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ANKARA: Professor Karaosmanoglu: Time For Military To Respect Democr

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  • ANKARA: Professor Karaosmanoglu: Time For Military To Respect Democr

    PROFESSOR KARAOSMANOGLU: TIME FOR MILITARY TO RESPECT DEMOCRACY

    Today's Zaman
    http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/news-19171 8-8-professor-karaosmanoglu-time-for-military-to-r espect-democracy.html
    Nov 2 2009
    Turkey

    Ali Karaosmanoglu, an academic with expertise in civilian-military
    relations, has said the military's "hands-off" position on politics
    has become more visible since the second half of 2007 but that it
    should do more.

    "The military should accept that the last word is with the civilian
    authority, and the military should believe in democracy," he told
    Today's Zaman for Monday Talk as the discovery of a military plan,
    the "Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism" to discredit the government
    has revealed once again the deep divisions that exist within the
    state, mainly between the military-led bureaucrats and the political
    authorities.

    There are signs of much improvement in civilian-military relations,
    on the other hand, Karaosmanoglu said; for example, despite the
    military's April 27, 2007, "electronic ultimatum" to the government,
    the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) was re-elected in
    the July elections of that same year, increasing its vote to about 46
    percent from 34.29 percent in the November 2002 elections. And since
    then, civilian-military relations have begun to take a new turn as
    the military's role in politics has become less visible.

    However, the Turkish Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) recently
    confirmed the authenticity of an action plan signed by a colonel which
    allegedly intended to unseat the ruling party. The plan is currently
    the subject of judicial process.

    Karaosmanoglu, whose article "Turkish Security Culture: Evolutionary
    or Carved in Stone" appeared in a book published last week by the
    Netherlands-based Centre for European Security Studies (CESS), holds
    the view that the ups and downs in the process of consolidating
    democracy in Turkey should not prevent us from seeing the "whole
    picture."

    You hold the view that the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] does not involve
    itself in politics as much as it used to do. How have you reached
    this conclusion?

    First of all, this is a requirement for consolidating democracy
    in Turkey. One sign in that regard can be seen in the reforms in
    2002-2005 [in order to fulfill the European Union's Copenhagen
    criteria]. Those reforms considerably decreased the military's
    influence in politics. The military did not oppose these developments;
    indeed, it was willing for these reforms to be implemented.

    Why?

    Because the military saw that democratization would be good for the
    country, and they concluded that the state would be empowered if it
    adapted itself to changing conditions.

    What kind of conditions?

    Take the Annan plan. Most of the members of the military were opposed
    to the Annan plan, but despite of their opposition, they cooperated
    with the civilian government. This example shows that the military is
    trying to ease the state's adaptation to the changing international
    environment. And there have been ups and downs in the process.

    Would you elaborate on this?

    For example, the military issued an "electronic memorandum" [or
    e-ultimatum on April 27, 2007] to express its reservations during
    the presidential election. This showed that the military did not
    favor a takeover of the government by a military coup d'état. The
    ruling AK Party government reacted harshly to the "memorandum." Plus,
    the military's interference proved ineffective, as demonstrated by
    the landslide electoral victory of the AK Party. Then the Dolmabahce
    meeting between the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and former
    Chief of General Staff Gen. YaÅ~_ar Buyukanıt took place. Following
    that meeting, we started to see increasing cooperation between the
    military and government. And the cooperation continued in various
    areas.

    Civilian-military relations take a new turn Could you talk more about
    these areas? In what areas have you noticed cooperation between the
    government and the military?

    We can see that in the improvement of relations with Armenia, and
    more importantly we can see that in the Kurdish issue and the fight
    against the PKK [the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party]. One reason
    for this cooperation between the military and government has been that
    the fight against terrorism has become an international issue. And
    the Kurdish issue has taken on international importance as well.

    How?

    Following the occupation of Iraq, an autonomous Kurdish region
    gained strength there. In addition, the PKK has been involved
    in the drug trade. Moreover, it has been revealed that the PKK's
    financial resources came partly from international sources. Plus,
    conducting cross-border operations in 2007-2008 required diplomatic
    preparations and initiatives. Therefore, the national aspects of
    the issues started to interact with the international aspects, and
    interestingly the international aspects have come to the fore. When
    international aspects become prominent, the political aspects of the
    issues become prominent as well, increasing the need for the civilian
    government's prominence. It has been obligatory to give priority to
    the civilian government in that regard. This has been an important
    development in civilian-military relations. And Turkey has taken
    a step forward in that regard, independent of the reform process
    required for membership in the European Union.

