TURKISH COLONEL ARRESTED IN CONNECTION WITH ANTI-GOVERNMENT PLOT
Deutsche Presse Agentur
nov 12 2009
Germany
Istanbul – A Turkish colonel was under arrest Thursday in connection
with an alleged military plot to discredit the government in Ankara.
Naval Colonel Dursun Cicek was arrested by a criminal court in Istanbul
late Wednesday after being questioned by prosecutors for several hours.
A Turkish paper last June printed a document bearing Cicek’s signature
that outlined a plan to undermine the government of the liberal
Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP).
The plan included planting moles within the party and stoking
sentiments regarding Armenia and Greece in order to strengthen the
nationalist opposition.
At the time, Ilker Basbug, Turkey’s top general, said the document
did not originate with the military and was part of ‘a campaign to
smear the armed forces.’
‘We believe that this piece of paper has been forged by certain circles
to wear out and smear the Turkish armed forces,’ Basbug said in June.
Colonel Cicek was arrested in June but was released after 18 hours
due to a lack of evidence. His latest arrest comes after an anonymous
military officer provided prosecutors with new information about the
alleged plot.
The Turkish military remains one of Turkey’s most powerful institutions
and sees itself as the ultimate guardian of the country’s secular
system. Turkey has gone through four military coups in the past,
most recently in 1980.