Ergenekon network
Encyclopedia
Ergenekon is the name given to an alleged clandestine, Kemalist ultra-nationalist organization in Turkey
with possible ties to members of the country's military and security
forces. The group, named after Ergenekon
, a mythical place located in the inaccessible valleys of the Altay Mountains
, is accused of terrorism
in Turkey.
Ergenekon has frequently been shown to be part of the "deep state
". The existence of the "deep state" was affirmed in Turkish opinion after the Susurluk scandal
in 1996. Alleged members have been indicted on charges of plotting to foment unrest
, among other things by assassinating intellectuals, politicians, judges, military staff, and religious leaders, with the ultimate goal of toppling the incumbent government.
Ergenekon's modus operandi
has been compared to Operation Gladio
's Turkish branch, the Counter-Guerrilla
.
By April 2011, over 500 people had been taken into custody and nearly 300 formally charged with membership of what prosecutors described as “the Ergenekon terrorist organization”, which they claimed had been responsible for virtually every act of political violence – and controlled every terrorist group – in Turkey over the last 30 years.
, which exposed a similar gang. However, it is said that Ergenekon has undergone serious changes since then. The first person to publicly talk about the organization was retired naval officer Erol Mütercimler, who spoke of such an organization in 1997. Mütercimler said he heard of the original organization's existence from retired general Memduh Ünlütürk, who was involved in the anti-communist Ziverbey interrogations following the 1971 coup. Major general Ünlütürk told Mütercimler that Ergenekon was founded with the support of the CIA and the Pentagon. Mütercimler was detained during the Ergenekon investigation for questioning before being released.
Mütercimler and others, however, draw a distinction between the Ergenekon of today and the original one, which they equate with the Counter-Guerrilla
; Operation Gladio
's Turkish branch. Today's Ergenekon is said to be a "splinter" off the old one. The person whose testimony contributed most to the indictment, Tuncay Güney, described Ergenekon as a junta related to the Turkish Resistance Organization
operating in North Cyprus; the TMT was established by founding members of the Counter-Guerrilla
. Former North Cyprus President Rauf Denktaş
denied any connection of the TMT to Ergenekon.
Another position is that while some of the suspects may be guilty of something, there is no organization to which they are all party, and that the only thing they have in common is opposition to the AKP. There is evidence to suggest that some – but only some – of the defendants named in the indictments have been engaged in illegal activity and that others – again far from all – hold eccentric or distasteful political opinions and worldviews. There are also allegations that Ergenekon's agenda is in line with the policies of the NSC
, elaborated in the top-secret "Red Book" (the National Security Policy Document).
Based on documents prepared by one of the prosecutors, an article in Sabah (newspaper)
says that the alleged organization consists of six cells with the following personnel:
Of those, the structure of only the "Theory" department had been revealed as of September 2008. Some have called Veli Küçük the leader in the organization. Şamil Tayyar of the Star daily says that Küçük is not "even among the top ten". MİT reportedly informed the prosecutor about the identity of the "number one" in the organization, but this will not be made public.
In most cases the name is shown as having derived from the Ergenekon myth
; a place in Eurasia of mythological significance, esp. among nationalists (see Agartha
). The legend was vigorously promulgated during the early years of the Turkish Republic as Atatürk sought to create a nation state in which national consciousness rather than religion served as the primary determinant of identity. With the growing number of detentions and subsequent court cases (see: Ergenekon (trials)) not many people still really understand what is happening. (also see chapter: Debate on Ergenekon)
The investigation officially began after the Trabzon Gendarmerie Headquarters' tip-off line received an anonymous call on 12 June 2007 saying that grenades and C-4 explosives were to be found at Güngör Sokak No. 2, Çakmak Mahallesi, Ümraniye
(41°1′13.69"N 29°7′10.21"E). A search warrant was immediately obtained from the Ümraniye 2. Peace Penal Court. 27 hand grenades (but no C-4) were found in a nylon-covered wooden chest on the roof of a slum at the stated address. The grenades were found to bear the same serial number as those used in 14 incidents throughout the country.
The person whose statements to the police in 2001 formed "the backbone of the indictment" was a spy named Tuncay Güney, alias "İpek". In his flat documents that referred to an organization called Ergenekon were found. The documents included: “Ergenekon, Analysis Restructuring Management and Development Project (tr: Ergenekon, Analiz Yeni Yapılanma Yönetim ve Geliştirme Projesi) dated 29 October 1999, "Lobby” of December 1999 outlining the proposed different departments of Ergenekon; and “On the Restructuring of the State” (tr: Devletin Yeniden Yapılanması Üzerine) dated 25 November 1999 including a blueprint for the restructuring of the state itself. Güney is believed to be subordinate to Mehmet Eymür
, formerly of the National Intelligence Organization
(MİT)'s Counterterrorism Department. Eymür was discharged and his department disbanded in 1997. Güney's relationship to the MİT has been a matter of confusion; his boss was once a MİT employee, while the MİT says Güney was not (specifically, he was not a "registered informant") and that the MİT considered him a suspicious person.
neighborhood. At the beginning the courtroom could accommodate about 280 people.
