Clinton curious about Turkish military, government, Ergenekon triangle

ISTANBUL – Hürriyet Daily News

U.S. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton requested information from the Istanbul Consulate and Ankara Embassy in August 2009 regarding where the military and government stand on Ergenekon.

According to two cables WikiLeaks’ Turkey partner daily Taraf published Friday, Clinton asked whether each side was trying to support or block the investigation and the judiciary’s angle on the issue. The response was not present in the leaked cables.

Clinton asked a total of 19 questions. She asked how involved the General Staff was in the alleged Ergenekon gang, what its status toward the investigation was and how much they feared it might exceed their authority. Whether the General Staff was making back-channel negations with the ruling administration, was it probable that they may intervene and if so, how. Then-top Gen. İlker Başbuğ’s personal agenda regarding whether he would use the process for “housecleaning” in the high command was queried, as was whether he would try to prevent the investigation at some point. Başbuğ’s views on embezzlement were queried, as was how worried the General Staff was about Başbuğ’s predecessors cooperating with prosecutors.

Regarding Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Clinton asked how solid the evidence on a coup attempt against them was and whether there were signs they were using the investigation to eliminate their political rivals. How much Erdoğan could intervene in the process, if there were signs he would halt it at some point or whether he’d “go until the end” were also among the questions.

Opinions of jurists, both pro-AKP and Kemalist, on the process were also asked. Clinton was curious about whether the Ergenekon prosecutors and judges were trustworthy and if they could be intimidated or bribed.

Ergenekon is an alleged ultranationalist, shadowy gang accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup initially by spreading chaos and mayhem.

via Clinton curious about Turkish military, government, Ergenekon triangle – Hurriyet Daily News and Economic Review.