To follow the ongoing developments related to Ergenekon, a clandestine network attempting to create chaos and undermine stability in order to trigger a coup, is confusing enough to a veteran of Turkish politics let alone to readers of the foreign press. Probably in a bid to find a way out of the complicated chain of relations within Ergenekon or to make the story more attractive for readers, many foreign newspapers and agencies describe the historic case as a clash of power between secularists and the Islamic-leaning government. In the aftermath of a series of arrests as part of the investigation into the clandestine network, British daily The Guardian suggested that the Ergenekon case has turned into a battle between the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government and secularists.
"Prosecutors present this as an effort to root out Turkey's so-called 'deep state', which is accused of a stream of atrocities and politically motivated murders. But the latest arrests have fuelled suspicions that the investigation has become an AK Party-backed witch-hunt against its secularist opponents," read a report published in the daily on Jan. 9.
Similarly, the UK's Financial Times reported last week that tensions between the ruling AK Party and its secularist opponents were at fever pitch after the latest detentions in a probe of the Ergenekon group.
In yesterday's edition, US daily The Boston Globe went so far as to warn US President-elect Barack Obama about concerns over Turkey's financial stability, stemming from the latest wave of Ergenekon arrests. "President-elect Barack Obama and his foreign policy advisors should be as worried about Turkey's stability as investors in the Istanbul market. ... The immediate cause for concern about Turkey was a wave of arrests last Wednesday in connection with an investigation of an ultra-nationalist group called Ergenekon," the daily claimed.
Alper Görmüş, a media and newspaper critic who also writes for the Taraf daily, said the foreign press in general misses the core point in Ergenekon as it is not cognizant of all details in the case. "The performance of the Western press in the Ergenekon investigation has proved once more that the mystery of successful journalism lies in the full knowledge of details. If you are not cognizant of details, you are obliged to write about the external shell of the issue, which is no more than propaganda spread by a circle. Let me make the point clearer with an example. A journalist who is not aware of the reality in Turkey moves with the prejudice that if a Christian is killed in Turkey then the murderer must be an Islamist fanatic. Similarly, as the foreign press is not fully cognizant of the realities in Turkey, they are deeply affected by propaganda that says 'Islamists are eradicating secularists' and are far from seeing the real Ergenekon," Görmüş remarked.
Mümtaz'er Türköne, a professor of political science, agreed and said propaganda that deeply affects the foreign press is being disseminated by the leader of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Deniz Baykal, a fervent opponent of the Ergenekon case.
"The Ergenekon investigation has been simplified in the foreign press as a result of efforts by Baykal, who is striving to turn the case into a settling of accounts between political parties in the country. Using his influence on the Turkish media and politics, the CHP leader is trying to make a scenario of political debate out of a criminal case. The foreign press, especially the Western press, has been largely influenced by Baykal's efforts," Türköne stated.
Baykal has been a fervent opponent of the Ergenekon case since the very beginning of the investigation, which has so far resulted in the arrest and detention of dozens of suspects, including army officers, journalists and businessmen. He has on various occasions lashed out at the process, claiming that the AK Party was making preparations to change the regime in Turkey.
Gareth Jenkins, an analyst with the US-based Jamestown Foundation, said two reasons oblige foreign journalists to simplify the Ergenekon investigation in their reports.
"First of all, Ergenekon is a very complicated case. It is very hard for foreigners to fully perceive it. And secondly, foreigners are not much interested in the case as one may think. There is a 2500-page indictment at hand, and foreign journalists are expected to read and understand it to cover Ergenekon developments in their stories. A foreign journalist, in general, needs to summarize the basics of the case in around 1,000 words. Therefore, they are not able to fully cover the developments in such a limited space," he noted.
Is foreign press turning a blind eye to weapons uncovered?
Foreign press organs were not very excited about large amount of explosives, weapons and ammunition unearthed by police in the Turkish capital as part of the ongoing Ergenekon investigation. The weapons and ammunition seized in the operations conducted to date include over 100 hand grenades, several Kalashnikov rifles, machine guns, Dragunov sniper rifles, flamethrowers, smoke bombs, pistols and tens of thousands of bullets.
Contrary to expectations, not many foreign dailies or news agencies carried the breaking news in their bulletins. A few of them mentioned the discoveries in apparent expectation of a further tightening of the ties between the government and the Turkish military. "Turkish police found several explosives and bullets in Ankara in a probe linked to coup plot allegations on Monday. ... Some 40 people including army officers were detained this month in a case that has further tested relations between the Islamist-rooted government and the powerful military," Reuters reported on Jan. 12.
The Financial Times reported on Jan. 9 that the discovery of grenades and bullets buried in various districts of Ankara gave a new twist to a widening investigation into a network suspected of plotting to topple Turkey's government. "The case has split Turkey. Liberals hailed it as a breakthrough in uncovering some of the most notorious killings of past decades, but others consider it thinly veiled retaliation against government opponents, a response to last year's Constitutional Court ruling against the AKP for 'anti-secular activities'." read the daily.
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