The revelation of strong links between several defendants in the Ergenekon case and suspects in the killing of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink, who was fatally shot by an ultranationalist teenager outside the Agos weekly in 2007, recalls past cases when Dink was challenged by Ergenekon members.
A report sent by the İstanbul Police Department to the court hearing the Dink case said six defendants in the trial of Ergenekon, a terrorist organization whose members stand accused of planning to overthrow the government by staging a coup, had telephone conversations with defendants in the Dink case prior to Dink’s murder. According to the report, these Ergenekon suspects include Veli Küçük, Kemal Kerinçsiz, Mustafa Levent Göktaş, Muzaffer Tekin and Erbay Çolakoğlu. Ergenekon defendants followed Dink before his murder, as well.
In 2004 Dink published an article in Agos stating that Sabiha Gökçen, the adopted daughter of the founder of modern Turkey, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and Turkey’s first female pilot, was an Armenian orphan. The article was later reported by the mainstream Hürriyet daily, which exaggerated the story. Later, he appeared in court to defend himself in several cases filed against him for violating Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which outlaws “insulting Turkishness.”
The first mass protest against Dink was staged in front of the Agos daily by the Ülkü Ocakları, a far-right youth group, calling for Dink to either “love it or leave it [Turkey].” The head of the group, Levent Temiz, said at the demonstration that Dink was “from now on the target of our hate and anger, he is our target.” Temiz is also currently an Ergenekon suspect.
Another campaign was launched by Kerinçsiz against Dink in 2005, when the journalist was given a six-month suspended sentence for insulting Turkishness. Ergenekon suspects and followers were also at the first hearing of Dink’s trial for attempting to influence the judiciary after he commented on the ruling. The pro-Ergenekon group in the courtroom attempted to attack Dink and shouted “treacherous” at him.
The biggest protest against Dink, who began to receive death threats, was at a hearing on May 16, 2006. A group of 50 individuals in the courtroom again attempted to attack Dink and threw coins and cigarette lighters at Dink’s lawyers. Kerinçsiz, who was among the group, is remembered as shouting at Dink, “Enough is enough, shut up,” when Dink was speaking. The group continued to insult Dink and spit at his face, shouting: “Come and see some pure Turkish blood! Look whose blood is purer! The government is protecting you now, but who will do so later?”
Dink’s lawyer, Erdal Doğan, has also recently announced that Dink had received death threats from key Ergenekon suspect Küçük. Doğan said he was more uneasy over Küçük’s threats than from others.
Dink’s brother, Orhan Dink, also confirmed that his brother was a target of Küçük and Kerinçsiz’s group. “My brother had told me that ‘Küçük came to the hearing and caused unease.’ We are a kind of people who know this country’s history of democracy well. We know who Küçük and Kerinçsiz are,” he said. Orhan Dink also said that the slain journalist had told him that he was a target of these groups. “This is certain. He was aware of the group of Küçük and Kerinçsiz. When Küçük took the stage, we understood how serious the situation was. We thought [Dink] would be shot after Küçük’s appearance, and he was,” he adds.
Retired Gen. Küçük is considered one of the most important suspects in the Ergenekon trial. He is suspected to be the founder of a clandestine, unofficial and largely illegitimate intelligence unit in the gendarmerie, the Gendarmerie Intelligence and Anti-Terrorism Organization (JİTEM). JİTEM is believed to be one of the tools of the Ergenekon gang.
13 May 2010, Thursday
FATİH VURAL İSTANBUL