The investigation exposed alleged links between an armed attack on the Turkish Council of State
in 2006 that left a judge dead, a bombing of a secularist newspaper, threats and attacks against people accused of being unpatriotic and the 1996 Susurluk incident
, as well as links to the plans of some groups in the Turkish Armed Forces
(TSK) to overthrow the present government. According to the investigation, Ergenekon had a role in the murder of Hrant Dink
, a prominent journalist of Armenian descent Italian priest Father Andrea Santoro
in February 2006 and the brutal murders of three Christians
, one a German national, killed in the province of Malatya
in April 2007. Furthermore, files about JİTEM related the assassination of former JİTEM commander Cem Ersever, killed in November 1993, to Ergenekon. A former JİTEM member, Abdülkadir Aygan, said that JİTEM is the military wing of Ergenekon.
The indictment exposes questionable relations between Ergenekon and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK) and the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), raising serious suspicions that Ergenekon might have played a role in inciting ethnic hatred between Turks and Kurds and increasing sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Alevis by a series of provocative acts. Zaman
quoted a senior intelligence officer, Bülent Orakoğlu, as having said that the PKK, Dev Sol, Hezbollah, and Hizb ut-Tahrir
are artificial organizations set up by the network, and that Abdullah Öcalan
himself was an Ergenekon member. Zamans claims have been disputed.
Öcalan dismissed allegations made by intelligence officer Bülent Orakoğlu concerning himself, but he did say that a group inside the PKK, which he called the Zaza Group, had links with Ergenekon. He said that this group was led by Sait Çürükkaya and tried to seize control of the PKK, adding "Particularly in the Diyarbakır-Muş-Bingöl triangle, they have staged intensive and bloody attacks." The brother of Sait Çürükkaya, Selim Çürükkaya
had earlier written a book "When secrets get decoded" (tr: Sırlar Çözülürken) accusing Abdullah Öcalan of being a member of Ergenekon.
Responding to allegations in Taraf, DHKP/C issued a press release ridiculing claims of its connection to Ergenekon.
By May 2009, 142 people had been formally charged with membership of the “Ergenekon armed terrorist organization” in two massive indictments totalling 2,455 and 1,909 pages respectively. Further trials followed and in March 2011 the State owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT)
presented the following figures:
A fresh wave of detentions in January 2009 netted 37 more people, including some generals, after consulting the high command, which swiftly gave permission. (The Minister of Defense, Vecdi Gönül, was not consulted.) One of them, Tuncer Kılınç, is the former secretary general of the National Security Council (formerly a military institution). Immediately before the arrests, well-connected journalist Şamil Tayyar speculated on whether Kılınç is the leader.
Twelve of the arrests took place in Sivas, where weapons were also found. According to Zaman
, the Sivas raid is connected to numerous plots mentioned in the indictment. Police chief İbrahim Şahin
allegedly made phone calls to order the attack. Two of the twelve were released the next day.
A map indicating the location of arms caches was found on detainee İbrahim Şahin
; the former chief of the police force's Special Operations Department .
This wave was particularly divisive, as it included numerous senior military officials. There is a concern that the move was politically motivated, and will affect the direction of the investigation.
Most suspects face at least ten years in prison. The suspected ringleaders, Doğu Perinçek, Mehmet Fikri Karadağ, Veli Küçük, İlhan Selçuk and Muzaffer Tekin will be held responsible for criminal acts perpetrated by subordinates, and receive life sentences.
In April 2009 academics including Erol Manisalı. professor for economic, Fatih Hilmioğlu, Mehmet Haberal and Türkan Saylan
, professor for medicine, suffering from cancer were detained. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Haberal of Başkent University in Ankara was placed in pre-trial detention. In June Prof. Dr. Erol Manisalı was released because of bad health.
In February 2010 arms and ammunition were found in Ortatepe village, İliç
district, Erzincan
province. Several people were detained including chief prosecutor in Erzincan, İlhan Cihaner
In February 2011 Soner Yalçın, journalist and owner of the TV station Odatv, and the staff members Barış Terkoğlu, Ayhan Bozkurt and Barış Pehlivan were detained and all, but Ayhan Bozkurt were taken into pre-trial detention. In March 2011 another nine journalists were detained in Ankara and Istanbul. Among them Nedim Şener, Ahmet Şık
, Müesser Yıldız, Doğan Yurdakul, Suat Çakır, Yalçın Küçük und Coşkun Musluk were taken into pre-trial detention as alleged members of Ergenekon.
Among the defendants in the various Ergenekon trials (most of them imprisoned) Mustafa Balbay, Tuncay Özkan and Mehmet Haberal have been named as candidates for the Republican People's Party (CHP)
as candidates for the general elections in June 2011
. Ergenekon suspect and former Erzincan chief public prosecutor İlhan Cihaner became a candidate for the Aegean province of Denizli
.
