‘THERE ARE 25 DIFFERENT ERGENEKONS IN TURKEY’
Today’s Zaman
Jan 26 2009
Turkey
The Ergenekon investigation presents clues pointing to the perpetrators
of unsolved murders in Turkey and the figures who orchestrated social
upheaval.
Documents seized in the houses of suspected Ergenekon members provide
answers to the sensational murders and show the motives behind such
incidents. One document found in retired Brig. Gen. Veli Kucuk’s house
provides a great deal of evidence on the assassinations of Ugur Mumcu,
Ozdemir Sabancı and Uzeyir Garih, as well as a helicopter accident
in which former Gendarmerie Commander Gen. EÅ~_ref Bitlis died.
The document indicates that Mumcu was assassinated because he possessed
sensitive documentation on 100,000 weapons allegedly sent from Turkey
to Jalal Talabani in January 1991.
The same document stresses that Bitlis was killed 25 days later
because he also had information on the weapons.
Council of State attack
The Ergenekon investigation further sheds lights on the Council of
State attack perpetrated by Alparslan Arslan on May 17, 2006. Council
member Mustafa Yucel Ozbilgin died in the attack and three other
members were injured. It was argued that the attack was staged
because of the Council of State’s recent decision on the headscarf
issue. The funeral held for Ozbilgin was turned into a demonstration
against the government. The military appeared at the funeral with a
large delegation. Even former Prime Minister Bulent Ecevit attended
despite health problems. Shortly after the funeral, Ecevit had a
brain hemorrhage and died while in a coma without actually knowing
the real motive behind the attack.
The Ergenekon investigation further sheds lights on the Council of
State attack perpetrated by Alparslan Arslan on May 17, 2006.
The case was subsequently resolved because the executioner was
apprehended at the scene of the crime. It has become evident that
the hand grenades Arslan had previously used in an attack against the
Cumhuriyet daily were from the same series seized in a shanty house in
Umraniye. Osman Yıldırım, arrested in connection with the Council
of State attack, told Ergenekon prosecutor Zekeriya Oz that Kucuk
gave him the grenades at a meeting in AtaÅ~_ehir on April 27, 2006.
It also became clear that Arslan was serving as the legal counsel
of DoguÅ~_ Factoring, owned by retired Captain Muzaffer Tekin,
who is currently under arrest in connection with the Ergenekon
investigation, and that he had a badge from Ulusal TV, run by Dogu
Perincek, another suspect currently in custody. The Supreme Court
of Appeals, considering these developments, has decided to merge the
Ergenekon and the Council of State cases.
Uzeyir Garih murder resolved
The murder of Garih, a Jewish-Turkish businessman, has also been
illuminated by the Ergenekon investigation. The perpetrator of the
murder, Yener Yermez, was caught and told the police that he murdered
Garih for money. However, this raised suspicions because the murderer
did not steal Garih’s Rolex watch. Yermez had also been serving in
the military as an enlisted private.
In a letter he sent from prison to Fehmi Koru, a columnist for the
YeniÅ~_afak daily, Yermez claimed that he had taken responsibility
for the murder in return for a payment in the amount of $1.5
million. However, this allegation was not considered at that time. The
Ergenekon investigation revealed that retired Col. Fikri Karadag,
also under arrest in connection with the Ergenekon case, was the
commander of the military unit where Yermez was serving as a private.
This military quarter also rose to prominence in the past when it
became evident that retired Gen. Habil Kucuk had contact with Osman
Gurbuz, also known as YeÅ~_il, the notorious executioner of the deep
state. Kucuk served when the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attempted
to assassinate Chief of General Staff Gen. Dogan GureÅ~_. At the time
of Garih’s murder, Oktay Yıldırım was a noncommissioned officer
in the Hasdal military unit. In consideration of these findings,
the Ergenekon prosecutors decided to interrogate Yermez. According
to the allegations, Kucuk ordered the execution of Garih because
he refused to provide financial support for a coup attempt led by
Ergenekon in Azerbaijan.
Gazi incidents
Ersönmez Yarbay(L.) The statement by an anonymous witness testifying
in the Ergenekon investigation gives detailed information on
a coffeehouse raid in the Gazi neighborhood, where 17 people were
killed in 1995.
The statement by an anonymous witness testifying in the Ergenekon
investigation gives detailed information on a coffeehouse raid in the
Gazi neighborhood, where 17 people were killed in 1995. The witness
argues that Kucuk and Osman Gurbuz sponsored the whole event and
that mob leader Sedat Peker and his men carried out the attacks in
an attempt to escalate tension between Alevis and Sunnis. It was also
noticed that Kucuk played role in making sure that Peker was exempted
from military service with a fake health report.
