PM Erdoğan Vows to Defend Democracy
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said his ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is determined to defend democracy with all of its means, even if it is not backed by other political parties to that end, hinting at a strong will to settle accounts with those behind a suspected plot to destabilize the government.
"Even if other parties do not display a clear stance [against anti-democratic initiatives in the country], it is the duty of the AK Party to defend democracy. The AK Party will fulfill its task without the slightest hesitation, as it has done so far," Erdoğan stated. His remarks came yesterday during his party's parliamentary group meeting. Early in the day, the prime minister meet with Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ in his office to discuss a suspected military plot aimed at discrediting the governing AK Party and the highly respected Gülen movement and to find a way out of a crisis that the plot has sparked in society.
The meeting was an unexpected one, as the two normally hold their weekly meetings on Thursdays. Erdoğan and Başbuğ reportedly focused on the recently unearthed plot, allegedly put together by a colonel on active duty, during their one-and-a-half-hour meeting. The plot, exposed by the Taraf daily last week, was seized by security forces in the home of the lawyer of a retired colonel arrested earlier this year on charges of membership in Ergenekon, a clandestine organization accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
The Anatolia news agency reported that Col. Dursun Çiçek was invited to the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor's Office yesterday to testify as part of the Ergenekon probe. Çiçek will be interrogated about the alleged plot today.
According to the plot, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) had a systematic plan to damage the image of the AK Party government and the Gülen movement in the eyes of the public, to play down the Ergenekon investigation and to gather support for members of the military arrested as part of the Ergenekon inquest.
After the meeting, the prime minister rushed to attend a parliamentary group meeting of his governing party.
In a speech he delivered there, Erdoğan said he wanted the judiciary to quickly conclude a probe into the alleged plot.
"If this is a genuine document, then it is a grave situation. The General Staff has been in pursuit of the issue since its very beginning. It [the military probe] should be concluded quickly. Institutions of the state should not be made to come face-to-face. All institutions have full trust in one another and in the Constitution. We will not allow a crisis of confidence among these institutions," he remarked.
The General Staff's Military Prosecutor's Office initiated an investigation into the document published by Taraf last Friday. The office announced the preliminary results of the investigation on Monday, but fell short of satisfying the questions in people's minds.
"Having assessed all of the initial evidence acquired so far, we have reached the conclusion that the alleged action plan was not prepared by any department of the General Staff," the prosecutor's office said.
Erdoğan also said his government would take legal action to find out who was behind the controversial plan.
"This is not solely a matter for the AK Party. This is a matter for Turkey and, more importantly, for Turkish democracy. What needs to be done should be done immediately. We will file a criminal complaint against plots against our party. We will be in pursuit of the matter. And I believe both civilian and military prosecutors will fulfill their responsibilities," he stated.
Erdoğan's remarks came as verification of those of government spokesperson and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, who said on Monday that the government wanted the state to find out who was behind the report published in Taraf.
"We will file a criminal complaint with the public prosecutors," Çiçek told a news conference following a Cabinet meeting, but did not say against whom legal action would be filed.
Erdoğan stresses full faith in democracy
Erdoğan continued his parliamentary address with a strong emphasis on his party's faith in Turkish democracy.
"A daily claimed that there were hidden plots against our party. If these claims are not true, then they are grave as they aim to wear down some institutions of the state. If they are true, then they are graver. Any unlawful intervention against the constitutional order, democratic politics and the will of the people will draw the ire of our public. … No one should be involved in such plans," he stated.
The prime minister also expressed his wish to leave a good future to younger generations in the country. "For this reason, we will be in pursuit of these claims no matter what the outcome will be. I believe all parties, starting with judicial circles, will fulfill their responsibilities," he said.
In the meantime, a senior Turkish official said that a new strategy would soon be revealed to reform the country's judicial system as part of what he described as the government's effort to strengthen democracy and the rule of law in Turkey.
"We are working on a comprehensive judicial reform strategy that will be announced in a couple of months," stated Ali Babacan, deputy prime minister in charge of the economy.
"We need to strengthen democracy in Turkey no matter what the costs would be. We need to guarantee that Turkey genuinely has the rule of law. We cannot afford any delay in reforms," Babacan added.
The General Staff announced yesterday that the head of its intelligence unit had a meeting with National Police Chief Oğuz Kaan Köksal. The motive of the meeting was not detailed.
Başbuğ says suspected author of plot denies writing it
A Turkish daily claimed in its Tuesday edition that Gen. Başbuğ cast doubt on the authenticity of the suspected military plan to defame the AK Party and the Gülen movement.
"We took statements from related people. We asked them, and they say they did not do such work. Computers were seized, and there was no clue of such work after technical analyses were conducted. That is, no such document was written on those computers," Başbuğ told the Hürriyet daily in an interview.
But Başbuğ declined to say whether he believed such a document existed or not, saying it was up to the military prosecutor to make such a statement.
Asked whether any commander ordered the preparation of a plan to discredit the AK Party, Başbuğ said he would deem such a question as "insult" to his person, adding there was no such order issued to any individual in the Turkish military.
The TSK chief added that the military would do what was necessary both if the alleged document was genuine or fake.
Başbuğ also stressed that no one should have the slightest doubt as to the outcome of the ongoing investigation by military prosecutors, as they are totally free of any external interference.
- Created on .