BY ISMAIL KUCUKKAYA
AKSAM - I was in Ankara yesterday and everybody, including me, was curious about the luncheon held by President Abdullah Gul. I had a useful meeting with the presidential bureaucracy at the Cankaya Palace last Friday. This time it's the Office of the Prime Minister's turn. I heard very interesting news. The Prime Ministry has been working to arrange weekly meetings between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug. These meetings would be added to the routine meetings between Gul and Basbug, once a week, on Thursdays.
This news is very exciting and actually hopeful. As you know, Ankara has been under great tension. Relations among institutions have been tense. Yesterday's meeting at the Foreign Ministry Residence is important in terms of Gul's involvement at this time. Perhaps this summit was long planned, but even so, we're facing a period in which relations between the judiciary and political leaders are under a microscope, as the military mentions its concerns and expects some sensitivity.
So such universal values as the independence of the judiciary, the confidentiality of investigations, and the principle of presuming innocence until one is proven guilty must have been discussed at the meeting. Even the image which was given through Gul's invitation is important, aiming to establish an atmosphere. That image would send certain messages to everybody and also relax society. Obviously, in these days of crisis we consider presidents not as mere figureheads, but a problem-solving authority.
Cumhuriyet daily covered a speech made by Gul four days ago under the headline 'Call to Responsibility.' Similarly, Gul's warning about the (state-owned broadcaster) TRT comforted central circles and the media. So the Cankaya Palace can undertake initiatives from time to time to create a comfort zone to ease social and institutional tensions. This is what everybody expects and needs.
I've long thought that the face-to-face meetings between Erdogan and Basbug were very useful. Both of these figures are effective and successful communicators. Moreover, speaking through the media is very different. Erdogan and Basbug are very charismatic leaders for their own bases and the staff of their own institutions. They feel it necessary to make adjustments in line with their messages to the media. This situation sometimes causes problems. But when they speak to each other face-to-face (they have held three important meetings with very concrete results), they can take certain steps to help the country.
I've already said that I saw the Erdogan-Basbug meeting following the latest Ergenekon detentions as well as Erdogan's statements afterwards as more important than his victory speech in the last general elections. Nobody is trying to help some people avoid the courts. After all, the trials of everyone who has been charged will continue. But obviously at least maximum sensitivity has been put forth.
Anyway, Ergenekon is turning into a legal matter. That's why I consider Erdogan and Basbug starting regular weekly meetings a historic step. When I visited the Prime Ministry, bureaucrats were working to arrange today's meeting between the two. They also met last Thursday, albeit for unscheduled talks. But they were a bit uncomfortable. They were concerned that the public would think they were discussing recent developments in the Ergenekon probe. The fact that the Cankaya Presidential Palace summit happened just one day later increased this concern. News of the regular meetings starting today appeared on the TV news last night. I'm sure this move will disappoint those who expect tense relations between institutions. Erdogan is making the right move.