Court orders the arrest of colonel, tensions up
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Hürriyet Daily News
OluÅŸturulma Tarihi: Temmuz 02, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - The arrest of the navy colonel for membership in an illegal organization days after military prosecutors decided there was no evidence to prove the same officer was guilty of any crime. The arrest came as top military officers were meeting with senior government ministers to discuss recent developments over army-government relations
An Istanbul court ordered the arrest of Navy Col. Dursun Çiçek early Wednesday as part of the controversial Ergenekon investigation. Â
Çiçek was one of the nine officers questioned Tuesday. The rest were released, and four of them were conditionally released, it was reported. Çiçek’s arrest was based on his alleged involvement in the illegal organization.
Before his arrest, Çiçek was accused of drafting an alleged military plan to discredit the ruling party. The plan, which was first published mid-June by daily Taraf, details ways to break popular support for the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and its influential supporter, the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the religious Gülen movement.
The daily argued that the Office of the Chief of General Staff prepared the plan, which was part of the documents found as part of the broader Ergenekon investigation. The publication caused controversy, with the government calling on a detailed investigation into the matter. Days later, the military announced the matter was being investigated by military prosecutors and soon afterwards it was announced that the "plan" was not prepared by the General Staff and that the signature belonging to Col. Çiçek on the said plan was likely forged. It said there were no grounds for further investigation.
In response to continuing debates, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ held a press conference Friday, describing the document as "a piece of paper" that has no legality and is part of another psychological smear campaign against the military. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responded to the military prosecutor’s findings by saying that a civilian court would continue to handle the case.
’The plan’ and Ergenekon
The plan was allegedly found in the office of lawyer Serdar Öztürk, one of the suspects in the Ergenekon case currently under arrest.
The Ergenekon case started after the discovery of 27 hand grenades on June 12, 2007, in a shanty house in Istanbul's Ümraniye district that belonged to a retired noncommissioned officer. The grenades were found to be the same ones used in the attacks on Cumhuriyet daily’s Istanbul offices in 2006.
The findings led to scores of detentions, putting more than 100 journalists, writers, gang leaders and politicians under interrogation in what turned into a terror investigation that seeks to crack down on an alleged ultra-nationalist gang named Ergenekon, which sought to topple the government by staging a coup in 2009 by initially spreading chaos and mayhem. "Ergenekon" is originally a pre-Islamic Turkish saga that tells of Turks' re-emergence from defeat by trickery of their enemies under the guidance of a gray wolf. Earlier bombings of daily Cumhuriyet, the murder of the top judge of the Council of State and alleged plans for the assassination of high-profile figures in Turkish politics were included in the indictment prepared by the Istanbul prosecutors in charge of the investigation.
Police raided the houses of 11 people on March 21 in a previous wave of detentions, including Cumhuriyet's chief columnist and licensee, İlhan Selçuk, 83; Workers' Party, or İP, leader Doğu Perinçek; and Istanbul University's former rector, Kemal Alemdaroğlu. The list of detainees includes retired Maj. Gen. Veli Küçük.
Many detainees are retired officials who gathered in associations linked to ultra-nationalist groups. The Ergenekon investigation is under fire for the length of time suspects were held in jail while the indictment was being prepared and the trial started.
Speaking at Friday’s press conference, Başbuğ said: "As a result of the investigation, it has been revealed that there is no document, but just a piece of paper. Discussing such a paper for two weeks at a moment when there are so many regional global developments that concern us is really odd."
Başbuğ described the document as a forgery that attempted to harm the military’s standing. He also said, "The military will not harbor any of its personnel who have been engaged in anti-democratic movements." In response, Erdoğan said the same day, "The process from now on belongs to the civilian prosecutor. The military judiciary decided that the document is not related to the military. The civilian judiciary will continue to investigate the matter. We cannot permit the fraying of the rule of law, which is based on a democratic, secular and social structure."
As the public debate over the plan, Çiçek and the statements made by Erdoğan and Başbuğ continued, the prime minister and the top general met Monday, a day before the National Security Council, or MGK, top advisory board, on security issues. There were no statements issued after the meeting.
Meetings followed by silence
At the MGK meeting on Tuesday, which lasted an unprecedented eight hours, President Abdullah Gül hosted Başbuğ, together with the four force commanders, Erdoğan and his senior Cabinet colleagues. Çiçek was arrested during the meeting.
A statement issued after the meeting said, "Reactions and thoughts regarding the expressions and publications that harm the state institutions were discussed [in the meeting], and it was reaffirmed that such activities are not beneficial for the well-being of our country." "The struggle against all activities aimed at breaking down our nation's integrity and our people's unity will continue with our people's trust and support," the statement added. It was also reported that Gül held an hour-and-a-half-long meeting with Başbuğ and Erdoğan after the MGK gathering, with no statement released afterwards.
A new source of tension grew on Friday when Parliament passed legislation that amended the Code of Criminal Procedures, or CMUK, to allow civilian courts to prosecute military personnel accused of crimes such as threats to national security and constitutional violations, including coup attempts in peacetime. People who are suspects as part of the ongoing Ergenekon probe or similar cases for constitutional violations are being judged by the civilian judiciary.
The legislation was approved after an all-night session that ended early on Friday morning. The opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, described the move as a "midnight coup," accusing the AKP of deception.
