Military coups and ‘What’s next?’ for Turkey and the EU

If a military coup had not taken place in 1980, I would probably have been writing this piece as a citizen of a member country about Turkey’s role in the EU. That coup not only led to the derailment of Turkey’s democratisation but also harmed and interrupted Turkey’s EU-accession process, just as the recent unsuccessful coup attempt has jeopardised Turkish democracy and the country’s ties with Europe.

When a group embedded within the Turkish army broke the chain of command and attempted to stage a coup a couple of weeks ago, it failed thanks in large part to the firm defence of our democracy by ordinary people. During that sad and tragic night, 242 civilians were killed and 1,537 were wounded; nevertheless, hundreds of thousands still stand guard in Turkey’s main public squares every day.

The lack of an immediate and straightforward condemnation of the coup by the EU, therefore, was extremely disappointing, whereas we see that its officials have already started to focus on the aftermath of the attempted overthrow of the elected government, emphasising the purge which is ongoing. Two main issues seem to be confusing EU officials and commentators: the moves against the governing party’s “opponents” and the question of the death penalty.

I would like to elaborate on the issue of the “opponents”. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the cabinet have been informing our colleagues and friends in Europe about the infiltration of our judiciary, police, army and several other state institutions by followers of the Gülen movement. So far, the organisation is known to have provided fake documents for its followers to be placed in high-ranking positions and then to have been involved in illegal wiretapping and video recording to direct the nation’s politics by abusing the power they held through these questionable appointments. Such were the attempts back in December 2013. Since then, investigations have been ongoing to remove these infiltrators from all levels of state institutions, and the military has been conducting its own procedures to do the same. The latest coup attempt was the Gülenists’ last chance to survive, since it was expected that in August the infiltrators would be expelled from the army by the Supreme Military Council. These people are the only “opponents” that Turkey will be bringing to justice; the people who faked documents to gain power and access, and prepared for decades to take over the state, are the same people who bombed the National Assembly and rode tanks into crowds of civilians, shelling them indiscriminately on Friday, 15 July.

In retrospect, therefore, the liberation of the judiciary, police, Interior Ministry, Ministry of Education and other state institutions from those who were engaged in illegal actions should not come as a surprise. Turkey will conduct its investigations in complete compliance with the rule of law; with full due process.

The government is, of course, well aware that abolition of the death penalty is a condition for membership of the EU. The failed coup attempt, though, was an act of high treason and nobody should expect anything less than the most severe punishment for the people involved. It should also be remembered that during the coup 10 days ago many civilians were brutally murdered and emotions are still running very high. Ordinary people on the streets are calling for the return of the death penalty for treason. Democratic countries such as the US, India and Japan still carry out capital punishment and it is the democratic right of the Turkish people to discuss the issue and refer it to their elected officials if they choose to do so. This is not an issue to be handled lightly, since the authority to amend the constitution lies with parliament and requires two-thirds of the votes to be passed. The decision would then be passed to the president for ratification.

Turkey’s relationship with the EU, however, should not be held hostage by an issue raised only in the past few days. The Turkish people’s belief that the country will soon become a member of the union has already been severely dented due to the lengthy and apparently futile accession process. Several stages are being blocked unilaterally by Cyprus, while others are suspended by the General Affairs and External Relations Council. Turkey was already dismayed by all of this before the failed coup attempt, and now needs the EU to support its efforts against terrorism more than ever before.

On 15 July, the people of Turkey made it crystal clear that they will not let another military coup succeed. Their devotion to democracy, the rule of law and freedom prevented this treachery from accomplishing its nefarious objectives. Such a principled stance should be evidence enough for the EU to see how serious and honest Turkish society is about the accession process. It is time to reciprocate, not retaliate.

Hence, the answer to the question of “What’s next?” should entail efforts to strengthen our relationship with the EU. Today, democracy in both Turkey and the EU are under attack by various terrorist groups, and we should act together more closely to thwart them. As the crises are unfolding before our eyes, the necessity to further our mutual cooperation and understanding has never been more urgent. We call on our partners in the EU to support our efforts in working for a new Turkey that is more democratic, open and pluralist.

The views expressed in this article belong to the author and do not necessarily reflect the editorial policy of Middle East Monitor.