TIMELINE: TURKEY’S ‘DEEP STATE’
By Anita McNaught, Turkey
Al Jazeera
/2010225132347919497.html
Feb 25 2010
Qatar
1952: Nato – primarily the United States – helps set up and fund secret
"counter-communist invasion resistance cells" in Turkey as part of
the Cold War. These cells are believed to lay the foundations of what
later becomes known as the "deep state".
May 27, 1960: First military coup staged against the ruling Democratic
Party.
March 12, 1971: Second military coup.
1973: Bulent Ecevit, the-then prime minister, is the first politician
to admit to the existence of secret paramilitary organistaions in
Turkey that are "within the government".
These become known as the "deep state".
February 1, 1979: Mehmet Ali Agca, who goes on to carry out an
attempted assassination of Pope John Paul II in 1981, kills Abdi
Ipekci, a human rights activist and editor-in-chief of newspaper
Miliyet.
September 12, 1980: Third military coup.
January 24, 1993: Investigative journalist Ugur Mumcu is killed by
a car bomb.
November 1996: A traffic accident near the western town of Susurluk
reveals the existence of a "deep state" link between the state,
the police and the criminal underworld.
Sitting inside the crashed car is the former deputy head of Istanbul
police, a wanted ultra-nationalist hitman carrying false identity
papers issued by state authorities, a former beauty queen and an MP
from the-then ruling party, who was the only survivor.
In the boot of the vehicle, hand guns, ammunition and a silencer are
uncovered. A number of investigations and public inquiries ensue,
but shed little light on the saga.
February 28, 1997: Military issues a memorandum that ousts the
coalition government. The event has been called the fourth military
coup, virtual coup, and postmodern coup.
1997: The name "Ergenekon" is first used in reference to the deep
state.
2001: First official document related to Ergenekon is found.
Tuncay Guney, an eccentric character of dubious credentials, is
brought in on ordinary fraud charges, and tells Istanbul police about
Ergenekon. His questioning forms the basis of the first Ergenekon
indictment.
January 18, 2007: Armenian human rights journalist Hrant Dink is shot
dead in front of the offices of his newspaper Agos.
March 25, 2007: Nokta, a political magazine, publishes the Coup Diaries
chronicling plans to stage a military take over. The magazine is shut
down almost a month later. The diaries form the basis of the second
Ergenekon indictment.
April 18, 2007: Three Christians are killed in an attack at a
publishing house in Malatya. The case is later merged with Ergenekon
on November 21, 2008.
January 21, 2008: Thirty-one people are arrested following the first
Ergenekon indictment including a retired general and columnist.
October 21, 2008: The first Ergenekon trial begins.
March 21, 2008: More generals and columnists are detained.
July 5, 2008: More retired generals are arrested.
July 23, 2008: A new wave of arrests in the Ergenekon investigation
leads to 26 people being detained around the country, including senior
members of the Workers’ Party, and staff members of a nationalist
magazine.
14 August 2008: In another round of arrests, police find large
amounts of explosives and weapons (two Kalashnikovs, 1,000 bullets,
1,000 empty bullets and 280 hand grenades).
23 September 2008: Sixteen more people are detained including a former
police chief, a former mayor and journalists.
January 7, 8 2009: More people are detained, including academics and
generals, and more arms caches are unearthed at various places.
January 22, 2009: Twenty police officers are detained in connection
to Ergenekon.
March 08, 2009: Death wells are discovered in the Cizre district
of Sirnak. On March 14, 22 bones, a human skull and some clothes
fragments are found in the wells.
March 10, 2009: Second Ergenekon indictment is submitted.
June 4, 2009: Army officers are arrested as part of an investigation
into the ammunition found in Poyrazköy. Twenty people, including 16
army officers on active duty, were detained in simultaneous operations
conducted in five Turkish provinces.
July 20, 2009: The Istanbul Criminal Court begins trying 56 suspects
under the second indictment of the Ergenekon probe. The 1,909-page
indictment includes accusations against 56 suspects including retired
generals.
July 20, 2009: Third indictment submitted to the court. The 1,454
page document indicts 52 people – 37 of whom are under arrest. The
suspects were arrested between January 10, 2009 and April 17, 2009.
December 19, 2009: Cage, or Kafes, coup plan is revealed by daily
newspaper Taraf.
January 20, 2010: The Sledgehammer, or Balyoz, coup plan revealed to
the public through Taraf.
February 22, 2010: About 50 retired and current military officials are
detained because of their alleged involvement with the Sledgehammer
plan.