Letter from prison by retired General Çetin Doğan: 'With the spirit of the Kuvvacı...'

Retired General Çetin Doğan sent a letter from Buca Prison on the 27th anniversary of February 28.

In his letter, Doğan said the following:

"WE ARE PRACTICALLY COMPETING WITH KAVALA ON THIS MATTER"

“My dear brother, first of all, hello with my most sincere greetings, love, and respect. I know that in this country, which is currently governed by a totalitarian regime that has drifted away from democracy and has no place in this modern world, it is very difficult to be a real journalist. I see you as one of the few writers in our country who can achieve this. In addition to this difficulty, I imagine you are under a bombardment of letters from desperate people who have suffered or think they have suffered injustice. My purpose is not to pen such a letter. I do not want to talk about my own share of the burden in this order, in the face of the disasters that have occurred one after another in our country, the lives lost, and the deprivation, poverty, and injustices experienced by the beautiful people of our country. We continue to grit our teeth. Since I have made this teeth-gritting a reflex, I have ground my teeth down quite well. Finally, the doctors had to extract four of my molars that had become untreatable. I had also lost two molars while I was a guest (!) at the Silivri guesthouse. In Buca, they did fillings to save five of my teeth. Meanwhile, I learned with sadness that the time Osman Kavala has spent behind four walls has reached seven years. I have never been one to count the days for myself. But I did what was necessary to calculate how long I have been a guest of prisons in total. We are practically competing with Mr. Kavala on this matter. Let me explain briefly without dragging it out...

"I THINK IT MAY HAVE STEMMED FROM 'DELUSION'"

When I turned seventy (2010), I found myself behind bars due to a plot that succeeded with the support of the “Numbering Republicans” (at that time known as the F. Gülen Community). (February 2010) Today I am 84 years old. As of today, I have spent exactly half of the 14 years that have passed in prison, behind four walls. With an unceasing animosity, they keep me and Mr. Kavala in prison, starting at different times but with a similar pretext. I think that while Mr. Kavala and I may share the same values of the modern world, his Atatürkism is of a neoliberal texture, whereas my public-oriented side as a strict ‘Kemalist Soldier’ weighs heavier. Although there is no concrete reason for the animosity harbored against us, I think it may have stemmed from this ‘delusion.’

As it is said, in our country where the tracks of horses are mixed with the tracks of dogs, it becomes normal for delusions to be perceived as reality. To clarify this matter, it would be appropriate for me to summarize a question directed at me and the answer I gave.

The question asked to me: Mr. President, while you commuted the sentences of eight of the defendants who were tried and convicted for the same crime in the February 28 case under Article 104 of the Constitution, why were five people, including myself, left out of the scope? The Constitutional Court’s reasoned explanation of the history of the amendments to the Constitution, including the old and new versions, is available on its website. On the website, the original version of Article 104 is written as: ‘to commute and pardon the sentences of certain persons due to chronic illness, disability, and old age.’ The final version is as follows:

‘Article 104. /Amended 21/1/2017-6771/8 Art.) Commutes or pardons the sentences of persons due to chronic illness, disability, and old age.’

As can be seen, by removing the word ‘certain’ from the old version in the 8th article, the President’s discretionary power has been removed. Special and general amnesty is under the authority of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM). Article 104 has given the President many other duties and authorized him for the fulfillment of these duties. All defendants convicted in the February 28 case have similar Forensic Medicine Reports regarding the illnesses specified in the Constitution. While there is no concrete reason for the discrimination, I believe that the existence of animosity stemming from delusion, directed at the individuals subjected to discrimination, forms the basis of this injustice.

A plaintiff’s attorney, who listened to my defense in the courtroom carefully but without understanding its essence, came up to me and claimed that he had solved everything, and that as a result, I, as the head of the Western Working Group, formed the focal point of the steps taken after February 28. He even went further and claimed that the 18-point declaration of the National Security Council (MGK) was written by the Western Working Group. Knowing that it was impossible to explain anything to such people, I just smiled bitterly.

"...MY PROPOSAL IS SOLIDARITY FOR A BRIGHT TURKEY WITH THE SPIRIT OF THE KUVVACI"

If you were to ask me ‘what should be done’ in this process that our country is going through... My proposal is to draw strength and inspiration from Atatürk’s Address to the Youth, and for the beautiful people of my country of all ages to leave aside animosity and hatred and stand in solidarity for a bright Turkey with the spirit of the Kuvvacı (National Forces). I wholeheartedly believe that the human wealth of the Anatolian lands, where ancient civilizations of thousands of years have merged in the same pot, has the strength and capability to overcome any obstacle. With my greetings, love, and wishes for well-being to you and the beautiful people of my country.