General Staff acknowledges authenticity of Çiçek's coup plot !

Dursun Çiçek.

General Staff acknowledges authenticity of Çiçek's coup plot !

A new military investigation has been launched into a coup plot allegedly drafted by an active duty colonel after new evidence was acquired pointing to the plot's authenticity, the General Staff announced in a statement posted on its Web site on Monday.

The statement comes in sharp contrast with Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ's strong denial of the existence of such a plot on June 26. The military termed the plot a “piece of paper” and accused a Turkish newspaper that published a photocopied version of the document of working to undermine the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK).

The plot in question, titled the Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism, was reportedly drafted by Col. Dursun Çiçek and suggests that the TSK made systematic preparations to damage the image of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and the Gülen movement 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 Ergenekon inquest. Ergenekon is a clandestine criminal organization accused of working to overthrow the government.

The General Staff also announced on Monday that a military prosecutor demanded the arrest of Çiçek. The General Staff Military Court, however, refused to arrest the colonel. The investigation is still under way at the military prosecutor's office.

Meanwhile 3rd Army Commander Gen. Saldıray Berk and Erzincan Chief Public Prosecutor İlhan Cihaner, who was jailed earlier this month as part of the Ergenekon investigation, have been indicted.

In the indictment, accepted by the Erzurum 2nd High Criminal Court on Monday, the two men are accused of membership in a terrorist organization. Berk is described as the primary suspect, and Cihaner is listed as the second most important suspect. This marks the first time a senior general on active duty is listed as a suspect in the investigation into Ergenekon. The prosecution demands 15 years' imprisonment for Berk and Cihaner as well as some of the other suspects in the case.

The indictment accuses Berk of having masterminded a coup plan inside the 3rd Army Command and having worked to frame religious individuals for crimes they did not commit.

02 March 2010, Tuesday
TODAY’S ZAMAN İSTANBUL

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