Dani Rodrik has just returned from Turkey, shunned while defending his father-in-law, the main defendant in the military coup plot case. The Harvard professor explains his take.
IN DECEMBER I traveled to Turkey with my wife and young son, as we do every year during winter break. This time, though, we had more than visiting family and friends in mind. We were on a mission to demonstrate that what many have called the trial of the century in Turkey is in fact a sham built on fabricated evidence.
Nearly two hundred Turkish military officers stand accused of having plotted a gruesome coup back in 2003—codenamed Sledgehammer—against the then–newly elected Justice and Development Party (AKP) government.
Details of the alleged plot have gripped the nation ever since an anonymous source delivered a suitcase full of what appeared to be secret military documents to a newspaper reporter in January 2010. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan and other AKP leaders have openly lent support and credibility to the charges. With few exceptions, mainstream commentators have also accepted the claims at face value. The prosecutors have produced a 1,000-page long indictment, along with supporting documentation running into tens of thousands of pages. When we arrived in Turkey (my wife is the daughter of Çetin Doğan, the lead defendant in the case), the trial had just started in Silivri, on the grounds of a prison in the outskirts of Istanbul.
Our mission seemed quixotic and presumptuous at best. And yet, stripped of all the frenzy and disinformation that surrounds the case, the facts were abundantly clear. The coup plot documents on which the charges are based were obvious forgeries.
Americans have not paid much attention to the Sledgehammer case or to Turkey’s other ongoing political-military trials. Western observers typically assume that these trials, although far from perfect, are an opportunity for the country to come to grips with its murky past. Yet the Sledgehammer case reveals quite a different reality. It lays bare the machinations behind the judicial process, aimed evidently at achieving political advantage instead of justice. It calls into question Turkey’s relevance as a democratic beacon for the Middle East and reveals the shaky domestic political foundations on which the country’s foreign policy rests.
We recounted in a previous article the myriad inconsistencies and violations of due process in this case. The evidence we uncovered left no doubt that the CDs containing the incriminating evidence had been tampered with. Most strikingly, we identified dozens of instances in which entities—hospitals, NGOs, companies, military units—were referred to by names that they acquired years later. The forgers seem to have checked to make sure these entities existed back in 2003, but apparently forgot to see whether they might have operated under different names at the time the coup plot was alleged to have been hatched. These conspicuous anachronisms made clear that the documents supposedly authored in 2003 by the officers on trial were in fact produced no earlier than August 2009.
However, when we presented our argument in Turkey in a book, several TV appearances, and meetings with journalists, we were bewildered by the reception we received. We encountered a mix of denial, deception, and fear, which says much about Turkey’s recent history—and even more about the alarming direction in which the country seems to be headed.
THE REACTION we got from the country’s liberal intelligentsia was symptomatic. The Turkish intelligentsia has made common cause in recent years with the AKP government, thanks in large part to the AKP’s success in presenting itself as a force for democratization and civilianization of Turkish politics. These intellectuals see Sledgehammer and other similar trials as a chance to make ultra-secularists and militarists accountable for the crimes of the past. Given Turkey’s history of military coups, this is understandable; we saw things pretty much the same way until recently.
What was much more difficult to fathom was these intellectuals’ unwillingness to question their beliefs in light of mounting evidence that the defendants had been framed. Many of Turkey’s leading “liberals” simply turned their backs on the evidence that we had amassed. They refused to meet with us, failed to show up at panels where we presented our findings, and left our e-mails unanswered. The reporter who first broke the Sledgehammer story in the newspaper Taraf, a ubiquitous presence in the Turkish media, declined invitations to debate us on TV. Ironically, while we were in Turkey prosecutors were forced to reveal—after presistent demands from lawyers—reams of material pointing to the inconsistencies we had identified (and more), which they had chosen to disregard (and hide from the defense).
Others tried to deflect our findings by personalizing our quest. Predictably, there were articles aplenty in the Islamist press that played off my Jewish identity. Pinar, my wife, was typically portrayed in condescending, often sexist terms that suggested her judgment was clouded by filial loyalty. Such articles were even published in the supposedly liberal Taraf.
