Cyprus-Forum.com

[Oracle]

Mystery of a killer elite fuels unrest in Turkey

Arrest of 47 people over alleged coup plot sparks fears of hidden ultra-right network

Jason Burke in Istanbul The Observer, Sunday May 4 2008

It has the elements of a thriller: a shadowy group of right-wing former soldiers, a mafia don, extremist lawyers and politicians; hand-grenades in a rucksack; plots to kill the Prime Minister and a Nobel-prize winning writer; allegedly planted evidence and falsified wire taps.

Even the name of the villains - the Ergenekon network - has an airport paperback flavour, and the stakes involved are high: the stability of one of the world's most strategically important countries. This highly charged political reality is splitting Turkey.

In the coming days the Ergenekon investigation will reach its climax. According to newspaper reports, a long-awaited indictment will be issued by the state prosecutor. After successive waves of arrests, 47 people are in custody. They include senior figures in the ultra-right-wing Workers' Party, a dozen retired senior army officers, journalists and a lawyer accused of launching legal attacks that drove Nobel award-winning writer Orhan Pamuk from his homeland.

Crimes being blamed on Ergenekon include a series of murderous bomb blasts, a grenade attack on a newspaper, the murder of an Italian bishop and the killing last year of Turkish Armenian journalist Hrant Dink - all aimed, investigators believe, at creating a climate of terror and chaos propitious to a military coup that would depose Turkey's moderate Islamist government.

The coup attempt has revealed deep divisions in Turkey's 73 million-strong population over the country's identity: pro-European or anti-European, fiercely nationalist, ethnically homogeneous and militaristic, or globalised and pro-Western, more or less Islamic, more or less sunk in historical bitterness and dark conspiracy theories.

'The cleavage is deep: every institution, every social class, everybody is divided,' said Professor Murat Belge of Bigli University, Istanbul, an analyst. 'I am deeply apprehensive about what is going on now and what might happen.'

But for Mehmet Demirlek, a lawyer defending a colleague accused of being a key member of Ergenekon, the allegations are 'imaginary'. 'There is not a shred of truth in them,' he said. 'This is 100 per cent political. It has all been cooked up by the government and by the imperialist powers, the CIA, Mossad and the Jewish lobby and the European Union to eliminate Turkish nationalism. There is no such thing as Ergenekon.' His imprisoned client, Kemal Kerincsiz, told The Observer in an interview prior to his arrest he was a 'patriot fighting the disintegration of the nation'.

For Fethiye Cetin, a lawyer representing Hrant Dink's family, Ergenekon has 'existed for years'. 'A small part of what has been previously hidden is being exposed. Call it the "deep state".'

An investigation was launched by state prosecutors after 27 hand-grenades, said to be the make used by the military, were found in a home in a rundown part of Istanbul last June. Investigators claim that they later uncovered an underground network dedicated to extremist nationalist agitation.

Wire taps led to further finds of explosives, weapons and documents listing security arrangements of senior political and military figures and death lists. The papers supposedly proving Ergenekon - the name of a mythic mountain in Asia where the ancestors of the Turkic peoples escaped the Mongols - was set up in 1999 as a clandestine and violent organisation aimed of maintaining a reactionary, purist vision of a strong, militaristic Turkey, the heritage, the extremists believed, of the founder of the nation, Kemal Ataturk.

The plotters tap 'into a psyche that is based on a new and extreme nationalism', said Cengiz Candar, one of Turkey's most prominent journalists. 'The idea is that to preserve Turkey it is necessary and legitimate to resist in any way. And anyone who is pro-European, liberal, who argues for increased rights for minorities and so on is a traitor.'

According to Candar, this new nationalism is the result of a coincidence of factors: the difficulties of Turkey's accession to the European Union, soul-searching over nation identity generated by the debate on Europe, the emergence of a strong, semi-autonomous Kurdish state in post-Saddam Iraq with all the potential implications that has for Turkey's large Kurdish population, and, perhaps most importantly, the continuing electoral success of the AKP, the Justice and Development party, the moderate Islamist party led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan to power in 2002. 'With no way of ousting them through democratic means, other means become attractive to the extremist nationalists. This country has a long tradition of such actions,' said Candar.

