Today’s Zaman, Turkey
July 13 2008
`Dig deeper into Dink murder-Ergenekon link’
Cem Ã-zdemir, a member of the European Parliament, has said that
Turkey has a very serious problem in the unanswered questions around
the plot leading to the January 2007 assassination of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, particularly the issue of whether the murder
was tied to the Ergenekon criminal network, which is currently the
subject of a major investigation.
Ã-zdemir expressed deep concern over the way the court case in the
murder has been conducted and said he personally felt ashamed of the
situation although he doesn’t represent the Turkish Republic.
`We’re not talking about a banana republic, we’re talking about one of
the leading countries in the world. This is the Turkish Republic. I’m
not in charge of this republic, I don’t represent this republic, but I
personally felt ashamed. So I would love to see a little bit more
seriousness in the follow-up on this Hrant Dink case and, if there is
a link to Ergenekon, it has to be followed up. There are serious
accusations that there is a link between the Ergenekon case and the
Hrant Dink murder case,’ Ã-zdemir said in an interview with
Sunday’s Zaman.
Ã-zdemir’s arrival in Ankara — where he met with President
Abdullah Gül, accompanied by Renate Künast, the co-chair
of the German Green Party — came amidst widespread unrest in the
country in the wake of an investigation into the Ergenekon network,
which is accused of having plotted to stage a coup against the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government, and a closure
case against the AK Party over allegations that it is seeking to
establish an Islamist state.
Ã-zdemir recalled Dink’s 2004 report revealing that Sabiha
Gökçen, the adopted daughter of Mustafa Kemal
Atatürk, the founder of the Turkish Republic, was Armenian. The
report had led to a harsh reaction from HurÅ?it Tolon, a former
commander of the 1st Army Corps who was arrested this past weekend on
charges of founding and leading the Ergenekon terrorist
organization. Ã-zdemir says this report played a crucial role in
turning Dink into a target.
Following publication of the report by the Agos newsweekly, of which
Dink had been the editor-in-chief, the Turkish daily Hürriyet
approached Tolon and asked for comment on the report. The former
commander then categorically called it `a crime against national
unity.’
`Of course, it is obvious that the Sabiha Gökçen report
played a crucial role in this context,’ he said.
`Does carnation loom again without fear? Does dove fly again in the
city?’ These are questions asked by Sezen Aksu in a song
`Güvercin,’ (Dove) — written and composed by Aksu in memory of
slain Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
`I am like a dove… Like a dove I have my eyes everywhere, in front
of me, at the back, on the left, on the right. My head is as moving as
the one of a dove… And fast enough to turn in an instant,’ Dink had
said in his last article, which was published on Jan. 19, 2007, the
day when he was shot dead outside the offices of the bilingual
(Armenian-Turkish) Agos weekly. He was the founder and editor-in-chief
of Agos.
Cem Ã-zdemir, a member of the European Parliament who was in Turkey
for various meetings this week and who has his friend Dink’s picture
on the opening page of his personal Web page, has a clear answer for
Aksu’s questions. He apparently believes that neither will the
carnation bloom again without fear nor will the dove fly again in the
city unless all aspects of Dink’s murder are thoroughly resolved.
Ã-zdemir was here in Turkey this week with Renate Künast,
co-chair of the German Green Party, for various talks in
Ä°stanbul and Ankara. On Monday he attended the sixth hearing in
the case of the plot leading to the 2007 assassination of Dink, held
at the Ä°stanbul Criminal Court. The two parliamentarians met
with President Abdullah Gül in Ankara on Wednesday. German
Ambassador Eckart Cuntz hosted a reception at his residence in honor
of Ã-zdemir and Künast on Wednesday evening.
The reception was well attended, probably because the German
parliamentarians’ meeting with Gül came amid widespread unrest
in the country in the wake of an investigation into the Ergenekon
criminal network — accused of having plotted to stage a coup against
the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government — and a
closure case against the ruling party over allegations it seeks to
establish an Islamist state.
Ã-zdemir, meanwhile, also made a kind suggestion for HurÅ?it
Tolon, a former commander of the 1st Army Corps who was arrested last
weekend on charges of founding and leading the Ergenekon terrorist
organization.
Having remembered what Tolon had said in 2004, when Dink’s Agos scored
a scoop in 2004 and revealed that Sabiha Gökçen, Turkish
Republic founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk’s adopted daughter, was
Armenian, Ã-zdemir said it might be a good idea for Tolon to look
into the Turkish Constitution to re-examine the definition of Turkish
citizenship.
Following publication of the report by Agos, Turkish daily
Hürriyet approached Tolon and asked for his comment on the
report. The former commander then categorically called it `a crime
against national unity.’
Your arrival here came amid an ongoing countdown to the end the
closure case against the AK Party and the upcoming start of the
Ergenekon case. But the main reason for your visit’s timing was the
Dink case. What impressions will you take back to Germany after
Monday’s hearing?