Comments
Is there another country named Turkey? Because the Turkey I know is far from how Dr. Rodrik tries hard to portray it as. Let's put things in perspective. Military ruled Turkey until recently (See recent book by Steven Cook: Ruling But Not Governing: The Military and Political Development in Egypt, Algeria, and Turkey). Just a decade ago, Cetin Dogan was untouchable. Nobody could even imagine that one day, Cetin Dogan would be on trial. Therefore he was overconfident and careless in his words and actions. He has voice recordings (available on YouTube and other popular media sites) where he says "We should show no mercy to public. Just pile them one on top of the other..." Such statements leave little doubt that Cetin Dogan was in fact guilty for what he's accused for, in addition to the abundant documented evidence.Dr. Rodrik portrays as if the democracy is at stake, when in fact, democracy ceased to exist in Turkey up until recently, thanks to people like Cetin Dogan. I find it ironic that Dr. Rodrik uses this argument to support his father-in-law, who clearly has no respect for it. Turkey is just starting to realize what democracy and freedom is, and is beginning to question why it didn't exist before, and who prevented it from happening. Surprised at how their powerful father could even be questioned for his fearless actions, the Rodrik family arrived Turkey. They were surprised at how much Turkey has changed (for the better), and that the mainstream media wouldn't want to talk to them, not even the liberals. Dr. Rodrik thinks this is because they fear the government. But perhaps a better explanation is that the liberals were the ones being oppressed by the militarist rule, and they indeed did not want to help the supporters of the primary suspect of an alleged coup plot. In other words, the media was no longer in control of the military. Dr. Rodrik is disappointed because his calls for debate is left unanswered. I think this mostly because he's not being taken seriously, which is not that surprising.Dr. Rodrik tries hard to link the Gulen movement to the AKP party on baseless presumptions, without any credible proof what so ever. It is well-documented that Gulen intentionally remains distant to any political party or movement, for very good reasons, and advises the same to others around him. Dr. Rodrik's claims will sound funny to anyone with little knowledge about Gulen. Finally, Dr. Rodrik writes that his blog is popular and contains views of both sides. Well, he did not publish my post. This is because he has to censor posts, otherwise his blog will be full of comments and arguments that they do not want to hear, accept, and come to terms with. It is unfortunate that Dr. Rodrik put himself in this unenviable position to support a person far worse than El-Mubarak, because he's his father-in-law. That's a shame.
The Carr Center for Human Rights Policy hosted Dani Rodrik,
Pinar Doğan and Gerald Knaus for a panel discussion on the recent arrests and
indictments of some of Turkey’s top military leaders and of several hundred
other prominent individuals, described as a crisis in Turkish democracy, where
Dr. Rodrik stated "The current trials are sham trials based on the
flimsiest evidence and often on fabricated documents and planted evidence.” Rodrik
asserted the nature of the recent series of arrests and indictments suggests a
more dismal outlook for democracy in Turkey than generally acknowledged by the Turkish
public and media.
Knaus challenged the notion that these cases were sham trials and pointed out
that most organizations with a track record of focusing on human rights
violations in Turkey consider the trials a step forward in Turkish democracy. “Here
we reach the fundamental problem of this debate, and that’s the problem of a
regime change,” said Knaus. “In the old days… generals would be calling in
journalists to discuss how to topple an elected government. The question now is
how do you deal with the fact that the rules have now changed?” Knaus thinks
that this investigation has potential to be one of the most important events since
the formation of the Turkish Republic.
Having lived in Turkey for a while, I will have to agree with Knaus.
Atel’s comments are typical of the disinformation that substitutes for fact these days in discussions about Turkey.
Atel says there are voice recordings which make it clear that Cetin Dogan is guilty. There are indeed voice recordings (which no-one denies), but these are from a contingency planning exercise where Dogan and the other officers present are discussing how to respond to a domestic insurgency (among other threats), in case such an insurgency
becomes a reality. If you take comments from this military workshop out of context you can reach all kinds of silly conclusions – including for example that Turkey was preparing to attack Greece (since the same workshop assumed, for the purpose of the planning exercise, that Greece had extended its sea borders to 12 miles, which is considered casus belli in Turkey).
Atel claims that “Gulen intentionally remains distant to any political party or movement.” This is a laughable statement in light of the well–known alliance between the Gulen movement and the AKP at present.
Atel is also simply wrong when he says that our blog censors comments. The only comments we remove
are those that contain insulting language.
Dr. Rodrik,Good luck to you and your family in your quest for justice in "democratic" Turkey. As it is evident by the comments posted here, yours is a very high mountain to climb. One cannot beat the Gulenists that are posting all the defamatory comments here (and on every other platform) because of the simple fact that they number in the millions and command funds in the billions. Theirs is a dark and transnational empire, unfortunately sponsored and protected by not only Turkey's Islamist government, but by powerful elements within other government(s). What has happened in Turkey is a "civil" coup. Behind the cloak of "democratization" (a term so loved in the West) all Turkey's defenses are being eliminated. Silivri prison/concentration camp is now home to hundreds of military officers (including one of every 10 active general and admirals) and many more will soon "move" there. Scores of journalists, intellectuals, academicians, politicians, lawyers, jurists, artists, authors are all lumped together with the military, and thrown to jails for allegedly "planning a coup". These people (that any nation would call "its best") are systematically being replaced by the very Islamists that Gulen has educated and prepared for this day. He has secretly and cunningly raised this new generation of rulers of Turkey! These people are not DEMOCRATS! and their rule is one based on fear. People in Turkey are afraid to speak on the phone (as recordings of their private conversations continue to show up in Youtube), they are afraid to write emails (as they are all read), journalists are intimidated (as their colleagues are jailed or lose their jobs), non-Islamist media organs are threatened by the government and/or confiscated by the government only to be sold to Gulen followers. Dr. Rodrik, fear rules Turkey and there isn't much you can do. All I can suggest is that you tell your story, educate the public as best as you can. No one is aware of what's going on in Turkey and instead of being outraged, they are busy marketing Turkey as a "model of Muslim democracy"! Very sad indeed...