Turkey's political history has been marked by interventions by the army, each preceded by a period of violent instability and each justified by the need to preserve the constitution and the nation. The repeated electoral success of the AKP, its social and economic policies, its pro-European, pro-free market stance, the growth of newly wealthy, religiously conservative middle classes who vote for Erdogan and his colleagues and the party's break with Turkey's fiercely secular ideology - all threaten the nation's powerful military and bureaucratic establishment.

A legal bid to ban the party - on the grounds that it wants to impose Sharia law on Turkey and thus overturn the constitution - is one tactic, AKP party loyalists say. Violence and the activities of Ergenekon is another. 'How long are these people going to keep their power when it is incompatible with a European, fully democratic Turkey?' asked Belge. 'And how big is Ergenekon? Who are they? How high does it go?'

No official military spokesman would comment but General Haldu Somazturk, who retired three years ago, told The Observer 'the Ergenekon group is trivial, barely worthy of attention', saying that though 'it was possible' a few military officers might have become involved in the group, the vast majority of Turkish soldiers were 'committed to maintaining democracy'.

Somazturk, who said that his own views 'reflected those of most senior soldiers', insisted 'there are far more grave problems facing Turkey than a handful of right-wing crazies'. Instead, he said, it was the government that worried him. 'The AKP are a concern. There is no such thing as moderate Islam. Either a government is influenced by religion or it isn't. And if it is, then it is not secular and not democratic,' he said. 'We want to move democracy forward, they want to move it back and we are approaching a point of no return.'

In a rundown working-class suburb of Istanbul, far from the tourist sights of the historic centre, the deputy chairman of the Nationalist Action Party in the city, Nazmi Celenk, made an effort to show his party's moderate side. 'In Turkey we are on the front line of the clash of civilisations,' he said. 'We are the natural allies of America and Britain in this region. Our future is in Europe - but not necessarily in the European Union.'

Yet Celenk was critical of last week's reform of Turkey's strict rules on 'insulting Turkishness', pushed through parliament in the face of fierce resistance from the 70 deputies from his own party. If he was in power, Celenk said, the tight laws on freedom of expression would be maintained. And, if he had the power, he would invade Syria and split the state between Turkey and Iraq. The violent Kurdish activism in the south-east of his country would be solved 'in 24 hours'.

A street away, a group of mechanics and local shopkeepers played backgammon. They said they were worried by rising crime, drug use and low wages, but would not vote for the nationalists. 'They try and cause fights between us to get votes,' Hikmet, a bus owner, said.

Fethiye Cetin, the Dink family lawyer, is still optimistic despite the tensions. She discovered her own minority roots - an Armenian grandmother - at the age of 25. 'This period is the peak of aggressive nationalism in Turkey, but there is still peace,' she said in her small office on a hill above the blue waters of the Sea of Marmara. 'But everyone always focuses on the negative side and never on the tens of millions who live together without any trouble at all.'

Victim of the plot?
Hrant Dink was a 52-year-old journalist, assassinated in January 2007. As co-founder of Agos, a newspaper published in both Turkish and Armenian, he became a prominent member of the Armenian minority in Turkey and pushed for Turkish-Armenian reconciliation and human rights.

Dink was shot in Istanbul by Ogün Samast, a 17-year old Turkish nationalist. 100,000 mourners turned out to Dink's funeral to chant: 'We are all Armenians'.

[Nikitas]

Sounds like TMT finally made it to Turkey!

[Nikitas]

Ergenekon sounds like a word made up by someone trying to sound Greek. Hmmmm dark thoughts come to mind!

[Oracle]

May 04, 2008

Ergenekon investigation gets deeper

The lawyer for the Yasin Aydın, one of the suspects charged in the murder of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, himself appeared before an İstanbul court yesterday as a suspect in the Ergenekon operation.
A police investigation into a neo-nationalist gang believed to be the extension of a clandestine network of groups with members in the armed forces has discovered that the group was plotting to stage a coup against the government in the year 2009 and that suspects so far apprehended are only the collaborators of the real plotters in the military, Turkish newspapers reported on Friday.

Revelations emanating from the investigation thus far have shown that many of the attacks attributed to separatist or Islamist groups or seen as hate crimes against minorities were actually "inside jobs."

The investigation into the gang, 33 of whose members were taken into police custody earlier this week as part of an investigation into an arms depot found in İstanbul in June of last year, has exposed solid links between an attack on the Council of State in 2006, threats and attacks against people accused of being unpatriotic and a 1996 car crash known as the Susurluk incident, which revealed links between a police chief, a convicted ultranationalist fugitive and a member of Parliament as well as links to plans of some groups in Turkey's powerful military to overthrow the government.

