BDP MPs comment on former Chief of Staff’s arrest
BDP MPs comment on former Chief of Staff’s arrest
General Ýlker Baþbuð, former Turkish Armed Forces Chief of Staff, has been detained on Thursday 5 January.
The general, who retired in 2010, has been accused of allegedly attempting to destabilize Turkey's Islamic-rooted government through an Internet campaign.
Baþbuð is facing charges of "gang leadership" and seeking to unseat the government by force.
Commenting on the arrest, Diyarbakýr deputy Nursel Aydoðan said that;
“I find this arrest meaningful in terms of timing which coincides with a process when the government is supposed to give an answer for Uludere slaughter. This is a planning aimed at removing Uludere slaughter from the agenda. This genocide stayed in the background not only in the press but also in the social media as of the first day. On the other hand, the arrest of Chief of Staff is no doubt of importance but the most important underlying cause of this arrest is the fact that it is practiced within the scope of the Ergenekon investigation that the AKP government launched. There is a war in Turkey and commanders have their parts in this war. We already know about unidentified murders or about what has happened in the region within this war process but there is no effort made to judge these war implementations. The AKP enforces the law only in cases against itself. One other important point of this operation was the arrest of anti-u.s. soldiers within the army with the confirmation of the U.S. itself. I think these issues were brought to the table during Prime Minister’s meeting with US vice-president Biden.”
Muþ deputy Demir Çelik also evaluated the arrest as follows; “Justice is for all of us and laws and the constitution should be applicable for everyone if it is a matter of state of law. However, I consider this arrest as a political operation to change the current agenda, not a lawful approach. The slaughter in Roboski village was condemned in the public eye; the government’s attitude towards the slaughter of civilians was found unacceptable by the society. In this regard, this arrest is an operation that has been executed to change the agenda and to call the public attention to another aspect. This arrest therefore doesn’t serve for the sense of justice that we expect.”
The general, who retired in 2010, has been accused of allegedly attempting to destabilize Turkey's Islamic-rooted government through an Internet campaign.
Baþbuð is facing charges of "gang leadership" and seeking to unseat the government by force.
Commenting on the arrest, Diyarbakýr deputy Nursel Aydoðan said that;
“I find this arrest meaningful in terms of timing which coincides with a process when the government is supposed to give an answer for Uludere slaughter. This is a planning aimed at removing Uludere slaughter from the agenda. This genocide stayed in the background not only in the press but also in the social media as of the first day. On the other hand, the arrest of Chief of Staff is no doubt of importance but the most important underlying cause of this arrest is the fact that it is practiced within the scope of the Ergenekon investigation that the AKP government launched. There is a war in Turkey and commanders have their parts in this war. We already know about unidentified murders or about what has happened in the region within this war process but there is no effort made to judge these war implementations. The AKP enforces the law only in cases against itself. One other important point of this operation was the arrest of anti-u.s. soldiers within the army with the confirmation of the U.S. itself. I think these issues were brought to the table during Prime Minister’s meeting with US vice-president Biden.”
Muþ deputy Demir Çelik also evaluated the arrest as follows; “Justice is for all of us and laws and the constitution should be applicable for everyone if it is a matter of state of law. However, I consider this arrest as a political operation to change the current agenda, not a lawful approach. The slaughter in Roboski village was condemned in the public eye; the government’s attitude towards the slaughter of civilians was found unacceptable by the society. In this regard, this arrest is an operation that has been executed to change the agenda and to call the public attention to another aspect. This arrest therefore doesn’t serve for the sense of justice that we expect.”