If President Abdullah Gül signs the legislation, the civilian judiciary would be granted the right to judge military personnel even if the crime was committed entirely within the military. The military judiciary, meanwhile, would handle crimes committed during wartime or under martial law.
Çiçek was one of the nine officers questioned Tuesday. The rest were released, and four of them were conditionally released, it was reported. Çiçek’s arrest was based on his alleged involvement in the illegal organization.
Before his arrest, Çiçek was accused of drafting an alleged military plan to discredit the ruling party. The plan, which was first published mid-June by daily Taraf, details ways to break popular support for the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and its influential supporter, the Muslim cleric Fethullah Gülen, the leader of the religious Gülen movement.
The daily argued that the Office of the Chief of General Staff prepared the plan, which was part of the documents found as part of the broader Ergenekon investigation. The publication caused controversy, with the government calling on a detailed investigation into the matter. Days later, the military announced the matter was being investigated by military prosecutors and soon afterwards it was announced that the "plan" was not prepared by the General Staff and that the signature belonging to Col. Çiçek on the said plan was likely forged. It said there were no grounds for further investigation.
In response to continuing debates, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ held a press conference Friday, describing the document as "a piece of paper" that has no legality and is part of another psychological smear campaign against the military. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan responded to the military prosecutor’s findings by saying that a civilian court would continue to handle the case.
’The plan’ and Ergenekon
The plan was allegedly found in the office of lawyer Serdar Öztürk, one of the suspects in the Ergenekon case currently under arrest.
The Ergenekon case started after the discovery of 27 hand grenades on June 12, 2007, in a shanty house in Istanbul's Ümraniye district that belonged to a retired noncommissioned officer. The grenades were found to be the same ones used in the attacks on Cumhuriyet daily’s Istanbul offices in 2006.
The findings led to scores of detentions, putting more than 100 journalists, writers, gang leaders and politicians under interrogation in what turned into a terror investigation that seeks to crack down on an alleged ultra-nationalist gang named Ergenekon, which sought to topple the government by staging a coup in 2009 by initially spreading chaos and mayhem. "Ergenekon" is originally a pre-Islamic Turkish saga that tells of Turks' re-emergence from defeat by trickery of their enemies under the guidance of a gray wolf. Earlier bombings of daily Cumhuriyet, the murder of the top judge of the Council of State and alleged plans for the assassination of high-profile figures in Turkish politics were included in the indictment prepared by the Istanbul prosecutors in charge of the investigation.
Police raided the houses of 11 people on March 21 in a previous wave of detentions, including Cumhuriyet's chief columnist and licensee, İlhan Selçuk, 83; Workers' Party, or İP, leader Doğu Perinçek; and Istanbul University's former rector, Kemal Alemdaroğlu. The list of detainees includes retired Maj. Gen. Veli Küçük.
Many detainees are retired officials who gathered in associations linked to ultra-nationalist groups. The Ergenekon investigation is under fire for the length of time suspects were held in jail while the indictment was being prepared and the trial started.
Speaking at Friday’s press conference, Başbuğ said: "As a result of the investigation, it has been revealed that there is no document, but just a piece of paper. Discussing such a paper for two weeks at a moment when there are so many regional global developments that concern us is really odd."
Başbuğ described the document as a forgery that attempted to harm the military’s standing. He also said, "The military will not harbor any of its personnel who have been engaged in anti-democratic movements." In response, Erdoğan said the same day, "The process from now on belongs to the civilian prosecutor. The military judiciary decided that the document is not related to the military. The civilian judiciary will continue to investigate the matter. We cannot permit the fraying of the rule of law, which is based on a democratic, secular and social structure."
As the public debate over the plan, Çiçek and the statements made by Erdoğan and Başbuğ continued, the prime minister and the top general met Monday, a day before the National Security Council, or MGK, top advisory board, on security issues. There were no statements issued after the meeting.
Meetings followed by silence
At the MGK meeting on Tuesday, which lasted an unprecedented eight hours, President Abdullah Gül hosted Başbuğ, together with the four force commanders, Erdoğan and his senior Cabinet colleagues. Çiçek was arrested during the meeting.
A statement issued after the meeting said, "Reactions and thoughts regarding the expressions and publications that harm the state institutions were discussed [in the meeting], and it was reaffirmed that such activities are not beneficial for the well-being of our country." "The struggle against all activities aimed at breaking down our nation's integrity and our people's unity will continue with our people's trust and support," the statement added. It was also reported that Gül held an hour-and-a-half-long meeting with Başbuğ and Erdoğan after the MGK gathering, with no statement released afterwards.
A new source of tension grew on Friday when Parliament passed legislation that amended the Code of Criminal Procedures, or CMUK, to allow civilian courts to prosecute military personnel accused of crimes such as threats to national security and constitutional violations, including coup attempts in peacetime. People who are suspects as part of the ongoing Ergenekon probe or similar cases for constitutional violations are being judged by the civilian judiciary.
The legislation was approved after an all-night session that ended early on Friday morning. The opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, described the move as a "midnight coup," accusing the AKP of deception.
If President Abdullah Gül signs the legislation, the civilian judiciary would be granted the right to judge military personnel even if the crime was committed entirely within the military. The military judiciary, meanwhile, would handle crimes committed during wartime or under martial law.