Turkey’s parliamentary Coup Investigation Commission member and main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) İstanbul deputy Aykut Erdoğdu said the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) is trying to obscure the realities behind a failed coup attempt on July 15 since the commission is being prevented from doing its job by “hidden hands.”
In an interview with the Birgün daily on Monday, Erdoğdu said there are scores of unanswered questions about the failed coup attempt that the AKP government and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan still have not clarified.
“They are not clarifying that [July 15] night. MİT [National Intelligence Organization] head Hakan Fidan’s failure to inform Erdoğan [about the coup attempt], Chief of General Staff Gen. Hulusi Akar’s captivity and release, prime suspect Adil Öksüz’s release after detention and Erdoğan’s statement that he was informed [about the coup attempt] by his brother-in-law have not been clarified,” he said.
While the events on the night of the coup attempt have yet to be fully revealed, Erdoğan has repeatedly complained about an intelligence failure, saying he only learned about the putsch from his brother-in-law on the night of July 15.
Underlining that the CHP has demanded to hear Fidan, Akar and other high-ranking army officers, Erdoğdu said they were expecting the commission to expand its investigation on the failed coup attempt according to the these hearings; however, the CHP’s attempts have always been blocked.
“The strongest and dirtiest hidden hand [to prevent the commission from continuing its investigation] is the ‘palace’ [Erdoğan’s] hand. It seems like the July 15 coup attempt was a Middle Eastern attempt. When we look at it from this angle, we can talk about more [hidden] hands. We also suspect hidden hands in MİT, the General Staff and foreign embassies wearing local gloves,” Erdoğdu said.
According to Erdoğdu, the AKP and Erdoğan fear the revelation of some realities about the failed coup attempt. Erdoğdu also said the same hidden hands were preventing the commission from hearing the putschist army general.
Erdoğdu also claimed that government may try to divert the attention of the public from the coup investigation to other topics such as the leaked videotapes of politicians. “We must be ready as the AKP may even put the blame on the CHP for the failed coup,” he added.