Pro-AKP outlets say inquiry lacking
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Haziran 26, 2009 00:00
ISTANBUL - Turkish media headlines were dominated Thursday by the military prosecutors’ conclusion that a document claiming to discredit the ruling party was a fake, with pro-government newspapers questioning the inquiry. According to the military prosecutors, their investigation has revealed that the document outlining the plan was a forgery, sparking a debate on who might be behind the conspiracy.The dossier was sent to the chief prosecutor in Istanbul, where the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, submitted a petition for the civilian prosecution into the allegations.
Turkish newspapers Thursday ran headlines on the statement and the latest developments on the issue, while local news broadcasters continued discussing the subject throughout the day.
"No Order, No Technical Trace, No Original Document" read the headline for daily Hürriyet’s top story. The newspaper reported that military prosecutors have concluded the document was not prepared in the headquarters of the General Staff, and that the difference between the signature on the document and that of Col. Dursun Cicek, who was claimed to have drafted it, was not taken into consideration during the investigation. The alleged plan, which was first published two weeks ago by daily Taraf, details ways to break popular support for the AKP and its supporter, the religious Gülen movement led by controversial sect leader Fethullah Gülen. The plan, seen as a source of new tension between the government and the military, has changed the entire country’s political landscape.
Prosecutors investigating the claims were unable to locate the original document. The military cited reports from the gendarmerie, forensics and the official scientific research agency that state the analysis of the signatures proved inconclusive without the original document.
Daily Habertürk published an interview with Col. Cicek in its Thursday edition. The paper said the military prosecutors concluded that the document is a fake and that Cicek has vowed to follow the development until the end. "I was confident on the outcome of the investigation. I will not let it go. It is now time for those who prepared the fake document to think," Cicek told Haberturk.
Pro-gov’t papers
Daily Taraf, which originally published the allegations, criticized the findings of the military prosecution, saying there are several questions on the table that still need answers. It questioned why a difference between the signature sample Cicek gave during questioning and those he used in several other documents was left out of the investigation. It also asked if the military had investigated possible links between Cicek and a suspect in an alleged coup-plotting probe, and why the investigation was concluded without finding the original document.
The editor-in-chief of daily Taraf wrote in his column that the military was unable to face the consequences of the "real outcome" of the investigation, regardless of whether the document is proved to be authentic or not.
"If they say the document is genuine, they have to take the necessary steps, which will be a large clean-up operation in the military. I guess either their force or courage is insufficient to do that," Ahmet Altan wrote. "They also can’t say it is not genuine. Because they are scared that the original copy of the document will come out of the blue."
Altan’s paper also urged the civilian prosecutors not to allow those involved in the issue to escape prosecution. Another pro-government newspaper, daily Sabah, which has Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law as CEO, raised similar questions regarding the army’s investigation.
"No Order, No Technical Trace, No Original Document" read the headline for daily Hürriyet’s top story. The newspaper reported that military prosecutors have concluded the document was not prepared in the headquarters of the General Staff, and that the difference between the signature on the document and that of Col. Dursun Cicek, who was claimed to have drafted it, was not taken into consideration during the investigation. The alleged plan, which was first published two weeks ago by daily Taraf, details ways to break popular support for the AKP and its supporter, the religious Gülen movement led by controversial sect leader Fethullah Gülen. The plan, seen as a source of new tension between the government and the military, has changed the entire country’s political landscape.
Prosecutors investigating the claims were unable to locate the original document. The military cited reports from the gendarmerie, forensics and the official scientific research agency that state the analysis of the signatures proved inconclusive without the original document.
Daily Habertürk published an interview with Col. Cicek in its Thursday edition. The paper said the military prosecutors concluded that the document is a fake and that Cicek has vowed to follow the development until the end. "I was confident on the outcome of the investigation. I will not let it go. It is now time for those who prepared the fake document to think," Cicek told Haberturk.
Pro-gov’t papers
Daily Taraf, which originally published the allegations, criticized the findings of the military prosecution, saying there are several questions on the table that still need answers. It questioned why a difference between the signature sample Cicek gave during questioning and those he used in several other documents was left out of the investigation. It also asked if the military had investigated possible links between Cicek and a suspect in an alleged coup-plotting probe, and why the investigation was concluded without finding the original document.
The editor-in-chief of daily Taraf wrote in his column that the military was unable to face the consequences of the "real outcome" of the investigation, regardless of whether the document is proved to be authentic or not.
"If they say the document is genuine, they have to take the necessary steps, which will be a large clean-up operation in the military. I guess either their force or courage is insufficient to do that," Ahmet Altan wrote. "They also can’t say it is not genuine. Because they are scared that the original copy of the document will come out of the blue."
Altan’s paper also urged the civilian prosecutors not to allow those involved in the issue to escape prosecution. Another pro-government newspaper, daily Sabah, which has Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s son-in-law as CEO, raised similar questions regarding the army’s investigation.