Counter-Guerrilla
Encyclopedia
Counter-Guerrilla is the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio
, a clandestine stay-behind
anti-communist
initiative backed by the United States
as an expression of the Truman Doctrine
. The founding goal of the operation was to erect a guerrilla force
capable of countering a possible Soviet invasion. The goal was soon expanded to subverting communism
in Turkey
.
The Counter-Guerrilla initially operated out of the Turkish Armed Forces
' Tactical Mobilization Group . In 1967, the STK was renamed to the Special Warfare Department . In 1994, the ÖHD became the Special Forces Command .
In Turkey there is a popular belief that the Counter-Guerrilla are responsible for numerous unsolved acts of violence, and have exerted great influence over the country's Cold War
history, most notably for engendering the military coups of 1971 and 1980.
The military accepts that the ÖKK is tasked with subverting a possible invasion, though it denies that the unit is Gladio's "Counter-Guerrilla", i.e., that it has engaged in "Black Operation
s". After the dissolution of the Soviet Union
, the Counter-Guerrilla were used to fight the militant PKK (cf. Susurluk scandal
), which has since its inception been regarded as a major threat.
Its existence was revealed in 1971 by survivors of the Ziverbey incident, and officially on 26 September 1973 by prime minister
Bülent Ecevit
. Twenty days later he was shot at; he survived. The next prime minister who openly talked about such matters, Turgut Özal
, also narrowly evaded an assassination attempt.
The subject has been broached by parliament at least 27 times since 1990, however no successful investigation has taken place. Deputies of the incumbent party in any given administration always voted in dissent.
's geostrategic value has long attracted players of the New Great Game. After the Yalta
and Potsdam Conference
s in 1945, Stalin sent troops to the Turkish border with his sights set on the Dardanelles
. In 1946, the Soviet Union
sent two diplomatic notes concerning the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits
, arguing that its terms were unfavorable to the Soviets. Ankara dismissed the notes, and the US also expressed its dissatisfaction with Soviet demands, stating that "Should the Straits become the object of attack or threat of attack by an aggressor, the resulting situation would constitute a threat to international security and would clearly be a matter for action on the party of the Security Council of the United Nations."
After the British government declared on 21 February 1947 its inability to provide financial aid (though she would establish the Central Treaty Organization
a decade later), Turkey turned towards the United States, who drew up the Truman Doctrine
, pledging to "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". $100 million was appropriated two months after the US Congress ratified the Truman Doctrine
on 12 March 1947. This figure was raised to $233 million by 1950, after Turkey contributed a brigade of about 5000 men to the United Nations
forces in the Korean War
. In August 1947, the Joint American Military Mission for Aid to Turkey (JAMMAT) was established in Ankara
under the authority of the US ambassador.
On 5 October 1947, a delegation of senior Turkish military officials traveled to the United States to establish the military framework of the co-operation agreement.
In December 1947, United States National Security Council
(NSC) Directive 4-A "secretly authorised the CIA to conduct these officially non-existent programs and to administer them" in such a way that "removed the U.S. Congress and public from any debate over whether to undertake psychological warfare abroad". A few months later, the NSC replaced directive 4-A with directive 10/2, creating the Office of Policy Coordination
(OPC, initially euphemistically called the "Office for Special Projects"), the covert action arm of the Central Intelligence Agency
(CIA). The OPC's charter unambiguously called for "propaganda, economic warfare; preventative direct action, including sabotage, anti-sabotage, demolition and evacuation measures; subversion against hostile states, including assistance to underground resistance movements, guerrillas and refugee liberations groups, and support of indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the free world." In the words of career intelligence officer William Corson, "no holds were barred… all the guys on the top had said to put on the brass knuckles and go to work."
After joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on February 18, 1952, Turkey signed a Military Facilities Agreement on 23 June 1954, paving the way for a large scale US military presence. With a staff of 1200 by 1959, JAMMAT was the largest of the United States European Command
s (USEUCOM), and also the world's largest military assistance and advisory group by 1951. JAMMAT was renamed to Joint United States Military Mission for Aid to Turkey (JUSMMAT) in 1958, and the Office of Defense Cooperation Turkey (ODC-T) on 1 May 1994.
