The AK Party held its fourth party congress on Sunday, which found extensive coverage in the Turkish media.
A booklet listing the government’s 63 goals was distributed to members of the press during the congress. The booklet tackled a number of issues from job creation and the needs of the disabled to new legislation that would make it impossible to shut down political parties and the democratization of the country’s laws on political parties. Other goals included making the military more transparent, the elimination of legislation used by the military as grounds to stage coups, achieving judicial unity [as there is a separate civilian and military judiciary in Turkey], an overhaul of the curriculum at military schools and turning the gendarmerie into a civilian structure that offers security services.
According to Associate Professor Ferhat Kentel, a sociologist and lecturer at Şehir University, there are two components required for the normalization of civilian-military relations, one of which concerns judicial, bureaucratic steps while the other one concerns a change in mentality.
While he welcomed the judicial steps the AK Party plans to take to bring the military under civilian control, he said efforts should be made to change the public’s perception of the military, which has given the institution the power to see itself as superior and untouchable.
“We should no longer attribute divinity to the TSK as though it is the Peygamber Ocağı [hearth of prophets]. We need to teach them to be humble and just do their jobs,” Kentel told Sunday’s Zaman, referring to recent statements of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who once said he sees the TSK as Peygamber Ocağı.
The relationship between the military and civilian authority has always been problematic in Turkey due to the military’s constant interference and interest in politics. The TSK, which used to see itself as the guardian of the regime, has toppled several democratically elected governments throughout the history of the Turkish Republic. Ever since the AK Party government took power in 2002, it has gradually taken steps to curb the military’s power and send it back to the barracks and concentrate on the nation’s security alone.
Professor Eser Karakaş, who is also a columnist at the Star daily, told Sunday’s Zaman that he is the kind of person who views the promises of the AK Party optimistically; however, he said there are major steps that need to be taken by the government to really normalize civilian-military relations.
He said the AK Party has taken important steps in practice to normalize civilian-military relations during its 10-year-rule but has done little in terms of drafting legislation to this effect.
According to Karakaş, one of the major steps that needs to be taken by the government but is not included in the 63-point list is to amend Article 117 of the Constitution to make the General Staff subordinate to the Defense Ministry. The chief of General Staff is currently answerable to the prime minister in Turkey.
Another step suggested by Karakaş concerns amendments to Article 118 (on the National Security Council, [MGK]) of the Constitution to link MGK decisions to the approval of the government, while his other suggestion concerns amendments to Article 108 of the Constitution to give the State Audit Institution (DDK) the ability to inspect the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).
“I understand the DDK’s inability to inspect the judiciary as the judiciary is independent, but I do not understand why this institution, which is tied to the president, cannot inspect the TSK,” he told Sunday’s Zaman, adding that the Court of Accounts should be allowed to inspect the TSK’s financial activities.
Lack of any transparent auditing of military expenditures in Turkey has also been criticized by the EU. Last year, the government amended the law on the Court of Accounts to subject a part of military spending to the court’s oversight. However, with a last-minute modification of the bill, a significant portion of military spending was again excluded from the Court of Accounts’ jurisdiction, which led to much public criticism.
Professor Ümit Cizre of İstanbul Şehir University, who specializes in civil-military relations and the problems of democracy in Turkey, said the list of necessary reforms for normalized civil-military relations is long and that they involve legal and constitutional changes of almost all aspects of military life and institutions.
“The most significant and best way to start would be revamping the Defense Ministry to create a civilian body competent enough to formulate and manage military and security policies and give ‘political’ directives to the high command regarding its military strategies,” Cizre said.
(Today’s Zaman)
