{"id":20336,"date":"2010-07-02T19:55:30","date_gmt":"2010-07-02T17:55:30","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishforum.com.tr\/en\/content\/?p=20336"},"modified":"2010-07-02T20:02:10","modified_gmt":"2010-07-02T18:02:10","slug":"20336","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2010\/07\/02\/20336\/","title":{"rendered":"The Death of Turkey’s Democracy"},"content":{"rendered":"

-I no longer recognize Turkey, the country where I was raised and spend most of my time when I am not teaching in the U.S.
\nMAKALEN\u0130N\u00a0 \u0130NG\u0130L\u0130ZCES\u0130 VE\u00a0 TURKCES\u0130\u00a0 ASAG\u0130DAD\u0130R<\/strong><\/p>\n

PULAT TACAR, TURKISHFORUM DANISMA KURULU, BUYUKELCI(E)<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Death of Turkey’s Democracy <\/strong>
\n“I no longer recognize the country where I was raised.”
\nBy DANI RODRIK<\/p>\n

\"rodriklt\"Ultra-nationalist supporters holding a banner identifying the “real” villain in the Ergenekon affair: “The plot will be foiled, America will lose, Turkey will win.”<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n

I no longer recognize Turkey, the country where I was raised and spend most of my time when I am not teaching in the U.S.
\nIt wasn’t so long ago that the country seemed to be taking significant strides in the direction of human rights and democracy. During its first term in government, between 2002 and 2007, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) worked hard to bring the country into the European Union, to reform its legal regime, and to relax restrictions on Kurds.
\nBut more recently, the same government has been responsible for a politics of deception, dirty tricks, fear, and intimidation that couldn’t present a sharper contrast to its rhetoric on democracy. Several Turkish intellectuals abroad who have expressed critical views have told me they are afraid to return to Turkey. Eavesdropping has reached such levels that even housewives refrain from chatting about “sensitive” matters on the phone.
\nThe AKP government has launched massive, politically motivated court cases against its opponents. Most glaring are the hundreds of current and retired military officers, lawyers, academics, and journalists who have been charged with membership in an armed terror organization, dubbed “Ergenekon,” which aims to destabilize and topple the AKP government.<\/p>\n

Associated Press
\nUltra-nationalist supporters holding a banner identifying the “real” villain in the Ergenekon affair: “The plot will be foiled, America will lose, Turkey will win.”<\/p>\n