When Tuncay Özkan was not nominated by the CHP he applied as independent candidate in Istanbul. Some Ergenekon defendants will run as candidate for the Republican Power Union (tr. Cumhuriyet Güçbirliği). Their names are Çetin Doğan (defendant in slegdehammer case) and the Ergenekon suspects Doğu Perinçek
, Hasan Atilla Uğur and M. Deniz Yıldırım. Sledgehammer defendant Engin Alan will be a candidate for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
in Istanbul.
(AKP) and the Ergenekon trials.
There is a growing mass of intellectuals and policy analysts who dismiss the possibility of Ergenekon carrying out the deeds attributed to it by the public prosecution as laid out in the indictment and trial proceedings. In August 2008, 300 intellectuals from Turkey declared their support for the investigation and called upon all civil and military institutions to deepen the investigation in order to reveal the rest of the people tied to Ergenekon.
The Ergenekon investigations have divided the Turkish population. To some they represent the “cleansing of the century”. To its detractors the Ergenekon investigation is politically motivated; the alleged organization itself a deliberate fabrication by government sympathizers. Criticism grew stronger after the arrest of journalists in February and March 2011. Even the biggest fans of the government worry that the legitimacy of the Ergenekon case is being dented by heavy-handed tactics such as the arrests of Ahmet Şık
and Nedim Şener. The real goal of the Ergenekon investigation was not to go after the deep state but to intimidate and silence opponents of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), particularly critics of the vast network of Gülen’s supporters known as the Gülen Movement
.
In its 2010 report on progress for the accession of Turkey to the European Union
the European Commission
stated inter alias: "The high number of cases initiated against journalists who have reported on the Ergenekon case is a cause for concern. They face prosecutions and trials for violating the principle of confidentiality of an ongoing judicial process. This could result in self-censorship." The footnote 17 stated: "4,091 investigations have been initiated against journalists for breaches of the confidentiality of investigations or attempts to influence a fair trial (Articles 285 and 288 of the Turkish Criminal Code), following their reporting on the Ergenekon case."
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
with possible ties to members of the country's military and security
Law enforcement in Turkey
Law enforcement in Turkey is carried out by several departments and agencies, all acting under the command of the Prime Minister of Turkey or mostly the Minister of Internal Affairs....
forces. The group, named after Ergenekon
Ergenekon
Ergenekon is the name of the place where Nekuz and Qiyan and their wives escaped to, and who were the original Mongols in Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh written by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani at the beginning of the 14th century...
, a mythical place located in the inaccessible valleys of the Altay Mountains
Altay Mountains
The Altai Mountains are a mountain range in East-Central Asia, where Russia, China, Mongolia and Kazakhstan come together, and where the rivers Irtysh and Ob have their sources. The Altai Mountains are known as the original locus of the speakers of Turkic as well as other members of the proposed...
, is accused of terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
in Turkey.
Ergenekon has frequently been shown to be part of the "deep state
Deep state
The Deep state is alleged to be a group of influential anti-democratic coalitions within the Turkish political system, composed of high-level elements within the intelligence services , Turkish military, security, judiciary, and mafia. The notion of deep state is similar to that of a "state within...
". The existence of the "deep state" was affirmed in Turkish opinion after the Susurluk scandal
Susurluk scandal
The Susurluk scandal was a scandal involving the close relationship between the Turkish government, the armed forces, and organized crime. It took place during the peak of the Turkey–Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, in the mid-1990s...
in 1996. Alleged members have been indicted on charges of plotting to foment unrest
Strategy of tension
The strategy of tension is a theory that describes how to divide, manipulate, and control public opinion using fear, propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents provocateurs, and false flag terrorist actions....
, among other things by assassinating intellectuals, politicians, judges, military staff, and religious leaders, with the ultimate goal of toppling the incumbent government.
Ergenekon's modus operandi
Modus operandi
Modus operandi is a Latin phrase, approximately translated as "mode of operation". The term is used to describe someone's habits or manner of working, their method of operating or functioning...
has been compared to Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for a clandestine NATO "stay-behind" operation in Italy after World War II. Its purpose was to continue anti-communist actions in the event of a shift to a Communist party led government...
's Turkish branch, the Counter-Guerrilla
Counter-Guerrilla
Counter-Guerrilla is the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to erect a guerrilla force capable of countering a possible Soviet invasion...
.
By April 2011, over 500 people had been taken into custody and nearly 300 formally charged with membership of what prosecutors described as “the Ergenekon terrorist organization”, which they claimed had been responsible for virtually every act of political violence – and controlled every terrorist group – in Turkey over the last 30 years.
What is Ergenekon?
An organization named "Ergenekon" has been talked about since the Susurluk scandalSusurluk scandal
The Susurluk scandal was a scandal involving the close relationship between the Turkish government, the armed forces, and organized crime. It took place during the peak of the Turkey–Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, in the mid-1990s...
, which exposed a similar gang. However, it is said that Ergenekon has undergone serious changes since then. The first person to publicly talk about the organization was retired naval officer Erol Mütercimler, who spoke of such an organization in 1997. Mütercimler said he heard of the original organization's existence from retired general Memduh Ünlütürk, who was involved in the anti-communist Ziverbey interrogations following the 1971 coup. Major general Ünlütürk told Mütercimler that Ergenekon was founded with the support of the CIA and the Pentagon. Mütercimler was detained during the Ergenekon investigation for questioning before being released.
