Maj.Gen. Mehmet Göktan:"Leave the barracks immediately, but don't tell the other personnel"

Despite six years having passed, the events before and after July 15, 2016, in Turkey remain unclear. However, over time, emerging facts have shown that the official narrative was lie. Testimonies from both defendants and witnesses during the trials have revealed that commanders in the Turkish Armed Forces were aware of what was about to happen but failed to perform their duties. One of these commanders was revealed to be then Chief of Land Forces Intelligence, Maj. Gen. Mehmet Göktan. 

According to the court testimony(1) of Fatih Yurtsever, an NCO serving as the Intelligence Chief's aide, Maj. Gen. Göktan called him at around 10:00 PM on the night of coup attempt. Göktan instructed Yurtsever to leave the barracks immediately but only inform three people, without notifying the rest. 

One of the main responsibilities of the Chief of Land Forces Intelligence is to promptly inform all military personnel, especially the headquarters staff, of any imminent security threats through safety alert messages and ensuring appropriate safety measures are taken. Yet, Maj. Gen. Göktan not only neglected this responsibility, but also actively concealed the information from the personnel at the headquarters. This omission led to military personnel being unwittingly lured into a 'trap' under the pretense of a drill, alarm, or terror attack. 

Maj. Gen. Göktan was at a wedding at the Officers' Club during the coup attempt. 

According to the Turkish Armed Forces Military Code, Maj. Gen. Göktan was required to immediately report to headquarters and inform all personnel at the Land Forces Command during an extraordinary situation. However, it was later revealed that on the night of July 15, Göktan was attending a wedding at the Officers' Club, just a 10-minute walk from the Land Forces Headquarters, and did not even go there. 

This raised questions about how Göktan, at 10:00 PM, in the midst of a chaotic and uncertain environment, seemed to already know what was happening, suggesting that he may have been complicit in the conspiracy against innocent military personnel. 

It was also revealed that the Chief of Land Forces Operations failed to report to work and did not inform his subordinates despite stating that he would do so. 

According to the records of Land Forces Central Journal (2) : 

On the night of the incident, it was revealed that Major General Mehmet Okkan, the Chief of Land Forces Operations, called the Operations Center three times after 20:00 and indicated that he would report to headquarters. However, he never arrived, nor did he inform his staff about the ongoing events. 

It was revealed that Major General Mehmet Okkan was also at the wedding at the Officers' Club, raising suspicions that he knew everything in advance and was part of the conspiracy in a chaotic environment where it was unclear what was happening at 20:00. 

Despite requests for these commanders to testify as witnesses in court during the Land Forces Headquarters trial, these requests were repeatedly denied without explanation. 

Umut Güçlüer

Sources: 

[1] Within the scope of the Land Forces Indictment, the case file numbered 2017/46 of the Ankara 19th Criminal Court includes the witness statement given by NCO Fatih Yurtsever on July 6, 2018, in the presence of the court. 

[2] The Journal Records included in the report dated August 2016 from the Command of the Land Forces, with the reference number HRK: 22282378-1270-161/1’inci Tahkikat Hyt