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CRACKDOWN RAISES HOPES FOR MORE CLEANING UP IN DEEP STATE
Today's Zaman
Jan 25 2008
Turkey
The detention of dozens of members of a crime gang that was reportedly
plotting to kill Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk has caused
expectations among observers that the government is committed to
combating shadowy networks within the state even though similar
incidents, "Susurluk" being a case in point, have not resulted in
rooting out such gangs.
"I don't agree with the conviction that Susurluk didn't produce any
results. With Susurluk, Turkish society saw that some public figures
who had previously seemed untouchable were arrested, and there were
many arrests related to Susurluk," said Sedat Laciner, chairman of
the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).
The term "deep state," representing renegade powers inside the state,
became popular after a car accident in 1996 -- widely known as the
Susurluk incident -- in which a deputy and a senior police official
were traveling together with a most-wanted criminal. The incident
at Susurluk was the first to bring out into the open the fact that
national intelligence units employ some people to do their dirty work.
Laciner said that if the government consistently goes after the
criminals and finds support from the public and the media, the cleaning
up in the state will start.
Recalling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan's vow to combat such
gangs, Laciner added that there is not much space left for such
shadowy powers to maneuver.
"These forces have been trying to weaken the government by exaggerating
its frictions with the military. But the government combined efforts
with the military to fight terrorism," Laciner said.
"They have also tried to use the Islamic features of the government
to pit it against the European Union. For example, they started to
organize the killings of some Christian priests in Turkey as if the
government has problems with the Christian world."
With an operation called "Ergenekon" police have so far detained 35
people, including former army officers and lawyers known for their
far-right views, following the seizure of explosives and weapons at
a house in Ýstanbul last year.
The group, known as Ergenekon, or the Kýzýlelma Coalition, and led
by a retired major general, was reportedly planning a series of bomb
attacks and assassinations aimed at fomenting chaos before mounting
a coup against the Turkish government in 2009.
The Ergenekon network was reportedly behind the 2007 slaying of
Turkish Armenian editor Hrant Dink, the murder of an Italian Catholic
priest in 2006, the killing of a judge in an attack on Turkey's top
administrative court in 2006 and several bomb attacks on Cumhuriyet
daily.
Ufuk Uras, a deputy and leader of the Freedom and Solidarity Party
(ODP), said the Ergenekon operation is a litmus test of democracy
and the supremacy of law in Turkey.
"Inactivating such gangs which are understood to be a part of the
deep state is a test for democracy and the rule of law," Uras said
in a written statement. "As our history shows, if such steps to root
out rogue elements are delayed, problems grow larger. Revealing the
Susurluk gang was the first step, but only a few hit men have been
punished."
Uras noted that politicians and legal practitioners who take steps
to eliminate these gangs would be historical figures whose names will
be recited with honor.
Bulent Orakoðlu, former intelligence chief of the national police
and the author of a book trying to decipher the links between the
state and renegade elements, said he was expecting such an operation
because of recent detention of people involved in gangs.
"But this is not a simple organization. It has connections both inside
and outside of Turkey. They have money. ... They have staged deadly
attacks, be it against Christians or others, when the government was
trying to take positive steps in line with democracy," he said.
He added that these people use nationalism and sometimes even religion
to legitimize their attacks and receive sympathy from the people who
are not connected to the organization.
"When the public starts to see that these are dirty people who use
the name of the country, the flag and nationalistic pride for their
own benefit, they will not support feeling sympathetic toward them.
And they will be finished when we start to see arrests of more and
more people who have infiltrated the military, the bureaucracy,
the security forces and even the media."
Ultranationalists claim Turkey's honor has been sullied especially
if a prominent figure catches international attention while opposing
the state version of events on issues like terrorism and Armenian
genocide claims.
Novelist Pamuk fell out of favor with nationalists after saying Turkey
was responsible for the deaths of ethnic Armenians during World War
I and Kurds in recent decades.
Journalist Avni Ozgurel, a journalist who studied shadowy networks,
said he awaits action from prosecutors before raising his hopes of a
clean-up in the deep state: "I'd like to see what they've been accused
of and if they will be punished for these accusations before making a
comment. We saw such detentions in the past, but those captured were
released after a few days."
