Yusuf Kanlı

For a criminal pretty sure that he was not seen or has not left any evidence at the crime scene, perhaps may not see any reason to try to conceal evidence or hide the weapons he might possess. He might not perhaps see either any reason in burying his weapons out in the woods and even if he did so in keeping the chart showing the place where he buried his weapons behind his back. However, if the "criminal" is a former chief of the Gendarmerie intelligence, has been implicated in a crime more than six months ago and has been on the run since then, is there any meaning for him to hide at his home, or at the home of his daughter, illegal voice and visual recording cassettes and discs, sketches?

Right, one would say if that former intelligence chief was so foolish to believe that by growing a beard and putting on civilian clothes could help conceal his identity, he indeed might have such an odd behavioral pattern as well.

Were the evidence "captured" by police in raids on homes and offices of some opponents of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, planted by police itself -- as alleged by most of the people facing the in-prison tribunal at Silivri -- or were the mostly geriatric group of people accused of trying to plot a military coup were so confident of success that they played it so open?

More so, if this entire "Ergenekon Terror Gang" probe is, as alleged, an effort to eradicate the "Eurasianist wing" of the Turkish Gladio, can the Ergenekon trial be considered as an effort to liquidate that secret organization? If so, can we assume that the Ergenekon was just a "nationalist, patriotic and Kemalist" establishment? Could it not have an Islamist wing? If not, why do we read about allegations since late 1990s that there is an Islamist advance particularly in police? Is it wrong that some 65 percent of the overall police force and almost the entire police intelligence have become followers of the Fethullah Gülen hodja -- the Turkish version of Ayetollah Khomeini of Iran who since the1997 February 28 process forced Necmettin Erbakan, the first-ever Islamist premier of the country, to step down has been living in the United States?

Who Can stage a coup?
Or, will it be true to believe that only the military can stage a military coup in a country? Is it not possible, for example, to have a coup by the police force? Or, can we assume for one second that we might be all fooled and forced to believe that there was a coup plot by some geriatric nationalists, patriots and Kemalists who somehow get hold of few boxes of hand grenades, some rockets and some rifles while indeed there might be a coup underway by the Islamist government and the police elements loyal to the Fethullah hodja -- a phenomenon some people prefer to refer to as "F-type organization within police" -- and some prosecutors who subscribe the same political Islam ideology help success of that coup plan by silencing the opposition through creating an atmosphere of fear by sending behind bars some prominent secularist, Kemalist and patriotic names?

Indeed, with the Ergenekon detentions, house and office searches the society was made paranoiac. People involved in politics, who contribute to politics with their ideas, civilian and military bureaucracy, academicians have all started to feel that there is a revanchist drive underway against the democratic, secular, modern republic and even if the AKP government might not be actively involved in this campaign of the Fethullah Gülen brotherhood, seeing that developments indeed help it promote its ideology in the governance of the country, is sitting back and enjoying the persecution of its opponents.

Was it possible in any country to have four-hour-long satellite live interview with a fugitive criminal on the official state TV channel? Was it possible in any country to allow a fugitive criminal accuse the main opposition party of being "brave thieves party" and name several former top generals as members of the top council of the Ergenekon gang? Was it possible for the state TV to allow a criminal issue a blackmail message against some top businessmen, journalists and academics?

Could such a broadcast by the state TV be considered a journalistic success or the state TV channel being converted into yet another battle ground of the revanchist campaign against the secular republic?

Really, was the "Ergenekon gang" composed of only secularists?

What the Turkish military thinks about the latest wave of detentions, police raid on houses and offices of some leading personalities, including some top retired generals and a former chief prosecutor of the Court of Appeals within the framework of the so-called "Ergenekon terror gang" probe? In a democratic country, obviously, no one should bother to learn what the answer of the above question because it is none of the business of the military, or the government, or the main opposition party. In a democratic country there has to be separation of powers and under that principle neither the civilian executive (or the opposition parties), the military command, nor the legislative can attempt to interfere in justice or try to influence the process of a judicial case. Indeed, such an attempt is not only a gross violation of international norms of justice but as well is a crime under the existing Turkish Constitution, as well as the law on procedures of trial. The government, opposition, media, academia and the society by and large can and should of course demand full respect to the procedures of trial which in effect guarantee that a judicial case will be processed in full conformity with established rules and regulations guaranteeing fair treatment and protection of fundamental rights. For example, under existing procedures of trial in Turkey, there is no detention mechanism. A prosecutor must invite individuals to give a testimony. If an individual refuses to heed to the invitation only then a court may issue a warrant for him be captured and brought to court. Only under such a condition or if there is probability of concealing evidence or the accused fleeing justice, the court may order arrest of the accused. That is, under procedures of trial while detention is totally excluded, arrest of the accused is accepted as an exceptional application.