Mütercimler and others, however, draw a distinction between the Ergenekon of today and the original one, which they equate with the Counter-Guerrilla
Counter-Guerrilla
Counter-Guerrilla is the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to erect a guerrilla force capable of countering a possible Soviet invasion...
; Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for a clandestine NATO "stay-behind" operation in Italy after World War II. Its purpose was to continue anti-communist actions in the event of a shift to a Communist party led government...
's Turkish branch. Today's Ergenekon is said to be a "splinter" off the old one. The person whose testimony contributed most to the indictment, Tuncay Güney, described Ergenekon as a junta related to the Turkish Resistance Organization
Turkish Resistance Organization
The Turkish Resistance Organisation was a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation formed by Rauf Denktaş and Turkish military officer Rıza Vuruşkan in 1958 as a defence organisation to counter the Greek Cypriot Fighter's Organisation EOKA....
operating in North Cyprus; the TMT was established by founding members of the Counter-Guerrilla
Counter-Guerrilla
Counter-Guerrilla is the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to erect a guerrilla force capable of countering a possible Soviet invasion...
. Former North Cyprus President Rauf Denktaş
Rauf Denktas
Rauf Raif Denktaş is the founder and the first president of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus , a de facto state which is only recognized by Turkey...
denied any connection of the TMT to Ergenekon.
Another position is that while some of the suspects may be guilty of something, there is no organization to which they are all party, and that the only thing they have in common is opposition to the AKP. There is evidence to suggest that some – but only some – of the defendants named in the indictments have been engaged in illegal activity and that others – again far from all – hold eccentric or distasteful political opinions and worldviews. There are also allegations that Ergenekon's agenda is in line with the policies of the NSC
National Security Council (Turkey)
The National Security Council comprises the Chief of Staff, select members of the Council of Ministers, and the President of the Republic...
, elaborated in the top-secret "Red Book" (the National Security Policy Document).
Based on documents prepared by one of the prosecutors, an article in Sabah (newspaper)
Sabah (newspaper)
Sabah is a popular Turkish daily newspaper, with a circulation of around 330,000 as of 2011. Its name means "morning" in the Turkish language originating from Arabic...
says that the alleged organization consists of six cells with the following personnel:
- Secret and civil cells liaisons: Veli Küçük and Muzaffer Tekin.
- Lobbyists: M. Zekeriya Öztürk, Kemal KerinçsizKemal KerinçsizKemal Kerinçsiz is a Turkish lawyer, famous for filing complaints against more than 40 Turkish journalists and authors for "insulting Turkishness"...
, İsmail Yıldız, and Erkut Ersoy. - NGO head: Sevgi Erenerol. Kemal Kerinçsiz (assistant).
- Theory, Propaganda, and Disinformation Department head: Doğu PerinçekDogu PerinçekDoğu Perinçek is a Turkish politician, leader of the Workers' Party , a scientific socialist organization, and former chairman of the Workers' Party . His first name Doğu means "East" in Turkish.-Personal life:...
. - Mafia structuring head: Veli Küçük. Muzaffer Tekin (assistant).
- Underground contacts: Ali YasakAli YasakAli Yasak , better known as Drej Ali , is one of Turkey's most renowned criminals.He was involved in the Susurluk scandal....
, Sami Hoştan, Semih Tufan GülaltaySemih Tufan GülaltaySemih Tufan Gülaltay is the founder of the militant Turkish Revenge Brigade, and the National Unity Party .He was sentenced to nineteen years in prison for the attempted killing of Human Rights Association chairman Akın Birdal, but released 4.5 years later on amnesty...
, and Sedat PekerSedat PekerSedat Peker is a Turkish businessman and the current chairman of Turkish football club Antalyaspor. His main business areas are jewellery and pharmacy....
. - Terrorist organizations heads: Veli Küçük and Doğu Perinçek.
- University structuring: Kemal Yalçın Alemdaroğlu, Emin Gürses, Habib Ümit Sayın.
- Research and information gathering head: Mehmet Zekeriya Öztürk.
- Judicial branch heads: Kemal Kerinçsiz, Fuat Turgut, and Nusret Senem.
Of those, the structure of only the "Theory" department had been revealed as of September 2008. Some have called Veli Küçük the leader in the organization. Şamil Tayyar of the Star daily says that Küçük is not "even among the top ten". MİT reportedly informed the prosecutor about the identity of the "number one" in the organization, but this will not be made public.
In most cases the name is shown as having derived from the Ergenekon myth
Ergenekon (legendary place)
Ergenekon is the name of the place where Nekuz and Qiyan and their wives escaped to, and who were the original Mongols in Jāmiʿ al-tawārīkh written by Rashid-al-Din Hamadani at the beginning of the 14th century...
; a place in Eurasia of mythological significance, esp. among nationalists (see Agartha
Agartha
Agartha is a legendary city that is said to reside in the earth's core. It is related to the belief in a hollow earth and is a popular subject in esotericism....
