TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No.146/13 3-5/08/2013
1. Ergenekon: Time for verdict arrives in Turkey's major
coup plot trial
2. Will the Ergenekon case close with a ruling?
2. Will the Ergenekon case close with a ruling?
3. Erk alleges that UN Security Council’s recent
decision on Cyprus
serves to the continuation of current situation
4. Siber tenders the resignation of her “government”
to Eroglu
5. Talat: CTP should establish a “coalition
government” with the UBP; “Votes”
of people living abroad influenced the “elections”
6. Serdar Denktas reportedly demands removal of the winning tender for
illegal Tymvou airport
7. CTP-BG’s congress will be held in the end of the year
7. CTP-BG’s congress will be held in the end of the year
8. Kazakhstan’s
Ambassador to Norway
and Holland
visits illegal YDU’s founding rector
9. All force commanders replaced as Turkey shapes
new army echelon
10. Turkish columnists say that Supreme Military Council promotions a break with standard operation procedure
10. Turkish columnists say that Supreme Military Council promotions a break with standard operation procedure
11. Turkish Police use water cannon against Gezi Park
protesters in Istanbul
12. Turkish Daily lists journalists who lost jobs since Gezi incidents
12. Turkish Daily lists journalists who lost jobs since Gezi incidents
1. Ergenekon: Time for verdict arrives in Turkey's major
coup plot trial
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily news (05.08.13) reports that Turkey’s most important legal battle comes to an end as the Aug. 5 verdict trial closes the curtain on the Ergenekon coup case, with one final hearing to decide the fate of its 275 suspects
Turkish daily Hurriyet Daily news (05.08.13) reports that Turkey’s most important legal battle comes to an end as the Aug. 5 verdict trial closes the curtain on the Ergenekon coup case, with one final hearing to decide the fate of its 275 suspects
The curtain is
set to finally come down on Turkey’s most-important trial in recent memory, as
judges are expected to give their verdict against 275 suspects in the
five-year-long Ergenekon case today at the Silivri Courthouse amid massive
security precautions.
The case, which
began in 2007 with the discovery of 27 hand grenades in a house in Istanbul,
has seen some of the country’s most prominent figures detained and arrested,
including the likes of former Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ,
Republican People’s Party (CHP)
deputies Mehmet Haberal and Mustafa Balbay and journalists Tuncay Özkan and
İlhan Selçuk. A series of high-ranking army personnel, including retired
generals Veli Küçük, Hasan Iğsız, Hurşit Tolon and Şener Eruygur, have also
been jailed.
The case began
with the testimonies of the owners of the house where the explosives were
discovered, and the initial indictment, running nearly 3,000 pages, accused the
suspects of running a mafia-like terrorist organization that aimed to “push the
country back to chaos, darkness and insecurity” in a bid to provoke a military
coup against the Islamist-leaning Justice and Development Party (AKP). A second
indictment was accepted in 2009, after which even more high-level public
figures were detained, prompting authorities to construct a new courtroom in Istanbul’s Silivri
district because the original hall was too small to allow in the suspects,
lawyers and members of the gallery.
One of the
biggest moments of the trial period came with the detention of Başbuğ, who was
arrested on Jan. 6, 2012, after being interrogated and sent to court to face
charges related to running a terrorist organization and attempting to “destroy
the Turkish government or to attempt to partially or completely prevent its
functioning.”
Basbug’s
indictment called for the former army chief to be sentenced to aggravated life
imprisonment. Basbug has so far attended eight hearings.
Currently 275
suspects, 66 of them under attest, are awaiting rulings. Some 33 indictments
have been submitted in the course of the Ergenekon trials, which saw over 130 witnesses
testify at hearings.
Despite the
release of 66 suspects during the Ergenekon period, the country’s fiercest
judicial battle to date even outlived some of its suspects, with Selcuk, Engin
Aydin and Muray Ozkan all passing away while still on trial. Academic Fatih
Hilmioglu and Lt. Col. Mustafa Donmez lost their sons while in detention, while
Haberal, Igsız and another former general, Hasan İsmail Hakkı, as well as
retired Col. Dursun Cicek, all lost their mothers during the five-year legal
process.
