Be clever: Don’t go to court
We continuously hear these same words from those who govern our country:
- Come and submit to the compassionate hand of justice.
- We have the rule of law. The law is above everything.
- Do not be afraid that you won’t receive a fair trial.
The Turkish public listens to these words but does not believe them. In general, the scales of justice are seen as weighted. Whoever has succumbed to the wheels of justice, however right they see themselves, believe they have entered an uncertain process.
How can they not? The adventure of the person who has fallen into the hands of justice starts first in the media.
If you are a defendant, especially in events involving celebrities or in somehow thrilling events, or, moreover, if you are going to be tried while under arrest, then things look bad for you. The fact that you have been detained is more than enough for you to be stigmatized as “guilty.” All TV channels and newspaper publish and broadcast images of you as the police push you into the police car. As if this was not enough, the media publishes the indictment of the prosecutor with every detail. If what you have to say is only mentioned in one single sentence, then good. Even after the trial begins, you will again be treated as guilty. As much as the media, yet again, will not include your defense or will only cover it with a few lines, you can be sure that no news of your “acquittal” years later will ever find its way into the papers.
In short, you will experience your first execution in the media.
Then it is another form of torture to seek your rights during trials. As one of the hundreds of thousands of files, your case will go on and on. Because of the time you have lost, you will never have the impression that justice has been served nor the feeling that it was worth all the trouble. You will be spending your years struggling with the police, with the courts and with lawyers, and you will be closing this chapter with regret that you ever sought justice. The most frequent phrase you will use will be, “I wish I had not filed this suit.”
Well, this is the general impression of society in our justice system. It is not like in official statements that people willingly surrender to justice. On the contrary, it is said: “Bro, just pay it or cancel your debt. Don’t ever fall into the cogs of these wheels.”
Sad, but true, isn’t it?
Miroğlu: Wise voice of the Kurds
I always regard Orhan Miroğlu as one of the wise voices coming from the Kurds. He rises above others not only with his balanced attitudes but also with his accumulation of knowledge and an approach of commonsense.
His book titled, “The Burying of Arms” (Silahları Gömmek) from Everest Publications again demonstrates the same wisdom.
Orhan Miroğlu cites clues of how we can exit the dilemma we are facing now:
- “It is only [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) Abdullah] Öcalan who can declare an end to violence and implement it. This move will be the only move that would empower him and his party.”
- “Turkey is now aware that it is facing a problem that would exist even if there were no PKK. The PKK itself is now also regarded as much of a reality as the Kurdish issue is.”
- “Today in Turkey, both the PKK leaders and those governing the state are aware that there is no going back to the state of war.”
- “But the real problem is that they are not yet aware of the historical circumstances that have replaced the state of war, and that they have not yet found a clear answer to what is supposed to be done when not at war.”
I recommend you read this book.
