He attended services for former head of the Gendarmerie General Command, retired Gen. Şahap Yardımoğlu, although he was expected to be at a courthouse to testify as part of an ongoing investigation into a number of websites set up by the General Staff to support alleged propaganda campaigns waged by the Turkish Armed Forces' (TSK) against civilian groups.
He so far failed to do so, sending instead a medical report to the İstanbul Prosecutor’s Office.
Zekeriya Öz, the prosecutor investigating the websites, on Aug. 2 summoned 19 officers, including Gen. Iğsız, to testify in the probe. The General Staff’s legal counsel, Brig. Gen. Hıfzı Çubuklu, is also among the officers who have been called to testify as part of the probe. They are accused of establishing 42 websites to back the TSK’s psychological warfare against civilian groups it termed “reactionary,” “separatist,” “pro-ruling party” and “anti-TSK.” The TSK also monitored the activities of more than 400 Turkish and foreign language websites. Visitors to the websites were categorized by the armed forces on the basis of their political and religious views.
Öz said in the summons, marked “urgent,” that the suspects, including six retired and 13 active duty officers, should testify within three days. Gen. Iğsız was hoping to be promoted to the post of land forces commander based on his past military experience. But the civilian members of the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) -- the president, the prime minister and the defense minister -- opposed the promotion during deliberations. They argued that a military officer cannot be promoted to a higher rank while standing accused of a crime. The existence of the TSK propaganda websites was revealed in an e-mail sent by a military officer to a number of newspapers and journalists last year. The officer, who asked to remain anonymous, claimed that the armed forces had the websites to back their psychological warfare against religious communities and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.
Meanwhile, a surprising move came from Gen. Iğsız, according to various Turkish dailies. While he was expected to appear at the Beşiktaş courthouse, Gen. Iğsız sent an invitation to İstanbul Deputy Chief Prosecutor Turan Çolakkadı. The general invited Çolakkadı to a change of command ceremony to be held at the 1st Army Corps Command, where he will hand over his post to Aegean Army Commander Gen. Hayri Kıvrıkoğlu. Gen. Iğsız reportedly delivered the invitation to the Beşiktaş courthouse via a military officer.
