TSK Plot Against Ruling AK Party and Gülen Movement Sparks Anti-coup Fury
Intellectuals and jurists have stood up in response to documents, allegedly belonging to the military, that contain plans for a smear campaign against the governing Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Gülen movement, raising concerns that the engagement of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in the political and social arenas is a sign of serious preparation for a military coup.
"Supposing that they really belong to the TSK, these documents prove that the military has not thrown away its plans for a coup. They show that Turkey is still under the threat of an anti-democratic initiative indirectly, if not directly," stated Professor Mithat Sancar from Ankara University's faculty of law in an interview with Sunday's Zaman. Documents recently discovered in the office of Serdar Öztürk, the lawyer of a retired colonel arrested earlier this year on charges of membership in Ergenekon ― a clandestine criminal organization charged with plotting to overthrow the government ― have revealed that the TSK had a systematic plan to damage the image of the AK Party government and the Gülen movement, which is led by internationally respected Turkish scholar Fethullah Gülen, 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 inquest.
The documents, prepared in April, were submitted to a department of the General Staff.
The General Staff has not issued a comprehensive statement on the recently discovered documents, settling instead for announcing that an investigation has been launched into the issue.
"There is not yet precise information as to whether the documents really belong to the TSK. However, if this is the case, I'd call it a disaster. The content of the documents freeze one's blood. The discovery of similar documents in the past raises the suspicion that the new ones may belong to the TSK," suggested Ahmet Taşgetiren, a columnist at the Bugün daily.
Taşgetiren referred to military's coup plans that were exposed by a now-defunct newsweekly in 2007 and classified documents published by a Turkish daily regarding serious TSK flaws that made have played a role in a terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) attack on Oct. 3 of last year.
"Newly published documents hint that the TSK is engaged in a series of conspiracies against certain groups. It creates the impression that the military prepared a mechanism to produce crimes in society," the columnist went on to say.
According to the documents, the TSK aims to depict followers of the Gülen Movement as being engaged in illegal acts.
"We will enable the discovery of weapons, ammunition and documents at the addresses of Gülen's followers as if they were members of a terrorist organization. The movement will be named 'Fethullah's Armed Terrorist Organization' (FSTÖ), and investigations into its members will be carried out by military prosecutors. We will focus on the concept of moderate Islam and emphasize that the Gülen movement aims to cause Islam to deviate from its original form," state the documents.
The documents also mention plans to discredit the Ergenekon investigation and reduce its credibility in the eyes of the public.
According to the documents, the TSK is to engage in an intense period of propaganda and stress that the military is not opposed to people's religious sensitivities. It is to spread reports to press organs about the immoral relations of TSK members who are suspected of reactionaryism. In this way, the public will question the credibility of religious individuals.
The TSK is also to urge newspapers to publish stories denouncing the Ergenekon investigation and claiming that TSK personnel are being arrested because of their fight against the threat of reactionaryism.
'Military plots shoot Turkey in the foot'
There is common belief among intellectuals and jurists that plans by the military to interfere with politics and the social arena will not help improve Turkish democracy and that, to the contrary, they will cause Turkey to lag behind other countries in all fields.
Political analyst Mümtaz'er Türköne said the TSK is shooting Turkey in the foot with plots against political and social bodies that are appreciated by the public.
"It is a shame to be living in a country where the military is still engaged in such plots. These documents show that those who have harmed Turkey have not learned the necessary lessons from what they have done. It would be unfair to expect foreign countries to show respect to the state and nation of a country where such plans are made and implemented," Türköne remarked.
Professor Sancar approached the issue from a different angle and associated the documents allegedly belonging to the TSK with the main point of the Ergenekon probe.
"The documents that claim to show the Ergenekon investigation is groundless lack logical grounds. The military is still attempting to influence governments through coups. At this point, both the government and the AK Party should understand that anti-democratic attempts can only be overcome through an improved democracy and that the influence of the TSK on the public and politics will not decrease as long as the Kurdish question remains unsolved," the professor stated.
'Responsible figures should be called to account'
There is a high demand among those opposed to the TSK's interference in politics and the social arena that actors responsible for the controversial documents should immediately be found and called to account.
"Intellectuals, civil society organizations and political parties should all stand up and call the creators of those vicious plans to account. This is necessary to prevent the emergence of similar documents in the future," noted analyst Türköne.
Sacit Kayasu, a prosecutor who was removed from office and disbarred when he indicted Gen. Kenan Evren for his role in the 1980 coup, said it is not normal in democracies for the General Staff to have an active role in politics.
"Our General Staff has, however, been engaged in politics for so many years that our citizens don't think it is strange. Though it should, in principle, be a body under the Prime Ministry, it acts as if it were an independent body. The General Staff acts almost like bureaucrats. And our people, unfortunately, don't have the courage to question it," he remarked.
The point that distinguishes the newly discovered documents from previous ones is, according to Taraf's Alper Görmüş, that they cover a series of conspiracies against various groups.
"It is not the first time such documents have been discovered, but these ones differ greatly from previous ones. The General Staff should carry out a very serious investigation into these documents and call those who have a hand in preparing them to account. Legal proceedings should be initiated against them. Otherwise, the whole of the General Staff, including its head [Gen. İlker Başbuğ], will be deemed responsible for the documents," Görmüş noted.