One thing I want to say is after being at the Dink case, it is very
obvious, you don’t have to be an expert; just by listening to what was
said there it is quite obvious that this case cannot be limited to the
people who appeared before that court. This is beyond the people who
appeared there, it’s very obvious; I mean the question is still
unanswered: What happened with the information that the gendarmerie
got? Where did this information go, who reacted how, how was this
information judged and why were no steps beyond that ever taken to
save the life of my brother and friend Hrant Dink? This question
remains to be answered. And as long as this question is unanswered,
Turkey has a very serious problem.
The second thing is that we are not talking about a banana republic,
we’re talking about one of the leading countries of the world. This
court did not give a very good impression to me. I mean the whole
thing — starting from the room to the technical limitations — I mean
practically everything, the way that the lawyers of Hrant Dink’s
family and the ones who are involved in this murder case have to share
a microphone, have to stand half a meter away from each other. I mean,
what is this?
This is the Turkish Republic. I’m not in charge of this republic, I
don’t represent this republic, but I personally felt ashamed. So, I
would love to see a little bit more seriousness in the follow-up to
this Hrant Dink case and if there is a link to Ergenekon, it has to be
followed up. There are serious accusations that there is a link
between the Ergenekon case and the Hrant Dink murder case.
You already expressed your concerns about the composition of the court
and a will to examine the alleged connection between the two
cases. Are you able to see a will for doing so?
I’m not in a position to make suggestions to the court; this is up to
the court. But one thing is for sure: After I listened to the
confessions and the expressions there, it is very obvious that other
people need to appear at this court. Let me give you an example, I
mean the fact that Hrant Dink was called to the Vali
Yardımcısı [deputy governor] and the kind of
dialogue that happened there, I mean, it leaves very, very serious
question marks. Has this been followed up? Was he questioned? And a
number of other people I could tell about. From the gendarmes [a
paramilitary force for internal security] in Trabzon to security
guards and it is clear: If this country is a secular country, if
everyone’s life has the same worth in this country — independent of
Hrant being an Armenian or a Circassian or a believer or a
non-believer, whatever he was, he was killed and whoever the murderer
was needs to be punished. Whoever they are, wherever they are; and to
me we’re at the beginning of the case, not the end.
We may now know 10 percent of what we need to know, and the other 90
percent is also an answer to the security questions in Turkey, to the
Gladio problem, to the problem of Susurluk, to the problem of
Å?emdinli, all of which I believe is linked to each other. You
cannot separate them from one another. It is obvious. There are people
in Turkey who think that they are above the law, people in Turkey who
think that they have been `given a mission.’ And that’s not acceptable
in any democracy and therefore, first of all, I encourage the
government and encourage the Turkish democracy to follow up on
that. On the other hand, I also ask them to do this in a way that is
proper and in a democratic way that is completely based on the rule of
law.
When do you think Hrant Dink became a target? In the autumn of 2005,
when he was given a six-month suspended sentence for insulting
`Turkishness,’ or when he wrote the report on Sabiha
Gökçen?
Of course, it is obvious that the Sabiha Gökçen report
played a crucial role in this context. Some people think that it is an
insult if you say that the adopted daughter¦ What is wrong with
that, I mean the Armenians are citizens of this country. It is not an
insult if you call somebody an Armenian. This is a normal thing. I
mean if somebody calls me of Turkish origin in Germany — I’m a German
citizen — I don’t see this as an insult. So it shouldn’t be an insult
to say that she is of Armenian origin. I’ll understand that¦ But I
don’t understand the statement of HurÅ?it Tolon, to be honest,
as he said at the time that it was unacceptable that
Gökçen’s name was brought in an Armenian context. Sorry,
this is the understanding of the Turkish nationals. People are Turkish
citizens as an umbrella and they can be of Armenian origin — they can
be of any origin. I’m not in a position to tell HurÅ?it Tolon
the understanding of Turkish citizenship, but maybe he should look in
the Constitution.
What was the message you got at the meeting with Gül?
First of all, he thanked us Greens and said we are always honest when
we criticize Turkey and that we criticize Turkey as friends because we
want a more democratic Turkey and because we kept our promise that
such a Turkey deserves to become a member of the European Union. He
differentiated between those who criticize because they don’t want
Turkey in the European Union. That is, I think he shared his
observations.
And the second point is that he was optimistic, rather optimistic,
saying that he knows that Turkey is getting through difficult times
but in the end Turkey will succeed and democracy will succeed.
Do you share the president’s optimism?
I mean, who am I to say something different from Mr. Gül? If
Mr. Gül is optimistic, I have to be optimistic as well. I
believe that wisdom is here, I believe there is also wisdom in the
Constitutional Court and I believe that at the end of the day wisdom
will succeed because I cannot imagine that Turkey has an intention,
that anybody here in this country can have this serious intention to
harm Turkey, to stop Turkey from moving forward, to push Turkey
back. I can imagine a lot of people in Europe who want that, but I
cannot imagine that they have fans here in Turkey. I cannot imagine
that somebody will push the Constitutional Court or that somebody in
the army or somebody in politics or somebody in the media can have an
interest in supporting Mr. Sarkozy. We will find out at the end of the
day how many fans Mr. Sarkozy has in Turkey.
13 July 2008, Sunday
EMÄ°NE KART ANKARA