Pursued by a group of specially appointed prosecutors, and loudly cheered by AKP-friendly and AKP-controlled media, these Ergenekon trials make a mockery of due process. They are based on indictments full of inconsistencies, rely on anonymous informants of questionable credibility, and evince systematic prosecutorial misconduct. The evidence behind the charges ranges from the insubstantial to the blatantly manufactured. The main purpose of the prosecutions seems to be to discredit the accused and keep them under detention for as long as possible.
\nMy personal wake-up call came in February when retired General Cetin Dogan, my father in law, was arrested in a parallel case. Mr. Dogan, an outspoken critic of the AKP, was charged with being the leader of an elaborate coup plot to overthrow the newly elected government in 2002-2003. The documents backing the charges, produced as usual by an anonymous informant, were full of anachronisms, discrepancies, and mistakes, raising serious questions about their authenticity. None of this derailed the government. Prosecutors ignored all indications of forgery, a government-controlled scientific body produced a patently misleading report lending support to the charges, and the pro-AKP media launched a vicious campaign of character assassination against Mr. Dogan. Mr. Erdogan and his circle joined in the chorus of attacks while denigrating judges that would dare rule in favor of the defendants. Mr. Dogan was kept for months in jail pending trial, along with tens of other active-duty and retired officers, despite the absence of credible evidence and obvious signs of fabrication.
\nInexplicably, many supposed Turkish democrats and liberals have made common cause with the AKP government and have acted as cheerleaders for these cases. Their hope seems to be that the Ergenekon trials will bring the so-called “deep state”\u2014clandestine networks of the military and their civilian allies\u2014to account. There is little doubt that Turkey’s pre-AKP secular order featured strong anti-democratic undercurrents. But the AKP government has shown little interest in uncovering actual crimes or bringing real culprits to justice. Even though some of the Ergenekon suspects may be guilty of transgressions, they have been indicted not for specific, demonstrable offences, but for nebulous or fictitious crimes unlikely to result in convictions in a fair trial. Moreover, in these and other cases the government engages in exactly the kinds of activities that the liberals decry and want to bring to justice.
\nConsider some other examples. Despite considerable evidence that senior members of the police were, at a minimum, guilty of gross negligence in the murder of the Armenian journalist Hrant Dink in January 2007, none of the policemen have been prosecuted. It is not a coincidence that some of these same police officials have led the Ergenekon investigations. A distinguished chief state prosecutor has been imprisoned on trumped-up charges of being a member of the Ergenekon network, even though he was one of the few prosecutors courageous enough to go after the military gendarmerie’s intelligence branch, a stronghold of the deep state, during 1998-1999. His real crime: Investigating religious orders connected to the AKP. Despite clear indications that the police and prosecutors have been involved in the planting of or tampering with evidence against Ergenekon suspects, there have been no attempts to explain, let alone investigate, the misconduct.
\nGiven the trail of wrongdoings the AKP is leaving behind, it will likely do whatever it takes to avoid losing power in next summer’s elections. Sadly, Mr. Erdogan’s inclination will be to raise the temperature a few notches higher, both domestically and internationally (see its recent rapprochement with Iran, or its brinkmanship against its old friend Israel).
\nIt’s clear now that Turkey is no longer the liberalizing, emerging democracy under the AKP that it was only a few years ago. It’s time the U.S. and Europe stopped treating it as such\u2014both for their own sakes, and for the sake of the Turkish people.
\n-Mr. Rodrik is the Rafiq Hariri professor of International Political Economy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government.
\n*******************************************************
\nT\u00fcrkiye Demokrasisinin \u00d6l\u00fcm\u00fc <\/strong><\/p>\n

DANI RODRIK, Harvard \u00dcniversitesi Uluslararas\u0131 Siyasi Ekonomi B\u00f6l\u00fcm\u00fc Profes\u00f6r\u00fc.
\n\"rodriklt\"<\/a><\/p>\n

\u0130ngilizceden \u00e7eviren: \u00c7imen Turun\u00e7 Baturalp (The Wall Street Journal)<\/p>\n

