EUROPEAN FAR-RIGHT QUESTIONS TRIAL OF ERGENEKON GANG

Today’s Zaman
Nov 12 2008
Turkey

The European far right, including some members of the European
Parliament, has criticized a court case in Turkey where 86 suspects,
accused of being members of the shadowy Ergenekon network, face charges
of plotting against the civilian government and seeking chaos to pave
the way for a military coup.

The European extreme right groups, which oppose Turkey’s possible
membership in the European Union, have argued that the Ergenekon
investigation has been carried out against the secular forces of
Turkey in a bid to take revenge for the closure case against the
ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party). The AK Party faced
charges of anti-secular activities, but the Constitutional Court
narrowly rejected the closure request this summer.

Extreme right-wing MEPs have petitioned the EU’s enlargement
commissioner, Olli Rehn, to closely monitor the proceedings during
the ongoing trial and to investigate whether the case has targeted
the secular leaders of Turkey. In a surprising request, the far-right
ministers have also asked Rehn to send observers to the Ergenekon
trial in Turkey. The EU usually sends observers to trials that are
closely linked to human rights abuses or cases related to breaches
of basic freedoms. MEPs followed a court case in the 2007 murder of
Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

In a recent petition to Rehn, MEP Philip Claeys, a member of the
extreme right Vlaams Belang (The Flemish Interest), described as
"racist" by many Belgian politicians, has asked whether the court
case is targeting the secular elite of Turkey.

"In the Ergenekon case, dozens of people in Turkey are facing
charges that include conspiracy and terrorism. Various observers have
pointed out that the charges are very diverse, that elements are being
connected when they have nothing to do with one another and that there
are serious indications that some of the charges are a form of reprisal
against secularist groups following the major trial against the AKP,"
Claeys said. Vlaams Belang, Claeys’ party, has been running election
campaigns during which they push for sending of immigrants back to
their countries. Almost 200,000 Turks live in Belgium.

The European Parliament last year explicitly called on Turkish
authorities to "go until the end" in the Ergenekon investigation
to strengthen democracy in Turkey. "Will the Commission be actively
following this major trial on the spot, with observers in court? Does
the Commission share the concern mentioned above? Has there been
an exchange of views on this with the Turkish Government?" asked
Claeys. The European Commission, in its annual report on Turkey that
was released last week, referred to the Ergenekon investigation,
stating that Ergenekon is claimed to be a terrorist network with the
intention of toppling the Turkish government through non-democratic
means.

Claeys’ petition has received a one-sentence response from Rehn. "The
Commission has followed and will be following the case mentioned by
the Honourable Member closely," the enlargement commissioner said in
his written answer.