Partigöç, named in the coup declaration, speaks out: 'If I had done it, it would have been successful'

News: Müyesser YILDIZ - 12punto

In today's session of the trial, which continues to be heard at the Sincan Prison Complex by the Ankara 17th High Criminal Court, former Brigadier General Mehmet Partigöç, the then-Head of the General Staff Personnel Planning and Management Department, began his defense. Claiming that "the market has bought this case" and that "everyone has eaten as much as they could," he continued as follows:

"The Court of Cassation, which overturned the decisions made in this case, and the prosecutor who submitted the opinion are still speaking based on the indictment. A film is being made based on that indictment. The indictment is bad; the script and the actors are bad. They put a 1.90-meter-tall person in place of Ali Yazıcı and a bald person in my place. Yet, I had hair back then. There is a gentleman named Cem Küçük; I don't know him. He said, 'If Partigöç speaks, everything will come to light.' I will not disappoint Mr. Cem; I will speak this time, but it will be harmful. I will make that gentleman happy this time. I also know about Mr. Cem's relationship with the community (Cemaat). I also know how what he couldn't publish was passed on through him."

WHO ENSURED ŞİRİN ÜNAL JOINED THE AKP?

Partigöç also explained the following in response to some of the accusations against him:

"It is said that I attended the coup meetings at the villa. I did not attend those meetings. Despite all my requests, the camera recordings in the area were not brought in. Near that villa is the house of Şirin Ünal (former AKP deputy, retired Major General) - the one that came to the agenda with the alleged suicide of the Uzbek girl working in his house. I also know why an unmarried girl in Uzbek culture would commit suicide. I said, 'Get the camera recordings in front of Şirin Ünal's house,' but they were not taken. Şirin Ünal's house used to be in Dikmen, next to the house of an old Fethullahist who ensured he joined the AKP. I asked for an investigation into why this man was sent from the General Staff. It was not investigated. There was a situation regarding documents leaked to the green capital media and his private life. A note allegedly written to my wife was produced. I said, 'Send this note to forensics.' Why would I write it and put it in my bag? I would take a picture of it and send it to my wife. Oğuz Tozak, who found that note, does not like nationalist conservatives."

THE "PARALLEL STRUCTURE" NAME-GIVER AND THOSE IN THE SAFE

Denying the claim that they did not fight against "FETÖ" and alleging that when they asked the MIT (National Intelligence Organization), they were told for a long time, "No, he is not a FETÖ member, he is a Nurcu," Partigöç continued his defense:

"The person who came up with the 'parallel structure' business is Mehmet Dişli. He had gone to the USA. He said that such structures are called 'parallelists' in the USA. In other words, he is the one who gave the name. We recorded all the lists that came, official or unofficial, even if my own name was written on them. We turned them into a joint list and gave them to the force commanders. When it came to me, the 2nd Chief gave it to me. I wanted to retire. 'How can such a thing happen, my son? I trust you,' he said. Upon this, I prepared a note about my whole life story, my relatives, the schools I attended, and the places I worked, and asked them to investigate me. We weren't just writing generals on those lists. What happened to them? I had the key sent from my house and had the safe opened. I requested the footage of this opening; because there were very problematic documents in that safe. That's why I ask, 'Where are the documents that came out of my safe?' After I was arrested, I was called to the prosecutor's office a few times. They said, 'We know you are not a Fethullahist.' They even called one of my commanders next to me and asked. They also talked to my ex-wife. She said, 'It is impossible for him to be a Fethullahist.' The prosecutors offered, 'They have dumped this business on you now. Let us take you to Kırıkkale, you will get out in 8-10 years. Accept what we have written.' I replied, 'I am already telling what I know, I will not slander anyone.' When I didn't accept it, everything happened to me. It is being questioned why I don't say 'FETÖ'. Is there a terrorist organization in history whose name was given by the state? As far as I know, a terrorist organization has a name, a manifesto, and a sign, like the PKK. You, as the state, give a name to those you previously pledged allegiance to, and as the state, you call it a terrorist organization."

CLAIM THAT OUR SOLDIERS WERE ARRESTED EVEN BEFORE THE SACK INCIDENT

Stating that the Balyoz, Ergenekon, Military Espionage, and this case, which was first called Cemaat and then FETÖ, as well as the cases against the CHP, are identical, Partigöç said, "The real manager of all three cases is politics. FETÖ members appeared everywhere, except in politics." After saying this, he raised the following claims while responding to the CHP's statements that "Enemy criminal law is being applied to us":

"The CHP has not seen enemy criminal law. I don't mean them throwing ropes at us or anything. Who was detained and arrested in their underwear? I was the negotiator of the March 1 memorandum with Deniz Bölükbaşı. I was the operations officer of the units in Iraq. They arrested some of our soldiers 1 year before the sack was put on our soldiers' heads. I said to the Americans, 'Either you give them back or we will fight.' We got into it. They took me to the detainees. They were all in their underwear. That is what enemy criminal law is. Then they did it in Abu Ghraib Prison. Then to us. Zekai Aksakallı gave that advice. I know his seven generations. Enemy criminal law is detaining a man in his underwear."

"ZEKAİ WILL BANKRUPT OYAK"

Partigöç also noted the following about Zekai Aksakallı:

"They made Zekai the Chairman of the Board of Directors at OYAK. He will bankrupt OYAK. During our time, OYAK wanted to be given the status of a public institution. If it becomes a public institution, it cannot trade. I struggled for 2-3 years, I wore myself out. Politics did not want Coşkun Ulusoy. Now, just like they brought Zekai, they brought a retired general. Yet, professionals should manage this place. OYAK should be managed like a private company and should be based on profitability. I became suspicious when Zekai Aksakallı was made Chairman of the Board. Aksakallı studied at an Imam Hatip school for a while. It was 4 years then. He failed the class. Then he transferred to a normal high school in the third grade. He also failed in the Military Academy to both not study for 4 years and to be a normal high school graduate. I said, 'Since they brought this guy, OYAK will now go bankrupt.'"

