Turkish politician: Turkish government trying to display its power

Having played a critical role in the Feb. 28 process, experienced politician Hüsamettin Cindoruk says current developments are nothing more than a show of force by the government as it intimidates its opponents.

Turkey’s governing party is intimidating those it deems a threat to its rule, the head of the Democrat Party, or DP, told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.

“This is show of force; this is a show of the [Justice and Development Party, or AKP] government [to prove that] it is powerful,” said DP leader Hüsamettin Cindoruk, commenting on the current developments some have regarded as a clash among the judiciary, military and the government. “The reputations of the military and the judiciary have been hurt.”

Cindoruk is one of the most important figures of the Feb. 28 process – popularly known as the post-modern coup of Feb. 28, 1997, which was accomplished without force.

Thirteen years, the National Security Council, or MGK, issued a series of decisions highlighting the importance of secularism in Turkey and calling for measures to strengthen it institutionally. The directives later forced the ruling Islamist Welfare Party, or RP, from coalition power and eventually led to the party’s closure.

The RP was in a coalition with the True Path Party, or DYP, in which Cindoruk was a member. Following the government’s fall, Cindoruk left the party with other deputies and founded the Democratic Turkey Party, which again joined a subsequent coalition government.

Although Cindoruk was criticized for helping implement the Feb. 28 decisions, he stressed his opposition to military coups, having lived through three of them in the past.

He said the current government wants to intimidate the media. “[The government] is able to do what it wants but cannot do it with the tax case. There is also intimidation against the Constitutional Court, the judiciary and chief prosecutors. They all complement each other,” he said.

In 2009, the government opened a tax case against the Doğan Media Group for alleged tax infringements in the past.

Touching on the recent arrests of senior military figures, Cindoruk said many would misunderstand the release of commanders for the “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) coup plot investigation following a meeting between the prime minister and the General Staff chief.

“Those events not only hurt the reputation of the military but also the judiciary. There is no logic behind arresting some soldiers and releasing some commanders who are all judged in the same case,” he said.

Cindoruk said the release of Generals Özden Örnek, İbrahim Fırtına and Ergin Saygun following the meeting would lead people to think the independence of the judiciary was being compromised.

Cindoruk said the alleged Sledgehammer plot could not be a military coup plan. “I don’t say there is either a military coup plan or that there’s no plan. I say Sledgehammer is not a military coup plan. Can there possibly be a coup whose plan was only heard by 50 or 60 soldiers?” he said.

But, on the possible existence of a military coup plan, he said: “I believe there is. If there is a negative perspective against this government, then there are precautions for this too. But I don’t know whether this is a coup or not. But if one exists, it is not the Sledgehammer plan,” he said.

Cindoruk also said some religious groups are in positions of power. “The greatest threat for this kind of ideological government is that some religious communities they depend on do not listen to their words,” he said.

“If you ask me whether the AKP is in power today, I would say ‘no.’ Some ‘organic institutions’ that direct the AKP [are ruling],” he said.


/Hurriyet Daily News/