Hurriyet, Turkey
Jan 22 2010
A few simple questions to the General Staff and the government
Friday, January 22, 2010
CENGÄ°Z Ã?ANDAR
Daily Taraf rocked the agenda with the `Sledgehammer Plan’ the other
day. Therefore, a one-of-a-kind brutal `scenario’ has been revealed.
Aftershocks still continue.
Each aftershock is like a bomb on its own. Explosions come one after the other.
The then commander of the first 1st Army during the `Sledgehammer’
period, retired Gen. Ã?etin DoÄ?an issued a statement to the Web site
t24.com.tr. He keeps appearing on TV programs for some more remarks
but I think his first statement is the most accurate one:
`The war games, plan drills and seminars are a natural part of a
review process in the Turkish Armed Forces [or TSK]. The TSK is
obliged to protect the Republic of Turkey against any kind of internal
and external threats as stated in the Constitution. As part of the
task of protecting the country against internal threats, the TSK
conducts military drills at different levels. A related-protocol was
signed with the Interior Ministry when I was the chief of the
Operation Unit. Internal threats include not only separatist actions
but also religious backwardness. In this context, the Security and
Law-and-Order, or EMASYA, plans were naturally discussed in seminars.’
This is what DoÄ?an said.
He is a familiar name, a familiar face. He is the one who was holding
press briefings during the Feb. 28 `post-modern military coup’ period.
For two days now, he has been lamenting over an enormous pressure and
censorship that we have not faced in Turkey since the Sultan
Abdülhamit II. He is talking about civilian tutelage. However, he is
speaking freely. I don’t see any pressure and censorship applied.
Plus, retired generals and their civilian partners are on TV programs
all the time.
One of the latest shocking news published by Taraf is about the media.
A list of 36 journalists who were supposed to be detained and another
list of journalists who were supposed to be used by the military were
already published by Taraf. The slain Armenian-Turkish journalist
Hrant Dink and I are on the former. A total of 137 media members were
listed. But key positions in the media are still occupied by these 137
journalists. If the media is to shed a light on scandals of the near
past, the names included in this `infamous scenario’ are already
controlling the media today.
For this reason, it is unrealistic to expect anything from the media
if we want to find the truth.
***
As a matter of fact, the General Staff issued a statement on the
`Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan’ that we read in the media.
The General Staff statement reads that various claims and assessments
were made regarding the `Plan Seminar’ held March 5-7, 2003 by the 1st
Army Commandership, but that the said seminar was included in the
General Staff’s Military Exercises Program for 2003-2006.
`The aim of the seminar is the training of personnel and development
of operation plans against external threats. It was held in the frame
of a scenario covering a tension period. A possible state of war, the
Army Rear-Area Security and martial law in case of a possible war were
also dwelled upon during the seminar. Claims made about the seminar
are unacceptable by people in their right mind and conscience.
`Taking these claims seriously and making comments on the seminar
causes information pollution and that could help to raise social
tension in particular,’ continues the statement.
As we put DoÄ?an’s remarks together with that of the General Staff, the
picture is getting worrisome. For as far as I understand this is an
`imaginary scenario’; I mean a sort of brain storming.’ This is not an
`application plan.’
But what is worse is that the document gives clues about the TSK’s
mentality and what the TSK members are focusing on.
We are talking about an imaginary scenario mentioning about bombing
Fatih and Beyazıt mosques, creating chaos nationwide, filling 200,000
people in stadiums (reminiscent of the fascist military coup in Chile
in 1973, giving names of journalists who will either be detained or be
used, and of planes to be shot and blaming the government for all
that, asking the new government to include some certain political
figures in the Cabinet.
Taraf held a 5,000-page document in hand, plus tape recorders full of
information, and originals of the documents obtained.
Could we ignore all these and say: `This is just a scenario. It is
imaginary. It is not for practice. Besides, The TSK makes protection
plans against internal threats (DoÄ?an said so, for instance). EMASYA
protocol requires preparations. And similar scenarios are normal in
preparatory stage’?
Here is a simple question to the General Staff: `You say `Any man in
his right mind and conscience cannot believe any of these claims.’ But
this is not the point. Any man in his right mind and conscience cannot
accept any of these. That’s correct. However, are these nothing but
just claims or are they some items included in the scenario prepared
for the seminar? Which is it? Does the scenario include any of these
claims or not?’
That’s the question.
And shall we ignore this question just because it is said to be an
`imaginary scenario’?
***
Obviously, the issue goes deeper than it seems. It is about the notion
of `internal threat.’ It is about improper implementation of the
`National Security Political Document,’ and about the EMASYA, a
product of the Feb. 28 process. It is about arbitrary interpretation
of the `Internal Services Ordinance.’
It is about Turkey, about whether or not it should survive under a
`military tutelage’ or lean on `democratic legitimacy’ of the `elected
civilian authority.’ Will Turkey be governed by `secret’ documents
that are based on no legal foundation? Will the EMASYA remain in
force? Who is making assessments over `internal threats,’ according to
what, and how he dares to do it? Could a `National Security Political
Document’ that is not supervised by Parliament represent an `internal
threat’?
These questions should be asked to the government directly. Because
today’s government is the so-called `internal threat’ because of the
`religious backwardness’ claims as part of the `Sledgehammer Security
Operation Plan’ which is said to be an `imaginary scenario.’