). The legend was vigorously promulgated during the early years of the Turkish Republic as Atatürk sought to create a nation state in which national consciousness rather than religion served as the primary determinant of identity. With the growing number of detentions and subsequent court cases (see: Ergenekon (trials)) not many people still really understand what is happening. (also see chapter: Debate on Ergenekon)
Discovery
- Separate article: Ergenekon (material evidence)Ergenekon (material evidence)A common objection to the investigation into the clandestine organization "Ergenekon" is that the group does not have the wherewithal to carry out large-scale militant acts. This section aims to clarify what is known about the munitions presented as evidence...
The investigation officially began after the Trabzon Gendarmerie Headquarters' tip-off line received an anonymous call on 12 June 2007 saying that grenades and C-4 explosives were to be found at Güngör Sokak No. 2, Çakmak Mahallesi, Ümraniye
Ümraniye
Ümraniye is a very large working class district of Istanbul, Turkey with a population of over 250,000. It became district in 1987 by secession from Üsküdar. Also; Ömerli, Koçullu, Sırapınar and Hüseyinli villages were separated from Beykoz district in same year. Finally, Nişantepe quarter passed...
(41°1′13.69"N 29°7′10.21"E). A search warrant was immediately obtained from the Ümraniye 2. Peace Penal Court. 27 hand grenades (but no C-4) were found in a nylon-covered wooden chest on the roof of a slum at the stated address. The grenades were found to bear the same serial number as those used in 14 incidents throughout the country.
The person whose statements to the police in 2001 formed "the backbone of the indictment" was a spy named Tuncay Güney, alias "İpek". In his flat documents that referred to an organization called Ergenekon were found. The documents included: “Ergenekon, Analysis Restructuring Management and Development Project (tr: Ergenekon, Analiz Yeni Yapılanma Yönetim ve Geliştirme Projesi) dated 29 October 1999, "Lobby” of December 1999 outlining the proposed different departments of Ergenekon; and “On the Restructuring of the State” (tr: Devletin Yeniden Yapılanması Üzerine) dated 25 November 1999 including a blueprint for the restructuring of the state itself. Güney is believed to be subordinate to Mehmet Eymür
Mehmet Eymür
Mehmet Eymür is a retired Turkish intelligence official. He led the counter-terrorism department of the National Intelligence Organization , which he joined as a student in 1965 as a "pursuit officer"...
, formerly of the National Intelligence Organization
National Intelligence Organization
The National Intelligence Organization is the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey. It was established in 1965 to replace the National Security Service....
(MİT)'s Counterterrorism Department. Eymür was discharged and his department disbanded in 1997. Güney's relationship to the MİT has been a matter of confusion; his boss was once a MİT employee, while the MİT says Güney was not (specifically, he was not a "registered informant") and that the MİT considered him a suspicious person.
Legal Proceedings
The first hearing was held on 20 October 2008. Retired public prosecutor Mete Göktürk estimated that they would last at least one year. Most of the cases related to Ergenekon are handled by Istanbul Heavy Penal Court 12 and 13 (formerly Istanbul State Security Court 4 and 5). The original three prosecutors were Zekeriya Öz (prosecutor-in-chief), Mehmet Ali Pekgüzel and Nihat Taşkın. The judge was Köksal Şengün. Most trials are held at a prison complex in Istanbul's SilivriSilivri
Silivri is a city and a district in Istanbul Province along the Sea of Marmara in Turkey, outside of metropolitan Istanbul, containing many holiday and weekend homes for residents of the city. The largest city in the district is also named Silivri...
neighborhood. At the beginning the courtroom could accommodate about 280 people.
The investigation exposed alleged links between an armed attack on the Turkish Council of State
Turkish Council of State
The Turkish Council of State is the highest administrative court in the Republic of Turkey and is based in Ankara. Its role and tasks are prescribed by the Constitution of Turkey within the articles on the supreme courts....
in 2006 that left a judge dead, a bombing of a secularist newspaper, threats and attacks against people accused of being unpatriotic and the 1996 Susurluk incident
Susurluk scandal
The Susurluk scandal was a scandal involving the close relationship between the Turkish government, the armed forces, and organized crime. It took place during the peak of the Turkey–Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, in the mid-1990s...
, as well as links to the plans of some groups in the Turkish Armed Forces
Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...
(TSK) to overthrow the present government. According to the investigation, Ergenekon had a role in the murder of Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
, a prominent journalist of Armenian descent Italian priest Father Andrea Santoro
Andrea Santoro
Father Andrea Santoro was a Roman Catholic priest in Turkey, murdered in the Santa Maria Church in Trabzon where he served as a member of the Catholic Church's Fidei donum missionary program.On 5 September 2006 he was shot dead from behind while kneeling in prayer in the church...
in February 2006 and the brutal murders of three Christians
Bible publishing firm murders in Malatya, Turkey
The Bible publishing firm murders in Malatya took place on April 18, 2007 in Zirve Publishing House, Malatya, Turkey. Three employees of the Bible publishing house were attacked, tortured and murdered by five Muslim assailants.- The attack :...
