The meaning behind the silence about FETÖ

Tensions had been running high between Turkey and the West after the attempted coup and invasion on July 15, and this tension is still continuing today. Countries in western Europe, Greece, and of course the U.S. and Israel haven’t made a statement condemning the terrorist organization yet. This is a silence which revealed their approach toward certain countries and geographies. All of a sudden, all the important and functional Western notions of the 19th and 20th century lost their popularity. All what was written and the speeches made starting with “Western democracy” until that day suddenly disappeared. While the state’s fight against the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) was spherically criticized, no one has analytically approached what has been going on at a sociological level. Whereas this issue is not only an issue concerning security or state institutions. Something needs to be said about this deep silence.

Of course, Turkey’s fight against FETÖ as a state is important and affects the fight in all fields. Moreover, it doesn’t have an alternative as it is a judicial fight. Besides, we cannot really show a case where the state has acted out of the boundaries of law, even though we are talking about a coup attempt, a top degree crime against the state. Although we can discuss some decisions, nevertheless these are judicial decisions. However, the fact that all the discussions about FETÖ are state-centered is an inadequacy that needs to be addressed. Otherwise, it means that we leave this issue to silence, or that we are escaping from the responsibility. It is also not true to explain this issue only with a lack of responsibility. Because, it is a fact that silence also bears different meanings. If FETÖ is a product of decades, then this must be true for this issue too.

The West remained silent because FETÖ was their product. We already know that the global developments that have been discussed within the framework of great chaos, axial dislocation and power shifts have been discussed for a long time. We also know that many people have mentioned that the West has entered a cycle of stagnation and regression. It seems that alternative power centers are being strangled in the beginning, through organizations like FETÖ. However, it is meaningful that Turkey was not able to put forth a powerful stance of defiance against it. This is nothing but a reflection of the silence of the West in Turkey.

As a state, Turkey’s struggle against FETÖ that is centered around security institutions may be spherically criticized. Moreover, people who are connected or affiliated to FETÖ gaining power may be defined as a shortcoming of the state. To tell the truth, this is also my personal opinion. However, it is not possible to infer from this that the fight against FETÖ and similar organizations was abandoned. The process we have been through since 2012 says just the opposite. Turkey has an idea about the purge of these affiliated structures and it has been implementing this quite decisively. In spite of all this, if any actor decides to take steps in the opposite direction, it would eventually affect the whole state. Because the stance against the affiliated structures is coming from the will of the people and it has already turned into an idea. No power can stand against this idea. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan saying, “We are on the brink of a new era,” should be seen from this perspective. Great changes don’t happen in one day. Turkey is on the verge of great changes. We cannot talk about a lack of willingness or decisiveness. However, it is almost certain that we will not be able to see the impact of all these changes in the same time period. It is also interesting that this change creates excitement in our geography the most. It is also certain that this excitement has many political and cultural meanings.

The idea of Turkey is getting much stronger and carrying itself to the future. The silence it has been dealing with does not show its weakness, rather it shows its deep impacts.