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Sledgehammer general based coup plot on Service Code
The daily devoted its main story to remarks made by the general during a military seminar in 2003, which also made their way into an indictment prepared by civilian prosecutors overseeing the investigation into the planned coup, titled the Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan. While speaking at a seminar at the Selimiye barracks, Doğan said Article 35 of the Internal Service Code gives the military the authority to carry out a coup.
Sledgehammer is a suspected coup plot devised in 2003 at a military gathering. According to the plan, the military was to systematically foment chaos in society through violent acts, among which were planned bomb attacks on the Fatih and Beyazıt mosques in İstanbul. The plot allegedly sought to undermine the government and lay the groundwork for a military takeover.
The Turkish military, which had played a key role in the establishment of the Turkish Republic, has long seen itself as the protector of the regime. Article 35 of the Internal Service Code stipulates that the duty of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is to protect the Turkish motherland and the Constitution. The TSK has carried out coups in the past, invoking this article as justification.
In the Selimiye seminar, Doğan said: “The National Intelligence Organization [MİT] should be headed by a member of the military. I am saying all of this off the record. Those men [refers most probably to the government] are working hard to appoint their own man to the MİT. The Internal Service Code gives us the authority [for a coup].”
The retired general was arrested twice earlier this year on coup charges but was released after a brief period of detention due to health reasons.
Sledgehammer prosecutors believe that some generals and high-ranking military officers of the 1st Army decided in 2003 to replace the incumbent government with a new one, which would be called the Milli Mutabakat (National Agreement), believing that the AK Party government was under the influence of anti-secular and reactionary elements.
Prosecutors believe that Doğan is the prime suspect in the Sledgehammer plan. Among other suspects are former Land Forces Commander Gen. Aytaç Yalman, former Air Forces Commander Gen. İbrahim Fırtına and former Naval Forces Commander Adm. Özden Örnek, all of whom retired in 2004.
The Sledgehammer indictment also names other suspected generals and admirals on active duty, including Gen. Nejat Bek, Vice Adm. Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu, Maj. Gen. Ahmet Yavuz, Maj. Gen. Gürbüz Kaya and Rear Adm. Caner Bener. The indictment was submitted to the İstanbul 10th High Criminal Court in early July. The court has yet to decide whether to accept the document or return it to prosecutors for further work.
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