A democracy at the mercy of the generals.

last updated 8 January 2015

Turkey

Bulent Kenes

Turkey, we now know, narrowly escaped a military coup three years ago, said Bulent Kenes in Istanbul’s Today’s Zaman. The weekly newspaper Nokta has published long excerpts from what it says is the diary of Özden Örnek, the former commander of the navy. The diary describes how the commander of the Gendarmerie, Gen. Sener Eruygur, called together the heads of the navy, army, and air force to recommend toppling the Islamist government that had won elections in 2002. Eruygur feared that the government was both too religious and too soft on the issue of Turkish Cyprus, traditionally a Turkish military stronghold. The other three generals initially considered a coup, the diary says, and rejected the plan only after a Cypriot referendum ensured that Turkish Cyprus would not reunite with Greek Cyprus. These revelations “send cold shudders down one’s spine.” We thought the days of military coups were long past; the last one was in 1980. Örnek denies that the diary is authentic. Yet the scenario is all too plausible. Eruygur, though no longer the commander of the Gendarmerie, continues to rail against the Islamist party, saying that if its candidate becomes president, he will personally “man the barricades.” Turks can draw but one conclusion: Our military is led by those who see “no harm in shelving democracy for personal interests.”