Supreme Military Council convenes under shadow of devious army plots

The council started its winter deliberations on the future of some members of the military under the chairmanship of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. The council was expected to focus on two military plots, the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism and the Cage Operation Action Plan. No official statement had been released about the gathering by the time Today’s Zaman went to print.

The first plot bears the signature of Col. Dursun Çiçek and details a plan to undermine the power of the ruling AK Party and the faith-based Gülen movement. The second plot aimed at assassinating prominent non-Muslim figures in Turkey and placing the blame for the killings on the AK Party. The killings were intended to increase internal and external pressure on the party, leading to diminishing public support for the AK Party.

The YAŞ was expected to deliberate on the future of a number of colonels and generals whose names have been implicated in the plots.

Media speculates about Cage testimony by admirals

A Turkish daily yesterday reported that three admirals whose names were mentioned frequently in the Cage plan would testify to civilian prosecutors today as part of an ongoing investigation.

Admirals Kadir Sağdıç and Fatih Ilgar and retired Adm. Feyyaz Öğütçü were expected to arrive at an İstanbul courthouse today to be interrogated about the plan, according to a Sabah report.  Adm. Öğütçü’s name appears in Operation Cage documents as “the president.” Öğütçü was forced to retire at this August’s Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting, reportedly due to his suspected ties to Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal organization accused of plotting to topple the AK Party government.

An official at the İstanbul Public Prosecutor’s Office, however, announced that the admirals would not testify. “There is no such [expectation for testimony by admirals.] They will not arrive at the courthouse tomorrow,” the official stated.

YAŞ convened on Friday to consider the promotions and dismissals of members of the military. The council was expected to deliberate on the future of a number of colonels whose names have been implicated in a series of controversies.

Öğütçü was thought to be the most likely candidate to become the new naval forces commander. Observers believe the reason behind his retirement was his links to Ergenekon. According to a National Intelligence Organization (MİT) document, Öğütçü was one of the founders of the Karargah houses, which the Ergenekon investigation has revealed were meeting spots for generals plotting a coup d’état in addition to housing hit men and serving as storage places for munitions.

Öğütçü was implicated in the placement of TNT and other explosives at the bottom of a submarine at the Rahmi M. Koç Museum. The explosives were found by police in May after a document was discovered on a computer owned by a suspect previously detained as part of the Ergenekon probe. The explosives were to be detonated while a group of students visited the museum.

Several members of the military were arrested last month on the grounds that they had contributed to the preparation of the Cage plan.

The Cage action plan was signed by Lt. Col. Ercan Kireçtepe and was to be put into operation by a team of 41 members of the Naval Forces Command. The plan was detailed on a CD seized from 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. That discovery came as part of the investigation into Ergenekon.

Three generals set to testify over coup plans

Ergenekon prosecutors are also expected to question three generals who are mentioned in a journal detailing plans to stage a coup d’état.

On Tuesday former Land Forces Commander Gen. Aytaç Yalman, former Air Forces Commander Gen. İbrahim Fırtına and former Naval Forces Commander Adm. Özden Örnek, all of whom retired in 2004, were summoned by Ergenekon prosecutors. The three men are expected to testify on coup plans nicknamed Moonlight, Blonde Girl and the Glove, all mentioned in a journal detailing plans against the AK Party allegedly kept by Örnek, on Sunday at the latest.

Sources say the prosecutors will not only question the generals on the alleged diary entries but also on similarly incriminating entries from a journal kept by Cumhuriyet daily Ankara Representative Mustafa Balbay, who is also a jailed defendant in the Ergenekon trial.