Doğan Media Group (DMG) now recognizes that there is something called Ergenekon and they shift their energy to emphasize the failures in the legal process. This is healthier.
March elections for municipalities becomes a hotter topic day by day. CHP nominated Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as the CHP mayoral candidate for İstanbul. This is possibly the best candidate against AKP. Although AKP’s mayori Kadir Topbaş is still more advantageous, it is possible that AKP may lose Istanbul. I have noted several times that I do not like Mr. Topbaş as a mayor. I don’t believe he would have any chance if he wasn’t an AKP candidate…
TRT’s Kurdish channel experiment continues to receive new feedback. A friend of mine is involved in a relatively popular sit-com in that channel. I have just heard…
A&G Survey, according to Milliyet, shows AKP is far ahead in competition for Istanbul mayor’s office.
Round up begins:
Does Baykal risk defeat in İstanbul by nominating Kiliçdaroğlu?
After leaving the issue in suspense, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal has eventually nominated CHP deputy Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu as the CHP mayoral candidate for İstanbul against ruling Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) İstanbul Mayor Kadir Topbaş, who will stand again for the post in the local elections, slated for March 29. Kılıçdaroğlu has been under the media spotlight for the last few months, after he appeared before hundreds of thousands of television viewers to settle an argument over corruption claims with a former AK Party deputy chairman, Dengir Mir Mehmet Fırat, and current Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek.
Turkey’s CHP nominates Kilicdaroglu as Istanbul candidate
Is Ergenekon a real threat or imagined ploy?
ISTANBUL – The alleged Ergenekon gang and its accompanying theories are making news everyday. Everyone has an opinion about Ergenekon, including a majority of Turks who believe the alleged gang is real, according to a new survey.
Didn’t you say it lacked public support?
One frequent claim these days is that there was popular support for the Susurluk investigation and that the same cannot be said of the Ergenekon investigation.
The Ergenekon maze
Some 60 percent of the Turkish population accepts the existence of an Ergenekon conspiracy, according to an opinion survey published this week in the Milliyet newspaper.
Turks divided over Ergenekon, majority believes gang exists
The AK Party’s apolitical election campaign to win Diyarbakır by EMRE USLU & ÖNDER AYTAÇ
The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has finally announced its mayoral candidate for Diyarbakır: AK Party Diyarbakır deputy Kudbettin Arzu.
Turkey: ‘Deep State’ conspiracy / ISN
‘Ergenekon probe advancing in right direction’
Ergin Cinmen, the lawyer who organized the "One Minute of Darkness for Light Forever" protest after the 1996 Susurluk incident, a car accident that exposed links between the Turkish state, the criminal underworld and security forces, has said there is no need to "take to the streets" for justice and transparency today because there is political power behind the ongoing investigation into the Ergenekon criminal network.
Turkey to vote on Ergenekon probe on March 29
The Ergenekon investigation is advancing in rolling waves, and it seems that it will continue with increased strength. As usual, those who are afraid of where this investigation may lead and the possibility of it reaching them will try to cast a shadow on the investigation.
What is the political struggle in Turkey about?
One of the former heads of Turkey’s Higher Education Board (YÖK), Professor Kemal Gürüz, was taken into custody and interrogated as part of the investigation into the Ergenekon gang, which is suspected by İstanbul prosecutors of conspiring to spark a military coup.
The road to Ergenekon
Almost two years ago, Nokta magazine published the diaries of the commander of the Turkish Navy, Adm. Özden Örnek, which disclosed two attempts for a direct military coup in 2003 and 2004 to be led by the commander of the gendarmerie, Gen. Şener Eruygur.
Ergenekon and Cyprus
Niyazi Kizilyurek
In the beginning of the 2000s, there were very important changes in the societies of both North Cyprus and Turkey. The Turkish Cypriots, who were unhappy with the establishment in Northern Cyprus, were moved in masses by the idea of reunification after the EU membership of Cyprus and campaigned against Rauf Denktas and the policies he represented. Thousands of Turkish Cypriots filled the streets with one idea – ‘the solution in Cyprus cannot be blocked’."
The course of Ergenekon remains a question mark
Nowadays, the most heatedly debated agenda item in Turkey is an operation into the Ergenekon terror organization, a shadowy crime network which has alleged links within the state.
Ergenekon’s DNA and pseudo-Atatürks
With the exception of the ideologically biased, an overwhelming majority of ordinary people now believe that the existence of the Ergenekon terror organization is a fact.
