Perinçek’s assertions challenge the official timeline of the events, claiming that the government was informed about the impending military uprising on July 14, a day before the attempted putsch, by a Russian strategist. These claims raise significant questions regarding what the authorities knew prior to the outbreak of violence.Reminding that Russian strategist Alexander Dugin, known for his close ties to the Kremlin and the Russian military, was in Turkey before the coup attempt, Doğu Perinçek claimed that the intelligence regarding unusual activity within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) came from him.
The prominent sections of Perinçek’s interview are as follows:
You are aware of the rumors circulating recently about a secret coalition or alliance between the secular nationalists (Ulusalcılar) and Erdoğan. Is there such a partnership? Why is this claim being voiced so frequently?
Let us look at the facts. Before 2014, the Patriotic Party was at the center of the fight against the Gülen movement. This has been a 50-year struggle. After 2003, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s administration established a government together with the movement led by Fethullah Gülen, which Ankara officially designates as a terrorist organization.
Moving on to the issue of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK); the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) initiated a ‘peace process.’ They provided the PKK with areas of authority in our southeastern region. They handed municipalities over to the PKK. If the Turkish Armed Forces came down heavily on the PKK starting from July 24, 2015, this is a great success of the Patriotic Party.
While Erdoğan and his circle were proudly stating, ‘We shot down the Russian jet,’ the Patriotic Party advocated for friendship with Russia. The Patriotic Party rushed to Moscow, Damascus, and Tehran.
Ultimately, where did Turkey end up? The Astana peace process began, and a Turkey-Iran-Russia alliance was formed, with Syria indirectly involved. This is also a great success of the Patriotic Party.
We also have a production economy problem ahead of us. The Patriotic Party can successfully handle these. The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) cannot do it successfully; they are zigzagging. They are full of inconsistencies. Because this program is not their program.
Because, while abandoning their old program out of necessity, they are carrying remnants, various shadows, and accumulations from the past. That is why they are wavering. Eventually, the owner of this program will become the real ruling power.
If they can implement your program in the sense you mentioned, does that mean there will be no situation requiring you to be the opposition?
2018 is a highly important year. Because it is the year when the bankruptcy of the borrowing economy will become blatantly obvious. There is a debt of over 400 billion dollars. Around 100 billion dollars in urgent funding needs to be found within a year. Additionally, there is a foreign payments deficit plus a budget deficit of around 100 billion dollars for the next year…
All of this approaches almost 200 billion dollars, and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) government has no chance of finding this money. Therefore, they will experience the growing pains of transitioning to a production economy next year.
This also signifies a search for a new solution and a new leadership in Turkey. The chief advisors surrounding the President are admitting to themselves that the economy is facing great difficulties.
The American Embassy is also reportedly telling its close circles: ‘2018 will be hell for Turkey.’
You had also stated that the result of the presidential referendum would be ‘no’. You were very confident then as well…
We were off by 0.5 percent. A ‘no’ didn’t win, but we got 49.5 percent. There is also this: some electoral fraud occurred. In the evening hours, the Supreme Election Council (YSK) made a decision approving the use of unstamped envelopes and unstamped ballots.
The law is very clear. Envelopes and ballots must be stamped. It is against the law. This actually rendered the election legally invalid. Fraud occurred in various places. We received such information as well. Otherwise, a ‘no’ vote would have prevailed.
I would like to gradually move on to the topics of the Turkish Armed Forces and Turkey’s 2016 coup attempt. It is said that ‘there are Perinçek loyalists in the military,’ is this true?
No sir, this is a very grave mistake. American newspapers are writing this. German newspapers are writing it. A figure named Michael Rubin, a former chief at the Pentagon and the CIA, constantly propagates this.
A massive purge took place within the Turkish Armed Forces. There is a very important report that the military sent to the Gülen movement trials. The figures given in that report are as follows: 30,000 generals, officers, non-commissioned officers, military cadets, and personnel working in military institutions were purged.
