Top brass debates state of military after arrests

The meeting was attended by 15 generals, who evaluated the “serious situation” that erupted amid the Ergenekon investigation being conducted by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, according to a statement posted on the General Staff Web site late Tuesday. Ergenekon is a clandestine terrorist organization accused of working to overthrow the government. Dozens of suspected members of Ergenekon are currently in jail pending trial on charges of working to destroy the government and Parliament. Among them are members of the military, academia and the business world.

On Monday, 49 senior military officers -- both retired and on active duty -- were taken into custody in the highest profile crackdown ever carried out on the military. The detentions were part of an ongoing investigation into two plans allegedly drafted by members of the military. Titled the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) and Kafes (Cage) operation plans, the plots included blowing up mosques during Friday prayers, attacking a museum with bombs and other explosives during a visit by students and turning stadiums into open-air prisons capable of holding tens of thousands of people if they challenged the coup troops.

Today’s Zaman has learned that all generals who attended Tuesday’s meeting denied involvement in the alleged plans and some even offered to submit their resignations rather than be faced with such accusations. The generals, however, did not discuss whether to issue a harsh statement against the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government over the detentions.

Gen. Başbuğ is known for his harsh statements denying the Turkish Armed Forces’ (TSK) hand in coup plots every time a plan for a military takeover is exposed.

Generals also discussed the lack of leaders at the Naval Forces Command after the detention of four admirals as part of the investigation at yesterday’s General Staff meeting. Two of the admirals were arrested early Wednesday. The Cage plan is believed to be the product of naval officers, and there are claims that a pro-coup wing is very active at the Naval Forces Command. The generals discussed how the TSK would be impacted if the detentions are to continue.

The Sledgehammer plan was exposed in January by a Turkish newpaper. The plan is nearly 5,000 pages long and was reportedly drafted at a military meeting in 2003, shortly after the AK Party government came to power. The mastermind of the plan was allegedly retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, who was then commander of the 1st Army. Doğan was detained on Monday.

The generals also discussed a recent Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) decision to strip the authorization of four prosecutors in Erzurum. The decision came last week after specially authorized Erzurum prosecutor Osman Şanal ordered the arrest of Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner on charges of membership in a terrorist organization and falsification of documents. The arrest spurred the HSYK into action, and the board stripped Şanal and three other Erzurum prosecutors of their powers.

The General Staff convened a similar extraordinary meeting in January 2009 after the detention of retired generals Kemal Yavuz and Tuncer Kılınç as part of the Ergenekon investigation.

News sources claimed on Wednesday that government spokesman and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek was invited to the meeting on Tuesday. According to those sources, the generals warned Çiçek against the arrest of the members of the military in custody. Çiçek, however, strongly denied that such a thing occurred.

Also yesterday, AK Party Deputy Chairman Salih Kapusuz touched indirectly on the recent detentions and said no one has the freedom to commit crimes, regardless of their statuses and ranks. “Whoever commits a crime bears the consequences. Those who commit a crime are tried and punished. That’s what the conscience and justice necessitate,” he said, and expressed his hope for a more “normal” Turkey. “Everything will become normalized. No one, let it be a politician or a member of the military or the judiciary, is above the law,” he added.

Gen. Berk among General Staff meeting attendees

Among the generals at Tuesday’s meeting was Gen. Saldıray Berk, the commander of the 3rd Army. The general has been summoned twice by an Erzurum prosecutor to testify as part of an ongoing investigation into Ergenekon. The investigation is part of the Ergenekon probe. Gen. Berk is accused of putting into operation a military plot titled the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism. The plot, drafted by a colonel on active duty, was intended to undermine the power of the AK Party, eventually leading to a military coup.

According to the plot, religious communities would be presented to the public as “terrorist organizations” through subversive plans. Members of the military were to plant weapons and ammunition at the homes of followers of certain religious communities. Police raids on these addresses would result in the arrest of those individuals. The public would then start regarding religious communities as having “terrorist intentions,” according to the plot.

The General Staff meeting ended at around 6:30 p.m. on Tuesday.

In the meantime, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Gen. Başbuğ are expected to hold their weekly meeting at the Prime Ministry today. The two are expected to discuss the alleged coup plans and detentions of senior military officers.