Businessman men
Kuddisi Okkır was released at the final stage of his critical illness, and
passed away soon after on July
6, 2008. Some of the indictments focus on a variety of attacks and
supply of arms, including the bombing of daily Cumhuriyet, the 2007 Turkish
Council of State shooting and supply of arms to the attack’s convicted
assailant, Alparslan Arslan, and a variety of assassination claims.
Some 31 of the
130 witnesses were secret witnesses, while several of them subsequently outed
themselves, including former high-level Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) member Semdin
Sakik, whose testimony caused a strong public backlash.
Around 52
suspects made their final defense on June 21, including Balbay, Haberal, Tolon,
Igsız, Kucuk and Workers’ Party (İP) leader Dogu Perincek. The joining of
several different sub-cases ultimately resulted in the case turning into a
650-hearing leviathan.
Today’s hearing,
however, will not be open to any public participation as Istanbul Gov. Huseyin
Avni Mutlu announced Aug. 2 that no protests or demonstration would be
permitted in front of the Silivri Courthose. Mutlu said only deputies, lawyers,
suspects and members of the press would be allowed to follow the hearing inside
the courtroom, adding that those seeking to gather outside the courthouse would
be prevented from doing so.
A day after the
announcement, police launched raids at several locations in Istanbul and
Ankara, including NGOs and media bureaus ahead of today’s hearing, detaining at
least 20 people. Police squads set out in the early hours of Aug. 3 and raided
the home addresses of İP officials both in Istanbul and in Ankara, as well as workers at the Ulusal
Kanal TV station and members of the Turkish Youth Union (TGB), which had
previously issued a call for a massive rally outside the courthouse.
2. Will the Ergenekon case close with a ruling?
Under the above title,
Turkish daily Today’s Zaman newspaper (05.08.13) publishes the following
article by Murat Yetkin:
“One of Turkish
history’s most important political court cases is expected to come to an end
today.
[…]
When the
prosecutors submitted their indictment in July 2008, as a result of a police
operation the year before, it was understood that the name “Ergenekon” as an
illegal formation had been first mentioned in a National Intelligence
Organization (MİT) document back in June 2002, before the election that brought
the AK Parti to power.
Nevertheless,
after five years, a total of 23 cases were also combined with the Ergenekon
trial, including the killing of a Council of State Judge in Ankara in May 2006 and a number of fatal
attacks against Christian minorities in Turkey, allegedly to agitate
domestic and foreign public opinion against the “Islamist” government in Turkey.
The person which
created the most controversy in the trial is Ilker Basbug, the retired general
who served among the top brass of Erdogan first as the Land Forces commander
and then the chief of General Staff between 2006 and 2010. He was arrested in
the first days of 2012 on charges of being an executive member of Ergenekon to
overthrow the government.
Rejecting the
whole Ergenekon case as a scenario to endorse AK Parti rule over the country,
the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)
recruited two of the accused, prominent journalist Mustafa Balbay and
internationally renowned surgeon Mehmet Haberal, getting them elected to Parliament
in the 2011 elections. But the court refused to let them out to take their oath
to initiate their deputyship, while the AK Parti refused to make the necessary
legal adjustment to allow them to do so.
Long and
extended detention periods have caused international and domestic action, such
as by President Abdullah Gul or Constitutional Court Chairman Hasim Kilic, but
yielded no result so far.
The court ruled
days ago that they would allow only defense lawyers and a limited number of
reporters into the courtroom today; no relatives or friends of the accused will
be let in in an effort to prevent protests. Actually, the Interior Ministry
forces have already sealed off the Silivri court facilities, some 50 kilometers
west of Istanbul,
in order to prevent demonstrations outside as well.
The government
sees Ergenekon as an exemplary case to deter any anti-democratic attempts to
overthrow an elected government; whether it is democratic to limit the right to
peaceful assembly is another question.
