The 11th wave also gives some indications as to what the financial resources of the group are and how involved the media is in the organization. What should we understand from this last wave? What I understand is determination.
After the 10th wave of arrests, it was said that the General Staff had stepped into the fray, that they had reached a compromise with the government and that Ergenekon would end there. Those who are afraid of being included in the investigation were happy, since they thought they could breathe a sigh of relief. They had a deep belief that the spotlight was off them. But the 11th wave shows that what they thought was wrong and that there is a real determination on the part of the judiciary to find the truth.
The Ergenekon trial has really turned out to be a tug-of-war. Sometimes, those who insist that this trial is the trial of the century and that it will pave the way for true democracy are severely criticized. Sometimes, those who want to downplay this trial and want it to fail just like the Susurluk case are also severely criticized. When one side is seen to be losing, the other side attacks. For instance, when guns were recently unearthed in Ankara’s Gölbaşı district, the anti-Ergenekon investigation circles tried to gloss over the facts by saying they were the guns of Susurluk. Then, they had to quiet down after an arms cache was discovered in Ankara’s Yenikent district based on a map found in the house of Lt. Col Mustafa Dönmez. After the arrest of Yalçın Küçük, they said, “A madman is not liable for the crimes he commits; how can you arrest him?”
Then, Professor Kemal Gürüz, who we know is totally pro-American but knows very well where to give the necessary messages, was arrested. They rose up and said: “How can you push the head of the former Higher Education Board [YÖK] president down while he is being arrested [and put into a police car]? What about his human rights?” When the former National Security Council (MGK) secretary-general, Tuncer Kılınç, was arrested they said: “Look, the General Staff is involved. Let’s see what you will do now.”
The 11th wave has come. Yet the two most recent waves and the new connections show more clearly that the Ergenekon gang has been exhausted. The ammunition unearthed in particular demonstrates that. The rocket launchers unearthed by using Dönmez’s map; the existence of an assassination plan against Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan; the arrest of teams of assassins across Turkey following the arrest of the former head of a police special operations unit, İbrahim Şahin; the disclosure of the existence of “karargah” houses, which are secret Ergenekon meeting places within the body of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), and the General Staff’s investigation into this issue; the evidence showing the existence of “acid wells” related to unsolved murders in the Southeast; the general compromise on the possibility of a link between the Ergenekon terrorist network and the Council of State attack; the fact that that Yener Yermez, the murderer of Üzeyir Garih, is being interrogated by the Ergenekon prosecutors; the emergence of new information related to a connection between Ergenekon and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (KKTC); the fact that Ergenekon suspect retired Capt. Muzaffer Tekin, standing trial for inciting the Council of State attack, and the mastermind behind the assassination attempt against current Democratic Society Party (DTP) deputy, Semih Tufan Günaltay, were given KKTC citizenship as well as being honored for their contribution to the Cyprus issue -- all this shows that they have been exhausted.
The Ergenekon network and its supporters have gradually been weakened in this tug-of-war. After every new attack they come to nothing. We have seen how Ergenekon prosecutor Zekeriya Öz was harshly criticized after the last wave of arrests. However, they were saying “Is there not a brave prosecutor in our country just like the one in Italy?” in the Susurluk case. When they saw there was, they attacked him ruthlessly. Just look at what Turkish Bar Association (TBB) President Özdemir Özok said. He said he does not know the prosecutor and has demanded the appointment of a new prosecutor who is well known. Well, OK. Do you have any other demands for the sake of the independence of the judiciary? What does to be “well known” mean? Do you mean he is not a member of the Judges and Prosecutors’ Association (YARSAV)?
Yes, what the 11th wave tells us is determination. The state’s common sense is at work. There is no longer any return. The Ergenekon network’s financial supporters, media sponsors, lobbyists, politicians and bureaucracy will be destroyed. Those who are involved in murder and terrorism should worry.