B\u00fcy\u00fcd\u00fc\u011f\u00fcm ve Amerika\u2019daki hocal\u0131\u011f\u0131mdan arta kalan b\u00fct\u00fcn zaman\u0131m\u0131 ge\u00e7irdi\u011fim \u00fclkeyi, T\u00fcrkiye\u2019yi art\u0131k tan\u0131yam\u0131yorum. \u00dclkenin demokrasi ve insan haklar\u0131nda dev ad\u0131mlarla ilerliyor gibi g\u00f6r\u00fcnmesinin \u00fczerinden \u00e7ok fazla zaman ge\u00e7medi. H\u00fck\u00fcmetin 2002 ile 2007 y\u0131llar\u0131 aras\u0131ndaki ilk d\u00f6neminde Ba\u015fbakan Recep Tayyip Erdo\u011fan\u2019\u0131n Adalet ve Kalk\u0131nma Partisi (AKP) \u00fclkeyi AB\u2019ye g\u00f6t\u00fcrebilmek ve K\u00fcrtler \u00fczerindeki k\u0131s\u0131tlamalar\u0131 gev\u015fetebilmek i\u00e7in \u00e7al\u0131\u015fm\u0131\u015ft\u0131.
\nAma son zamanlarda ayn\u0131 h\u00fck\u00fcmet kendi demokrasi s\u00f6ylemi kar\u015f\u0131s\u0131nda bundan daha keskin bir z\u0131tl\u0131k sergileyemeyece\u011fi \u00f6l\u00e7\u00fcdeki kirli oyunlar\u0131n, korku ve sindirme politikalar\u0131n\u0131n sorumlusu haline geldi.
\nEle\u015ftirel g\u00f6r\u00fc\u015flerini a\u00e7\u0131k\u00e7a ifade etmi\u015f olan yurtd\u0131\u015f\u0131ndaki bir\u00e7ok T\u00fcrk entelekt\u00fceli bana T\u00fcrkiye\u2019ye d\u00f6nmekten korktuklar\u0131n\u0131 s\u00f6yl\u00fcyorlar. Gizli dinlemeler \u00f6yle boyutlara ula\u015fm\u0131\u015f ki ev kad\u0131nlar\u0131 bile telefonda \u201chassas\u201d konularda sohbet etmeye \u00e7ekinir olmu\u015flar.
\nAKP h\u00fck\u00fcmeti muhaliflerine kar\u015f\u0131 \u00e7ok say\u0131da, siyasi motivasyonlu dava ba\u015flatt\u0131. En \u00e7ok g\u00f6ze batan daval\u0131lar \u201cErgenekon\u201d ad\u0131 verilen ve \u00fclkeyi kar\u0131\u015ft\u0131rarak AKP h\u00fck\u00fcmetinin d\u00fc\u015fmesini sa\u011flamak amac\u0131yla kurulmu\u015f silahl\u0131 bir ter\u00f6r \u00f6rg\u00fct\u00fcn\u00fcn \u00fcyesi olduklar\u0131 iddias\u0131 ile su\u00e7lanan y\u00fczlerce emekli ve muvazzaf subay, avukat, akademisyen ve gazeteci oldu. \u00d6zel olarak atanm\u0131\u015f bir grup savc\u0131 taraf\u0131ndan y\u00fcr\u00fct\u00fclen ve AKP dostu, AKP taraf\u0131ndan kontrol edilen bir medyan\u0131n sevin\u00e7 \u00e7\u0131\u011fl\u0131klar\u0131 ile desteklenen bu Ergenekon davalar\u0131 as\u0131l s\u00fcre\u00e7le alay etmektedir. Bu davalar genellikle tutars\u0131zl\u0131klarla dolu ithamlara dayanmakta, g\u00fcvenilirlikleri tart\u0131\u015fmal\u0131 ad\u0131 me\u00e7hul ihbarc\u0131lara inan\u0131ld\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 ve sistematik savc\u0131l\u0131k suiistimallerinin varl\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 ortaya \u00e7\u0131karmaktad\u0131r. Su\u00e7lamalar\u0131n dayand\u0131r\u0131ld\u0131\u011f\u0131 kan\u0131tlar, hayali olan\u0131ndan kabaca kurgulan\u0131lan\u0131na kadar gider. Savc\u0131l\u0131\u011f\u0131n as\u0131l amac\u0131 sanki itham edilenlerin itibar\u0131n\u0131 d\u00fc\u015f\u00fcrmek ve onlar\u0131 m\u00fcmk\u00fcn oldu\u011fu kadar uzunca bir s\u00fcre g\u00f6zalt\u0131nda tutabilmektir.<\/p>\n

