Sunday, 25 January 2009ANKARA - Initial details about the Ergenekon terrorist organization were published by Can Dündar, a columnist from the Milliyet daily, and journalist Celal KazdaÄŸlı in the book "Ergenekon," published in 1997. Although Dündar denies the existence of the Ergenekon organization, KazdaÄŸlı argues that the history of this organization can be traced back to the early '90s.
Speaking to Today's Zaman, Kazdağlı commented on the emergence of Ergenekon, saying: "Ergenekon, which is not defined as a state within the state or the "deep state,' is an entity set up by the CIA in all NATO-member countries in the aftermath of the Cold War. This was an American invention to fight against communism. The organization, which did not rely on domestic legislation, was referred to as Gladio in many NATO countries, but while measures were taken against this sort of organization in these countries, it remained influential in Turkey.
The Susurluk accident revealed the activities of this organization. Ä°stanbul's Ziverbey Castle is where those who tried organizing the March 9, 1971 coup and the intellectuals supporting them were subjected to torture following a military memo released on March 12, 1971. Gen. Memduh Ãœnlütürk was the commander of the Ziverbey Castle. Those tortured there included Ä°lhan Selçuk from the Cumhuriyet daily. Ãœnlütürk was the first military officer to make mention of Ergenekon and provided brief details about its organization."
Kazdağlı argues that the Susurluk accident was an excellent opportunity to deal with the Ergenekon investigation but that Turkey did not effectively capitalize on it. Noting that those who survived the initial measures against the organization took it to another dimension, Kazdağlı also notes that it was no coincidence that the perpetrators of many murders committed after 1996 were all apprehended because of the "elimination of some parts of the organization" during this period.
"The first serious assassination attempt made in Turkey after Nov. 3, 1996 targeted Human Rights Association [İHD] President Akın Birdal.
The attackers, Bahri Eken and Kerem Deretarla, were detained shortly after the attack. The perpetrators of most of the criminal acts, including assault, murder and arson, were all apprehended. Suspects in an attack on the Council of State, the Hrant Dink assassination, the Father Santoro murder and the Malatya massacre were arrested shortly after the incidents took place. However, such acts and offenses used to remain unresolved before 1996. Retired Gen. Veli Küçük was the first to arrive at the scene so as to claim the body of Abdullah Çatlı, who died in the car accident in Susurluk on Nov. 3, 1996." KazdaÄŸlı said.
KazdaÄŸlı doubts that Ergenekon might have deliberately been unveiled so that its leader could set up a different organizational structure. KazdaÄŸlı attributes this to the Nationalist Movement Party's (MHP) eagerness to distance itself from this organization, adding that leftist-nationalist circles are feeling close to the new entity. Noting that leftist parties expended much effort revealing the details of the Susurluk scandal because Çatlı was known for his affiliation with the MHP, KazdaÄŸlı also said: "Leftist parties held that this illegal entity involved the nationalists alone. They are now opposed to the ongoing investigation because this illegal entity took a different shape and form after being named Ergenekon."
Traces of Feb. 28
Turkey has started questioning the Feb. 28, 1997 postmodern coup now that the Ergenekon investigation is under way because it has become obvious that this organization played a determinative role in social upheavals prior to the Feb. 28 process, which started with allegations implying that the Welfare Party (RP)-True Path Party (DYP) coalition government was not competent in dealing with religious fundamentalism.
Official visits by then Prime Minister Necmettin Erbakan to Libya and Nigeria raised tension in relations between the government and the General Staff. Allegations were made indicating that military officers discharged from the army were employed in municipalities run by RP mayors. A fast-breaking dinner held with the participation of religious leaders and sheiks at the official residence of the prime minister, plans to build a mosque in Ä°stanbul's Taksim Square and the re-conversion of the Hagia Sophia into a mosque heralded a new era of fear.