Meanwhile, 15 of the suspects detained on Tuesday on charges of membership in the Ergenekon terrorist organization were taken to a courthouse in İstanbul's Beşiktaş district under tight security on Friday, while one of them, retired Maj. Zekeriya Öztürk, was arrested. Three of the suspects were released on Thursday by the prosecutor after their interrogation was complete, while the court released one of the suspects.

The gang is a part of a structure named Ergenekon, declared a terrorist organization by the İstanbul Chief Prosecutor's Office, an aggregation of many groups of varying sizes, many of which have in their names adjectives such as "patriotic," "national," "nationalist," "Kemalist" or "Atatürkist." Ergenekon is the name of a legend that describes how Turks came into existence.

A number of those detained in the recent raids, including Veli Küçük, Sami Hoştan, Drej Ali and Muzaffer Tekin -- who was already in jail prior to Tuesday's detentions-- have repeatedly been named in many similar investigations.

The investigation has found that the Ergenekon phenomenon, also referred to as Turkey's "deep state," stages attacks using "behind-the-scenes" paramilitary organizations to manipulate public opinion according its own political agenda.

The Radikal daily has reported that pundits are divided on whether the recent operation will help Turkey end the actions of such unlawful groups. Optimists believe the recent police operation was a major blow to the formation, while pessimists say the individuals detained as part of the Ergenekon operation are only the visible tip of the iceberg.

Recalling that a newsweekly had uncovered generals' plans to overthrow the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government in 2004, most pessimists say there are still groups in the military who are pursuing coup d'état ambitions. "Since the civilians [currently in custody] cannot stage a coup, then who was going to?" asked the Taraf daily, urging the authorities to carry on with the investigation without fear. The prosecution is currently working on finding exactly those parts of the network that would hopefully link the current suspects to the bottom of the "iceberg."

Some of the allegations against Ergenekon

The investigation has so far found that the Ergenekon organization had plotted to kill Turkey's Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk and other public figures to drag Turkey into chaos to create the perfect environment for a coup -- not unlike the atmosphere of the pre-1980 period, which ended with a violent military takeover -- that was to be staged in 2009. Evidence so far also suggests that 700 kilograms of explosives found loaded on a van in İstanbul belonged to this gang. An attack against the Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces (VKGB), also a murky group with shadowy affiliations, in Diyarbakır was actually staged by the VKGB itself, according the investigation. The attack had then been blamed on the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) organization. There is also evidence linking the Ergenekon gang to the assassination of Necip Hablemitoğlu, shot to death in 2002 after concluding that residents of the Bergama region campaigning against gold prospecting in the area were being manipulated by Germans protecting their economic interests, in a comprehensive study he conducted on the subject. İbrahim Çiftçi, an İzmir businessman questioned over the Hablemitoğlu murder as a key suspect, was later killed by a hand grenade thrown into his Alsancak office, which, according to the businessman's son, was the work of the gang to keep him silent.

Hopes for solving Dink murder

In a statement on Friday, Nusret Gürgöz, a lawyer for the co-plaintiffs in the murder trial of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, said the recent police operation into Ergenekon had given hope for finding the real forces behind the murder of Dink. "We are very hopeful now that the Ergenekon Operation has taken place. If light is shed on the Dink murder, this could be a start for the others."

The suspects and the hierarchy of the group

A large number of documents clearly showing the hierarchical structure of the group have also been seized in the recent operations. The organization's manifesto and even organizational charts showing the hierarchy of the group, future plans and lists of agencies the organization plans to infiltrate are among the documents Prosecutor Zekeriya Öz has already been through. According to a report from the Hürriyet daily, some members of the Ergenekon network were in the past active members of Hizbullah.

The suspects detained in Tuesday's operation included Veli Küçük, a retired major general who is also the alleged founder of an illegal intelligence unit in the gendarmerie, the existence of which is denied by officials; controversial ultranationalist lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz, who filed countless suits against Turkish writers and intellectuals who were at odds with Turkey's official policies; Fikret Karadağ, a retired army colonel; Sevgi Erenerol, the press spokesperson for a group called the Turkish Orthodox Patriarchate; Güler Kömürcü, a columnist for the Akşam daily; and Sami Hoştan, a key figure in the Susurluk investigation. Ali Yasak, a well-known gangster linked to the figures in the Susurluk incident, was also detained in the operation.

