Vital questions regarding the Balyoz trials… (by Ugur Soylu)

I saw this reader comment on Dani Rodik’s blog and I think it perfectly captures the essence of the arguments against the unjust Balyoz trials going on against the Turkish Military. Thanks to Ugur Soylu.

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by Ugur Soylu Diyor – 08 Ocak 2013 09:22

I invite everybody to forget about; the fabricated documents, the power of the Gulen Movement and its followers, has there really been an attempt for a coup?, have these army officials been involved in these kind of actions?, Turkish Military had done it before so why not now?, etc…. Forget about all this. In any country, any prosecuter can bring about charges against anybody for anything. The difference is that in a country that has the real Justice with due process, presumption of innocence (innocence until proven guilty), shady evidence against the defendant works in favor of the defendant, and etc., this is what would have been happened: After the first hearing, in light of all the facts of the evidence being shady, the judge would have dismissed the case and told the prosecutor to come back with unquestionable evidence and ask for another trial. To me the questions below are vital: 1. Are these trials just? 2. Could the prosecuters have gone this far with these allegations in any other country that has real Justice or could these trials would have been dismissed as soon as it was revealed that the evidents the prosecuters brought about were shady. 3. In no democratic country with civilized society today, nobody in law practice or interested in law practices and/or press/media would say this: “Yes there are big discrepencies within the allegations, yes there are due process problems, yes some evidences are shady, yes the defendants were not given the right to defend themselves propoerly, yes they should have not been kept in jail for all these years with this kind of long trial process without judgement, yes I feel for the defendants, yes, yes, yes, yes BUT you can’t say nothing happened”. If there are people in a country who say all these things but still trying to justify these allegations and trials, nobody could say there is LAW in that country. 4. The last and the most important thing is that; could this have happened in any other country with a modernized society living under law that is just for everybody and anybody? And if it did would we have seen millions of people marching on the streets for due process and justice because of the shady evidence. The real problem is the society in Turkey. Turkish society in general believes in democracy, liberty, law, human rights, democratic rights and scuh only if it works in their favor. Most of them have no social awareness, no social reactions unless it’s against them. There is a real authoritarian regime in Turkey with few rights given to its citizens and that government still can go out and say that there is not even Democracy but Advanced Democracy in their country and they can have the support and the votes of the 50 percent of the voting population. The governments in Turkey has never, is not and never will want to educate its citizens in light of democracy, personal liberties, law, etc. because in that case, they would never be able to run the authoritarian regime that’s in their favor. So the real problem for me is that; If the citizens of a country do not realy know what democary, personal liberties, freedom of speech, freedom of religion, law, justice mean they will not care about any of these trials and keep believing – blindfolded- the goverments that they’ve voted for.

Dani Rodrik: Did Microsoft steal its fonts from the Turkish army?

As ridiculous as it is, it is still imperative that we bring those who forged these documents to justice. Even a single second spent in prison is not acceptable!

Balyoz Davası ve Gerçekler

The Turkish court that sentenced more than 300 officers on coup plotting charges in September apparently thinks so.

The Turkish military has long set the ground rules for Turkish politics, and this was hailed as a landmark trial. Many saw it as the centerpiece of a democratic, mildly Islamist government’s long overdue reckoning with the army’s misdeeds.

If the charges in the case are to be believed, misdeeds there were aplenty. Prosecutors had in hand CDs, apparently from 2003 that contained detailed military plans to destabilize the country and dislodge the newly-elected AKP government from power.  According to the documents in the CDs, General Cetin Dogan, then commander of the Istanbul-based 1^st Army commander, and his collaborators had prepared horrific operations, including the downing of a Turkish military, the bombing of two mosques, and the targeting of Armenian intellectuals, in order to lay the groundwork for the coup. They…

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The Letter from Suleyman Namik Kursuncu, the Father of Cenk Kursuncu

Turkish version.

This post is about one of the biggest crimes committed in the name of justice. Dani Rodik (a professor of international political economy at Harvard University’s John F. Kennedy School of Government) wrote a piece on the Washington Post about the details, Turkey’s miscarriage of justice.

I wrote earlier about who Cenk Kursuncu was, the son of Pilot Lieutenant Colonel Suleyman Namik Kursuncu. Lieutenant Colonel Kursuncu was sentenced to 16 years in prison with the court ruling in Balyoz (a.k.a. Sledgehammer) case that is based on fabricated evidence. We all hope that he can be saved from this injustice in the earliest and reunites his 11-year-old son, Cenk with his father.

