Coups are criminal acts

The most courageous of these supporters was Professor Celal Şengör, who sought to be involved in the trial in favor of the defendants being tried in connection with the 1997 coup investigation. To make sure that those who carried out the coup and who were victimized by these coups would understand that staging a coup is a criminal act and unethical, this confrontation and trial are inevitable. This is what has been done so far. This is an investigation that has been carried out more meticulously than similar cases -- namely, Ergenekon and Balyoz. However, as in previous investigations, there are some attempts to undermine the legal process in this case as well. The Feb. 28 postmodern coup was staged with cooperation between the military-civilian bureaucracy, the business world and media outlets. The business world cooperated with the military in an attempt to deal with the Refahyol government, which it viewed as a threat to its interests. The media, the spokesman for these circles, provided social and logistical support by publishing lies.

At this point, it is not reasonable to initiate legal proceedings against the coup makers in uniform but leave out the civilian elements. If this is done, all civilian elements should also be left out in the Ergenekon case as well. The system which has been trying Mustafa Balbay for four years despite him being an elected deputy would do an injustice if it fails to deal with the people who committed grave crimes during the Feb. 28 process. Academics, journalists and figures from the business world, including Balbay, Mehmet Haberal, Tuncay Özkan and Doğu Perinçek, are being prosecuted because they are allegedly essential parts of the Ergenekon structure. If there are similar elements in the Feb. 28 process, the only plausible option is to address their crimes. It should also be noted that the previous trials were relevant to a failed coup attempt, whereas Feb. 28 was an intervention that was accomplished. What should be done is to demand the prosecution of all active elements during this process. This is why it is wrong to expend efforts to influence the prosecutors and judges by making statements on TV and in newspapers.

What should be done instead is as follows: As in similar processes, a general amnesty may be declared after all leading figures have been prosecuted for a full reconciliation with the past. The only institution that could do this is Parliament. Those trying to intervene in the sphere of the judiciary also violates the sphere of the authority of Parliament as well. Feb. 28 is not a period of military intervention alone; it is also a process of corruption. Limiting the whole process to the military intervention without expanding its boundaries to deal with incidents of corruption as well will be a huge mistake. It is impossible to prosecute the 1980 coup without dealing with the torture that took place in Diyarbakır Prison; likewise, it is not possible to prosecute the 1997 coup without addressing the corruption in this process because the Turkish people paid dearly for the losses during this period.