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Turkish Secularist Generals Pledge Not To Impede PM Ergenekon Probe
1 July 2009
At a National Security Council (MGK) meeting held in Ankara on Tuesday, the General Staff vowed not to stand in the way of the trial in civilian courts of members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) who have made anti-democratic plans to topple the government, Today's Zaman has learned. Currently, scores of individuals including retired generals and officers on active duty are being tried at an Istanbul court in Silivri for membership in Ergenekon, a shadowy crime network that has alleged links within the state and is suspected of plotting to topple the government. Tuesday's MGK meeting was held amid increasing tension in the country over a suspected military plot to destroy the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and faith-based Gülen movement, and there were concerns that the meeting could end up with a military-government confrontation; however, a statement released at the end of the meeting proved such fears groundless. “During the meeting, reactions and opinions regarding the statements and documents aimed at damaging state institutions were mentioned, and it was admitted that these will not bring any benefits to our country,” the statement read. Prior to the meeting, Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug had said he would use the meeting to address a document that a navy colonel, Col. Dursun Çiçek, allegedly devised. Military prosecutors investigating the document had said there is no clear evidence of such a plan, failing to dispel suspicions surrounding the alleged plot. Tuesday's MGK meeting also came shortly after the adoption of new legislation passed last week as part of European Union harmonization efforts to ensure military personnel are tried in civilian courts in peacetime rather than in military courts. The legislation requires that civilian courts try members of the armed forces accused of crimes such as threats to national security, constitutional violations, organizing armed groups and attempts to topple the government. Although opposition parties initially backed the bill, they later said they had not been notified about the full content of the legislative change. Mini summit brings consensus
Military members expressed unease over the legislation at the MGK meeting because they were not informed about it beforehand, prompting President Abdullah Gül, who presided over the meeting, to intervene in a bid to ease the reservations of the military about the legislation. Gül, who has not yet approved the legislation, relieved the members of the military by signaling that he may return it to Parliament for review. A consensus between military and civilian members of the MGK regarding the legislation, which requires civilian courts to try members of the armed forces in peacetime, emerged following a meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Gen. Basbug, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin and Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek upon a request from President Gül at the end of the MGK meeting. During this mini summit, Ergin briefed Gen. Basbug about the legislation approved by Parliament on Friday. It has emerged out that the government notified opposition parties about the content of the legislation but did not ask for an opinion from the General Staff regarding the issue. Gen. Basbug said the General Staff had not had reservations about the trial of individuals eager to stage a coup at civilian courts, but he said the only thing which disturbed the TSK was the government's failure to consult the views of military jurists about the legislation. Ergin told Basbug that the amendments were made to facilitate the job of Ergenekon prosecutors, noting that the European Union, in which Turkey aspires to be a full member, has been demanding that Turkey make the amendments in question. Ergin, however, did not clarify whether the amendments were made at the request of the Ergenekon prosecutors. Indicating that there was an ongoing debate in Turkey about whether the generals making coup plans should be tried either at civilian or military courts since the start of the Ergenekon probe in 2007, Ergin said the former chief prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals was the first jurist who said those generals could be tried at military courts, sparking a controversy over the issue. Following Ergin's statements, President Gül intervened and said the passage of the legislation in a hurry at midnight might have disturbed some circles, and added: “I asked jurists to examine the legislation. If there are mutual misunderstandings, they can be easily removed because the legislation process is not yet complete. After the examination of the legislation, the uneasiness of some circles over the legislation can be removed in a way that will help all concerned.” Basbug demanded Çiçek's trial
Analysts say an unscheduled meeting between Erdogan and Basbug on Monday facilitated the emergence of a consensus between the military and civilian members of the MGK on Tuesday. The alleged military plot and a ruling by the Military Prosecutor's Office last week about Col. Çiçek, ruling out any legal proceedings against him for devising the alleged plot, occupied the last two hours of the MGK meeting, which lasted for seven hours, 40 minutes. During the discussion of this issue, Basbug reiterated earlier remarks that those with anti-democratic ambitions cannot stay in the ranks of the TSK, stressing that the Turkish army respected democracy and the rule of law. He also said the trial of individuals, no matter what their rank or position, has been possible with the permission of the General Staff, referring to the arrest of Col. Çiçek late on Tuesday on suspicion of conspiring to discredit the government, sources said. At a news conference last Friday, Basbug said if new evidence emerges regarding the plot allegedly prepared by Çiçek, the case at the military court might be merged with the case carried out by the Istanbul Prosecutor's Office. Tuesday's MGK meeting was the first since the Cabinet reshuffle in May in which Justice Minister Ergin, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arinç and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu participated for the first time. Issues such as developments in Iraq, the fight against terrorism and the Cyprus problem were also discussed at the meeting.
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