Ergenekon Terror Cover Up

How does turkish media fit into Ergenekon?

Tuesday, 13 January 2009 07:43

Some groups have displayed an incredible change of attitude since the start of the Ergenekon investigation. They observe neither the universal rules of journalism nor the delicate criteria of democratic thought.

They are in a never-before-seen rush. They raise objections to every claim voiced and everything unearthed in connection with the investigation. They do their best to dilute what is irrefutable. For what purpose? Until when? Doesn't society see the realities? Doesn't it grow suspicious about the extraordinary efforts made to conceal the Ergenekon terrorist organization?

The fact is that what faces us is a complicated and overreaching network that is accused of being a terrorist organization. This organization is said to devise various plots to create chaos in the country (with its activities, tacticians, supporters). We are confronted with hair-raising claims -- and even evidence. Everything can be said, but no reasonable explanation can be made for the efforts to ignore the accusations or to deny everything altogether. Even the weapons the police have found so far are enough to cause people a creeping sensation. Those who defend this organization, which legitimizes all sorts of actions to create chaos in the country, are raising suspicions about themselves with every meaningless attempt. To underestimate claims of the existence of a Gladio-like organization is to suffer from the consequences of a historic mistake. Fanatic sympathizers of the organization may do this, but a political party leader or a free intellectual or papers that claim to be widely circulated are not supposed to treat the Ergenekon terrorist organization as a trivial or insignificant matter. If they do, they will be held accountable by history.

This investigation does not try a thought crime

Seeing the noise and clamor made by some media organizations, one may be inclined to think that the Ergenekon investigation is examining a thought crime. This is utterly false! Aren't the bombs the police have found so far sufficient to send shivers shuddering through your body? Weapons, assassination plots, sketches, coup plans... Who dares dilute or cover up such concrete and grave accusations? Who can take such great risks? Even the arsenals uncovered last week were not sufficient to curtail some people's insolent motive to defend this organization. However, if the police had not conducted this operation, the organization would have implemented their plan to kill several people, and Turkey's agenda for today would have been completely different. Can you see these guys' courage? They planned to kill an Armenian cleric in Sivas and assassinate several intellectuals who support the campaign to apologize to Armenians and destroy a person with an Alevi identity. But some of our fellow journalists fail to see the organization that is responsible for this obnoxious plot.

Members of the media try to refute claims against military officials by saying, 'These people are respectable people.' However, they are supposed to wait and see the indictment and the accusations raised about them. At this point, it is equally wrong to declare them guilty or not guilty. It is obvious that an organization exists -- otherwise, how could it have so many documents, so many arsenals and so many members?

Some wail for some of the people detained in connection with the Ergenekon investigation, including some retired soldiers, lecturers, top members of the judiciary, etc. They say, "These people who once secured top state positions cannot be members of a criminal organization." One is urged to ask how they can be sure of this. Suppose that this strange assumption were true. Then, why don't they wait and see what the main accusations voiced against those suspects are? Why not have a little patience and see the evidence collected about them? Why the hurry? If there is a privileged group of people "who can never be questioned" in this country, then there can be no justice here.

If you either don't know about Gladio or...

Every Gladio-like organization seeks to wear the state's shield and secure the backing of public officials; it has to do this. Such organizations are likened to a grapevine. A bunch may not know about other bunches, but the main branch, which seems to be dry, strategically unites all of the bunches. Moreover, experience tells us that every coup attempt has activities and theoreticians and their logistical supporters. An organization which does not have connections with the military or the police, which does not secure support from academic circles and which cannot solve the problems it gets into during its operations with the help of its supporters in the judiciary cannot be a Gladio-like organization. An organization that fails to secure such external assistance can at best be dubbed a mafia-mannered ordinary criminal network. In the face of the debates, one is urged to utter this half sentence: You either don't know about Gladio or...

People from the media seem to be much too picky about the suspects. They have scorned the investigation, first saying, "Who are these rascals?" and then claiming, "There must be top military officers leading them." Now, they try to refute the claims by saying, "These people are respectable people." However, they are supposed to wait and see the indictment and the accusations raised about them. At this point, it is equally wrong to declare them guilty or not guilty. It is obvious that an organization exists -- otherwise, how could it have so many documents, so many arsenals and so many members? However, one cannot decide who is guilty or who is innocent at this stage.

