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Today's Zaman, Turkey
May 5 2011
Case against plot to kill Patriarch Bartholomew merged with Ergenekon
05 May 2011, Thursday / MUSTAFA TURAN, Ä°STANBUL
A case filed on a plot to assassinate the Ä°stanbul-based leader of the
world's Orthodox Christians has been merged with the ongoing case into
Ergenekon, a suspected criminal network charged with plotting to
overthrow the Turkish government.
The merger decision came on Thursday during a hearing of the trial
into the plot to kill Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew. The trial
is being heard at the Ä°stanbul 9th High Criminal Court. The only
suspect in the case, İsmet Reçber, who was released last December
pending trial, was not in attendance. During the hearing prosecutor
Selim Berna Atay requested the merger of the case with Ergenekon,
which is being heard at the Ä°stanbul 13th High Criminal Court, on the
grounds that there are legal and evidentiary links between the two
cases.
The court accepted the request and the two cases have been merged.
Reçber, a carpenter, was facing up to 15 years in prison. The man was
arrested after an anonymous letter was sent to authorities claiming
that Ergenekon suspect Gürbüz �apan had planned the assassination and
chose Reçber to carry out the killings. The indictment in the case
notes that through physical and technical investigations police found
that Reçber travelled to İstanbul from the eastern province of Kars.
The plot to kill Bartholomew is thought to be part of the Cage
Operation Action Plan, a subversive plot allegedly devised by military
officers that sought to undermine the government through the
assassination of non-Muslims and other acts of terror. The Cage plan
was allegedly drawn up at the order of Ergenekon. Cage plan documents
specifically call the killings of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant
Dink, Catholic priest Father Andrea Santoro and three Christians in
Malatya an `operation.'
An anti-democratic group within the Naval Forces Command behind the
Cage plan had intended to foment chaos in society with those killings,
but complained that the plan had failed when large segments of society
protested the killings in mass demonstrations.
The plan was published in the Taraf daily on Nov. 19, 2009. According
to this plan, non-Muslims would be assassinated, the blame would be
placed on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) supporters, and
external pressures on the AK Party would be augmented by showing that
Turkey had become an intolerant country drifting to Shariah under the
AK Party.
During an interview in 2009, Bartholomew said that `dark forces
planned to use minorities to overthrow the government', as revealed in
the investigation into Ergenekon.
Based in Ä°stanbul, the spiritual leader of the world's approximately
300 million Orthodox Christians was referring to the revelations of
the Cage plan. `When the Cage plan was revealed, we thought the raid
could be part of that plan,' he said. `At the time we thought that
they were just trying to scare us.' Patriarch Bartholomew said he is
grateful to the security forces, which uncovered the `dark plans.' `It
is a very satisfactory development that the police and prosecutors
have been revealing those dark plans so those responsible can be
captured and tried.'
Bartholomew's name is also on the Sledgehammer coup plot's `to be
assassinated' list. The plot, which was allegedly prepared by a
pro-junta group nested within the armed forces, was revealed by Taraf
in early 2010. Non-Muslims such as Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan
and former Vatican representative George Marovic were also on the
Sledgehammer death list.
Sledgehammer is a suspected coup plot devised in 2003 at a military
gathering. According to the plan, the military was to systematically
foment chaos in society through violent acts, among which were planned
bomb attacks on the Fatih and Beyazıt mosques in İstanbul. The plot
allegedly sought to undermine the government and lay the groundwork
for a military takeover.
One of the plans, titled Tırpan (Scythe), was on killing academics who
opposed the planned coup. Prominent Armenians would be murdered under
the Orak (Grass Hook) plan, right-wing figures under the Yumruk (Fist)
plan, left-wing figures under the Kürek (Spade) plan, liberals under
the Testere (Saw) plan, religious figures under the Döküm (Breakdown)
plan, civil society representatives under the Urgan (Rope) plan and
minority leaders would be killed under the Sakal (Beard) plan.
