Detentions signal normalization of civilian-military relations

Eleven retired generals and several retired colonels were detained early Monday as part of the investigation into alleged coup plots named the Sledgehammer and the Cage plans, devised by the military members of Ergenekon.

Retired Air Forces Commander Gen. İbrahim Fırtına, who was interrogated earlier in January by prosecutors conducting the investigation into Ergenekon, was among those detained yesterday as well as former Naval Forces Commander Adm. Özden Örnek, the writer of detailed journals kept between 2000-2004 on some of the force commanders’ coup plans, and former 1st Army Commander Ergin Saygun, Gen. Engin Alan and 10 army colonels. There were also searches at the homes of retired 1st Army Commander retired Gen. Çetin Doğan and retired Gen. Süha Tanyeli, the former head of the General Staff Strategic Research and Study Center (SAREM), a foundation affiliated with the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). Doğan was also detained later in the afternoon.

Characterizing Monday’s developments as extraordinary, Ali Bayramoğlu, a columnist for the Yeni Şafak daily, said Turkish politics was undergoing very critical and difficult changes toward democratization.

“The detention of two former force commanders shows that the military tutelage regime, which has been deemed “untouchable” so far, is no longer untouchable. These developments are very important as they mark Turkey’s process of civilianization,” Bayramoğlu told Today’s Zaman.

He also explained that those behind the military plots with code names Sledgehammer and Cage were undergoing judicial proceedings starting with their detention yesterday.

The Cage plan was exposed during a police raid on the office of retired Maj. Levent Bektaş as part of a probe launched after the discovery of a large arms cache in İstanbul’s Poyrazköy district in April within the framework of the investigation into Ergenekon. The Cage Operation Action Plan sought to intimidate Turkey’s non-Muslims and assassinate prominent non-Muslim figures to put domestic and international pressure on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, which would in turn lead to a loss of public support for it.

The Sledgehammer plan was revealed in January by the Taraf daily. The plot had included shady plans such as bombing of most-frequented mosques in İstanbul to trigger chaos in the country with the ultimate goal of a military takeover.

Both of the plans have led to a nationwide outcry with many calling on the authorities to punish those behind them.

Mehmet Altan, a professor and columnist for the Star daily, interpreted yesterday’s detentions as a move saving Turkey from being a militarist state. “This new era cannot bear the existence of a militarist state in the world. Turkey is shifting from Kemalism to democracy,” he noted.

Taraf daily journalist Alper Görmüş, who was the editor-in-chief of the now-defunct Nokta weekly magazine, which first published the copies of Adm. Örnek’s coup dairies, said yesterday’s detentions marked “a threshold” because Turkey was confronting the coup attempts in 2003-2004.

“It seems certain that serious plans to meddle in politics were made during those times. A commander who deemed himself powerful made a plan, tried to put it into practice but failed in doing so. Some judicial circles commented that these plans did not constitute an offense because they were not put into practice. Here, prosecutors and judges believe that making such plans constitutes a crime. Furthermore, we do not know whether the Sledgehammer plot remained a plan; perhaps some steps were taken in line with it,” explained Görmüş.

Ümit Kardaş, a retired military judge, said yesterday’s detentions were normal, noting that any citizen can be detained if they commit an offense. “If a coup attempt is in question and if there is evidence showing the existence of coup attempts, and we know there are, then these detentions should be seen as normal. We should wait for the conclusion of the judicial process,” he said.