The New Anatolian, Turkey
Jan 27 2007
Top Trabzon officials suspended after Dink killing
The New Anatolian / Ankara
27 January 2007
The governor and police chief of the northern province of Trabzon
have been recalled to the capital, a week after the shocking murder
of Armenian origin Turkish journalist Hrant Dink.
The city has now been shaken by two murder cases, with Italian
Catholic Priest Andrea Santoro killed by a reportedly mentally
unbalanced teenager last year, and journalist Dink slain in Istanbul
by yet another Trabzon teen.
Hours after the Interior Ministry launched an investigation into the
administrative and security personnel of the city, following claims
of a security lapses following Dink’s murder, Police Chief Resat
Altay and Governor Huseyin Yavuzdemir were called back to Ankara for
reassignment.
The ministry said in a written statement that two chief inspectors
were assigned to investigate the recent developments in the city
following the killing. It also added that the primary mission of the
inspectors is to find out whether the city’s security and
administrative heads neglected their duty in incidents and
demonstrations in the aftermath of the murder.
On Thursday it was reported that the gendarmerie asked the public not
to talk to people introducing themselves as secret service personnel
while questioning passers-by about the killer Ogun Samast and other
suspects.
A recently revealed intelligence report also said that certain
foreign circles had tried to establish youth gangs in the city that
resembled the gang allegedly founded by Yasin Hayal, reportedly the
second man behind the journalist’s murder.
A photo of Samast published by several dailies along with claims that
it was made available by the Trabzon gendarmerie has also fueled
concerns, as both the gendarmerie and police say they haven’t taken
photos of Samast since his detention.
Third man detained
Also on Friday, Erhan Tuncel, allegedly the third man behind the
killing, who in his initial testimony to police confessed to ordering
Hayal to found a gang and provide firearms training as well as
ideological indoctrination, was charged by the 11th Istanbul Heavy
Criminal Court. Tuncel reportedly exercised his right to remain
silent.
The total number of suspects reached six with the latest arrest.
Tuncel was seen behind Muhsin Yazicioglu, the leader of the
ultranationalist Grand Unity Party (BBP), in a newly released photo,
reinforcing speculation that the three suspects and unknown others
had been used by ultranationalist circles.
However Yazicioglu denied allegations of links to the suspect, saying
that he cannot know who is standing behind him everywhere. Reports
have claimed that all suspects were once members of an extremist
youth organization affiliated with the party.
Hayal, who was convicted for a bombing outside a McDonald’s
restaurant in Trabzon in 2004, told police that he was given bomb
training by Chechen militants in Azerbaijan, a country where a
notorious ex-army officer allegedly founded anti-Armenian assassin
groups.
The ex-general, Veli Kucuk, was also alleged to have threatened Dink
and sent his men to the journalist’s hearings. Dink’s prosecutor,
ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz, is also said to be a close
figure to the former army member.
Bomb outside Parliament walls raises fears
Acting on a tip-off, police defused a bomb in a package found near
the outer walls of the grounds behind Parliament on Friday.
The package also contained a letter, signed by Turkish Revenge
Brigade, calling for Hayal and Samast be released.
"Set free our brothers Yasin and Ogun," said the letter, which also
protested demonstrations during Dink’s funeral ceremony.
The note resembled many others including those from political parties
that protested the banners, "We’re all Armenians, we’re all Hrant."
Even an unrelated civil group, the Association for Protection and
Evaluation of Natural Resources (EVDK) said, "We’re all Mehmed, tens
of thousands marched for an Armenian, we lose thousands of soldiers
each year; who marched to protest the losses?"
The threatening messages were also posted on the message board of a
website belonging to a local football club where both Hayal and
Samast was players for days after Samast was detained by police.
Those who posted the messages, apparently members of the football
club, called Hayal "the bomber," and expressed their hatred for Dink
while praising what Samast did.
The brigade became a high-profile yet mysterious illegal group when
it tried in 1998 to assassinate former Human Rights Association (IHD)
head Akin Birdal. The group last year claimed responsibility for a
number of bombings in southeastern Diyarbakir. A note on its website
read that they will kill 100 Kurds for every Turk killed.
Bomb causes minor damage in Samsun
Also on Friday, a bomb explosion at the entrance of a business center
in the northern province of Samsun, although it caused minor damage,
alerted police for further investigation.
Dink’s killer was apprehended at a bus terminal in Samsun, which
neighbors his hometown Trabzon, over the weekend.
The bomb was placed outside the Sengun Business Center where several
shops and non-governmental organizations are located.
The bomb went off around 2:15 a.m., shattering windows of the
building and damaging parked cars.
Police said a pipe bomb was responsible for the explosion.