Coming to Turkey’s 2016 coup attempt, in a statement you said, ‘When Dugin told us that the Turkish military was in a state of extraordinary activity, we told him to relay this to the government. He told what he had shared with us to Ankara Metropolitan Municipality Mayor Melih Gökçek when he went to Ankara. The government knew about the coup attempt before it happened. If I know this, wouldn’t the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) know?’
My first question is: why Melih Gökçek? And the second is: if the National Intelligence Organization and the government knew beforehand, what were they waiting for?
The first person to tell me this was our Deputy Chairman, Retired Gendarmerie Colonel Hasan Atilla Uğur. That day, Mr. Atilla Uğur had an interview with the pro-government Yeni Şafak newspaper.
Atilla Uğur told me this: ‘A Gülenist coup is expected before the Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) meeting’—I believe YAŞ was convening at the end of July.
‘Because they are being purged, they will no longer have weapons in their hands, so they are preparing for such an attempt before they are completely cleared out,’ he informed me.
I then asked our commander, Mr. Atilla Uğur, to relay this to Yeni Şafak in his interview scheduled for the afternoon. He disclosed all of this information during his interview with Yeni Şafak. He also explicitly told them, ‘Tell the government about this.’
You relayed it to Yeni Şafak, but didn’t you relay it to the government or the National Intelligence Organization?
But of course, is it possible for the National Intelligence Organization not to know something that Atilla Uğur knows? Because ultimately, this information reached even us…
Secondly; Mr. Alexander Dugin had come to us two days before the attempted coup. He came as our guest. In the meantime, he also had appointments with the President’s advisors and with Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek.
He also had a meeting with Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım. He told us, ‘We are detecting unusual activity within the Turkish military.’ I am stating this using his own words: ‘The Russian state is detecting activity within the Turkish military,’ he said.
I requested him to convey this information during his meetings with Justice and Development Party (AKP) executives and the government. We met again after his meetings, and he stated that he had delivered this information to the government.
Dugin, on July 14, relayed this information not only to Melih Gökçek but also to Recep Tayyip Erdoğan’s Chief Advisors.
You said, ‘Alexander Dugin met with Erdoğan’s Chief Advisors on July 14.’ Who are these chief advisors?
Let me not mention their names now, I don’t know all of them exactly. Dugin obtained official appointments and held official meetings with two or three of his advisors. These are in state records.
Let me tell you something more important: on July 1, 15 days before the coup, we distributed 400,000 flyers across Turkey. In the first article of this flyer, we clearly wrote that the US was engaged in a project to seize power and was attempting an illegitimate power grab.
“BAHÇELİ HAS THROWN IN THE TOWEL”
On the other hand, Patriotic Party Chairman Doğu Perinçek answered journalist Rafet Ballı’s questions regarding the agenda on the ‘Çıkış Yolu’ (Way Out) program broadcasted on the nationalist Ulusal Kanal television network. Doğu Perinçek specifically evaluated Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) Chairman Devlet Bahçeli’s unconditional support for President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. Perinçek stated that the Nationalist Movement Party was experiencing a rapid melting away of its voter base, which is why it decided to support Erdoğan unconditionally.
Perinçek said, “The ‘He threw in the towel’ headline by Aydınlık newspaper is very accurate. This is throwing in the towel. The Nationalist Movement Party’s voter base understands it this way. Supporting someone without a program means throwing in the towel. Moreover, there are also issues between the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP). Early elections do not seem likely right now. Everyone brought forward the announcement of their candidates. However, early elections are not on the horizon at the moment. Bahçeli is saying the same thing. His statement has nothing to do with early elections. He sees that his party’s votes have dropped well below the 10 percent electoral threshold. He is making such a statement to prevent this melting away. It is seen as a one-sided pledge of allegiance. They foresee that they will lose the election. It is apparent that the Justice and Development Party and the Nationalist Movement Party alliance will not be able to reach 50 percent. It might have been done to prevent this decline.”
