The issue of MİT trucks being stopped during that heavy attack period from the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25, 2013 judicial coup to the Selam-Tevhid plot, holds a very critical place. The deplorable incident that took place in January 2014, was one of the most important trivets of the plot that was planned to push the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) into a difficult position in the international sphere, label it as a “supporter of Daesh,” present President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan as a war criminal and have him judged at Lahey.
You surely remember the “Selam-Tevhid Organization” charts on which then prime minister, President Erdoğan, was placed right at the top. Through the Dec. 17 and Dec. 25 operation, they were going to make the AK Party appear as a terrorist organization financed by Iran and weapons were sent to Daesh through the MİT trucks plot. Then, like Hamas, like the Muslim Brotherhood, they were going to label it as a “political/radical Islamist” threat, in fact, as a “terrorist organization.” This way, FETÖ’s owners would be rid of Erdoğan, bring Turkey in to line as they wish and say, “See, democracy is on track in Turkey as well” – as they did after the coup in Egypt.
Up to this point is the Turkey aspect that we all know. However, the MİT trucks plot, in another aspect, was an unspeakable conspiracy theory that had extremely painful results in terms of what happened beyond the border. And unfortunately nobody could speak.
As is known, in northern Syria, in regions Bashar Assad’s regime surrendered to the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and withdrew from under the “Rojava revolution” back then, the Kurds opposing the PYD and its armed wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), along with the Arabs and Turkmens were being systematically displaced; some Kurds were fleeing to Turkey and others to northern Iraq. At the time Turkey was occupied with the Gezi Park incidents, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) had carried out a horrific cleansing operation in northern Syria all throughout the summer of 2013. There was still a long time for the Kobani incidents, but the organization was – away from sight – completing the preparations of the plan it was going to proceed in the upcoming days. Those resisting PKK/PYD pressures in the region were being silenced in a terrifying manner. One of those moments was the Amuda massacre. The demonstrators revolting against the organization’s pressures were attacked by the YPG, which is supposedly providing order, using DShk (Degtyaryova-Shpagina Krupnokaliberny) machine guns, and the Amuda-Qamisli route was blocked to prevent anybody from escaping, from escaping and telling what happened.
Unfortunately back then nobody in Turkey or the world were talking about the PKK/PYD’s atrocity. Of course, the only topic of discussion back then was the atrocities committed by the Daesh terrorist organization that announced it founded a state under the name of, “Islamic State of Iraq and Damascus” – which the international media was telling the world after adjusting its lens in a selective transparent way. Anybody who was to open their mouth to tell what the PKK/PYD did would be attacked saying, “You are a Daesh supporter!”
What’s more is that back in that period, Syrian opposition forces were fighting against Daesh with the regions under their control. The opposition forces were fighting against Daesh not only in Deir ez-Zor, in Raqqa, but also in Aleppo and Idlib, in other words, right under our noses.
Let’s list them clearly, one by one, with dates, so that the dimensions of the MİT trucks betrayal is better understood. On Jan. 1, 2014, a truck was stopped by the gendarmerie along the Kırıkhan-Reyhanlı route under the control of a FETÖ prosecutor. With orders from the prosecution office, the gendarmerie wants to search the truck, but as a result of the crisis that breaks out, the search could not be conducted. Everybody must remember those images; the photographs of the gendarmerie pointing guns to MİT staff had made our hair stand on end. The incident was presented on social media by all – explicit, secret, volunteer – FETÖ members as, “The MİT is carrying weapons to Daesh.” Then the three trucks stopped in Adana on Jan. 19, 2014, were searched and the items they were carrying were photographed. The process that led to Enis Berberoğlu’s being sentenced to prison time on charges of “spying” had started with Cumhuriyet newspaper, whose editor-in-chief back then was Can Dündar, printing these photographs.
The opposition forces clashing with Daesh in January 2014, had tens of casualties through Jarablus to al-Bab; some of the hundreds of injured were carried to the Turkey side of the border and sadly, even though they were fighting Daesh, they were reported in false news stories as “Daesh members are being treated in Turkey.” At the end of days-long clashes, al-Bab was captured by Daesh on Jan. 13, 2014. Jarablus was already largely under Daesh control since July 2013. The opposition forces, which managed to rescue the 70 slaves held captive by Daesh a day before, and 26 of the civilians with them, lost their lives in Daesh’s car bomb attack on Jan. 15. Finding the opportunity to easily settle in on our border, Daesh opened fire on Turkish soldiers on Jan. 28.
When the support provided to the opposition forces fighting against Daesh was prevented with the “Turkey is supporting Daesh” lie, the opposition forces, clashing on the other side of the border with terrorists trying to settle in on our border, were left without backing, they had a large number of casualties and lost strength. While the PKK/PYD settled in on part of Syria’s border with Turkey, the remaining side was fully settled in by Daesh in the following days. Had the MİT trucks not been stopped that day, had the support provided to the opposition forces not been prevented and had the opposition parties been able to say, “What is happening in Syria are matters concerning our national security,” and encouraged to provide more help instead of following FETÖ, two-and-a-half years down the track we probably would not have been forced to enter Syria ourselves, take matters into our own hands and have 70 of our men martyred throughout Operation Euphrates Shield which lasted seven months and five days. Also, as the Syrian opposition forces could be provided the supported they required, we would have been able to negate the argument that “These are the most organized, readiest and strongest groups on the ground. The FSA, or Syrian opposition forces, are weak, lacking, disorganized and inadequate,” presented by the U.S. as their reason to choose the PYD/YPG over Turkey to “fight against Daesh.”