The octopus called Ergenekon
Hale Nur Özgür Kıyıcı. She’s been searching for her brother’s murderer for a full 40 years. By Turkish standards, this is unbelievable determinati
on.
What does the 11th Ergenekon wave mean?
Although some said they would stop, the waves of arrests in the Ergenekon investigation just keep on coming.
Interpreting the 11th wave of Ergenekon detentions
Just as Turkey was discussing the 10th wave of Ergenekon detentions, in which many high-profile figures were taken into custody over suspected links to the Ergenekon gang, a shadowy crime network that has alleged links within the state, everyone has begun to discuss the 11th wave of Ergenekon detentions, which took place across 14 provinces on Thursday.
‘So-called JİTEM’ colonel’s suicide
Recent reports of a suicide in Ankara have shocked the entire country as everyone’s attention has been focused on the ongoing Ergenekon investigation.
Let’s label it: It’s a military problem
The investigation into Ergenekon is both a legal and a political “carrier.” It deals not only with dark structures in the system and attempts at coups, but also, indirectly, with the role of the Turkish military in politics.
Turks divided over Ergenekon, majority believes gang exists
A poll released Monday has shown that close to half the Turkish nation believes that an organization known as Ergenekon exists to incite a series of incidents to overthrow the government through a military coup; however, one fifth thinks the probe is being used to suppress the opposition.
Twenty-five detained in Thursday’s Ergenekon operations- official
A total of 25 people, including police and army officers on active duty, were detained in the simultaneous operation held Thursday in several provinces of Turkey as part of the Ergenekon probe, the Istanbul Deputy Chief Prosecutor said Friday.
Turkish military files protest with media bodies on newspaper reports
The Turkish General Staff applied to the Press Council and the Journalists’ Association over reports on former army officers published in a pro-government daily, the military said on Friday.
Turkish police and prison officers on trial in landmark ‘torture’ case | World news | The Guardian
The death of a colonel
There are those who call it a "secretive suicide," while others say it was a "mysterious death." Neither of these labels is wrong. There is a definite cloud of suspicion hanging over this event.
Ergenekon as a systemic error
The new wave of detentions conducted yesterday shows that despite increasing pressure from the army, the opposition, the media and some members of the judiciary, the bold prosecutors of the Ergenekon investigation are determined to maintain the investigation with historic bravery.
Former general: Army the target
ISTANBUL – Retired Gen. Tuncer Kılınç says he still does not know why he was detained and questioned. He claims the main reason behind such a move is to tarnish the image of the armed forces and is an act of revenge by those who feel they have been wronged in the past.
Ergenekon as an alternative market
The Susurluk car accident revealed ties in the past between gangs, the police force and politicians and proved that some people from each of these groups formed a network to work like subcontractors of crimes.
Tension and naiveté
It’s funny how the human mind works in mysterious ways. Lately, I have been subjected to encounters with domestic and foreign observers — ranging from close relatives to total strangers — who display an amazing lack of clarity on what is going on in the case of "incitement to uprising to overturn the constitutional order" — as stated in Article No. 313 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), a case better known as Ergenekon.
Why do they ask to increase the number of prosecutors?
Some people are asking for an increase in the number of Ergenekon prosecutors. They are trying to imply that prosecutor Zekeriya Öz is not doing his job properly because he is doing everything on his own; however, six prosecutors are conducting the investigation into Ergenekon in great harmony.
Has the era of coups ended?
Can we really now say that relations between the military and politics in Turkey are in accordance with those of a normal, democratic country?
The ‘media lynching’ of Tuncay Güney and ‘quality control’
The Turkish Radio and Television Corporation’s (TRT) broadcast of remarks by Ergenekon suspect Tuncay Güney was, from the perspective of the principles of our profession, wrong.
Gül lays down rules for Ergenekon game
ANKARA – President Abdullah Gül gathered with the top cadres of the executive, legislative and judiciary for a lunch meeting yesterday and urged every institution to pay great attention to legal
procedure, in reference to the conduct of the Ergenekon trial.
Obama comes bringing trouble for the Ergenekon camp
As he was taking the oath to become the 44th president of the United States, he began his remarks by saying, “I, Barack Hussein Obama.”
Turkish army urges media to act responsibly in its coverage
The Turkish army slammed some media organs, saying their coverage relating to former military officers violates basic human rights, and urged them to act responsibly.
Turkish military needs renewal from top down
There is an urgent need for our military to be restructured and made more transparent in its workings from the top down.
May you and your name live long, Hrant Dink!
