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EYES ON ISTANBUL COURT FOR MERGER OF CAGE PLOT WITH POYRAZKEY
Today's Zaman
June 15 2010
Turkey
Retired Adm. Ali Feyyaz Ogutcu, whose name is frequently mentioned as
"the president" in the alleged military Cage action plan, was arrested
in February.
Thirty-three suspects, all retired and active duty naval officers,
are set to appear before a judge as part of the trial into an alleged
Naval Forces Command plan, the Cage Operation Action Plan, at the
Ä°stanbul 12th High Criminal Court. In the first hearing today,
the court is expected to announce whether it will merge the Cage
indictment with an indictment into the Poyrazköy munitions.
The Cage plan is a suspected Naval Forces Command plot to undermine
the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) by assassinating prominent
non-Muslim figures in Turkey and putting the blame for the killings on
the party. The plan was intended to intimidate the country's non-Muslim
groups, which was expected to increase internal and external pressure
on the ruling party. In turn, weakening public support for the party
was intended to eventually lead to a military takeover.
Prosecutors overseeing the Cage investigation believe the plot
was to be put into operation through the use of a large cache of
munitions buried in İstanbul's Poyrazköy district. The munitions
were discovered by police in April of last year on land owned by
the Ä°stek Foundation, which belongs to former Ä°stanbul Mayor
Bedrettin Dalan. The discovery was made as part of an investigation
into Ergenekon, a clandestine gang whose suspected members are
currently standing trial on charges of having plotted to overthrow
the government.
The 65-page Cage indictment says the naval plot team was coordinated
and led by retired Adm. Ahmet Feyyaz Ogutcu. The document points
to Vice Adm. Kadir Sagdıc and Rear Adm. Mehmet Fatih İlgar as
the "number two and number three men" behind the plot. The two
were interrogated in February by Ä°zmir prosecutors as part of the
Ergenekon probe. The indictment calls for jail sentences of up to 15
years for the three admirals on charges of membership in a terrorist
group. It also seeks lengthy prison terms for 30 other defendants on
similar charges.
The Poyrazköy indictment demands life sentences for five naval
officers -- Lt. Col. Ercan Kirectepe, Lt. Col. Mustafa Turhan Ecevit,
Maj. Eren Gunay, Maj. Emre Onat and retired Maj. Levent BektaÅ~_ --
on charges of "attempting to destroy Parliament and the government."
In April of this year, the Cage plan indictment was added to the case
file of the 2007 Malatya murders, in which three missionaries were
brutally killed at a Christian publishing house.
The Cage plan called the killings of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant
Dink, Catholic priest Father Andrea Santoro and three Christians in
Malatya an "operation."
The Cage plan also contained a frightening planned act of terror
against young students visiting the Rahmi M. Koc Museum. According to
the plan, several blocks of TNT and other explosives placed at the
bottom of a submarine exhibited at the museum were to be detonated
while a large group of students was visiting the museum.
After the discovery of explosives in the submarine, a military
investigation found that the explosives had been forgotten by
commandos. Ergenekon prosecutors, however, decided that the findings
of the military investigation were too weak to ease concerns over the
discovery of explosives at a museum. The prosecutors examined the
submarine at the museum and reached the conclusion that it was not
possible for the commandos to forget such a large amount of explosives
in a submarine.
Cage documents noted that the explosion was to occur on a day when
the museum was visited by a large group of students. "Materials to
be planted at the museum have reached operators. We should increase
the number of visitors to the museum. C.G. will tell us when the
visitor numbers at the museum are at their highest. We should increase
publicity and activities [about the museum] in schools. Students are
the most important elements of this project. We should confirm the
day of the operation," read one of the documents.
The Cage action plan was signed by Lt. Col. Kirectepe and was to
be put into operation by a team of 41 members of the Naval Forces
Command. The action plan would be implemented to lend support to the
suspects arrested so far as part of the Ergenekon investigation, render
ineffective alleged psychological warfare waged by the AK Party and its
supporters (against the military), change the course of the agenda in
Turkey, boost the morale of the junta within the Naval Forces Command
and win the appreciation and support of the public. The blame for
each of the assassinations by the junta would be put on the AK Party.