[Oracle]

Ergenekon sounds like a word made up by someone trying to sound Greek. Hmmmm dark thoughts come to mind!

Have a look here:
http://www.kypros.org/Cyprus_Problem/xwria.html

List of the Original & Turkified Village names of Occupied Cyprus

Κοινότητα Original Name Turkified Name

'Αχνα Achna Duzce

Αβγολίδα Avgolida Kurtulus

Αγκαστίνα Angastina Aslankoy

Αγκολέμι Angolemi Taspinar

Αγριδάκι Agridaki Alemdag

Αγυιά Ayia Dilekkaya

Αγύρτα Agyrta Agirdag

Αγ Αμβρόσιος Ag Amvrosios Esentepe

Αγ Ανδρόνικος Ag Andronicos Yesilkoy

Αγ Βασίλειος Ag Vasileios Turkeli

Αγ Γεώργιος Κερ Ag Georgios Ker Karaoglanoglu

Αγ Γεώργιος Λεύκ Ag Georgios Lefkas Madenlikoy

Αγ Γεώργιος Σπ Ag Georgios Sp Aygun

Αγ Ειρήνη Ag Eirini Akdeniz

Αγ Επίκτητος Ag Epiktitos Catalkoy

Αγ Ερμόλαος Ag Ermolaos Sirinevler

Αγ Ευστάθιος Ag Evstathios Zeybekkoy

Αγ Ηλίας Ag Elias Yarkoy

Αγ Θεόδωρος Ag Theodoros Cayirova

Αγ Ιάκωβος Ag Iakovos Altinova

Αγ Μαρίνα Σκ Ag Marina Gurpinar

Αγ Νικόλαος Αμ. Ag Nikolaos Ammoch Yamackoy

Αγ Νικόλαος Λευκ Ag Nikolaos Lef Yamac

Αγ Σέργιος Ag Sergios Yenibogazici

Αγ Συμεών Ag Symeon Avtepe

Αγ Τριάς Ag Trias Sipahi

Αγ Χαρίτων Ag Chariton Ergenekon

Ακανθού Akanthou Tatlisu

Αλόα Aloa Atlilar

Αμμαδιές Amadies Gunebakan

Αμμόχωστος Ammochostos Magusa

Αμπελικού Ampelikou Baglikoy

Αργάκι Argaki Akcay

Αρδανα Ardana Ardahan

Αρναδί Arnadi Kuzucuk

Αρσος Λρκ Arsos Lrc Yigitler

Αρτέμι Artemi Aridami

Ασσια Assia Pasakoy

Ασώματος Asomatos Ozhan

Αυλώνα Avlona Gayretkoy

Αφάνεια Afania Gazikoy

Αχερίτου- Acheritou Guvercinlik

Βαθύλακας Vathylakas Derince

Βαρίσια Varisha Sirin

Βασίλεια Vasilia Karsiyaka

Βασίλι Vasili Gelincik

Βατυλή Vatili Vadili

Βιτσάδα Vitsada Pinarli

Βοκολίδα Vokolida Bafra

Βουνό Vouno Taskent

Βροίσια Vrοishia Yagmuralan

Βώνη Voni Gokhan

Γέναγρα Genagra Nergisli

Γαλάτεια Galatia Mehmetcik

Γαληνή Galini Omerli

Γαληνόπορνη Galinoporni Kaleburnu

Γαστριά Gastria Kalecik

Γαϊδουράς Gaidouras Korkuteli

Γεράνι Gerani Turnalar

Γερόλακκος Gerolakkos Alaykoy

Γιαλούσα Gialousa Yenierenkoy/Maltepe

Γούφες Goufes Camlica

Γύψου Gypsou Akova

Δαυλός Davlos Kaplica

Διόριος Diorios Tepebasi

Δυο Ποταμοί Dio Potami Ikidere

Εγκωμη Engomi Tuzla

Ελιά Μ Elia M Doganci

Ελιά Elia Yesiltepe

Εξωμετόχι Exometochi Duzova

Επηχώ Epicho Cihangir

Επτακώμη Eptakomi Yedikonuk

Θέρμια Thermia Dogankoy

Κάρμι Karmi Karaman

Καζάφανι Kazafani Ozankoy

Καζιβερά Gaziveran Gaziveren

Καλογραία Kalogrea Bahceli

Καλοχωριό Λεύκας Kalochorio Lefkas Camlikoy

Καλοψίδα Kalopsida Cayonu

Καλυβάκια Kalivakia Kalavac

Καμπυλή Kampyli Hisarkoy

Κανλί Kanli Kanlikoy

Καπούτι Kapouti Kalkanli

Καράκουμι Karakoumi Karakum

Καραβάς Karavas Alsancak

Καραβοστάσι Karavostasi Gemikonagi

Καρπάσια Karpasia Karpasa

