Arrest warrant deals fatal blow to promotion dreams of coup generals
Twenty-eight of the suspects are generals who were expecting to be promoted to critical positions within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK). With the arrest decision, however, they no longer have any chance of being promoted. The TSK's official policy does not allow the promotion of a military officer if he is on trial. Article 65 of the Law on TSK Staff stipulates that a member of the military who is imprisoned or is being tried cannot be promoted. In addition, Article 82 of the Regulation on the Personal Records of Military Officers requires the cancellation of an officer's promotion if he is promoted in violation of the law.
The generals on trial will probably have been arrested by the time the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) convenes on Aug. 1. YAŞ convenes every August to discuss promotions and dismissals within the armed forces.
The deadliest blow to any promotion dreams harbored by coup aspiring officers came with a court decision that ordered the arrest of 102 Sledgehammer suspects, including 28 generals |
Sledgehammer, the most recently exposed plot, is a TSK plan that aimed to create an atmosphere of chaos in the country through a series of acts of violence that would eventually lead to a military coup. The plan became public in late January after it was published in a Turkish daily. The subversive plan is believed to have been prepared by retired Gen. Çetin Doğan. The general was arrested twice earlier this year but was later released from prison for health reasons.
On late Friday, the İstanbul 10th High Criminal Court ordered the arrest of 102 suspects in the Sledgehammer investigation.
The suspects to be arrested include Doğan, retired force commanders Adm. Halil İbrahim Fırtına and Adm. Özden Örnek, retired Adm. Feyyaz Öğütçü and former Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun. The indictment in the Sledgehammer plan mentions 196 suspects. Among the others are 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 list of suspects does not include any civilians.
Gen. Saldıray Berk, commander of the 3rd Army, is not mentioned in the Sledgehammer indictment but has no chance of being promoted at this year’s YAŞ. He stands as a suspect in the ongoing investigation into a separate coup plan, titled the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism. He is accused of working to put into operation the plan in the eastern province of Erzincan.
Berk was hoping to be promoted to the head of the Gendarmerie General Command, but the TSK’s policy prevents that promotion. His promotion needs the approval of the president, the prime minister and the defense minister. At this year’s YAŞ he will either be ordered to stay in his current post for one more year or appointed to the Training and Doctrine Command of the Land Forces.
‘Suspects should be suspended, replaced until acquittal’
Many experts say that as almost one-tenth of military generals are on trial on coup charges they need to be suspended temporarily and replaced by new generals until they are acquitted of all charges.
Retired military judge Faik Tarımcıoğlu stressed that the arrest decision has ended speculation that the generals may still be promoted even though they are on trial. “The officers on trial need to be suspended. It is not legally possible for them to be promoted. Therefore, I believe we may see a number of dismissals [of the officers] at YAŞ. The prime minister may ask that those officers be expelled from the military,” he noted.
Kemal Şahin, a retired major, agreed and added that it would be best to suspend the generals on trial. “They should not be allowed to return to their positions until they are cleared of all charges. [Former Prime Minister] Bülent Ecevit stepped in against YAŞ promotions once. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan can do the very same. He can request the dismissal of those officers. He has the authority. How can officers on trial fight terror? If they have reached the age of retirement, they should be forced to retire. Their duration in office should not be prolonged,” Şahin added.
Court under fire for announcing first hearing for December In the meantime, the Istanbul 10th High Criminal Court announced on Friday that the first court session into the Sledgehammer case will be held on Dec. 16. This means the suspects will remain in prison for more than five months without trial. The announcement has drawn the ire of many observers, including Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government lawmakers. The first outcry against the lengthy detention period of the Sledgehammer suspects came from AK Party Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Çelik, who said five months was too long for a suspect to await trial. “Let me put it directly: Belated justice is no justice at all. This is the case for all, including Ergenekon suspects. Look, I am saying ‘suspects.’ In accordance with the principle of the presumption of innocence, everyone is innocent unless otherwise proven. We need to avoid any act that may unfairly label them as culprits,” he added. Çelik was seconded by Hakkı Köylü, the deputy head of Parliament’s justice commission, who said a trial in December for suspects arrested in July is not fair. “This sounds abnormal. But criminal cases heard in big cities are often prolonged. This is related to the workload of the courts. We need to find a solution to this problem. It is not right to make a suspect wait for so many months for a trial,” he noted. According to the head of parliamentary constitutional commission, Burhan Kuzu, the suspects are being arrested in order to prevent them from fleeing or destroying evidence related to the crimes they committed. “There are 120,000 prisoners in prisons across Turkey. Only half of them have been convicted of a crime. This should not be the case. The main problem here is the fact that a suspect is arrested by a judge, but he is later released by another judge. Why is he arrested, and why is he released? This is the issue that disturbs the people,” he noted. He was referring to a large number of coup suspects who were recently released in controversial court decisions. |
Önder Aytaç, an associate professor at İstanbul Bilgi University, said the final decision about the future of officers indicted in the Sledgehammer indictment lies in the hands of the prime minister.
“Erdoğan should force all officers who are on trial in the coup investigations, including Ergenekon, Sledgehammer, Cage and others, to retire at YAŞ.
Hundreds of officers were expelled from the military without a trial after the Feb. 28 [1997] coup. No court decision required that they be dismissed from the TSK. And now many officers are being tried on coup charges. The prime minister should step in and refuse to put his signature on the YAŞ decisions if those officers are promoted,” he added.
Arrests expected to start today
The Sledgehammer suspects are expected to turn themselves in to the police starting today, which means the first arrests will occur on Monday.
Civilian prosecutors overseeing the probe into the suspected coup plan will allow the suspects to appeal the arrest decision. The suspects’ lawyers are expected to appeal the decisions within one week. The appeals will be examined by the İstanbul 11th High Criminal Court.
If the court rejects the appeals, the suspects will be arrested and put behind bars. Those who do not turn themselves in to police within one week will be arrested and brought in by force. In the meantime, news agencies reported that a warrant for the arrest of the suspects had been delivered to the General Staff and the Security General Directorate.
Active duty officers will be sent to Hasdal Military Prison and retired officers will be sent to Silivri Prison after their arrest. With the arrest of retired Adm. Örnek and retired Gen. Fırtına, Turkey will witness the arrest of former force commanders for the first time in its history.
2010-07-26
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