With the consent of the National Defense Supreme Council , brigadier general
Daniş Karabelen founded the Tactical Mobilization Group on 27 September 1952. Karabelen was one of sixteen soldiers (including Turgut Sunalp, Ahmet Yıldız, Alparslan Türkeş
, Suphi Karaman, and Fikret Ateşdağlı) who had been sent to the United States in 1948 for training in special warfare. These people were to form the core of the Special Warfare Department . It has been said that the training also entailed an element of CIA recruitment.
Some full generals that later ran the department were Adnan Doğu, Aydın İlter, Sabri Yirmibeşoğlu, İbrahim Türkgenci, Doğan Bayazıt, and Fevzi Türkeri. Karabelen picked Ismail Tansu as his right-hand man, and they expanded the STK in a cellular
fashion. They filled the ranks, mostly with reserve officers, inducted them with an oath, and educated them before allowing them to return to civilian life. The officers were given no weapons, funding, or immediate task.
The recruitment was more concentrated in the east, where an invasion was most likely to occur.
Books used to educate the officers included:
Later, the generals formed the Turkish Resistance Organization
to counter the Greek Cypriot EOKA
. Operating under the authority of the Chief of the General Staff, the STK was quartered in the JUSMMAT building in Bahçelievler, Ankara
. Ismail Tansu says that the American headquarters were facing the old Gülhane building, and that the STK's headquarters were in a villa near Kolej, Kızılay
. He also said that he used to meet soldiers from the J3 Operations Directorate a few times a week, alternating between their bases. Some of his associates were colonel Latent, captain Berger, and major Hill.
In the 1960s, Türkeş established the "civilian" Associations for Struggling with Communism and funded the far-right National Movement Party . These formed the core of future ultra-nationalist militants, used by the Counter-Guerrilla in destabilizing events.
The CIA employed people from the far right, such as Pan-Turkist SS-member Ruzi Nazar (father of Sylvia Nasar
), to train the Grey Wolves
, the youth wing of the MHP. Nazar was a Turkoman
born near Tashkent
who had deserted the Red Army
to join the Nazis during World War II
in order to fight on the Eastern Front
for the creation of a Turkistan. After Germany lost the war, some of its spies found haven in the U.S. intelligence community
. Nazar was such a person, and he became the CIA's station chief to Turkey.
The STK became the ÖHD in 1967.
It was only when Yamak asked prime minister Bülent Ecevit
for an alternative means of funding did Ecevit became aware of the operation's existence; the other members of the cabinet remained in the dark. Ecevit suggested that the organization seek support from Europe. Yamak contacted generals from the United Kingdom, followed by France. The commander of the Turkish army at the time, General Semih Sancar, informed him the U.S. had financed the unit as well as the National Intelligence Organization
since the immediate post-war years.
were at loggerheads over the Kurdish
issue. In order to reduce U.S. influence over the Turkish military, chief of staff Doğan Güreş restructured the ÖHD and renamed it to the Special Forces Command in 1992. The ÖKK, whose 7000+ recruits are colloquially called "red berets" , combats terrorism and protects the chiefs of staff and the president on trips abroad. Similarly, civilian counter-guerrillas are collectively named the White Forces .
In 1993, the parliament formed a commission to investigate the numerous unsolved murders believed to be perpetrated by the Counter-Guerrilla. Their report enumerated 1797 such deaths; 316 in 1992 and 314 in 1993 alone. General Güreş contacted the Speaker of Parliament, Hüsamettin Cindoruk
, to stop the investigation in order to prevent the outing of his men.
Meanwhile, State Security Court prosecutor Nusret Demiral ordered the police force not to co-operate with the parliamentary commission in solving the crimes.
Turkey maintains strong military ties with the U.S., through the ODC-T, whose leader is "the single point of contact with the Turkish General Staff regarding all United States military organizations and activities in Turkey". As of 2008, this position is held by major general Eric J. Rosborg. Since 1993, the chiefs of the ODC-T have been U.S. Air Force generals. The offices of the ODC-T are located at Kirazlıdere Mevkii, İsmet İnönü Bulvarı № 94, Balgat, 06100 Ankara.
, which promoted both the state's secret policy of Turkification
, and the subversion of Communism.
was exposed by National Intelligence Organization
(MİT) agent Mahir Kaynak, who in early 1971 informed both Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Memduh Tağmaç and also the fiercely anti-communist Commander of the First Army based in İstanbul
, General Faik Türün, who was a veteran of Korean War
and was decorated personally by General Douglas MacArthur
there. The information conveyed to them was that a number of high-ranking Turkish officers, including the Army Chief of Staff and the Air Force Chief of Staff were planning to execute a military coup on 9 March 1971 with the media support of pro-Soviet leftist intellectuals in a number of Turkish newspapers.
