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Police detain several Turkish military generals in new raidsGen. Ibrahim Fırtına, Gen. Ergin Saygun, Navy Cmdr. Özden Örnek, Gen. Çetin Doğan and Lt. Gen. Ayhan Taş.
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Monday, February 22, 2010
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News
Turkish police have searched the homes of two retired military generals and detained more than a dozen former and current military commanders for alleged links to the “Balyoz” (Sledgehammer) Operation.
The total of detainees nationwide was reported to be 48. Several high-ranking retired military officials have been taken into custody in this new wave of detainments related to the Ergenekon investigation into an suspected gang called Ergenekon alleged to have sought to topple the ruling government.
According to reports, the new round of detentions may be linked to the Balyoz plot, therefore possibly merging Balyoz and Ergenekon.
Balyoz is an alleged military coup plan against the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, written in 2003. According to Taraf, the military planned for drastic measures to cause unrest in the country in order to remove the AKP from power. Those measures included bombing two major mosques in Istanbul, an assault on a military museum by people disguised as fundamentalists and the raising of tension with Greece through the usual dogfights between the fighter planes of the two countries over the Aegean Sea. The allegations even include shooting down a Turkish plane and blaming it on Greece.
The reason for the detainments was still unclear early Monday evening, but private channel NTV reported that the detainees allegedly had the same signatures as those found on documents related to the Balyoz operation.
The retired generals taken into custody include former top Navy Cmdr. Özden Örnek, former top Air Force Cmdr. İbrahim Fırtına, former 1st Army commander Ergin Saygun, former South Seas Navy Cmdr. Lütfi Sancar, and generals Ayhan Poyraz, Engin Alan, Ümit Özcan, Ayhan Taş and Özer Karabulut.
Another 10 colonels were also reportedly detained in the same operation. So far detentions have taken place in Istanbul, Ankara, Bursa and İzmir. All of the detainees are expected to be brought to Istanbul. Seven detained officials, including İbrahim Fırtına, were brought to Istanbul from Ankara on a 1:30 p.m. flight and taken to the Istanbul Security Directorate from Sabiha Gökçen Airport. Fırtına was previously questioned in the scope of the Ergenekon investigation and denied all allegations of being a coup plotter.
Özden Örnek is reported to have been taken to the police department's Anti-Terror Unit in Istanbul after being subjected to medical examination alongside other detainees.
Çetin Doğan, whose signature was under the alleged Balyoz plan, was not detained after his house in Istanbul and villa in Bodrum were searched, though his lawyer said that there was a detention warrant out for him. Doğan has been very active since the Balyoz allegations appeared and has participated in many TV shows and has given interviews to several journalists, claiming that he signed a “military war game plan,” not a coup plot and the press version of Sledgehammer was forged.
Another retired general whose house in Istanbul was searched is Süha Tanyeli, former head of the Strategic Research Center of the General Staff.
The searched locations have reported to be 20 in various provinces; among them is the veteran’s support group Mehmetçik Foundation. After six hours, documents were confiscated and taken to the security directorate for further inspection.
Top general delays tripTurkish military chief İlker Başbuğ delayed an official visit to Egypt as police detained the retired military officials for suspected involvement in the alleged coup plot, CNNTürk and daily Radikal reported.
Minister of the Interior Beşir Atalay told reporters he is following developments very closely and that the detainments are being carried out at the request of the judiciary.
Tensions between the military and the government have been on the rise ever since police began detaining military personnel in the course of alleged coup plot investigations.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=two-retired-army-generals-searched-2010-02-22
