30.10.2008
Half-measures against next junta
Turkey's creaking justice system cannot cope with the Ergenekon affair, writes Esen Uslu
The ‘Ergenekon trial’, as the press has dubbed it, has finally begun and, as expected, has created a media frenzy. However, before dealing with the current situation, let me give a brief sketch of what led up to it.
Ergenekon is the name of an imaginary place in central Asia in the nation-building myth of Turkish nationalism, and it was adapted from an ancient saga told by the nomadic Turkic tribes that moved west into what is now Turkey. It describes a hidden sanctuary, where the Turkish nation nurtured itself after heavy defeats at the hands of its enemies. When it regained its strength, it followed a magical grey wolf, which showed it the way out. The Grey Wolves - the infamous paramilitary thugs of the Nationalist Action Party - took their name from this saga. From the early days of the republic, the symbol of a howling grey wolf within a crescent was adopted by many official bodies.
Now we learn that ‘Ergenekon’ is also the name adopted by the Turkish section of the Nato ‘stay-behind’ organisation during the cold war years. European comrades are maybe more familiar with the name ‘Gladio’ used for a similar formation in Italy. However, such organisations existed in each and every Nato country.
In Turkey, Ergenekon’s planning and logistics were handled by a special department of the general staff of the armed forces. It has used several official cover names, and has been generally known, including by the Turkish left, as the ‘counter-guerrilla’ organisation. This secret body, set up to meet the requirements of Nato and the USA, took over the pre-existing clandestine organisations operating above the law, and even utilised the remnants of organisations that were originally under the Union and Progress party.
During the last years of the Ottoman empire, these organisations were employed with brutal efficiency to drive non-Muslim minorities from their territories. Given the circumstances of the formation of the republic, they had ample opportunities to build up their expertise and honed their skills in the suppression of Kurdish uprisings. During the cold war years their skills were further enhanced thanks to the counter-insurgency training provided by the US army and CIA.
The ex-leaders of these organisations admitted their role and boasted of their splendid achievements in atrocities such as the pogroms of September 6-7 1955, when Greek Orthodox and Armenian minorities were forced to leave Turkey as a result of violent demonstrations, the ransacking of their property, rape and murder.
Their role were also plain to see in more recent atrocities, such as the Kahramanmaras massacre of December 23-25 1978, when more than 100 Alevi Kurds were killed; or the Sivas massacre of July 2 1993, when 35 prominent leftwing intellectuals and artists attending an Alevi ceremony were killed in their hotel - set alight by a mob, under the watchful eyes of the state security forces.
The operations of Ergenekon, then, were and are sanctioned by the state. So how on earth could such a closely protected and cherished organisation be forced to face trial? The answer can be traced back to the fascist junta of 1980 and the ongoing Kurdish uprising, which has been raging since 1985. The military regime and subsequent governments used this organisation to suppress the Kurdish guerrilla movement, as well as Armenian terrorism.
It was strengthened by the recruitment of former paramilitary thugs, and became more and more above the law. New groups such as the JITEM (Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-Terror Organisation) were formed without any lawful authority, and even though the results of their unrestrained actions were evident for all to see, their very existence was denied by the political establishment.
Extra-judicial killings, torture, disappearances and other inhumane activities became commonplace and the funds required for such a vast operation were derived from drug smuggling. There were reports of drugs being transported to the western borders in military vehicles. With such large amounts of money swashing around, some stray dogs started to use their state-sanctioned licence to enrich themselves by taking over these smuggling activities, setting up protection rackets and engaging in all type of mafia activities. This loss of discipline resulted in the killing of prominent members of JITEM by their own people.
Aspiring juntas have been trying to use this clandestine organisation to aid their bid for power. In particular those who opted to ride the anti-European Union wave of sentiment among the officer corps have utilised these organisations’ civilian ties to establish non-governmental organisations (!) such as the Ataturkist Thought Associations and similar aptly named nationalist-fascist civilian groupings, whose aim is to build popular support for a military takeover. Over the last year they attempted to use the popular discontent with the Islamist government’s move to liberalise the anti-headscarves legislation, and organised the massive ‘flag rallies’.
Their supporters come from all walks of life, but academia and the legal profession, as well as media operators, are prominent among them. There are also die-hard Kemalists, as well as very old, but still quite influential, media figures who tried their luck with the ‘progressive juntas’ of the 1960s and 70s that were replaced by the reactionary juntas. There are also the ex-Maoists that coagulated around the Workers’ Party - which gradually became more and more nationalist, defending views comparable with those of the Nationalist Action Party.
This so-call ‘progressive wing’ of the defendants - that is, the Kemalists and ex-Maoist nationalists - has fed the misconception among the Turkish left that the Ergenekon trial is a sham organised by the Islamists in power. However, officers who were in charge of the clandestine organisation are among the defendants, as are would-be members of aspiring juntas. Some of their supporters in the media, as well as various other collaborators, are also on trial.
In current circumstance nothing effective can be done in Turkey to curb the ambitions of the military and stop its interventionism. As a full-frontal assault on military dominance over political life cannot even be contemplated, only half-measures - a push here, a shove there - can be attempted by the political establishment and justice system to beat back the next aspiring junta.
Consequently, a long list of defendants, a strange mix of personalities, a 2,500-page bill of indictment, about 600 defence lawyers and a large media presence were in attendance for the initial session of the trial. It is estimated that just reading the bill of indictment would take a month.
In addition there is a second batch of defendants awaiting indictment, and the cases of several people recently arrested have not yet undergone proper investigation. The prosecutors’ workload is insurmountable, and the trial judges will have even greater difficulty.
Just to cite an example, an ex-special forces officer, who was convicted for taking part in extra-judicial killings and amnestied after a couple of years, recently admitted on a TV current affairs programme that he committed nearly one thousand murders, which were not even investigated. Even taking into account the fact that he may well have been exaggerating for his own reasons, the true extent of the crimes committed is beyond belief.
The creaking justice system cannot cope. The Ergenekon affair will drag on, a few knuckles will be rapped and the crimes and atrocities committed over quite a prolonged period will be whitewashed. And even this outcome is considered optimistic!
Unless the working class raises its voice, in unison with the Kurdish democratic movement, there is no chance of punishing those responsible for such crimes. All the establishment will do is draw a new veil over its dirty past, claim that it has wiped the slate clean and shout it is now ready to get on with the business of running the country. Looking into the future and surveying the present crises, it knows that it will still need the thugs of Turkey’s unlawful but state-sanctioned organisations in the face of rising popular anger.
