Air forces officers involved in treason scandal promoted

Sr. Lt. Fırat Ç. and Lt. Col. Selçuk Ç., who allegedly planned to down Herons in order to protect Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorists, have been promoted to higher ranks since the scandal was first exposed in 2007, the Star daily reported yesterday. Fırat Ç. was assigned to the İzmir Çiğli 2nd Main Jet Base Command and promoted to captain, while Selçuk Ç. was assigned to the Eskişehir 1st Air Forces Command as a bombardment pilot and promoted to colonel.

Rear Adm. Alaettin S., who was also allegedly aware of the pair’s plans regarding the Herons, currently serves at the Çanakkale Strait and Garrison Command. The Herons detect terrorist activity and transmit images and coordinates to the main command center in Ankara, where the information is sent to units in the region.

According to a report that appeared in the Bugün daily last week, an air forces officer in wire communications asked a high-ranking air forces pilot to shoot down Herons or change their flight plans because they were causing too much damage to PKK terrorists, whom he spoke of as “ours.” The conversation took place on Oct. 10, 2007, and was detected when intercepted by the National Intelligence Agency (MİT). An officer calling a mobile phone from a landline in Ankara said the Herons were very good at locating targets and that they had caused a great deal of damage to his men who were PKK militants. He said he would like the Herons to be downed or at least be given new coordinates. The commander on the other end of the line said, “We’ll take care of that.” A criminology lab has confirmed that the voices belonged to Fırat Ç. -- the caller -- and Selçuk Ç. Further evidence indicates that Rear Adm. Alaettin S. also had contact with Col. Selçuk Ç. However, despite the evidence, action has not yet been taken against the two officers.

The investigation has been pending for three years, allegedly due to the efforts of air forces judge Col. Ahmet Zeki Üçok. Col. Üçok is currently the main defendant in the trial of alleged members of a group accused of processing fake medical reports to exempt clients from military service. The General Staff has yet to make a statement on the scandal.

Meanwhile, a member of the PKK, Mustafa Karasu, said the Turkish press’s allegations were part of “psychological warfare” against the PKK and asserted that they were completely untrue. Bugün yesterday recalled that PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan’s brother, Osman Öcalan, had once referred to Karasu as the “Ergenekon” inside the PKK. Ergenekon is a clandestine organization whose suspected members are currently on trial facing various charges, including attempting to trigger a coup d’état and take over the government. It is believed to have been behind many political assassinations and attacks staged in hope of serving the group’s ultimate goal of creating chaos and preparing the fertile ground for a coup. In his remarks made public on Tuesday, Karasu also appeared to be defensive of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) during his remarks.

Meanwhile, the controversial judge Col. Üçok., accused of protecting the officers who allegedly collaborated with the terrorist organization, made a statement on the subject for the first time on Monday. He said they could not find any “concrete” evidence to prove that the two men participated in the phone conversation recorded by the MİT on Oct. 12, 2007. He said the phone conversation was result of communication between a pay phone in Ankara’s Etlik district and a cell phone in the Kavaklıdere district at 2:10 p.m. “But on that day and time the lieutenant was in Eskişehir, flying his F4, and the lieutenant colonel was in Naples, Italy, at the Senior Military Officer Academy,” he said. This statement contradicts reports that crime laboratories had established that the voices matched those of the accused officers.