A polemic between Ä°stanbul's Mayor of Sultanbeyli Nabi Koçak and Gen. DoÄŸu SilahçıoÄŸlu, who asked for the erection of a statue of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk in the town, increased the tension. After retiring from the military, SilahçıoÄŸlu began working for the Cumhuriyet daily as a columnist. In his last column before the initiation of the Ergenekon investigation, SilahçıoÄŸlu argued that it was no longer possible to deal with the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) while relying on democratic methods. SilahçıoÄŸlu has not published any article in the paper since. High-ranking military officers convened in Gölcük on Jan. 22, 1997 to discuss whether religious fundamentalism had become influential in the country. Labor and business unions, professional organizations and trade associations began speaking out against the government. Women's organizations held rallies to protest Shariah and promote secularism. The General Staff started briefing members of the judiciary, university rectors and journalists on religious fundamentalism at its headquarters. The National Security Council (MGK) made a number of decisions in its meeting on Feb. 28, 1997, and presented them to Prime Minister Erbakan for approval. Erbakan was forced to sign the decisions.
Erbakan subsequently resigned, handing over the prime ministry to his coalition partner, Tansu Çiller. He presented the signatures of 270 deputies stating that they would vote for the suggested Cabinet to President Süleyman Demirel, who was expected to ask Çiller to form the Cabinet; however, surprisingly, he asked Motherland Party (ANAP, now ANAVATAN) leader Mesut Yılmaz to do so. The government formed by Yılmaz was unable to get a vote of confidence in Parliament. At this point, Demirel intervened in the process and asked his confidants in the DYP to resign and join the Party for a Democratic Turkey (DTP), founded by Hüsamettin Cindoruk, thereby forming an alternative coalition government.
Why is Cindoruk serving as an advocate of Ergenekon?
The reason that former Parliament Speaker Hüsamettin Cindoruk, who was removed from the political stage because of his role in the Feb. 28 process, now serves as an advocate of Ergenekon may be found in the works of the parliamentary commission set up to investigate unresolved murders. Bingöl deputy Hüsamettin Korkutata, who served on the commission at the time, comments on Cindoruk's mission during this period: "The military commanders obstructed our work. We failed to get depositions from the military officers because they asked Parliament Speaker Cindoruk to block our work. We had noticed the traces of Ergenekon in our work back then. Some groups were committing offenses and the state was hiding their actions. All were aware that these groups were working in cooperation with PKK informants and that Veli Küçük held a crucial position in the organization. It has become evident that their only concern was money and material gain, rather than national sentiments. The commission members had to deal with obstructions by Chief of General Staff Gen. DoÄŸan GüreÅŸ and other high-ranking military commanders. We wanted to hear from some military officers serving in the Special Warfare Unit in an attempt to get some information about the murder of SavaÅŸ Buldan. Cindoruk told us not to do this because the military was opposed to it."
The Western Study Group (BÇG) was another important entity that came out of the Feb. 28 process. The group was formed within the naval forces and assigned to collect information on fundamentalist tendencies and actors within the state. The military has always denied the existence of such an organization; however, a legal process was initiated after Cpl. Kadir Sarmusak leaked information to the police department. Sarmusak was acquitted by the military court, but the military judges serving on the panel that ruled for Sarmusak's acquittal were all discharged from the military.
Resolved murders still inspire unanswered questions
There haven't been any unresolved murders in Turkey since the assassination of scientist Necip Hablemitoğlu. This implies that the perpetrators of murders since 2003 have either been identified or caught; however, there are also murders that have remained a mystery despite their perpetrators having been identified. These include the murders of Özdemir Sabancı, Hrant Dink and Father Andrea Santoro and the attack on the Zirve publishing house in Malatya.
Sabancı's murderer was identified at the last moment. He was murdered by Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) militants Mustafa Duyar, Ismail Akkol and Fehriye Erdal on Jan. 9, 1996.
Duyar turned himself in at the Turkish Embassy in Damascus on Jan. 6, 1997. Duyar, who confessed the details of how they committed the murder, said Erdal, an employee at the Sabancı Business Center, confused the rooms. Duyar also said: "The target was Sakıp Sabancı. Because of the mix-up, Özdemir Sabancı and Haluk Görgün were murdered." The murder was seemingly resolved; however, subsequent developments have inspired new questions that remain unanswered.
Duyar was murdered in prison by the men of Vedat and Nuri Ergin, also known as the Karagümrük gang, on Feb. 15, 1999. Erdal was seized in Belgium on Oct. 27, 1999; however, she was never extradited to Turkey. She is still at large, wanted by the Belgian authorities.
