May 27, 2012
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Malatya massacres
by
ORHAN KEMAL
CENGİZ
by
ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ
21 April 2010 / ,
There are some cities in Turkey to which, I believe, Turkish deep state elements have always given special importance.
The history of these cities, their location and most importantly their heterogeneous population structures must have been taken into account when these cities were chosen as “strategic” locations. Malatya, in Eastern Anatolia, is one of these cities. It was once heavily populated by Armenians and always had a large Alevi population and has been the site of several violent events of historical importance for this country.
Before the 1980 military coup, a series of provocations and mass murders took place across Turkey. Malatya had an interesting role in these provocations. First of all, some of the most famous fascist hit men, known as “grey wolves,” were from this city. Oral Çelik and Mehmet Ali Ağca are among the most well-known figures in this group of trigger men who were used by the deep state. Ağca assassinated Abdi İpekçi, editor-in-chief of the Milliyet daily, in 1979 and “managed” to escape from most heavily protected military prison with the help of Gladio operative Abdullah Çatlı. He appeared again in Rome, Italy, where he attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II on May 10, 1981.
In the chain of massacres which led to the 1980 coup, the massacres of Alevis in Malatya had a special role. The massacres started on April 18, 1978, in Malatya, followed by massacres of Alevis in Sivas (Sept. 4, 1978), in Maraş (Dec. 19, 1978) and in Çorum (May 28, 1980). In all these massacres, patterns were repeated: Provocative bulletins were distributed, rumors spread that mosques had been bombed and city centers and neighborhoods were occupied by armed people who killed Alevis without facing any interference from security forces. Thousands of men, women and children were killed. You know the rest of the story -- our military came to power and brought us “eternal” peace.
The massacre chain started in Malatya with the assassination of then-Mayor Hamit Fendoğlu, who was the common candidate of all right-wing political parties. In mid-April 1978, he received a package on which his closest friend's name appeared as the sender. On April 17, he gathered his family to see what his friend had sent him and his grandchildren. When the package exploded, Fendoğlu died immediately, and three of his family members died later at a hospital. On April 18, 1978, the Malatya massacre started.
Almost 30 years later, on April 18, 2007, three Protestants, Necati Aydın, Uğur Yüksel and Tilman Geske, were killed with their throats slit. The suspects, five young men from Malatya, prayed before they knocked on the door of the Zirve publishing house, where their victims were waiting for them. They wore Cevşens -- a compilation of supplications -- around their necks and left messages to their families saying they did everything for their nation and for their religion. In short, they did everything they could to show that the murders were religiously affiliated.
However, an informer later contacted the court and claimed that some military personnel were actually behind the murders. The word “state” had always been in the air in the court room. “State support,” “state officials,” “deep state” and other words had been spoken thousand times, but the case could not progress at all. The suspects turned out to be extremely nationalist, and their connections showed the involvement of the Ergenekon gang. The prime suspect confessed to having been commissioned to commit the murders and gave some names, before later changing his statement.
It became clear that these missionary Protestants had been closely monitored by the gendarmerie and the police. But somehow the suspects' preparations, which took eight months, went “unnoticed.” As before the Alevi massacres, there were provocative broadcasts and local media coverage about missionary activities before the massacre took place.
Very recently, the Cage plan was discovered, in which a “Malatya massacre” was mentioned as an “operation” which failed to reach its target. The Cage plan was prepared by a junta group within the Naval Forces Command. What was the target? Non-Muslims were to be terrorized and intimidated. Turkey would appear as a country in which Christians were killed because the “pro-Islamist party” was in power. But somehow these plans failed.
The Malatya massacre on April 18, 1978, brought Turkey to the 1980 coup. Where was the massacre of Protestants on April 18, 2007, going to bring us? Think about it, and you will start to understand what Ergenekon is!
Before the 1980 military coup, a series of provocations and mass murders took place across Turkey. Malatya had an interesting role in these provocations. First of all, some of the most famous fascist hit men, known as “grey wolves,” were from this city. Oral Çelik and Mehmet Ali Ağca are among the most well-known figures in this group of trigger men who were used by the deep state. Ağca assassinated Abdi İpekçi, editor-in-chief of the Milliyet daily, in 1979 and “managed” to escape from most heavily protected military prison with the help of Gladio operative Abdullah Çatlı. He appeared again in Rome, Italy, where he attempted to assassinate Pope John Paul II on May 10, 1981.
In the chain of massacres which led to the 1980 coup, the massacres of Alevis in Malatya had a special role. The massacres started on April 18, 1978, in Malatya, followed by massacres of Alevis in Sivas (Sept. 4, 1978), in Maraş (Dec. 19, 1978) and in Çorum (May 28, 1980). In all these massacres, patterns were repeated: Provocative bulletins were distributed, rumors spread that mosques had been bombed and city centers and neighborhoods were occupied by armed people who killed Alevis without facing any interference from security forces. Thousands of men, women and children were killed. You know the rest of the story -- our military came to power and brought us “eternal” peace.
The massacre chain started in Malatya with the assassination of then-Mayor Hamit Fendoğlu, who was the common candidate of all right-wing political parties. In mid-April 1978, he received a package on which his closest friend's name appeared as the sender. On April 17, he gathered his family to see what his friend had sent him and his grandchildren. When the package exploded, Fendoğlu died immediately, and three of his family members died later at a hospital. On April 18, 1978, the Malatya massacre started.
Almost 30 years later, on April 18, 2007, three Protestants, Necati Aydın, Uğur Yüksel and Tilman Geske, were killed with their throats slit. The suspects, five young men from Malatya, prayed before they knocked on the door of the Zirve publishing house, where their victims were waiting for them. They wore Cevşens -- a compilation of supplications -- around their necks and left messages to their families saying they did everything for their nation and for their religion. In short, they did everything they could to show that the murders were religiously affiliated.
However, an informer later contacted the court and claimed that some military personnel were actually behind the murders. The word “state” had always been in the air in the court room. “State support,” “state officials,” “deep state” and other words had been spoken thousand times, but the case could not progress at all. The suspects turned out to be extremely nationalist, and their connections showed the involvement of the Ergenekon gang. The prime suspect confessed to having been commissioned to commit the murders and gave some names, before later changing his statement.
It became clear that these missionary Protestants had been closely monitored by the gendarmerie and the police. But somehow the suspects' preparations, which took eight months, went “unnoticed.” As before the Alevi massacres, there were provocative broadcasts and local media coverage about missionary activities before the massacre took place.
Very recently, the Cage plan was discovered, in which a “Malatya massacre” was mentioned as an “operation” which failed to reach its target. The Cage plan was prepared by a junta group within the Naval Forces Command. What was the target? Non-Muslims were to be terrorized and intimidated. Turkey would appear as a country in which Christians were killed because the “pro-Islamist party” was in power. But somehow these plans failed.
The Malatya massacre on April 18, 1978, brought Turkey to the 1980 coup. Where was the massacre of Protestants on April 18, 2007, going to bring us? Think about it, and you will start to understand what Ergenekon is!
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