Κατωκοπιά Katokopia Zumrutkoy

Κερύνια Kerynia Girne

Κιόμουρτζιου Keumurju Komurcu

Κιόνελι Geunyeli Goneyli

Κλεπίνη Klepini Arapkoy

Κνώδαρα Knodara Gonendere

Κοιλάνεμος Kilanemos Esenkoy

Κοντέα Kondea Turkmenkoy

Κοντεμένος Kondemenos Kordemen-Kilicaslan

Κορμακίτης Kormakitis Korucan

Κορνόκηπος Kornokipos Gornec

Κορόβια Korovia Kuruova

Κουρού Μοναστήρι Kourou Mon Cukurova

Κουτσοβέντης Koutsoventis Gungor

Κούκλια Kouklia Koprulu

Κρίδια Kridia Kilitkaya

Κρηνί Krini Pinarbasi

Κυθρέα Kythrea Degirmenlik

Κυρά Kyra Mevlevi

Κόκκινα Kokkina Erenkoy

Κώμα Γιαλού Koma Yialou Kumyali

Κώμη Κεπήρ Komi Kepir Bugukkonuk

Κ Δίκωμο K Dikomo As Dikmen

Κ Ζώδια K Zodia As Bostanci

Λάπαθος Lapathos Bogazici

Λάπηθος Lapithos Lapta

Λάρνακα Λ Larnaka L Kozan

Λειβάδια Livadia Sazlikoy

Λεονάρισσο Leonarisso Ziyamet

Λευκωσία Lefcosia Lefkosa

Λευκόνοικο Levconiko Gecitkale

Λεύκα Lefka Lefke

Λιβερά Livera Sadrazamkoy

Λιμνίτης Limnitis Yesilirmak

Λιμνιά Limnia Mormeneksi

Λουρουτζίνα Louroudjina Akincilar

Λουτρός Loutros Bademlikoy

Λυθράγκωμη Lythrangomi Boltasli

Λύση Lyssi Akdogan

Μάντρες Mandres Agillar

Μάσαρι Massari Sahinler

Μακράσυκα Makrasyka Incirli

Μαράθα Maratha Murataga-Atlilar-Sandalla

Μαραθόβουνο Marathovouno Ulukisla

Μελάναγρα Melanagra Adacay

Μελούντα Melounta Mallidag

Μελούσια Melousha Kirikkale

Μηλιά Milia Yildirim

Μιά Μηλιά Mia Milia Haspolat

Μιντζέλι Ortakioy Ortakoy

Μουσουλίτα Mousoulita Kurudere

Μπέκιογιου Beykeuy Beykoy

Μπογάζι Κ Bogaz K Bogaz K

Μπογάζι Bogazi Bogaz

Μόναργα Monarga Bogaztepe

Μόρα Mora Meric

Μόρφου Morfou Guzelyurt

Μότιδες Motides Incesu

Μύρτου Myrtou Camlibel

Νέτα Neta Taslica

Νεάπολη Neapoli Yenisehir

Νεοχωριό Κυθ Neochorio Kythr Minarelikoy

Νικήτας Nikitas Guneskoy

Ξερόβουνος Xerovounos Kurutepe

Ξερός Xeros Denizli

Οβγορος Ovgoros Ergazi

Οργα Orga Kayalar

Πάναγρα Panagra Gecitkoy

Πέλλαπαϊς Bellapais Bellabayis

Πέργαμος Pergamos Beyarmudu

Πέτρα Διγενή Petra Digeni Yenicekoy

Πέτρα Petra Taskoy

Παλαίκυθρο Palekythro Balikesir

Παλαιόσοφος Paleosofos Malatya

Πατρίκι Patriki Tuzluca

Πεντάγια Pentayia Yesilyurt

Περβόλια Τρ Pervolia Tr Bahceler

Περιστερωνάρι Peristeronari Cengizkoy

Περιστερώνα Peristerona Ovacik-Alanici

Πηγή Piyi Alanici

Πιλέρι Pileri Goceri

Πλατάνι Platani Cinarli

Πλατανισσός Platanissos Balalan

Ποταμός Potamos K Yedidalga

Πραστειό Μ Prastio M Aydinkoy

Πραστειό Prastio Dortyol

Προσφυγοχώρι Prosfygochori Gocmenkoy

Πυργά Pyrga Pirhan

Πυρόϊ Pyroi Gaziler

Πύλα Pyla Pile

Π Δίκωμο P Dikomo Yu Dikmen

Π Ζώδια P Zodia Yu Bostanci

Ριζοκάρπασο Rizokarpaso Dipkarpas

Σίντα Sinta Inonu

Σανταλάρης Santalaris Sandallar

Σελέμανι Selemani Suleymaniye

Σκυλλούρα Skylloura Yilmazkoy

Σπαθαρικό Spathariko Otuken

Στρογγυλός Strongylos Turunclu

