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Thu, 07. Sep 2006
Chief of Staff Prosecutor's Office charges retired General Tokat for public
revelation of ordering clandestine street bombings in Southeast Turkey.
Rights activists insist retired commander should be put on trial for human
rights violations.
Turkey's Chief of General Staff Prosecutor's Office has drawn up its
indictment against retired Lieutenant General Altay Tokat for his public
revelation that he was responsible for ordering one or two clandestine
street bombings when assigned to the Southeast region "to bring judges and
civil servants in line".
Tokat's revelations were made during an interview with the "Aktuel" weekly
and reported in summary in the July 27 issue of Sabah newspaper after which
several investigations were launched against him.
Chief of General Staff Military Chief Prosecutor senior Colonel Saim Ozturk
has charged Tokat under article 95 of the Military Penal Code and he could
be sentenced to 6 years imprisonment if found guilty of "attempting to erode
the feeling of confidence in commanders" and "making statements on military
matters without authorization".
Tokat's case will be heard at the Chief of General Staff Military Tribunal
but as he has retired out of military service, the tribunal may decide to
send the case file to the Ankara justice hall.
The military prosecutor's office has detached the investigation into whether
retired General Tokat had indeed ordered bombing activities in the Southeast
>from the original case file.
According to a report filed by Ersan Atar in the mass circulation daily
Sabah newspaper, the 4-page indictment against Tokat charged that his
statements in the media "gave the impression that the Turkish Armed Forces
were using the methods used by the terrorist organization".
The indictment said "if the remarks of the defendant were made by any other
person, they may not have been relevant. But because the remarks were made y
a person who has reached high ranks, this has been observed closely by the
public opinion and increased their effectiveness. Even though it is evident
that the remarks of the defendant cannot erode confidence in the commanders
on duty within the Turkish Armed Forces, such statements can create negative
effects on some people with bad intentions".
Rights Activists: He encouraged crime
The Sirnak and Diyarbakir prosecutors' offices in Southeast Turkey had
previously opened investigations into Tokat's remarks.
Turkey's Human Rights Association (IHD) and the Association for Human Rights
and Solidarity with the Oppressed (MAZLUMDER) together with the Diyarbakir
Bar Association and the Patriotic Front Jurists Initiative had separately
filed criminal complaints against the retired general.
Diyarbakir Bar Association Sezgin Tanrikulu had said Tokat's revelations
were a self-confession and that he had directly committed the offences of
threatening, influencing the judiciary and praising crime. In its complaint
and application, the Bar Association had requested for an investigation to
be launched into the general's past activities and other possible
clandestine acts in the Southeast.
Human rights associations and the Bar Association not only want the full
spectrum of Tokat's activities investigated but for him to be put on trial
for human rights violations in the region based on his statements.
Tokat's Revelations
In the controversial Aktuel interview, retired General Tokat was speaking in
relation to the controversial bookstore bombing in Semdinli by members of
the security forces, which the general described as a "possibly clumsy"
operation.
"In my time," the retired general said, "I also had them throw a few bombs
to some critical points. These were empty places! My issue was to give a
message".
Tokat said the message given through street bombings targeted civil servants
and judges who were assigned to the region and the explosions occurred close
to were they lived.
"Civil servants, judges that come from the West [of Turkey] don't understand
the seriousness of the situation... when things became calmer, they started
to take this business nor seriously... In consequence I had [bombs] thrown
at two places close to their houses. After that they understood that they
needed to be careful. One [act of] disaster is better than a thousand words
of advice. This way I educated them," he said.
"You can't immediately evaluate this by saying throwing bombs is illegal. I
might have saved the lives of those people. I did not tell them either. Now
if you construe this as assassination, I'll laugh at that" he was quoted as
further saying