\u00c7etin Do\u011fan hakk\u0131ndaki su\u00e7lamalar
\nBeni ki\u015fisel olarak uyand\u0131ran alarm, \u015fubat ay\u0131nda kay\u0131npederim, emekli Orgeneral \u00c7etin Do\u011fan, paralel bir dava i\u00e7in tutukland\u0131\u011f\u0131nda \u00e7ald\u0131. AKP\u2019ye kar\u015f\u0131 sesi g\u00fcr \u00e7\u0131kan bir muhalif olan Do\u011fan, 2002-2003 y\u0131l\u0131nda yeni se\u00e7ilmi\u015f h\u00fck\u00fcmeti devirmek i\u00e7in \u00f6zenle haz\u0131rlanm\u0131\u015f bir darbe plan\u0131n\u0131n lideri olmakla su\u00e7lan\u0131yordu. Su\u00e7lamalara temel olan belgeler, her zaman oldu\u011fu gibi ad\u0131 me\u00e7hul bir ihbarc\u0131 taraf\u0131ndan \u00fcretilmi\u015f, orijinalli\u011fine ili\u015fkin ciddi ku\u015fkular uyand\u0131ran zamanlama hatalar\u0131, \u00e7eli\u015fkiler ve yanl\u0131\u015flarla doluydu. Bunlar\u0131n hi\u00e7biri h\u00fck\u00fcmeti yolundan \u00e7evirmedi. Savc\u0131lar sahtecili\u011fin t\u00fcm belirtilerini g\u00f6rmezden geldiler, h\u00fck\u00fcmetin kontrol\u00fcndeki bilimsel bir kurulu\u015f su\u00e7lamalara destek veren a\u00e7\u0131k\u00e7a yan\u0131lt\u0131c\u0131 bir rapor \u00fcretti. Ve AKP yanl\u0131s\u0131 medya, Do\u011fan\u2019a kar\u015f\u0131 \u00e7irkin bir karalama kampanyas\u0131 ba\u015flatt\u0131. Erdo\u011fan ve \u00e7evresi bir yandan san\u0131klar\u0131n lehine karar almaya cesaret edebilen h\u00e2kimlere iftiralar atarken bir yandan da sald\u0131r\u0131lar korosuna kat\u0131ld\u0131. Do\u011fan, mahkemeyi beklerken onlarca muvazzaf ve emekli askerle birlikte, g\u00fcvenilir deliller olmamas\u0131na ve sahtecili\u011fin a\u00e7\u0131k i\u015faretlerine ra\u011fmen aylarca hapishane de tutuldu. Anla\u015f\u0131lmaz bir bi\u00e7imde bu mesele bir\u00e7ok s\u00f6zde T\u00fcrk demokrat\u0131 ve liberalinin ortak davas\u0131 haline geldi ve bu insanlar bu davalar\u0131n amigolu\u011funu yapar oldular. Herhalde Ergenekon davalar\u0131n\u0131n derin devlete, yani ordu ve sivil m\u00fcttefiklerinin kurdu\u011fu gizli a\u011flara hesap soraca\u011f\u0131 \u00fcmidini ta\u015f\u0131yorlard\u0131. T\u00fcrkiye\u2019nin AKP \u00f6ncesi laik d\u00fczeninin g\u00fc\u00e7l\u00fc antidemokratik e\u011filimlerin i\u015faretlerine sahip oldu\u011funa dair pek ku\u015fku yoktur. Ama AKP h\u00fck\u00fcmeti as\u0131l su\u00e7lar\u0131n ortaya \u00e7\u0131kar\u0131lmas\u0131 ve ger\u00e7ek su\u00e7lular\u0131n adaletin \u00f6n\u00fcne getirilmesi konusuna pek fazla ilgi g\u00f6stermedi. Baz\u0131 Ergenekon zanl\u0131lar\u0131 ihlallerden dolay\u0131 su\u00e7lu da olabilirler. Ama bu ki\u015filerin somut, kan\u0131tlanabilir su\u00e7lar yerine, bulan\u0131k, kurmaca su\u00e7larla itham edilmeleri adil bir mahkeme sonucuna ula\u015fma olas\u0131l\u0131\u011f\u0131n\u0131 yok etmektedir.
\nDahas\u0131 h\u00fck\u00fcmetin kendisi bu ve di\u011fer davalarda, liberallerin lanetledi\u011fi ve yarg\u0131n\u0131n \u00f6n\u00fcne getirmek istedi\u011fi t\u00fcrden faaliyetlerin t\u0131pat\u0131p ayn\u0131s\u0131na giri\u015fmi\u015ftir. Ba\u015fka \u00f6rneklere bakal\u0131m. Y\u00fcksek r\u00fctbeli polislerin Ermeni gazeteci Hrant Dink\u2019in Ocak 2007\u2019de \u00f6ld\u00fcr\u00fclmesi olay\u0131nda en az\u0131ndan, b\u00fcy\u00fck \u00f6l\u00e7\u00fcde ihmallerinin oldu\u011funa dair hat\u0131r\u0131 say\u0131l\u0131r miktarda