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THE ERGENEKON CASE: A BRIEF SUMMARY
BIA
Jan 12 2009
Turkey
The tenth wave of detentions has been followed by some arrests and
some releases.
The investigation of the clandestine nationalist Ergenekon organisation
is now in its 19th month. The media has become used to counting the
waves of detentions which have been following each other, and on
Wednesday, 7 January, the tenth wave was carried out.
Police operations in six different cities resulted in the detention
of 37 more people.
Going back to Susurluk
The Ergenekon organisation has been likened to the clandestine
paramilitary Gladio organisation in Italy. The case has been labelled
the "case of the century", but it is not uncontroversial.
Some believe that this organisation is linked to many extrajudiciary
killings and has its roots in the Susurluk network which was exposed
in 1996 but never prosecuted in a satisfactory manner. Others believe
that the investigation has become a smoke screen for the ruling
party's persecution of political opponents.
The Ergenekon organisation is said to be dedicated to toppling the
government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), since the
members see themselves as defenders of secularism. Western influence
in Turkey is also scorned and an isolationist attitude prevalent.
Weapons and extrajudiciary killings The first notice the Turkish
public took of this organisation was when a weapons arsenal was
found in a house in Umraniye, Istanbul, in June 2007. Subsequently
the organisation has been linked to bomb attacks on the Cumhuriyet
Newspaper in 2006 and the attack on the Council of State in 2006
(where one judge was killed).
The indictment has claimed that the organisation has also had a hand
in the murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in 2007, the
priest Andrea Santoro in Trabzon in 2006, as well as three Christians
in Malatya in 2007. Other extrajudiciary killings have been laid at the
organisation's door, and it is claimed that they were planning to kill
further Alevi and Armenian community leaders, as well as intellectuals.
The indictment states that when all the incidents are taken together,
it becomes clear that the goal was to create internal conflict, chaos
and terror in the country so that the conditions would be just right
for a military intervention.
Journalists, academics, generals, ...
In the waves of arrests, Turkey has seen politicians, journalists,
academics and retired generals arrested. The actual trial began
in October 2008, when the indictment of over 2,000 pages was read
out. Currently, there are 86 people on trial, 46 of them in detention.
Some arrests in tenth wave After the tenth wave of detentions on 7
January, Prof. Dr. Yalcın Kucuk and retired Colonel Mustafa Levent
GöktaÅ~_ have been arrested. Others arrested were Ä°brahim Å~^ahin,
the former head of Police Special Operations, teacher Oguzhan
Sarıoglu, Special Operations police officer YaÅ~_ar Oguz Å~^ahin,
as well as six others.
In addition, the Alevi leaders Ali Balkız (of the Alevi BektaÅ~_i
Federation) and Kazım Genc (of the Pir Sultan Abdal Culture
Association) have been provided with police protection, following
claims that they were to become targets of the Ergenekon organisation.
Retired General Tuncer Kılınc, as well as retired Colonel İlyas
Cınar and retired Major General Erdal Å~^enel were released. The
son of former Istanbul mayor Bedrettin Dalan, BarıÅ~_ Dalan, as well
as Bedrettin Dalan's driver CoÅ~_kun Umur, have also been released,
together with three others. They are to be tried without detention.
In all, sixteen people have been released and another 17 been added
to those previously arrested in the Ergenekon investigation.
--Boundary_(ID_qsKMIgag5WxfyTRYrgd feQ)--
BIA
Jan 12 2009
Turkey
The tenth wave of detentions has been followed by some arrests and
some releases.
The investigation of the clandestine nationalist Ergenekon organisation
is now in its 19th month. The media has become used to counting the
waves of detentions which have been following each other, and on
Wednesday, 7 January, the tenth wave was carried out.
Police operations in six different cities resulted in the detention
of 37 more people.
Going back to Susurluk
The Ergenekon organisation has been likened to the clandestine
paramilitary Gladio organisation in Italy. The case has been labelled
the "case of the century", but it is not uncontroversial.
Some believe that this organisation is linked to many extrajudiciary
killings and has its roots in the Susurluk network which was exposed
in 1996 but never prosecuted in a satisfactory manner. Others believe
that the investigation has become a smoke screen for the ruling
party's persecution of political opponents.
The Ergenekon organisation is said to be dedicated to toppling the
government of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), since the
members see themselves as defenders of secularism. Western influence
in Turkey is also scorned and an isolationist attitude prevalent.
Weapons and extrajudiciary killings The first notice the Turkish
public took of this organisation was when a weapons arsenal was
found in a house in Umraniye, Istanbul, in June 2007. Subsequently
the organisation has been linked to bomb attacks on the Cumhuriyet
Newspaper in 2006 and the attack on the Council of State in 2006
(where one judge was killed).
The indictment has claimed that the organisation has also had a hand
in the murder of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink in 2007, the
priest Andrea Santoro in Trabzon in 2006, as well as three Christians
in Malatya in 2007. Other extrajudiciary killings have been laid at the
organisation's door, and it is claimed that they were planning to kill
further Alevi and Armenian community leaders, as well as intellectuals.
The indictment states that when all the incidents are taken together,
it becomes clear that the goal was to create internal conflict, chaos
and terror in the country so that the conditions would be just right
for a military intervention.
Journalists, academics, generals, ...
In the waves of arrests, Turkey has seen politicians, journalists,
academics and retired generals arrested. The actual trial began
in October 2008, when the indictment of over 2,000 pages was read
out. Currently, there are 86 people on trial, 46 of them in detention.
Some arrests in tenth wave After the tenth wave of detentions on 7
January, Prof. Dr. Yalcın Kucuk and retired Colonel Mustafa Levent
GöktaÅ~_ have been arrested. Others arrested were Ä°brahim Å~^ahin,
the former head of Police Special Operations, teacher Oguzhan
Sarıoglu, Special Operations police officer YaÅ~_ar Oguz Å~^ahin,
as well as six others.
In addition, the Alevi leaders Ali Balkız (of the Alevi BektaÅ~_i
Federation) and Kazım Genc (of the Pir Sultan Abdal Culture
Association) have been provided with police protection, following
claims that they were to become targets of the Ergenekon organisation.
Retired General Tuncer Kılınc, as well as retired Colonel İlyas
Cınar and retired Major General Erdal Å~^enel were released. The
son of former Istanbul mayor Bedrettin Dalan, BarıÅ~_ Dalan, as well
as Bedrettin Dalan's driver CoÅ~_kun Umur, have also been released,
together with three others. They are to be tried without detention.
In all, sixteen people have been released and another 17 been added
to those previously arrested in the Ergenekon investigation.
--Boundary_(ID_qsKMIgag5WxfyTRYrgd feQ)--