Summary execution on the front pages
Not only in the Ergenekon case, but in general there has been a gross violation in Turkey of that principle. People are being detained contrary to the laws of the country and arrest of them has become a routine practice. While this wrong application has been a major concern hampering justice in the country, over the past 18 months or so since the start of the Ergenekon probe, we have been witnessing a rather awkward tradition of summary execution on the front pages of the media in allegiance to the Islamist Justice and Development Party, or the AKP. Such attitudes, of course, violate the presumption of innocence underlined in both in international norms of justice, the Turkish Constitution as well as the Penal Code.

This major violation of law has been the source of our criticisms right from the start of the Ergenekon probe while those who have converted this entire process into some sort of a character assassination and a witch hunt have been defending themselves saying, "Forget about the procedures of trial, instead focus on the substance. There is a group of people composed from various sections of the society trying to plot creating conditions that could trigger a military coup. We have to stand against these coup plotters."However, no one has ever said those people accused of plotting a coup should not be brought to justice. All we have been stressing is that if once procedures of trial, that is the clauses protecting the individual, are being violated, that is the end of justice. If people are to be subjected to summary execution and they are to be denied the right to defense and a fair trial, how can we talk of supremacy of law or equality of all in front of the law. Or, if we are to condemn people as guilty before they are being brought in front of court and given the right to defend themselves, how can we talk about the fundamental presumption of innocence principle of law.

A legitimate concern
That was why, the military stressing yesterday that, "It is being observed that fundamental human rights and basic norms of law such as the presumption of innocence that was enshrined in the 38th Article of the Constitution that ’no one can be considered as guilty unless he was sentenced by a court verdict’ are being violated," was very important as it showed the military was sharing our concerns. But, at the same time it demonstrated the grave situation the politicization of the Ergenekon case has landed the country in.

Was the military wrong in stressing that "This sensitive atmosphere which was created by sections that ought to be most sensitive, has been gravely harming individuals, institutions, justice and eventually the Turkish state?"

He was one of the "suspects" the prosecutor ordered to be detained on July 1, 2008 within the framework of the sixth wave of the so-called "Ergenekon Terror Gang" inquisition, pardon investigation. Levent Ersöz was a former gendarmerie general who had served when he was a colonel at the southeastern border provinces in the early 1990s when "missing persons" in the region were almost routine. His last duty at the military was gendarmerie intelligence chief. In the July 1 wave of Ergenekon-related detentions he could not be found. It was reported at the time that he was in Russia. Contacting news people by telephone he at the time said he was in Moscow for business and that within next 10 days or so he would be back and turn himself in for interrogation. He never did that.

Apparently, he returned to Turkey in November with a fake Ukranian passport. Reportedly he entered the country from the Zonguldak port and met at the port and escorted to Ankara by a gendarmerie noncommissioned officer SG, who is claimed to have been serving at the Kırşehir Gendarmerie Garrison. According to allegations, the fugitive retired general did not go to his residence, but instead went to the house of his alleged mistress, a Ukranian woman who has acquired Turkish nationality.

Wholesale character assassination

Interesting enough, the capture of Ersöz came only a day after several hours of taped interrogation of Tuncay Güney, the fake rabbi living now in Canada and on his allegations the entire Egenekon case is claimed to have been established, was leaked to the entire media in total violation of secrecy of investigation principle and despite withdrawal by Güney himself of the entire testimony. Why that tape was released?

Why it was released in full and through Güney’s mouth so many retired generals, academics and journalists were implicated once again of being members or leaders of the so-called Ergenekon gang. Güney’s testimony was a wholesale character assassination effort.

This is apparently a systematic effort. All through this, Ergenekon business we keep on encountering character assassination moves. In the Ersöz capture case as well we saw a similar effort. It was of course none of our, and by the way police’s or prosecutor’s, business whether or not Ersöz was a devoted husband loyal to his wife or had an extramarital affair. Why from the first moment of his capture police sources informed the media about his "Ukranian mistress" who had acquired Turkish nationality? Obviously, we were faced once again with an act of character assassination.

