[Event of the week]
Turkey shocked by yet another army plot against government

The Taraf report claimed that the coup plan -- a nearly 5,000-page document -- was agreed upon at a military meeting attended by 162 active members of the TSK, including 29 generals. According to the plan, the military was to systematically foment chaos in society through violent acts, among which were planned bomb attacks on the Fatih and Beyazıt mosques in İstanbul. The two are among the most frequented mosques in the city.

The army’s plan sent shockwaves through the Turkish press because the coup plotters who drew up the plan conspired to arrest 36 journalists as soon as they staged the coup. According to the plan, the junta group would have 36 journalists arrested and “make use of” 137 others in securing public support for the coup. All the key posts in the country, public and private, would be occupied by active and retired members of the military to “get rid of every single threat to the secular order of the state.”

An investigation was launched by the İstanbul Prosecutor’s Office into the plot after a group of 15 people from an anti-coup group named 70 Million Steps Against Coups filed a criminal complaint against the authors of the plot on Thursday. The General Staff also released a statement on Thursday about the plan, but left dozens of questions unanswered as to the content of the document.

Israeli Deputy Foreign Minister Danny Ayalon, who sparked a diplomatic crisis with Turkey on Jan. 12, said that the country’s ambassador could be expelled if Turkish TV dramas continue to depict Israeli security forces as brutal.

More than 60 journalists from Turkish and Kurdish magazines, television stations and newspapers convened for a meeting organized by the Medialog Platform. The Kurdish and Turkish journalists, who met in İstanbul, put forward suggestions to eliminate misperceptions and prejudices that exist both among Iraqi Kurds and in Turkey.

Jan. 17 Sunday

A gendarmerie sergeant was killed by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists during an operation in the eastern province of Batman.

A considerable part of the Turkish nation believes that a pro-coup formation exists within the military, but a larger part does not think that members of the military would dare to stage a coup d’état, the results of a monthly opinion poll conducted by the Ankara-based MetroPOLL Strategic and Social Research Center showed.

A two-day meeting of Turkey’s bar associations concluded that a civilian constitution is a prerequisite for the permanent settlement of Turkey’s problems. The meeting was held on Saturday and Sunday in the southeastern province of Diyarbakır with the participation of representatives from 42 Turkish cities. A final declaration issued on Sunday stressed that Turkey will fail to settle its long-lasting problems unless it embraces a civilian constitution.

The Confederation of Turkish Labor Unions (Türk-İş) held a demonstration under the banner “Democracy and Rights Meeting for Bread, Peace and Freedom” in Ankara in protest of the government.

Jan. 18 Monday

Mehmet Ali Ağca, the man who shot and injured Pope John Paul II and killed Turkish journalist Abdi İpekçi, was released from prison after more than 29 years behind bars. The gunman waved to journalists as he left the prison in a blue sedan surrounded by a convoy of vehicles. He was taken to the Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine (GATA) to undergo a health assessment for compulsory military service. After a medical exam lasting several hours, GATA found Ağca “unfit” for military service.

Turkish Airlines (THY), Turkey’s national carrier, signed a sponsorship deal with Spanish first-division soccer club FC Barcelona.

The fourth indictment in the case against Ergenekon, a criminal network accused of working to overthrow the government, was completed and submitted to the İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court for evaluation, İstanbul Deputy Chief Public Prosecutor Olcay Seçkin told reporters. A considerable part of the indictment is allocated to a large cache of munitions discovered in İstanbul’s Poyrazköy district in April.

Jan. 19 Tuesday

The annual State Award of Merit ceremony was held at the Çankaya presidential place, with veterans and relatives of fallen soldiers receiving the highest recognition of the state directly from President Abdullah Gül. The ceremony honored relatives of 21 soldiers killed in action and 42 veterans with awards of merit. Similar ceremonies will be held throughout the country at governors’ offices.

Doctors joined a strike organized by the Turkish Doctors Union (TTB) and 10 other health organizations to protest a bill that would require a full workday for doctors employed by universities and state hospitals, as opposed to the current half-time system.

On the third anniversary of the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was fatally shot outside his office by an ultranationalist teenager, his family, friends and rights organizations once again voiced anger that light has still not been shed on the journalist’s murder. A series of ceremonies were held throughout Turkey to mark the third anniversary of the death of Dink, who was gunned down on Jan. 19, 2007 in broad daylight in front of the headquarters of the bilingual Armenian weekly Agos, where he was editor-in-chief. “You know, an operation called the Cage plan was revealed. But has everyone heard about it? Did all the papers write about it?” asked Arat Dink, the son of Hrant Dink, as he addressed hundreds of supporters who gathered in front of Agos.

