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A TURKISH PUZZLE: GREY WOLVES, ERGENEKON, AND THE 'DEEP STATE'
International Business Times News
October 31, 2011 Monday 4:32 PM EST
Although ignored and overlooked by the mainstream media in Europe,
reports are emerging that the escalation of violence between the
Turkish military and the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) near Turkey's
southeastern border has prompted clashes among their brethren thousands
of miles away -- among the immigrant communities in western Europe.
Europe-based blogs (not all of which are entirely unbiased and
reliable, admittedly) reported that Turkish nationalists in Stuttgart,
Germany, have marched to protest the killing of two dozen Turkish
troops by PKK guerillas. Other such demonstrations occurred in
Saint-Etienne, France, where Turkish protesters allegedly damaged
or destroyed a shop owned by a Kurd. Still other reports claim that
Turkish demonstrators smashed a Kurdish community center in Amsterdam,
Holland.
What all these disparate incidents have in common (according to these
reports) is that the Turkish protesters included members of the Grey
Wolves - a shadowy, mysterious, ultra-nationalist (some would say
neo-fascist) Turkish organization that has been a secretive part of
Turkey's politics for the past four decades.
Still, the Grey Wolves have seemingly been dormant for many years -
their presence appears to have diminished ever since Turkey embarked
on a course to modernize its economy (with great success), become a
dominant player in Eastern Europe-Middle East politics; and aspire
to join the European Union (EU).
But, who are the Grey Wolves and what do they want?
Founded in 1969 by a man named Alparslan Turkes, the Grey Wolves took
their name from a mythical wolf that is central to the legend of the
'Turkic' peoples - a vast tribe that allegedly swept across the plains
of Asia westward and ultimately formed the modern Turkish nation on
the Anatolian peninsula.
Turkes was an ultra-right-wing politician who had also founded the
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) - the Grey Wolves were created as
the youth wing of the party, although some members have long claimed
they have no direct link with MHP.
At the center of Grey Wolves ideology is the formation of the "Turan"
- an empire of all the "Turkic" peoples (which potentially includes
an immense population from present-day Turkey and central Asia all
the way to Northwestern China).
Consequently, the Grey Wolves have been described by many as a
"racist" organization.
The Grey Wolves are believed to have committed hundreds of murders
-mostly of liberals, trade unionists, leftists, intellectuals,
Communists, Kurds, etc. -- in Turkey during the mid to late- 1970s.
Dilshod Achilov told International Business Times that during the
1970s the youths of the Grey Wolves were manipulated by state agencies
(particularly the military) to create a chaos in the country and
destabilize the state through well-orchestrated clashes against
the various secular-liberal-Marxist leftist groups who proliferated
in Turkey.
"The purpose was to create a clash between the nationalists
(right-wing) and the secular-communist leftists in order to undermine
the civil government, allowing the Military to take control of the
state," he said.
"Well, it happened exactly as planned. The military coup of 1980 was
actually a result of a political game orchestrated by the military
itself. "
Achilov, a professor of political science at East Tennessee State
University, in Johnson City, Tenn., added that Turkey's military
engaged in many questionable acts during the coup.
"We now know that the senior security/military ranks were at the
forefront of the Grey Wolves operations (at least in their initial
stage of existence)," he noted.
In 1980, the military coup in Turkey brought general Kenan Evren to
power. Despite using the MHP and Grey Wolves to help him ascend to
the top, Evren outlawed the groups and arrested Turkes and several
other Grey Wolves and charged them with hundreds of murders. (Evren,
who ran Turkey for ten years, is still alive at age 94).
That would seem to have been the final demise of the Grey Wolves.
However, the Grey Wolves has apparently remained active in shadows,
reportedly making alliances with both Turkish intelligence services
and Turkish mafia. The Grey Wolves has also been implicated in violent
attacks against Greeks, Kurds and Armenians, among others.
Perhaps most spectacularly, the man who attempted to assassinate Pope
John Paul II in 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca, was reportedly a Grey Wolves
member. The conspiracy to murder the holy pontiff reportedly involved
a large bewildering array of players, including Turkish intelligence,
Bulgarian secret police, the Turkish mafia, the Russians, the Poles,
even the CIA. (All of which suggests that the Grey Wolves had a broad
and wide network of cohorts).
But, have the Grey Wolves really disappeared from the Turkish political
landscape?
"Grey Wolves activities have significantly diminished in the public
discourse," Achilov said.
"They rarely ever come to the public's attention, or the media's
attention anymore."
However, there is yet another facet to Turkish political life that
is likely to bring the Grey Wolves back to public prominence.
The country has been watching a fascinating, ongoing trial of an array
of more than 500 ultra-nationalists who have been charged with seeking
to overthrow the state by, among other things, murdering intellectuals,
politicians, religious figures, among other targets.
Many former Grey Wolves are believed to be defendants in the cases.
It is part of something that prosecutors call "Ergenekon" - an alleged
terrorist organization that conspired to topple the existing government
through endless acts of political violence, including kidnappings,
torture and murder.
Like something out of James Bond or a John LeCarre novel, the very
existence of a conspiratorial group like Ergenekon has been questioned
by some; while others claim it is part of something called a "deep
state" - that is, a secret state apparatus that operates within the
boundaries of the existing government - and yet, at odds with it.
Turkish Prime Minister Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
repeatedly said what a threat to the country's security that Ergenekon
poses.
He once told private Kanal 24 channel in Turkey: "Of course there are
some threats now. These unfortunately come from inside and outside
(of the country). Interesting things happen that could be considered
abnormal even though they have been told by a prime minister."
This past May, when Erdogan was campaigning for re-election, he even
claimed that elements of Ergenekon were conspiring with the PKK to
increase tensions in Turkey to again destabilize the government ahead
of the polls.
