Sledgehammer instigators planned to assassinate outstanding public figures

PanARMENIAN.Net - Slain Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink was the first “elected target” of instigators of the Sledgehammer (Bayloz) plan, a suspected military plot to overthrow the government, Today’s Zaman reports, citing The Star.

The instigators planned to assassinate opponents of the planned coup using professional gendarmes. Among other “targets” were Star columnist Professor Mehmet Altan, Milliyet columnist Hasan Cemal, Professor Toktamis Ates, Agos Editor-in-Chief Etyen Mahcupyan, sociologist Ali Bulac, Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew, Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan and former Vatican representative George Marovic.

The subversive plan is mentioned in details in the civilian indictment for the Sledgehammer document. Prosecutors overseeing the Sledgehammer probe believe the junta behind the coup plan prepared eight separate action plans to “get rid of” probable opponents of the expected coup d’état.

Sledgehammer is a suspected coup plot devised in 2003 at a military gathering. According to the plan, the military was to systematically foment chaos in society through violent acts, among which were planned bomb attacks on the Fatih and Beyazıt mosques in İstanbul. The plot allegedly sought to undermine the government and lay the groundwork for a military takeover. One of the plans, titled Tirpan (Scythe), would kill academics who opposed the planned coup. Prominent Armenians would be murdered under the Orak (Grass Hook) plan, right-wing figures under the Yumruk (Fist) plan, left-wing figures under the Kurek (Spade) plan, liberals under the Testere (Saw) plan, religious figures under the Dokum (Breakdown) plan, civil society representatives under the Urgan (Rope) plan and minority leaders would be killed under the Sakal (Beard) plan. According to Sledgehammer prosecutors, the plans were devised by Lt. Col. Hanifi Yildirim.

Dink’s brother, Orhan Dink, said his family will decide whether it will become a co-plaintiff in the Sledgehammer case once its lawyers examine the indictment. “We will become co-plaintiffs if we are required to,” he noted. Dink, once the editor-in-chief of Agos, was shot dead in 2007 by an ultranationalist Turkish adolescent. There are 196 defendants in the Sledgehammer case. Star’s Altan said Turkey’s intellectuals face murderers who appear in “state form.” “In normal countries governed by the rule of law, citizens trust their state when they face such murderers. There are people in Turkey who are born murderers. They want to kill the country’s writers, caricaturists and academics. This is a sad example to show why Turkey cannot solve its problems,” he said.

According to Mahcupyan, he is not at all surprised to see his name included on a list of “to-be-assassinated” people. “Manipulations usually depend on nationalism. For this, non-Muslims are targeted. Non-Muslims are aware of this fact and have lived on a knife’s edge for many years,” he said, adding that he does not believe the coup plotters will reach their objectives. “If they could not stage a coup in 2006 or 2007, they can no longer do it because they have been exposed. When people are faced with provocation, they know why they were done and for what reason. Therefore, coup plotters cannot bring about an atmosphere of chaos,” he said.

Bulac said he is proud to be included in the “coup opponents” list and recalled that he was also “targeted” in the Sept. 12, 1980 coup d’état. “I spent many years in prison and was tortured. Therefore, I am not in the least bit surprised to see my name on this list. But my inclusion on such a list will not make me afraid nor force me to take a step backwards. On the contrary, it shows me that we are right to fight coup plotters. I am proud to see my name on this list. It would be a source of shame for me if I saw my name side by side with coup plotters,” he added.