In this panel discussion, four journalists challenge Turkey’s official account of the July 15, 2016 coup attempt and place then-Chief of General Staff Hulusi Akar at the center of the unresolved questions.
They examine Akar’s meetings before the attempt, his response to an advance warning, the military precautions he did—and did not—take, his conduct at Akıncı Air Base, and his subsequent avoidance of public questioning by Parliament and the courts. The panel argues that these circumstances point to a role far more consequential than the official narrative acknowledges.
Journalist Adem Yavuz Arslan calls Akar the “number one” figure of July 15 because of the role he says Akar played in the events and their aftermath. He clarifies that he is describing Akar’s function in the operation, rather than identifying him as its ultimate planner or mastermind.
The discussion contends that the full story of July 15 cannot be established without a public accounting of Akar’s actions.