Today, one of Turkish news sites, OdaTV.com, published a letter from the father Kursuncu, in which he expressed the facts about the Sledgehammer trials, “Suleyman Namik: Evlatlariniza sarildiğinizda bizi unutmayin” (i.e., Suleyman Namik: Do not forget us when you hug your child). The last paragraph ends with the following heartbreaking words:

“… every time you hug your child and loved ones, remember the Sledgehammer convicts (!) who are paying the unjust price for a revenge of the past. Please do not forget us…”

I find it as a responsibility to post this letter here on my blog, which I dedicated to the fight against this dark force stumbling upon my country. This letter must be read to stop the pain and the injustice caused, must be read many times.

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— the letter starts here —

I am Air Force Pilot Lieutenant Colonel Suleyman Namik Kursuncu. Until the day I was arrested on July 8th, 2012 I was serving in the turkish Military forces as a combat-ready F16 pilot. With the verdict of the 10th Criminal Court in Istanbul (once a “special-authority” court), first I was sentenced to life in prison, which later was reduced to 16 years. The charge against me was being a “flying guardian”. Let me explain it briefly. The court established a conclusion based on digitally fabricated evidence that I was to provide air control of the Fenerbahce soccer stadium during the alleged martial law. This evidence was last saved (on the computer) by a user named GSALKAYA. The court decided that this user was (Ms.) Gullu Salkaya. When I was trying to defend against this accusation (the air control task that was never carried out in the world and that has no example in the aviation history) I remember asking “What am I guilty of, being a flying guardian?”. The Turkish Air Force presented the court with an expert report stating that such a task was illogical and impossible to successfully carry out. The report also emphasized that during such a task the Fenerbahce Stadium would be visible for only one second “from the reverse” while the F16 was flying with a speed of 650 kph. The court “that is an expert on aviation and space” disregarded this report and stated that I was a flying guardian. I believe they arrived at the verdict thinking that 16 years would be more appropriate for a F16 pilot. I send it to God’s way as to how and why the judges sentenced (Ms.) Gullu Salkaya with the same punishment, I am sure only God can  judge their conscience in doing this.

IF EVERY WAY IS JUST FOR REVENGE, DO NOT FORGET THAT THERE IS NO PERFECT CRIME

The ones who defend the verdict of the Sledgehammer trials can do this only based on the military coups that were carried out in the past. None of them dare to mention the forged digital data and why hundreds of officers who did not even attended the seminar were sentenced (this is the “war game” seminar during which the alleged coup was planned). I cannot be held responsible for the military coups in the past. I was only 10 years old when the last one of them happened in September 12th, 1980. If every way is just for revenge, I would like to remind that there is no perfect crime. The Sledgehammer trial is where justice was slaughtered. Facts are known and were proved with expert reports prepared scientifically. The digital data that are used as the primary evidence of the alleged crime are “fake”. Hundreds of people are sentenced based on this digital data. 

TURKEY’S BAD SCORE CARD WILL GET EVEN WORSE IN FRONT OF THE EUROPEAN COURT OF HUMAN RIGHTS WITH THIS CASE

The Turkish judges (of these courts) disregarded the facts of this case and if the Supreme Court (Yargitay) continues to disregard then the European Court of Human Rights will decide that the right to just trial was violated and show the digital forgery to all the responsible authorities. This inevitable verdict will carry the already bad reputation of the Turkish justice system to the top. Unfortunately, this process is likely to take 3 yo 5 years. We will be the only victims during this time. Wasted years in prison, destroyed careers, and the indescribable pain that our families have already gone and will go through.  

PLEASE DO NOT FORGET US WHEN YOU HUG YOUR CHILD

I kindly ask you. Every time you hear the words just trial, democracy, independent and impartial justice; every time a verdict is given and trials are carried out by disregarding expert reports; every time you see a piece of news about Silivri, Besiktas Judicial Court, the Gulen Movement, Cemaat (the cult of Fethullah Gulen), electronic unnamed snitch letters, justice packages; every time read sentences that end with the words military guardianship (i.e., the threat of military coups), calling military to account for the coups are used; and every time you hug your child and loved ones, remember the Sledgehammer convicts (read as victims) who are paying the unjust price for a revenge of the past. Please do not forget us…

Cenk Kursuncu’nun Babasi Suleyman Namik Kursuncu’nun Mektubu

English version.

