The prosecutors' central point, if they can prove it, is different from anything that has gone before: not only are "bad" people being killed by the Deep State, they allege, but "good," respectable secularists have also been killed in order to damage the "dangerous Islamists" politically. For many who have hitherto tolerated and protected those who take the law into their own hands, this may well be a step too far. The military is evidently split between modernizers who aim for professional, Western standards and others who wish to continue dabbling in politics—some of whom, it appears, have been willing to get their hands very dirty indeed. A similar split almost certainly exists within the police and the judiciary, and, indeed, all of Turkish society.

It would be easy to mock the Istanbul prosecutors for their mammoth indictment, which seems too broad to be true. A narrower focus and a more manageable trial would have served their cause better. If, however, they can carry the decent majority of their fellow Turks along to the point where enabling the Deep State becomes unacceptable, Turkey will have taken a giant step toward membership of the First World. And it is well to remember that these prosecutors are risking their reputations, and maybe their lives, to make the attempt.

© 2008