Turkey makes 'coup plot' arrests

[formercia]

Source: BBC


Police in Turkey have arrested a further 20 people over a suspected plot to overthrow the government, according to Turkish media reports.

The arrests are part of an ongoing investigation into a shadowy ultra-nationalist group known as Ergenekon.

Eighty-six people have already been charged with involvement in the group.

-snip-

Read more: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/7521463.stm

---

Belarus is looking better every day....

[davidinalameda]

1. not real fond of the current ruling government in Turkey

wouldn't mind seeing them removed from power

[formercia]

7. Why, because they're Muslim and not run by the Army?

Are you afraid of their religion? What makes you dislike them? Be specific.

Are you saying you advocate the unlawful removal of a democratically elected government?

You claim to be an Obama supporter? I wonder if Obama would agree with you. I sincerely doubt it.

[autorank]

2. Interesting stuff, frightening stuff

This is a very interesting topic and explains part of the fortune that is in that general neighborhood. I remember talks about how the Turkish military was helping out with Afghanistan. Hmmm...

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ergenekon_(organization)
The "Ergenekon network" or "Ergenekon" (Turkish: Ergenekon or Ergenekon terör örgütü) is an alleged clandestine Gladio-type ultra-nationalist terrorist organization within Turkey, plotting to foment unrest in Turkey, inter alia by assassinating intellectuals, including Nobel Prize-winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, with the ultimate goal of toppling the present government.<1><2><3><4> The investigation is considered by many as an upsurge to supress the nationalist opposition to the current government.

Those arrested have included nationalist lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz; the leader of Turkey's Workers' Party Doğu Perinçek; retired brigadier general Veli Küçük, retired full general Hurşit Tolon, and retired full general Şener Eruygur. The responsible Court is the Istanbul Court of Assize for Organised Crimes and Terror Crimes.

http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=132507
Revelations emanating from the investigation thus far have shown that many of the attacks attributed to separatist or Islamist groups or seen as hate crimes against minorities were actually "inside jobs."

http://www.antiwar.com/deliso/?articleid=12332
On 22 January, Turkish police arrested 33 individuals, some connected with the military, in the largest concerted action against the "deep state" – that shadowy underworld linking extremists and criminals from the spheres of military, political, judicial and the academy. Some were accused of belonging to an ultranationalist group, Ergenekon, that was allegedly "preparing a series of bomb attacks aimed at fomenting chaos ahead of a coup in 2009 against Turkey's center-right government, whose European Union-linked reforms are opposed by ultranationalists." The ultranationalists (who also distrust the Erdogan government for its alleged Islamist agenda) were plotting to assassinate prominent cultural figures, such as Nobel-prize winning novelist Orhan Pamuk, journalist Fehmi Koru, and possibly Kurdish politicians. The deaths of Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, two Italian priests and three Protestant missionaries have already been blamed on ultranationalists associated with the Ergenekon group.

We do, however, know where it started – and why. Indeed, it is more than a bit ironic that the major recurring threat to society and political stability in Turkey over the past 60 years, the "Deep State," was actually enabled by the country's Western allies, and first of all, America. After WWII and with the creation of NATO, the military alliance created "secret armies" throughout Europe, consisting of so-called "stay behind" forces, charged with waging sabotage campaigns and resistance in the case of a Soviet invasion. However, they became prone to corruption, interference with domestic politics and society, and were in some cases involved with brutality against Leftists and the citizenry in general. While the most famous of NATO's secret armies was the Gladio operation in Italy, it was arguable in Turkey that this dangerous policy had the most serious long-term consequences, with the creation of a stay-behind force known as the Counter-Guerrillas.

(But it's not really about nationalism at all)

The deep state also played a major role in heroin smuggling from Afghanistan through Turkey, a route which now accounts for around 90 percent of heroin smuggled into Europe. Like everything else, there were no clear-cut lines of control between political parties, ethnicities, or services. By 1998, for example, at least 15 MIT officers had been killed in the vicious internal battle between the intelligence service and the police over control of the drug trade. "Only criminal networks working in close cooperation with the police and the army could possibly organize trafficking on such a scale," concluded Le Monde Diplomatique. The celebrated former FBI translator and whistleblower Sibel Edmonds writes that "the Turkish government, MIT and the Turkish military, not only sanctions, but also actively participates in and oversees the narcotics activities and networks."

[mmonk]

3. Yep.

Pretty much a criminal group left over from the cold war.

[autorank]

4. Made some headlines a while ago.

I didn't know much about these guys until I saw formercia's post.

continued from the last link in my reply above:

Akkurt, who spoke in a worried tone, is quoted as saying he was concerned he might end up like Mehmet Ali Agca, a deep-state assassin who also shot the pope in the '70s. Akkurt expressed a desire to be like O.S., the teenager who shot Dink in January of last year, saying: 'He has trillions of lira in his account. Plus, those around him have become heroes.' In response to these words, Yüce was quoted as having said: 'You, me and Fuci will take care of Orhan Pamuk. We will have YTL 2 million in our accounts. Are you with me on this one?' Akkurt is heard giving an affirmative response to Yüce's question in the recordings.

So what on earth does the Pope have to do with Turkey? Why go after him?

[mmonk]

5. Probably to create fear and chaos.

Probably so maybe one country could blame another. Depends on who was paying the bill.

[formercia]

6. Putting someone in his place more attuned to their mindset

They had to wait a little while, but eventually got their man.

[formercia]

8. Drugs=Money=Power

The boys can't run their little secret empire on wishful thinking. It takes moola to grease the palms of all the operatives that do the dirty deeds so they don't have to.

When the Doritos are gone, the party's over.