Last week, all eyes in Turkey turned to two top-secret rooms at the Ankara headquarters of the Tactical Mobilization Group, a unit under the General Staff’s Special Forces Command. The rooms were searched by civilian prosecutors and police officers over several days. The prosecution believes that the two rooms, dubbed the “cosmic rooms,” where classified documents considered state secrets are archived, might hold key evidence proving that some military personnel were planning to assassinate political leaders. The searches were conducted in the wake of a recently discovered assassination plot against Deputy Prime Minister Arınç, sparking a debate on the tasks and aims of the unit as well.
Among the founders of the unit in 1954, retired Col. İsmail Tansu told Today’s Zaman that plotting to assassinate politicians is not a task of the unit. “This unit cannot even work in favor of a political party. It cannot get involved in such illegal acts. However, there may be some involved in such acts, as may happen in every institution. Such people cannot and should not be sheltered in the Special Forces Unit,” Tansu said.
Tansu also spoke about why and how the unit was established. Noting that the unit was established in 1954 upon a US request after Turkey was accepted into NATO, he said the aim of the unit was to prevent a probable Russian invasion. “Americans consulted with us. They also provided financial support. They used to meet some of the unit’s needs,” he said, adding that he does not know why the US later cut this aid.
Noting that the unit has for years been at the center of criticism, Tansu says this is because of some past illegal actions its members were involved in. “There have been claims that this unit was involved in unresolved murders and illegal actions. These concerns continue today. If any of these claims are proven after this search, those responsible should be called to account,” he added.
