Chief of General Staff Gen. Başbuğ passes judgment: Gen. Berk is innocent

Başbuğ spoke to the Vatan daily on Sunday and commented on the accusations against the general, implying that they are too vague and weak. Most observers, however, believe that the military chief openly interfered in a judicial case with his remarks.

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 the eastern province of Erzincan. 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 yet to comply with the order.

“An active duty force commander is accused of membership in a terrorist organization. … There is a 61-page indictment on the issue. There are also additional documents. Our colleagues examined the indictment and all those documents. Do you know how many pages of that indictment are dedicated to accusations against the 3rd Army commander? His name is mentioned in some other pages as well, but accusations directed at him are only on one page,” Başbuğ told Vatan’s Ruhat Mengü.

The military chief complained that Gen. Berk was accused in the indictment due to his aid to Alevi villages in Erzincan. “This is really very ugly. We do not even know how to evaluate such an accusation,” he said.

However, the indictment proves Başbuğ wrong in his complaint. According to the indictment, the statements relating to Gen. Berk and Alevis were not produced by the prosecution but were instead included in a document seized in the home of a sergeant major. The document reads: “Saldıray Berk shows close interest in Alevi villages in Erzincan and in its vicinity. He is loved and much appreciated by Alevi villagers and dedes [Alevi religious leaders] due to his charitable activities there. However, he shows no interest in Sunni villages and their leaders. Gen. Berk is accompanied by his wife during his visits to those villages. It is believed that Gen. Berk’s close interest in Alevi villages is related to his sympathy with Alevism.”

Başbuğ also denied allegations in the indictment that Gen. Berk held a meeting in Erzincan in which participants discussed issues that were outside of the pre-established scope of the meeting. “This is not absolutely correct. The Land Forces Command examined the issue. The command has all documents related to the meeting. None of the things alleged occurred during the meeting,” he noted.

The military chief, however, did not explain why the meeting was attended by two chief public prosecutors.

The indictment accuses Gen. Berk of presiding over a meeting during which participants decided to plant weapons and ammunition in the homes of members of certain religious communities, as a result of which the public would start believing that these communities had “terrorist intentions.”

Başbuğ also commented on the indictment over accusations concerning the general due to a military convoy’s journey from the eastern province of Erzincan to nearby Erzurum in late January, which came after the detention of Eskişehir Gendarmerie Brigade Commander Col. Recep Gençoğlu as part of the probe into Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal organization accused of working to overthrow the government. The journey raised questions about whether it was planned as a “show of power” after the colonel’s detention.

According to the military chief, however, the journey had been planned long before the detention.

“If I am not mistaken, that’s merely a coincidence. Look, the general ordered the journey on Jan. 15! I do not think the general is a fortune-teller [to guess the detention several days before],” he remarked.

This is not the first time Başbuğ has stood by Gen. Berk. On March 15, the military chief expressed strong disbelief in the fairness of the ongoing investigation in Erzincan in an interview with the Hürriyet daily.

Başbuğ also said he could not believe claims that a member of the military would plan to bomb mosques and crash a Turkish jet -- both included in an apparent military coup plan against the government. “I see such statements as treacherous and divisive. I see them as dangerous,” he added.