From: A. Papazian
Today's Zaman
June 15 2010
Turkey
Retired Adm. Ali Feyyaz Ogutcu, whose name is frequently mentioned as
"the president" in the alleged military Cage action plan, was arrested
in February.
Thirty-three suspects, all retired and active duty naval officers,
are set to appear before a judge as part of the trial into an alleged
Naval Forces Command plan, the Cage Operation Action Plan, at the
Ä°stanbul 12th High Criminal Court. In the first hearing today,
the court is expected to announce whether it will merge the Cage
indictment with an indictment into the Poyrazköy munitions.
The Cage plan is a suspected Naval Forces Command plot to undermine
the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) by assassinating prominent
non-Muslim figures in Turkey and putting the blame for the killings on
the party. The plan was intended to intimidate the country's non-Muslim
groups, which was expected to increase internal and external pressure
on the ruling party. In turn, weakening public support for the party
was intended to eventually lead to a military takeover.
Prosecutors overseeing the Cage investigation believe the plot
was to be put into operation through the use of a large cache of
munitions buried in İstanbul's Poyrazköy district. The munitions
were discovered by police in April of last year on land owned by
the Ä°stek Foundation, which belongs to former Ä°stanbul Mayor
Bedrettin Dalan. The discovery was made as part of an investigation
into Ergenekon, a clandestine gang whose suspected members are
currently standing trial on charges of having plotted to overthrow
the government.
The 65-page Cage indictment says the naval plot team was coordinated
and led by retired Adm. Ahmet Feyyaz Ogutcu. The document points
to Vice Adm. Kadir Sagdıc and Rear Adm. Mehmet Fatih İlgar as
the "number two and number three men" behind the plot. The two
were interrogated in February by Ä°zmir prosecutors as part of the
Ergenekon probe. The indictment calls for jail sentences of up to 15
years for the three admirals on charges of membership in a terrorist
group. It also seeks lengthy prison terms for 30 other defendants on
similar charges.
The Poyrazköy indictment demands life sentences for five naval
officers -- Lt. Col. Ercan Kirectepe, Lt. Col. Mustafa Turhan Ecevit,
Maj. Eren Gunay, Maj. Emre Onat and retired Maj. Levent BektaÅ~_ --
on charges of "attempting to destroy Parliament and the government."
In April of this year, the Cage plan indictment was added to the case
file of the 2007 Malatya murders, in which three missionaries were
brutally killed at a Christian publishing house.
The Cage plan called the killings of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant
Dink, Catholic priest Father Andrea Santoro and three Christians in
Malatya an "operation."
The Cage plan also contained a frightening planned act of terror
against young students visiting the Rahmi M. Koc Museum. According to
the plan, several blocks of TNT and other explosives placed at the
bottom of a submarine exhibited at the museum were to be detonated
while a large group of students was visiting the museum.
After the discovery of explosives in the submarine, a military
investigation found that the explosives had been forgotten by
commandos. Ergenekon prosecutors, however, decided that the findings
of the military investigation were too weak to ease concerns over the
discovery of explosives at a museum. The prosecutors examined the
submarine at the museum and reached the conclusion that it was not
possible for the commandos to forget such a large amount of explosives
in a submarine.
Cage documents noted that the explosion was to occur on a day when
the museum was visited by a large group of students. "Materials to
be planted at the museum have reached operators. We should increase
the number of visitors to the museum. C.G. will tell us when the
visitor numbers at the museum are at their highest. We should increase
publicity and activities [about the museum] in schools. Students are
the most important elements of this project. We should confirm the
day of the operation," read one of the documents.
The Cage action plan was signed by Lt. Col. Kirectepe and was to
be put into operation by a team of 41 members of the Naval Forces
Command. The action plan would be implemented to lend support to the
suspects arrested so far as part of the Ergenekon investigation, render
ineffective alleged psychological warfare waged by the AK Party and its
supporters (against the military), change the course of the agenda in
Turkey, boost the morale of the junta within the Naval Forces Command
and win the appreciation and support of the public. The blame for
each of the assassinations by the junta would be put on the AK Party.
From: A. Papazian