The decision by
the court, on the other hand, is likely to lead to a number of new cases in the
European Court of Human Rights (ECHR) against the government because of
complaints of violations of rights, including the right to defense and fair
trial.
The case is also
likely to have echoes in Turkish political life for many years.”
3. Erk alleges that UN Security Council’s recent
decision on Cyprus
serves to the continuation of current situation
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (03.08.13) reported that Kutlay Erk, self-styled
minister of foreign affairs of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus, has alleged that the recent resolution of the UN Security
Council regarding the extension of the term of duty of the UN Peace Keeping Force
in Cyprus (UNFICYP) until 31 January 2014 serves in nothing else than the
continuation of the current situation on the island.
In a written
statement evaluating the above-mentioned resolution, Erk said that the Turkish
Cypriot side expects from the UN to “encourage” the Greek Cypriot side on the
issue of the commencement of “meaningful and leading to a result negotiations”
in October “in the light of the existing realities on the island”. He alleged that the Greek Cypriot side took
no concrete step from the very first day of the negotiating process.
He claimed that
the resolution was contented with making “minimum changes” to previous reports
and did not reflect the “realities” that exist on the island. He expressed his
sorrow because the resolution has allegedly not reflected objectively the
“realities” that are expressed in the UN Secretary-General’s report of the 5th
of July, 2013 as regards the work of the Committee on the Missing Persons,
noting that the above-mentioned report says that the excavations in the
occupied area of Cyprus are progressing positively and access is granted to all
excavation areas.
Erk described as
“very serious deficiency” the lack of reference to the joint statements issued
by the community leaders on 23 May and 1 July 2008 and alleged that this does not encourage the
Greek Cypriot side on the issue of the commencement of productive talks.
Erk said that
the reference to a timetable regarding the recommencement of the negotiations
was a positive element of the resolution from the Turkish Cypriot side’s point
of view. He said that the Turkish Cypriot side expects the recommencement of
the negotiations from the point they had been left, the beginning of a give and
take process, the holding of a high level conference with the participation of
the guarantor powers after more convergence is reached in the give and take
process, the solution of all issues and the submission of the agreement to
separate simultaneous referenda.
(I/Ts.)
4. Siber tenders the resignation of her
“government” to Eroglu
Turkish Cypriot
daily Kibris newspaper (03.08.13) reports that Sibel Siber, self-styled prime
minister of the breakaway regime in the occupied area of the Republic of
Cyprus, has tendered the resignation of her “government” to the Turkish Cypriot
leader Eroglu so as to give the opportunity to a new “government” to be
established after the early “elections” held on 28 July, 2013. Eroglu asked
Siber to stay on duty until the establishment of the new “government” and told
her that she achieved many things in a very short period of time.
Meanwhile, under
the title “The process started”, Kibris (03.08.13) reports also that the final
results of the “elections” were published in the “official gazette” of the
regime on Friday. Today (05.08.13) the “election” of the “MPs” will be declared
in the areas they had been “elected”. They will take their oath in the
“assembly” on 12 August, that is, ten days after the final results were
published.
Eroglu is
expected to assign the chairman of a “parliamentary group” or an “MP” with the
duty of establishing a “government”. This person must succeed to do so within
15 days or else he must return this duty, which will be given to another “MP”.
(I/Ts.)
5. Talat: CTP should establish a “coalition
government” with the UBP; “Votes”
of people living abroad influenced the “elections”
Turkish Cypriot
daily Star Kibris newspaper (05.08.13) reports that former Turkish Cypriot
leader, Mehmet Ali Talat has argued that the Democratic Party (DP) has entered
under the control of the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu and argued that
the Republican Turkish Party (CTP) should establish a “coalition government”
with the National Unity Party (UBP).
In statements to
Ada television,
Talat evaluated the results of the “elections” held on 28 July in the occupied
area of Cyprus
and said that many people, who live in Turkey or elsewhere, come to the
occupied area of Cyprus
and “vote” in the “elections”. He added: “In big countries people who live
abroad may vote. This does not influence big populations, but it could have
important influence on communities with a small population like ours”.