--Boundary_(ID_mNn5MxUBPuHA7nZ2+mP+jA )--
Today's Zaman
Jan 25 2008
Turkey
The detention of dozens of members of a crime gang that was reportedly
plotting to kill Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk has caused
expectations among observers that the government is committed to
combating shadowy networks within the state even though similar
incidents, "Susurluk" being a case in point, have not resulted in
rooting out such gangs.
"I don't agree with the conviction that Susurluk didn't produce any
results. With Susurluk, Turkish society saw that some public figures
who had previously seemed untouchable were arrested, and there were
many arrests related to Susurluk," said Sedat Laciner, chairman of
the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (USAK).
The term "deep state," representing renegade powers inside the state,
became popular after a car accident in 1996 -- widely known as the
Susurluk incident -- in which a deputy and a senior police official
were traveling together with a most-wanted criminal. The incident
at Susurluk was the first to bring out into the open the fact that
national intelligence units employ some people to do their dirty work.
Laciner said that if the government consistently goes after the
criminals and finds support from the public and the media, the cleaning
up in the state will start.
Recalling Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan's vow to combat such
gangs, Laciner added that there is not much space left for such
shadowy powers to maneuver.
"These forces have been trying to weaken the government by exaggerating
its frictions with the military. But the government combined efforts
with the military to fight terrorism," Laciner said.
"They have also tried to use the Islamic features of the government
to pit it against the European Union. For example, they started to
organize the killings of some Christian priests in Turkey as if the
government has problems with the Christian world."
With an operation called "Ergenekon" police have so far detained 35
people, including former army officers and lawyers known for their
far-right views, following the seizure of explosives and weapons at
a house in Ýstanbul last year.
The group, known as Ergenekon, or the Kýzýlelma Coalition, and led
by a retired major general, was reportedly planning a series of bomb
attacks and assassinations aimed at fomenting chaos before mounting
a coup against the Turkish government in 2009.
The Ergenekon network was reportedly behind the 2007 slaying of
Turkish Armenian editor Hrant Dink, the murder of an Italian Catholic
priest in 2006, the killing of a judge in an attack on Turkey's top
administrative court in 2006 and several bomb attacks on Cumhuriyet
daily.
Ufuk Uras, a deputy and leader of the Freedom and Solidarity Party
(ODP), said the Ergenekon operation is a litmus test of democracy
and the supremacy of law in Turkey.
"Inactivating such gangs which are understood to be a part of the
deep state is a test for democracy and the rule of law," Uras said
in a written statement. "As our history shows, if such steps to root
out rogue elements are delayed, problems grow larger. Revealing the
Susurluk gang was the first step, but only a few hit men have been
punished."
Uras noted that politicians and legal practitioners who take steps
to eliminate these gangs would be historical figures whose names will
be recited with honor.
Bulent Orakoðlu, former intelligence chief of the national police
and the author of a book trying to decipher the links between the
state and renegade elements, said he was expecting such an operation
because of recent detention of people involved in gangs.
"But this is not a simple organization. It has connections both inside
and outside of Turkey. They have money. ... They have staged deadly
attacks, be it against Christians or others, when the government was
trying to take positive steps in line with democracy," he said.
He added that these people use nationalism and sometimes even religion
to legitimize their attacks and receive sympathy from the people who
are not connected to the organization.
"When the public starts to see that these are dirty people who use
the name of the country, the flag and nationalistic pride for their
own benefit, they will not support feeling sympathetic toward them.
And they will be finished when we start to see arrests of more and
more people who have infiltrated the military, the bureaucracy,
the security forces and even the media."
Ultranationalists claim Turkey's honor has been sullied especially
if a prominent figure catches international attention while opposing
the state version of events on issues like terrorism and Armenian
genocide claims.
Novelist Pamuk fell out of favor with nationalists after saying Turkey
was responsible for the deaths of ethnic Armenians during World War
I and Kurds in recent decades.
Journalist Avni Ozgurel, a journalist who studied shadowy networks,
said he awaits action from prosecutors before raising his hopes of a
clean-up in the deep state: "I'd like to see what they've been accused
of and if they will be punished for these accusations before making a
comment. We saw such detentions in the past, but those captured were
released after a few days."
--Boundary_(ID_mNn5MxUBPuHA7nZ2+mP+jA )--