ERGENEKON ORGANIZATION CHART MAPPED OUT
Today’s Zaman
Sep 22, 2008
Turkey
The prosecutor conducting the investigation into Ergenekon,
a clandestine network made up of former and active military
officers, journalists, academics, politicians, mafia leaders and
other professional segments allegedly attempting to overthrow the
government, has mapped out what he believes is the organizational
structure of the network and submitted it to the court that will
start hearing the Ergenekon case on Oct. 21.
The prosecution’s chart, which was published by the Sabah daily on
Sunday, does not reveal the identity of the ultimate leader of the
group, but establishes the alleged roles of most Ergenekon suspects
within the organization.
The second person in the hierarchy is, according to the prosecutor’s
chart, Fikret Emek, currently under arrest on suspicion of Ergenekon
involvement. Emek directly reports to the unidentified leader, who
also directly supervises six separate cell units in addition to Emek,
who is isolated in the chart from the rest of the organization as an
independent unit. The names of the administrators in charge of most
of these units were also not shown in the chart submitted to the
court that appeared in Sabah yesterday. These six units are called
the Intelligence Department Command, Intelligence Analysis Command,
Operations Department Command, Financing Administration (marked
"civilian"), Intra-organization Research Department Command and the
Theory Design and Planning Department (also marked "civilian").
The Theory Design and Planning Department, according to the chart, is
run by former Ä°stanbul University Rector Kemal Aldemdaroglu, who is
the deputy chairman; Cumhuriyet daily chief columnist Ä°lhan Selcuk,
who is the chairman, and Workers’ Party (Ä°P) leader Dogu Perincek,
who also acted as deputy chairman. Also in this department are retired
Col. Mehmet Fikri Karadag; Sevgi Erenerol, the spokesperson of a
dubious Turkish Orthodox church; retired Gen. Veli Kucuk and retired
Capt. Muzaffer Tekin. The last two are described in the prosecutor’s
chart as "bridge personnel" as they allegedly facilitated communication
between the "military" and "civilian" units of the organization. Kucuk
and Tekin are also shown in the chart elsewhere, between the six
separate units and four other administrators of the organization’s
(civilian) Lobby Group, as "bridge personnel." The Lobby Group
administrators, according to the chart, are the recently retired Gen.
Zekeriya Ozturk; ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerincsiz, most famous
for supporting court cases against journalists disagreeing with state
ideology on Armenian genocide allegations; İsmail Yıldız and Erkut
Ersoy, the head of a curious private intelligence-gathering company.
Five suicide teams
In addition to the top management, the organizational chart drawn up
by the prosecutor included five other cells and five suicide teams,
which reported to Kucuk and Tekin. The identity of the individuals
in charge of these units has not yet been clarified by the prosecution.
The chart, which was submitted to the 13th Higher Criminal Court of
Ä°stanbul, will be enhanced in detail as the investigation unfolds,
Sabah commented.
Latest in the Ergenekon investigation
Meanwhile, new developments occurred regarding the detention on
Thursday of 19 people, including six active army lieutenants and
a military academy cadet, in police operations in five cities,
including Ä°stanbul, Ankara and Ä°zmir, as part of the investigation
into Ergenekon.
The four army officers and military student on Sunday were arrested
by the court they were referred to at the end of their detention
period. The five men were transferred to a prison in Hasdal, Ä°stanbul.
Yusuf Erikel, a lawyer representing the officers, said his clients
were facing charges related to their telephone conversations with the
Neriman and Kemal Aydın couple, also arrested as Ergenekon suspects
earlier in July. The couple is facing charges of plotting against the
government. The lawyer said the lieutenants’ contacts with the Aydın
couple had taken place with the knowledge of their superiors. He also
noted that there were no charges against his clients except for the
phone conversations with the Aydıns. He said he would be appealing
the arrests.
Ergenekon used all types of terrorist organizations
Meanwhile, new evidence in the investigation indicates that Ergenekon
leaders used terrorist organizations in Turkey from all backgrounds,
worldviews and political ideologies for their ultimate aim to create
chaos in the country, which they hoped would make it easier to realize
their ultimate goal of triggering a military intervention. The
evidence suggests that the group had links with the terrorist
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the extreme-left Revolutionary People’s
Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), the Islamist organization Hizbullah,
the ultranationalist Turkish Revenge Brigades (TÄ°T), the Turkish
Workers’ and Peasants’ Liberation Army (TÄ°KKO), the Marxist-Leninist
Communist Party (MLKP) and the Hizb ut-Tahrir (Party of Liberation),
an extreme group wishing to reinstate the Islamic Caliphate.
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