kan\u0131t bulunmas\u0131na ra\u011fmen bu polislerin hi\u00e7biri yarg\u0131lanmad\u0131. Ayn\u0131 polislerin baz\u0131lar\u0131n\u0131n Ergenekon soru\u015fturmas\u0131n\u0131 da y\u00fcr\u00fctm\u00fc\u015f olmalar\u0131 bir tesad\u00fcf de\u011fildir. Sayg\u0131n bir cumhuriyet savc\u0131s\u0131, uydurma su\u00e7lamalara dayan\u0131larak Ergenekon a\u011f\u0131 \u00fcyesi oldu\u011fu iddias\u0131yla tutukland\u0131. Bu savc\u0131 1998-1999 aras\u0131nda derin devletin kalesi say\u0131lan jandarma haberalma dairesinin \u00fcst\u00fcne gitmeye cesaret g\u00f6sterebilen \u00e7ok az say\u0131da savc\u0131dan biriydi. Ger\u00e7ek su\u00e7u, AKP ile ba\u011flant\u0131s\u0131 olan tarikatlar\u0131 soru\u015fturmakt\u0131. Polis ve savc\u0131lar\u0131n Ergenekon san\u0131klar\u0131 aleyhine kan\u0131tlarla oynanmas\u0131na kar\u0131\u015ft\u0131klar\u0131n\u0131 g\u00f6steren somut i\u015faretler oldu\u011fu halde g\u00f6revini k\u00f6t\u00fcye kullan\u0131lmas\u0131na ili\u015fkin, b\u0131rak\u0131n bir soru\u015fturma yap\u0131lmas\u0131n\u0131, herhangi bir a\u00e7\u0131klama bile gelmedi.
\nGeride b\u0131rakt\u0131\u011f\u0131 haks\u0131zl\u0131klar\u0131n izlerine bak\u0131larak gelecek yaz yap\u0131lacak se\u00e7imlerde AKP\u2019nin g\u00fcc\u00fcn\u00fc kaybetmemek i\u00e7in elinden geleni ard\u0131na b\u0131rakmayaca\u011f\u0131 s\u00f6ylenilebilir. Ne yaz\u0131k ki Erdo\u011fan\u2019\u0131n e\u011filimi hem i\u00e7 hem de d\u0131\u015f siyasette harareti birka\u00e7 derece artt\u0131rmak y\u00f6n\u00fcnde olacakt\u0131r. (Son g\u00fcnlerde \u0130ran\u2019la yak\u0131nla\u015fmas\u0131 veya eski dostu \u0130srail\u2019e kar\u015f\u0131 gerilim politikas\u0131.)
\n\u015eu a\u00e7\u0131kt\u0131r ki T\u00fcrkiye art\u0131k daha birka\u00e7 y\u0131l \u00f6nce AKP y\u00f6netiminde liberalle\u015fen, geli\u015fen demokrasi de\u011fil. Art\u0131k ABD\u2019nin de Avrupa\u2019n\u0131n da ona sanki \u00f6yleymi\u015f gibi davranmaktan vazge\u00e7mesinin zaman\u0131 geldi. Hem kendi hem de T\u00fcrk halk\u0131n\u0131n selameti ad\u0131na…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

-I no longer recognize Turkey, the country where I was raised and spend most of my time when I am not teaching in the U.S. MAKALEN\u0130N\u00a0 \u0130NG\u0130L\u0130ZCES\u0130 VE\u00a0 TURKCES\u0130\u00a0 ASAG\u0130DAD\u0130R PULAT TACAR, TURKISHFORUM DANISMA KURULU, BUYUKELCI(E) The Death of Turkey’s Democracy “I no longer recognize the country where I was raised.” By DANI RODRIK Ultra-nationalist […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":783520,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[89,922],"tags":[78,151,120,1153],"class_list":["post-20336","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-turkey","category-world","tag-ergenekon","tag-genocide","tag-gulen","tag-politics"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20336","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=20336"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/20336\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/783520"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=20336"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=20336"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=20336"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}