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BDP presses for probe as suspicions persist over Özal’s death
Özal’s death has so far remained a matter of controversy. Though his private doctor declared that the former president died of a heart attack, his wife, children and close friends later alleged that he might have been poisoned.
BDP Van deputy Fatma Kurtulan asked Parliament on Feb. 26 to investigate Özal’s death. “Turgut Özal made significant decisions for Turkey’s future and for the democratization of his country and displayed courage to realize his decisions in a way to set an example for today’s politicians. But he was the target of direct and indirect threats during his term as president. He lost his life on April 17, 1993. His death left many questions unanswered,” Kurtulan stressed in her motion.
Özal survived an assassination attempt in 1988. One bullet wounded his finger, while another bullet missed his head. Although several years have passed, the masterminds behind the assassination attempt are still a mystery. The assassin, Kartal Demirağ, was immediately captured and sentenced to life in prison but was later pardoned.
“It was later revealed that Demirağ was a puppet of the counterguerilla. Özal’s brother, Korkut Özal, said the former president told him that he knew which organization was behind the assassination attempt. There are strong claims today that the organization Özal was referring to was the Ergenekon terrorist organization,” continued Kurtulan’s motion.
Ergenekon is a criminal organization accused of working to create chaos in society to eventually lead to the overthrow of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government by the armed forces.
In the meantime, Özal’s daughter, Zeynep Özal, told Today’s Zaman that her father died suddenly, without any serious health problem. “My father did not die in the way presented in the media. He did not exercise that day. He was not tired. He woke up and had a bath. He was walking toward the breakfast table. He suddenly collapsed. When my mother reached him, he was already dead. His doctor in the US said his heart stopped all of a sudden. That’s a very rare incident in medicine. We did not have him undergo an autopsy. Nobody proposed an autopsy for my father,” she lamented.
Özal also complained that prosecutors did not listen to the Özal family, although several members of the family voiced their suspicions about the sudden death. “His death could be the work of foreign powers. Turkey was rising as a power at the time,” Özal stated.
She also recalled her father’s efforts for the solution of the long-standing Kurdish question and expressed support for the AK Party in its attempt to settle the question. “I support the AK Party government for its Kurdish initiative. I hope [Prime Minister] Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be successful. People can talk about the Kurdish question in our day. The issue was not allowed to be mentioned during my father’s term in office. My father wanted a TV station that broadcast in Kurdish. He wanted people to sing in Kurdish. I believe this issue cannot be settled through guns and the shedding of blood,” she remarked.
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