‘Turkish intelligence behind presumed 2016 coup attempt’

Mohamed Abdel Ghaffar

On July 15, 2016, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan came out to tell his people that a military coup against him had failed and that he had regained control over the country, in what looked like a scene from a Hollywood drama.

Nevertheless, the same so-called coup turned out to be fake, and this proves to be true as time goes by. Erdogan’s close associates come out one after another to tell the Turkish people facts about the presumed coup which was used by Erdogan to get rid of his political opponents.

Surprise

Mehmet Eymür, the former head of the Counter-Terrorism Department of the Turkish National Intelligence, has unveiled important details about the presumed coup.

Eymür told a Turkish TV channel on November 26 that the main suspect in the coup attempt was an agent of the Turkish National Intelligence.

He added that the Turkish government had banned the travel of this suspect after the coup attempt for fear that he would talk to the media and reveal the whole matter.

Eymür noted that the same suspect could have been killed by the Turkish regime in order to bury with him all details about the presumed coup.

He quoted some colleagues of the suspect as saying that he had been exploited by Erdogan in feigning the coup attempt.

This is not the first time Eymür says this. He said previously that the coup attempt was masterminded and carried out by the Turkish intelligence.

The attempt, he said, was far larger than the abilities of the opposition Hizment movement which is led by Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen.

Testimonies

The full realities behind the presumed coup unfold one after another. Bülent Arınç, a former member of the advisory council of President Erdogan, expressed sorrow over the damage caused to suspects in the 2016 coup attempt.

On October 31, he described the coup attempt as “catastrophic”.

“So many people suffered because of this,” Arınç said. “I am so sorry for them.”

He donated half of his salary to the victims of Erdogan’s crackdown.

“I feel guilty every time I see or hear about these people,” Arınç added.