Coup general’s wife’s events used to keep tabs on officers, their wives

For most analysts, the TSK used all available means to keep tabs on its staff after the Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup. The tabs were mainly used to “get rid of” military members who had opinions -- either in terms of ideology or religion -- that were incompatible with the TSK.

Hundreds of officers were eventually expelled from the military based on information included in the records.

According to a news report that appeared in the Bugün daily last week, Gen. Doğan used the TSK to organize events for his wife, Nilgün Doğan. At the events, spouses of military officers ate dinner and exchanged expensive gifts, such as gold. The daily reported the general issued many orders -- while heading the 1st army -- for his wife’s events. What is more scandalous is that the events were actually used to keep tabs on the wives of military officers and directly on officers themselves.

Retired Maj. Şahin Akdoğan said the armed forces organized many events to keep wives of military officers under control and, in this way, to bring the entire TSK into the “same line.” With the same line, Akdoğan was referring to efforts to ensure the military was made up of members with similar ideologies and leanings. “Invitations would be sent [to wives of all military officers] to attend those events. But women who were wearing the [Muslim] headscarf would not be allowed inside the buildings where the events were held. Necessary data would be compiled and sent to the West Study Group [BÇG]. Then files [on military officers] would be prepared for Supreme Military Council [YAŞ] decisions, and the husbands of headscarf-wearing women would be expelled from the armed forces,” Akdoğan stated.

The BÇG was formed within the military during the Feb. 28 coup to categorize politicians, intellectuals, soldiers and bureaucrats in accordance with their religious and ideological backgrounds. The TSK traditionally considered religious or conservative movements a threat both to its existence and the existence of secular Turkey. For this reason, it led “operations” against such movements, which included shutting down political parties that allegedly promoted religion.

According to figures from the Ministry of Defense, more than 1,500 people have been dismissed from their positions in the military since the 1971 coup. The dismissals were mainly based on “files” prepared against them based on military tabs. There are claims that there were records concerning around 6 million people in the run up to the Feb. 28 process.

Retired Maj. Ali Coşar, a member of the Advocates of Justice Association (ASDER), told Sunday’s Zaman a strong political will and a military overhaul is needed to bring the practice of keeping tabs on TSK staff to an end. “It is a crime to obtain or store personal data according to the Turkish Penal Code [TCK]. It is a crime committed against human rights. Turkey witnessed the keeping track of military officers and eventually the mass expulsion of officers from the armed forces in the wake of the Feb. 28 [1997] coup d’état,” he stated.

Coşar also noted he does not have evidence at hand to state the TSK continues to categorize its staff in accordance with their religious or ideological tendencies. “Given the fact that tracking people is a sort of disease, I assume that the armed forces still categorizes its staff. We need a strong civilian and political will to end such activities,” the retired major added.

The Turkish Parliament has recently approved a bill that will pay compensation and reinstate the social security benefits of military officers who were dismissed from the TSK following YAŞ decisions. The bill is believed to be aimed at fighting the “illegal practices” of the armed forces.

This bill follows a constitutional reform package that was approved in a public vote in September of last year. The package included an article that paved the way for former members of the military to appeal their expulsions at a judicial body. Expelled military personnel will now be able to appeal their YAŞ decisions at the Military High Administrative Court (AYİM). Before the referendum, YAŞ decisions were closed to judicial review.

However, records kept by the TSK were not restricted to members of the armed forces. A number of written directives sent to military commands in the past, and which made their way into the press recently, have come to show the TSK kept tabs on civilians, too. For example, the BÇG developed a plan in 2004 to categorize all people in schools, mosques, Quran courses, press organs, civil society groups, universities and many other institutions in line with their opinions on political and religious issues. The categorizations would later be used to “take a stance” against those individuals after the military staged a coup d’état.

In line with the BÇG plan, military officers kept tabs on OK thousands of civilians. The records included detailed information about civilians as to whether they were devout Muslims or if they were engaged in acts of reactionaryism.

What about using military means for personal purposes?

The fact that retired Gen. Doğan used military assets when organizing events for his wife has also sparked a discussion as to whether it is ethical or legal to use these assets for personal purposes.

When organizing the event, Doğan ordered military staff to prepare a special menu, which contained shrimp, artichoke, salad, fish, fruit and ice cream, for the organization and arrange shuttles to take wives of military superiors to the event.

Doğan, who is currently in jail, is a prime suspect in the Sledgehammer coup plan case, which he is accused of masterminding. Sledgehammer is a subversive plot allegedly prepared by a clique inside the military that included plans to crash jets and bomb large mosques during busy prayer hours to undermine the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) with the hope of eventually overthrowing it.

According to former military judge Yusuf Çağlayan, materials that belong to the armed forces cannot be used for purposes unrelated to military service. However, military staff considers some events as “social activities” of the TSK, and therefore justify their use of military assets. “For me, the use of military materials or equipment for personal purposes is neither right nor legal. It is a crime to use military materials for purposes unrelated to military service according to the Military Penal Code. According to Article 130 of the code, military materials can by no means be used for personal purposes,” he stated.

Retired Maj. Kemal Şahin said Doğan overstepped his authority by issuing military orders for his wife’s events. “Social activities may be organized in any institution, but it is not acceptable to treat them as an official issue if an activity is aimed for officers’ wives. … I know commanders who underwent investigations in the past for doing so. No member of the military has the authority to organize or sponsor his wife’s events,” Şahin added.