While it was no surprise that opponents of the Ergenekon operation, launched last year when an ammunitions cache was found in a shanty house in İstanbul's Ümraniye district, attempted to downplay the terrorism charges the indictment brought against Ergenekon suspects, supporters of the operation said the charges in the indictment showed how serious the gang was and how crucial it was for Turkey to rid itself of the shadowy crime organization and install a real state of law.Star's Mustafa Karaalioğlu cites many of the charges brought against the Ergenekon suspects, including "membership in an armed terrorist group," "aiding and abetting an armed terrorist organization," "attempting to destroy the government of the Republic of Turkey or to block it from performing its duties," "inciting people to rebel against the Republic of Turkey," "being in possession of explosives, using them, and inciting others to commit these crimes," "inciting others to stage the 2006 Council of State shooting and a hand grenade attack at the Cumhuriyet newspaper's İstanbul office," "acquiring secret documents on national security," "recording personal data," "encouraging soldiers to disobey superiors" and "openly provoking hatred and hostility." Karaalioğlu says it is impossible not to be horrified about these charges: "It is so terrifying to imagine what kind of a disaster Turkey was at the brink of and saved from. We are faced with an unprecedented case. We do not know what the evidence is and what the witnesses, particularly the secret ones, will say. However, the indictment, which has been partially revealed, is sufficient to make one think that the case is more than one can imagine."
Vatan's Can Ataklı plays down the allegations in the Ergenekon indictment, arguing that it is very likely for the Ergenekon suspects to be released after a few trials if there is not a full-fledged attack detailed in the indictment. Interestingly enough, Ataklı finds the terrorism charges brought against the Ergenekon suspects in the indictment "very poor" in terms of legal validity, claiming the suspects will not even need lawyers to clear themselves of these charges.
Sabah's Ergun Babahan, referring to the case prosecutor linking the Ergenekon gang to a bomb attack against Turkey's Council of State in 2006 that left a senior judge dead and a bomb attack against the staunchly secularist Cumhuriyet daily in the same year, expresses amazement over the fact that there are different indictments about these two incidents in the court. "According to one of these indictments, both of the attacks are related to each other, and they aim to create chaos in the country, which will then pave the way for a military coup. If two prosecutors arrive at different conclusions acting on the same data, this means there is a problem with our justice system and we are faced with a problem that should be handled by the Ministry of Justice," Babahan says. Criticizing the circles trying to besmirch the Ergenekon indictment and undermine its credibility, he wishes that the judicial team who carried out this investigation had prepared a serious and meticulous dossier. "Because this case has to do not only with a shadowy network of a period of time, but also with people daring to change the regime in Turkey by carrying out assassinations and hurling bombs," he maintains.
Türker Alkan of Radikal, rather than dwelling on the serious charges brought against the Ergenekon suspects, criticizes the 20 secret witnesses who gave testimony in the indictment under aliases out of security concerns. "A total of 20 people whose identities are unknown will be the determining factor in such a critical case. Is there a guarantee that these people are honest and reliable? How will the public react to this? I am really curious about it," he says.
