Commanders hold extraordinary meeting in the General Staff Headquarters

Chief of General Staff Başbuğ met with 15 generals in the General Staff Headquarters to discuss the recent developments. In an announcement released after the meeting, in which the option of collective resignations was also put on the table, the situation was described as being “very serious.”

The recent development involving the detaining of significant high-ranking military officials resulted in a historical meeting of the General Staff. An extraordinary meeting was held last night by Chief of Staff General İlker Başbuğ and attended by 14 other commanders consisting of both generals and admirals. General İlker Başbuğ had already cancelled his scheduled trip to Egypt due to the recent detentions. 

FIVE CRITICAL ASSESSMENTS

The five critical assessments revealed following the meeting in which collective resignations were also discussed are as follows: 
1- The fact that retired armed forces commanders and admirals have been detained as suspects is offensive. Retired commanders had previously been called upon by prosecutors to provide testimonies. The fact that the same procedure was not applied is discomforting.
2- Special conditions were granted for the PKK members who returned through Habur and their testimonies were delayed. The same sensitivity was not applied to the retired commanders.
3- The retired commanders and active duty officers should not be held at the police department but should be brought to court immediately in order to provide their testimonies and taking into consideration the fact there is no risk of running or tampering with evidence, they should be released upon pending trial.
4- The highest-level commanders should assess the situation and release an announcement to the public that the situation is serious.
5- The insistence of calling for testimonies from military members spanning to the 3rd Army Command creates conflict amongst establishments. All requests for testimonies should be conducted through the General Staff Military Prosecutor’s Office.