The 'Who saved TRT' feud in the AKP: The July 15 detail that pitted Süleyman Soylu against Efkan Ala

Eight years have passed since the July 15 coup attempt. The coup attempt, orchestrated by the Fethullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ) structure, began on July 15, 2016, when certain military units belonging to the Turkish Armed Forces blocked traffic on the Bosphorus Bridge in Istanbul around 10:00 PM, while fighter jets conducted low-altitude flights in Ankara.

The Parliament, the Ankara Police Headquarters, the Special Operations Department, TÜRKSAT, and the Presidential Complex were bombed by the coup-plotting soldiers. Approximately 9,000 soldiers, 35 aircraft, 37 helicopters, 246 armored vehicles including 74 tanks, and nearly 4,000 light weapons were used in the coup attempt.

TRT was one of the critical institutions during the FETÖ July 15 coup attempt. The coup plotters raided TRT to have their declaration read on air.

Following the reading of the declaration, the issue of clearing TRT of FETÖ coup plotters was on the agenda. However, there is confusion regarding this matter. Eight years have passed since the July 15 coup attempt, but the question of how TRT was retaken is still not clear.

While then-Minister of Labor Süleyman Soylu claims he was among the leading cadres who entered with a group of about 20 people to save the station, then-Minister of Interior Efkan Ala stated that TRT was taken by Police Intelligence officers under his own direct orders. The two conflicting accounts have caused confusion, leading to comments about a 'Who saved TRT' feud within the AKP.

Süleyman Soylu had stated that he received a call from his cousin Sadık Soylu, who told him that the atmosphere was favorable for taking back TRT and that if he came to the TRT building, it could be taken. Explaining that he went to the TRT building following this call, Soylu claimed that they were the second group to enter to retake TRT and that they ensured the station was secured by intervening against the coup plotters there.

THE AYHAN BORA KAPLAN DETAIL IN FRONT OF TRT

Furthermore...

One of the figures in front of TRT on the night of July 15 was Ayhan Bora Kaplan, who is currently imprisoned for being the leader of a criminal organization.

Süleyman Soylu's cousin, Sadık Soylu, confirmed that he called Ayhan Bora Kaplan that night with the following words:

“We went to TRT on July 15. I called Ayhan. July 15 was a war. We went into the war together.”

The photograph of Ayhan Bora Kaplan taken in front of TRT is as follows:

However, Efkan Ala, who held the seat of the Minister of Interior on the night of the July 15, 2016 coup, stated that TRT was taken by the then-Head of Police Intelligence, Engin Dinç, and his team under his own direct orders.

Efkan Ala, while a guest on a television program, explained the following in response to Süleyman Soylu's statements:

“Even at the cost of destroying TRT—because I know the impact of these things in such coup attempts—I said, if you cannot get inside, strafe them, use whatever you have, and destroy the building. That is the order I gave. And Police Intelligence was already right across from TRT...

Including those intelligence directors we later dismissed, these FETÖ members had also gone there to take over the place. We later understood that they had communicated among themselves and gathered, and went there to take it. Our current Ankara Police Chief, who was the head of that department at the time, immediately apprehended and detained them, and when my order arrived, they went and took TRT. In other words, Police Intelligence went and the police forces took delivery of TRT and cleared it of those villains...”