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Çelik: Military chief making statements hastily
“Independent courts will decide who the culprit is and who is innocent. There is an indictment at hand, and we will understand whether accusations included in it are groundless or not after the court examines them. Hundreds or thousands of people within the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] may dream about a coup d'etat. Military officers may devise plots to that end. But the existence of such staff in the armed forces will not make it a target of criticism.
The image and reputation of the TSK will be protected if it does not stand by its staff who commit crimes and help judicial bodies to exercise their duty,” Çelik told Today’s Zaman.
Başbuğ publicly expressed on several occasions his position against the probe into Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal network accused of working to overthrow the government. He once termed a military plot drafted by an active duty colonel a “piece of paper.” The plot was aimed at undermining the ruling AK Party.
Last month, however, the General Staff acknowledged the existence of evidence pointing to the authenticity of the document. “Statements by the military chief to denounce the authenticity of suspected plots were made very hastily. We do not have the right to declare a culprit or defend a suspect before allegations against him are proven,” Çelik remarked.
‘CHP urges military,
judiciary to engage in politics’
Çelik also directed criticism at the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), saying its leader Deniz Baykal urges the military and the judiciary to engage in politics. “The party does so because it became fully aware after the 1960 military coup that it would not be able to become the ruling party through democratic means. Therefore, it has hoped the military would interfere in the people’s will. Our people know this very well,” he noted.
He also said the CHP leader holds a hard-to-understand stance with respect to incidents that are currently being evaluated by judicial bodies. “When plots sent shockwaves across the country, Baykal first denied them. He later started to give directives to the judiciary, advising them to take whatever actions they want. Thus, it is no one but Baykal who urges the military and the judiciary to engage in politics. However, he has no right to do so,” Çelik added.
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