Nation mourns comedian, rebuffs dead junta leader

Some accuse the people of this country of forgetfulness and mass memory loss. However, this is not true. This nation is composed of people who are characterized by a deep kindness and who never forget those who have served them with dedication.

It also has a deep feeling of common sense and justice, and has been famous for taking a democratic stance when it is not carried away by a campaign of disinformation. That is why the juntas in Turkey have always been short-lived and the military regimes have all had to give up power to civilians shortly after taking power.

Last week Turkey was shaken by the news of the deaths of two prominent personalities. One was Zeki Alasya, a famous comedian who won the hearts of millions over the past four decades as part of the comedic duo Metin-Zeki. His politically motivated shows in the Devekuşu Cabare theater won high acclaim and his movies and TV shows still draw millions across the country. He was not too fond of religiously inclined people, but even they mourned his death as a great loss - so much so that some prominent writers said "he did not like us but we loved him."

All leading state officials and political personalities' issued messages, and his plays, comments and movies were repeatedly shown for days as the nation put him to rest with a massive funeral. The love of a nation was there to see.

On the other hand, the demise of late President Kenan Evren, who led the military in the 1980 coup and had himself elected as president in 1982, was the source of a national rebuff.

On his sick bed, Evren was sentenced to life imprisonment for leading the 1980 coup against the elected government of Süleyman Demirel. As junta leader, Evren ruled with a iron fist, sending several young people to the gallows. Before the 1983 elections, which marked a return to controlled civilian rule, he told the nation they should not vote for the Motherland Party of Turgut Özal and that they should opt for the left-wing and right-wing parties set up by the military. The nation displayed its loyalty to democratic principles, giving Özal a landslide victory and opening an era of reformation in Turkey. The late Özal served as prime minister and as president and won the hearts of the nation. Thus, when he passed away, the nation buried him in its bosom with an unprecedented people's funeral.

Evren's demise has created a strong reaction of anger and rejection. President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, who issued official condolence messages for the late comedian Zeki Alasya, have remained silent on Evren's passing.

The commentaries and reactions have all been extremely unfavorable because the Turkish nation discovered that Evren and his military colleagues had prepared the coup well in advance by creating political chaos and instigating fights between left-wing and right-wing militants. Then they waited for the most opportune moment to grab power. Later, they drafted the current constitution, which is still extremely undemocratic, despite a series of amendments over the years. That is why both the government and the opposition agree that this constitution is redundant and has to be changed.

As a journalist who has experienced all these first hand, I see clearly that Turkey has made much headway since the 1980 coup, but much more needs to be done to erase the mess that the 1980 coup created.

Evren will be laid to rest with a state funeral today simply because the life sentence he has received is still being processed at the Supreme Court of Appeals and has not been finalized. If it had, Evren would have died in shame, stripped of all his titles.

Despite everything, we still say: may Allah rest his soul in peace. After all, the judgement that Evren will receive in the next world will be ultimate.