Turkish ambassador denies rumours about friction between Erdogan and military

ISLAMABAD: The Turkish Ambassador Mr Sadik Babur Girgin on Monday out-rightly rejected the tensions between Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the military. Calling the media reports as “false propaganda” about the alleged “demotion” of a senior army officer in Turkey, the ambassador stated that the officer – General Zekai Aksakalli – had actually been promoted and appointed as a corps commander.

Western media reports had claimed earlier during the day that the president had warned a top general, who played a key role in defeating the last year’s failed coup and led a cross-border operation in Syria, that he must accept a surprise demotion without any rancour.

The reports had claimed that the friction between the president and the general developed because the general wanted to resign from the armed forces after he was demoted from the position of Special Forces chief and given a less significant position.

“A three-star lieutenant general being assigned as corps commander is not a demotion,” said Girgin while talking exclusively with Pakistan Today at a dinner.

The envoy asserted that the officer was a two-star major general previously, and had been holding the post of SSG commander.

He was promoted to lieutenant general in a meeting of the Supreme Military Council (SMC) after the July 15, 2016, attempted putsch where his actions made him a figure of national prominence.

He was praised for ordering Sergeant Omer Halisdemir to kill one of the suspected ringleaders, Brigadier General Semih Terzi, on the night of July 15 last year. By shooting Terzi dead outside the Special Forces headquarters in Ankara, the sergeant broke the chain of command of the coup-plotters although he was subsequently killed.

The president was also quoted over the matter saying that there cannot be a notion of disappointment in the military.

“An officer goes and fulfils his duty wherever he is assigned. Right now Zekai Aksakalli has completed his tenure at the Special Forces. In the recent SMC meeting, it was proposed that he should be appointed as 2nd Corps Commander and continue his service there,” the president said.

When asked to comment on the western media’s reports that up to ten military generals, including the former Special Forces chief, were ready to resign, the ambassador again termed it an utter farce on the part of media.

“To my knowledge, only one general has asked for retirement. So there are no resignations at all,” asserted the envoy.

The ambassador said that Pakistan and Turkey enjoyed historic brotherly relations expressing hope that the upward trajectory of Pak-Turkey relations would continue its pace and would result in greater cooperation and collaboration between the two countries.

He said that he visited Northern areas of Pakistan and witnessed their matchless beauty, which needed to be projected to the world.

“If projected under a well-thought-out plan, Pakistan can attract millions of foreign tourists each year. I have never seen such a beautiful place. I have travelled by road from Islamabad to Gilgit, Hunza, Kaghan, Naran and Khunjerab. Pakistan is just like paradise on earth which needs to be rediscovered by the world,” he said.

He said that the government and the people of Turkey greatly value brotherly relations with Pakistan.

“These relations are based on a shared history, common values and mutual interests,” he said.

The envoy noted with satisfaction that the bilateral relations between the two countries have further deepened, as well as broadened, during the last four years. He said that Turkey is keen to further strengthen its relations with Pakistan, particularly the economic cooperation between the two countries.

He said that both the countries could further augment bilateral trade ties even without a formal Free Trade Agreement (FTA).

He said that there was a need for more projection of Pakistan’s positive image in the media, and Turkey’s official TRT TV would soon be producing documentaries in the Turkish language to promote the rich cultural and tourist strengths of Pakistan.

He asked the TRT representative for Pakistan, Mr Recep Ozturk, to extensively pursue the preparation of documentaries to showcase the natural beauty of Pakistan’s Northern Areas and the cultural heritage of other parts of Pakistan.