The Unconventional Discussions and Motivations of Hulusi Akar, Hakan Fidan, Şirin Ünal

Hulusi Akar did not want Abidin Ünal to meet Erdoğan

Levent Türkkan, who spoke on the first day of the hearings said that he was systematically tortured for 4 days in a special room at Başkent Sports Hall from July 16 to July 19, 2016, and that the statement published in the press did not belong to him. He deciphered the unconventional relationship between Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan on and before July 15. 

In his statement, Türkkan stated that Hulusi Akar personally chose him as his adjutant, and said that "he has been working as an adjutant at the General Staff since 2011. He emphasized that no matter who comes to Hulusi Akar, whoever he talks to on the phone, whether it is the President, the Prime Minister or his own family, daughter or son, he arranges them all himself. He also stated that while he was personally arranging all kinds of activities and meetings of Hulusi Akar, he did not arrange Akar’s meetings with Hakan Fidan and Şirin Ünal on the night of July 14 and later on July 15. 

Türkkan stated that Hulusi Akar went to a house in Çukurambar with his daughter’s personal car without taking his guards before July 15, and that this issue was also covered in the press, but no one investigated it. 

Türkkan also stated that Hulusi Akar had heard from MIT that Abidin Ünal was secretly meeting with Erdoğan, and thereupon, a meeting was planned to coincide with Erdoğan and Abidin Ünal's meeting time. Abidin Ünal lied that "his brother had a traffic accident" in order not to attend the meeting, and that this lie was deciphered by sending a doctor to his brother's house.

In his statement, Türkkan said that after Yaşar Güler and Zekai Aksakallı's departure from Special Forces Officers course completion ceremony that was held on July 14, 2016, Hulusi Akar and MIT Undersecretary Hakan Fidan had a tete-a-tete meeting for about 5 hours. Even though Akar had frequently met with Fidan before, after what happened on July 15, he understood why this time they had such a long meeting for the first time.

Hulusi Akar: The meeting with Şirin Ünal must not be on the record.

Türkkan said in his statement that on July 15, at 14.00, AKP Deputy retired Major General Şirin Ünal came to the General Staff Headquarters and Hulusi Akar talked to him in his office for about two hours. This meeting was completely unplanned, and Akar personally instructed him at the end of the meeting; “This meeting should never go on the record!” After stating that Hulusi Akar’s program was always predetermined and that the Chief of General Staff would not change his program for a deputy, Türkkan continued that but if that deputy came by the order of the President or Prime Minister who has the power to create this exception, this is different. He also said in his statement that Şirin Ünal spent the whole night with the President.

He said that after Major Osman Karaca went to MIT and informed about the coup attempt, Hakan Fidan called Yaşar Güler by phone and informed him and sent his assistant Sabahattin Asal to the General Staff to explain the situation. According to the records, after this meeting, Fidan himself came to the General Staff at around 18:10. Türkkan stated that Hulusi Akar had a one-on-one meeting with Fidan in a meeting room, and Yaşar Güler later joined this meeting. He also emphasized that he had Hakan Fidan and the President's bodyguard Muhsin KÖSE talk over the phone at the behest of Hulusi AKAR during the meeting.

After the MIT Undersecretary Hakan Fidan left the headquarters, a security issue regarding an attack on the senior commanders and the General Staff Headquarters were brought to the agenda and the barracks went into the alarm state. Türkkan stated in his statement that "Thereupon, the unit from the Special Forces spread all over the General Staff command floor, and Colonel Fırat ALAKUŞ, who was at their head, said, "We came to take the safety of the Commander (Hulusi Akar), Zekai (Aksakallı) Pasha sent us, the Commander knew!"

Hulusi Akar, who went to Akıncı Airbase by helicopter from the General Staff Headquarters, talked with Levent Türkkan through Mehmet Dişli, and asked him to tell his wife that he was fine, that everything was fine. Emphasizing that he spoke to Hulusi Akar's wife Şule Hanım on the phone that night and said that the Commander was fine, Türkkan stated that he was accused of arresting Hulusi Akar in the indictment, referring to the images of Akar leaving the headquarters, “I’m detained but I don’t leave without a hat!”

After Türkkan stated in his statement that he knew Hulusi Akar and his family very well because he followed all their private affairs, he deliberately misled the truth in this process, concealed what happened, and misled everyone, especially the court committee; “Hulusi Akar came out of that terrible night as supposedly a victim, complainant, detained and actually fighting relentlessly for democracy. It is clear what will happen if it comes to the conclusion that the opposite is true, that is, he is actually a putschist. As a result, I and the staff in a similar position to me, who knew his real situation, were put on the target.”

What Are the Joint Motivations of Hulusi Akar, Hakan Fidan, and Şirin Ünal?

Şirin Ünal and Hakan Fidan were already Erdogan's bureaucrats. The murder allegations involving Şirin Ünal explain that he has no place to protect except AKP and Erdoğan. Although Hakan Fidan was portrayed as a target of Israel and America by the political Islamist press for a while, he is respected enough to be heard and addressed in the US Congress. It can be said that this study of perception in domestic politics was carried out to gain the sympathy of the conservative Anatolian mass.

However, how a soldier from the Turkish Armed Forces, the most important institution of the secular and democratic regime, Hulusi Akar, could come to the AKP ministry, cannot be explained by both current and non-military soldiers and bureaucrats working abroad.

One of the most frequently asked questions to bureaucrats abroad is what is the motivation behind Hulusi Akar's side with Erdogan. “Why is Hulusi Akar so close to Erdoğan, is the close relationship of the Chief of General Staff with a political party leader normal in Turkish Armed Forces practices?” These questions were asked even before July 15. It is known that these inquiries were presented to Hulusi Akar in his office. We read this in the testimony of Colonel O. Yıkılkan, advisor to Hulusi Akar.

Hulusi Akar's meeting with Abdullah Gül, Şükrü Karatepe and Fehmi Koru in "England" in a long period of time (42 days), which did not quite comply with the foreign military leave practices, during the years when Hulusi Akar was a first lieutenant, revealed the Islamic trend motivation of Hulusi Akar, which was never known until that day. With the 15 July plot, he received Erdogan's award as Minister of National Defense. Another remarkable issue is that Hulusi Akar is constantly polished, as if it is protected, while the recent AKP policies are criticized and each AKP minister is subjected to harsh criticism.

As a result, it is understood that both Hulusi Akar and Hakan Fidan received permission from those who approve of Erdogan to stay at the head of Turkey for a while, despite all the problems in economic and foreign affairs.