Army chief’s harsh remarks draw ire of intellectuals

In televised remarks yesterday, Başbuğ said there was a psychological war being waged against the TSK. Gen. Başbuğ said, “What hurts and offends us most is that some think and claim that there is the possibility that there are people inside the TSK who can make bloody calculations involving the Mehmetçik [Turkish soldiers] whose lives are entrusted in our hands.”

Star daily writer Mehmet Altan shared his views with Today's Zaman shortly after Başbuğ's speech. “The General Staff itself is hurting the military by not telling the truth, by hiding facts and getting into polemical arguments with intellectuals,” he said.

Başbuğ held a press conference yesterday on the TGC Oruçreis frigate, docked in Trabzon, where the top general is on an official visit. Başbuğ's remarks came shortly after an attack in Tokat's Reşadiye district that killed seven soldiers. A renegade arm of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) claimed responsibility for the attack, but judging by the attack's timing, some have speculated that it was perpetrated by groups related to Ergenekon, a clandestine gang with members inside the military charged with plotting to overthrow the government. In addition to the Reşadiye controversy, the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan, recently claimed that the killings of several Turkish soldiers in eastern Bingöl 16 years ago were the work of a former PKK leader who had received orders from Ergenekon.

The head of the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (ISRO/USAK), Sedat Laçiner, told Today's Zaman that there was an unnecessary defensiveness on the part of the chief of general staff. “I think the offense has been taken unnecessarily. Those who have voiced concerns about this talk about clandestine gangs, they talk about Ergenekon. They are not pointing to the TSK. There is a trial going on. There are civilians as well as military officers who are facing accusations,” he said.

He said the allegations some members of the TSK face are more than rumors, adding that they are very serious. “They are inviting the highest-ranking generals, even force commanders, to the court to testify. On the other hand, there is an attempt to place Turkey under a siege of terror. In this case, they should be working to clean out the rotten apples among them. They have to address security concerns and inadequacies in fighting terrorism instead of responding to writers. We all have things to do. People, intellectuals can say anything they want. It is this luxury they have. They have to be free. They can't expect everyone to be like soldiers.”

Laçiner said the country was going through sensitive times, which might have pushed the chief of general staff to deliver a speech that was not necessarily well thought out or well prepared.

“The path you walk, the place you are at is wrong,” Başbuğ said. “Only PKK supporters and PKK sympathizers can associate terrorist attacks with the TSK. Politicians, academics and members of the media who make indirect statements implicitly suggesting such associations should not do that.”

Altan recalled the death of four privates who were killed when a lieutenant handed one -- as a punishment for dozing off when keeping watch -- a live hand grenade. “This wouldn't even have been found out if the Taraf daily hadn't investigated it. They would have said ‘training casualty' and covered it up.” Altan said as long as the General Staff continued to get in polemical fights instead of questioning the new paradigm prevalent in the country and in the world, it wouldn't be convincing.

“They always talk about politics, never about defense. This is against Military Criminal Code Article 148. But do we see any prosecutors acting? No,” Altan said. He also accused the media of attaching too much importance to the political statements of the military. “I know no other country where every word said by the chief of general staff makes the news. You get up in the morning, you see the chief of general staff on television; you go to bed at night only to be woken up by news that the military released yet another statement. Now they are saying, ‘Do not harm the TSK's reputation.' Parliament has been attacked for years. Is that not an institution? Why don't you show the same reaction to attacks against Parliament? When the one whose reputation is being marred is the military, you immediately hear the TSK's loud voice. I think it is none other than the General Staff that is damaging the reputation of the TSK.”

Başbuğ on anonymous witnesses

Başbuğ also asked “members of the judiciary” to be more “sensitive” about information provided by anonymous witnesses and tip-off letters sent to prosecutors investigating the Ergenekon case. This was interpreted as Başbuğ asking the prosecution not to share with the media details of anonymous witness testimony and revelatory letters allegedly sent by insiders from the TSK. He said in such situations, collaboration and exchange of information with the TSK would prevent “conflict among state agencies.”

According to former military judge Ümit Kardaş, Başbuğ's words actually constitute a crime. Kardaş told Today's Zaman: “This is actually a recommendation and guidance to the judiciary. According to the Constitution, nobody can give orders, recommendations or guidance to judges. Violating this is a crime. In addition to that, according to our penal code, attempting to influence a fair trial is another crime. There is a big difference when I make a recommendation to the judiciary and when the head of a military institution does. There are serious allegations that some members of the TSK committed crimes. These will be probed. Saying ‘I'll do my own probe inside the military' is a thing of the past; it won't work anymore. No institution, including the military, can avoid accountability in our transition to democracy.”

Jurists' Union head Sinan Kılıçkaya agreed with Kardaş. “The Constitution is pretty clear on that. No one can make recommendations or give orders to the judiciary,” he said.

The chief of general staff also commented on recent unrest in the country between Kurdish groups and nationalists manifested in demonstrations in the past week against the closure of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). He called on all segments of society to act with common sense and not give in to provocation. “Everyone should act with calm,” he said.

He said of recent events: “We are seeing that people are resorting to violence. We cannot accept these incidents in any way. … Social conflict would not benefit our country in any way. It can cause major damage. It would only make our enemies happy."

He said he believed the way to find social peace was strengthening common values. “Of course we should respect differences. But that does not mean we have to emphasize those differences. The important thing is to frequently emphasize the common values that we have held for thousands of years that have brought us close to each other.”

Altan commented on this part, saying: “They say they are on the side of the law and democracy? Where were they on April 27 [2007, when the military released an e-memorandum dictating the kind of president Parliament needed to elect by threatening to blame Parliament for the alleged anti-secular activities of the government]? Where were they in Şemdinli [where in 2006, a local bookstore owned by a former PKK member was attacked by gendarmerie officers]?”