, one a German national, killed in the province of Malatya
Malatya Province
Malatya Province is a province of Turkey. It is part of a larger mountainous area. The capital of the province is Malatya , which has many residents. Malatya is famous for its apricots. The area of Malatya province is 12,313 km². Malatya Province has 740,643 inhabitants. The population was...
in April 2007. Furthermore, files about JİTEM related the assassination of former JİTEM commander Cem Ersever, killed in November 1993, to Ergenekon. A former JİTEM member, Abdülkadir Aygan, said that JİTEM is the military wing of Ergenekon.
The indictment exposes questionable relations between Ergenekon and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
Kurdistan Workers' Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
(PKK) and the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), raising serious suspicions that Ergenekon might have played a role in inciting ethnic hatred between Turks and Kurds and increasing sectarian tensions between Sunnis and Alevis by a series of provocative acts. Zaman
Zaman
Zaman may refer to:*Zaman A large ornamental tropical American tree with bipinnate leaves and globose clusters of flowers with crimson stamens and sweet-pulp seed pods eaten by cattle ....
quoted a senior intelligence officer, Bülent Orakoğlu, as having said that the PKK, Dev Sol, Hezbollah, and Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir
Hizb ut-Tahrir is an international Sunni. pan-Islamic political organisation but keeps it open for all including shias,some of its beliefs are against sunni school of thought, whose goal is for all Muslim countries to unify as an Islamic state or caliphate ruled by Islamic law and with a caliph...
are artificial organizations set up by the network, and that Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan
Abdullah Öcalan , Kurdish founder of the terrorist organization called Kurdistan Workers' Party in 1978.Öcalan was captured in Nairobi and extradited to the Turkish security force, and sentenced to death under Article 125 of the Turkish Penal Code, which concerns the formation of armed gangs...
himself was an Ergenekon member. Zamans claims have been disputed.
Öcalan dismissed allegations made by intelligence officer Bülent Orakoğlu concerning himself, but he did say that a group inside the PKK, which he called the Zaza Group, had links with Ergenekon. He said that this group was led by Sait Çürükkaya and tried to seize control of the PKK, adding "Particularly in the Diyarbakır-Muş-Bingöl triangle, they have staged intensive and bloody attacks." The brother of Sait Çürükkaya, Selim Çürükkaya
Selim Çürükkaya
Mehmet Selim Çürükkaya , also known as Tilki, is a founding member and later dissident from the Kurdistan Workers' Party and a Kurdish writer and International PEN member....
had earlier written a book "When secrets get decoded" (tr: Sırlar Çözülürken) accusing Abdullah Öcalan of being a member of Ergenekon.
Responding to allegations in Taraf, DHKP/C issued a press release ridiculing claims of its connection to Ergenekon.
By May 2009, 142 people had been formally charged with membership of the “Ergenekon armed terrorist organization” in two massive indictments totalling 2,455 and 1,909 pages respectively. Further trials followed and in March 2011 the State owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT)
Turkish Radio and Television Corporation
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation, also known as TRT , is the national public broadcaster of Turkey and was founded in 1964. Around 70% of TRT's funding comes from a tax levied on electricity bills and a sales tax on television and radio receivers...
presented the following figures:
- So far 176 hearing in the first trial. After the case was merged with the case related to an armed attack on the Turkish Council of StateTurkish Council of StateThe Turkish Council of State is the highest administrative court in the Republic of Turkey and is based in Ankara. Its role and tasks are prescribed by the Constitution of Turkey within the articles on the supreme courts....
in 2006 the number of defendants increased to 96. - So far 107 hearings in the second trial.
- Investigation under the titles of "cage action plan" (tr: Kafes Eylem Planı), "planned assassination of admirals" (tr: Amirallare Suikast) and "Poyrazköy" (village in BeykozBeykozBeykoz is a district in the suburbs of Istanbul, Turkey at the northern end of the Bosphorus on the Anatolian side. Beykoz includes everything from the streams of Küçüksu and Göksu up to the opening of the Bosphorus into the Black Sea, and the villages in the hinterland as far as the river of Riva...
district of Istanbul) were merged as the Poyrazköy case. There are 69 defendants, seven of them in pre-trial detention. - An indictment as part of the Ergenekon investigations carries the title: "Plans to intervene in democracy" (tr: Demokrasiye Müdahale Planı).
- Another court case around the Association for Support of Contemporary Life (tr: Çağdaş Yaşamı Destekleme Derneği ÇYDD) and the Foundation for Contemporary Education (tr: Çağdaş Eğitim Vakfı ÇEV) was to start on 18 March 2011 with eight board members on trial.
- Arms found in ŞileSileŞile is a small holiday city on the Black Sea, 70 km from the city of Istanbul, Turkey. Şile is the also the name of the district and the municipality that contain the city center of Şile...
on 28 July 2008 resulted in a trial with four defendants, two of them in pre-trial detention. - There will be another trial around the raids of the offices of OdaTV. There are three suspects in pre-trial detention.
