THE ERGENEKON OPERATION
Hurriyet
Tuesday, July 01, 2008 14:59
Turkey
The Ergenekon operation started with the investigation of 27
hand grenades found in a house in Istanbul last year. Then the
investigation widened and transformed into an operation to crackdown
on the "Ergenekon Terror Organization", which allegedly aimed at
paving the way for a military coup against the government.
More than 100 people were taken into custody in the operation,
while almost 50 of them were arrested, including journalists and
retired commanders.
The Ergenekon organization was claimed to be the mastermind behind
the assassination of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, and is
planning to kill Nobel prize-winner Orhan Pamuk.
However the Ergenekon operation intensified after the closure case
was filed against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). The
operation was not limited to retired army members or ultra-nationalist
but widened to prominent opponents of the ruling AKP.
Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan has previously said the closure case
was a response to the government’s determination in the Ergenekon
operation. However some observers say the wider Ergenekon operation
could be seen as an instrument to suppress the opponents of the
government.
People who were taken into custody or arrested under the operation
include:
— Dogu Perincek – Labor Party leader
— Ergun Poyraz – A writer of couple of books about Erdogan and
President Abdullah Gul
— Kemal Alemdaroglu – Former rector of Istanbul University
— Ilhan Selcuk – Owner of leftist, anti-AKP Cumhuriyet daily