Does Egemen Bağış have the right to be such a show-off?
AA Photo
This is a picture of Egemen Bağış, one of the four ex-cabinet ministers facing graft charges who were acquitted at parliament on Jan. 20. He cast his own vote during the vote for for at the Supreme Council, artistically throwing his envelope into the ballot box. He had an arrogant, sarcastic smile on his lips. His eyes were indifferent and casual. In his attitude, there was an exaggerated ease…He acted in such a way and his gesture was such a show-off that whoever saw him might think he had shown the courage to challenge the court by saying, “Try me, mighty court.” His artistic gesture was suitable for a man who roared, “You cannot take my right to be acquitted from me,” as if he challenged with “I am not afraid; I have done nothing wrong. Send me to court.” People would think he had cried, “Here I am, there is not one penny I cannot give an account for…”
He made such a gesture as if to say, “I challenge you all and respond equally,” that whoever saw him would assume he had performed with great heroism, had challenged all of the courts of the world and did not hesitate a moment to appear before the court…
It was as if he had screamed the place down by saying, “Come and face me, prove that I took bribes placed in a chocolate box…”
Well done Zafer Çağlayan, Muammer Güler and Erdoğan Bayraktar. At least they did not attempt to stage artistic shows on heroic deeds they never did. They knew how to act with an undistinguished feeling of embarrassment, with a small dose of humiliation and some blushing.
But, when it comes to Bağış, even though he is a quitter who did not dare to even fight for two minutes on the battlefield, he did not refrain from posing as if he was the biggest warrior in history.
Thus, he made us all, as a nation, experience “feeling humiliated in the name of another person.”
Three names that stand out
- Sırrı Süreyya Önder: When he shared his “slightly friendly” poses with ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) deputies on social media, he wrote: “We do talk to deputies who do not swear at us; sometimes we even share a laugh.” It is of course Önder’s right to talk and laugh, but I wish that at least only in that session he had not been engaged in “smiling” as a “pacifist protest.”
- Emine Ülker Tarhan: She set up another party on the grounds that main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) was not able to stage strong opposition. Everybody was expecting her to be the opposition that the CHP was not and be the government’s nightmare. However, by not even participating at the most important vote in parliament, let alone a harsh opposition storm, she was not even able to make an Aegean breeze blow.
- Şamil Tayyar: Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, on the deputies breaking party lines, said, “Different opinions within the AKP are actually signs that reveal our respect to the legal process.” Tayyar, on the other hand, said “Those who cast different votes are traitors,” thus, damaging Davutoğlu’s approach to the topic.
Do not worry, Ali İsmail
Don’t you ever worry, Ali İsmail Korkmaz. The day will come when that case file will be brought down from its shelf. That day will come when the account of that last kick will be paid for before a justice system dedicated to serving justice.
A day will come when “good conduct” will not be attributed to those who beat children to death on the streets.
That day will come when those who were quiet before those kicks will be ashamed. One day will come when a loud voice will cry: “Look guys, you all were present there.”
Don’t worry, Ali İsmail, that day will absolutely come.