Turkish army slams alleged anti-gov't plan as military smear campaign

Gen. Ilker Basbug told in a news conference in the Turkish capital of Ankara the military sees the document he referred to as "just a piece of paper" as aiming to weaken and divide the army.  Â

"At a time when there are important things taking place in the world, notably in Iran... Turkey has used a lot of energy pointlessly over a piece of paper," he told reporters.

 

He urged civilian prosecutors to find out who is behind the document, and guaranteed the military would not allow in its ranks anti-democratic elements involved in coup plots.

Basbug also slammed criticism directed at a military investigation that concluded the alleged document was a forgery, not prepared at the General Staff headquarters.

"The remarks suggesting that military courts are biased are very ugly," he said, calling on all to respect the prosecutors' findings.

"I, as the commander of the Turkish Armed Forces, am telling you very frankly to remove your hands from the Turkish Armed Forces and give up on your thoughts, as well as efforts, to politically identify yourself through the armed forces," Basbug said.

"Put an end to the disproportional psychological war conducted against the Turkish Armed Forces through the media," he added.

Basbug hinted that a second military investigation could be launched if new evidence proved the alleged document was genuine.

Ergenekon prosecutors summoned for questioning late Friday, the senior navy officer who allegedly drafted the document at the center of the debate.

Navy Colonel Dursun Cicek will be asked to a deposition as part of the controversial Ergenekon probe on Tuesday.

IN CIVILIAN JUDICIARY'S HANDS
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan said later on Friday that his party launched a legal process with the submission of a petition requesting a probe into the authenticity of the allegation to the Ankara Chief Prosecutor's Office.

""The military judiciary might have approached the issue in a different way. The conduct of the process belongs to civilian judiciary from now on," he told reporters in Brussels, where he met high-level EU officials.

Republican People's Party, or CHP, deputy chairman of parliamentary group, Hakki Suha Okay, expressed dissatisfaction with the remarks made by Basbug, saying the army’s earlier pledge was more ambitious.

Basbug had earlier said that depending on the outcome of the military investigation, "everybody will see exactly what the army will do."

The alleged military plan published in daily Taraf earlier this month has increased tension between the government and the military and has changed the entire country’s political landscape.

The document was aimed particularly at the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and the Gulen movement, which are accused of trying to undermine Turkey’s secular order and establish an Islamic state. 

The issue is to be investigated by a civilian court after the military probe concluded the document is a forgery.