‘Baþbuð pressured judiciary to remove Ergenekon prosecutors’

01 May 2010, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN ÝSTANBUL

According to the indictment against the Action Plan to Fight
Reactionaryism, drafted by Col. Dursun Çiçek to undermine the
government and the faith-based Gülen movement, Çiçek has stated that
Chief of General Staff Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð had pressured the top
judiciary to have the prosecutors investigating the Ergenekon
terrorist organization removed from the case.

According to the indictment against the Action Plan to Fight
Reactionaryism, drafted by Col. Dursun Çiçek to undermine the
government and the faith-based Gülen movement, Çiçek has stated that
Chief of General Staff Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð had pressured the top
judiciary to have the prosecutors investigating the Ergenekon
terrorist organization removed from the case.

A phone call made by Çiçek on Nov. 25, 2009 to a friend of his
included in the indictment and a brief note allegedly written by him
suggest Baþbuð’s involvement in efforts to hide the alleged Ergenekon
gang so that those accused of plotting to overthrow the government
would not be punished. "The entire General Staff is behind me," Çiçek
told his friend.

The revelations bring to mind the coverage of the liberal Taraf daily
on Nov. 14 of last year, 11 days before Çiçek said the General Staff
was behind him. In an article published that day, the newspaper
alleged that Çiçek had lunch with six generals, including Gen. Baþbuð
and Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Aslan Güner as well four force
commanders.

In the note, Çiçek detailed how Baþbuð intervened to have Ergenekon
prosecutors changed. "I knew I was going to be arrested. We were ready
for all possibilities. The General Staff was late to realize the
[significance of] the Ergenekon investigation. They never calculated
that it would expand that much. Ý.B. is aware of everything. He is
following the situation himself. The decree on judges and prosecutors
is very important. Members of the top courts were spoken with. Ý.
Pasha talked to them himself. There may be a significant change in
Ergenekon prosecutors. Contacts have been made regarding the changes
within the police. Some changes have happened; they will continue," he
states in the note. The note was titled "information note Dursun
Çiçek.doc" and was found on the computer of Ufuk Akkaya, another
defendant listed in the indictment against the action plan.

Jurists: Probe should include Baþbuð, too
The revelations led to jurists reacting to the chief of General Staff.
They say the prosecutors should expand the investigation to include
Baþbuð, too. Boðaziçi Lawyers’ Association President Bilal Çalýþýr
said what Baþbuð did is certainly a crime. "That the General Staff
talked to members of the judiciary as stated in the indictment is a
crime in itself. The prosecutors conducting this investigation can
launch another investigation or expand the current one. The articles
in the Turkish Penal Code [TCK] are crystal clear at this point," he
noted, adding that there was a connection between Baþbuð and Çiçek.
"If there was no connection, they would not have protected him that
much. They know if Çiçek fails, then those who gave him orders will
also fail."

Defense Lawyers’ Association member Hayel Özenç also demanded an
investigation be launched into Baþbuð. "This is an obvious
intervention in the judiciary. No one, regardless of who they are, can
make remarks that affect the judiciary. That ‘the chief of General
Staff is behind me’ remark is a crime in itself. Prosecutors can
launch another investigation based on that, and a new indictment will
be issued," she said. Former Public Prosecutor Necati Özdemir joined
the two in criticizing Baþbuð. He said high-ranking military officers
are protected from the law, also adding that those holding power use
it to protect themselves, too.