Human Rights Advocates Demand Immediate Inquiry
Human rights advocates in Turkey and abroad have lambasted a newly discovered document allegedly linking the military to a plot to weaken the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and have demanded an immediate investigation by prosecutors into the matter.
Yusuf Alataş, a lawyer and the vice president of the International Federation of Human Rights (FIDH), said public prosecutors should act immediately and launch an investigation into the action plan, allegedly put together by an officer in the military, to defame the AK Party and the Gülen movement through illegal and scandalous means, such as media manipulation and setups depicting both groups as enemies of the regime and the security of the nation that cooperate and collude with marginal groups, among many others.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said over the weekend that the government may take legal action. According to Alataş, public prosecutors should act without delay since the subject is extremely serious. "Every member of the AK Party has the right to turn to the public prosecutors concerning the alleged plot," Alataş told Today's Zaman.
He also stressed that the responsibility of investigating the document falls under the jurisdiction of civil courts, not military ones.
Öztürk Türkdoğan, chairperson of the Human Rights Association (İHD), agreed with Alataş, saying civil prosecutors should immediately investigate the plot. "To organize a plot against the government in a democratic society cannot be acceptable at all. This is obviously a serious crime," Türkdoğan told Today's Zaman, adding that they support Prime Minister Erdoğan's statement on this subject.
He also underlined that Turkey should close the chapter of "military interference in politics" and that the only way to do so is through a democratic constitution. "All of Turkey's shortcomings, military custodianship over politics, the Kurdish question, minority rights, freedom of expression and belief are related to our Constitution. If we had a democratic constitution, no one would dare attempt such plots," he said.
He also noted that politicians and even governments have a tendency to share power with the military or at the very least ask for the opinion of the military on internal politics, thereby encouraging the military to interfere in politics. "This should end," Türkdoğan said.
Ahmet Faruk Ünsal, the chairman of the Association of Human Rights and Solidarity for Oppressed Peoples (MAZLUM-DER), underlined that the plot not only targets the government and the Gülen movement but directly attacks the will of the people. "No one has the right to commit a crime. Therefore, an investigation should be opened immediately, and the public should be informed about all the phases of the investigation," he underlined in a written statement.
MAZLUM-DER also criticized a gag order issued by a military courts regarding the plot and in the same statement underlined that the military does not have any legal right to issue a gag order on the matter.
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