None of the claims against Fethullah Gulen and Gulen Movement are supported by a fact. They are mostly opinions. Some people in Turkey are claiming that Gulen Movement is an alliance of AKP and CIA, some people in United States are claiming that Gulen movement is a radical islamist movement. The funny thing is that none of these claims are supported by a fact. Look at the references, they are from newspapers, bogus blogs etc. Who would believe in this ???
An excellent article. It is noteworthy how infantile attempts are made to discredit Mr. Rodrik without at a single instance answering one of his many accusations. Based on the non-factual and agitated responses, I assume that Mr. Rodrik is indeed onto something.Cheers!
Well, he's onto saving his father in law... What an example for conflict of interest... Law vs. love?
or father in law vs. law... Cheers!
I am writing this email to criticize the bad ethics of the autoher of this article Prof. Dani Rodrik and her wife lecturer Pinar Dogan who are academics in Harvard Kennedy School. I believe that the first standard of academical institutions and being an academic is ethics and these people are not good examples for academical society and for their students regarding that. Their father Cetin Dogan who is a retired Turkish general is a defendant in a military coup trial in Turkey nowadays and Rodrik and Dogan are trying to defend him sadly with an unethical manner. Turkey had two military coups in 1960 and 1980, these coups led to damage of our democracy and many human rights violations including tortures and murders. Military also gave an ultimatom to government in 1971 and did a post-modern coup in 1997, both changed the governments and deeply effected the political system. People of Turkey have suffered a lot because of military coups and continuous military interference to our democratic system. For the last couple of years there had been revealed that some Turkish generals planned several coups between 2003 to 2005, thousands of coup plan documents and voice records were found from various sources in papers and CDs. Mr Cetin Dogan is a defendant in one of those trials for being one of the main responsible generals in Balyoz coup plan. Pinar Dogan is Mr. Dogan's daughter and Mr. Rodrik is his son-in-law. They have found out that there are discrepancies in some of the evidences and declared that some CDs were prepared after the alleged coup year 2003, this allegation is being investigated in Turkey and there is controvery on whether these CD evidences are fabricated or they were just updated later for coup. I do not want to bother you with the details, let me write the unethical behaviours of them. 1) Rodrik claims abroad that the coup plan is fictitous and "groups within the judiciary, police, media, intelligentsia, the national science and technological institute, and (last but not least), the AKP government have played in creating what can best be called an “alternative reality", you may find this remark below in his website. This allegation about the major institutions of Turkey shows a picture of it as a failed state and a corrupt country which is an outrageous lie, this is unethical. They also claim that the democracy in Turkey is dead. Mr. Rodrik and his wife gave interviews on Turkish media, they did not say anything like that, if they would do that people would laugh at them. Saying one thing in Turkey and writing another one abroad is not an honest behaviour and it is unethical. They are simply trying to agitate and manipulate the foreign public opinion by these outrageous remarks in their articles in foreign press. Turkey is a serious country and a strong ally of USA and claiming that it is corrupt, failed and not-democrat is just laughable. Whether those CDs which are a part of the evidences are fake or just updated is a question under investigation and there are columnists in Turkey who thinks that these might true evidences. There are also a lot of other evidences in the trial other than those CDs. 2) Mr. Rodrik claims that Taraf newspaper who made most of the evidences public and and its chief editors are partners in crime. Well, as I told you whether the CDs which are a part of the evidences, are fake or updated is a subject under investigation and reporting these evidences in newspaper is not a crime but a public service. He and his wife also accuse the liberal intellectuals of Turkey for not supporting them, they claim that they are not liberals but jacobens. The world is not turning around Mr Rodrik and Mrs. Dogan and they have no right to label the liberals because they do not think in the same way with them and their unproved allegations, this is uynethical too. These people also changed the surnames of the Taraf editors and one reporter to ugly phrases like Aldatan, Cingar and Bulaniksu in their blog; this was so childish, immature and awkward on the side of Dani Rodrik and Pinar Dogan. 