Noting that the
“people” expressed the will of seeing the establishment of a “coalition
government” after the “elections”, Talat argued that the most reasonable and
correct model is a “coalition” between CTP and UBP,
because the UBP has changed, it is
not the old UBP and has a more
“homogenous structure” than the DP, which is under Eroglu’s control. “Eroglu is
a focus of guardianship for the DP”, he noted.
(I/Ts.)
6. Serdar Denktas reportedly demands removal of the
winning tender for illegal
Tymvou airport
Turkish daily
Hurriyet Daily News (05.08.13) reports that the 650 million-euro privatization
of illegal Tymbou airport may face cancelation due to “opposition” from Serdar
Denktas, who is likely to play a key role in any “coalition government” in the breakaway
regime.
Denktas said on
August 3 that Tasyapi, the construction company which led the consortium that
won the tender, would either abandon the tender through negotiations with the “government”
or through “legal proceedings”.
But Emrullah
Turanli, the head of the company, said they won the tender in transparent
conditions.
The tender
included the investment of 650 million euro in illegal Tymvou Airport
and includes the construction of a new terminal building, a hotel, a commercial
area, 62 check-in desks, 24 passport control points, a basement car park, a
756-lot open-air car park and other amenities. Denktas made promises to cancel
the airport tender during the “election period” claiming that the privatization
tender was corrupt.
“The company
will go either of their own will or via lawful enforcement. It is that clear…
We’ll seek a coalition partner who thinks in line with us about the airport
tender. If our potential coalition partner refuses to take action against the
company, we’ll resign,” Denktaş said.
Turanli said
they could not understand why such discussions had now emerged: “[…] we won the
tender by giving the best price with our two partners. If the courts want to
cancel the tender by paying our money and compensating for our losses, that’s
OK for us”, he said.
The tender for
the privatization of illegal Tymvou airport was seen as the biggest in the
breakaway regime, according to the paper which writes that the winning
consortium, which includes the Terminal Group and Kaner, as well as Tasyapi,
promises to make direct investments of 350 million euro and to give the 300
million euro for the 25-year lease.
7. CTP-BG’s congress will be held in the end of the
year
Turkish Cypriot
daily Havadis newspaper (04.08.13) reported that Ozkan Yorgancioglu, leader of
the Republican Turkish Party – United Forces (CTP-BG), has said that the
congress of the party which had been postponed because of the early “elections”
will be held in the end of this year.
In statements to
Havadis, Yorgancioglu noted that everyone could ran as candidate in this
congress but he warned that no one has the right to cause to the CTP-BG
problems similar to the ones experienced in the National Unity Party (UBP).
Referring to the
information that problems existed in CTP after the “elections”, Yorgancioglu
argued that it was normal for their colleagues who lost the “elections” to be
“uneasy”, but no problem exists within the party.
Responding to a
question, Yorgancioglu said that his party insisted on revising the so-called
economic cooperation protocol for 2013-15 signed between Turkey and the
breakaway regime. He noted that they had carried out a survey and 70% of the
respondents said they wanted such a revision. “This must be examined by
everyone, including Turkey”,
he added.
(I/Ts.)
8. Kazakhstan’s
ambassador to Norway
and Holland
visited illegal YDU’s founding rector
Turkish Cypriot
daily Vatan newspaper (05.08.13) reports that Mainura Marzamadiyeva, Kazakhstan’s ambassador
to Norway
and Holland,
has visited illegal Near East
University’s (“YDU”)
founding rector Dr Suat Gunsel in the
occupied part of Nicosia.
According to a
statement issued by the illegal university, Ambassador Marzamadiyeva invited
“YDU” to the Expo Fair 2017 as regards the field of energy and especially the
oil and gas engineering. She said that they would be glad to host Gunsel as
state guest of Kazakhstan
and raised issues which concern the development of their bilateral relations.
Referring to the
academic forum, which will be established by the “YDU” and universities from
her country, she expressed their satisfaction from cooperating with “YDU”. She
said that during her tour in the “YDU’s” premises she felt as if she was at an
American university and expressed her views on the issue of transferring
patients from Kazakhstan
to “YDU’s” hospital and of establishing an insurance agreement.