From: A. Papazian
May 5 2011
Case against plot to kill Patriarch Bartholomew merged with Ergenekon
05 May 2011, Thursday / MUSTAFA TURAN, Ä°STANBUL
A case filed on a plot to assassinate the Ä°stanbul-based leader of the
world's Orthodox Christians has been merged with the ongoing case into
Ergenekon, a suspected criminal network charged with plotting to
overthrow the Turkish government.
The merger decision came on Thursday during a hearing of the trial
into the plot to kill Greek Orthodox Patriarch Bartholomew. The trial
is being heard at the Ä°stanbul 9th High Criminal Court. The only
suspect in the case, İsmet Reçber, who was released last December
pending trial, was not in attendance. During the hearing prosecutor
Selim Berna Atay requested the merger of the case with Ergenekon,
which is being heard at the Ä°stanbul 13th High Criminal Court, on the
grounds that there are legal and evidentiary links between the two
cases.
The court accepted the request and the two cases have been merged.
Reçber, a carpenter, was facing up to 15 years in prison. The man was
arrested after an anonymous letter was sent to authorities claiming
that Ergenekon suspect Gürbüz �apan had planned the assassination and
chose Reçber to carry out the killings. The indictment in the case
notes that through physical and technical investigations police found
that Reçber travelled to İstanbul from the eastern province of Kars.
The plot to kill Bartholomew is thought to be part of the Cage
Operation Action Plan, a subversive plot allegedly devised by military
officers that sought to undermine the government through the
assassination of non-Muslims and other acts of terror. The Cage plan
was allegedly drawn up at the order of Ergenekon. Cage plan documents
specifically call the killings of Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant
Dink, Catholic priest Father Andrea Santoro and three Christians in
Malatya an `operation.'
An anti-democratic group within the Naval Forces Command behind the
Cage plan had intended to foment chaos in society with those killings,
but complained that the plan had failed when large segments of society
protested the killings in mass demonstrations.
The plan was published in the Taraf daily on Nov. 19, 2009. According
to this plan, non-Muslims would be assassinated, the blame would be
placed on the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) supporters, and
external pressures on the AK Party would be augmented by showing that
Turkey had become an intolerant country drifting to Shariah under the
AK Party.
During an interview in 2009, Bartholomew said that `dark forces
planned to use minorities to overthrow the government', as revealed in
the investigation into Ergenekon.
Based in Ä°stanbul, the spiritual leader of the world's approximately
300 million Orthodox Christians was referring to the revelations of
the Cage plan. `When the Cage plan was revealed, we thought the raid
could be part of that plan,' he said. `At the time we thought that
they were just trying to scare us.' Patriarch Bartholomew said he is
grateful to the security forces, which uncovered the `dark plans.' `It
is a very satisfactory development that the police and prosecutors
have been revealing those dark plans so those responsible can be
captured and tried.'
Bartholomew's name is also on the Sledgehammer coup plot's `to be
assassinated' list. The plot, which was allegedly prepared by a
pro-junta group nested within the armed forces, was revealed by Taraf
in early 2010. Non-Muslims such as Armenian Patriarch Mesrob Mutafyan
and former Vatican representative George Marovic were also on the
Sledgehammer death list.
Sledgehammer is a suspected coup plot devised in 2003 at a military
gathering. According to the plan, the military was to systematically
foment chaos in society through violent acts, among which were planned
bomb attacks on the Fatih and Beyazıt mosques in İstanbul. The plot
allegedly sought to undermine the government and lay the groundwork
for a military takeover.
One of the plans, titled Tırpan (Scythe), was on killing academics who
opposed the planned coup. Prominent Armenians would be murdered under
the Orak (Grass Hook) plan, right-wing figures under the Yumruk (Fist)
plan, left-wing figures under the Kürek (Spade) plan, liberals under
the Testere (Saw) plan, religious figures under the Döküm (Breakdown)
plan, civil society representatives under the Urgan (Rope) plan and
minority leaders would be killed under the Sakal (Beard) plan.
From: A. Papazian