TSK statement on Arınç plot far from persuasive, pundits argue

“The General Staff waited too long to make a statement. Wednesday's statement was not satisfactory. The Special Forces Command may investigate claims over the leaking of information from the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK]. But why did the military officer try to swallow the piece of paper which contained Arınç's address when he saw police officers? There is no explanation of this in the statement,” noted Faik Tarımcıoğlu, a retired military judge.

In a statement posted on its Web site, the General Staff on Wednesday claimed that the two Special Forces members accused of planning to assassinate Arınç had been assigned to gather information about a member of the military who was accused of leaking information to third parties. The officer under surveillance resides in an area close to Arınç's house, said the statement.

Maj. İbrahim G. and Col. Erkan Yılmaz B., both assigned to the General Staff, were detained on Saturday night on suspicion of plotting to assassinate the deputy prime minister. A piece of paper one of the officers tried to swallow contained the home address of Arınç.

The General Staff chose to defend the armed forces and its members against harsh criticism over the plot and accused the press of reporting on the plan instead of responding to people's questions.

“Protecting the confidentiality of an ongoing judicial process is a principle of law. However, recent incidents have shown that this principle has lost its validity to a considerable extent in our country. Details of this incident concerning the two officers started to appear in the media on Dec. 21. There is a difference between reporting the incident and reporting it with details and commentary,” read the statement.

Former military judge Ümit Kardaş said the General Staff has little chance of convincing the public with its statement because several of its statements have been proven wrong in the past. “We will wait and see. Illegal formations are used against the public. This is an illegal situation. The military may monitor the activities of its officers, but the case we are talking about is against civilians,” he remarked.

According to Kemal Şahin, a retired gendarmerie major, the Special Forces Command did not have the authority to monitor the activities of individuals. Şahin also stated that he found the General Staff statement surprising.

“The General Staff has to distance itself from junta members, but makes a statement that protects prime suspects. If the General Staff ordered the members of the Special Forces Command to monitor the activities of an individual, then they committed a crime. To me, we do not need the Special Forces Command. It should be abolished,” he said.

Analysts, politicians skeptical

Emre Aköz, a columnist for the Sabah daily, stated that the General Staff failed to convince the public with its statements on a number of issues thus far. “Everything they explained was later proved wrong. Citizens do not believe in the General Staff any more,” he noted.

Star columnist Mehmet Altan criticized the fact that the two suspected officers were released by a military prosecutor after being interrogated.

“The government has the right to remove the army chief from office or replace high-ranking commanders. But the government is addressing the issue slowly, which I cannot understand. I feel the government is being over-patient toward the General Staff,” he remarked.

Zeynep Dağı, a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) deputy from Ankara, said the assassination plot against the deputy prime minister was aimed at damaging Turkey’s stability. “The public does not want instability. Such attempts bring with them serious questions. We need to be more conscious of protecting and maintaining stability in the country. Turkey has witnessed many similar attempts in the past that damaged national peace,” Dağı added.

Prosecutors investigating the plot discovered on Wednesday links between plot suspect Maj. İbrahim G. and retired Maj. Muzaffer Tekin, an Ergenekon suspect who is currently in jail. Prosecutors discovered that the major had dozens of phone conversations with Tekin. Tekin is accused of directing Alparslan Arslan to carry out a 2006 attack on the Council of State aimed at increasing domestic pressure on the AK Party government to lead to a coup d’état.

Radikal columnist Akif Beki asked the General Staff why they waited four days to make a statement on the plot controversy. “Why did you turn a blind eye for four days to claims over this assassination plot? Why did you increase concern amongst the public? It would have been enough if you had immediately announced that the two officers were in the vicinity of Arınç’s house on official business. And protocol would require a phone call to Arınç by the deputy chief of General Staff to inform him about what was going on. If the General Staff had done this, wouldn’t the conduct of everything have changed?” Beki questioned.

Many observers opined that the planned assassinations aimed to create an atmosphere of chaos in the country.

According to political analyst Murat Yılmaz, however, acts of provocation are not likely to achieve their objectives because people are now more aware of such attempts.

“The EU membership process Turkey embarked on in 1999 and attempts to align the country with Europe have brought greater contributions to Turkish democracy. Institutions have gotten stronger and the public has become more aware. The country has become more civilian and democratic. However, there is a circle still opposed to reforms. We are currently witnessing their attempts. But they no longer have the power to change the political and economic course of the country,” Yılmaz stressed.