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Today's Zaman, Turkey
Jan 26 2008
Ergenekon investigation gets deeper
A police investigation into a neo-nationalist gang believed to be the
extension of a clandestine network of groups with members in the
armed forces has discovered that the group was plotting to stage a
coup against the government in the year 2009 and that suspects so far
apprehended are only the collaborators of the real plotters in the
military, Turkish newspapers reported on Friday.
Revelations emanating from the investigation thus far have shown that
many of the attacks attributed to separatist or Islamist groups or
seen as hate crimes against minorities were actually "inside jobs."
The investigation into the gang, 33 of whose members were taken into
police custody earlier this week as part of an investigation into an
arms depot found in Ýstanbul in June of last year, has exposed solid
links between an attack on the Council of State in 2006, threats and
attacks against people accused of being unpatriotic and a 1996 car
crash known as the Susurluk incident, which revealed links between a
police chief, a convicted ultranationalist fugitive and a member of
Parliament as well as links to plans of some groups in Turkey's
powerful military to overthrow the government.
Meanwhile, 15 of the suspects detained on Tuesday on charges of
membership in the Ergenekon terrorist organization were taken to a
courthouse in Ýstanbul's Beþiktaþ district under tight security on
Friday, while one of them, retired Maj. Zekeriya Öztürk, was
arrested. Three of the suspects were released on Thursday by the
prosecutor after their interrogation was complete, while the court
released one of the suspects.
The gang is a part of a structure named Ergenekon, declared a
terrorist organization by the Ýstanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office, an
aggregation of many groups of varying sizes, many of which have in
their names adjectives such as "patriotic," "national,"
"nationalist," "Kemalist" or "Atatürkist." Ergenekon is the name of a
legend that describes how Turks came into existence.
A number of those detained in the recent raids, including Veli Küçük,
Sami Hoþtan, Drej Ali and Muzaffer Tekin -- who was already in jail
prior to Tuesday's detentions-- have repeatedly been named in many
similar investigations.
The investigation has found that the Ergenekon phenomenon, also
referred to as Turkey's "deep state," stages attacks using
"behind-the-scenes" paramilitary organizations to manipulate public
opinion according its own political agenda.
The Radikal daily has reported that pundits are divided on whether
the recent operation will help Turkey end the actions of such
unlawful groups. Optimists believe the recent police operation was a
major blow to the formation, while pessimists say the individuals
detained as part of the Ergenekon operation are only the visible tip
of the iceberg.
Recalling that a newsweekly had uncovered generals' plans to
overthrow the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government in
2004, most pessimists say there are still groups in the military who
are pursuing coup d'état ambitions. "Since the civilians [currently
in custody] cannot stage a coup, then who was going to?" asked the
Taraf daily, urging the authorities to carry on with the
investigation without fear. The prosecution is currently working on
finding exactly those parts of the network that would hopefully link
the current suspects to the bottom of the "iceberg."
Some of the allegations against Ergenekon
The investigation has so far found that the Ergenekon organization
had plotted to kill Turkey's Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk
and other public figures to drag Turkey into chaos to create the
perfect environment for a coup -- not unlike the atmosphere of the
pre-1980 period, which ended with a violent military takeover -- that
was to be staged in 2009. Evidence so far also suggests that 700
kilograms of explosives found loaded on a van in Ýstanbul belonged to
this gang. An attack against the Association for the Union of
Patriotic Forces (VKGB), also a murky group with shadowy
affiliations, in Diyarbakýr was actually staged by the VKGB itself,
according the investigation. The attack had then been blamed on the
terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) organization. There is also
evidence linking the Ergenekon gang to the assassination of Necip
Hablemitoðlu, shot to death in 2002 after concluding that residents
of the Bergama region campaigning against gold prospecting in the
area were being manipulated by Germans protecting their economic
interests, in a comprehensive study he conducted on the subject.
Ýbrahim Çiftçi, an Ýzmir businessman questioned over the Hablemitoðlu
murder as a key suspect, was later killed by a hand grenade thrown
into his Alsancak office, which, according to the businessman's son,
was the work of the gang to keep him silent.
Hopes for solving Dink murder
In a statement on Friday, Nusret Gürgöz, a lawyer for the
co-plaintiffs in the murder trial of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
said the recent police operation into Ergenekon had given hope for
finding the real forces behind the murder of Dink. "We are very
hopeful now that the Ergenekon Operation has taken place. If light is
shed on the Dink murder, this could be a start for the others."
The suspects and the hierarchy of the group
A large number of documents clearly showing the hierarchical
structure of the group have also been seized in the recent
operations. The organization's manifesto and even organizational
charts showing the hierarchy of the group, future plans and lists of
agencies the organization plans to infiltrate are among the documents
Prosecutor Zekeriya Öz has already been through. According to a
report from the Hürriyet daily, some members of the Ergenekon network
were in the past active members of Hizbullah.
The suspects detained in Tuesday's operation included Veli Küçük, a
retired major general who is also the alleged founder of an illegal
intelligence unit in the gendarmerie, the existence of which is
denied by officials; controversial ultranationalist lawyer Kemal
Kerinçsiz, who filed countless suits against Turkish writers and
intellectuals who were at odds with Turkey's official policies;
Fikret Karadað, a retired army colonel; Sevgi Erenerol, the press
spokesperson for a group called the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate;
Güler Kömürcü, a columnist for the Akþam daily; and Sami Hoþtan, a
key figure in the Susurluk investigation. Ali Yasak, a well-known
gangster linked to the figures in the Susurluk incident, was also
detained in the operation.