Στύλλοι Stylli Mutluyaka

Συγχαρί Sychari Kaynakkoy

Συριανοχώρι Sirianochori Yayla

Σύγκραση Syngrasi Sinerustu

Σύσκληπος Sisklipos Akcicek

Τέμπλος Templos Zeytinlik

Ταύρος Tavros Pamuklu

Τζιάος Chatoz Serdarli Cattoz

Τράπεζα Trapeza Besparmak

Τράχωνας Trachonas Kizilbas

Τρίκωμο Trikomo Iskele

Τραχώνι Trachoni Demirhan

Τρεμετουσιά Tremetoushia Erdemli

Τριμίθι Trimithi Edremit

Τρυπημένη Trypimeni Tirmen

Τύμπου Timpou Kirklar

Φιλιά Filia Serhatkoy

Φλαμούδι Flamoudi Mersinlik

Φτέρυχα Fterycha Ilgaz

Φώττα Fotta Dagyolu

Χάρτζια Chartzia Karaakac

Χαμίτ Μάντρες Hamid Mandres Hamitkoy

Χρυσιλιού Chrysiliou Yuvacik

Ψυλλάτος Psyllatos Sutluce

[shahmaran]

Ergenekon is an ancient Turkish legend dating back to the early 500s, its meant to be about how the Göktürk's supposedly came to be. The name comes from the location where it supposedly took place, the Engerekon Plains.

They are the first people to use the name Türk politically and also the founders of the first Turkish state ever recorded, also called Kök-Türk, Kök meaning root. They believed that God had chosen them for the mission to build states and thats what they did.

[Oracle]

Ergenekon is an ancient Turkish legend dating back to the early 500s, its meant to be about how the Göktürk's supposedly came to be. The name comes from the location where it supposedly took place, the Engerekon Plains.

They are the first people to use the name Türk politically and also the founders of the first Turkish state ever recorded, also called Kök-Türk, Kök meaning root. They believed that God had chosen them for the mission to build states and thats what they did.

Yeah, thanks shah .... it is a nice myth.

DOGU ERGIL

Ergenekon: The abyss of nationalism


"Ergenekon" is the imaginary valley surrounded by mountains of metal where the sole surviving Turk, who was maimed in a decisive battle, was carried to safety by a female wolf. What is nice about legends is that everything is possible.
The injured Turk healed by the she-wolf had children that grew in number until there were enough to reenter the outside world. A blacksmith among them started a large fire that melted a part of the mountain where they lived and they emerged to conquer the world. Ergenekon symbolizes the rebirth of Turks through overcoming the worst that had befallen them. That imaginary day is celebrated every year by the nationalists, who turn it into a present day reality by driving the point home that we Turks can be born out of our own ashes in times of duress.

Another symbol of our past grandeur is the coat of arms of the presidency, depicted as a sun surrounded by 15 stars. The sun is the present Republic of Turkey, while the stars are past states (mostly empires) that were either founded or ruled by the Turks.

