Army’s plan sends shockwaves through Turkish press

According to the plan, which appeared in the Taraf daily on Wednesday and was allegedly prepared by Gen. Çetin Doğan, the junta group would have 36 journalists arrested and “make use of” 137 others in fomenting public support for the coup.

However, according to Taraf, there is no indication that the potentially useful journalists were in on the coup plans or had any other connections to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Some individuals who have died since the preparation of the Sledgehammer plan, believed to have been put together in 2002 or 2003, were also included on the lists.

Nazlı Ilıcak, who was to be arrested after the planned takeover, said she was not surprised. “I thought I would be in any plan to eliminate a particular group. This is a very serious plan. In a statement, Gen. Doğan said this was part of the EMASYA protocol,” she said, referring to the Protocol on Cooperation for Security and Public Order (EMASYA), which allows military operations to be carried out for internal security under certain conditions without authorization from civilian authorities. “But the purpose of the plan is to eliminate the government. Many media professionals and bureaucrats are mentioned in it. It has nothing to do with EMASYA.” She also said she planned to file a criminal complaint. “Perhaps we can take action along with the other journalists on the list,” she said. Ilıcak also noted that journalists on the military’s “good” list should not be accused of anything. “We can’t really say all those people were going to consciously help them. Certainly, this can be troubling for these colleagues of ours. Indeed, not all of them are collaborators, but what matters is that the military deems they are,” she said.

Bugün daily’s Ahmet Taşgetiren said he expected to be on the list when Taraf announced on Wednesday that it would publish the full lists of names. “I was not at all surprised. And frankly, I am happy I’m not on the other list,” he said. “Unfortunately, these plans are normal under Turkey’s conditions. They have been implementing such plans for years. This one could not have been applied. Beyond arresting journalists, this country has hanged a prime minister.

Unfortunately, we will have to go through these painful processes on the road to democracy,” Taşgetiren said. He also said that the plan damages the TSK more than any other institution. “The generals behind this are basing their motive on the TSK Internal Service Law Article No. 35. This law has to be changed as soon as possible. All interventions in Turkey have brought disaster.”

At least one journalist, Emre Aköz from Sabah, was surprised to see his name on the list. “They prepared this plan around 2002-2003. At that time, I wrote restaurant reviews. I wrote more on entertainment. It would make sense if this had happened now, or if this list was included in the Cage plan [another alleged army coup plot], which came out earlier. They probably must have said, ‘This guy is going to cause us trouble in the future.’ I have no idea how they did it, but that was quite visionary on their part. I would like to congratulate them. We are here today; we are journalists, and we write. Tomorrow, we might not be here. But they have compiled blacklists of many families. They put members of the Koç family and their foundations on their blacklists. I really don’t think my name being on the list is that important when compared to these,” he said.

Another journalist the coup plotters considered threatening was Star’s Mehmet Altan, who said: “I have been writing pro-democracy articles for 30 years. I am not at all surprised that I was on the list. Turkey has been infected with this virus since the time of the Committee of Union and Progress. Can such a country be? Whenever something the military does not want to happen happens, they say they should stage a takeover. But Turkey has also changed. The world has changed.”

Yeni Şafak’s Ali Bayramoğlu was also on the list. “The plans are extremely dangerous. We are faced with the gravest of situations. The axes of evil and their plans are being revealed one after another. In fact, it is a very positive development that these plans are being exposed. With such plans and the names on these plans listed as ‘supporters,’ it will become evident who supports these plans. The reputation of these people will be destroyed in the eyes of the society.”

Journalists the coup planners claimed would support them have also spoken out about the plot. Vatan daily writer Can Ataklı, whom the military included on a list of potential supporters, said: “This strongly irritates me. I am a journalist. I want the truth to be revealed and Turkey to normalize. The General Staff should make a statement. This process should be stopped. You can’t categorize the media like this. No one can tell me that I am not a democrat.”

Akşam Editor-in Chief İsmail Küçükkaya, who is also in the plot’s potential supporters list, said: “No matter what our political stance might be, we should not look at this politically, but through the lens of being human and having a conscience. I don’t think anyone would believe in or support such a plan. My only hope is that Çetin Doğan denies that this plan is real.”