Upon these words, the Presiding Judge warned, "OYAK is not the subject of our case." Partigöç replied:

"Zekai Aksakallı is the man who gave the shoot-to-kill order for me. He is an intervening party in the case. That is why I was declared a Fethullahist. The fugitive Ali Kalyoncu is the one who briefed Zekai Aksakallı to get promoted. Who is Kalyoncu? If I get into their families, there will be serious problems regarding the state, let me not get into it. The responsibility for what happens to OYAK from now on lies with those who brought Zekai Aksakallı there."

WHO WAS MOST UPSET THAT THE AKP WAS NOT CLOSED?

Continuing his defense, Partigöç spoke about various claims regarding the start of the Balyoz-Ergenekon process and what happened afterwards:

"I saw 17 Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meetings. In the first YAŞ meeting that Erdoğan attended, the generals decided to pressure politics. Probably Erdoğan was told what would happen to him, he was prompted. At the Council, it was said, 'You are supporting reactionism, you are hiring those we fired in the municipality.' They piled on the poor man. I was amazed; he said, 'You can fire the man, you can convict him; but how can you cut off his livelihood, what will happen to his children? Should he become a thief, a scoundrel, a villain? What is the same President and politics saying now; 'let them eat tree bark'. They didn't retire me for 4 years. Why doesn't the same President let Ali Yazıcı's wife return to her job even though she won the case? That is how it came from that point to this point. The fight started here. The military saw itself as strong and attacked politics. It peaked in the AKP closure case. İlker Başbuğ was arrested as a result of these. A Constitutional Court member was called to the Land Forces headquarters. They turned off the cameras, they cleared the guardhouse. They talked about the distribution in the Constitutional Court. What happened? One of those they put in jail now turned on the cameras, recorded it, and delivered it to politics. The general, whose wife is also a judge and whom Muharrem İnce said, 'I will rip off your epaulets,' was the most upset that the AKP was not closed. While he was trying to finish Hulusi's book, Hulusi finished his book. When the AKP was not closed, the event turned upside down. What are called FETÖ's actions were completely the order of politics, and the arrests began."

"I WROTE A FAKE REPORT FOR DURSUN ÇİÇEK"

Mehmet Partigöç also said the following while explaining what he did for the soldiers not to be arrested during the Balyoz-Ergenekon period, for the improvement of their conditions in prison after they were arrested, and for their release:

"However, they were the first to call me a 'FETÖ member'. I was made an expert witness in the Action Plan for Combating Reactionism, which was found in Serdar Öztürk's office and stated to be prepared by Dursun Çiçek. I never sell out a comrade-in-arms. It is known what will be written when an expert witness is chosen. It was known that I would not sell out, even if he were guilty or at fault. I was as sure as my name that this document was produced in the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces); but I wrote, 'It was not produced in the TSK.' After that report, Mehmet Baransu did not leave anything unwritten about me in his book. Now they call me a 'FETÖ member' - don't let them make me talk. I used to visit them in prison every week. We could only not visit Mehmet Ali Çelebi. Now he is buddies with Hulusi Akar. Çelebi retired for health reasons. Everyone knows the health reason, let me not get into it so it doesn't become personal. After the fight between the Cemaat and the AKP started, the tutelage team and politics agreed on a common point. Even a general said, 'If the Cemaat is cancer, the government is a pimple.' They thought they would handle the AKP after the Cemaat was finished. But the President is a cunning politician, he defeated them."

"THERE IS ALSO A DECLARATION WITH HULUSİ AKAR'S NAME ON IT"

Partigöç concluded his defense with these words:

"My name is on the coup declaration. Is there a wet signature? No. If it is called an electronic signature, electronic signatures have not been used in the TSK since the Arslan Güner period. If the coup declaration was sent from a computer under my command, did someone enter that room that night? There is a camera at the door. Where is the footage? There was a remote access section to the computer. Who are the personnel with remote access rights? A member of the administrative investigation committee established after July 15 and the head of the committee. Also, there are two police officers. Why are they there? Neither their statements were taken nor was an investigation conducted. Let's say we uploaded it. Where did we send the message from, where did it come to us from? It was said that a copy was found on a computer in the general-admiral branch. Find out when, at what time it was written, or where it was uploaded from. Also, there are two messages; one has my name under it, and the other has Hulusi Akar's name under it. Which one was prepared first, which one was copied from which; this is also not there. Since Mr. Cem (Küçük) says speak, I am speaking, I am explaining. How can I prove myself? No one is looking at the evidence that will reveal the event. It is being questioned why the Special Forces Command (ÖKK) personnel came to the General Staff. After some events, an order was given for the ÖKK to reinforce the General Staff and conduct an exercise. None of the commanders come out and say, 'We gave the reinforcement order, we had the exercise done.' It's a good thing the ÖKK personnel came. They stood at the door and said, 'We want Hulusi.' What would have happened if he had been killed that night? It was understood that he was not a Fethullahist; he was made a minister, a deputy. This patriot would have been killed and gone. They are raiding the barracks... If I were the team commander, I would have opened more fire. It is such a community that it has 37 thousand police officers, police chiefs, district governors, 40 thousand soldiers. It tries to stage a coup with 4 thousand 800 people. What hurts me the most is being told, 'You are one of the leaders of the coup.' If I were to stage a coup, I would have done it, I would have managed it, and it would have been successful."

The trial will continue tomorrow with Mehmet Partigöç's defense.