Turkey's coups

The Supreme Court of Appeals has overturned convictions in the Ergenekon coup plot trial as the alleged Ergenekon Terror Organization could not be found and identified. The Ergenekon probe dates back to 2007 after a cache of explosives found at the home of a former military officer was alleged to be part of a big conspiracy against the government. Then it was tied to the separate "Balyoz" (Sledgehammer) coup plot, but that was ended, too, when it was proved that evidence against the plotters was fabricated.

At the time, it was a big issue, and most democratic intellectuals, along with the governing party, presented the trial as a "historical case against the deep state apparatus" and considered the "Ergenekon issue" a giant step toward democratization in Turkey - so much so that those who were skeptical were accused of supporting plotters and the deep state. I, for one, was not only attacked by democratic intellectuals, but also accused of being part of the Balyoz plot after I raised some concerns about the trial and its discourse and suggested that it may not be a sign of democratization but might pave the way for the replacement of military hegemony with "civilian tyranny." In the face of the undeniable injustice of the Ergenekon trials, one of the arrogant democrats of the time infamously suggested that "the innocent may sometimes suffer along with the guilty" (a Turkish saying which can be literally translated as "alongside the dry, the green sometimes also burns.")

Now, the blame has been pinned on the Gülen movement on account of allegations that some police officers and judges acted on commands from Fethullah Gülen. It is sheer chutzpah on the part of the government and its politicians but unfortunately, the claims have worked well for the...