A group of lawyers affiliated with the Universal Jurists Platform filed a criminal complaint against the figures responsible for the preparation and implementation of two suspected military plots, called the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism and the Cage Operation Action Plan.

A large number of bullets for M16 assault rifles were found abandoned on disused land near the Türkkonut intersection in Ankara’s Çayyolu district. Similar munitions were also found in the capital near the İncek district. Such finds have not been uncommon since the start of the investigation into Ergenekon.

Jan. 20 Wednesday

Yet another underhanded plan allegedly formulated by the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) aiming to create an atmosphere of chaos in the country through a series of acts of violence and provide a pretext for a military coup was exposed by the liberal Taraf daily. The coup plan, titled the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) Security Operation Plan, was drafted in 2003, shortly after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power.

Former members of the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP), recently closed down by the Constitutional Court, filed a case with the European Court of Human Rights in which they argued that the Constitutional Court is not impartial since it was established by a Constitution drafted by the military junta that took over the government on Sept. 12, 1980.

World Bank Turkey Country Director Ulrich Zachau spoke highly of the Turkish economy’s outlook for 2010, noting that it is undergoing a process of recovery. The recovery started last year, Zachau said, adding: “Even though the official numbers haven’t been disclosed yet, the growth rate in the fourth quarter of 2009 seems to be on the positive side compared to the same period a year ago. The fundamentals of the Turkish economy are still sturdy.”

The Van Military Court announced its rationale on an earlier ruling regarding eight Turkish soldiers taken hostage by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in 2007 following an ambush at a military outpost in the southeastern city of Hakkari that left 12 others dead, saying the eight should have remained at their posts and fought the militants to the end.

In strongly worded remarks, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed deep disappointment over the way Turkey has been treated by the European Union, calling the treatment “unfair.”

The parliamentary Constitutional Commission approved a bill to reduce the waiting period to hold a referendum on amendments to the Constitution from the current 120 days to 60 days. Parliament’s Constitutional Commission took up the bill and approved it with one change, increasing the proposed 45 days to 60 days upon the request of the Supreme Election Board (YSK), which said that 45 days would be insufficient for preparations to hold a referendum.

A civilian search of the Special Forces Command’s Tactical Mobilization Unit facilities in Ankara that began on Dec. 25 as part of an investigation into an alleged military plot to assassinate Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç ended today.

Jan. 21 Thursday

An investigation was launched by the İstanbul Prosecutor’s Office into an alleged military plot code-named “Sledgehammer” after a group of 15 people from an anti-coup group named 70 Million Steps Against Coups filed a criminal complaint against the authors of the plot.

The Constitutional Court overturned a reform package approved by President Abdullah Gül last year that requires civilian courts to try members of the military in peacetime. The court was unanimous in its ruling on the legislation, dubbed by many a “civilian revolution” when it was passed in the European Union candidate country last July.

The 38th day of a protest by workers dismissed from Tekel factories after the privatization of the state-owned alcohol and tobacco monopoly was marked by four workers who were taking part in a hunger strike being taken to the hospital.

The General Staff released a statement about the Sledgehammer coup plan against the AK Party government but left dozens of questions unanswered as to the content of the document.

Ümit Boyner, Boyner Holding’s board member responsible for financing and investment, was elected the new chair of the Turkish Industrialists and Businessmen’s Association (TÜSİAD), after Arzuhan Doğan Yalçındağ stepped down from the position. The election took place during TÜSİAD’s 40th ordinary general assembly, where Boyner and the new board were elected with 198 votes out of a total of 200.

Jan. 22 Friday

 The first semester of the 2009-2010 academic year ended, and over 15 million elementary, middle and high school students throughout Turkey received their report cards, marking the start of a two-week winter break. Over 650,000 teachers will join the students on the school break, which ends on Feb. 9.

The Full Workday Law, which requires a full workday for doctors employed by universities and state hospitals, as opposed to the current half-time system, was passed by Parliament on Friday. The law prohibits doctors employed by public institutions from working at their own private practices or those of other private institutions.

The Turkish General Staff announced that it was preparing to cancel plans included in documents that were seen by a civilian judge during the “cosmic room” search. Gen. Ferit Güler of the General Staff said the documents in the cosmic room were classified as “secret” and that the search had violated that secrecy, so the plans were no longer reliable and would therefore be cancelled.