“Esteemed prosecutor, I am a TSK member who believes his country and the institution he is working for is above everything. I love my country so much that I sent you the original copy of the ‘Action Plan to Fight Reactionaryism' by putting myself, my family and my professional career at risk. I see that my attempt [letter] came to this point after the authenticity of the action plan was confirmed by the Council of Forensic Medicine [ATK]. My aim is not to wear down the TSK, which I am dedicated to with passion. On the contrary, I wish to serve my country by deciphering those who cast a threat to the stability, confidence and democracy of our country by hiding behind the armed forces. What I wish for solely is to help the emergence of realities and thwart attempts which would be impossible to repair in the future. Within this context, I call on everyone working for the armed forces to share documents they have with the public,” the officer said in his letter.

The second letter came only around two weeks after the first one, which pointed to the authenticity of a notorious action plan aimed at undermining the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement. The officer sent the first letter to İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor Aykut Cengiz Engin last month and attached the original copy of the military plot, whose authenticity was verified in a forensic examination. The examination put an end to all debate over the authenticity of the plot.

The officer argued in his second letter that the TSK had initiated a campaign, which he called “black propaganda,” to create suspicion regarding the original copy of the action plan. According to the action plan, the TSK had devised a systematic plot to damage the image of the AK Party government and the Gülen movement in the eyes of the public, to play down the Ergenekon investigation and to gather support for members of the military arrested as part of the inquest into Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal organization accused of plotting to overthrow the government. Dozens of suspected Ergenekon members are currently in jail on charges of attempting to destroy the democratic character of the republic.

The officer said the armed forces launched a campaign to cast down on the authenticity of the action plan, including sparking public suspicion regarding the plan with reference to a signature machine, questioning the timing of the emergence of the original copy of the action plan and conducting a smear campaign against experts at the ATK who confirmed the authenticity of the plan.

“The junta formation within the [General Staff] headquarters plans the following actions to reverse an ongoing negative process: 1. To make the public discuss the style of the action plan rather than its content by focusing on secondary factors in the document such as the writer, the pen and the ink; 2. To wear down individuals and institutions who argue for the authenticity of the document; 3. To dissuade newspapers and journalists against the authenticity of the document; 4. To extract a report against the authenticity of the document from the criminal laboratory of the Gendarmerie General Command; and 5. To damage public convention about the authenticity of the plot by focusing on such arguments as the existence of a signature machine,” the officer stressed in his letter.

The unnamed officer also argued that work conducted within the armed forces to produce such an action plan was not limited to Col. Dursun Çiçek, whose signature appears on the plot. According to the officer, Çiçek received an order for the preparation of the plot from high-ranking members of the army. The officer had claimed in his first letter that the order for the action plan came from 1st Army Corps Commander Gen. Hasan Iğsız. Iğsız was serving as deputy chief of general staff at the time. “In accordance with a directive by [then-Deputy Chief of General Staff] Gen. Iğsız, the necessary work was initiated by Lt. Gen. Mehmet Eröz and Maj. Gen. Mustafa Bakıcı, and the action plan was prepared by Col. Dursun Çiçek,” the letter read.

The second letter also claimed that the General Staff established 42 separate Web sites to back its psychological warfare against the plot. “Some press organs say there are 35 such Web sites. However, they are 42 in number. They were set up to prove that the action plan does not belong to the General Staff,” the officer stated. The letter also said the TSK monitored the activities of more than 400 Turkish and foreign language Web sites. Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ was reportedly informed about the monitoring.