Confusion in Turkey: Ergenekon and the "Military Coup"

EA Correspondent Aysegul Er reports:

Since 20 October 2008, the Turkey Government has been occupied with Ergenekon, a neo-nationalist group accused of plotting against the State.

It all started with 27 hand bombs, TNT moulds, and detonators found in a house on 12 June 2007. Since then, evidence from  wiretappings, weapons taken from excavations, and purported assassination plans allegedly show  a “grand project” pursued by the “deep state”. According to an indictment which is now more than 2500 pages, arrested politicians, journalists, lawyers, intellectuals, and generals formed a “terrorist” organization to create chaos weakening the ruling Justice and Development Party and justifying a military coup.



Retired Gendarme Brigadier General Veli Kucuk, retired Gendarme General Sener Eruygur, retired General of the 1st Army Commandership located in the Western Turkey Hursit Tolon, former Chancellor of the University of Istanbul Kemal Alemdaroglu, Vice President of the Labor Party Dogu Perincek, columnist Ilhan Selcuk, Ankara Chamber of Commerce Sinan Aygun, retired Brigadier General and former Head of Gendarme Intelligence Centre Levent Ersoz and even former AKP MPs Turhan Comez and Emin Sirin are among the more than 150 people who have been accused of membership in a “terrorist” organization.

Last Friday, in the 137th hearing of the Ergenekon investigation, 20 prisoners including the leader of the Labor Party, Doğu Perinçek, and retired Gendarme Brigadier General Veli Küçük made their defenses against the claims. As in the other 136 hearings, no verdict was released.

Meanwhile, the “Cage Plan”, in which weapons found in Istanbul were to be used against minorities to isolate the government in the eyes of international community, emerged. Another plan called “Balyoz” (Sledge-Hammer), targeting serving generals, occupied the front pages of newspapers last month.

According to so-called “coup diaries,” retired Commander of the Turkish Naval Forces Admiral Ozden Ornek, retired Turkish Air Force General Ibrahim Firtina, retired Brigadier General Engin Alan, retired generals of the 1st Army Commandership Cetin Dogan and Ergin Saygun, and more than 20 generals and brigadier generals can be added to the list of plotters. In a step-by-step coup, Ergenekon would pursue “deep state” manipulations such as hitting Turkish jets over the Aegean Sea and bombing two mosques.

Doğan’s response to the accusations was that hundreds of pages of documents and CDs were ordinary scenarios to be used in training the army officers. On Friday all accused were released, except Çetin Doğan and Engin Alan. (Ironically, it was Engin Alan who directed the operation of bringing the head of terrorist/separatist Kurdish movement PKK, Abdullah Ocalan from Kenya to Ankara.)

More importantly, the Chief of Staff, Ilker Basbug responded harshly to the court's accusations, although he did not specifically mention the government. He called all claims concerning any plans related with hitting a war plane or bombing mosques as “unjustness.” He said: “How can you imagine an army bombing mosques who say ‘Allah Allah’ while going to a war?”

The case has now reached the eyes of the international press. On 1 March, Daniel Steinvorth from Der Spiegel asks: “Is Erdogan Strong Enough to Take on the Generals?” He emphasized the power struggle between the government and the army and asks whether Turkey is going through a new period in which we could find a “more democratic” Ankara if Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan can cope with the opposition of the army.

In Turkey, however, people are still confused. Some believe that this is the most significant case  since the foundation of the republic and are hopeful of that “more democratic” Turkey. Some, on the other hand, fear this case could lead to  chaos if not to an authoritarian government.