BY FEHMI KORU
YENI SAFAK- Columnist Fehmi Koru comments on recent developments concerning reported tension between the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government and the military. A summary of his column is as follows:
In democratic countries, the military refrains from publicly airing its views on issues of the day except for those related to national defense. That’s why the recent statements by National Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General Gen. Tuncer Kilinc and Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok’s have been judged by certain circles to be strange and wrong. There were even those who were angered by the statements.
However, I’m not among them. On the contrary, I believe that everyone and every institution should get involved in the debate over our European Union bid, as we are now witnessing the final act of our accession attempt, standing on the verge of a thorough transformation process which will dramatically change each and every paradigm in this country. As EU harmonization reforms come into effect one after another, most of all we should hear from those people whose positions will be changed by the new upcoming legal arrangements. They should speak their mind, for once this debate is over we want the new situation to be binding on everyone.
Since the day it came to power, the AKP government has successfully demonstrated its commitment to the European Union. Positive statements by Brussels that Turkey’s accession negotiations could begin in early 2005, and also that sometime between 2007 and 2011 the nation’s EU membership could be completed, are all fruits of the AKP’s efforts. We have entered the final stage of enacting EU harmonization laws. A series of legal reforms, ones about which certain institutions of the state are highly sensitive, are now on Parliament’s agenda. Most of the new arrangements are related to national security or directly to redefining the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) role within the state. If the military has reservations about the recent developments, now is right time for it to make them known.
The military, by its very definition with its hierarchical order and disciplinary understanding, must be an institution closed to different voices and opinions. Otherwise it cannot perform its duty, which is national defense. If the military has certain anxieties, the right way to alleviate them is to consult with the elected organs of the state in full coordination, rather than making them public.
SOURCE: OFFICE OF THE PRIME MINISTER, DIRECTORATE GENERAL OF PRESS AND INFORMATION