On 10 March 1971, the CIA sent the State and Defense departments a cable stating that the Turkish high command had convened that day resolving to carry out a counter-coup.
The 1971 coup on 12 March was executed to forestall a Soviet supported left-wing coup originally planned to take place on 9 March 1971.
Immediately after the coup, Soviet leaning intellectuals, civilian and non-ranking members of the 9 March junta were interrogated in a building allegedly belonging to the MİT (see the next section). One member of the 9 March junta, colonel Talat Turhan, was interrogated by the chief of the MİT, Eyüp Ozalkus. Turhan expended much effort on exposing the Counter-Guerrilla after his release.
It has been alleged that the oppositional juntas were in fact two facets of the same organization.
The counter-guerrilla engaged in sporadic acts of domestic terror
throughout the 1970s , serving as a pretext for yet another coup in 1980. By the time it took place, this third military coup in the short history of Turkish democracy (1950–1980) was seen as necessary by the unwitting public to restoring peace. It was also encouraged by members of Parliament, many of whom had joined the Counter-Guerrilla in their youth.
With this coup firm steps were taken to bring the country under the military's heel. A stifling constitution was drafted, a Supreme Education Council was established to bring intellectuals into line, and the National Security Council
was beefed up to do the same for politicians.
After having served his role in instigating the 1980 coup, Alparslan Türkeş was jailed by the high command. In fact, General Madanoğlu intended to execute him by a firing squad
, but his friend Ruzi Nazar (of the CIA) intervened.
, Istanbul
was used to interrogate some members of the opposing junta which wanted to abolish democratic institutions and establish a Baas
-like pro-Soviet administration. The mastermind behind Ziverbey interrogations was brigadier general Memduh Ünlütürk, working under lieutenant General Turgut Sunalp, who was reporting to the Commander of First Army, General Faik Türün. The latter two generals were Korean War
veterans who had served in the Operations Department . The interrogation techniques they used in Ziverbey were inspired by what they had seen done to Korean and Chinese POWs during the Korean War. Prisoners were bound and blinded.
Intellectuals such as İlhan Selçuk
(of the 9 March junta) and Uğur Mumcu
were tortured there. Several Ziverbey victims confirmed that the interrogators introduced themselves as "Counter-Guerrillas", above the law, and entitled to kill.
Under duress to write an apologetic statement, Selçuk famously revealed his plight using a modified acrostic
which decrypted to "I am under torture". The key letter was the first of the penultimate word of each sentence in his statement.
Another prisoner, outspoken liberal Murat Belge
, says that he was tortured there by Veli Küçük, who later founded JITEM and Hezbollah (Turkey) to counter the Kurdistan Workers' Party
. Küçük says he could not be responsible since he was stationed in Şırnak and has been charged with colluding with another Ziverbey victim, İlhan Selçuk (see Ergenekon).
The activist film director Yılmaz Güney
was also present. A friend of his in the MİT had tried to prevent him from being captured by telling his superiors that Güney was also a spy, but the ruse failed. A MİT officer who was present, Mehmet Eymür
, said Güney was treated well in return for his co-operation.
General Yamak denied that the ÖHD was involved, and dismissed any notion of a "counter-guerrilla".
Ziverbey is notable for:
district, Tokat
province and killed the 10 young men who had kidnapped three foreign hostages and kept them in Kızıldere. The victims included Mahir Çayan (THKP-C), Hüdai Arıkan (Dev-Genç), Cihan Alptekin (THKO
), taxi driver Nihat Yılmaz, teacher Ertan Saruhan, farmer Ahmet Atasoy, Sinan Kazım Özüdoğru (Dev-Genç), student Sabahattin Kurt, Ömer Ayna (THKO) and lieutenant Saffet Alp. The three hostages (two British and one Canadian citizen) they held in an attempt to prevent the execution of three student leaders (Deniz Gezmiş
, Hüseyin İnan and Yusuf Aslan) were also killed.
