‘Deep state plot’ grips Turkey
ICC Note
A group linked to murder of three Christians and Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink is plotting to carry out coup in Turkey .
By Sarah Rainsford
February 04, 2008 Turkey (BBC News)- It is a story that has set Turkey abuzz with rumour and speculation.
At its heart is an ultra-nationalist gang known as Ergenekon, exposed when 33 of its alleged members were seized in a police raid in late January.
They allege the gang was plotting to bring down the government.
It is claimed their plan was to assassinate a string of Turkish intellectuals, including Nobel Laureate Orhan Pamuk, fomenting chaos and provoking a military intervention in 2009.
Sabah newspaper linked the gang to the recent murder of three Protestant Christians and Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.
Those still detained include retired Brig Gen Veli Kucuk, an alleged mafia boss and an ultra-nationalist lawyer who provoked numerous prosecutions against prominent Turkish writers and intellectuals – including Mr Pamuk – for “insulting Turkishness”.
‘Deep state’
A brief statement at the outset linked the arrests to a raid in Istanbul last June. A large cache of hand grenades and explosives was discovered; then and a number of former military personnel detained.
From the start, this operation has been portrayed as a blow against the “deep state” – which explains the excitement.
It is a term widely used to describe renegade members of the security forces said to act outside the law in what they judge to be Turkey ‘s best interests.
For ultra-nationalists today the threats to Turkey include EU accession, Armenian genocide allegations and any talk of a peace deal to end the 24-year-old Kurdish insurgency.
‘Under watch’
In 1996, many Turks’ suspicions of a “deep state” were confirmed when a car crashed in the town of Susurluk . Inside were a senior police chief, a prominent politician and a wanted assassin.
“Susurluk revealed weird connections between state officials and those who operate outside the limits of the law. It happened at a time when we had a lot of extra-judicial killings in Turkey ,” Mr Candar explains.
Army rebuttal
Mr Bozan also raises the possibility the operation is part of a continuing power struggle between a government led by devout Muslims and a staunchly secular military.
