Ertugrul Ozkok: Mysterious plane and the new Turkish Penal Code

On December 31, 2003, a bus was stopped by American authorities on the border between Macedonia and Serbia. The authorities got on the bus, and then got off with one of the passengers, Halit el-Masri. He was carrying a German passport. But the passport wasn't a fake; el-Masri was really a German citizen. Three weeks later, on Janury 24, 2004, a Boeing jet landed at the Skopia Airport. It picked up a few passengers there, and then took off again. Its first stop was Baghdad. From there it went to Kabul, Afghanistan. One of the passengers it was carrying was Halit el-Masri. All of the other passangers were CIA agents. But a passenger list presented to Macedonian authorities didn't list el-Masri. While this was going on, German authorities were wasting their time looking for a trace of one of their citizens. Because the CIA, who were sure that el-Masri was an Al-Queda member, were busy questioning him in Baghdad, and then Kabul. But the most interesting part of all of this is not even his mysterious journey, but the jet which came to pick him up. Yes, the real mystery here is the jet. The jet belonged to a company called "Aero Contractors Limited." This company is registered to North Carolina. Its area of business is listed as "the rental of piloted planes....," and the company itself was formed in 1979. The person who set it up was one of the CIA's legendary members. He had been a pilot in the "Air America" company that had done such special work during the Vietnam War. Interestingly though, in the trade bureau in the US, there was no trace of the name of the person who set up "Aero Contractors." No, just the name of the company. This is very strange and unusual for the US. ***Well, actually, the mystery is quite easy to solve. "Aero Contractors" is actually a cover for the CIA. The company has 26 planes, and the leave from different points in the US, picking up CIA agents, headed for destinations and routes which the company will not reveal to anyone. ***What I have just told you may seem like a film. But it's not. Actually, yesterday's "Herald Tribune" gave all the details of this story. Any many more. But let's think here. You are a journalist. Your country is at war. Would you write about your country's secret intelligence gathering tools like this? Would you make them news? We have been arguing about this for two days here in Seoul at the World Publisher's Federation. Arthur Sulzberger from the New York Times says "Yes, without even thinking twice, I would." He says that Judith Miller, from his newspaper, is even facing 16 months in prison for taking risks like this. The Chinese journalists at our conference are not of the same mind. They say "We have to aid the development of our country." It's a very confusing expression. ***When it comes to me, I admit I'm indecisive. My inner journalist struggles daily with some of my country's secret interests. But since yesterday, there is not even any reason left to ask where I stand on this question. Because the new Turkish Penal Code (TCK) has forbidden us to reveal not just the government's secrets, but the secrets of people ripping off the state. When really, there are still subjects which I am curious about. For example: How many passengers have been picked up from Turkey by planes belonging to "Aero Contractors" during the Iraq War? Italy and Switzerland have already begun researching answers to this question for themselves. But here, well, maybe someone will get curious in Turkey.  Â