Series of suspicious military suicides remain a mystery

Tatar had been arrested due to suspected links to an apparent plot to assassinate admirals at the Naval Forces Command. He was released in early December upon an appeal by his lawyer, but an İstanbul court issued an arrest warrant for Tatar shortly after his release. Tatar’s death is just one in a series of alleged suicides by members of the military that have raised concern in society. A retired colonel, Belgütay Varımlı, reportedly killed himself by jumping off the balcony of his apartment in İstanbul’s Kadıköy district on Nov. 20. Varımlı’s suicide sparked suspicion because he was known to be a devout Muslim and would not condone the idea of killing oneself since suicide is one of the biggest sins in Islam.

The ambiguity surrounding the suicides of retired Naval Forces Col. Tanju Ünal, naval Capt. Olgun Ural and Lt. Col. Nursal Gedik of the navy has not been dispelled, either. Bayramoğlu drew attention to the fact that the majority of officers who killed themselves were members of the Naval Forces Command.

“The navy is where the Cage plan was prepared. It is not easy to comment on suicides. It is not humane, either. … But there is no doubt that the circumstances behind the suicides will be clarified soon, and they will spark a debate within the military, at least,” he added.

The Cage Operation Action Plan sought to intimidate Turkey’s non-Muslims and assassinate prominent non-Muslim figures to put domestic and international pressure on the AK Party, which would in turn lead to diminishing public support for the party. According to Star columnist Şamil Tayyar, this series of suicides in the Turkish military necessitates a thorough investigation. “The General Staff should examine the suicides. The suicides are filled with questions that beg for an answer. For example, which vice admiral did Lt. Col. Tatar meet with before deciding to commit suicide? Did he organize a meeting attended by five or six people just one day before his suicide? If he did, who were those people? What did they discuss? Was the single reason forcing Tatar to kill himself an arrest warrant? Who was he offended by?” Tayyar asked.

The columnist also suggested that Parliament establish a commission to examine the suspicious proliferation of military suicides. “Parliament, which has examined unsolved murders in the past, has great experience for examining the suicides,” he added.

Suspicious military suicides thus far

Lt. Galip Önder, the head of the Ezine Gendarmerie Division, was the latest in a series of military suicides. The lieutenant apparently shot himself in the head last week. Sources said the reason behind Önder’s suicide could have been family problems.

Retired navy Col. Varımlı threw himself off his balcony while his wife and mother were at home last month. The late colonel is known to have played a significant role in the exposure of the Ergenekon terrorist organization. He reportedly informed former Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Özkök of coup plans within the armed forces. Varımlı was also a key part of the trial of former Naval Forces Commander Adm. İlhami Erdil, causing the admiral to be demoted to the rank of private after the investigation.

Naval Col. Ünal was believed to have had a significant amount of confidential information on the fundamentalist Hizbullah terrorist organization, Ergenekon and the West Study Group (BÇG), another clandestine group formed within the military during the Feb. 28, 1997 post-modern coup.

Naval Capt. Ural was found dead in his house on March 24. The captain had sent confidential documents about an anti-democratic formation within the Turkish military to prosecutors conducting the Ergenekon investigation, according to claims. Lt. Col. Gedik was found dead on Nov. 11, 2007. He was serving in a biochemistry laboratory at the Kasımpaşa Military Hospital. The late colonel reportedly had knowledge of drug smuggling and the trafficking of women in Turkey.

The former head of the National Police Department’s special operations unit, Behçet Oktay, was also a suspicious suicide. He was found critically wounded in his automobile in February with a single gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at a hospital in Ankara. Suicide was listed as the cause of death by officials, but his family remained suspicious about the circumstances. An autopsy showed that Oktay had seven fractured ribs, and cocaine was found in his blood and urine. The autopsy findings resulted in suspicions that he had been assassinated.

Maj. Abdülkerim Kırca, an alleged member of JİTEM -- a clandestine and illegal gendarmerie intelligence unit whose existence has thus far been officially denied -- was found dead in his Ankara home in January. Some suspected Ergenekon members have also attempted to kill themselves in their prison cells. Among them were Erkut Ersoy, founder of an organization called the Special Bureau Intelligence Group; Maj. Muzaffer Tekin; and retired Gen. Hurşit Tolon.