by AK Group
All confidential documents related to the ongoing Balyoz Sledgehammer case were stolen from military headquarters, the country's former top general allegedly said in the second of two illegal recordings carrying shocking revelations.
The comments on the latest recording about the Sledgehammer case, which has caused ongoing legal prosecutions against top military personnel over the last two years, were allegedly made by former Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner, who stepped down in late July in protest of such arrests.
"We found out about the claims in the Sledgehammer case after the indictment was released," the man believed to be Koşaner said on the recording, referring to claims that the army was planning a coup.
Koşaner had made no statement as of late Thursday on the recordings, the first of which allegedly taped him revealing weaknesses of the army and a chain of deficiencies in the fight against terror. The second recording is focused more on the Sledgehammer case, the debate over compulsory military service and the removal of Article 35 of the law regulating the military's duties and responsibilities, an article commonly seen as constituting the legal grounds for military coups.
On the tape, Koşaner allegedly said anonymous persons, whom he called traitors, had stolen the documents pertaining to the Sledgehammer case.
"What upsets us is that everything was stolen from the 1st Army Command, everything, and these reached unauthorized individuals. This is a scandal. Everything we talked about is in their hands. All of these documents left a military headquarters. How could this happen?" Koşaner said.
"We can't blame anyone but ourselves. We handed over these fantastic materials to the people who are against us. The responsibility belongs to the 1st Army Command," the man believed to be Koşaner added. A journalist, promoting an expanded prosecution effort and the arrests of many senior officers, later handed the mentioned documents to a prosecutor.
The voice heard on the newly leaked recording also talked about Article 35 of the Turkish Armed Forces Internal Service Code, which is seen as empowering the military to stage coups d'état.
The concept of creating a professional army "was not our idea," but a decision of the government, the former top general is believed to have said.
"The military service system concerns us. Everyone is saying something about it. But our approach is that everyone serves an equal amount of time, despite their [level of] education," the supposed Koşaner said. "This is about serving your country. Everyone should serve equally. But, of course, the politicians think differently."
The voice on the recording additionally claimed that "the government is also trying to remove the military judicial system, because they are unable to make commands," saying, for example, that "there are no legal obstacles to promoting the soldiers who are a part of the Sledgehammer case, because everything was done legally."
AK GroupSource: http://www.hudson-ny.org/2387/ex-general-alleged-tape-scandal-deepens
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