The reasons behind accusations that the government has been moving toward civilian dictatorship have become more obvious now -- they have been part of a cover-up campaign to discredit the ruling party rather than reflecting reality.
The latest coup plan, codenamed Sledgehammer, includes details of operations such as bombing large mosques, including the Fatih and Beyazıt mosques in İstanbul, while deliberately causing a Turkish jet to crash during a dogfight with Greece by provoking Greek pilots or if necessary Turkish pilots themselves. These are just some of the horrifying plans included in the alleged coup plan.
Previous coup plans codenamed Sarıkız, Ayışığı, Eldiven and Yakamoz disclosed earlier by the media have fallen short of being implemented, mainly due to some commanders’ opposition to a military coup. Sledgehammer, on the other hand, which Taraf said is more than 5,000 pages long, has details of an action plan to be implemented in the event of a coup. Taraf said it would also disclose the names of 137 journalists who are listed in Operation Sledgehammer as members of the media who would collaborate if a coup were stage as well as the names of 116 journalists who are to be arrested in such a situation.
The traditional involvement of some members of the media in plans to incite chaos in Turkey also explains why they are now contributing to the creation of an atmosphere in which the public would believe that the government is promoting a civilian fascist regime. Their ultimate aim is understood to serve the purpose of the coup planners by creating the image that the political authority has been in search of a “civilian coup.”
Operation Sledgehammer, however, reveals very clearly that accusations leveled against the government by some members of the media as well as some senior opposition politicians are part of a plan to discredit the government and ultimately unseat it.
Sledgehammer, as Taraf explains, was designed under the leadership of retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, who was 1st Army commander in 2003. Gen. Doğan was one of the important players in the 1998 postmodern coup, which culminated in the fall of a coalition government.
Under the first stage of the plan, mosques will be bombed during praying times to create instability and to discredit the Islam-sensitive ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The second stage of the plan is to deliberately instigate a war-like situation with the Greek Air Force, with which Turkish jets have frequently engaged in dogfights in the Aegean Sea, and if necessary to cause a crash of a Turkish jet by Greek jets.
Creating chaos through the horrifying plans described above, the coup planners will then force the government to declare a state of emergency, which will be followed by a military coup, Taraf reported. This is a plan similar to the events that lead to the 1980 coup.
The events of the past several months, taking the shape of street fights or demonstrations, have already signaled that the first stage of Operation Sledgehammer has been put into force, aiming to compel the government to declare a state of emergency.
Taraf earlier disclosed the Cage action plan, said to have been prepared last year by a military junta and aimed at creating a chaotic atmosphere in Turkey to unseat the government through targeting non-Muslims in Turkey and through bombing a museum during a visit by school children.
As Taraf Editor-in-Chief Ahmet Altan stated in his column yesterday, as long as Turkey is unable to radically change the structure of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and turn it into a professional military, the TSK will continue making coup plans and perceive the country’s own citizens as “enemies.”
The TSK’s psychological warfare, if not stopped, will bring Turkey to the brink of collapse.
