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General Staff questions 162 officers
The plan was exposed last week by a Turkish daily. The document showed that the military had a plan to systematically cultivate chaos in society through violent acts that would lead to a military takeover. Among the planned acts were bomb attacks at some of İstanbul's famous mosques. The nearly 5,000-page document was reportedly written at a military meeting attended by 162 active duty members of the military, including 29 generals.
The document was drafted in 2003, shortly after the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power. The mastermind of the plan was allegedly retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, the then-commander of the 1st Army.
The General Staff questioning focuses on details of the alleged coup plan, such as who attended the military meeting and what was discussed during it.
Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ denied the existence of a pro-coup wing within the military during a press conference last week. He also warned press organs “not to try the army’s patience” with reports over the alleged plan.
“How on earth could the TSK plan to bomb mosques? This is unjust. The TSK has limits to its patience. I denounce these claims,” the military chief stated. Başbuğ also noted that the armed forces would never support a change of political power in the country through undemocratic means.
Turkish dailies also reported on Friday that Gen. Doğan may be called in for questioning by the General Staff next week.
On Jan. 20, shortly after the publication of the Sledgehammer plan, Doğan told an Internet news portal, t24.com, that the plan was prepared with the knowledge of army generals and in accordance with the Protocol on Cooperation for Security and Public Order (EMASYA). The protocol allows military operations to be carried out for internal security matters under certain conditions without authorization from civilian authorities. It was implemented in 1997 and remains in effect.
Doğan also said the TSK is charged with protecting the republic against all sorts of internal and external threats.
The retired general, however, appeared on a news program on Star TV the same evening and contradicted his statements of earlier in the day. He accused the Taraf daily of working to discredit the armed forces. “Only insane people could prepare such a plan. And only insane people can publish it in their newspaper. It is very wrong to expect the TSK to be implicated in such plans,” he stated.
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