Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Nov 14 2009

Minority leader hit list found on major’s computer

A list of 10 people to be assassinated has been found on the computer
of a major arrested as part of the probe into weapons discovered in
April during excavations launched as part of the investigation into
Ergenekon, a clandestine group that allegedly plotted to overthrow the
government.

Retired naval Maj. Levent BektaÅ? was arrested on Friday in connection
to weapons found on land owned by the Ä°stek Foundation in Ä°stanbul’s
Poyrazköy district in April. The İstek Foundation is owned by
Ergenekon suspect and former Ä°stanbul Mayor Bedrettin Dalan, who is
currently at large and believed to be abroad. The weapons at the site
were registered in the inventory of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK),
according to a report from Turkey’s sole weapons manufacturer, the
state-owned Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation
(MKE).

Investigators cracked the code of an encrypted file on BektaÅ?’s
computer, revealing a list of names of people who subscribe to the
Agos daily, a Turkish-Armenian biweekly whose editor-in-chief, Hrant
Dink, was shot dead in 2007, and names of 10 prominent representatives
of minority groups to be assassinated.

So far eight members of the military, including a naval major and two
non-commissioned officers, have testified to prosecutor Murat Yönder,
one of the prosecutors conducting the investigation into Ergenekon.
Five of them were arrested on April 25 on charges of `membership in an
armed organization’ and `illegal possession of arms and explosives.’
Yesterday, four more members of the military arrived at the BeÅ?iktaÅ?
courthouse to testify to the prosecutor. Three of them were released,
while one was referred to a court after the prosecution demanded his
arrest. The names of the military personnel who testified yesterday
were not released. Members of the press were not allowed to take
photos as the three soldiers were released through the back door of
the courthouse.

Ten light anti-tank weapons, 20 percussion bombs, three other bombs,
250 grams of C4 explosive, 19 emergency flares, 10 hand grenades, 800
G3 bullets and a large number of cartridges for revolvers were found
on the Ä°stek Foundation land. The discovery followed the unearthing of
similar underground weapons caches in January during digs based on
maps found in the homes of two suspects — former Deputy Police Chief
Ä°brahim Å?ahin and Mustafa Dönmez, a lieutenant colonel who turned
himself in a few days after a warrant for his arrest was issued. Dalan
was in the US during this wave of detentions and discoveries, which
began on Jan. 7.

14 November 2009, Saturday
TODAY’S ZAMAN Ä°STANBUL