Milliyet, Turkey
July 27 2008
Turkish daily summarizes military, intelligence response to Ergenekon probe
Istanbul Public Prosecutor Zekeriya Oz sent an official letter
concerning the Ergenekon investigation to the General Staff, the
National Intelligence Organization (MIT) and to the Police General
Directorate (EGM). The opinions of these three institutions are
included in the indictment as summarized:
General Staff: In the response by the Legal Affairs Office it stated,
"There is no such organization within the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK)
or within the General Staff." It was also stated that the "Ergenekon
Structure" document dated 29 October 1999 and the document called
"Antidote" dated 1 May 2000, which were asked about by the prosecutor,
had nothing to do with the TSK. It was also noted that the contents of
the written documents called Special Forces Message Form and Land
Forces Message Form had nothing to do with the TSK, that the "Deep
Ergenekon" document taken from Sevgi Erenerol, some documents by Cakir
Pasa regarding Alevi Sympathy, Alevism and Armenians that were found
on Tuncay Guney plus the writings and reports concerning MIT,
Hezbollah and Susurluk did not belong to the TSK.
The documents printed to look as if they belonged to the TSK were
regarded as a deliberate plan to undermine the TSK. It was said that
these documents were written using computer techniques copying the
formats used by the TSK. It was also emphasized that while these kinds
of incidents were being encountered more and more frequently, people
posing as commissioned officers in judicial inquiries were in fact
trying to further their self interests with various bodies and
commercial organization using illegal means by pretending to be
associated with the TSK. It was stated that just because these people
used to wear the uniform did not necessarily mean they still had ties
to the TSK and that these kinds of activities would be treated as
outrageous by both the general public and the TSK.
MIT Under Secretary’s Office: In its reply to the prosecutor it stated
that the makeup of Ergenekon and the organizational documents taken
from the suspects had nothing to do with MIT. In MIT’s opinion about
the documents found in subsequent searches it was noted that the
information contained in anonymous letters to sent to the MIT Under
Secretary in 2002 and the attached CDs regarding projects called
"Ergenekon and Lobby" together with other information of an accusatory
nature were all sent to the Prime Minister and the General Staff HQ in
a prepared booklet in 2003. The opinion forwarded by MIT stated that
on the strength of current information it was not possible to say
anything for certain but that the efforts being made under the name
"Ergenekon" were efforts by a group with its sights on the regime and
the state to get organized to further its own interests. It continued:
"This accusatory information all came from various separate channels
that largely corroborate one another and this adds significance to the
affair beyond simple gossip pointing to a directed organized
activity. The current information is being treated as "a guiding cadre
of military origin aiming to keep a clandestine watch on the civilian
administration and create a new form of governance under a new
structure through the use of certain NGOs, political parties and media
institutions."
EGM: The EGM made the longest evaluation of the questions asked by the
prosecution. In the four-page report prepared by the Counterterrorism
Office it stated that Ergenekon could be treated as a terrorist
organization and said: "The opinion is that the organization known as
Ergenekon possesses a structure as detailed in articles 1 and 7 of
Counterterrorism Law Number 3713. The report has a subheading
"Coercion and Violence" that draws attention to the possession of
weapons and explosives, the preparations for acts of terrorism and
information linking the grenades. It was emphasized that the data
regarding the use of violence obtained as a result of the entire
investigation and the evidence found plus the fact that violence
actually took place all points to "the organization being a terrorist
organization." The EGM report states: "Up until the Ergenekon
investigation began there is no information concerning any prior
investigation or follow up for any terrorist organization called
‘Ergenkon’ in any EGM records, therefore it may be understood that the
organization in question is a newly emerged organization. The
following is being considered: plans were made to assassinate some
people, large sums of money were offered to people to carry out these
assassinations, the carrying out of these acts would generate much
outrage in the country and tarnish Turkey’s international image." It
also points out that Ergenekon was an organized structure with a
political goal of bending the state authority to its own will.
"Deep State Image"
The three prosecutors running the investigation noted in their
conclusions in the light of the information from the three
institutions that Ergenekon had no connection to any state
institution, that it had been set up in secret, that it gave itself a
"deep state image," and that it had tried to run the state
administration illegally using its own methods by infiltrating all the
institutions of the state and using the for its own purposes. Contrary
to the definition of deep state, the evidence seized during the course
of the investigation shows that the Ergenekon organization was not
pursuing the state’s interests but its own ideological views and that
it aimed to lean on the state using non-democratic means and
intimidation terrorism methods.
[translated from Turkish]
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress