BY TAHA AKYOL
MILLIYET-Two sides criticize calls for decency, asking, `How long will we stay silent?' Both sides see the `other' as an enemy trying to defeat them. This is the way we experienced the bloody madness of the 1970s. Now we're going through a similar and extremely dangerous process of polarization. At such times, two things are very important. One is that leading figures on both sides should avoid being provocative. Second, the belief in the impartial arbitration of the law shouldn't be shaken.
Towards this end, I call on main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal and especially Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan to speak calmly. Commenting on the arrest of Ilhan Selcuk, chief columnist for Cumhuriyet daily and chairman of its board of trustees, President Abdullah Gul expressed his confusion and sorrow over the matter. This shows some promise. I hope his interest in the issue is a sign of an opening in the presidency's role of being an `impartial arbitrator.'
Selcuk and I have never been on the same side politically, but now is no time to criticize his thoughts or actions. Of course, he might have been taken into custody to get a statement, but the way he was treated was shameful. I condemn and protest it. Despite this treatment, when he was released by the judge, Selcuk resisted the temptation to say things which could have provoked his already agitated and angry followers. This showed maturity on his part.
Today the legions of all intellectual and political currents in Turkey are angry! This anger could easily be set off, and all well-intentioned people should avoid lighting this fuse. If Selcuk had been politely asked to make a statement, would this explosion of anger have occurred? How important style and attitude are! We can also convey our thoughts with kindness and calm.
But there are sick trends in the history of both the world and Turkey, which made provocation a theory and even a profession under the name of agitation. Some people might be doing this on purpose, and others might be being used as tools towards this end. Some also might be organizing marches and calling on the army to `do its duty,' seeing violence as heroism, inciting mass efforts, and even agitating over the army. For example, attempts to paint the police as the enemy of the army are typical examples of agitation. These are sick veins in our political culture. In this respect, the Ergenekon probe into an alleged right-wing terrorist group is very important.
Everybody should speak carefully about this interrogation for legal reasons, and we shouldn't be in a rush to prematurely declare anyone found suspicious to be guilty. It's also very wrong to declare the questioning of Selcuk illegal and even try to depict it as an attack against `nationalists.' The polarization in Turkey over both the Ergenekon probe and the case to close down the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has gotten extreme. Our criticisms shouldn't agitate. Everybody needs decency and the law. What's more, those who operate legal processes should be impartial and provide the nation with reasons to trust the law.