The Gölbaşı arms cache

Why were those weapons and ammunition buried there? Were they the arms of a "gang" aimed at toppling the government, or what were they? The cache was found buried at a forested area at the Gölbaşı district of Ankara. A sketch found during the search at the home of İbrahim Şahin, the former deputy chief of the police department’s "Special Operations" squad was instrumental in the discovery of the cache.

Şahin, who was detained in this week’s tenth wave of Ergenekon operation, was tried and sentenced to six years in jail in the 1996 Susurluk scandal, in which links between underground elements, politicians, and bureaucrats were established for the first time. During the Susurluk probe of 1996 the arms imported from Israel to equip the police special forces headed by Şahin could not be found and according to the court testimonies "were sent to a country" the name of which was not disclosed for "national security reasons."

Were the shoulder missile launchers, UZI submachine guns, Glock and Baretta pistols, TNT molds and plastic explosives and other ammunition found at Gölbaşı and at the searches earlier this week at Şahin’s Ankara and Istanbul homes indeed part of those missing arms? If so, can we assume that other missing guns that were imported from Israel by a private company and donated to Police Special Operations squad headed by Şahin could finally be traced as well?

The discovered Gölbaşı arms cache is definitely very important. Though according to reports the serial and production codes on the arms and ammunition discovered were "professionally wiped out" let us hope that examinations will establish in which crimes these arms were used and shed light on at least some of the unsolved murder cases of the Susurluk period.But, could discovery of these arms and ammunition be considered as evidence of a link between the Susurluk gang and those detained or being accused in the Ergenekon probe? Or, are those who have been skeptical about the motives behind the Ergenekon probe and who consider it some sort of exploitation of a criminal gang activity by including in it hard core opponents in a revanchist campaign wrong all the way down?

Ergenekon, a cocktail
The way this probe is being conducted, the 2,500-page-long indictment based mostly on wishy-washy claims, telephone conversations, unverified claims but almost no hard evidence and the humiliating attitude of the police in searching houses and offices and in detaining people, servicing testimonies that ought to be kept confidential from pro-government media and in a way subjecting the accused and yet to be accused to summary execution on the front pages and on TV bulletins of the pro-government media, all indicate that there is a political motivation in this probe. That is why many people are complaining of a "fear empire" buildup in the country.

Some liberal and Islamist media outlets have been contending that what Turkey was probing was a coup plot against the government and a "coup organization" would of course have senior and well-respected bureaucracy, academics as well as active and retired military figures because if successful the "coup team" would become the new administration of the country. Naturally, there is logic in that. However, somehow it was neglected that a coup can only be undertaken by the armed elements within the state, not by retired generals and some geriatric professors with the help of some underground figures. Furthermore, is it reasonable to accuse people and then try to concoct evidence against them by searching their houses and offices? Is it reasonable to keep people under detention for six month, one year or even for a longer period without producing an indictment and officially charging them while according to procedures of trial detention is an exceptional measure.

What will happen if most of those accused under Ergenekon are eventually freed by the court because of lack of hard evidence against them? How they will be compensated?