3) There are discrepancies in their allegations to which they can not respond, you may find articles below by Onder Aytac and Alper Gormus about that. Despite it and despite the fact that the situation of CDs is under investigation and there are a lot of Turkish intellectual and columnists who thinks different than them in this topic, they present their allegations as pure truth. Let me also introduce their father retired general Cetin Dogan to you, so that you may understand what the mindset behind the military coups in Turkey is. 1) He was the president of BCG, the group in military who prepared the post-modern coup in 1997. 2) In the voice records of him which was recorded while he was in active duty as a general, he says "There should be no mercy in public events/demonstrations, there should be beating/thrashing severely and nothing else" 3) In another voice record he says "The prime minister has to be insulted in private conversations with him. We should use the good ones in press and give an ultimatom to government with the military chiefs of staff." 4) While he was in active duty, eight colonels and lietunant colonels under him filed complaints to Joint Chiefs of Staff Command about him and questioned whether he has his own plans/calculations. In the light of all the evidences, on 11th of February judges of the court ordered the arrest of many generals including Cetin Dogan. The trials about the military coup plans are so important for our country, believing in the justice system I hope this will lead our country to a better democracy in which military will do only its own job. Although Mr. Rodrik claims that the demoracy is dead in Turkey, present American ambassador Mr. Ricciardone who has an extensive background on Turkey recently stated that Turkey has made a lot of progress in democracy and other fields and there is an open discussion environment in Turkey. You may find the evidences for my email below. I sent this letter to Harvard University, American and Turkish press. I also sent it to WSJ, New Republic, National Interest, Foreign Policy and Le Monde in which Rodrik and Dogan wrote articles in this subject too. Regards, Selim Berk http://rodrik.typepad.com/dani_rodriks_weblog/2010/12/a-tale-of-two-books.htmlhttp://www.milliyet.com.tr/-onurlu-subay-a-degil-kayinpederime-inaniyorum/devrim-sevimay/siyaset/yazardetayarsiv/19.04.2010/1226824/default.htmhttp://www.t24.com.tr/haberdetay/117789.aspxhttp://www.medyafaresi.com/yazi/306/onder-aytac-cetin-dogan-in-cocuklarinin-anlamsiz-mucadelesi.htmlhttp://haksozhaber.net/author_article_detail.php?id=19432http://www.radikal.com.tr/Radikal.aspx?aType=RadikalDetayV3&ArticleID=1036149&Date=12.01.2011&CategoryID=77http://www.kontrgerilla.com/mansetgoster.asp?haber_no=2759 http://www.medyacafe.com/yasemin-congar-ve-ahmet-altan-font-colorredsuc-ortagidirfont-36024h.htm http://blog.milliyet.com.tr/Dani_Rodrik_in_%E2%80%9Ckurgulari__ve__kuruntulari%E2%80%9D/Blog/?BlogNo=281830 http://www.zaman.com.tr/yazar.do?yazino=1082613 http://www.liberalses.com/yorum/cetin-doganin-kizi-ve-damadina-celiski-dersi.aspx http://tr.wikipedia.org/wiki/%C3%87etin_Do%C4%9Fan http://www.gazetea24.com/haber/_turkiye_cok_ilerleme_kaydetmis_.htm
Selimberk, ethics relates to the choices an individual makes. What can be more ethical than trying to uncover the reality, especially when the projected "reality" to the society seems to be forged. Second, anyone who claims that Turkey is democratic should question his/her logic and reasoning. Life in Turkey is full of contradictions to this claim. The system, including judiciary, has been hijacked by the Islamists and became very subjective to individuals. If you are not with AKP, there are no human rights for you my friend. The examples show that this can lead to the point where you will be sent to prison with no true reason. Simply, AKP = to prison with no reason.
GoingGalt,Your definition of ethics is bizarre and it shows your mentality and I will not answer any of your future comments because of that. You can not answer my arguments about the unethical behaviours of these people, instead of that you expressed your prejudices about Turkey. You say that system including judiciary has been hijacked by islamists, well what can I say about such ignorance. Judiciary system tried to close AKP, and it closed several moderate islamic parties in the past, what are you talking about? Judiciary system is independent in Turkey other than the times of coups. You make false statements with no proofs and you have the right to do that, there is freedom of speech, but don't let anybody respect that... Considering the the content of your message, I can just say that I am sorry for you.
Well, that is the definition of hijacking. System was secular and in order to protect herself tried to terminate the political parties that aimed at an Islamist government. Now the system punishes the secular. What happened in between, it's been hijacked... What free-speech are you talking about, check the number of journalists that are in prison, who do not yet know what they have been accused of and in the prison for 2.5 years. This is a tragedy and against the human rights. Does innocent until proven guilty ring any bells? How can you prison people based on allegations? Judiciary system tried to close AKP and other Islamist parties because of the facts. This was a clear difference. Lastly, R.I.P. secular Turkey.
