Retired General Saldıray Berk laid to rest

A funeral ceremony was held for Saldıray Berk (76) at the Ahmet Hamdi Akseki Mosque in the Çankaya district of Ankara.

Following the funeral prayer, Berk's coffin was placed on a gun carriage and transported from the area accompanied by a military honor guard.

In addition to Berk's family, the ceremony was attended by Chief of General Staff General Metin Gürak, Land Forces Commander General Selçuk Bayraktaroğlu, military officials, and his fellow officers.

Following the ceremony, Berk was laid to rest at Karşıyaka Cemetery.

WHO IS SALDIRAY BERK?

Saldıray Berk (born February 16, 1948, Erzurum) was a Turkish soldier and politician. He was a former Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command (EDOK).

He graduated from the Selimiye Military Middle School in 1962, the Kuleli Military High School in 1966, and the Turkish Military Academy in 1968. He completed his training at the Artillery and Missile School in 1969. Until 1976, he served as a company and platoon commander and reconnaissance officer in artillery units within the Turkish Land Forces.

He graduated from the Army War College in 1978. As a staff officer, he served as the Logistics Branch Manager and Operations Branch Manager of the 39th Infantry Division, a faculty member at the Military Academy, a planning officer in the Personnel Department of the Land Forces Command, a military attaché in Moscow, the Personnel Management Branch Manager of the Land Forces Command, and the Commander of the 9th Infantry Division Artillery Regiment.

He was promoted to the rank of brigadier general in 1995. In this rank, he served as the Deputy Chief of Staff for Operations of the 2nd Army, the Military Attaché in Baku, and the Commander of the 1st Infantry Brigade.

He was promoted to the rank of major general in 1999. In this rank, he served as the Deputy Head of the Land Forces Inspection and Evaluation Department, the Head of the General Staff Personnel Department, and the Commander of the 23rd Gendarmerie Border Division.

He was promoted to the rank of lieutenant general in 2003. In this rank, he served as the Head of Personnel for the General Staff and later as the Commander of the 4th Corps.

He was promoted to the rank of general in 2007 and was appointed as the Commander of the 3rd Army, and in 2010, as the Commander of the Training and Doctrine Command. He retired in 2011.

It was alleged that during a visit to the village of Başbağlar in the Kemaliye district of Erzincan in May 2008, he said, "May the hands that vote for the AK Party wither. Do you know that Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is selling out the homeland?" A lawsuit was filed against him on charges of insulting Erdoğan.

Berk denied the allegations. The court sentenced Berk to eleven months and twenty days in prison.

He was tried without arrest in the Ergenekon case. He did not appear in court on the day of the hearing and had two F-16s fly over the Erzurum Courthouse.

In later years, Bayram Bozkurt, the prosecutor in İliç who had launched an investigation into Saldıray Berk and the then-Chief Public Prosecutor of Erzincan, İlhan Cihaner, on the grounds that they were members of Ergenekon, stated that he had been included in the investigation to prevent Saldıray Berk from becoming Chief of General Staff.

Bozkurt was arrested after the July 15 coup attempt on charges of being a member of the Fethullahist organization.

He joined the Vatan Party on May 8, 2015.

Saldıray Berk passed away on February 14, 2024.

News Source : AA