue. A prime minister whose allegiance to the principle of secularism no one doubts, Ecevit is believed to be influencing the prosecutors and the judges with his stance on the Gülen issue. The military believes that the politicians' reticence on this issue stems from their enthusiasm to get the votes of the Gülen community, which is believed to consist of some 2.5 milion people.

Gen. Kivrikoglu's latest speech has clearly brought this friction to the surface.

Ecevit putting his finger to the wind

Ecevit has two options.
- He can respond to Gen. Kivrikoglu's remarks at the risk of triggering a crisis.

Taking that path would not be easy at all. Since the MGK's Fe. 28, 1997 decision, Ecevit has said that it is only natural for the military to have a say in the country's administration and to disclose its views in an MGK context. Ecevit would not be consistent if he now came up and took the opposing line.

- He can wait and see, putting his finger to the wind, assessing public reaction before taking a clear stance.

At this stage, it seems highly unlikely that the prime minister would take the kind of action which would destabilize the country and likely cause the collapse of the coalition government. He is likely to wait until the dust settles and then take a stance according to the way the Gülen case develops and, also, to that nature of the public reaction.

Public utterly undecided

Meanwhile the public remains totally undecided about Gen. Kivrikoglu's latest remark, which drew mixed reaction from the people. That may be one of the factors which will cause Ecevit to wait.

Let's leave aside the reactions of Gülen's sympathizers. What is significant is the secularist circles' approach.

In the past, secularist circles wholly supported the military's attitude regarding development, which made the military suspect that religion was being used as a tool, posing a threat to the republican regime. But this time there seems to be rift in the secularist circles.

The comments and expression of support are not as clear as in the past. Even the most sensitive of these circles express certain reservations for a variety of reasons.

This hesitant attitude is due partly to the fact that the prosecutor didn't based his indictment on unquestionably material evidence. Another reason is the moderate image Gülen has projected in recent years.

These circles pose the question, "If Gülen had committed a crime, why did the authorities waited until today?"

To sum up, a highly dangerous process has begun.

If the court clears Gülen of the charges, this will be a blow to the military's prestige.

If the court finds Gülen guilty, this will trigger various kinds of speculation.

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