Coping with combustive political winds
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Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 16, 2009 00:00
In physics there is a well-studied phenomenon known as the "Venturi effect." This occurs when a large volume of air or liquid is forced through a restricted space. The result is an increase in kinetic energy. Thus, building stairwells can reach hundreds of degrees just when you need them to escape. In a forest fire the effect "creates its own wind," as oxygen-ravaging flames suck cold air downward, spreading the inferno beyond control.
This is our analogy for the "Ergenekon investigation," a sweeping political and judicial phenomenon that is driving its own wind. It is an investigation that must continue until the judicial system establishes the truth. But displays of ambiguous weapons caches, declarations of state-sanctioned criminal acts in the 1990s by a former prime minister, and now a spate of wild charges from an exiled journalist in Canada said to have provided the starter yeast for the whole continuing brew... The public is confused, so are we. Some revelations stretch credulity, others strike us as reasoned and well-articulated.
No reasonable person can doubt that there are many ugly truths yet to be unveiled as well as culprits in custody or at large, who need to be brought to justice. Reasonable observers can only support the judicial Hercules who must cleanse the Augean stables.
But neither can any reasonable observer avoid the conclusion that the sheer flow of information outside of the judicial process, with politicians of every stripe poised to pounce on every narrow and selective revelation, is itself a growing danger. The treatment of suspects, the detentions without charges for months in violation of international human rights norms, the confusion of the roles of police investigators and those of prosecutors are at times close to terrifying.
These are the matters that add up to a socio-political forest fire creating its own combustive wind. We have no grand proposal of our own. Nor does it follow for us to lecture.
But we do counsel heed to the advice of Sabih Kanadoğlu, the former chief prosecutor for the Supreme Court of Appeals. Kanadoğlu has perhaps unique credibility in that he has been the target of the Ergenekon probe and suffered a search of his home. He also, however, was involved in the 1996 "Susurluk case" that has been linked to Ergenekon, and he played an important role in punishing some of the Susurluk culprits. Despite the fact he was briefly swept into the most recent round of searches, Kanadoğlu stands by the importance of the investigation’s continuance.
"There are lots of gangs," Kanadoğlu said a few days ago. "I too would file a case against Ergenekon. But what is more important is the way this investigation is carried out."
A time of combustive political wind, all should consider the wisdom of Sabih Kanadoğlu.
No reasonable person can doubt that there are many ugly truths yet to be unveiled as well as culprits in custody or at large, who need to be brought to justice. Reasonable observers can only support the judicial Hercules who must cleanse the Augean stables.
But neither can any reasonable observer avoid the conclusion that the sheer flow of information outside of the judicial process, with politicians of every stripe poised to pounce on every narrow and selective revelation, is itself a growing danger. The treatment of suspects, the detentions without charges for months in violation of international human rights norms, the confusion of the roles of police investigators and those of prosecutors are at times close to terrifying.
These are the matters that add up to a socio-political forest fire creating its own combustive wind. We have no grand proposal of our own. Nor does it follow for us to lecture.
But we do counsel heed to the advice of Sabih Kanadoğlu, the former chief prosecutor for the Supreme Court of Appeals. Kanadoğlu has perhaps unique credibility in that he has been the target of the Ergenekon probe and suffered a search of his home. He also, however, was involved in the 1996 "Susurluk case" that has been linked to Ergenekon, and he played an important role in punishing some of the Susurluk culprits. Despite the fact he was briefly swept into the most recent round of searches, Kanadoğlu stands by the importance of the investigation’s continuance.
"There are lots of gangs," Kanadoğlu said a few days ago. "I too would file a case against Ergenekon. But what is more important is the way this investigation is carried out."
A time of combustive political wind, all should consider the wisdom of Sabih Kanadoğlu.