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| Europe |
| Turkey army chief dismisses coup plot allegations |
| 2010-01-28 |
| [Iran Press TV Latest] Chief of Turkish General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug has dismissed allegation of a military plan to overthrow the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). Gen. Ilker Basbug delivered a televised address in Ankara on Monday during which he warned that the military's patience over a stream of allegations level against it had limits. "How on earth could the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) plan to bomb mosques? This is unjust. The TSK has limits to its patience. I denounce these claims," the Turkish military chief stated. He insisted that coups were a old-fashioned phenomena, and that power should only change through democratic means. Last week, the liberal Taraf daily uncovered a conspiracy by the Turkish army against ruling the AK Party. The alleged plan, according to the daily, sought to sink the country into chaos through a spate of terrorist attacks that would ultimately pave the way for a military coup. The scheme, titled the Balyoz (Sledgehammer), was drawn up in 2003 shortly after AK Party assumed power, Taraf reported. The masterminds of the plan were retired Gen. Cetin Dogan, then commander of the Turkish army, retired Former Air Forces Commander Gen. Ibrahim Firtina and retired Gen. Ergin Saygun, according to the report published on Wednesday. The plan was agreed at a military meeting attended by 162 active army members, among them 29 generals, the paper said. the military was tasked with inciting bedlam in the society through organized acts of violence, amongst which were bomb attacks on the Fatih and Beyazit mosques in the largest Turkish city, Istanbul. The desired result of these rallies would be an increase in domestic pressure on the AK Party government over its failure to ensure the security across the country. This would eventually result in the AK Party's removal from power, Taraf reported. |
| Posted by:Fred |