Junta had more munitions to carry out Cage action plan

A note in the plan read that the group would continue to carry it out even if caches of munitions stored underground in various parts of Turkey were unearthed during excavations as part of ongoing investigations by civilian prosecutors. "Some weapons and ammunition have been seized by security forces. However, we still have enough of them for future operations. ... We are experiencing temporary problems in the recruitment of staff for the 'organization,' but the training level of our current staff is high," read the note.

Hundreds of weapons and thousands of bullets have been found thus far, either hidden or abandoned at roadsides since the start of the Ergenekon investigation in July 2007, when a house full of munitions and weapons was discovered in İstanbul's Ümraniye district.

Ergenekon is a criminal organization charged with plotting to overthrow the government, and more than a hundred people including former and current army officers are currently standing trial as suspected members.

A list of munitions attached to the plan, called the Cage Operation Action Plan, strongly indicates that it was aimed at fomenting chaos in society and clashes between the country's Muslims and non-Muslims, which would eventually lead to a military intervention in politics. The plan was detailed in a CD seized in the office of retired Maj. Levent Bektaş, who was arrested in April for suspected links to a large cache of munitions unearthed during excavations on land owned by the İstek Foundation in İstanbul's Poyrazköy district.

According to the list of munitions, prominent non-Muslim figures would be assassinated with several sniper rifles, 5 Glock handguns, 30 machine guns, 900 subsonic projectiles, 20 pounds of C4 explosives, 20 pounds of C3 explosives, 20 pounds of C8 explosives, 100 detonators, dozens of hand grenades, 150 smoke cans, 2 tons of ammonium nitrate and hundreds of bullets.

The Cage action plan was signed by Lt. Col. Ercan Kireçtepe and was planned to be put into operation by a team of 41 members of the Naval Forces Command. The hoped-for result from the assassinations of prominent non-Muslim figures and propaganda and would be an increase in internal and external pressure on the AK Party, leading to its demise in politics, according to the plan.

The action plan would be implemented to lend support to the suspects arrested so far as part of the Ergenekon investigation; render ineffective so-called psychological warfare waged by the AK Party and its supporters (against the military); change the course of the agenda in Turkey; boost the morale of the junta within the Naval Forces Command; and win the appreciation and support of the public. The blame for each of the assassinations by the junta would be put on the AK Party.

The Prime Ministry stressed in a written statement posted on its Web site on Thursday that an investigation had been launched into the Cage action plan. “An investigation into the said claims is being conducted by the relevant legal bodies. The appearance of information related to the investigation is an open violation of the confidentiality of the probe. It is a duty that falls on everyone to wait until the completion of the investigation and refrain from any comment or behavior aimed at individuals or institutions,” read the statement.

The statement came after a weekly meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ. The meeting lasted for one hour and 35 minutes. The two discussed the government’s Kurdish initiative, which aims to resolve Turkey’s Kurdish problem, and a letter sent by an unnamed military officer to prosecutors last week, which included subversive military plans to destroy the government.

Junta categorized all Turkish cities

A Turkish map attached to the Cage Operation Action Plan also showed that the Naval Forces Command junta categorized all Turkish cities with such labels as “place filled with believers,” “place filled with non-believers”, “place filled with communities,” “place not filled with communities.” However, it was not specified what kind of communities the labels were referring to. Among the cities filled with believers are Edirne, Kütahya, Bilecik, Uşak, Afyon, Burdur, Aksarayi Niğde, Karaman, Yozgat, Kırşehir, Kırıkkale, Tokat, Amasya, Kastamonu, Karabük, Zonguldak, Bolu, Rize, Artvin, Bingöl, Muş, Mardin and several others. Among the cities filled with non-believers are Sinop, Gümüşhane, Bayburt, Ardahan, Kilis, Siirt, Şırnak and Hakkari.

The cities defined as “places filled with communities” are İzmir, Aydın, Muğla, Çanakkale, Balıkesir, Yalova, İstanbul, İzmit, Bursa, Samsun, Kayseri, Sivas, Malatya, Kahramanmaraş, Adıyaman, Gaziantep, Şanlıurfa, Van, Adana and many others. Among those “not filled with communities” are Manisa, Isparta, Çankırı, Çorum and Ordu.