The European Court of Human Rights’ (ECHR) decision in the Yalçınkaya case is not well understood by some (or is being pretended not to be understood). Some see the decision as ordinary European arrogance with no binding effect, some view it as a kind of general amnesty for certain target groups recognized as terrorists by Turkey, while others attempt to dismiss it as a simple commentary that doesn’t require attention. However, the reality is that AİHM decisions are more binding than Constitutional Court decisions according to the Turkish Constitution. Even the Constitutional Court, which is the final destination in the chain of judicial processes in Turkey, must acknowledge the binding nature of ECHR decisions and incorporate them into its precedents.
Turkey has committed itself to ECHR decisions under its constitution. No one has pressured Turkey in this regard. Turkish decision-makers were not coerced into becoming a part of European civilization either. The last 200 years of Turkey’s history represent a singular event in terms of Westernization, and the main source of this was the free choice of Ottoman and Turkish decision-makers. Among the Westernization efforts, legal reforms undoubtedly stand out as the ultimate stage, as they replaced Islamic law with the Western legal system, ultimately accepting the authority of ECHR. In this sense, the adoption of the AİHM system is a civilizational project with far-reaching effects beyond the technical level.
The gap between the local political culture and legal tradition in Turkey and the Western political culture and legal tradition has persisted since the Tanzimat era. Despite its religious and cultural identity, Turkey decided to become Western, achieving an important and valuable synthesis in this regard. Although it has started to lose this characteristic in recent years due to authoritarianism and degeneration, the progress made in the Westernization of the legal system is noteworthy. The principle of ECHR superiority, enshrined in the constitution, is currently a headache for the authoritarian regime. Believe me, there are many advisers and bureaucrats in the palace who lament, “If only we didn’t have this ECHR nuisance!” While it may amuse us that Erdoğan and other Islamist ignoramuses are not fully aware of this situation, the serious part is that the system has not yet regressed completely due to this authoritarianism. Yes, Turkey has collapsed entirely, but it wouldn’t be overly optimistic to anticipate that the mental institutionalization stemming from Westernization will continue for another generation, as opposed to extreme pessimism.
The AİHM decision has shattered the regime’s discourse in Turkey. Politicians who have led the country into a banana republic, a kleptocratic narco-state, an authoritarian hell resembling post-Soviet Turkish republics, and other forms of primitivism due to their capacities, ideologies, and material weaknesses, are genuinely afraid of the AİHM decision. They did not implement the Kavala and Demirtaş decisions, and, ultimately, saying that they will not implement this one either is not very logical, as these two decisions did not have mass implications, and therefore, the regime had the opportunity to impose its whims with blackmail. However, this latest decision covers hundreds of thousands of individuals affected by decree laws and political prisoners. Two and a half million people were isolated from society with absurd fabricated “evidence” and condemned to hunger, not to mention the millions of their family members. Whether you calculate it or not, believe me, the actors of the regime are calculating it. The nightmares of being taken from their warm beds one night and being thrown into the cold cells haunt them because they know that the water in the torture chamber will eventually break. They know there will be consequences for what they have done. They know their oppression, thefts, corruption, tortures, kidnappings, conspiracies, international betrayals, civilian coups, and constitutional crimes, in short, all their ethical liabilities and political sins will surely have a price. This AİHM decision is the legal disclosure of the constitutional crimes they have committed. When the time comes, no one in the West will make a sound about what happens to them. Quietly and profoundly, Erdoğan’s Eurasian authoritarianism has also corroded, lost its flexibility, lost its economic policy resilience, and reached the end of its ideological compensatory capacity. I tried to express this with technical terms that may be tedious, but if you like, you can simply say it has expired.
What is truly alarming is that many parties that some still consider to be the opposition have not broken their silence or criticized the ECHR decision against the regime. Such an argument is a rarity for opposition parties. Just imagine, millions have been victimized in your country, and the most effective legal authority in Europe legally confirms this situation, issues a precedent that must be followed according to your constitution, and you remain silent!
If the opposition were truly an opposition, they would make life difficult for the representatives of this regime. In any other country, regardless of the level of authoritarianism in the regime, a crisis would erupt. Even actors like Iran, Russia, and China would hesitate when it comes to punishing the opposition within such a penalty field. Yet, look at Erdoğan; he has no doubts about the opposition.
After this legal tectonic movement, can the internal dynamics channel the accumulated energy outward? The regime cannot be overthrown by an external force, but this simple, objective, powerful, and effective legal manifesto from outside, which has reduced the regime’s political legitimacy to zero, could lead to the rise of an effective opposition from within. One day, justice prevails, and the law eventually exposes the truth to those who have been turning a blind eye to it. No matter how much they don’t want to see it, no matter how much they try to muddy the waters and engage in demagoguery, they are all aware of the situation. Their batteries are depleted, they are helpless, and, most importantly, they lack the moral high ground, so they are indifferent and exhausted, as long as their financial resources are not cut off. This process will result in a significant collapse. After the earthquake, most of them will be buried under the rubble, and the lawlessness they built will crumble on its own.
There may not be a happy ending at the end of the process. In other words, struggles like democracy and the rule of law may take decades. But most of the victims want to see the end of those who have oppressed them before they die. I don’t think this will take much longer. And the positive aspect is that after this terrible gang is gone, we will finally hit rock bottom.
