What is being done to Başbuğ is injustice

Have you noticed the letter former Chief of General Staff retired Gen. İlker Başbuğ sent to daily Milliyet recently?

It has been 10 months since he was arrested. He is waiting in a dignified manner, without making any show, without accusing anyone around him. It started with the “Internet memorandum,” then continued with the world’s silliest accusation of assisting a terror organization. Then, his case was merged with the Ergenekon case. This was a decision seemingly made to intentionally prolong his arrested status…

In his letter, Başbuğ kindly draws attention to the injustice he has to suffer. Let’s read a section together:

“In this memorandum, it was planned that Internet activities be done in four domains. However, before these sites were ever activated, this work was stopped on June 19, 2009, and no publication that can be included in this case has ever been made. Consequently, the General Staff did not own any Internet sites in the period from February 2009 to Aug. 30, 2010, that it would use for this purpose. “There is nothing in the ‘Internet memorandum’ that can constitute a crime. Well, then, what is the crime committed according to the prosecutor? The office of the public prosecutor defines this crime as such: ‘Preparing a memorandum in accordance with planning and inter-organizational approval [that, despite its] appearance in compliance with the law, does not show that its purpose is also in compliance with the law.’

“As can be seen, the office of the prosecutor thinks the aim of the ‘Internet memorandum’ is not in compliance with the law.

“Under the law, accusations can only be made based on concrete actions. However, here, the office of the prosecutor thinks the memorandum has a secret aim. According to them, the aim is as follows: ‘If work on these sites had not ended on June 19, 2009, there would have been activities constituting crimes in these sites.’

“Don’t be surprised. People are accused and are kept under arrest for months on claims based on assumptions, those assumptions that they consider ‘might happen in the future.’

“Separately, the office of the prosecution also lists these accusations:

v Why did you not close the sites that were opened before 2008 before February 2009?

v You closed these sites in February 2009 to avoid prosecution.

“As can be seen, you are accused in both situations. It is a crime that you have closed them, it is a crime that you have not closed them before.”

Isn’t this a pity? What right do we have to make a top commander we have assigned to protect this country suffer through these situations? Are we just going to watch this scene? Is nobody going to say anything?

It’s a shame. In one word, shame.

Book: Last tango with Apo

The most significant event in the Kurdish issue is no doubt outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan’s capture in 1999. Journalist Nur Batur has written the thrilling story of Öcalan starting in Damascus and ending on İmralı island: From Turkuvaz Publishing: “Apo’yla Son Tango” (Last Tango with Apo). At that time, Nur was in Athens. She explains the atmosphere in Greece which was Öcalan’s main stop, the desperateness of the politicians and the people’s sympathy for the PKK and Öcalan. The minutes of the cases that were opened years later in Greece are also in the book. (turkuvazkitap.com.tr)