26.01.2008
Today's Zaman Ýstanbul
Jan 26 2008
Ergenekon investigation gets deeper
A police investigation into a neo-nationalist gang believed to be the
extension of a clandestine network of groups with members in the
armed forces has discovered that the group was plotting to stage a
coup against the government in the year 2009 and that suspects so far
apprehended are only the collaborators of the real plotters in the
military, Turkish newspapers reported on Friday.
Revelations emanating from the investigation thus far have shown that
many of the attacks attributed to separatist or Islamist groups or
seen as hate crimes against minorities were actually "inside jobs."
The investigation into the gang, 33 of whose members were taken into
police custody earlier this week as part of an investigation into an
arms depot found in Ýstanbul in June of last year, has exposed solid
links between an attack on the Council of State in 2006, threats and
attacks against people accused of being unpatriotic and a 1996 car
crash known as the Susurluk incident, which revealed links between a
police chief, a convicted ultranationalist fugitive and a member of
Parliament as well as links to plans of some groups in Turkey's
powerful military to overthrow the government.
Meanwhile, 15 of the suspects detained on Tuesday on charges of
membership in the Ergenekon terrorist organization were taken to a
courthouse in Ýstanbul's Beþiktaþ district under tight security on
Friday, while one of them, retired Maj. Zekeriya Öztürk, was
arrested. Three of the suspects were released on Thursday by the
prosecutor after their interrogation was complete, while the court
released one of the suspects.
The gang is a part of a structure named Ergenekon, declared a
terrorist organization by the Ýstanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office, an
aggregation of many groups of varying sizes, many of which have in
their names adjectives such as "patriotic," "national,"
"nationalist," "Kemalist" or "Atatürkist." Ergenekon is the name of a
legend that describes how Turks came into existence.
A number of those detained in the recent raids, including Veli Küçük,
Sami Hoþtan, Drej Ali and Muzaffer Tekin -- who was already in jail
prior to Tuesday's detentions-- have repeatedly been named in many
similar investigations.
The investigation has found that the Ergenekon phenomenon, also
referred to as Turkey's "deep state," stages attacks using
"behind-the-scenes" paramilitary organizations to manipulate public
opinion according its own political agenda.
The Radikal daily has reported that pundits are divided on whether
the recent operation will help Turkey end the actions of such
unlawful groups. Optimists believe the recent police operation was a
major blow to the formation, while pessimists say the individuals
detained as part of the Ergenekon operation are only the visible tip
of the iceberg.
Recalling that a newsweekly had uncovered generals' plans to
overthrow the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government in
2004, most pessimists say there are still groups in the military who
are pursuing coup d'état ambitions. "Since the civilians [currently
in custody] cannot stage a coup, then who was going to?" asked the
Taraf daily, urging the authorities to carry on with the
investigation without fear. The prosecution is currently working on
finding exactly those parts of the network that would hopefully link
the current suspects to the bottom of the "iceberg."
Some of the allegations against Ergenekon
The investigation has so far found that the Ergenekon organization
had plotted to kill Turkey's Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk
and other public figures to drag Turkey into chaos to create the
perfect environment for a coup -- not unlike the atmosphere of the
pre-1980 period, which ended with a violent military takeover -- that
was to be staged in 2009. Evidence so far also suggests that 700
kilograms of explosives found loaded on a van in Ýstanbul belonged to
this gang. An attack against the Association for the Union of
Patriotic Forces (VKGB), also a murky group with shadowy
affiliations, in Diyarbakýr was actually staged by the VKGB itself,
according the investigation. The attack had then been blamed on the
terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) organization. There is also
evidence linking the Ergenekon gang to the assassination of Necip
Hablemitoðlu, shot to death in 2002 after concluding that residents
of the Bergama region campaigning against gold prospecting in the
area were being manipulated by Germans protecting their economic
interests, in a comprehensive study he conducted on the subject.
Ýbrahim Çiftçi, an Ýzmir businessman questioned over the Hablemitoðlu
murder as a key suspect, was later killed by a hand grenade thrown
into his Alsancak office, which, according to the businessman's son,
was the work of the gang to keep him silent.
Hopes for solving Dink murder
In a statement on Friday, Nusret Gürgöz, a lawyer for the
co-plaintiffs in the murder trial of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink,
said the recent police operation into Ergenekon had given hope for
finding the real forces behind the murder of Dink. "We are very
hopeful now that the Ergenekon Operation has taken place. If light is
shed on the Dink murder, this could be a start for the others."
The suspects and the hierarchy of the group
A large number of documents clearly showing the hierarchical
structure of the group have also been seized in the recent
operations. The organization's manifesto and even organizational
charts showing the hierarchy of the group, future plans and lists of
agencies the organization plans to infiltrate are among the documents
Prosecutor Zekeriya Öz has already been through. According to a
report from the Hürriyet daily, some members of the Ergenekon network
were in the past active members of Hizbullah.
The suspects detained in Tuesday's operation included Veli Küçük, a
retired major general who is also the alleged founder of an illegal
intelligence unit in the gendarmerie, the existence of which is
denied by officials; controversial ultranationalist lawyer Kemal
Kerinçsiz, who filed countless suits against Turkish writers and
intellectuals who were at odds with Turkey's official policies;
Fikret Karadað, a retired army colonel; Sevgi Erenerol, the press
spokesperson for a group called the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate;
Güler Kömürcü, a columnist for the Akþam daily; and Sami Hoþtan, a
key figure in the Susurluk investigation. Ali Yasak, a well-known
gangster linked to the figures in the Susurluk incident, was also
detained in the operation.
26.01.2008
Today's Zaman Ýstanbul