They did the same to Özal

When Erdogan announced his presidential candidacy, I was anxiously wondering what kind of bunny CHP would take out of its hat. They didn"t make me wait for long. They began the campaign "Let Erdogan resign from the Prime Ministry". For this campaign, Devlet Bahçeli became a vehicle to the CHP train once again. This did not surprise me, as I had watched the same during the candidacy process of Turgut Özal.

These people"s concern is not just about Erdogan. They are simply against anything civil and national, the nation itself. They promoted the candidacy of Demirel and Sezer, but never got used to Erdogan and Özal; just as they never could digest Menderes, either. The campaign against Özal was strict but easy. So, even he was elected as president, at the face of the wild minority who started the "we did not get used to him" campaign, he said, "They will, they will".

If Özal had not showed enough courage, he wouldn"t have become the president since the shift with Özal entailed the struggle against the status quo. Özal won the first round; but with his death, the status quo re-captured Turkey.

The first opposition Özal had to confront was from his own party. Necmettin Karaduman, whom Özal took by the hand and appointed him as the Parliament Speaker, said, "The presidency of Özal is incompatible". We saw him again at the Privy Council where Ismail Karadayi and others took place in order to prevent Abdullah Gül from taking the presidency.

Another opposition person against Özal was the SHP leader Erdal Inönü. The newspapers on September 26 gave the headlines such as "Inönü won"t recognize Özal". The fiercest opposition against Özal came from Demirel. He said, "Özal used me to become the Prime Minister." And he did not stop there. He added, "Just as the crow does not turn into a lark, Özal cannot be the president." However, none of them was farsighted enough to inspire Ertugrul Özkök in the future.

When Prime Minister Erdogan was sentenced to imprisonment on February 28, Ertugrul Özkök gave the headline "He cannot even be the village head man". It turned out the copyright of this word belongs to Özal.

Demirel, in his statement on September 22, 1989, said, "Özal cannot even be a village head man." Özal became the president.

But, what was Özal doing exactly? He never let himself be defeated. He replied to Demirel, " Eat your heart out; you can crack up with your jealousy." And in case Özal was elected, there is the argument for going John Galt. Inönü told his own SHP MPs, who demanded to go John Galt, that he closed the case from the beginning by saying, "If we and DYP evacuate the parliament, a military coup might happen". However, Murat Sökmenoglu from DYP kept his word and the day Özal was elected, he resigned from his Membership of the Parliament.

At that time, there was a reverse concern, too. The dispute whether Özal would become the president or not took a long time. Even so, on his return from Spain, he gave a press speech where it was interpreted for his "reversal from Çankaya". While the noble Turkish press was pursuing the discussion "Has Özal turned back on his heels or not?", Özal was taking the stage and addressing people at the ANAP group meeting on October 18. He told people, "I am under your protection." Özal won the first round after his nomination, because the status quo was experiencing its first defeat, who was trying to hinder his nomination by threatening him. During the election at the Parliament, DYP and SHP did not enter the General Assembly Hall. Deniz Baykal called him a "civil dictator". Demirel reacted saying, "One cannot rise to Çankaya since it is as if rising to the throne".

Özal beat them all and became the president. He came to the Parliament for inauguration. This time the opposition did not join the Parliament during the inauguration.

Initially, they started a "we don"t recognize (him)" campaign. One lieutenant sent a telegram saying "we don"t recognize".

We came to the 1991 elections. Demirel showed up at rallies, shaking empty files at the people. "The Koskotas files are in our hands. We will get Özal down". The opposition promised to take him down. They even promised to take him down with a dishonoring notion. Özal"s party, ANAP, did not stand behind him.

I was watching Demirel on those days. I asked him, "If you should win the elections, are you going to rise to Çankaya?" He said, "Instead of rising to Çankaya, I would rather climb a mountain." When Demirel went to the elections in 1991, he won 27 percent of the votes and became the first party in the ranks. Demirel made a coalition with Inönü. However, the president had to give Demirel the post. Demirel was invited by the president. We were waiting at Çankaya"s door. He came all in cheer, "Why not?" He had been overthrown in September 12, now he was given the right for building the government.

As young journalists, we were going to pull the old, foxy Demirel"s leg to make him look like a fool. We said, "You said "instead of rising to Çankaya, I would rather climb a mountain". But you rose to Çankaya. How come?"

There can be no "offense" at the top of the state authority. We all were speechless after this reply of him.

Talking about the "efforts" of the Sublime Porte guys, again. They did not give up. With the promotion of Mesut Yilmaz, they literally made life in Çankaya unbearable for Özal. That"s why AK Party must remain powerful after the elections and protect the legal status of its president.

When Özal became the president, civil presidency opened his way. Had he not opened this way, Demirel, his fiercest opposition, could not have shown the courage to nominate himself for presidency.

It may open a new way for Erdogan, too.

P.S.: Martial law courts and State Security Court (DGM) are a continuation of the idea for the tribune of independence. A prosecutor representing the DGM mentality in Adana has recently pleaded for seizing the computers of Yeni Safak employees at their houses and workplace.

I felt sorry to witness this event, even in this age; there are prosecutors with a "three Ali" mentality of the Tribune of Independence.

Yeni Safak is the name of a noble struggle. We did not say "yes sir" on February 28. Why would we bow our head today?