The Mobilization of the Public to the St. and Their Direction to Military Barracks was Pre-Planned

Although it is reasonable for civilian citizens to take to the streets to defend democracy, it is the absolute responsibility of state officials and public servants who invite them to the streets, thereby exposing them to danger and leaving them in the midst of provocation. It is also clear that not every element present on the streets was there to protect democracy, and some were there to intent provoke. At this point, a question arises:

Did the police and MIT (National Intelligence Organization) direct the public to intervene at military barracks?

This issue is a separate and significant topic that needs to be addressed to uncover the truth of July 15. The fact that all public officials within state authority pointed to the same method, the statements made by the Director-General of the Turkish National Police at the time, Mehmet Celalettin Lekesiz, that were reflected in the press, and the efforts of the Eurasian group to mobilize the public to the street, are indications that the mobilization of the public and their direction toward military barracks was premeditated and planned.

In its official statement after July 15, the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) declared that only 1.5% of the military was involved in the incidents. According to the TSK’s statement, the amount of equipment used was also very limited. The TSK had a total of approximately 570,000 personnel, including 247,000 ranking personel and 271,000 workers, civilian employees, and enlisted personnel. The army, which had around 300 fighter jets, 2,500 tanks, and 170 military ships, involved only a small number of aircraft, tanks, and ships in the incidents. Given the extremely limited number of soldiers involved in the events, it is clear that there was no need to involve civilians to suppress them. While the police force had approximately 273,000 personnel, the gendarmerie had 276,000 personnel, and hundreds of thousands of military personnel not involved in the events were more than sufficient to suppress and stop the incidents. Despite this, civilians were deliberately brought face-to-face with soldiers under the pretext of stopping the so-called coup.

The narrative used by the pro-government media of "people risking their lives to defend democracy," along with images of civilians being crushed and shot, and soldiers being lynched, was employed to legitimize the undemocratic conditions and illegal measures implemented after July 15 by violating the Constitution and laws and to secure public support.

In some places, large crowds of civilians were used as shields for the police. The majority of deaths did not occur due to gunfire from soldiers but rather from bullets fired from different angles, whose origins remain unidentified.

The use of civilians as live shields is an issue that must be the primary subject of investigation, both in terms of historical context and out of respect for the memory of the martyrs. To determine responsibility for the deaths, the analogy of a bank robbery can be analyzed. Legitimate defense should only apply to officials engaged in legitimate acts. It is evident that there was no direct action targeting the public. There were pre-motivated and prepared groups among the public.

It has been repeatedly examined and pointed out that the people or the party base was organized in advance, and the evidence presented by Foreign Affairs and Focus magazines has been highlighted.

The Ankara Provincial Police Chief’s inquisitive calls to the General Staff at 10:05 p.m. cannot be explained by coincidence or a sense of duty. It is clear from radio transmissions that operational preparations were completed by 9:29 p.m. The state of readiness of Garrison Commander Metin Gürak at the same time cannot be explained either.

In response to the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office's request for radio communications, only 'selected and filtered' sections from the Public Order, Riot Control, and Station channels were provided. The reluctance of the General Directorate of Security to provide communications between 6:00 p.m. on July 15, 2016, and 8:00 a.m. on July 16, 2016, particularly those between 6:00 p.m. and 9:30 p.m., along with the court's failure to insist on receiving all of them, indicates that the plot was not limited to that one night.

When we examine the radio communications that were released in a controlled manner, it becomes clear that military barracks were under police surveillance from the beginning and that measures were taken according to a specific plan. However, the police officers who made these communications were withheld from the court despite repeated requests

Similarly, it is clearly seen in the radio communications that the planning, coordination, deployment, and management of using thousands of citizens as live shields in crowds against armored vehicles was carried out by security units.

It is clearly evident that, despite the fact that military units did not exhibit an aggressive attitude towards citizens and refrained from causing harm, citizens were provoked in an attempt to exploit the situation. The fact that personnel had been previously trained for the seizure and use of tanks is also clearly reflected in the communications. Both the statements of the defendant, the complainant, and the witnesses, as well as the police radio records, clearly reveal that the tanks were seized, and the crew was subjected to attempted lynching.

It is also clear that the situation, which has been portrayed as a democratic reaction of the people, was in fact a premeditated and organized use of civilians as live shields.

This dangerous game was thwarted and prevented thanks to the discipline of the TSK and the sacrifice and foresight displayed by the crew, even at the cost of being lynched. Given the provisions of the Internal Service Law and the authority of the military to use weapons, this provocative attempt was averted only due to the self-discipline of the TSK which has the authority to use weapons in any form and the sacrifice and foresight of the crew, who endured until the last moment, even at the risk of being lynched.

However, law enforcement agencies have, without hesitation, used the public as "human shields," which is in direct contradiction to their obligation to take measures that do not harm the community and citizens while intervening in crimes as stipulated in the Law on the Duties and Powers of the Police.

In this context, an article published by Levent Gültekin around the time when Secret Witness Abdullah claimed to have briefed the President about a coup one month before July 15 is significant. A government that openly declares its desire for a civil war is being revealed. The embroidery is personally being crafted by the man at the very top of the TSK.

It has been addressed in the defenses that the police, dressed in civilian clothing, directed and even commanded civilians to occupy headquarters, with instructions given for uniformed personnel to remain out of sight. Despite the existence of footage of these individuals and the victims being rendered as unsolved cases, these police officers were also shielded from the courts.

Images related to the activities of mysterious individuals dressed in attire intended to agitate military personnel, as part of the occupation of the General Staff Headquarters and attempted lynching, have been included in court files. It is evident that various groups, operating within a coordinated planning and command structure, were attempting to increase casualties.

According to the minutes of the Parliamentary Coup Investigation Commission, when examining the timing of the events, it is observed that, by the order of the President, the mobilization of civilians began no later than 9:30 p.m., and crowds were brought in front of military barracks half an hour before the martial law directive and the so-called coup messages started circulating on WhatsApp. When considering the preparations of the municipalities, the coordination of the Religious Affairs Directorate and MIT, the crisis center of the police organization, the arrest warrant from the prosecutor's office, and the changes in the President's position, it is clearly evident that the public was mobilized according to a plan and program on July 15th. In the cases involving the General Staff, Akıncı, and the Gendarmerie General Command, it has been documented that in police radio recordings, plainclothes police officers were instructed to use civilians as human shields without revealing their identities, and that the events unfolded in alignment with the given instructions.

Umut Güçlüer