International Business Times News
October 31, 2011 Monday 4:32 PM EST
Although ignored and overlooked by the mainstream media in Europe,
reports are emerging that the escalation of violence between the
Turkish military and the Kurdish Workers Party (PKK) near Turkey's
southeastern border has prompted clashes among their brethren thousands
of miles away -- among the immigrant communities in western Europe.
Europe-based blogs (not all of which are entirely unbiased and
reliable, admittedly) reported that Turkish nationalists in Stuttgart,
Germany, have marched to protest the killing of two dozen Turkish
troops by PKK guerillas. Other such demonstrations occurred in
Saint-Etienne, France, where Turkish protesters allegedly damaged
or destroyed a shop owned by a Kurd. Still other reports claim that
Turkish demonstrators smashed a Kurdish community center in Amsterdam,
Holland.
What all these disparate incidents have in common (according to these
reports) is that the Turkish protesters included members of the Grey
Wolves - a shadowy, mysterious, ultra-nationalist (some would say
neo-fascist) Turkish organization that has been a secretive part of
Turkey's politics for the past four decades.
Still, the Grey Wolves have seemingly been dormant for many years -
their presence appears to have diminished ever since Turkey embarked
on a course to modernize its economy (with great success), become a
dominant player in Eastern Europe-Middle East politics; and aspire
to join the European Union (EU).
But, who are the Grey Wolves and what do they want?
Founded in 1969 by a man named Alparslan Turkes, the Grey Wolves took
their name from a mythical wolf that is central to the legend of the
'Turkic' peoples - a vast tribe that allegedly swept across the plains
of Asia westward and ultimately formed the modern Turkish nation on
the Anatolian peninsula.
Turkes was an ultra-right-wing politician who had also founded the
Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) - the Grey Wolves were created as
the youth wing of the party, although some members have long claimed
they have no direct link with MHP.
At the center of Grey Wolves ideology is the formation of the "Turan"
- an empire of all the "Turkic" peoples (which potentially includes
an immense population from present-day Turkey and central Asia all
the way to Northwestern China).
Consequently, the Grey Wolves have been described by many as a
"racist" organization.
The Grey Wolves are believed to have committed hundreds of murders
-mostly of liberals, trade unionists, leftists, intellectuals,
Communists, Kurds, etc. -- in Turkey during the mid to late- 1970s.
Dilshod Achilov told International Business Times that during the
1970s the youths of the Grey Wolves were manipulated by state agencies
(particularly the military) to create a chaos in the country and
destabilize the state through well-orchestrated clashes against
the various secular-liberal-Marxist leftist groups who proliferated
in Turkey.
"The purpose was to create a clash between the nationalists
(right-wing) and the secular-communist leftists in order to undermine
the civil government, allowing the Military to take control of the
state," he said.
"Well, it happened exactly as planned. The military coup of 1980 was
actually a result of a political game orchestrated by the military
itself. "
Achilov, a professor of political science at East Tennessee State
University, in Johnson City, Tenn., added that Turkey's military
engaged in many questionable acts during the coup.
"We now know that the senior security/military ranks were at the
forefront of the Grey Wolves operations (at least in their initial
stage of existence)," he noted.
In 1980, the military coup in Turkey brought general Kenan Evren to
power. Despite using the MHP and Grey Wolves to help him ascend to
the top, Evren outlawed the groups and arrested Turkes and several
other Grey Wolves and charged them with hundreds of murders. (Evren,
who ran Turkey for ten years, is still alive at age 94).
That would seem to have been the final demise of the Grey Wolves.
However, the Grey Wolves has apparently remained active in shadows,
reportedly making alliances with both Turkish intelligence services
and Turkish mafia. The Grey Wolves has also been implicated in violent
attacks against Greeks, Kurds and Armenians, among others.
Perhaps most spectacularly, the man who attempted to assassinate Pope
John Paul II in 1981, Mehmet Ali Agca, was reportedly a Grey Wolves
member. The conspiracy to murder the holy pontiff reportedly involved
a large bewildering array of players, including Turkish intelligence,
Bulgarian secret police, the Turkish mafia, the Russians, the Poles,
even the CIA. (All of which suggests that the Grey Wolves had a broad
and wide network of cohorts).
But, have the Grey Wolves really disappeared from the Turkish political
landscape?
"Grey Wolves activities have significantly diminished in the public
discourse," Achilov said.
"They rarely ever come to the public's attention, or the media's
attention anymore."
However, there is yet another facet to Turkish political life that
is likely to bring the Grey Wolves back to public prominence.
The country has been watching a fascinating, ongoing trial of an array
of more than 500 ultra-nationalists who have been charged with seeking
to overthrow the state by, among other things, murdering intellectuals,
politicians, religious figures, among other targets.
Many former Grey Wolves are believed to be defendants in the cases.
It is part of something that prosecutors call "Ergenekon" - an alleged
terrorist organization that conspired to topple the existing government
through endless acts of political violence, including kidnappings,
torture and murder.
Like something out of James Bond or a John LeCarre novel, the very
existence of a conspiratorial group like Ergenekon has been questioned
by some; while others claim it is part of something called a "deep
state" - that is, a secret state apparatus that operates within the
boundaries of the existing government - and yet, at odds with it.
Turkish Prime Minister Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has
repeatedly said what a threat to the country's security that Ergenekon
poses.
He once told private Kanal 24 channel in Turkey: "Of course there are
some threats now. These unfortunately come from inside and outside
(of the country). Interesting things happen that could be considered
abnormal even though they have been told by a prime minister."
This past May, when Erdogan was campaigning for re-election, he even
claimed that elements of Ergenekon were conspiring with the PKK to
increase tensions in Turkey to again destabilize the government ahead
of the polls.