Didim Today

An assassination plot against deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç that was exposed over the weekend has shocked Ankara. Gendarmerie and police teams launched an operation to capture the suspects after they received information that two military officers Maj. İbrahim G. and Col. Erkan Yılmaz B. -- were planning to assassinate the deputy prime minister.The teams detected two suspicious vehicles in the vicinity of Arınç’s house.

One of the vehicles belonged to the General Staff, while the other was rented from a private car rental company. One of the officers allegedly tried to swallow a piece of paper when he saw the gendarmerie and police teams approaching. The paper featured Arınç’s home address. Police also found several maps showing Arınç’s house in the two vehicles.

Now that the military’s involvement in this shady plot is so obvious, everyone is asking the General Staff to shed some light on the incident. Questioning the reasons why Arınç was chosen as a target, Zaman’s Mustafa Ünal says Arınç is a person who is well known by the public, who does not avoid saying what he thinks and who harshly reacts to every military attempt to meddle in politics.

He recalls how Arınç reacted when the coup diaries of an admiral were disclosed, saying, “Thank God Turkey did not enter a war with another country under the command of these generals.” In Ünal’s view, Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ needs to convincingly explain to the public about the assassination plot against Arınç since it seems to be the work of some military members. “Turkey has forgotten, but political assassination means chaos and turmoil. Some circles want to create an uncertain environment again. The signs, findings and allegations are very serious,” says Ünal.

According to Hürriyet’s Ertuğrul Özkök, the General Staff is repeating a mistake by remaining silent about the assassination plot against Arınç despite the fact that three days have passed since the discovery of the plot. “Just like everyone else, I wonder about the answers to these questions. Why were those two military officers there? Were they doing something that the General Staff knew about?

How can these individuals who cannot even keep an address in their heads and who write it down on a piece of paper serve as intelligence officers? How can someone find the courage to attempt to do such a thing after the Ergenekon trial?

The answers to all these questions should be given convincingly,” contends Özkök. Bugün’s Adem Yavuz Arslan thinks Arınç being chosen as a target was a correct choice by those masterminding the attack because Arınç is known as the “conscience” of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), and his name has not been tainted although he’s been in politics for years.

“Those who wanted to create an environment of chaos in Turkey could not have found a target better than Arınç,” says Arslan. Stressing the seriousness of the assassination plot, he says the investigation into the plot should be carried out meticulously without any evidence being destroyed. About the Author - Fatma D Zibak This e-mail address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it Today`s Zaman http://www.todayszaman.com