They also said that they knew that the military would interfere in politics in 2003. Former Capt. Mehmet Apaydın, who was expelled from the military in 2003, said he was targeted by his superior because of his unwillingness to support a planned military takeover.
“The head of my brigade used to say he would throw me out of the military,” Apaydın said, and added that his identity as a religious person also contributed to his expulsion from the armed forces. “The head of the brigade, Selim Erkan Bektaş, would harshly criticize the political will in the country after military seminars. He would say that the Justice and Development Party [AK Party] government had only six more months [left],” the former captain added.
In addition, former Lt. Bülent Tekin said his name was marked as “unwanted officer” in documents drafted during the Sledgehammer seminar. He said he was not invited to the seminar. “Officers at that time [in 2003] used to talk about a military intervention in politics. In this way, they wanted members of the military to be psychologically prepared for a coup d’état. Bektaş would say that the country cannot be governed in the manner of the AK Party government. He intended to influence soldiers’ views of the AK Party,” Tekin noted. Former non-commissioned officer, Mehmet Ali Çoşar, stated that Bektaş often visited his brigade and delivered speeches against the government and the ruling party.
