Generals mentioned in coup diaries speak up

Former Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök and his successor, Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt, who retired last August, spoke to Milliyet daily's Fikret Bila regarding the sections about them in Cumhuriyet Ankara Representative Mustafa Balbay's coup diaries, made public on Monday.

A Turkey-based Web portal, www.tempo24.com.tr, published documents on Monday seized from Balbay's computer. The documents include a detailed coup diary kept by Balbay, who took notes on his past meetings with army generals. Detained in early March as part of the investigation into Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist organization charged with various attacks and bombings staged for the ultimate purpose of overthrowing the government, Balbay was recently arrested on charges of "attempting to overthrow the constitutional order of the Republic of Turkey."

A police investigation into Balbay's computer revealed that the journalist was keeping a journal of his talks with several individuals, including army generals, journalists and union leaders, most of whom are currently standing trial as Ergenekon suspects. The journal -- what some are calling a "coup diary" -- is 66 pages long and includes the gang's plans to stage a military coup and overthrow the government.

Gen. Özkök, who is talked of in the diaries as a potential hindrance to the group's coup plans, said it was too early to comment on the coup diaries themselves. "I don't know yet whether these are false or not. They haven't been made official. It would not be proper to make a comment based on news stories only. It has gone public, true, but this is not official."

He also said he doubted his long-time comrades-in-arms would make "such comments and insults" about him. He also said that if he was called to testify in court, he would. "I always play by the rules and regulations. I do as whatever the law says. You know the respect I have for the law. I would, most certainly, consult with the lawyers of the General Staff. I would most certainly go and testify, as a witness or a suspect, it does not matter. But it wouldn't be right for me to talk about newspaper stories."

Gen. Büyükanıt said he felt saddened and said he really had talked to Balbay after Cumhuriyet ran a headline story in 2003 claiming that younger officers in the army were not happy with the government and that there were plans to stage a coup from the bottom up. "Yes, I asked Mr. Balbay to visit me when that story came out and I talked to him. I told him the story had a very dangerous approach and that it hurt the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK]. As you might remember, at the time we denied there was any truth to that story in a press conference," Büyükanıt said.

He also denied the coup diaries' account that he had made fun of President Abdullah Gül's English. "I was very angry and disturbed. I've known Mr. Gül since the time of his foreign ministry and prime ministry. But I have never seen him speak English. I have never been in such a setting. Why would I do such a disrespectful thing to the president? This is very ugly. I was most saddened by this."

He also denied the diaries' revelation that both he and Özkök, as chiefs of general staff, held frequent secret meetings. "Somewhere it says that our commander at the time [Gen. Hilmi Özkök] held secret meetings. This is not true. It never happened. I've known our commander since he was a lieutenant. No such thing ever happened."

In response to a question on whether he would testify if need be, he said: "Of course I would. Nobody has the luxury to say 'I won't go' if the court subpoenas you. If the law calls me, I will go and tell the truth."

Atasagun also mentioned in diaries

Meanwhile, an Ankara prosecutor attempted to launch a probe against a former undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) for preparing a chart depicting the organizational structure of Ergenekon.

The Ankara Public Prosecutor's Office earlier this week requested permission from the Prime Ministry to launch a probe into former MİT Undersecretary Şenkal Atasagun on charges of abuse of power. Atasagun was in office when MİT drew up a chart outlining the leadership structure of the Ergenekon terrorist organization. The probe was based on a complaint filed on March 2 by Hasan Basri, the deputy leader of the Workers' Party (İP), whose leader and secretary-general are currently under arrest as Ergenekon suspects.

The MİT chart, based on the testimony of witnesses, was presented to the court hearing the Ergenekon trial last year. According to reports, famous journalists and politicians, including main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, are also displayed on the chart. The probe was perceived as an attempt by the İP and CHP to water down the Ergenekon trial.

In the diaries Atasagun is listed as the host of a dinner at the MİT Undersecretariat on May 30, 2003, and one of the guests of a dinner held at the Marmara Palace on June 12, 2003. Atasagun, in these conversations, slams the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, speaks of a coup d'etat under way by the 1st Army Command and warns the Cumhuriyet daily to play down the influence of the newspaper's owners, who were the new owners at the time, namely Gürbüz Çapan, Turgut Ciner and Mehmet Emin Karamehmet. He also criticizes media's celebrity entertainment programs, stating that these shallow programs contributed to the increasing number of votes for the AK Party.