Original version of military plot reaches İstanbul prosecutor

The document was allegedly mailed to the prosecutor by a military officer whose name was not made public. Engin immediately called İstanbul Deputy Chief Prosecutor Turan Çolakkadı for a consultation on the document, which purportedly bears a genuine signature.

Prosecutors, however, declined to comment on the claims. "The investigation is secret. I do not have information on whether the original version of the document has come or not," said Engin. Çolakkadı, on the other hand, said he would not share the document with the public even if he had information on it. "I do not know. I saw the reports on the TV, too. I have been after it [the document] for one month," he noted. In June, a Turkish daily published evidence of a plot, allegedly put together by a colonel on active duty, that was seized by security forces in the home of the lawyer of a retired colonel arrested earlier this year on charges of membership in Ergenekon, a clandestine organization accused of plotting to overthrow the government.

In late June, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ (R), flanked by army generals, said a newspaper report alleging there was a military plot to undermine the government was part of a smear campaign against the armed forces. Plans would cast doubt on Ergenekon probe The alleged plot also mentioned plans to discredit the Ergenekon investigation and reduce its credibility in the eyes of the public. The TSK was to engage in an intense period of propaganda stressing that the military is not against people’s religious sensitivities, according to the document. It would have press organs prepare reports on the immoral actions of TSK members who are suspected of reactionaryism. That way, the public would question the credibility of religious individuals. The TSK was also planning to urge newspapers to publish stories denouncing the Ergenekon investigation and claiming that TSK personnel are being arrested because of their fight against the threat of reactionaryism. The document also suggested that TSK members who were detained or put in jail should make statements in accordance with an outline determined by the military and emphasize that they are innocent and that they were being put behind bars due to their fight against powers that wish to change the regime in the country.

According to the plot, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) had a systematic plan to damage the image of the AK Party government and the Gülen movement in the eyes of the public, to play down the Ergenekon investigation and to gather support for members of the military arrested as part of the Ergenekon inquest.

The plot was undersigned by Col. Dursun Çiçek and created a huge public outcry, with most analysts terming it yet another attempt by the military to actively interfere in politics. The TSK, however, denied possession of the plot and said it was a “piece of paper” aimed at undermining the credibility of the armed forces. The authenticity of the document was highly disputed, as the document confiscated was a photocopy, but a report prepared by the Gendarmerie General Command's Criminal Investigation Department stated that the signature on the plan resembled that of Col. Çiçek.

The colonel was arrested by a civilian court in July on suspicion of being linked to the plot, but was later released after his lawyer submitted an appeal. His immediate release created controversy. He also testified to prosecutors investigating Ergenekon, a clandestine gang that allegedly attempted to overthrow the government.

The military officer who reportedly sent the original version of the plot to prosecutor Engin is said to have attached a note to his letter, which read that all documents and computer reports at Çiçek’s Third Information Support Unit, under the General Staff’s Information Support Department, were destroyed and that the officer was only able to save the original version of the alleged military plot against the AK Party and Gülen movement.

The document is expected to be forwarded to the İstanbul Council of Forensic Medicine (ATK) for a test of its authenticity.

Plot mentions smear campaign against Gülen movement

Another section of the document was dedicated to a crusade against the Gülen movement. It revealed that the armed forces wished to incite a harsh public reaction against the movement. According to the document, the military planned to depict the Gülen movement as being engaged in acts threatening the unity and the government of the country.

“Claims that followers of Gülen are attacking the TSK will be focused on so that people will say, ‘We are also Muslims, but these men are spewing intense propaganda to weaken the military’,” read the document.

The document’s plans against the movement were, however, not restricted to smear campaigns. The TSK reportedly aimed to depict followers of the Gülen movement as being engaged in illegal acts.

“We will facilitate the discovery of weapons, ammunition and documents at the addresses of Gülen’s followers as if they were members of a terrorist organization. The movement will be named ‘Fethullah’s Armed Terrorist Organization’ (FSTÖ), and investigations into its members will be carried out by military prosecutors. We will focus on the concept of moderate Islam and emphasize that the Gülen movement aims to cause Islam to deviate from its original form,” continued the plot.

The plot also aimed to urge press organs to claim that there is cooperation between the Gülen movement and the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) as the latter does not target in its terrorist acts the schools established by the former in the eastern and southeastern parts of Turkey and in northern Iraq.

According to the document, police raids of the residences of members of the Gülen movement were also to reveal documents to foment enmity against Alevism in the country.