In this letter I will give you seven examples of distortions by Mr. Rodrik in this two page article of him. I believe no academic does not and can not do such things and I again question his situation ethically in academic society and students. Before examining the distortions of Mr. Rodrik, I will criticize him and her wife Mrs. Dogan for changing the surnames of the editors and a reporter of Taraf newspaper to ugly words; Aldatan, Bulaniksu and Cingar in their blog. That was very childish and immature especially when you consider that these people are academics. You might recall the examples of their habit of labeling people from my first email. http://nationalinterest.org/commentary/democracy-turkey-48571) He claims that “Sledgehammer case lays bare the machinations behind the judicial process, aimed evidently at achieving political advantage instead of justice”. I criticized Mr. Rodrik for outrageously accusing the major institutions of Turkey on false basis in my first email, showing a picture of it as a failed state and a corrupt country. This outrageous expression with no proof is another example of this behaviour.2) He wrote that “Gulenists who are known to have established a stronghold in the national police and among the prosecutors assigned to these cases.” No such thing were alleged in Turkey about the prosecutors of those cases, Mr. Rodrik is writing on foreign press and feels free to allege such outrageous things. As for national police there have been such allegations in Turkish media but no proof was presented. Mr. Rodrik also claims that they have infiltrated the military.There have been allegations that Gulen group tried to infiltrated the military in the past but after the post-modern coup in 1997, in a decade military fired almost 2,000 officers and non-commisioned officers that were religious because of discipline reasons. These people were reported in the military for praying daily or having a wife wearing headscarf. Nobody is talking about a probable Gulen infiltration in military for so long. Mr Rodrik continues to distort the facts and to slander about the major institutions of Turkey.3) He mentions about a police commissioner who has allegations about Gulen group in his book. Mr. Rodrik could write that this person showed no single proof in his book and did only speculation and was criticized for that. Also the investigation about him was reportedly started even before he started to write his book. Mr Rodrik did not write that there are evidences of crime about this person, that is the reason why he was arrested for trial. He also claims that Eric Edelman has revealed that he was passed fake coup documents by an individual connected to the Gulen movement. Serious people talks with evidences, Mr. Edelman or Mr. Rodrik has to give the name of this person, before that this allegation can not be taken seriously.4) Mr. Rodrik wrote that “Country’s largest independent media company is reeling under a huge tax fine, imposed for what is commonly believed to be political reasons.” The owner of this company Mr. Aydin Dogan was accused of tax fraud, there are evidences for that and also for illegal trade. He lost some trials and some of the trials continue regarding those issues. Mr Rodrik again does not talk about the evidences.5) He wrote “Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and other AKP leaders have openly lent support and credibility to the charges” That is not true and I invite Mr. Rodrik to give proofs on that, I really wonder whether he can really do that. He asks “Why is Erdogan’s government idly standing by despite the obvious miscarriage of justice?” The justice system is independent in Turkey, govenment has no power like that and it is not the duty of government to have effect on trials. I also would like to remind Mr. Rodrik that judiciary system tried to close the ruling AKP(Justice and Development Party) and it closed two major moderate islamic parties in the past.6) Mr. Rodrik mentiones about AKP’s alliance with the Gulen movement three times. Nobody in Turkey calls Gulen movement as an ally of AKP, they are one of the major islamic groups in Turkey who traditionally vote for islamic or right-wing parties. AKP government and Gulen group has different views on major issues like headscarf freedom in universities and Mavi Marmara fleet case. Mr Rodrik amazingly use the phrase of "what the alliance portends for the future of democracy and the rule of law in Turkey." 7) Mr. Rodrik claims that “Many have called the trial of the century”. Forget about the word “many”, there was only one article in Taraf newspaper mentioning that.” People does not attach that much importance to this trial. We had more important trials under military administration in Turkey, after the coups in 1960 and 1980, thousands of people were on trials, thousands of people were put to jail including a president, prime ministers, cabinet ministers and congressmen, many people were hanged including a prime minister and two cabinet ministers. By such distortions Mr Rodrik tries to create an alternative reality about Turkey and blacken it. As I wrote to you in my first email, he does not say such things in his interviews in Turkey where there is an open discussion environment as American ambassador Mr. Ricciardone stated recently and people naturally know the facts about the subjects and the situation in the country but he uses such phrases in foreign press and his website in english and he continues this unethical behaviour in his last article. I also would like to clarify one point in this article. Mr. Rodrik wrote that in many cases people refused to meet with them or to have a debate with them and some did not show up at panels. Why Mr. Rodrik does not accept that the press people does not want to be a side in this trial, they just do their job and they do not want to interfere in such a way while the trial process continues. I also advise him to stop labeling people or changing their surnames to ugly words, maybe he may receive a more positive approach after that; people generally does not want to debate or talk to such persons. I believe that defending one’s own relative is a respectable thing but sadly Mr. Rodrik and Mrs. Dogan does not do that in honest and respectable ways and such unethical behaviors, slandering, distortions and childish-immature acts are not becoming especially for an academic. I do not know whether their allegation about those CDs will come true or not and I remind you that there are a lot of other evidences, but what I know is that they will be remembered in Turkey for such things.Regards, Selim Berk
Selim Berk wrote:Quote:5) He wrote “Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan and other AKP leaders have openly lent support and credibility to the charges” That is not true and I invite Mr. Rodrik to give proofs on that, I really wonder whether he can really do that. He asks “Why is Erdogan’s government idly standing by despite the obvious miscarriage of justice?” The justice system is independent in Turkey, govenment has no power like that and it is not the duty of government to have effect on trials.Unquote:Here is the proof you want: PM Erdogan not only is a party to this scam of trial, he has also openly ANNOUNCED it, when he said, "I AM THE PROSECUTOR OF THIS CASE!" Don't try to deny, because his speech with this infamous statement is on video for everyone to see!Before Mr. Berk preaches Rodrik on "ethics" he should acquire some. Lying may be acceptable in some cultures, but not here Mr. Berk.