Tuncay Guney’s confessions
In 2001 a great deal of information was obtained about the Ergenekon
organization. A former journalist, Tuncay Guney, provided extensive
information in his statement to a former head of the intelligence
unit at the Ä°stanbul Police Department, Adil Serdar Sacan, about
Ergenekon. Interestingly, Sacan was also arrested in connection with
the Ergenekon case. It turns out he hid the information provided
by Guney. The relevant question here is why effective action was
not taken against this organization despite the massive amount of
information obtained in 2001.
Guney, who has since converted to Judaism and currently lives in
Canada, argued that Turkey sent 24,000 weapons to Talabani for use
against the PKK, whereas 6,000 of these 24,000 were delivered to
Cemil Bayık, one of the top leaders of the PKK.
Guney further argued that Bitlis was murdered because he was aware
of the delivery to Bayık. Guney was a prolific source for the
Ergenekon investigation; however, there were concerns and doubts
about his reliability.
Yarbay: There are more Ergenekon-like organizations
Former Ankara deputy Ersönmez Yarbay, the chairman of the
parliamentary commission set up to investigate the murder of Ugur
Mumcu, says there are 25 Ergenekon-like organizations in Turkey. Yarbay
further states that Ergenekon was eliminated because it pushed the
boundaries of the current system and that Mumcu was murdered to
escalate tension among secular circles.
Noting that the visible increase in the number of unresolved murders
during the period between 1991 and 1995 shows a change in the strategy
for combating terrorism, Yarbay argues that this change was the
introduction of terror strategies to deal with terror.
"Because of this policy change, thousands of unresolved murders
have been committed. The number of criminals within the state also
increased. As a result of this, those who were forced to commit crimes
back then have continued to do so until now."
Recalling that one of the 20 possible scenarios regarding the Mumcu
murder fits well with the arguments of Tuncay Guney, Yarbay also
says they have found no evidence showing that Mumcu was murdered by
Israeli secret service agents.
"Secular circles were provoked by secular institutions back then
in Turkey in an attempt to exploit their sensitivity and to make
sure that they would become harsher in their stance. People like
Mumcu were actually killed by people with similar worldviews. He was
murdered to stir up secular sentiments. The murder of Ugur Mumcu,
Bahriye Ucok and Muammer Aksoy and the Madımak fire in Sivas are all
linked. These murders and events were organized to draw attention to
a danger of Islamism," states Yarbay.
Project staged to cause secularists to take to the streets
Noting that a project was staged in the aftermath of the Feb. 28, 1997
process to provoke secular circles, Yarbay argues that the murder
of Professor Ahmet Taner KıÅ~_lalı was the final step of this
project. Yarbay’s explanation also sheds light on anti-government
rallies held before and after the presidential elections in 2007. A
substantial number of the rallies’ organizers are currently in
custody in connection with the Ergenekon case. Yarbay stresses that
the visible increase in the number of unresolved murders during the
eras when leftist parties were in office is not a coincidence.
"There are at least 25 other organizations even bigger than
Ergenekon. Ergenekon conducted activities that the current system
cannot handle. It pushed the limits of the existing system. Were it
to remain within the limits of the system, there would not be any
problem at all. For this reason, it is being eliminated."
Noting that secret organizations should be eliminated for a more
democratic and stable regime and that further measures should
be taken to make sure that similar organizations do not emerge
again, Yarbay says: "The Ergenekon investigation is a his toric
opportunity. Preparation of the Ergenekon indictment and the
prosecution of its members is a great opportunity for Turkey’s future."
What would have happened if Ergenekon were not identified and
prosecuted? The documents and information seized in previously
identified locations and statements by Ergenekon members show that the
organization was ready to carry out a number of sensational actions
if the investigation had not been initiated. It is interesting to
note that the planned actions were similar to those committed in the
past. For instance, Ergenekon considered murdering Alevi leader Kazım
Genc with a package bomb. This method was employed in the murders of
Bahriye Ucok and Hamid Fendoglu. Tension was to be escalated between
Alevis and Sunnis by killing Alevi leader Ali Balkız with a car
bomb. This method was also employed in the assassinations of Mumcu
and KıÅ~_lalı.
Ergenekon also planned to kill Armenian community leader Minas Durmaz
Guler in front of his home. Muammer Aksoy, Hrant Dink, Turan Durdun
and Necip Hablemitoglu were all killed by the same method. The
investigation also revealed that Ergenekon considered killing the
Armenian patriarch using a shoulder-fired missile. The same type of
weapon was used in the assassination attempt against businessman Jak
Kamhi in 1993.
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