Coup cases in Turkey fray trust in military, poll shows

Trust in Turkey’s military has decreased dramatically in the last three years, according to a recent survey that pegs the timing of the drop to the launch of investigations into alleged military coup attempts.

The results of the latest Turkey Values Survey, which were made public Thursday, show that 75 percent of Turks have trust in the Turkish Armed Forces, or TSK, a 15 percent drop compared to the survey conducted in 2008.

The timing of the drop coincides with the launch of the Ergenekon and “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) investigations, both of which deal with alleged plans to topple the government. Numerous military figures have been detained and jailed in both cases.

Members of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, formerly a key base of support for the military, have also lost their confidence in the army, according to Yılmaz Esmer from Bahçeşehir University, who headed the team that conducted the survey.

“The largest decrease [in confidence in the military] has been experienced in Turkey’s southeastern region,” Esmer told a press conference Thursday.

Trust in the government has meanwhile increased 32 percent over the past 10 years, the survey shows.

“If you consider the 2001 economic crisis, which caused people to lose their confidence in the government, and the recent economic growth, the increase [in trust] makes sense,” Esmer said.

Several soldiers have been detained in the Ergenekon investigation, accused of being members of an ultranationalist, shadowy gang that planned to topple the government by staging a coup, initially by spreading chaos and mayhem. Balyoz is the code name for an alleged military coup plot against the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, drafted in 2003. According to the allegations, the military planned drastic measures to foment unrest in the country in order to remove the AKP from power.

The detentions and ongoing trials have not only caused people to lose their confidence in the army but also to worry about privacy violations due to widespread wiretapping and monitoring of personal emails, according to the survey. Half of the people surveyed said they are worried about such privacy concerns.

The fear of state control has also affected people’s participation in political issues, the data showed. The willingness to sign a petition, for example, decreased by 15 percent in 20 years. The rate of people who said they had signed a petition was 10 percent in Turkey, compared to 82 percent in Sweden and 58 percent in Germany.

According to Esmer, people also have become more hesitant about attending legal protests or labor actions.

The poll was part of the World Values Survey, which is run by a network of social scientists coordinated by a central body, the World Values Survey Association. The Turkey part of the survey included 1,605 face-to-face interviews in 128 districts of 54 provinces across the country. Interviewees were asked 350 questions on a variety of subjects, from life satisfaction/happiness to political participation, and from left- and right-wing ideology to tolerance toward the “other.”


/Hurriyet Daily News/