Suspects
86 people were indicted in July 2008, 48 of whom were under pre-trial detention. High-ranking generals (Hurşit Tolon and Şener Eruygur), for whom a separate indictment is being prepared, are for the first time being tried in a civilian court.A fresh wave of detentions in January 2009 netted 37 more people, including some generals, after consulting the high command, which swiftly gave permission. (The Minister of Defense, Vecdi Gönül, was not consulted.) One of them, Tuncer Kılınç, is the former secretary general of the National Security Council (formerly a military institution). Immediately before the arrests, well-connected journalist Şamil Tayyar speculated on whether Kılınç is the leader.
Twelve of the arrests took place in Sivas, where weapons were also found. According to Zaman
Zaman (newspaper)
Zaman is a major, high-circulation daily newspaper in Turkey. It was founded in 1986 and was the first Turkish daily to go online in 1995. It contains national , international, business and other news...
, the Sivas raid is connected to numerous plots mentioned in the indictment. Police chief İbrahim Şahin
Ibrahim Sahin
İbrahim Şahin is a Turkish police and state security official who served from 1976 to 1996. He led General Directorate of Security's special forces unit, the Special Operations Department and, following dismissal in 1996 for associating with ultra-nationalist drug trafficker and contact killer...
allegedly made phone calls to order the attack. Two of the twelve were released the next day.
A map indicating the location of arms caches was found on detainee İbrahim Şahin
Ibrahim Sahin
İbrahim Şahin is a Turkish police and state security official who served from 1976 to 1996. He led General Directorate of Security's special forces unit, the Special Operations Department and, following dismissal in 1996 for associating with ultra-nationalist drug trafficker and contact killer...
; the former chief of the police force's Special Operations Department .
This wave was particularly divisive, as it included numerous senior military officials. There is a concern that the move was politically motivated, and will affect the direction of the investigation.
Most suspects face at least ten years in prison. The suspected ringleaders, Doğu Perinçek, Mehmet Fikri Karadağ, Veli Küçük, İlhan Selçuk and Muzaffer Tekin will be held responsible for criminal acts perpetrated by subordinates, and receive life sentences.
In April 2009 academics including Erol Manisalı. professor for economic, Fatih Hilmioğlu, Mehmet Haberal and Türkan Saylan
Türkan Saylan
Türkan Saylan was a Turkish physician in dermatology. She was famous for fighting leprosy, and for founding a charitable foundation called "Association for the Support of Contemporary Living".- References :...
, professor for medicine, suffering from cancer were detained. Prof. Dr. Mehmet Haberal of Başkent University in Ankara was placed in pre-trial detention. In June Prof. Dr. Erol Manisalı was released because of bad health.
In February 2010 arms and ammunition were found in Ortatepe village, İliç
Iliç
İliç is a town and district of Erzincan Province in the Eastern Anatolia Region of Turkey. It covers an area of 1,397 km² and the elevation is 1,060 m. The district has a population of 6,349 of which 2,503 live in the town of İliç...
district, Erzincan
Erzincan
-Trivia:Erzincan has the largest man made of Portrait of Atatürk, located north of the city, 176m×43m. It covers 7,500 square meter. Turkish Army made it 1982, in 29 days by 3,000 soldier, 100 tons of black and white paint was used...
province. Several people were detained including chief prosecutor in Erzincan, İlhan Cihaner
In February 2011 Soner Yalçın, journalist and owner of the TV station Odatv, and the staff members Barış Terkoğlu, Ayhan Bozkurt and Barış Pehlivan were detained and all, but Ayhan Bozkurt were taken into pre-trial detention. In March 2011 another nine journalists were detained in Ankara and Istanbul. Among them Nedim Şener, Ahmet Şık
Ahmet Şık
Ahmet Şık is a Turkish investigative journalist, author of several books and a trade unionist.-Career:He graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty for Communication, department Journalism. Between 1991-2007 he worked for several newspapers such as Cumhuriyet, Evrensel and Yeni Yüzyıl. He has...
, Müesser Yıldız, Doğan Yurdakul, Suat Çakır, Yalçın Küçük und Coşkun Musluk were taken into pre-trial detention as alleged members of Ergenekon.
Among the defendants in the various Ergenekon trials (most of them imprisoned) Mustafa Balbay, Tuncay Özkan and Mehmet Haberal have been named as candidates for the Republican People's Party (CHP)
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...
as candidates for the general elections in June 2011
Turkish general election, 2011
Turkey's 17th general election was held on 12 June 2011 to elect 550 new members of Grand National Assembly. They were Turkey's first non-early elections in 34 years.-Background:...
. Ergenekon suspect and former Erzincan chief public prosecutor İlhan Cihaner became a candidate for the Aegean province of Denizli
Denizli
Denizli is a growing industrial city in the Southwestern part of Turkey and the eastern end of the alluvial valley formed by the river Büyük Menderes, where the plain reaches an elevation of about a hundred meters. Denizli is located in southwestern Turkey, in the country's Aegean Region.The city...
.