Cenk kursuncu’nu kim oldugunu size daha once yazmistim, Pilot Yarbay Suleyman Namik  Kursuncu’nun oglu. Kurmay Yarbay Kursuncu Balyoz davasi kararlari ile 16 yil hapis cezasina carptirildi, umarim ugradigi haksizliktan en kisa zamanda kurtulup 11 yasindaki ogluna kavusur, Cenk de babasina.

Bugun OdaTV.com‘da baba Kursuncu’nun Balyoz davasi hakkinda yazmis oldugu bir mektup yayinlandi, “Suleyman Namik: Evlatlariniza sarildiğinizda bizi unutmayin“. Son paragrafi soyle bitiyor:

“…evlatlarınıza ve sevdiklerinize her sarıldığınızda, geçmişin intikamı uğruna haksız yere bedel ödeyen Balyoz mahkumlarını hatırlayınız. Bizi unutmayınız…”

Bu mektubu burada yayinlamayi, adaletsizlige karsi giristigimiz bu mucadele adina bir borc biliyorum. Cekilen acilarin, yapilan haksizliklarin onune gecmek ve bunu duzeltmek icin okunmasi gereken bir mektup, hem de defalarca.

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Ben Hava Pilot Kurmay Yarbay Süleyman Namık Kurşuncu. 8 Temmuz 2011 tarihinde tutuklanana kadar TSK’da harbe hazır F16 pilotu olarak görev yapmaktaydım. İstanbul 10. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi’nin (bir zamanlar özel yetkiliydi) 21 Eylül 2012 tarihli hükmü ile önce ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis, sonra hafifletilerek 16 yıl hapis cezasına çarptırıldım. Suçum “Uçan gardiyanlık”. Kısaca açıklayayım. Benim sözde ilan edilecek sıkıyönetim kapsamında Fenerbahçe Stadyumu’nun havadan kontrolünü yapacağım kanaati, manipülatif dijital bir veriye dayanılarak mahkeme heyetinde oluşmuş. Bu veriyi son kayıt eden de GSALKAYA adlı kullanıcıdır. Mahkemede de onun Güllü Salkaya olduğuna karar verdi. Dünyada hiç yapılmamış, havacılık tarihinde örneği olmayan bu olayın savunmasını yaparken “Ne ile suçlanıyorum, uçan gardiyan olmakla mı?” diye sormuştum. İddia edilen suçlamanın mantık dışı ve başarılmasının imkansız olduğu Hv. KK’lığı bilirkişi raporu ile mahkemeye bildirildi. Mahkemede Fenerbahçe Stadyumu’nun havadan görüntüsü ve bu görüntünün sadece bir saniye süresince ve uçak saatte 650 km hız ile“terste” uçarken görüleceği belirtildi ve vurgulandı. Havacılık ve uzay konusunda uzman mahkemeye heyeti, bilirkişi raporlarını yok sayarak, sen bir uçan gardiyansın dedi. Sanırım F16 pilotuna 16 yıl hapis yakışır mantığı ile cezayı kesti. Güllü Salkaya’ya da aynı hapis cezasını veren hakimlerin vicdanlarının değerlendirmesini Allaha havale ediyorum.

İNTİKAM İÇİN HER YOL MUBAHSA, KUSURSUZ CİNAYET YOKTUR

Balyoz davasının hükmünü savunanlar, bu davayı ancak eskiden yapılmış askeri müdahaleler üzerinden savunabiliyorlar. Sahte dijital verilerden, seminere katılmayan yüzlerce insanın neden ceza aldığından kimse söz etmiyor, edemiyor. Geçmiş askeri müdahalelerden ben sorumlu tutulamam. 12 Eylül 1980’de henüz 10 yaşındaydım. İntikam için her yol mubah ise, kusursuz cinayet olmadığını hatırlatmak isterim. Balyoz davası tam bir hukuk cinayetidir. Maddi gerçek tektir ve bilimsel olarak hazırlanan bilirkişi raporları ile ortadadır. Balyoz davasının suçlamaya esas olan dijital verileri sahtedir. Yüzlerce masum insan bu veriler gerekçe gösterilerek mahkum edilmiştir.

TÜRKİYE’NİN KÖTÜ SİCİLİ AİHM’DE BU DAVAYLA ZİRVE YAPACAK

Bu maddi gerçeği Türk yargıçlar görmezden geldi, Yargıtay da görmemeye devam ederse, AİHM yargıçları Balyoz dosyası önlerine geldiğinde bağımsız bilimsel raporlar ışığında ihlal kararı verecek ve dijital sahteciliği ilgili makamlara gösterecektir. Bu kaçınılmaz karar herkes tarafından kabul edilen Türk adalet sisteminin dünyaca ünlü kötü şöhretini zirveye taşıyacaktır. Ne yazık ki bu 3-5 yıllık bir süreçtir. Olan bizlere olacaktır. Hapiste boşuna geçecek yıllar, yok olmuş kariyerler, ailelerimizin yaşadığı ve yaşayacağı tarifsiz acılar.

