Turkey’s former top general says coup rumors were 'not serious’

The retrial of the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) coup plot case has begun, with retired former chief of Turkish General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök saying the coup rumors were “not serious” during his testimony on Nov. 3.

Özkök, along with former Land Forces Commander Gen. Aytaç Yalman, attended the hearing to testify at the Anatolian 4th Heavy Penalty Court in Istanbul.

After confirming which suspects he knew and which he did not, Özkök was asked whether he knew of action plans titled “Balyoz, Suga, Oraj, Çarşaf,” to which he responded that he heard of these plans “from the media.”

“I had never heard about these plans. Especially the word ‘Balyoz’ sounded very unfamiliar to me. I only heard it from the media. I did not receive any information that a coup was being planned. There were just rumors,” he said, adding that these rumors were not serious enough to launch an investigation at the time.

Confirming that he had asked convicted suspect Çetin Doğan, the former first army general, about “indirect information” regarding a possible plot, Özkök said anonymous letters had been received from outside the army.

He also denied that letters were exchanged between the General Staff and other forces for not recording the alleged plot, which was determined as a coup plot in the previous ruling, during a seminar in 2003.

Former Gen. Yalman also said he had no knowledge of the Balyoz coup plot at the time it is alleged to have been planned.

“I do not have any information or documents. I learned about this subject after it was reported by the media,” Yalman said.

He added that he organized the seminar held by the 1st Army Commandership which allegedly featured the coup plot,...