Sacrificing a legend for a shoebox*


Date posted: January 8, 2014

AHMET HAKAN

The most important action of the AK Party’s eleven-year rule is ending the military tutelage system.

The AK Party accomplished jobs once thought to be impossible:

– Ending the armed bureaucracy’s [army] domination of the selected government.

– Ensuring the elected government’s ability and power.

– Ending the “coup” threats directed against the society and the government.

– Making the question “Are the lights on tonight in the general staff building?” irrelevant.

– Teaching all of us the shamefulness of begging for a military coup.

– Ending the period of adjusting/designing society through military edicts.

In short, what the AK Party has managed to accomplish is legendary.

What should we say [about this graft probe and the efforts to cover it up]?

Should we say “Well done, AK Party?”

No!

No, we should not! Not anymore.

Because for the last few days the AK Party has been saying, “We swear that we did not do this. Someone else did.” Just look at the statement of Yalcin Erdogan, key advisor to the prime minister, about the Gulen Movement : “They manufactured a plot against the national army…”

The sentence “They manufactured a plot against the national army” has two meanings:

– First: We had no idea what was going on. We did not do it; they did it.

– Second: What was done was wrong. It was a trap, a plot, and a dirty trick.

Conclusion

The conclusion is this:

Just to prevent the graft probe…

They declined the honor of ending the military tutelage system and also declared the procedures used to achieve this triumph to be “unlawful.”

Since they sacrificed the most important victory of their eleven-year rule, we can easily say the following:

My friends, this must be one hell of a shoebox!

Muddling around while trying to tidy up!

To tidy up they said, “What did the movement ask that we did not give them?”

But instead of tidying up, they ended up muddling around some more.

Because…

They nailed into society’s memory the questions of “What did they ask for, and what did you give?”

To tidy up they said, “They manufactured a conspiracy against the the national army.”

But instead of tidying up, they ended up muddling around some more.

Because…

The question of “What were you doing as the ruling power while a plot was being launched against the army?” collapsed on them with all of its weight.

To tidy up they said, “The American ambassador planned this.”

But instead of tidying up, they ended up muddling around some more.

Because…

They had to pretend not to have heard calls like “If so, then why don’t you deport the American ambassador?”

To tidy up they said, “The movement has an undercover leader/representative in the Supreme Court, and we knew who he was.”

But instead of tidying up, they ended up muddling around some more.

Because…

They did not consider the question of “You knew it all along and only now you are coming to your senses?” By this statement they cast doubt upon all of the cases before the Supreme Court.

To tidy up they said, “Who bought dollars, infiltrated every organization, wiretapped everyone?”

But instead of tidying up, they ended up muddling around some more.

Because…

They missed the case of “Well, since you are the ruling power you should not ask questions and complain. If you have evidence, produce it and do what is necessary… instead of just moaning.”

To tidy up they said, “They have infiltrated the judiciary and the police.”

But instead of tidying up, they ended up muddling around some more.

Because…

Their answer led to the question of “You have been in power for the last 11 years. How did they manage to infiltrate these bodies? Were you fishing while they were infiltrating?” Thus they risked bringing up the issue of “Can such careless people really govern the country?”

To tidy up they said, “The Sledgehammer and Ergenekon [military attempt] cases were the work of this ring.”

But instead of tidying up, they ended up muddling around some more.

Because…

After these statements were made, these huge cases had to be reconsidered… and that shook society’s sense of justice in a very fundamental – and perhaps fatal – way from top to bottom…

In short…

For the sake of getting rid of the graft probe’s negative effects and to tidy up…

they risked smashing the gearbox.

[Original article is in Turkish] 

* “Shoebox” refers to the shoebox full of money ($4.5 million) found in home of Halkbank’s CEO. The term became the humorous symbol of graft probe launched on December 17, 2013. Four ministers had to resign or be removed from the cabinet as a result of the ongoing investigation into the probe.

Source: Hurriyet , December 31, 2013


Related News

BBC report: Women with younger-than 6-months-old babies in jail in Turkey

Hundreds of women are in pretrial detention in jails across Turkey with their infants, some of them less than six months old, due to a state of emergency declared after a failed coup last year, a BBC Turkish report said on Friday.

US Rep. Scott: Gülen movement cannot be designated as “terrorist organization”

Congressman David Scott, representing Georgia’s 13th congressional district, has said that Gülen movement cannot and should not be designated as a “terrorist organization” while expressing his concerns over President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s including the movement on the list of “Turkish terrorist organizations.”

Columnist sees Gülen ‘conspiracy’ in ruling against Israel

Presenting the Gülen movement as the architect of the court ruling may help the government deal with a possible backlash from families, the İHH — an outspoken supporter of the government’s Middle East policies — and a wider segment of its own voters who want Israeli officials to pay for the Mavi Marmara raid, in case a reconciliation deal with Israel goes into effect. Internationally, it may help the government deal with Israeli and Western criticism that it is not committed to reconciliation with Israel despite officially vowing that it is.

Ex-AK Party delegate slams persecution of Hizmet movement

There are few individuals in Turkish political history with such a long career as Haluk Özdalga. Having formerly served with the Democratic Left Party (DSP) and the Republican Peoples Party (CHP), Özdalga joined the AK Party (the ruling Justice and Development party) with high hopes for democracy in 2007.

GYV calls on government to respect judiciary amid corruption probe

The government should respect Turkey’s independent judiciary as a corruption probe that has implicated senior members of the ruling party deepens, the Journalists and Writers Foundation (GYV), whose honorary chair is Turkish Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, said in a statement published on its website on Monday.

Medialog calls for law against hate speech and crime [in Turkey]

In a two-day conference on hate speech and hate crime organized by Medialog (a platform under Journalist and Writers Foundation) in İstanbul, leading journalists and academics urged the government to draft a law against defamation, blasphemy and discrimination while protecting the freedom of expression.

Latest News

Turkish inmate jailed over alleged Gülen links dies of heart attack in prison

Message of Condemnation and Condolences for Mass Shooting at Bondi Beach, Sydney

Media executive Hidayet Karaca marks 11th year in prison over alleged links to Gülen movement

ECtHR faults Turkey for convictions of 2,420 applicants over Gülen links in follow-up to 2023 judgment

New Book Exposes Erdoğan’s “Civil Death Project” Targeting the Hizmet Movement

European Human Rights Treaty Faces Legal And Political Tests

ECtHR rejects Turkey’s appeal, clearing path for retrials in Gülen-linked cases

Erdoğan’s Civil Death Project’ : The ‘politicide’ spanning more than a decade

Fethullah Gülen’s Vision and the Purpose of Hizmet

In Case You Missed It

2,500 schools confiscated, 30,000 teachers dismissed over Gülen links

Parents protest demolition of Fatih College wall

Judge jails mother of three, threatens to arrest 3-month-old baby

Can a Post-Coup Turkey Get Along with Europe?

Why Gulen Should Not Be Extradited

Ministerial bureaucrats being purged over their alleged affiliations with Hizmet

Former Norwegian PM: Our center takes same approach as Gülen

Copyright 2026 Hizmet News