In a book titled "Code," Zihni Çakır argued that Sabancı's murder was organized by Abdullah Çatlı, Hüseyin KocadaÄŸ and military officer Hüseyin Pepekal. The book also argues that Erdal and Duyar were both used by intelligence units.
Mystery surrounding Hrant Dink murder
The perpetrators of the murder of Dink, a Turkish journalist of Armenian descent, were apprehended shortly after the incident on Jan. 19, 2007. It quickly became evident that the murder was committed by Ogun Samast from Trabzon, but police informant Erhan Tuncel had warned security forces of the planned murder months before.
This murder, which was committed in Ä°stanbul, also pointed to something happening in the city of Trabzon, where Father Santoro had been assassinated. First, military officers serving in the provincial military unit were removed from office. Regional Gendarmerie Commander Col. Ali Öz was reassigned to Bilecik. An investigation has only recently been launched into Ramazan Akyürek, chairman of the Trabzon Police Department's Intelligence Unit.
Öz spoke before the parliamentary Commission on Human Rights, where he expressed concern for his life, adding that he would not testify.
Prosecutors investigating the Dink murder demanded that the General Staff hand over the ongoing investigation into Öz; however, the General Staff did not comply with the request. Öz was later assigned to General Staff headquarters. Coşkun İğci, uncle by marriage of Yasin Hayal, who incited Samast to commit the murder, reportedly notified gendarmerie Sgt. Veyşel Şahin of the murder beforehand; however, Col. Öz recommended that İğci not discuss such topics. As the arguments suggesting that intelligence about the murder was deliberately overlooked have become stronger, inquiries have been made to reveal Öz's past.
Col. Öz was allegedly involved in the Ulucanlar Prison operation, which occurred when he was serving under Ankara Provincial Gendarmerie Commander Col. Kemal Bayalan. Ten inmates were killed during the operation in September 1999. Öz was the first to arrive at the crime scene where Professor Ahmet Taner Kışlalı was murdered. These may be coincidences; however, Turkey's recent past suggests that this sort of coincidence is unlikely.
The report prepared by the Prime Ministry Inspection Board with regard to the Dink murder stressed that there were many vague points requiring clarification and that public authorities had made grave mistakes. For this reason, permission for a thorough investigation into Akyürek has been granted.
The brutal incident in which Necati Aydın, Tilmann Geske and UÄŸur Yüksel were brutally murdered in Malatya was seemingly resolved. Even though the perpetrators have been apprehended, further investigation has revealed that there are still ambiguities in the case and that there may have been other actors involved.
SaÄŸlar: There are 17,547 unresolved murders
Fikri SaÄŸlar, a member of the parliamentary commission set up to investigate the Susurluk incident, which revealed connections and cooperation between the police, politicians and criminal gangs, argues that there are 17,547 unresolved murders in Turkey. Noting that members of parliamentary commissions investigating these murders have had to deal with many obstacles, SaÄŸlar also said, "Three of my friends who were trying to shed light on these murders were killed."
Stressing that the work of these commissions was obstructed by an "invisible hand," SaÄŸlar says illegal entities within the state were responsible for most of these murders. Emphasizing that the Gladio-like organization founded in Turkey during the Cold War era was the major actor in a number of unresolved murders and social disturbances, SaÄŸlar argues that while most NATO countries got rid of their Gladios, Turkey failed to follow the same path.
Noting that these commissions have prepared excellent reports resolving the plots staged by shadowy actors in Turkey but that the political administrations have failed to implement their recommendations, SaÄŸlar says the Ergenekon investigation is Turkey's last chance to purge the state of illegal entities. "If the report prepared by the Susurluk commission and those written up by the parliamentary commission for unresolved murders had been considered by the prosecutors and the political administrations, maybe we would not be talking about Ergenekon today. For this reason, the prosecutors in the Ergenekon case should carefully review these two reports. Both reports have clues and information about the deep state. If these clues are traced, the illegal entities within the state may be effectively eliminated. If we do not use this chance, we will come back to the same point 10 years later," he explains.
By ERCAN YAVUZ ANKARA
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Sunday, 25 January 2009
Source: TZ
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