PM specifies Ergenekon as power behind PKK terror

Ergenekon is a clandestine organization nested within the state and bureaucracy aiming to foment chaos in society, leading to a military takeover.

“There are some people who are disturbed by my earlier remarks about the ‘subcontractor' behind terrorist attacks. They are so disturbed they have even tried to acquit the PKK of all charges. However, the Ergenekon indictment shows very clearly the cooperation between the terrorist organization and gangs nested within the country,” the prime minister stated on Tuesday, during his Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) parliamentary meeting.

Erdoğan first referred to the power behind the terrorist organization earlier this month during a memorial ceremony for 11 soldiers killed by PKK terrorists in Şemdinli, Hakkari. He put the blame for the PKK violence on the terrorist group's “collaborators,” saying, “The Turkish nation knows very well on whose behalf the terrorist organization works as a subcontractor.”  Many saw this as a veiled reference to Israel then. The ties between Turkey and Israel were severely shaken after Israeli naval commandos killed nine Turkish peace activists on an aid flotilla bound for Gaza in international waters.

Erdoğan, however, clarified his reference yesterday, and openly pointed to Ergenekon as the real power behind the PKK assaults.

The first indictment prepared as part of the Ergenekon probe thus far has frequently mentioned the “cooperation” between Ergenekon and illegal organizations active in Turkey with a motive of fomenting chaos in society so as to enable and then legitimize a military takeover. Among the organizations are the PKK, the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and the Turkish Hizbullah.

“The AK Party did not reach its incumbent position thanks to gangs. It did so despite the gangs. The AK Party did not rise to power thanks to headline stories in newspapers, either. It did so despite headline stories. We have reached our existing position thanks to a spirit of unity, solidarity and fraternity,” Erdoğan stressed in his speech.

The PKK, listed as a terrorist organization by a large majority of the international community, including the European Union and the United States, uses northern Iraq as a base from which to make attacks on Turkish soil. Turkey blames the PKK, which is fighting for an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey, for the deaths of 40,000 people over the past 25 years.

The PKK has been behind many provocative attacks, some of which have been claimed by the organization itself, while others have been claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), a PKK-affiliated group known largely for its terrorist attacks in big cities.

The civilian prosecutors overseeing the probe into Ergenekon also highlighted various instances of collaboration and cooperation between Ergenekon and the PKK in other indictments as well. According to the indictments, the communication between these organizations was facilitated by currently jailed Ergenekon suspect Doğu Perinçek, the head of the Workers’ Party (İP), and Yalçın Küçük, an academic from a socialist background who is awaiting trial but not being held in jail. The indictment’s additional evidence dossiers include pictures from the 1980s and ‘90s of both men with PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan, who was captured in 1999. Voice recordings of conversations between the two suspects and Öcalan as well as witness testimony also confirm this point.

During his party’s parliamentary group gathering yesterday, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan openly pointed to the Ergenekon terrorist organization as the real power behind recent PKK assaults.

Erdoğan also underlined the importance of a “national fight” against the terrorist organization, saying the group actually targets the entire nation, not only the government or political parties.

“The fight against terror is a national issue. The responsibility to fight terror does not only fall on the shoulders of the government or security forces. Heavy responsibility falls on other political parties, civil society organizations, community leaders and the media. Turkey has fought terror for the past 26 years,” he said.

According to the prime minister, planning to weaken the government or state institutions over acts of terror would undermine the state’s ambition to eradicate terrorist organizations. “Calls for early elections and the declaration of a state of emergency and accusations against the government in its efforts to restore peace and fraternity in society are merely opportunistic. At times of terrorist attacks one would expect others to boost the feelings of unity against the enemy. However, some political parties are intent on gaining political interest from the attacks,” Erdoğan said.

Prime minister vows to forge ahead with initiative

The prime minister also said that expectations of the government ending its efforts to find a solution to the Kurdish question through democratic and peaceful methods were a delusion. He said the efforts, which he referred to as a “democratic initiative,” were a revolution in mentality.

“You cannot change practices without changing the mindset. The democratic initiative will make the pro-status quo and repressive mindset history. That’s why they are against the initiative. … As the government, we will continue to spoil this game. We will forge ahead [with the initiative] with the support of our nation even if others refuse to support our efforts. We will go ahead on our path for the unity and welfare of our nation,” Erdoğan remarked.

The AK Party government announced its intention to settle the Kurdish question through peaceful methods last summer. The move later became known as the “Kurdish initiative.” The announcement was the first of its kind in the history of the Turkish Republic, as the country’s top politicians historically had preferred to turn a blind eye to the chronic problem in order not to challenge the status quo. Though the AK Party failed to take many concrete steps to broaden the cultural and political rights of Kurds, its intention to settle the question without resorting to violent means was met with praise by many.

Turkey’s Kurdish problems have existed since the early years of the republic but turned violent in 1984 after the establishment of the terrorist PKK.