(I/Ts.)
9. All force commanders replaced as Turkey shapes
new army echelon
Turkish daily Today's Zaman (03.08.13) reported that all force commanders including Gendarmerie Commander Bekir Kalyoncu, who was expected to be appointed as the new Turkish Land Forces commander in accordance with the military tradition, have been replaced as the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) re-shaped the army echelon.
Turkish daily Today's Zaman (03.08.13) reported that all force commanders including Gendarmerie Commander Bekir Kalyoncu, who was expected to be appointed as the new Turkish Land Forces commander in accordance with the military tradition, have been replaced as the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) re-shaped the army echelon.
According to
Turkish Armed Forces (TSK)
tradition, if Kalyoncu had been appointed as the new head of the Land Forces
Command during the YAS meeting, he would be appointed the new chief of the
General Staff in 2015, replacing Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Ozel.
The results of
the three-day YAŞ meeting were made public after the decisions were presented
to President Abdullah Gul on Saturday. According to the decisions, Deputy Chief
of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar has been appointed as the new Land Forces
commander while Kalyoncu was forced to retire. Akar is expected to replace Ozel
in 2015.
Air Training
Commander Lt. Gen. Akın Ozturk replaced Gen. Mehmet Erten as the new Air Forces
commander. Head of the Education and Doctrine Command (EDOK) Servet Yoruk
replaced Gen. Kalyoncu while new Naval Forces Commander will be Vice Adm.
Bulent Bostanoğlu.
Incumbent Chief
of General Staff Gen. Ozel, who is known for respecting civilian supremacy,
will remain in his post until his retirement in 2015.
There has been
speculation that the civilian wing of the council was opposed to Kalyoncu’s
appointment as the Land Forces commander due to critical remarks he made about Turkey's
settlement process with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), launched
by the Turkish government in October last year, and his anti-government stance
during a security summit in 2006.
The possible
candidates to be appointed as the new gendarmerie commander are EDOK Head Gen.
Yoruk, Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Akar and 1st Army Commander Gen.
Ataman. However, as Gen. Yoruk faced charges in an indictment regarding the
Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup, the government doesn't allegedly support the
promotion of Yoruk.
YAS meets twice
a year, in August and December, under the chairmanship of the prime minister,
whose presence was symbolic until 2010, when the civilian government began, to
a certain extent, exerting its legal powers over YAS decisions concerning the
promotion and retirement of generals.
During the
August meetings, YAS decides on promotions and retirements of generals and
service commanders as well as the promotion of colonels to the rank of general.
In December, the council makes decisions about 10-year arms-procurement plans,
which are revised every two years. In both meetings, YAS also discusses the
general security situation in and around Turkey.
The Turkish
General Staff said in a statement released on Saturday that 34 admirals and
generals were promoted to a higher rank, 50 colonels were appointed to ranks of
general and admiral and terms of 33 generals and admirals were extended during
this year’s YAS meeting.
In addition,
Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (04.08.13) reports that the commanders
of the occupation army in Cyprus
were promoted at the YAS meeting.
The paper writes
that the divisional commander major general Ilhan Talu and 14th armored
brigade commander major general Avni Angun are among the generals promoted.
Talu became lieutenant general while Angun became major general.
Turkish Cypriot
daily Vatan newspaper (03.08.13) reports that Mehmet Soganaci assistant brigadier general was forced to retire.
10. Turkish columnists say that Supreme Military Council
promotions a break with standard operation procedure
Various Turkish
columnists commented on the Supreme Military Council meeting which was held
between 1 and 3 of August, noting that many changes which broke the standard
operation procedure took place.
Under the title
"TSK With no SOP", Deniz
Zeyrek wrote the following in Radikal (04.08.13):
“[…] There is no
rule in the TSK Personnel Law that
states which seat a four-star general should be appointed to. It only writes
how many years that can stay at what rank and command and by how long they can
be given extensions. In contrast to this, there are localized customs [standard
operating procedures] such as Commander 1st Army (Commander Gendarmerie since
2002) will become Commander Land Forces and that Commander Land Forces will
become Chief of the General Staff.