    If international aspects had not required such a development, would
    you say that improvements in civilian-military relations could not
    have happened?

    They still could have occurred; that was one factor. There were other
    international factors, too. With globalization, democratization,
    respect for human rights and the supremacy of law have gained more
    importance. Parallel to these developments, the norms of legitimacy
    have changed, both internationally and domestically. Changing norms
    of legitimacy required the state to adapt to this change. This was
    seen both by the government and military. Then arose the need for the
    renewal of the state, be it by adapting to new norms, establishing
    new relations or forming new institutions.

    'Kurdish opening likely to continue' Where do you think the Kurdish
    opening is going?

    There are ups and downs. The arrival of the members of the PKK led to
    anger in the society in general. In addition to this, the government
    has perceived the manner in which the DTP [Democratic Society Party]
    received the PKK members, holding joyous celebrations, as a political
    move. The government has halted the process of receiving more members
    of the PKK, but this halt is most probably only temporary and the
    process is likely to continue.

    How long do you think it will take until society sees another group
    of PKK members coming back to Turkey?

    It might take a long time until that happens again. But the important
    thing is that the process will continue.

    Why do you see this process in a way that there will be no turning
    back?

    It is because there is a process of cultural change occurring in
    Turkey. This change is about political culture, which has already
    gone a long way in the process of change. It is no longer stoppable. A
    change in political culture has become obligatory. The renewal of the
    state as necessary has been seen in the history of state tradition in
    Turkey. In the Ottoman Empire the state renewed itself and adapted
    to changes, and the elites cooperated in the process. [Scholars]
    Å~^erif Mardin and Kemal Karpat explain this issue in detail. We
    are going through the same thing today in the republic: The state
    has to adapt itself to the changing conditions in order to sustain
    itself. This is a part of our political culture. That's why it is an
    unstoppable process. And it will go on until democracy is consolidated.

    'EU can accelerate change in Turkey' Is it realistic to think about
    a time period for that?

    The process can only be expedited. The European Union is important
    in that regard because the EU can have a role in facilitating the
    reform process in Turkey, as we have seen before. This was the case in
    2002-2005. This process is also useful because it creates interaction
    between Turkey and the EU; Turkey learns more about Europe and Europe
    learns more about Turkey and some prejudices are eliminated in the
    process as some channels for dialogue are opened. Those channels of
    dialogue make it easier to offer new ideas. [In a meeting with experts
    from Europe on the issue of civilian-military relations in Europe and
    Turkey] we saw that there are differing practices and rules in each
    country of Europe. So what is the goal of the European Union criteria?

    What is it?

    Its goal is to establish a framework which is democratic, but the
    inside of this framework is blank and it presents many opportunities.

    If a country, for example Turkey, uses this opportunity, it can produce
    a civilian-military relations model which can be quite democratic. The
    important thing is to make good use of this opportunity.

    What is the essence of the matter in reconsidering civilian-military
    relations?

    It is important to understand that the military is an important
    institution. Its duty is to protect the nation, and that's why it has
    weapons. But the military should not try to create political influence
    by depending on the power that comes from having weapons. Moreover,
    the military should be subordinate to the civilian authority. In
    addition, the civilian authority should be involved in dialogue
    with the military and should take military expertise seriously. The
    civilian government should consult with the military in matters of
    security and defense, but at the same time it should have the power
    to control all military spending. In addition to this, the military
    should accept that the last word rests with the civilian authority,
    and the military should believe in democracy. This is the essence of
    the matter. These are the European criteria. This is the framework
    which can involve different models. Although the military commanders
    continue to make declarations on public and political matters, Turkey
    is moving toward a regime with more political initiative and less
    direct military influence over politics.

    What do you think the role of the opposition is in the process?

    A consensus among the political parties on establishing a more
    democratic balance between secularism and Islam and between the
    Kurdish question and the unitary state would certainly increase the
    possibility of more democratic control over the military and its
    complete subordination to civilian authority.
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