ULTRANATIONALIST ERGENEKON SUSPECT IS OF ARMENIAN ORIGIN, MAGAZINE REVEALS

Today’s Zaman
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June 16 2009
Turkey

Retired Gen. Veli Kucuk, who is known for his ultranationalist
statements, has Armenian roots, the biography magazine Chronicle
has revealed.

In its June edition, the magazine covered the biography of Kucuk, one
of the prime suspects in the case against Ergenekon, a shadowy crime
network that has alleged links within the state and is suspected of
plotting to topple the government. In an article titled "Kucukogullari
and Veli Kucuk," the magazine noted that the village where Kucuk
was born, the village of Turkmen in the western province of Bilecik,
was an Armenian settlement, contrary to what is generally believed.

Kucuk, who was born in Turkmen on May 9, 1944, was the son of a farmer
who had four children. He was named after his brother, who died when
he was a baby.

Referring to records from the Ottoman Empire, the magazine said 85
percent of the residents in the village were of Armenian origin,
but no Armenians reside in the village today.

Examining the tax records of Armenian families in the village, the
magazine analyzed Kucuk’s ethnic roots. The tax records show that
Artin from the Kucukogulları family paid a tax of Kr 30; Minas
from the same family also paid Kr 30. It is not known today what
happened to the Kucukogulları family or the Armenian residents of
Turkmen. There are no documents showing that they left the village
during the Armenian deportation in 1915. After the adoption of the
surname law following the establishment of the Turkish Republic in
1923, some village residents adopted the surname "Kucuk," the magazine
revealed. Veli Kucuk speaks Armenian fluently, the magazine noted.

Kucuk is currently in prison on charges of being a leader of
Ergenekon. Kucuk is also believed to be the founder of JÄ°TEM,
a clandestine and illegal intelligence group inside the gendarmerie
that is believed to have carried out hundreds of unofficial and highly
criminal operations against targets that were deemed by JÄ°TEM leaders
as a threat to Turkey’s national interests for one reason or another.