In the light of
these SOPs (standard operation procedure) all of us commented ahead of the YAS
meeting that was scheduled for 1-3 Aug 13 saying: "Commander Gendarmerie
Gen Bekir Kalyoncu will be made Commander Land Forces this year and he will be
expected to become Chief of the General Staff in 2015." […]
When the YAS
decisions were officially announced on 3 August we saw that SOP had not been
adhered to for Kalyoncu or for the person who was to replace him. […]. The new
staff on the YAS was determined, not by SOP but by Prime Minister Tayyip
Erdogan's and President of the Republic Abdullah Gul's initiative.
Commander Naval
Forces Adm Murat Bilgel retired this year. He was replaced by Bulent Bostanoglu,
who took part in the YAS meeting as a Rear Admiral and left as a Full Admiral.
Under normal conditions Bostanoglu can stay at this post for two or a maximum
of three years. As he is the only full admiral there is, Commander Navy will
again be occupied by a Rear Admiral. This year Hasan Usakoglu and Serdar Dulger
were promoted to Rear Admiral in Naval Forces Command. Two more names have to
stay on as Rear Admiral for four more years and unless the law changes Adm
Bostanoglu will have to retire in 2016. As the two rear admirals will not be
able to be full admirals on that date Naval Forces Command will be without any
full admirals.
A controversial
figure because a. he is not a pilot and b. he is implicated in the Uludere
scandal, Commander Air Forces ACM Mehmet Erten was removed from office but
instead of being pensioned off he was kept on as a YAS member due to the
shortage of four-stars in Air Forces Command. This year Akin Ozturk was
promoted from Air Marshal to Air Chief Marshal and made Commander Air Forces.
Air Marshal Abidin Unal was given a one year extension. When he becomes an Air
Chief Marshal himself Mehmet Erten will retire and thus the four-star problem in
the Air Force will be fixed.
With Gen
Kalyoncu being pensioned off Commander 2nd Army Gen Servet Yoruk was made
Commander Gendarmerie as expected.
[…]
According to
both SOP and the TSK Personnel
Law, any soldier in custody whose file goes to the YAS cannot be promoted or
pensioned off. The government continued with the practice it began last year
and pensioned off 22 suspect officers whose files had gone to the YAS. Among
those who were pensioned off are YAS member and ACM Bilgin Balanli, who is in
custody, and Gen Nusret Tasdeler. Balanli will be transferred from the military
prison to Silivri and Tasdeler will be transferred to a civilian prison if his
treatment at GATA [Gulhane School of Military Medicine] ends. A total of 43
generals and admirals whose time for promotion ran out or who passed the upper
age limit were retired this year.”
Reporting on the
same issue Emre Uslu writes the following in Today’s Zaman (04.08.13) under the
title “Secrets of the YAŞ meetings”:
The Supreme
Military Council (YAS) has re-structured the military hierarchy. The most
critical decision of the three-day YAS meeting was the appointment of Deputy
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar as the new Land Forces commander while
forcing Gendarmerie Commander Bekir Kalyoncu to retire. Akar is expected to
replace Necdet Ozel in 2015.
[…]
The question now
is, why did Gen. Kalyoncu retire and who made the decision?
First, there is
no doubt that Kalyoncu's record of proximity to those generals who were
arrested in the Ergenekon investigation was a negative. In addition, his name
first appeared in 2005 when three noncommissioned officers placed a bomb in a
bookstore in Semdinli, Hakkari province. People of that town caught the
officers while they were placing the bombs and handed them over to the
prosecutor. Kalyoncu was the top commander of the region at that time.
At that time a
prosecutor, Ferhat Sarikaya, wanted to investigate whether those officers who
placed the bombs had received an order from the top. However, Mr. Sarikaya was
fired from his post and the investigation ended there.
