The Robber and the Merchant
The more ammunition caches and assassinations plans are found, the more restless and aggressive coup lovers and Ergenekon supporters become. The usual strategy is to accuse all who want to end social and political turmoil and terrorism in Turkey of plotting against them, the "guardians of secularism," the regime and the modern world. But this group, the "guardians of secularism," clearly contains some strange actors.
Remarkably, as the Milliyet daily has reported, Murat Karayilan, the commander of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist organization, now claims to be one of these "guardians of secularism." Like the coup lovers, he claims that the Gülen movement, a civil society movement, is "trying to take over the state" and ― oddly for an organization that has spent years trying to bring down that same state ― he and his friends are now "protecting" the state and the Southeast from "Islamic fundamentalism." To put it mildly, the self-proclaimed "guardians of secularism" are an unconvincing bunch.
Their concerted efforts remind me of the story of the merchant and the robber I heard in my childhood:
Once, a merchant with his caravan was carrying merchandise to a destination. Journeying down the trade route, he met a helpless, lone wayfarer. Out of pity, the merchant gave the man water, food, new clothing and also took him into his caravan, offering him companionship and protection. One night, during a stop, the wayfarer attacked the merchant, incapacitated him and stole all his merchandise. As the robber was about to leave, the merchant came to and said: "I don't mind losing my goods. Let them be yours. However, you've robbed me of my goodness, my willingness to help other needy people. I can forgive you for what you have stolen, but I cannot forgive you for what you have stolen from inside me and from humanity. From now on, I will be wary of helping the needy along caravan routes. Besides, when they hear about this, all the other caravan owners will not be willing to help people, either. For that, I, all those will no longer offer assistance and all those who will not be helped can never forgive you."
During the Feb. 28, 1997 coup and afterwards, coup makers and supporters jointly fabricated news and threats. They accused civil society actors such as the Gülen movement of seeking to overthrow the regime and presenting threats of reactionary fundamentalism. But while the events revealed the extent of unlawful, undemocratic practices in Turkey , they also suggested a will for renewal in society. The Gülen movement accommodated the new situation and responded positively and peacefully.
Now the terrorist Karayilan has joined the chorus. As the Gülen movement's peace-building educational and service initiatives have grown in strength in the Southeast, they have become a "threat" to his band of brigands, and he is now the unashamed ally of his erstwhile opponents in the "state." We must confess that we are little surprised by the facts, only by the open admission of this alliance.
In 2009 Turkey , Ergenekon participants are still not listening to society at large. As though nothing had emerged about their schemes and as though they were thoroughly innocent, they rehash the tactics they deployed during the Feb. 28 coup. They attempt to mislead the masses about their own true identity and nature and about those who oppose their schemes. They are still perpetuating their alienating and conflicting interests and ideologies. While some perpetrate terror in the mountains and the Southeast, trapping the population between opposing military forces, the more "respectable" are ordering tailored "research" and academic workshops, dispatching new groups to Europe, the US and especially to the Caucasus, Russia and Central Asia . But it is too late: they have already been caught red-handed in their heinous schemes and plots, on their own voice recordings and in their own statements to the press.
Once, a Turkish politician went to a Central Asian country to give the president a dossier of prefabricated misinformation about Turkish entrepreneurs and philanthropists working in that country. The intention was to manipulate public opinion there about certain civil society initiatives inside and outside Turkey so that a new onslaught could be unleashed against such initiatives in Turkey and elsewhere. The president ridiculed the Turkish politician saying: "Don't assume that we are all fools except you and will buy into your false arguments. We are able to tell who is good and beneficial. You cannot persuade us not to host peaceful educational and cultural efforts that are for the good of all humanity and not only of this country." No doubt Karayilan has spoken up now because he is getting the same response from the people of southeastern Turkey.
They will not be allowed to do what the caravan robber did ― discourage third parties from coming to the aid of the needy in society at large and destroy all goodwill and trust between people. The caravan will continue to assist.
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