With such a grandiose historical background -- real or imagined -- it is very hard for a regular Turk to accept the stark reality that their country is an insufficiently developed, second-rate power, incessantly fighting political and economic instability. Many Turks look back and idealize the power and affluence of the empires left behind and they look at the present to see the US and the EU far more prosperous, developed and powerful than their country is. How do you think this corrosive feeling of relative deprivation and powerlessness can be compensated for? Especially when you do not have the ability of critical thinking to assess where we went wrong and fell behind "contemporary civilization," which we aspire to be a part of. Well, you do two things; in your thinking, you blame the others for what you have lost or been "denied," thus building a conspiratorial view of the world and life in general. Secondly, you organize structures beyond legal boundaries and institutions to take affairs into your own hands and try to win the past power and glory of your failing state. There are no moral or legal boundaries in such a quest.

Recently a clandestine organization called Ergenekon was discovered that plotted to pit ethnic and cultural groups against each other, assassinate public opinion leaders to agitate the people and invite the army to stage a coup. Most of the members of Ergenekon are ex-army officers and intelligence personnel with civilian affiliates in ultranationalist organizations. Although they are no longer on active duty, they have close and intricate relations with some of the active personnel in their old institutions. This is what the investigation initiated against this organization, labeled "the Ergenekon terrorist network," by the prosecutor's office has revealed.

Although the name of the organization has been publicized only recently, the public knows about the alleged criminal activities of most of its members. One example is retired Brig. Gen. Veli Küçük, who has been accused of sanctioning numerous political assassinations as the head of the notorious gendarmerie intelligence unit JİTEM, facilitating the bloody takeover of gambling houses and seeing that some drug revenues in the hands of the Kurdish mafia made their way to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Further evidence from the hidden documents of retired Maj. Mehmet Zekeriya Öztürk revealed that Ergenekon had close links to the ambush of the Council of State (Ankara) on May 17, 2006, in which a judge was murdered and several others were wounded in a shooting by an ultranationalist lawyer. The same dossiers included intimate information on both the bombing of the daily Cumhuriyet (carefully chosen as a Kemalist publication to garner hatred against non-Kemalists) and the Şemdinli bombing, where two non-commissioned officers were caught red handed bombing a book store.

Hrant Dink, the celebrated journalist of Armenian descent, was assassinated on a street in Istanbul in broad daylight and the nationalist thug who did it is on record chanting, "I killed an Armenian." Ergenekon's link to this murder has not been substantiated yet, but some of its members, including Küçük, are on record as threatening him. But there are strong clues that these criminal "patriots" had planned to kill the only Nobel laureate Turkey has ever had, namely Orhan Pamuk.

What kind of nationalism divides the nation and wages war against an internally generated enemy that is our citizens? What kind of patriotism is it that hires and trains assassins to kill their own nationals just because they do not think, act and believe the way they do? They are not honest, either. They bomb, kill and steal and blame others for these deeds, which they claim would come to an end if they came to power.

Fortunately, neither the state bureaucracy nor the nation gave in to these criminals, but instead initiated a cleansing process. It is obvious that no state can build legitimacy and no nation may survive with these parasites sucking its blood and darkening its future.

Let us see how far this cleansing goes in purging Turkey of a cancerous nationalism that is the enemy of the very nation it claims to serve and exalt.
06.02.2008

[shahmaran]

Great story Phoenix, so what actually is the point of the thread?

Ergenekon is old news.

[Oracle]

Great story Phoenix, so what actually is the point of the thread?

Ergenekon is old news.

Well the myth might be ....

But the Terrorist group made the news today in The Observer ... see original thread post, not subsequent background material to bring us up to date as they have not been covered on the forum before, hence are news to me ....... and Nikitas so far.

Mystery of a killer elite fuels unrest in Turkey

Arrest of 47 people over alleged coup plot sparks fears of hidden ultra-right network

Jason Burke in Istanbul The Observer, Sunday May 4 2008

...... This highly charged political reality is splitting Turkey.

.... In the coming days the Ergenekon investigation will reach its climax. According to newspaper reports, a long-awaited indictment will be issued by the state prosecutor. After successive waves of arrests, 47 people are in custody....

Since some of the Terrorist leaders are involved with the Turkish Military which currently occupies Cyprus, then this is deeply relevant ... as is always, the issue of instability in Turkey.

[Nikitas]

Shah said:

"Great story Phoenix, so what actually is the point of the thread?

Ergenekon is old news."

And herein lies the difference! If this had happened in a country where the rule of law is applied it would be in the headlines for weeks on end with untold followups till it is cleared up. Here, the conspiracy between the military and elite palyers is treated as "old news".