Although General Yamak denied it, an active participant, hitman Metin Kaplan said that the ÖHD was responsible. He mentioned talking to general Memduh Ünlütürk (himself a Counter-Guerrilla, and infamous participant of the Ziverbey villa incident) about what to do with the Communist inmates of Maltepe prison, who were planning to escape. On the advice of two U.S. generals, they let the prisoners escape, and then take hostage three NATO officers at Ünye. This created the pretext for their assassination.
, Istanbul
with half a million participants. Unidentified people shot at the crowd and killed 36 people. The perpetrators were never caught. Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit
, and member of the leftist Republican People's Party
, declared to then President Fahri Koruturk
that he suspected the Counter-Guerrilla's involvement in the massacre.
According to Ecevit, the shooting lasted for twenty minutes, yet several thousand policemen on the scene did not intervene. This mode of operation recalls the June 20, 1973 Ezeiza massacre
in Buenos Aires, when the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (a.k.a. "Triple A"), founded by José López Rega
(a P2
member), opened fire on the left-wing Peronists.
Moreover, Ecevit himself barely survived an assassination attempt twenty days after he publicly mentioned the possibility of a secret organization being behind the massacre.
Ankara's Deputy State Attorney Dogan Ōz then investigated on relationship between Alparslan Türkeş
's Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP) the Special Warfare Department and violent incidents of the 1970s. Dogan Ōz's report stated that "Military and civilian security forces are behind all this work." It also stated that the National Intelligence Organization
was complicit, and that "all these activities [were] guided by MHP members and cadres." The attorney Dogan Ōz was assassinated on March 24, 1978. İbrahim Çiftçi, a member of the Grey Wolves
, confessed to the crime, but his conviction was overturned by the military judicial system.
. The lawsuit was canceled in 2008 due to the statute of limitation.
killed seven leftist students on 9 October 1978. Çatlı was convicted in absentia.
people were killed. Unofficial figures are much higher. Martial law was declared afterwards, and the 1980 coup followed.
Operation Gladio
Operation Gladio is the codename for a clandestine NATO "stay-behind" operation in Italy after World War II. Its purpose was to continue anti-communist actions in the event of a shift to a Communist party led government...
, a clandestine stay-behind
Stay-behind
In a stay-behind operation, a country places secret operatives or organisations in its own territory, for use in the event that the territory is overrun by an enemy. If this occurs, the operatives would then form the basis of a resistance movement, or would act as spies from behind enemy lines...
anti-communist
Anti-communism
Anti-communism is opposition to communism. Organized anti-communism developed in reaction to the rise of communism, especially after the 1917 October Revolution in Russia and the beginning of the Cold War in 1947.-Objections to communist theory:...
initiative backed by the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
as an expression of the Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman in a speech on March 12, 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere...
. The founding goal of the operation was to erect a guerrilla force
Guerrilla warfare
Guerrilla warfare is a form of irregular warfare and refers to conflicts in which a small group of combatants including, but not limited to, armed civilians use military tactics, such as ambushes, sabotage, raids, the element of surprise, and extraordinary mobility to harass a larger and...
capable of countering a possible Soviet invasion. The goal was soon expanded to subverting communism
Communism
Communism is a social, political and economic ideology that aims at the establishment of a classless, moneyless, revolutionary and stateless socialist society structured upon common ownership of the means of production...
in Turkey
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
.
The Counter-Guerrilla initially operated out of the Turkish Armed Forces
Turkish Armed Forces
The Turkish Armed Forces are the military forces of the Republic of Turkey. They consist of the Army, the Navy , and the Air Force...
' Tactical Mobilization Group . In 1967, the STK was renamed to the Special Warfare Department . In 1994, the ÖHD became the Special Forces Command .
In Turkey there is a popular belief that the Counter-Guerrilla are responsible for numerous unsolved acts of violence, and have exerted great influence over the country's Cold War
Cold War
The Cold War was the continuing state from roughly 1946 to 1991 of political conflict, military tension, proxy wars, and economic competition between the Communist World—primarily the Soviet Union and its satellite states and allies—and the powers of the Western world, primarily the United States...
history, most notably for engendering the military coups of 1971 and 1980.
The military accepts that the ÖKK is tasked with subverting a possible invasion, though it denies that the unit is Gladio's "Counter-Guerrilla", i.e., that it has engaged in "Black Operation
Black operation
A black operation or black op is a covert operation typically involving activities that are highly clandestine and often outside of standard military protocol or even against the law.-Origins:...
s". After the dissolution of the Soviet Union
Dissolution of the Soviet Union
The dissolution of the Soviet Union was the disintegration of the federal political structures and central government of the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , resulting in the independence of all fifteen republics of the Soviet Union between March 11, 1990 and December 25, 1991...
