Demirel coordinated Feb. 28 in a sense, says deputy PM
Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay has said Turkey's ninth president, Süleyman Demirel, who testified to a parliamentary commission investigating past military interventions last week, is in a sense the coordinator of the Feb. 28, 1997 unarmed intervention that resulted in the overthrow of the government at the time.

Atalay said Demirel had an important role to play in the 1997 coup. “He is in a sense the coordinator of Feb. 28,” he told the Anatolia news agency while making general statements about current events.

The deputy prime minister also shared his opinions on a recent report from the State Audit Institution (DDK), the investigative body that works under the presidential palace, which suggested that the death of Turkey's eighth president, Turgut Özal, still remains a suspicious case, and should be investigated, recommending an exhumation and scanning Özal's remains for possible signs of poisoning.

Atalay said the DDK's report regarding Özal's suspicious death is a meticulously prepared report. “Many years have passed since his death. This comes very late, but in the end, if there are any questions [regarding Özal's death] in people's minds or in the minds of his family, these need to be addressed.”

He said the Ankara Prosecutor's Office was likely to follow up on the DDK's findings and start a fresh investigation into Özal's death.

The deputy prime minister also made comments on the prime minister's announcement on Wednesday that Kurdish was going to be included as an elective course in the school system. “We have taken one step. This is a very important step. This is the most important step we have taken to ensure cultural rights and a pluralistic structure. I believe this will bring much comfort. We shouldn't be afraid of such things.”

While speaking to Anatolia, Atalay also phoned Şırnak Governor Vahdettin Özkan to be briefed on a recent earthquake that shook the province.

No one was harmed, with the exception of six or seven individuals who checked in with local hospitals over minor injuries caused by cuts that occurred during the quake or jumping out of buildings in fear, the governor, who was on speaker phone, told Atalay. The minaret of a mosque in central Şırnak also collapsed during the earthquake, but there was no other significant damage, the governor said.

2012-06-14

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