 |
Top generals decry Erzincan probe, suspicions into bomb-laden truck
“We asked [Gen. Berk’s] opinion of the incident. The commander told us several times that he has no links to the allegations,” the military chief told Hürriyet, to which Gen. Koşaner added, “And we have no hesitation that this is the case.”
Gen. Berk is accused of putting into operation an apparent military plot to undermine the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and certain religious communities in eastern Erzincan province. The plot would frame individuals in certain religious organizations for crimes they did not commit by planting hand grenades and ammunition in their homes and offices. A civilian prosecutor summoned the general twice to give testimony on the issue, but he has not complied with the order yet.
According to Başbuğ, nine military members currently stand accused in the Erzincan indictment. “The situation of all our staff, from all ranks and positions, is very important to us. The 3rd Army commander is accused of being the director of the Ergenekon branch in Erzincan. This is a serious accusation. Whoever stands accused is responsible to me as the chief of General Staff and Gen. Koşaner as the Land Forces commander,” he remarked.
The military chief also complained that the General Staff was not provided with detailed information from civilian prosecutors about the ongoing probe though his office has requested the information several times.
“We have responsibility, as the chief of General Staff and Land Forces commander. We have special responsibility for Gen. Berk. We have to show special interest in problems faced by our subordinates. This is our duty in accordance with the Internal Service Act of the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK],” he noted.
General Staff acknowledges negligence in police escort for munitions-laden truck
In a separate interview with Milliyet, Gen. Başbuğ and Gen. Arslan Güner, the deputy chief of General Staff, acknowledged negligence in not requesting police escort for a civilian truck that was carrying dozens of weapons and around 900 hand grenades belonging to the TSK to Ankara.
The vehicle was stopped by Ankara police in the Ümitköy district last Wednesday. The truck was reportedly taking the munitions to the Special Forces Command in the capital’s Gölbaşı district. The vehicle was, however, traveling without any security escort for protection.
“The Special Forces Command informed Ankara Central Command and gendarmerie branches in cities the truck was supposed to travel through about the transport of ammunition. The command and gendarmerie branches, however, did not forward the truck’s request for a police escort to local police departments for one reason or another. We need to acknowledge that there is a deficiency at this point,” Güner said.
Ankara police stopped and searched the truck after they received an e-mail from an unidentified individual. The e-mail alleged that the weapons and hand grenades in the truck were to be distributed to violent groups in eastern and southeastern cities on March 21 during Nevruz, the Kurdish New Year’s celebration. The munitions would be used in clashes between civilians and security forces. Güner criticized civilian prosecutors who launched a probe into the weapon-filled truck and did not inform military officials about the e-mail.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
| ABDULLAH BOZKURT |  |
||
| Turkey and Mexico: Distant yet so close | |||
| BERİL DEDEOĞLU |  |
||
| Yemen and beyond | |||
| ARZU KAYA URANLI |  |
||
| On Memorial Day a few words to make your day memorable | |||
| ABDÜLHAMİT BİLİCİ |  |
||
| Google kidnaps Gül! | |||
| CUMALİ ÖNAL |  |
||
| Critical months for Egypt | |||
| GÖKHAN BACIK |  |
||
| Erdoğan, Gül and Davutoğlu: the inner bargain on Turkish foreign policy | |||
| DOĞU ERGİL |  |
||
| Qualities of power | |||
| İHSAN YILMAZ |  |
||
| The Egyptian elections, Islam and Islamists | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Operational errors | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| There is need for a new initiative | |||
| JOOST LAGENDIJK |  |
||
| Europe can’t have it all. Or can it? | |||
| HASAN KANBOLAT |  |
||
| Are Russian tourists being discouraged from visiting Turkey? | |||
| MELİH ARAT |  |
||
| Handmade | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
