Turkish 'hawks' want to settle past injustices
The Turkish military is polarized as to whether it should confront the alleged injustices perpetrated by the Gulenists against the army or if it should look to the future.
Those who are familiar with the Turkish military know it well, so recent media comments made by retired generals have placed hard-to-dismiss psychological pressures on serving officers. Now, once silent retired generals have resumed their oratory, this time regarding the so-called assassination plot against Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc by an illegal structure that has allegedly penetrated the Turkish army.
Former Chief of General Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug and Lt. Gen. Ismail Hakki Pekin are among those who decided to speak out. Basbug was detained for over two years between 2008-2010 in the context of the Ergenekon coup attempt case. Pekin served as head of Military Intelligence under Basbug and was detained in 2011, also in connection with the Ergenekon case. Pekin is now the vice-chair of the radical leftist Homeland Party, which has distinguished itself with its neo-nationalist and anti-American narratives.
One wonders why Gen. Pekin, an experienced intelligence veteran, frequently appears in the media. Is this his reaction to the perceived injustices committed against him, or does he want to be seen as an active politician?
According to a senior retired officer who spoke to Al Monitor on condition of anonymity, both motives are valid. He said: "Pekin’s aim is to draw attention to the plots concocted by the parallel structure of the Gulenists [US-based preacher Fethullah Gulen’s movement] against the Turkish army and to injustices that arose from those plots. But he also has political goals. When the speaker is a newly retired intelligence officer and now vice-chair of a political party, obviously his search for justice is politicized."