Hrant means fire. At least that’s what the dictionary says. In an interview he did with Fadime Özkan (Yeni Şafak, Dec. 27, 2005), here’s how Hrant Dink talked about his name:
The Bizarre Ergenekon Blame Game
During the investigation of the illegal para-state entity called Ergenekon, prosecutors found evidence of plans to disrupt Turkey’s economy in order to create sufficient chaos to warrant a coup against the present government. Nearly 100 people have been arrested in the continuing investigation. Most of those arrested are Turkish nationalists of some stripe. That makes the following comment by Former Finance Ministry General Director for Revenues Nevzat Saygilioglu even more puzzling.
Orhan Pamuk Speaks Out About Turkish Politics
From a January 17 interview with Novel-Prize-winning Turkish novelist Orhan Pamuk in the Japanese newspaper Yomiuri Shimbun (click for full article):
…Turkey is more politically troubled than socially troubled. If there is a social problem, that is poverty–class distinction between the rich and the poor. But politically, the representatives of the secularists, who are heavily embedded in the state apparatus, secularists and the army, are clashing with the popular Islamic voters. And this clash is really harming the country. Both sides are responsible for it. And most of the time lower classes and women suffer from it. Islamic boys can go to universities, but women cannot if they wear head scarves. Islamist politicians go into the parliament and enjoy life, but women cannot if they wear head scarves. The suffering of lower classes is not represented in the media. Turkey’s first problem is that there is so much class difference between a very rich, leading bourgeoisie, making 50 percent of the national income, and the immense poverty. This real conflict is expressed through secularism, Islam and the army, and this kind of politics…
Is Ergenekon Abandoning Its Weapons in Turkey’s Streets?
Like some kind of perverse Hansel and Gretel making their way through the dark forest dropping breadcrumbs behind them, someone has been strewing packages of weaponry in cities around Turkey.
Turks confused by sensational Ergenekon probe (SETimes.com)
Former chiefs of Turkish army speak up on the Ergenekon investigation
The former chief of the Turkish army denied the allegations that he was heading a coup-plotter gang and said the era of the military coups is over.
Turkish military at the crossroads
The continuing trial and investigation of the Ergenekon case have brought the Turkish military under the spotlight. Some top commanders have been detained, accused of being part of the Ergenekon terror organization. Military ammunition and weapons were found in the houses of some officers and in places marked in their private belongings.
Mom, dad, what were you doing when the Ergenekon probe was carried out?
One of my greatest concerns is not being able to give the proper answer to my daughter if she ever asks me what I was doing during a certain delicate period of time.
Our military’s suspected role in Ergenekon
The operation into the Ergenekon terrorist organization is continuing at full speed. Despite the hundreds of hand grenades, all sorts of weapons and bombs and recorded telephone conversations of the suspects speaking about crime plots, some sections of society still seem unsure about the operation.
Latest wave of detentions and Turkey’s weaknesses by ATİLLA YAYLA
We have to rely on three main perspectives in order to accurately analyze the latest developments in Turkey: democracy, rule of law and freedom of expression.
Ergenekon investigation and the noise it creates by MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE
The Ergenekon earthquake continues with new tremors. Sometimes it reminds us of a horror film. The sort of chaos
and commotion Turkey might have faced if the weapons and bombs dug up from the underground repositories had been used is just a small scene from this horror show.
Let me show you how to get rid of this government
As we have learned, some people are discussing behind closed doors about how to get rid of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government.
Narrating the old story today
Not everyone but most of society supports the process called “Ergenekon” today.
Obama, Ergenekon and the AK Party
Two days ago, there was an interesting statement issued by Human Rights Watch. The statement noted that from a human rights perspective, the image of the US had been badly damaged during the Bush administration and that after Obama takes over the White House, he would have to deal with not only this image but the stance of the US in general toward human rights.
Missing the big fish
The 2001 police testimony of Tuncay Güney, who is seen as a key figure in the ongoing Ergenekon investigation, was for the first time aired on television earlier this week and let everyone down because his statements about the Ergenekon terrorist organization, a crime network which has alleged links within the state, were not taken seriously by security units.
Trying to understand Turkey: local elections 2009, TRT 6
March 29 of this year is a very important date in Turkey’s political calendar: Local elections are going to be held. Municipal and local elections are often used by the electorate to issue a stern warning to the national government in power. Hence, most democracies hold local elections halfway through a national government’s term, a logical and democratic approach.
Fitch affirms Turkey’s ‘BB-‘ rating, says economic outlook stable
Fitch Ratings affirmed Turkey’s long-term foreign currency rating at ‘BB-‘, the rating agency said in a statement issued on Wednesday.
