TURKISH PROSECUTORS BACK FOURTH INDICTMENT IN ERGENEKON CASE

World Markets Research Center
Global Insight
January 29, 2010

BYLINE: Grace Annan

Yesterday, Turkish prosecutors added an additional 300 pages to
the extensive indictments against the members of Ergenekon, an
alleged counter-state organisation plotting to overthrow the Turkish
government. The state prosecutor charged 17 people with attempting
to overthrow the Turkish government through attacks on a popular
attraction in Istanbul’s Museum of Science and on Turkey’s small
Christian community. The defendants are 1 rear admiral, 2 retired
soldiers, and 14 active naval officers. The process against them is
starting on 9 April; if found guilty, they could face life in prison.

Significance:Ergenekon has entered the Turkish vocabulary swiftly
since it was first circulated in the media in 2007 (seeTurkey:
6 August 2009:). The army still wields considerable power in
the country, and has managed to overthrow four governments since
1960. Yet times are changing, with the army somewhat sidelined by
the emergence of a stronger and more stable political system. The
current Turkish government is arguably the strongest the country
has seen in decades, working comparatively well together with the
army, previously diplomatic foes such as Armenian senior government
officials, and European Union representatives alike. The government
has even managed to establish a dialogue with moderate senior forces
of the banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party. However, things are not going
well for the cabinet in several aspects, notably with regards to the
watering down of Turkey’s staunchly secular outlook. Members of the
army–both retired and still active–are often accused of plotting
to overthrow the government. The chief of the Turkish general staff,
Ilker Basbug, has strongly rejected rumours of an army coup. Yet he
is having a difficult time convincing the public, notably as the state
prosecutor continues to prop up his indictments. The ongoing Ergenekon
investigation is certainly dampening government-army relations, but
should not lead to a coup d’etat or great political instability in
the near future.