, the Counter-Guerrilla were used to fight the militant PKK (cf. Susurluk scandal
Susurluk scandal
The Susurluk scandal was a scandal involving the close relationship between the Turkish government, the armed forces, and organized crime. It took place during the peak of the Turkey–Kurdistan Workers' Party conflict, in the mid-1990s...
), which has since its inception been regarded as a major threat.
Its existence was revealed in 1971 by survivors of the Ziverbey incident, and officially on 26 September 1973 by prime minister
Prime minister
A prime minister is the most senior minister of cabinet in the executive branch of government in a parliamentary system. In many systems, the prime minister selects and may dismiss other members of the cabinet, and allocates posts to members within the government. In most systems, the prime...
Bülent Ecevit
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
. Twenty days later he was shot at; he survived. The next prime minister who openly talked about such matters, Turgut Özal
Turgut Özal
Halil Turgut Özal was Prime Minister of Turkey and President of Turkey . As Prime Minister, he transformed the economy of Turkey by paving the way for the privatization of many state enterprises.-Early life and career:...
, also narrowly evaded an assassination attempt.
The subject has been broached by parliament at least 27 times since 1990, however no successful investigation has taken place. Deputies of the incumbent party in any given administration always voted in dissent.
Raison d'être
AnatoliaAnatolia
Anatolia is a geographic and historical term denoting the westernmost protrusion of Asia, comprising the majority of the Republic of Turkey...
's geostrategic value has long attracted players of the New Great Game. After the Yalta
Yalta Conference
The Yalta Conference, sometimes called the Crimea Conference and codenamed the Argonaut Conference, held February 4–11, 1945, was the wartime meeting of the heads of government of the United States, the United Kingdom, and the Soviet Union, represented by President Franklin D...
and Potsdam Conference
Potsdam Conference
The Potsdam Conference was held at Cecilienhof, the home of Crown Prince Wilhelm Hohenzollern, in Potsdam, occupied Germany, from 16 July to 2 August 1945. Participants were the Soviet Union, the United Kingdom, and the United States...
s in 1945, Stalin sent troops to the Turkish border with his sights set on the Dardanelles
Dardanelles
The Dardanelles , formerly known as the Hellespont, is a narrow strait in northwestern Turkey connecting the Aegean Sea to the Sea of Marmara. It is one of the Turkish Straits, along with its counterpart the Bosphorus. It is located at approximately...
. In 1946, the Soviet Union
Soviet Union
The Soviet Union , officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics , was a constitutionally socialist state that existed in Eurasia between 1922 and 1991....
sent two diplomatic notes concerning the Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits
Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Turkish Straits
The Montreux Convention Regarding the Regime of the Straits was a 1936 agreement that gives Turkey control over the Bosporus Straits and the Dardanelles and regulates military activity in the region. The Convention gives Turkey full control over the Straits and guarantees the free passage of...
, arguing that its terms were unfavorable to the Soviets. Ankara dismissed the notes, and the US also expressed its dissatisfaction with Soviet demands, stating that "Should the Straits become the object of attack or threat of attack by an aggressor, the resulting situation would constitute a threat to international security and would clearly be a matter for action on the party of the Security Council of the United Nations."
After the British government declared on 21 February 1947 its inability to provide financial aid (though she would establish the Central Treaty Organization
Central Treaty Organization
The Central Treaty Organization was formed in 1955 by Iran, Iraq, Pakistan, Turkey, and the United Kingdom. It was dissolved in 1979.U.S...
a decade later), Turkey turned towards the United States, who drew up the Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman in a speech on March 12, 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere...
, pledging to "support free peoples who are resisting attempted subjugation by armed minorities or by outside pressures". $100 million was appropriated two months after the US Congress ratified the Truman Doctrine
Truman Doctrine
The Truman Doctrine was a policy set forth by U.S. President Harry S Truman in a speech on March 12, 1947 stating that the U.S. would support Greece and Turkey with economic and military aid to prevent their falling into the Soviet sphere...
on 12 March 1947. This figure was raised to $233 million by 1950, after Turkey contributed a brigade of about 5000 men to the United Nations
United Nations
The United Nations is an international organization whose stated aims are facilitating cooperation in international law, international security, economic development, social progress, human rights, and achievement of world peace...
forces in the Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
. In August 1947, the Joint American Military Mission for Aid to Turkey (JAMMAT) was established in Ankara
Ankara
Ankara is the capital of Turkey and the country's second largest city after Istanbul. The city has a mean elevation of , and as of 2010 the metropolitan area in the entire Ankara Province had a population of 4.4 million....
under the authority of the US ambassador.
