For years, a segment of Turkish society that identifies itself as “artists,” “intellectuals,” and “enlightened thinkers” has made it their mission to lecture the public on conscience, justice, and democracy. Yet when it comes to taking a critical look at their own political circles, they have shied away from showing the same courage. Today, we are faced with a similar situation.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s call for “purification” is not merely a political slogan; it is a call for politics to be cleansed of corruption, personal interests, shady dealings, and power struggles. Under normal circumstances, one would expect artists and so-called intellectuals—who see themselves as representatives of democracy, progress, and moral superiority—to stand behind this call. However, recent events show the exact opposite.
Because the issue isn’t about principles, but about partisanship. The issue isn’t about democracy, but about loyalties. The issue isn’t about clean politics, but about the fear of losing one’s political standing.
Those who for years have issued harsh statements over even the slightest allegation against the government and delivered sermons on morality and accountability on television fall into a deep silence when the issue concerns their own political circles. Instead of demanding investigations into allegations of corruption, they target those who ask questions and brand those demanding accountability as criminals. This stance is in direct contradiction to the democratic values they claim to uphold.
A true intellectual is one who is committed to principles, not individuals. A true artist is one who stands with the truth, not with power. If today the call for accountability is met with resistance, and even the demand to investigate allegations is viewed as hostility, then what we are seeing is not the stance of an intellectual, but political fanaticism.
This has been Turkey’s problem for years. While people claim to be defending principles, they are actually defending individuals. While they claim to be defending the law, they are demanding a separate set of rules for their own side. While they call for transparency, they expect it only from their opponents.
Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu’s call for purification has laid bare precisely this hypocrisy. Those who stand against this call today are, in fact, taking a stance not in favor of clean politics, but in favor of preserving the status quo and the existing web of vested interests.
Throughout history, change and transformation have been driven by those willing to step outside their comfort zones. Today, however, those who resist renewal stand not on the side of change but of the status quo, not of questioning but of blind obedience, and not of accountability but of impunity.
What society needs is not loyalty to individuals, but commitment to principles. Those who seek to suppress the call for reform rather than heed it are serving the habits of the past, not the democratic and transparent political vision of tomorrow.