Brass circles wagons, takes aim at media
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Ocak 21, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The suicide of retired Col. Abdülkerim Kırca, said to be the former head of the Gendarmeries Intelligence and Anti-Terrorism Command, or JİTEM, has prompted the military to issue a warning against the media. The statement berated those who "declare people and institutions guilty without trial."
"From now on, responsible authorities and good-sensed media must fulfill their duties and take necessary measures instead of using only rhetoric," read the statement from the General Staff released yesterday morning before Kırca’s funeral.
The declaration arrived after Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin stated in a live TV interview late Monday that the ministry has taken measures against violations of confidentiality of the content of the Ergenekon file. "I have ordered an inquiry on the leaks," Şahin said.
"Recently, accusations based on a so-called informer appeared in some publications against retired Gendarmarie Col. Abdülkerim Kırca, who retired as a disabled officer after a battle against terrorists in Antalya in April 1998. Declaring persons or institutions guilty without trial violates basic human rights and does not conform to any legal or ethical rules," stated the General Staff.
The declaration referred to a previous statement by the military last Friday, on the conduct and media coverage of the Ergenekon case. Ergenekon is an alleged gang that conspires against the government by spreading violence and urging the military to stage a coup.
Full support for colonel
The military threw its support behind the deceased colonel by arranging a top-level funeral with highest-level participation.
Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, Gendarmerie forces commander Gen. Atilla Işık, and land forces commander Gen. Işık Koşaner attended the funeral, which was arranged according to "protocol A" rules. The only Cabinet member at the funeral was Interior Minister Beşir Atalay.
"The general negative mood spread by some evildoers has reached the point that patriots take their own lives. The only condolence we have is the solidarity of his brave brothers-in-arms," read Kırca’s family’s statement.
Retired Gen. Tuncer Kılınç, former general secretary of the National Security Council who was detained and released during the latest wave of Ergenekon arrests weeks ago, also attended the funeral.
Meanwhile, Veteran's Association President Ali Kıraz said "biased media lies" are directly responsible for the suicide of Kırca, who had received a medal of honor from former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in 2004.
Kırca committed suicide in his bedroom Sunday morning after he read allegations that he was implicated in several unsolved murders in Southeast Turkey in the daily Star, which quoted İzzettin Aslan, whose son was among the murder victims in 1994. Murders were associated with Kırca according to an account from Abdülkadir Aygan, an informer from the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Aygan, speaking to the Star, said he witnessed Kırca, said to be the JİTEM Diyarbakır Group commander at that time, kill three people.
Aygan also said unsolved murders in the Southeast increased after Kırca took command of the Diyarbakır Group. Kırca was put on trial in 2005 together with Aygan, Mahmut Yıldırım, who is claimed to be a hit man employed by JİTEM and codenamed "Green," and several others for charges of kidnapping and murdering eight members of the People's Labor Party, or HEP, between 1992 and 1994. Prosecutors demanded eight life imprisonments for Kırca and others. The JİTEM case remains unresolved and is pending at the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes, urging the Aslan family to take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights last year.
The military denies the existence of JİTEM, despite some state officials and many pundits admitting its existence.
The declaration arrived after Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin stated in a live TV interview late Monday that the ministry has taken measures against violations of confidentiality of the content of the Ergenekon file. "I have ordered an inquiry on the leaks," Şahin said.
"Recently, accusations based on a so-called informer appeared in some publications against retired Gendarmarie Col. Abdülkerim Kırca, who retired as a disabled officer after a battle against terrorists in Antalya in April 1998. Declaring persons or institutions guilty without trial violates basic human rights and does not conform to any legal or ethical rules," stated the General Staff.
The declaration referred to a previous statement by the military last Friday, on the conduct and media coverage of the Ergenekon case. Ergenekon is an alleged gang that conspires against the government by spreading violence and urging the military to stage a coup.
Full support for colonel
The military threw its support behind the deceased colonel by arranging a top-level funeral with highest-level participation.
Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ, Gendarmerie forces commander Gen. Atilla Işık, and land forces commander Gen. Işık Koşaner attended the funeral, which was arranged according to "protocol A" rules. The only Cabinet member at the funeral was Interior Minister Beşir Atalay.
"The general negative mood spread by some evildoers has reached the point that patriots take their own lives. The only condolence we have is the solidarity of his brave brothers-in-arms," read Kırca’s family’s statement.
Retired Gen. Tuncer Kılınç, former general secretary of the National Security Council who was detained and released during the latest wave of Ergenekon arrests weeks ago, also attended the funeral.
Meanwhile, Veteran's Association President Ali Kıraz said "biased media lies" are directly responsible for the suicide of Kırca, who had received a medal of honor from former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer in 2004.
Kırca committed suicide in his bedroom Sunday morning after he read allegations that he was implicated in several unsolved murders in Southeast Turkey in the daily Star, which quoted İzzettin Aslan, whose son was among the murder victims in 1994. Murders were associated with Kırca according to an account from Abdülkadir Aygan, an informer from the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. Aygan, speaking to the Star, said he witnessed Kırca, said to be the JİTEM Diyarbakır Group commander at that time, kill three people.
Aygan also said unsolved murders in the Southeast increased after Kırca took command of the Diyarbakır Group. Kırca was put on trial in 2005 together with Aygan, Mahmut Yıldırım, who is claimed to be a hit man employed by JİTEM and codenamed "Green," and several others for charges of kidnapping and murdering eight members of the People's Labor Party, or HEP, between 1992 and 1994. Prosecutors demanded eight life imprisonments for Kırca and others. The JİTEM case remains unresolved and is pending at the Court of Jurisdictional Disputes, urging the Aslan family to take the matter to the European Court of Human Rights last year.
The military denies the existence of JİTEM, despite some state officials and many pundits admitting its existence.