Late on Friday, a military court decided to impose a ban on media coverage of the Taraf daily's headline story, which exposed the General Staff's plans to discredit the AK Party and the Gülen movement.
Intellectuals react harshly to army conspiracy
Mehmet Altan (Star daily columnist and academic): My blood literally froze when I read the details. A group is conspiring and engaging in politics within the military. The fact that a structure inside the military is conducting a psychological war is considered normal and legitimizes this lack of control, illegality and arbitrariness. Is this the military's job? Can this be the understanding of what the military is? Plots are being hatched against those whom Turkey has chosen in open elections. I was terrified. What does it mean to plant weapons in [Gülen] houses and make it appear as if they are armed? Can you imagine an army that would infiltrate the government? From now on, we need to know what kind of relationship there is between the military and politics in Turkey. They are attacking Turkey with their mechanisms. I can see that Turkey is far from being a real state, and I am concerned.
Etyen Mahçupyan (editor-in-chief of Agos and Today's Zaman columnist): This is a most grave situation. If this really reflects the entire military, then Turkey should take radical measures. The society should become involved as a whole. The military has a tradition of such incidents. We should not also expect all these activities to stop along with the Ergenekon investigation. From a political point of view, it is not really that surprising. This mentality is not going to disappear overnight. The document stoops so low. We are talking about a text here talking about a plan based on slander. We are seeing that the coup-favoring mentality is being cornered. None of this can happen without media support. If the media act properly, there will never be a coup d'état again. Such manipulations can only find strength with media support.
Nazli Ilicak (Sabah daily columnist): First, we need to wait for a statement about whether this document is authentic. If this is true, the General Staff should do more than just investigate how on earth it was leaked to the press. They should investigate how this document came into existence. What we want to know is, whether it is possible to have such a document prepared outside the knowledge of the chief of general staff. Whether it is within or outside his knowledge, the situation merits grave concern. It is also known that arms discovered buried underground in Polonezköy had come from the military's inventory. Certain documents are emerging; arms being discovered. What is this about? If he was in the know, then he bears responsibility. He has to answer for that. This should be not covered up.
Hasan Celal Güzel (former minister and Radikal columnist): Throughout the Ergenekon investigation, we have seen that the military has been reluctant to eliminate people who have been implicated in this and that it does not see this as a problem. This hasn't turned into a general cleansing. If these are based on authentic documents, this is a catastrophe. We are talking about a project they did two months ago. This shows that within the military, there are still groups that want a coup d'état, that organize illegally and conspire against democracy. If they have a problem with a religious community placing their own people within the military, they can take care of that among themselves. But this is a movement that has achieved so much in the world. The Turkish Olympiads with children from 115 countries showed this. Those who have devised this plot should be found out and punished. Otherwise, we can never establish a democratic regime in Turkey.
Şamil Tayyar (Star columnist): This document didn't come as a surprise to me. The fact that such documents haven't been leaked to the press in the past does not mean they did not exist. Maybe documents with even more terrifying content are being hidden in vaults. It is possible that the Feb. 28 process was organized as a result of such documents. We have seen the existence of such organizations with the Ergenekon investigation. Turkey is not the same as it was before, and the administrators are not the administrators of the past. There is a strong political will fighting this. We know that the General Staff is also sensitive. Those who are trying to drag the country into chaos will not succeed this time. If the General Staff's statement is directed at foiling this dirty game, this would be proper. But if they are going to focus on the source of the leak, I don't think this will help much. This might end up with the covering up of the case, which will not only harm politics but also the military. Those extensions of Ergenekon inside the TSK should be investigated the way Ergenekon was investigated. This battle should continue until Ergenekon is completely purged from the military. If not, these rotten apples could infect the entire healthy body.
Ümit Kardaş (retired military judge): This document appears to be an action plan prepared institutionally. This cannot possibly be an action plan penned by a colonel by himself. This document says things like "It should be made sure that certain arms should be found at certain places." The government should make the General Staff answer for this. The prime minister should keep the military accountable for this as an institution. There is a grave situation at hand. As the Ergenekon investigation continues, the organization is renewing itself. This structure and mentality continue to exist. And these activities are targeting the government. These activities are the start of a coup plot. Attempting a coup d'état is a crime that deserves a life sentence. The initiative the government will take is important in this. On the other hand, the investigation the General Staff has launched is not an initiative to shed light on this incident. These are usually directed at finding out who leaked the document.
Kamil Uğur Yarali (chairman of the Jurists Association): In a state of law, everybody does their duty within the boundaries drawn for them by the law. In addition, crimes and punishments have been established. As the General Staff doesn't have the authority or duty to prepare such an action plan, no person or post has the right or the power to prepare such an action plan. The abstract discourse of "religious fundamentalism" has been solidified under a so-called struggle based on the claim that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and the Gülen community will overthrow the secular order and establish an Islamic state. If there is a crime aiming at destroying the democratic order, there are prosecutors of this state, they should file criminal complaints. Instead of this, they adopt methods based on psychological warfare and manufacturing fake news stories and propaganda. When this is the case, it becomes obvious that what is being done is to support Ergenekon under the guise of protecting secularism. These are the real crimes and danger against a democratic and secular order. I don't think this was devised by the military as an institution. I think the planners should be found out and punished. Such activities are also damaging the respectability of the military.
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