What is called coincidence is the consciousness of the mind.

I'm often asked, "Did the coup trials succeed?" To which I respond, "Both yes and no." No, because the coups and their perpetrators were exposed. Yes, because the coups, whose real aim was to dismantle the institutions of the Republic, achieved their goal.

This is how the story of what I call coincidence begins. Yesterday, as workers buried under the soil in Ilic, Erzincan were being searched for, journalist Müyesser Yıldız announced the passing of retired General Saldıray Berk.

İlhan Cihaner revealed the connection after the disaster in Ilic. Former Erzincan Prosecutor Cihaner had investigated allegations of bribery by Anagold, the mining company operating in the region, during his tenure: "It emerged that permits were obtained through bribes to relevant individuals and that the environmental impact assessment report was manipulated." The target of Cihaner's investigation was a prosecutor named Bayram Bozkurt at the same courthouse: "Prosecutor Bayram Bozkurt allegedly demanded a bribe from the American manager of the gold mine and put him on the payroll, citing this investigation." Both villagers and company officials were witnesses to the bribery.

However, Bayram Bozkurt was one of the judiciary members of FETÖ. It was no surprise that things turned around during the period when FETÖ was influential in the judiciary.

THE INDOMITABLE SALDİRAY BERK

Cihaner not only targeted Bozkurt but also initiated investigations into Ismailagatists and Fethullahists in Erzincan. It didn't take long for FETÖ to learn about the investigation against him. Many figures, including İlhan Cihaner, were put under technical surveillance. Then scenarios were served to the media. Fethullahists cleverly claimed that the real target was Ismailaga and the government while hiding themselves. According to the scenario they prepared, İlhan Cihaner and Saldıray Berk, who was then the Commander of the 3rd Army, had made plans. They wrote that the investigation, starting in Erzincan, would turn into an arrest and closure case against the AKP, including the Mayor of Istanbul. Thus, they formed a broad coalition against Cihaner and Berk.

Then came a second move. The investigation needed to be taken from Cihaner. For this, the Erzurum Chief Public Prosecutor's Office, under the control of FETÖ, intervened. The prosecution in Erzurum was authorized to investigate armed organizations. Based on an anonymous letter, an investigation was launched in Erzurum, and the file was taken from Cihaner on the grounds of being "unauthorized."

Then, based on another anonymous letter, a search was conducted by the Erzurum Public Prosecutor's Office in a pond in the gendarmerie area in Erzincan. The found dynamite and bullets were declared "Ergenekon weapons" by the FETÖ-affiliated prosecutor Osman Şanal. The incident turned into an Ergenekon plot in the Erzincan style.

For the first time in history, a Chief Public Prosecutor was arrested in his office. On February 16, 2010, the scene where police entered Cihaner's office became etched in Turkey's memory. Moreover, for the first time in history, a Commander of the 3rd Army, General Saldıray Berk, was summoned for questioning. If he had gone, he would have been arrested. The police who came to take him to the courthouse were turned away from the gates of the 3rd Army.

There are different theories about this. Some say that although the General Staff said "go," Berk resisted the plot by saying "I'm not going." On the other hand, a soldier I spoke to who served on the General Staff at the time said that Berk did not go to testify with an order from the General Staff. Those who knew Saldıray Berk confirm that if he had been tried to be arrested, he would have resisted FETÖ's policemen with his gun on his waist.

Lastly, Colonel Dursun Çiçek, who was involved in the so-called fight against reactionaryism, was also included in the process with the so-called document. The Erzincan case became another leg of the Ergenekon plot's purge.

"ALEVIS LOVE" INDICTMENT

The mainstay of the file was a secret witness codenamed "Efe." Who was he? None other than the Fethullahist prosecutor Bayram Bozkurt, against whom Prosecutor Cihaner initiated an investigation for allegedly taking bribes from the mine in Ilic! He created a whole case with outrageous claims like "Ergenekon tried to assassinate me by putting a tick on my car," and "commanders drank heavily and told me about the coup plan."

The sections related to Saldıray Berk in the indictment were shocking:

"He takes a special interest in Alevi villages in Erzincan and its surroundings. He utilizes the army's resources to meet the needs of these villages. He is liked by Alevi elders for his assistance."

While the defendants were being tried, the prosecutor codenamed Efe, changed his name to Hakan Aslan under the "witness protection program." After the "insufficient but yes" referendum, he returned to duty at the Ministry of Justice by withdrawing his previous resignation. And then, to allow the Ministry to visit his teacher, he was assigned to the United States!

SO-CALLED LIBERALS, SO-CALLED NATIONALISTS

Let's also tell the end of the story...

When the wind changed, the secret witness Efe became a confessor against FETÖ. He broke his leg when he escaped from the police by jumping over wire fences. He was arrested and released. Then he fled abroad. There, he occasionally made headlines with stories of defrauding Turkish refugees and escapades. It turned out that he used his broken leg, which he claimed he broke during his escape, as "evidence of torture" in his asylum application.

Saldıray Berk never surrendered. While FETÖ prosecutors were writing an organization indictment against him, he attended the Supreme Military Council meeting in his uniform. He was complained by Erdoğan for allegedly saying in a village he visited, "Do you know that the Prime Minister sold the country?" Although he denied saying this, he was sentenced to prison with the news of the FETÖ media; his sentence was suspended. Once upon a time, when I asked who was the soldier who supported him the most Selçuk Bayraktar's father Özdemir Bayraktar, he mentioned Saldıray Berk's name at the top. Berk was expected to become the Chief of General Staff in the future. He was first appointed as the EDOK Commander, then retired upon Erdoğan's request. He became estranged from some of his friends during the process. He passed away yesterday.

The conspirator prosecutor Osman Şanal in Erzurum and the sole intervener of the coup case, Ahmet Demir, were arrested in FETÖ operations.

The conspiracy case in Erzincan ended in acquittal. Ilhan Cihaner, who was arrested in that case, and became a member of parliament. Then he was distanced from the CHP. He couldn't become a member of parliament in the last election, but the then Minister of Justice Sadullah Ergin, who supported FETÖ prosecutors Osman Şanal and Bayram Bozkurt, was made a member of parliament from the CHP lists.

In conclusion...

In the first act, so-called liberals who failed to realize that freedom would not come with religious communities, and in the second act, so-called nationalists who failed to understand that nationalism would begin with defending the institutions created by the nation, played a role. Thanks to the fight between the AKP and FETÖ, who were first allies and then enemies, the country's institutions, from its military to its judiciary, were systematically purged. Ignoring environmental impact assessments, court decisions, and public health, multinational companies continued to plunder the country's underground resources more easily with the friendly capitalist government that continued on its path, whether with FETÖ or without. The hands of the calloused individuals of the nation turned their homeland's cyanide-laden soil into graves. Thus, the years-long story of indomitable patriot soldier Saldıray Berk intersected with that of impoverished miners who surrendered to their fate. Consequently, the coups became both a "yes" and a "no"!

Bringing together seemingly unrelated things is the art of thought. Life is a story of connections between experiences, a bit.