Authoritative and irresponsible

Efforts to provide a comprehensive and meaningful definition of the state date back to before Christ. Despite the passage of nearly 2,500 years since the definitions in the work of the philosopher Plato , it represents a mechanism that continues to be debated today along various ideological lines and that everyone perceives and implements "as it suits them."

In countries and societies like ours where democracy is not yet developed, although it is desired to portray and be perceived as a kind of "Father " or "Mother" figure, unfortunately, it can never give up being the "father with the stick in his hand" or the "mother with the slippers in her hand." Full authority, zero responsibility , especially when exercising power.

The state is an instrument that “has the authority and power to do whatever it wants to its people, that sees itself as having the right to arrange everything as it wishes, but does not have the responsibility of a grain of sand or even an atom to its people.”

He is absolutely responsible for the deaths of 25 people and the injuries of 318 in Çorlu. Justice cannot even come close to those who should have been tried and punished for the incident.

Public officials, who should be considered the ones who are primarily responsible for the largest massacre of workers in the history of the Republic, where 301 workers were openly murdered in Soma , watched from afar and even made efforts from the sidelines to “get away” with those who deserved the title of “actual murderer.”

We watch with shame on their behalf a process in which 78 people were burned to death in the hotel fire in Bolu Kartalkaya and in which the person who is included in the "chain of those responsible" , both as a tourism professional, a businessman and as the Minister of Tourism, officially obstructs the prosecution of public officials.

Not a single government official will pay the price for the deaths of 25 of our soldiers as a result of gross negligence in the ammunition depot explosion in Afyon .

The death of 7 workers and the injury of 127 workers in the Sakarya fireworks factory disaster seems to have nothing to do with the “state”, that is, public authority.

Even in an earthquake disaster like the one we experienced in 1999 (some 25,000 people) and 2023 (some 50,000 people), where tens of thousands of people lost their lives in a few seconds in an area of ​​hundreds of thousands of square kilometers in one night, the state does not have the responsibility of a grain of salt (!) Those representing that state are not even ashamed to insult the people face to face by calling it a "fate plan" .

We are asked to believe that there was no negligence (I do not want to say intentional) on the part of the “Supreme Political Authority” in the murders of 34 of our people in Suruç and 109 in Ankara Train Station in terrorist attacks that were planned and executed in a way that said “I am coming”.

Even in the incident of 34 of our people being bombed by state warplane rockets in Uludere/Roboski , one can make a show of brazenness enough to get out of it by saying, "We thought they were terrorists, but it turns out they were smugglers. What can we do?"

The "state" wants us to believe that it bears no responsibility for the deaths of tens of thousands of soldiers, police, security personnel, and tens of thousands of civilians, whose numbers we can't even accurately count, as a result of mistakes made in the fight against terrorism over the decades. No explanation is offered for this enormous human loss caused by flawed policies and the flawed methods used in implementing them. It is presented to the public merely as "a legitimate and reasonable price to pay in the fight against terrorism." In patriotic speeches delivered while leaning against flag-draped coffins, the heartbroken mothers, fathers, sisters, loved ones, and children of children in unplastered houses on muddy streets are shamelessly addressed. With mockery. With insult.

If you don't shudder even a little when you think about the (preventable) human loss that we can remember even when making a short (selective) inventory of the last 25 years, it means that you either have lost your share of humanity, or you have lost all your positive emotions, or you are a part of that "device" we described above.

It could be considered another example of a country where the state has unconditional and unlimited authority over the people it governs and who have elected it with their votes, but does not feel the slightest responsibility towards them.

I think you can guess why I highlighted all these issues in this article, among all the concrete political and economic agenda items, and why I filled this week's column.

These reminders stem from experiencing, again and again, for who knows how many times, the feeling that no one will be held accountable for the killing of 12 of our soldiers, 12 young sons of our country, as if a piece of the people's heart was being ripped out, during the process called "Operation Claw-Lock" in Northern Iraq.

These reminders are because we are once again facing the classic "We will investigate" fraud, the brazen, irresponsible officials who challenge those questioning them, saying, "Don't use this as political fodder, brother. Don't exploit it," practically saying, "Stop the talking. If they're dead, they're dead. Don't drag this out. Mind your own business."

However, the degree of prestige of a state or political authority is directly proportional to its accountability to its people. An unaccountable understanding of "authority - leadership" is unique to 5th, 55th, and 555th-class regimes—or, more specifically, fascist regimes.