This Speech is Reminiscent of a Famous Letter of Warning

The atmosphere created by the speech the chief of the General Staff made on Aug. 30, Victory Day, is becoming heavier with each passing day. The astonishment caused by the incident has been growing. No one seems to be able to say what to do or how to act. The heat of the first day has been left behind. Now observers are concerned with the seriousness and dimensions of the incident and with what happens from now on.

There is a growing impression to the effect that the country is on the verge of a major crisis.

It is no small, easy-to-ignore matter that the chief of the General Staff criticized the president's and the prime minister's attitudes at a reception where both the president and the prime minister were present. Obviously he had chosen the setting deliberately to give these messages.

Considering the approach the military adopted in earlier instances, one cannot simply explain away this development by saying, "The chief of the General Staff naturally has the right to disclose the military's views."

Besides, immediately after the chief of the General Staff's speech a State Security Court prosecutor revealed the indictment in the Fethullah Gülen case, citing, along with the evidence, the military's charges against Gülen. In other words, the incident gained a new dimension.

The 1979 letter of warning was similar to that

You will remember 1979.

Prior to the Sept. 12, 1980 military intervention a "letter of warning" was issued by the military. The letter was ignored. No one was willing to consider himself the "addressee."

Suleyman Demirel, prime minister at the time, said: "I came to power only four months ago. How can my activities possibly warrant a warning?" And the other party leaders did not display any interest in the letter since they were not in the government.

Then came a period of silence. Everybody thought that the letter had been returned to sender, that is, the General Staff, since the "addressee" could not be found. Everybody had the impression that the military contented themselves with disclosing their views, and that the issue was closed.

Yet on Sept. 12 a coup took place.

This time no one expects a coup in Turkey. A new era has begun. However, it is quite obvious that the military will be quite insistent on this subject.

The Gülen file was "opened" for the first time when Mesut YIlmaz was prime minister and Bulent Ecevit deputy prime minister.

After a while that issue cooled off. It stopped being a current issue.

It was as if the matter had been forgotten.

Yet the file has been reopened, and this time in a much more dramatic and tough manner.

The military sent the president and the government the message, "Obviously you do not want to do anything or to let anyone else do something. So we are taking action and we will ensure that whatever is required will be done," and stirred the prosecutors into action.

This is a development which plays havoc with the "balances of jurisdiction" in the country.

The prime minister is keeping silent in the face of a development taking place before his own eyes. He is simply ignoring it.

The justice minister, on the other hand, is making an effort, complaining that an intervention is being made in the judicial process and drawing attention to the hazards of starting a witch hunt.

Now the military will clam up and watch developments. If the file goes off track again they will intervene once more. They seem absolutely determined to have the Feb. 28, 1997 decisions of the National Security Council (MGK) fully implemented.

Gülen's's followers in fear

These days the people close to Gülen are very worried.

They are clearly scared.

They suspect that terrible things will happen to them, that there will be mass arrests.

And there is also the issue of what will happen to the community's schools.

Both the school administrations and the host countries which permitted the schools to operate on their soil are trying to predict what will happen.

Due to the latest developments some of them are even thinking of canceling these schools' operation permits. The thousands of students attending these schools do not know what to do. They will definitely wait until the conclusion of the court case and make their decisions after that. However, they now have their worries. Unfortunately, a shadow of doubt has been cast on these schools abroad.

What happens from now on?

The question we hear most is, "What happens from now on?"

There is now an entirely new situation.

The chief of the General Staff has virtually taken the matter into his own hands.

A process has been started.

I wonder whether the "letter of warning" has reached the "addressee?"

And if it has, who is the "addressee?"

Though no one wants to say that openly, the name written on the envelope is clearly that of Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit.

TURKISH DAILY NEWS