EVLATLARINIZA SARILDIĞINIZDA BİZİ UNUTMAYIN

Yarbay Kurşuncu mektubunun son bölümünde şöyle seslendi:

Sizden rica ediyorum. Adil yargılama, ileri demokrasi, bağımsız ve tarafsız hakimler ifadelerini duyduğunda, maddi gerçek, bilirkişi raporları yok sayılarak süren yargılama ya da verilen hükümde, Silivri, Beşiktaş Adliyesi, Hizmet, Cemaat, Elektronik isimsiz ihbar mektupları, yargı paketleri ifadeleri geçen haberlerde, askeri vesayetten kurtulmak, darbelerden hesap sorduk kelimeleri kullanıldığında; evlatlarınıza ve sevdiklerinize her sarıldığınızda, geçmişin intikamı uğruna haksız yere bedel ödeyen Balyoz mahkumlarını hatırlayınız. Bizi unutmayınız…

Dani’nin bugünkü Cumhuriyet’te çıkan yazısı

Yapilan bu haksizliklari yilmadan her ortamda anlatmamiz lazim. Bunca yildir meydani bos bulup, ulkenin her tarafini istedikleri gibi sekillendirmeye calisanlar artik karsilarinda konusan, tartisan, ideallerini ve hayallerini savunan bir kitle ile karsi karsiya gelecekler…

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Balyoz Davası ve Gerçekler

Dani’nin bugünkü Cumhuriyet’te çıkan yazısını aşağıya taşıyoruz.  Köşesini bize açtığı icin Mine Kirikkanat’a teşekkürler:

“Balyoz mahkemesinin kararı bir hukuk katliamıdır. Sahte delil üreten bir çetenin, kendisine yargı, medya ve siyasi iktidar dahil olmak üzere geniş bir kesimden destekçi bulabildiğini tescilleyen bu karar, demokratik bir Türkiye isteyen herkes için bir faciadır.

Sadece bu davada değil, Ergenekon, Odatv, KCK, askeri casusluk gibi eski Özel Yetkili Mahkemelerin başlattığı bir dizi siyasi davada da parmak izlerini gördüğümüz bu çete, Türkiye’deki yeni vesayet rejiminin gizli vasisidir.

Balyoz davasının ana gerçekleri, muhakeme kabiliyetini kaybetmemiş hiç kimse tarafından reddedilemeyecek şekilde ortaya serilmiştir. Dava sürecine adını veren Balyoz, Suga, Oraj, Çarşaf gibi operasyon ile suikast planları vs. gibi suç oluşturan belgelerin hiçbirinin ceza verilen sanıklar tarafından (ya da onlar için) hazırlanmış olamayacağı ispat edilmiştir.

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Dikkat edin, sanıklar lehine şüphe vardır demiyorum. Ana delillerin sahteliği ispat edilmiştir diyorum. Dolayısıyla, verilen kararla ilgili ‘mahkeme takdir yetkisini kullandı’ şeklinde yorumların…

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Bu Boyle Gitmez, Yaralarimizi Sarmaya Baslamamiz Lazim!

Ergenekon, Balyoz, OdaTV, daha nice davalar.
Ele gecirilmis bir medya.
Yargi sisteminde akillara zarar yasalar, atamalar.
Egitim sistemi desen, icler acisi.
Ekonomi de gitti gider diyorlar.
Halk binbir parcaya bolundu: Laik, Din, Kurt, alevi, Sunni.
Ataturk’un izini her gecen gun daha cok yok etme gayretleri…

Gorunen o ki durmaya da niyetleri yok, yola devam ediyorlar!

Ortadaki zarar bilancosu kabul edilemez boyutlara ulasti, boyle giderse de altindan kalkilamaz bir hal alacak. Akla gelen olasiliklar hep bu yonde ne yazik ki:

PKK’nin ve isbirlikcilerinin daha tam anlasilamamis sinsi planlari.
Yeni anayasa tasarilari, ki bu en tehlikelisi!
TSK’yi tasfiye girisimleri (ben bu isin bittigine inanmiyorum, genc subaylar kolay pabuc birakmazlar).

