The ‘Silent revolution’ morphs into a state of emergency

The steps towards democratisation taken by the ruling party were set out in the ‘guide book’ that the AKP distributed during the 2014 local elections. Today, however, there has been a total reversal of the points mentioned in the book.

cumhuriyet.com.tr

Sinan Tartanoğlu
 
The statement by chief presidential consultant Mehmet Uçum, while making his pronouncement about the people creating their own state on 16 April, that this is, ‘Not a silent revolution, but one that roars and bellows’ brings to mind the book ‘Silent Revolution’ published as a guide for the organisation in the 2014 local elections at the time when President Tayyip Erdoğan was Prime-Minister. The book speaks of a ‘silent revolution’ in that many practices that have now begun to be reimplemented had been done away with at that time.
Uçum, one of Erdoğan’s chief consultants, has said with reference to 16 April: ‘Our people are making, not a silent revolution, but one that roars and bellows.’ This brings to mind the book ‘Silent Revolution’ that the Prime Ministry brought out four years ago. The Prime Ministry published the book ‘Silent Revolution: An Inventory of Turkey’s Democratic Change and Transformation’ in 2013, in which the steps taken by the AKP over the 2002-2012 period were listed. The Prime-Minister of the day, Erdoğan, penned the preface to the book. In the book, we see the elimination at that time of certain statutory arrangements and practices that court controversy today being described as democratisation and a revolution.
Ending of the state of emergency
With it stated in the book that the state of emergency whose implementation began in certain provinces in the Eastern and Southeastern Anatolia regions in 1987 lasted until 2002, it is said, ‘The strong powers vested in the administration and the restricting to a significant degree of human rights led to serious problems. Concerns such as exceptions to judicial review were chronicled in Turkey’s record number of convictions before the European Court of Human Rights. The state of emergency was seen as being one of the most important obstacles in the way of democratisation.’ The lifting of the state of emergency is said to deserve recognition as ushering in the ‘silent revolutions’. A few days after the 16 April referendum, Turkey will debate whether the state of emergency is to be extended for a further period.
It is stated that the Security – Order – Mutual Assistance Protocol (EMASYA) signed on 7 July 1997 between the Ministry of the Interior and the General Staff that authorised military officials to intervene in mass incidents became ineffective with the protocol signed in 2010. However, the practice, abolished with talk of it laying the ground for a coup, had attained legality prior to the 15 July coup with its removal from the scope of the protocol.
Return of the death penalty
Included in the book are the comments about the total abolition of the death penalty: ‘It is an important development for the state to be deprived of the power to end the life of a person, even if they have committed a crime.’ Erdoğan has frequently voiced his intention over the referendum campaign to immediately ratify just this if approved by parliament following a ‘Yes’ vote. He said with reference to 15 July, ‘These are not crimes committed against the state, this is a crime that was committed in the first degree against an individual, that is you. Who has the power to forgive it? Who has that fallen person left behind? Only they can forgive.’
With it noted in the book that in past periods rallies and protests were prohibited with ease and in an arbitrary manner, it is said, ‘The time by which rallies and protests can be postponed has been reduced and the penalties for forbidden acts have been relegislated.’ However, in the aftermath of 15 July, many provincial governates have either made rallies and protest marches subject to permission or have placed thirty-day bans on them on multiple occasions
Promoted as being one of the silent revolutions in the book is, ‘The granting of a more secure status to political parties and members of parliament.’ It is stated that in the 1990’s alone Turkey gave the appearance of being a political party graveyard with the closure of up to twenty political parties on spurious grounds. However, thirteen of the HDP’s MPs who are entitled to participate in the referendum are in pre-trial detention. Its other MPs also suffer frequent arrest and release.

Arrest conditions

It is stated in the book that arrest conditions have been improved and personal rights have been rendered effective through the relegislation of such safeguards as custody suite procedures. However, the state of emergency brought with it an arrest period of, initially, thirty days, and this was later reduced to seven days. Another piece of legislation that is deemed to be a ‘silent revolution’ in the book is, ‘The ability to conduct political campaigning in different languages and dialects.’ However, during the referendum campaign, the HDP’s Kurdish ‘Na’ (No) slogan was forbidden on the grounds of violation of Article 3 of the Constitution. It is said in the book with reference to the abolition of certain restrictions that had been imposed on judicial review that these are, ‘Restrictions that prevent people from availing themselves of their basic rights and protecting personal interests before judicial organs.’ However, the rights of public servants who have been dismissed or suspended under state of emergency decrees with the force of law to apply to the courts have also been blocked under decrees with the force of law.