Some live broadcasts that began early with the 10th wave of operations against Ergenekon are perfect examples of provocation. Some, it seems, have a great fury for the chief of general staff. They expect him to issue a statement that will come to mean "Do not touch our men." As the military respects the legal process and as top judicial officials opt to keep silent, fearing that any other action may mean hinting at a specific decision, some members of the media are offended, which is hard to understand. When they cannot get the statement they expect, they publish a previously made statement or they make references to the memorandum of April 27, saying, "Their ideas about this matter are already known" and that this evidences quite well how broken their psychology is. Actually, these publications made out of panic do not serve the interests of the suspects. Rather, they put the suspects on the spot and at the same time, pave the way for doubts being raised about "advocates."

Sacrificing Susurluk in order to evade Ergenekon

The latest operation has shown that part of Ergenekon relies on the Susurluk network. Who knows what bunch this Susurluk network is? Based on information obtained from I.brahim S,ahin, who had been tried and sentenced in the Susurluk case and who was later pardoned by former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer, a staunch secularist, the police discovered an arsenal buried at the heart of Ankara. Even this grave picture may serve as an opportunity for some people to attempt to dilute Ergenekon. Those who rush to the defense of the Ergenekon suspects raise hell about a former special operations official who had been convicted in the Susurluk case. Yet, what is the case? Don't S,ahin and his squad say they work in affiliation with the Special Warfare Department? It follows that this Susurluk cell is a small part of the big network and is still active.

Arsenals uncovered in the 10th wave are not restricted to S,ahin's. The police also found an arsenal in the house of a lieutenant colonel who is on active duty (Mustafa Dönmez). Later, it was understood that this colonel was Dönmez, whom the indictment referred to as having spoken with Associate Professor Emin Gürses, who is another defendant being held in prison. The papers that refrained from covering the weapons found at this lieutenant colonel's house on their front pages or that covered it in a small space tend to roar and make much noise with respect to S,ahin. This is called "sacrificing Susurluk in order to evade Ergenekon." Moreover, this is not the first arsenal discovered. Previously, arsenals belonging to military officers were unearthed in Ümraniye and Eskis,ehir. If this investigation had not taken place, who knows where these weapons would be used and what chaos the country would suffer in connection with them?

Some journalists either do not know the legal process or attempt to distort the incident with some ill motives. As you know, the Ergenekon case started with the grenades discovered in Ümraniye. These grenades were of the same type used in the attack against the Cumhuriyet newspaper. The investigation was launched at that point and later grew in scope with new documents and information. This is the way the legal process functions: First, prosecutors (five) collect information. Then, they apply to the court with a request to detain or question some people and their reasons for it. Then, the organizations with which the people to be detained are affiliated are informed and their approval is sought -- if they are involved with the military. In the final stage, the police step in and detain the people in question. The interrogation lasts for a maximum of four days, and at the end of this period, the suspects are either arrested or released depending on the information obtained -- and sometimes according to age or health. Our media organizations pretend not to know -- or really don't know -- these procedures and directly target the prosecutor or the police.

It is wrong to declare the suspects guilty or innocent beforehand. It is clear that there is an organization in existence as there are a sufficient number of bombs, weapons, sketches, assassination plots, etc., to make accusations about a terrorist organization; however, the prosecution process must be completed before we can understand who is guilty and to what extent. When there is an abundance of evidence, neither justice nor the Gladio logic will allow all the blame to be put on "activists" in the lower echelons. Such a ruthless organization can only derive its strength from state protection. Whoever afforded them this protection, too, must be tried. The supplementary indictments to follow may cast light on the dark spots in our recent history. It is high time that the mysterious and complicated incidents in the past of this country be illuminated. Those who argue to the contrary seek to ensure that a sort of fascism is maintained and their reigns continue eternally in dark galleries. Can a democratic country be governed from castles while the entire world is transparent and civilian? The place of the media with respect to the Ergenekon trial will be shown by the democratic and transparent attitude adopted toward the trial.