The AKP’s Agenda in Turkey: Islamization
"The AKP’s Agenda in Turkey: Islamization
January 14th, 2009 By: Michael van der Galien
Middle East Forum published a great, high quality, and well-researched article about Turkey, written by Bassam Tibi. Tibi shows that the country’s leadership, the AK Parti (or Justice and Development Party) of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and President Abdullah Gul may sometimes act as if it respects and even favors secularism but that it has, in fact, a clearly religious goal; the Islamization of Turkey."
Islamists Approach Europe: Turkey’s Islamist Danger – Middle East Quarterly
"Islamists Approach Europe
Turkey’s Islamist Danger
by Bassam Tibi
Middle East Quarterly
Winter 2009, pp. 47-54
Since their electoral landslide victory in November 2002, Islamists within Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (Adalet ve Kalkınma Partisi, AKP) have camouflaged themselves as "democratic Islamic conservatives."[1] The AKP claims to be the Muslim equivalent of the Christian-Democratic parties of Western Europe. Such an analogy is false, however. What the AKP seeks is not "Islam without fear," to borrow the phrase of Trinity College professor Raymond Baker,[2] but rather a strategy for a creeping Islamization that culminates in a Shari‘a (Islamic law) state not compatible with a secular, democratic order.
………. Islamists Approach Europe: Turkey’s Islamist Danger – Middle East Quarterly
Whose strategy is TRT 6?
Indeed, such an initiative requires courage and vision. The political actor in this endeavor is Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his government because, in the end, this was launched under their sponsorship and during their term in office.
TRT Şeş a sign of the state’s self-confidence
When the state-owned Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT) launched a TV station to broadcast in the Kurdish language, this was regarded as revolutionary by many groups in Turkey.
KURDISH WAR: Being Practical
Strategy Page
First impressions about TRT 6 and some suggestions by Mutlu Çiviroğlu
After a one week test programs, TRT 6 started its full, 24 hours broadcast on Thursday, January 1, 2008. For the opening of the Kurdish TRT 6, a reception was held at the TRT’s Arı studio in Ankara. Three government ministers and many deputies from the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) attended the event.
Turkey: Kurdish Political Party Seeks to Be More Competitive in March Local Elections
"TURKEY: KURDISH POLITICAL PARTY SEEKS TO BE MORE COMPETITIVE IN MARCH LOCAL ELECTIONS
Yigal Schleifer 1/14/09
With a stylish headscarf wrapped tightly around her face
, Muslise Akgul may not fit the typical profile of a leader in the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). With its Marxist roots, the DTP has long been viewed as a deeply secular party.
Why is TRT being targeted?
Our generation is, in a sense, a generation of the Turkish Radio and Television Corporation (TRT). In the 1970s, when the first TV sets were introduced in Turkey, TV was synonymous with TRT.
Behind Major Changes for Turkey’s Kurds
by Harry Sterling
Published January 21 2009
It was television no one had ever seen before. For the first time in history, starting Jan. 1, the people of Turkey could watch TV programs 24 hours a day in Kurdish, which had once been totally banned from that country’s television networks."
Çamuroğlu: Opponents want secluded Alevis
Reha Çamuroğlu, a Justice and Development Party (AK Party) İstanbul deputy and a pioneer of the party’s recent attempt to reach out to Turkey’s Alevi community, has said there are groups in Turkey that want to exploit the decentralized structure of Alevism. “No one should use Alevis to advance a political agenda,” he said.
Can Dundar: US First Militarized Ergenekon People and Now …
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey –
By Kemal SOZTUTAR ISTANBUL (JTW) – Cand Dundar, Milliyet columnist and author of Ergenekon titled book argued that most of the Ergenekon suspects were
Ergenekon Aims to Cut EU Ties Completely
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey –
ANKARA – Samil Tayyar, the Ankara bureau chief of the Star daily and author of the book "Operation Ergenekon," said the Ergenekon organization aimed to cut
Turkish Secret State Ergenekon’s Foreign Policy Guide
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey –
By Merve Mervan, JTW – Ergenekon network mainly aims to break Turkey’s ties with the NATO and the West in general. – Most of the Ergenekon members are
Ergenekon Suspect Perincek: If Turkey Leaves the NATO There Will …
Journal of Turkish Weekly, Turkey –
86 suspects are on trial in the Ergenekon case, with tens of others currently in custody awaiting indictment. The trial is being conducted in a courtroom .
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