When Tuncay Özkan was not nominated by the CHP he applied as independent candidate in Istanbul. Some Ergenekon defendants will run as candidate for the Republican Power Union (tr. Cumhuriyet Güçbirliği). Their names are Çetin Doğan (defendant in slegdehammer case) and the Ergenekon suspects Doğu Perinçek
Dogu Perinçek
Doğu Perinçek is a Turkish politician, leader of the Workers' Party , a scientific socialist organization, and former chairman of the Workers' Party . His first name Doğu means "East" in Turkish.-Personal life:...
, Hasan Atilla Uğur and M. Deniz Yıldırım. Sledgehammer defendant Engin Alan will be a candidate for the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP)
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in Turkey.In the 2002 general elections, the party had lost its 129 seats as it had won only 8.34% of the national vote...
in Istanbul.
Debate on Ergenekon
Many people have criticized the manner in which the Ergenekon investigation is being conducted, citing in particular the length of the indictment, wiretapping in breach of privacy laws, and illegal collection of evidence. Some commentators have pointed at a connection between the case to close the Justice and Development PartyJustice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
(AKP) and the Ergenekon trials.
There is a growing mass of intellectuals and policy analysts who dismiss the possibility of Ergenekon carrying out the deeds attributed to it by the public prosecution as laid out in the indictment and trial proceedings. In August 2008, 300 intellectuals from Turkey declared their support for the investigation and called upon all civil and military institutions to deepen the investigation in order to reveal the rest of the people tied to Ergenekon.
The Ergenekon investigations have divided the Turkish population. To some they represent the “cleansing of the century”. To its detractors the Ergenekon investigation is politically motivated; the alleged organization itself a deliberate fabrication by government sympathizers. Criticism grew stronger after the arrest of journalists in February and March 2011. Even the biggest fans of the government worry that the legitimacy of the Ergenekon case is being dented by heavy-handed tactics such as the arrests of Ahmet Şık
Ahmet Şık
Ahmet Şık is a Turkish investigative journalist, author of several books and a trade unionist.-Career:He graduated from Istanbul University, Faculty for Communication, department Journalism. Between 1991-2007 he worked for several newspapers such as Cumhuriyet, Evrensel and Yeni Yüzyıl. He has...
and Nedim Şener. The real goal of the Ergenekon investigation was not to go after the deep state but to intimidate and silence opponents of Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), particularly critics of the vast network of Gülen’s supporters known as the Gülen Movement
Gülen movement
The Gülen movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Fethullah Gülen. His teachings about hizmet have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey, Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world...
.
In its 2010 report on progress for the accession of Turkey to the European Union
Accession of Turkey to the European Union
Turkey's application to accede to the European Union was made on 14 April 1987. Turkey has been an associate member of the European Union and its predecessors since 1963...
the European Commission
European Commission
The European Commission is the executive body of the European Union. The body is responsible for proposing legislation, implementing decisions, upholding the Union's treaties and the general day-to-day running of the Union....
stated inter alias: "The high number of cases initiated against journalists who have reported on the Ergenekon case is a cause for concern. They face prosecutions and trials for violating the principle of confidentiality of an ongoing judicial process. This could result in self-censorship." The footnote 17 stated: "4,091 investigations have been initiated against journalists for breaches of the confidentiality of investigations or attempts to influence a fair trial (Articles 285 and 288 of the Turkish Criminal Code), following their reporting on the Ergenekon case."
External links
- Summary of the first indictment in English
- Summary of the second indictment in English
- The Lobby (Lobi) document in English: This booklet was found in the raids to the homes of several Ergenekon suspects. It is one of the basic documents used as evidence in the second indictment.
- The Ergenekon Analysis (Analiz) document in English: This document, part of the second indictment, compromises the goals, tactics, member profiles, and financial sources of the alleged organization.
- Necati Polat, "The Anti-Coup Trials in Turkey: What Exactly is Going On?" Mediterranean Politics (Vol. 16, No. 1, 2011), pp. 213-19
- Umit Cizre and Joshua Walker, “Conceiving the New Turkey after Ergenekon,” The International Spectator (Vol. 45, No. 1, 2010), pp. 89-98
- Young Civilians and Human Rights Agenda Association, Ergenekon is Our Reality (Istanbul, 2010)
- Serdar Kaya, “The Rise and Decline of the Turkish ‘Deep State’: The Ergenekon Case,” Insight Turkey (Vol. 11, No. 4, 2009), pp. 99-113
- Gareth H. Jenkins, Between Fact and Fantasy: Turkey’s Ergenekon Investigation (Washington and Stockholm: Central Asia-Caucasus Institute Silk Road Studies Program, August 2009)
- The Basics of the Ergenekon Operation
- Chronology: I, II, III, IV, V. Today's Zaman.
- Network's organization chart, Today's Zaman.
- These charts were originally drawn by Tuncay Güney; see They are also included in the indictment's annex: folder 236, p.196-7
- Turkey -- Guide to Ergenekon An Open Source Center Report of 19 March 2010
- Politics of Principles or Principles of Politics: An Evaluation on Ergenekon Investigation by Taptuk Emre Erkoc in Global Faultlines on 30 March 2011