Fearrules, despite your nickname it seems that you have no fear to break rules. You are the one who lies; why don't you give the link of that video, you can not do that because there is no such thing. You simply lie shamelesly and you are talking about the place of lying in a culture, what a miserable approach.. I should be sorry for you but I am not.. You are simply slandering about me and Mr. Erdogan and Turkish culture, what a shame...The president of CHP party said that "I am the lawyer of this trial" and Mr. Erdogan replied "I am the prosecutor of this nation"... People like you distorted this sentence but the truth was revealed immediately... Here are the links for that... http://www.sondakika.com/haber-genel-secim-haziran-2011-de-2252769/http://www.turkiyeinternette.com/haber/11249-syaset-erdoganin-medya-toplantisi-secim-ne-zaman.htmlFearrules, come on, give that the link of that video...You can not.. You are simply slandering without no fear of rules and ethics... Shame on you...
I also would like to add Fearrules is lying not once but twice. Those statements by president of CHP and Mr. Erdogan was about Ergenekon case and is nothing to do with Sledgehammer(Balyoz) case, you may check it from the links I gave in my previous message. I again tell you fearrules, you are simply slandering without no fear of rules and ethics... Shame on you...
Selimberk, I see your point about providing references. We should be more precise with supporting links... Here is the situation about the free-speech in Turkey. Turkey ranks 138 / 178 in Freedom in Press (http://en.rsf.org/press-freedom-index-20...). Very recently the biggest opposition internet news site Odatv.com was raided by the government police ( http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n...). Its 4 head journalists were interrogated and 3 of them are now arrested. The Gulen news channels falsely and subjectively called Odatv as "neo-nationalist" to justify the raid and the arrests (http://www.todayszaman.com/news-235996-t...). Present American ambassador Mr. Ricciardone and US government raised concerned about the developments (http://online.wsj.com/article/SB10001424...). Just days before the Odatv.com raid, the site uncovered new leads supporting the fabrication of the evidence in the on going imprisonments of people like Cetin Dogan (http://www.odatv.com/n.php?n=iste-amerik...). Note that Odatv.com has been uncovering facts for the last couple of years.The site also worked very hard to publish news on the "Deniz Feneri" Charity Fraud. This fraud was perpetrated by conservative Turkish Islamists in Germany (http://www.ataturktoday.com/RefBib/Deniz...). The German judiciary found connections between this organization and the AKP. The Dogan Media (owns Hurriyet newspaper) received the half a BILLION dollar tax fine right after they published news on this discovered connection between the AKP and the "Deniz Feneri" (The Lighthouse) Charity fraud (http://www.expatica.ru/news/russian-news...). Page 18 (http://www.fas.org/sgp/crs/mideast/R4136...). Dogan Media took the matter to court and won the case (http://www.forexpros.com/news/stock-market-news/update-1-dogan-yayin-wins-tax-fine-appeal-for-$430-million-195983).
GoingGalt, Because of your bizarre definition of ethics and the bizarre content of your message, I wrote that I would not answer any of your comments but now I see that at least you accept the fact that one should be more precise with supporting links, that is good development on your side and I will answer you because of this for one time. You give some links but unfortunately they lack the latest information and overall your presentations and comments on them are not true and ugly. Therefore I will not spend any time for any of your comments anymore because although you made a development with accepting the need of supporting links, your attitude still does not deserve to be cooperative on my side. By the way, I see that nobody brings any explanation for any of my comments regarding my two messages regarding the distortions and unethical behaviours of Dani Rodrik and Pinar Dogan. I sent those messsages to those people too but received no answer. Instead, you and Fearrules who are hiding themselves behind a nickname wrote some lies freely. This is my name and Mr. Rodrik knows my email address and I.P. number. This is my last answering to you goingalt as I wrote in the previous paragraph.1) You were claiming in one of your previous comments that the judiciary system was hijacked by islamists, then tell me how come Council of State High Court refused the tax fine for this company? So, you disproof your own bizare argument yourself. As for the 90 % figure written in that article, I suspect about it and will check it, but this is a secondary issue. As for the question whether the trial was politically motivated, that is not true but of course anybody can think in that way, I do not have to persuade anybody. 2) Yargitay High Court Chief Prosecutorship declared that there is no relation between AKP and Deniz Feneri e.v. Why didn’t you write that, is this honesty? Also your using of the phrase of “conservative Turkish islamists” is bizarre and ugly. The fraud in that organization realized by 3 managers and they were convicted, you can not make a generalization like that. http://www.haberpan.com/ak-parti-deniz-feneri-evden-aklandi-haberi/ 3) The link that you give from Oda TV is not about Sledgehammer trial, this is about another trial and it does not contain any evidence but just questions. 