On 5 October 1947, a delegation of senior Turkish military officials traveled to the United States to establish the military framework of the co-operation agreement.
In December 1947, United States National Security Council
United States National Security Council
The White House National Security Council in the United States is the principal forum used by the President of the United States for considering national security and foreign policy matters with his senior national security advisors and Cabinet officials and is part of the Executive Office of the...
(NSC) Directive 4-A "secretly authorised the CIA to conduct these officially non-existent programs and to administer them" in such a way that "removed the U.S. Congress and public from any debate over whether to undertake psychological warfare abroad". A few months later, the NSC replaced directive 4-A with directive 10/2, creating the Office of Policy Coordination
Office of Policy Coordination
The Office of Policy Coordination was a United States covert psychological operations and paramilitary action organization. Created as an independent office in 1948, it was merged with the Central Intelligence Agency in 1951....
(OPC, initially euphemistically called the "Office for Special Projects"), the covert action arm of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
(CIA). The OPC's charter unambiguously called for "propaganda, economic warfare; preventative direct action, including sabotage, anti-sabotage, demolition and evacuation measures; subversion against hostile states, including assistance to underground resistance movements, guerrillas and refugee liberations groups, and support of indigenous anti-communist elements in threatened countries of the free world." In the words of career intelligence officer William Corson, "no holds were barred… all the guys on the top had said to put on the brass knuckles and go to work."
After joining the North Atlantic Treaty Organisation (NATO) on February 18, 1952, Turkey signed a Military Facilities Agreement on 23 June 1954, paving the way for a large scale US military presence. With a staff of 1200 by 1959, JAMMAT was the largest of the United States European Command
United States European Command
The United States European Command is one of ten Unified Combatant Commands of the United States military, headquartered in Stuttgart, Germany. Its area of focus covers and 51 countries and territories, including Europe, Russia, Iceland, Greenland, and Israel...
s (USEUCOM), and also the world's largest military assistance and advisory group by 1951. JAMMAT was renamed to Joint United States Military Mission for Aid to Turkey (JUSMMAT) in 1958, and the Office of Defense Cooperation Turkey (ODC-T) on 1 May 1994.
1952–1970
Brigadier General
Brigadier general is a senior rank in the armed forces. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries, usually sitting between the ranks of colonel and major general. When appointed to a field command, a brigadier general is typically in command of a brigade consisting of around 4,000...
Daniş Karabelen founded the Tactical Mobilization Group on 27 September 1952. Karabelen was one of sixteen soldiers (including Turgut Sunalp, Ahmet Yıldız, Alparslan Türkeş
Alparslan Türkes
Alparslan Türkeş was a Cypriot-born Turkish nationalist politician who was the founder and former president of the Nationalist Movement Party party...
, Suphi Karaman, and Fikret Ateşdağlı) who had been sent to the United States in 1948 for training in special warfare. These people were to form the core of the Special Warfare Department . It has been said that the training also entailed an element of CIA recruitment.
Some full generals that later ran the department were Adnan Doğu, Aydın İlter, Sabri Yirmibeşoğlu, İbrahim Türkgenci, Doğan Bayazıt, and Fevzi Türkeri. Karabelen picked Ismail Tansu as his right-hand man, and they expanded the STK in a cellular
Clandestine cell system
A clandestine cell structure is a method for organizing a group of people in such a way that it can more effectively resist penetration by an opposing organization. Depending on the group's philosophy, its operational area, the communications technologies available, and the nature of the mission,...
fashion. They filled the ranks, mostly with reserve officers, inducted them with an oath, and educated them before allowing them to return to civilian life. The officers were given no weapons, funding, or immediate task.
The recruitment was more concentrated in the east, where an invasion was most likely to occur.
Books used to educate the officers included:
- David GalulaDavid GalulaDavid Galula was a French military officer and scholar who was influential in developing the theory and practice of counterinsurgency warfare.-Life and career:...
's famous Counterinsurgency Warfare: Theory and Practice. