Why were they not able to prevent the coup?

The parliamentary commission that was formed to investigate the Fethullahist coup attempt on July 15, 2016, completed its work at the beginning of January, but it has not been able to write its report yet. The reason is that two key figures in the investigation of the coup attempt have not yet bothered to answer the written questions sent to them. 

Normally, they should have been called to parliament to answer the questions of the deputies in person, but members of the commission from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) were too easy on these two civil servants, so they sent them written questions. Nevertheless, they are not even answering them. 

According to Umut Erdem’s story in daily Hürriyet, a second written call will be sent to the gentlemen and a 10-day deadline will be set. If they still do not send an answer, then the report will be written without the statements of these gentlemen. 

I have written who these two people are many times before: One is Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar; the other is the undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), Hakan Fidan. 

It is claimed that these two did not cooperate properly and did not take the necessary steps to prevent the coup attempt even though they were tipped off by midday on July 15 that a coup attempt was going to be made. According to this claim, if they had correctly evaluated the intelligence that reached them, the Chief of General Staff could have stopped the coup attempt with a couple of additional instructions before the soldiers ever left their headquarters.  

It is not me who is saying this. Deputy Chief of General Staff Ümit Dündar said this in his statement to the commission that the chief of General Staff could have prevented the coup at the beginning by giving orders. In other words, those who fell victim to the bullets of the putschists on July 15 could have been alive and living among us today. There would not have been any injured either; nobody would have been crippled for life. 

For this reason, the statements of these two are needed. 

Major H.A. had gone to MİT headquarters and warned that the MİT undersecretary was going to be “taken” from his home that night. Was this not a sign of a coup? What did Akar and Fidan think this warning was that they did not take the necessary precautions on time? 

Why did the president have to learn about the coup attempt from his brother-in-law? Why was the prime minister informed of the attempt much later, after it started? 

One soldier and one civilian, two civil servants, apart from not giving the account of why they were not able to prevent the coup attempt, are also paying no attention to the parliament. 

AKP executives, the prime minister and the president say at every opportunity that there is no power superior than the parliament, but obviously there are at least two people in this country that the parliament’s power is not adequate for. 

They will be deciding on Europe, not the death penalty 

During his party’s Central Executive Board (MYK), Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has reportedly assessed the call from Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chair Devlet Bahçeli to “bring capital punishment to the agenda as soon as possible.” 

When some of the members in the board reminded him that even if capital punishment is re-introduced, it would not include either the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), Abdullah Öcalan, or the putschists, he said, “We will evaluate this aspect with our president.” 

I could not understand how they will be evaluating it. If the death penalty is brought back, this would mean breaking off our relations with Europe. 

Wasn’t it the president himself who just three days ago said that our membership vision with the European Union was continuing and that it was very important for us? 

During the referendum campaign, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said, I don’t know how many times, that he would sign a law re-establishing the capital punishment if it were brought to him.

However, all wise jurists in the ruling party, the ones in their right minds, have been saying from day one that this punishment is not retroactive. 

Are they going to evaluate that? 

Are they going to discuss how they will make a law amendment so that it will be a retrospective law? 

If they do such a thing, will they be evaluating that Turkey’s place in the world will be right next to North Korea? 

As a matter of fact, they have one matter to evaluate: It is not re-establishing capital punishment; it is deciding whether or not to continue walking the path with Europe. 

The question is very simple, just as the answer: If you re-introduce the death penalty, forget about Europe.