Turkey: Four top Feb. 28 military officers flee after issuing detention warrants

11 years ago | Posted in: Latest Politics News | 524 Views

Four retired military officers, including three generals and one colonel, reportedly left their residences, and their whereabouts are currently unknown after the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office issued detention warrants for them.

The office on Saturday sent orders to customs offices and airports to prevent the four men from leaving the country.

The Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, which is investigating the ousting from power of a coalition government by the powerful military on Feb. 28, 1997, issued detention warrants last week for retired Lt. Gen. Erdo?an Öznal, retired Maj. Gen. Cevat Temel Özkaynak and Maj. Gen. Sedat Ar?türk and retired Col. Eser ?ahan to hear their testimony about their suspected role in the unarmed coup, which is more commonly referred to as a post-modern coup.

The police were, however, unable to find the four men at their homes. Concerned that the retired officers may be seeking to flee the country, the prosecutor’s office sent notices to customs offices and airports across the country not to allow them to leave Turkey. Security forces will arrest the four men if they happen to be captured at custom’s offices or airports.

On Feb. 28, 1997, the Turkish military forced a coalition government, led by the now-defunct conservative Welfare Party (RP), out of power, citing alleged rising religious fundamentalism in the country. The Feb. 28 coup brought a series of severe restrictions on religious life, including an unofficial but widely practiced ban on the use of headscarves by women.

The military was also purged of members with suspected ties to religious groups and even officers who were simply observant Muslims. In addition, a number of newspapers were closed down after a National Security Council (MGK) decision called for closer monitoring of media outlets.

There is an ongoing investigation into the suspected actors behind the coup, with approximately 60 individuals already arrested pending trial on coup charges.

Prosecutor Mustafa Bilgili of the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office is conducting the investigation into the actions of military generals at the time. Retired Gen. ?smail Hakk? Karaday?, who served as the chief of General Staff at the time of the Feb. 28 coup, was detained last week but later released pending trial by a court following his testimony.

Retired Maj. Gen. Özkaynak was one of the major administrators of the West Study Group (BÇG), which played a key part in the Feb. 28 events. The BÇG was established within the military to categorize politicians, intellectuals, soldiers and bureaucrats according to their religious and ideological backgrounds during the Feb. 28 coup era. Retired Gen. Çevik Bir, who is under arrest pending trial as part of the coup investigation, was the head of the BÇG.

Retired Maj. Gen. Ar?türk and retired Lt. Gen. Öznal both served as military members of the Higher Education Board (YÖK) after the Feb. 28 coup was staged. The two were previously interrogated as part of the coup probe. Sources claimed that Öznal fled abroad before a detention warrant was issued for him.

Karaday? accuses Bir of disrupting chain of command in Feb. 28 coup

During his interrogation by the prosecutors last week, Karaday?, accused his then-subordinate Gen. Bir of disregarding the chain of command, news portal ntvmsnbc.com reported on Saturday.

According to the news portal, which said it obtained the details of the three-and-a-half-hour testimony, Karaday? accused the retired Bir of disregarding the chain of command at the time of the Feb. 28 coup. “My orders were bypassed in the process,” Karaday? reportedly told the prosecutor during his testimony.

Karaday? reportedly told the prosecutor that he served in the Turkish military with honor for over 50 years, and he did nothing wrong to damage Turkey’s democracy. “I also testified voluntarily to the parliamentary Coup and Memorandum Investigation Commission,” Karaday? said, according to the report.

The legal action against the former military chief came after a number of former military officers, including Bir, filed criminal complaints against Karaday? in December of last year. The officers, all under arrest pending trial, complained that Karaday? was responsible for everything that happened during the coup period. They also said they had received an order for a military coup from Karaday?.

Karaday?, who is 80, served as the chief of the General Staff between 1994 and 1998.

In his complaint, Bir argued that his then-superior, Karaday?, knew about the formation of the BÇG, which played a key part in the Feb. 28 events and urged that he be questioned in the probe as well.

Bir claimed that Karaday? authorized all decisions as his superior, including the formation of the BÇG, given the strict hierarchical nature of the military. The BÇG had been established within the military to categorize politicians, intellectuals, soldiers and bureaucrats according to their religious and ideological backgrounds during the Feb. 28 coup era. Bir, the deputy chief of General Staff at the time, was the head of the BÇG.

ref: http://www.todayszaman.com

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