Considering that
it is unthinkable for three noncommissioned officers to place bombs in a bookstore
without orders from the top, and because the investigation was halted, rumors
surrounding the incident created big questions for Gen. Kalyoncu. Thus, this
was the most critical decision of the YAŞ meeting this year. Had he been
promoted to Land Forces commander, he would have been the next chief of General
Staff within two years.
So who decided
that Gen. Kalyoncu should retire? There are three figures who could have made
the decision: Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Ozel, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdoğan or President Abdullah Gül.
On investigating
the decision, I found some interesting information. First, on July 25 President
Abdullah Gul, Gen. Necdet Ozel and Prime Minister Erdogan met to discuss the
YAŞ meetings. Previously President Gul was expected to be in İstanbul in the
first week of August while the YAŞ meetings were taking place in Ankara.
However, the
military side proposed Mr. Kalyoncu as the Land Forces commander at the last
minute. Prime Minister Erdogan did not immediately reject Gen. Kalyoncu's name,
instead throwing the ball to President Gul and expecting him to make the final
decision.
Because of this
proposal on July 31, the president immediately went to Ankara and had unplanned meetings with the
related parties. This was unexpected, as he had only met these parties a few
days before. In these meetings President Gul stated once more what he wanted to
see in the YAŞ decisions.
Yet, the
military proposed Gen. Kalyoncu's name again, and Prime Minister Erdogan threw
the ball to the president. This time Gul made it clear that he would not sign
the YAŞ decisions if they included Gen. Kalyoncu's name on the lists. Because
of President Gul's clear-cut decision, the parties did not place Gen. Kalyoncu
on the promotion lists.
Now there is
speculation that the president chose Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar as the Land Forces
commander because he is from the same province as President Gul. I don't know
how close Gen. Akar is to President Gul, but the issue was not about who would
be the next Land Forces commander but rather whether Gen. Kalyoncu would have a
new post.”
11. Turkish Police use water cannon against Gezi
Park protesters in Istanbul
Ankara Anatolia news agency (04.08.13) reported that the Turkish police on Saturday intervened against a group of Taksim Gezi Park protesters using water cannon in Istiklal street in central Istanbul.
Ankara Anatolia news agency (04.08.13) reported that the Turkish police on Saturday intervened against a group of Taksim Gezi Park protesters using water cannon in Istiklal street in central Istanbul.
Police took
security measures in central Taksim
Square early in the evening, after calls for
anti-government protests were made on social media. Protesters ran into side
streets after police intervention and after a while gathered again.
Several people
were detained during the protest.
12. Turkish Daily lists journalists who lost jobs
since Gezi incidents
Turkish daily Radikal
(02.08.13) published a list of journalists who lost their jobs since Gezi
Incidents and notes that together with Milliyet columnist Can Dundar, who lost his
job last week, the number of the journalists who have become unemployed
following the Gezi incidents has reached 80.
The paper writes
that Can Dundar had not written in his column in Milliyet for approximately
three weeks. It goes on and says: “The support that Dundar extended to the Gezi
incidents and the series of articles that he wrote on the developments in Egypt
have led to the reaction of the AKP [Justice and Development Party] government.
Just when debates were being held on whether or not Dundar will remain at
Milliyet, it was revealed that he was fired by the Milliyet administration. "First
Derya (Sazak) went and now I am going and Fikret (Bila) has taken over the ruins",
said Dundar in his personal blog and talked about his dismissal. "Everyone
knows the reason, anyway, I am not the first and I will not be the last,"
asserted Dundar and continued as follows: "What is important is that we
are on the eve of losing not only our jobs, but a profession. We will have many
casualties until we unite. And there it is written that no unjust pressure is
capable of silencing a just voice. We will meet again through new channels. We
will once again write and talk. Of course, until we build a free country and
its free media.", Dundar stated.
The Turkish
Journalists Union has recently released the list of the journalists who have
been fired or who have resigned since 27 May, when the Gezi incidents started. The
number of the unemployed journalists has reached 80”.
TURKISH
AFFAIRS SECTION