4) You are mentioning about American ambassador’s remarks. Check his latest statement two days ago. He says “Turkey is definitely a state of law, there is no question about that. We have full confidence in Turkish government, people and its legal system.” Also check his statement he made two weeks ago in the second link, he says “Turkey made a lot of progress in democracy and other fields, there is an open discussion environment” As for Oda TV case, there are evindences found in their computers and the judge ordered the arrest of 3 people, we have to wait and see the developments. http://bayrakyayincilik.com/ricciardone-akpyi-once-kizdirdi-sonra-%E2%80%98anlamak-istiyoruz%E2%80%99-dedi.html http://www.gazetea24.com/haber/_turkiye_cok_ilerleme_kaydetmis_.htm 5) Your prejudiced argument about the Gulen news channels is your own comment. 6) Freedom of speech and freedom of press is not the same thing, you should know that there is a nuance between them. Here I quote American ambassador’s comment that there is an open discussion environment in Turkey. http://www.gazetea24.com/haber/_turkiye_cok_ilerleme_kaydetmis_.htm
You are quite predictable :) I was expecting the look how brave I am you hide behind nicknames argument and the argument on how come the court ruled for Dogan Media if it's biased. Oh, by the way, I would be very interested in hearing what you understand from Ethics? Just being polite? As I said it relates to the choices an individual makes, the values you carry to judge what is good and what is bad. In my view forging evidence to shut-up opposing voices is unethical, and government officers do not have that luxury. It's a clear misuse of the power. It is by definition should be that the authority objectively serves to citizens. I don't see this in the AKP government and we are not going to see this; a mind that tries to regulate life and reason via religion cannot be objective. You can be religious but you have to develop the sophistication (if you want to govern democratically) to be secular. That is, you can follow any ideology, religion, principles or moral values in your private life as long as you do not limit others' rights, but when it comes to serving publically you ought to be objective. This, requires sophistication. Recep Tayyip Erdogan does NOT have this sophistication. His actions indicate that he rather sees himself as the emperor, and naturally acts as an autocrat.***** Let's move on, in Turkey the Judiciary is hijacked by Islamists. Now, the Judiciary is not a plane, is it? It is a collective of public officers. During the last 8 years, the AKP government has been systematically appointing individuals who share their views and purpose, many of whom are known to be in the Islamic Gulen Movement. ******** The crime (The Lighthouse Charity Fraud) was committed in Germany, and the German legal system prosecuted the case during which the connection between AKP and this organization was discovered. So it seems to me that if a Turkish court tries to clear AKP in this, it only justifies the hijacking. ******** After Mr. Ricciardone's comments, AKP freaked out, I would take his later comments as attempts to soften the air. At the end I believe there are people who are aware of what's going on (yes! you the reader!), now Ethics can be questioned here whether these people take an action or not. ******* This made me smile, so there is freedom of speech in Turkey but no freedom of the press? How can you eat your cake and have it too?********* Lastly, I don't think anyone forced you to use your real identity here, or share your IP address with others. You made these choices, if you feel brave it's good for you. I prefer the content of my messages to be public, and thanks to the freedom of speech in Turkey, a government employed individual is banned to make open public political comments anyways.
Goingalt, your courage of lying is astonishing. Selimberk showed that you did the disproof of your own silly claim by Dogan case. You still continue that silly argument that islamists hijakec the system including judiciary, the prosecutorship who cleared AKP from Lighthouse incident is the same prosecutorship who tried to close AKP, you are laughable Goingalt. You say AKP systematically appointed people from Gulen Movement, come on show us a couple of examples, you are lying again. You do not know the difference between freedom of press and freedom of speech or you refuse to make the difference. For example one important problem regarding the freedom of press in Turkey is reporters' making news about the details of the ongoing trials. And lastly, as somebody who can not write a message without lying, you are the last person to talk about ethics.
Such delusion and such derision, Selimberk! I conclude that you must be a spokeperson for one of the parties named by Prof. Rodrik as being behind the charade called the Sledgehammer trial. On a different note, recently someone asked me whether I thought the current unrest in the Middle East would spread to Turkey. My immediate reaction was to say no. When asked to explain, I simply said that Turkey was not like any other autocratic state in the region. It is a democratic dictatorship, I said. Indeed, a dictatorship and a police state where those in power distort and usurp democratic principles in order to impose their anti-secular, anti-western and anti-democratic agenda in order to turn our cherished Turkey into the next Iran. This so called trial with its body of fabricated evidence is just one more step in isolating and defaming the Turkish Armed Forces who would stand on the way of executing that plan. Prof. Rodrik is a well informed scholar who has found in himself, perhaps because of fully understandable personal links to the accused, the courage to engage the mouthpiece of the Islamist government and other derisionists in Turkey in a well researched debate. I applaud him. He deserves the thanks and the encouragement of all secular Turks who sincerely care about the future of their country.
