Wait for judicial process, says statement from Erdoğan, Başbuğ

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Chief of the General Staff İlker Başbuğ met Thursday to discuss the alleged military plans to topple the ruling party.

A statement issued by the Prime Ministry after the meeting said the military and civilian investigations would continue and that everyone should wait for their conclusions and should refrain from statements targeting specific persons and institutions.

Meetings between Erdoğan and Başbuğ take place every Thursday, but it was not certain whether the duo would meet this Thursday given the Republic Day celebrations and official receptions in Ankara. Erdoğan and Başbuğ were expected to discuss the suspected military document that allegedly details plans on how to overthrow the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP – a topic that has dominated Turkish affairs for the past few days.

The duo encountered each other late Thursday at the prime minister’s residence in an unscheduled meeting where the document was also discussed. Earlier on Thursday, Erdoğan and Başbuğ simply bowed to greet each other during the Republic Day celebrations being held at various sites around Ankara. The pair also met briefly at a reception held by President Abdullah Gül at the presidential palace in Çankaya on Thursday afternoon to mark Republic Day. Erdoğan and Başbuğ held a short meeting at the palace that was also attended by Gül and Parliamentary Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin.

Returnees, military document discussed

After this brief encounter, the pair met for their official weekly meeting at the prime minister’s residence. A statement issued by the Prime Ministry after the 80-minute meeting said, “Matters concerning the security of the country and discussions on the ‘Action Plan for the Fight Against Fundamentalism’ were discussed. The investigation into the alleged plan are being conducted by civilian and military courts within the limits of their responsibility.

“This process is expected to uncover the truth as soon as possible. In this process, everyone should wait for the conclusions of the probe and refrain from attitudes and statements targeting [specific] persons and institutions,” said the statement.

According to sources, Erdoğan and Başbuğ discussed the original copy of the alleged plot to topple the government that was sent to the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office by an anonymous military officer, the daily Vatan reported Friday. The celebrations over the release of PKK members coming from northern Iraq as a result of the government’s Kurdish initiative were also discussed in the meeting, the newspaper said.

Meanwhile the General Staff canceled its weekly press briefing on Friday. The General Staff didn’t give any reasoning for its cancellation decision.

Military officers questioned

The military officers who were invited to the prosecutor’s office to testify about the alleged anti-government military plan went to the Istanbul’s Beşiktaş judicial court Friday.

The letter sent by an anonymous military officer to the Istanbul Chief Prosecutor’s Office said some military officers eliminated all evidence regarding the alleged anti-government military plan to topple the current ruling government from the General Staff records. The prosecutor’s office thus requested depositions from the six military officers who are mentioned in the five-page letter sent by the anonymous officer. The officers, however, didn’t go to the prosecutor’s office and a second warning letter was sent to the General Staff.

Among those who went to the court to testify are a civilian officer and six military officers who allegedly eliminated evidence, according to the news agencies.