O zaman, bu zarar bilancosunun daha da artmasina izin vermemeliyiz, veremeyiz. Yapabilecegimiz herseyi bu amacla organize etmeli, bir araya gelmeli ve ortak mucadele ruhunu bu eksende olusturmaliyiz.

Ornegin, Ataturk Orman Ciftligi’nde yapilmasi planlanan basbakanlik binasi ile Ataturk’e ait bir hatira daha yok edilmeye calisiliyor, sanki memlekette arazi kalmamis gibi. Ne yapacagiz? Ankara Mimarlar Odasi bu konuda Cumhurbaskanligi’na iletilmek uzere bir imza kampanyasi baslatmis (buradan ulasabilirsiniz), hemen destek olmaliyiz. Bu bizim en demokratik hakkimiz ve bu hakki etkin bir sekilde kullanmaliyiz.

Bu girisim Twitter uzerinde #AtatürkOrmanÇiftliğiKatlediliyor etiketi ile paylasilmis ve buyuk bir farkindalik yaratilmistir. Emegi gecenlere tesekkurler!

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Happy Birthday Cenk Kursuncu! (#iyikidogdunCenkKurşuncu, #happyBirthdayCenkKursuncu)

For Turkish.

Cenk is the son of Pilot Lieutenant Colonel Namik Kursuncu who was arrested and sentenced in the Balyoz trials (i.e., Sledgehammer) after an unfair and unjust prosecution along with other 330 high-ranking Turkish officers.  Today, 24 September, is Cenk’s birthday and people who believe in Turkey’s bright tomorrows dedicated this day to all 330 officers sentenced in the same trials. They shouted their determination with the tag #iyikidogdunCenkKurşuncu (#happyBirthDayCenkKursuncu) on Twitter and celebrated this innocent kid’s birthday, which he had to spend away from his father.

Happy birthday Cenk! And you, the honorable Turkish soldiers, do not worry we will defend our country till the end!

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Balyoz Trials in Turkey

“Balyoz” means sledgehammer in Turkish and it is the name of the case against the Turkish Military that has been going on for around two years. Yesterday, it was a ground-shaking day for the Turkish people since the (so-called) “special-authority” court convicted 330 high-ranked military officers from all three branches of the forces. LA Times gave the news as “The three ex-commanders were convicted in Istanbul, Turkey, of being the ringleaders of a complex plot to “overthrow the government by force” almost a decade ago and were initially sentenced to life in prison, Turkish news reports said. But the court reduced the sentences for the trio to 20 years because the coup was not carried out”. You can read the full article here.

That’s what the world has heard so far, the pain of unfair and unjust trials that has lodged in the hearts of many million Turkish people probably is not known to the world. I believe it would strike you as one of the most heart-breaking stories if I could find a way to express my feelings and tell you the journey of my country starting from the early 20th century. “Torn Country: Turkey Between Secularism and Islamism” by Zeyno Baran is a very interesting read that will get you started.

It is not easy for me to describe what just happened in Turkey yesterday since I am still in shock. I feel unsecure as if somebody stole all my coins from my first piggy bank. Or maybe, I feel betrayed as if my countryman shot me in the head in the heat of the battle.

Where my country lies, Anatolia, it is believed that seven civilizations were built on top of each other. We have stories of unnamed heroes always standing up against the cruel, stories of love that melts mountains, and stories of a blue-eyed man who saved my people from the brink of annihilation. That man started our journey to a modern world, democracy, science and freedom. We have carried his light in our hearts until this day and it will never go out, but… Yesterday, the darkest of the dark, the most evil of all, the hideous and sinister forces of rotten moral values attacked everything I believed in.

These low-life forms mask their true intent behind religion and faith, they stay low under big deceptions like inter-faith dialogs, rainbows and sunny skies, yes you know their schools, send your kids and you love them very much! I am not going to name these dark forces for you. You know them and you know what they are capable of, you just need to ask the right questions…

Today, I am sad and angry. I am not going to try to defend all those convicted soldiers, I am not going to give you some references to read and learn about the facts of these trials.

The people who stand behind 330 soldiers convicted today have always been open and honest about their passions, values, principles, desires, everything. It started in 1920, in the heart of Anatolia, the path has always been to where the light was, we defeated the shadows to walk on that path, together as one. Look around to see who convicted those 330 soldiers today, you won’t be able to see them because they live in the shadows and you’ll never know who they are… You will just see their smiling and holy faces…