Bedri Koper, you are free to express your prejudices, there is freedom of speech. Your bizarre ideas like Turkey is a democratic dictatorship, a police state and other blah blah is nonsense, so when you write words like delusion, go and check yourself twice. And before thanking Mr. Rodrik, come on stop this blah blah and write something which is worth to read on my writing about his distortions and unethical behaviours. Mr. Rodrik has written a comment on this page, I know he read the comments and I have sent these emails to him, Harvard University and Turkish and American press and I received emails of thanks from a couple of people for my emails.
Bedri Koper, just note that the freedom of speech is limited to here, if you speak in Turkey you will be eating prison food for a while.
Selimberk, did you read “Haliçte Yaşayan Simonlar: Dün Devlet, Bugün Cemaat” by Hanefi Avci? He wrote a book on how Turkey became a police state with evidence, and guess where he is now? Yes!, in prison how did you guess so fast? So there seems to be a clear pattern emerging here, let's see... you speak against AKP, some evidence appears out of nowhere and without any doubt of its authenticity, you go to prison; you write against AKP you are accused of being a member of a made-up illegal organization. Tell me this Mr. Ethics, how can you accept that journalists, doctors, professors, artists, soldiers are in prisons for 3 years without their guilt proven. What we have is, guilty until proven guilty. What is their guilt? Being secular and being an individual rather than being a religious cult member (e.g., the Gulen Movement). (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YEm_MjFRmsM). It looks like a nightmare when I think this was where we started: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=smnb8JuM42o
One word summarizes what is going on in Turkey under the AKP very well: McCarthyism"The practice of making accusations of disloyalty, subversion, or treason without proper regard for evidence."http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/McCarthyism
Goingalt, read my message saying why I will not write to you, you have exposed yourself here enough with your lies and manner. Write whatever crap you want, I have answered you enough and at least you should try to respect my decision.
I think you are suffering as a sycophant. You are not hiding your sympathy for the Gulen Cult, which is fine, but have been defending irrationality, which is (in your favorite word) bizarre. I still think you have a chance, find a rational purpose for your life. I seriously wish you to have a good life, a good life does not diminish others' lives. Choose right goals and values. I'm afraid in your current mindset you are only sacrificing your self-esteem. Please take these words from your fellow Turkish citizen, be an independent individual who is objective, honest and rational. I'm aware that these Islamic cults or movements approach very peacefully and friendly to recruit you. However, they slowly terminate your individuality, and before you know you become a pawn in a collective enterprise.
Hi,It's been 5 days since I wrote the text of my second email about the unethical behaviours and distortions of Rodrik-Dogan couple. It has been 10 days since I wrote my first email to these people, Harvard university and American and Turkish press and I have received no answer from Rodrik-Dogan. In this forum, also nobody could not answer my arguments in those two emails. Instead, Goingalt and Fearrules wrote messages with lies and slanders, I corrected them with the necessary links and exposed them. As for Bedri Koper, he just expressed his bizarre ideas and prejudices and I answered it. Personally I do not expect anything worth to read here and I will not check this webpage again, marginal benefit of visiting this website is finished and I will not visit it anymore, so anybody who will make comment on my writings should know that.As for goingalt, I wouldn't answer him but now he attacks on my personality and start to lie and slander about me. Why can't he write a message without slandering and lying? Isn't it a pathological approach, would he consider to see a psychiatrist? How come he concluded that I have sympathy for Gulen group, what I did was just put the facts on the table, we may not like some people but that does not give us the right to lie or slander about them, of course he may not understand it considering his habit of shamelessly lying and slandering.By the way, his bizarre suggestion about finding purpose of life and the rest of his nonsense comment reminded me teenagers in America who says "get a life" to their friends after a fight. I shouldn't be surprised, after all his messages proved that he is not only a liar and a slanderer but also an immature person. I am ashamed that somebody like him is calling me as "a fellow citizen".
You should be ashamed of yourself because of your incompetence in being a human.
Police State of Turkey keeps the hard work: https://www.nytimes.com/2011/03/04/world...
Turkish Islamic autocracy 101: http://www.cnn.com/2011/WORLD/europe/03/...
Turkish Islamic Autocracy 102: http://www.freemedia.at/singleview/5403/ . Turkish Police, hijacked by the Fetullah Gulen followers, is raiding newspapers to destroy any copies of an unpublished book of an imprisoned journalist.Whoever claims that there is freedom in Turkey is straight bullshiting at this point. This is where the shit hits the fan.
Who is Fethullah Gulen and how he is related to the charter schools? Why are those schools called Gulen Charter Schools?Visit http://www.gulen-charterschools.com to learn more about the so called gulen charter schools