On the other hand, we have witnessed a successful and for a change full compliance of police and the office of prosecutor inquiring the Ergenekon case with the procedures of trial. No one can object the detention of retired general Ersöz by police and the likely court order for his arrest within days.

He was on the run for so long, did not turn himself in, was traveling with a fake passport and even applied to a hospital with a fake ID and thus there are sufficient reasons to believe that if he is released he might try to escape justice once again.

Even though no one can claim from now what will be the court verdict against him and technically until the end of his trial he must be considered "non-guilty" it is obvious that his lawyers will have great difficulty in finding some valid reason to demand his release.

The capture of Ersöz is definitely a success of the police intelligence and hopefully will help speed up the Ergenekon case. One may assume that as he tried to escape justice for so long he might have something to hide from the court.

Without any doubt, within days, we will read about his testimony splashed on the front pages of some pro-government media, as it has become a tradition of the Ergenekon case to service the testimonies of the accused or the suspects to some selected newspapers and TV stations in total violation of the secrecy of the investigation principle.

If rule of law prevails and political manipulation of justice is ended perhaps we may have a clearer picture one day of what this Ergenekon business really is.

Detentions, house and office ambushes of the police, discovery of arms caches here and there in Ankara and of course the political rhetoric continuing over the so-called "Ergenekon terror gang" story produced an "obsessed" Turkey once again Including the continuing Gaza Strip tragedy or the developments in the Cyprus talks, irrespective whether they are happening in our close geography or not, all foreign developments have once again become secondary for the Turkish people. We are so much preoccupied and obsessed for different reasons and perceptions with the Ergenekon thriller.

However, some strange things do happen in the country within the framework and for the sake of a "pro-active foreign policy" that our prime minister and his foreign policy adviser are concocting by bypassing all together the entire Foreign Ministry apparatus of the country. Readers might remember a front page headline on Tuesday in the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review, and in some other newspapers. It was about an order from the Ministry of Education to the primary and secondary schools of the country. Accordingly, schools all around the country observed a minute of silence in memory of the Palestinians killed in the Israeli offensive in the Gaza Strip.

In a letter to this writer a foreign teacher (name withheld) serving for the past six years at an Istanbul private high school, appeared as puzzled as this writer why the Education Ministry wanted primary and secondary school kids engage in a political activity.

"I feel for the children and the adults in Gaza as well as Israel; I feel for the children and adults in Iraq and Afghanistan and Pakistan. I feel for children and adults anywhere that public policy has failed and violence has succeeded. But I take exception to the Ministry of Education mandating that this honor be used as a protest, as it surely is. I think is disgraceful that a political organization that is supposed to protect children is party to a ploy that uses children and their teachers, both Turkish and Palestinian, to make a political statement," said the teacher in summary in his letter.

It was not appropriate at all
As long as it does not turn violent, right to demonstrate cannot be denied from anyone. But, to exercise the right to demonstrate, one must be an adult. The government may like it or not, a foreign embassy might appreciate it or not, people may condemn a certain development. But, there must be a difference between right to demonstrate and exploitation of children for some political reasons.

Many people will remember the recent demonstrations in many southeastern Turkish cities. At least some people will remember the tragicomic 300 years behind bars demand of a prosecutor for children who were accused of attacking police with stones, hurling Molotov cocktails, burning fires in streets. Those kids were exploited by the local organization of the Democratic Society Party, or the DTP, and its mastermind the separatist terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, gang. The kids were placed in front of other demonstrators as part of a plan to portray a confrontation between the police and the kids. Unfortunately, that plot worked well as similar such plots worked and are working in Palestine, Lebanon, Jerusalem and elsewhere. Is there a difference between kids demonstrating in streets of Lebanese towns with wooden missiles and rifles or small kids being recruited into paramilitary forces, terrorist groups and forcing them with ministry directives to make political statements?



Do something rather

than hiding behind kids

Even though we might share similar concerns and indeed taking to the streets and engaging in identical acts or even undertaking further actions to demonstrate our heartfelt sympathy for the sufferings and gross violation of human rights bordering genocide, if children are placed in front of demonstrators as a shield, or if kids were asked to make a political manifestation at primary and secondary schools, how can we describe such an action other than condemning it as a gross violation of rights of children and exploitation of them for some political reasons? If he wants to demonstrate how outraged he was with the Gaza atrocities, Çelik must perhaps undertake a protest action himself rather than hiding behind kids.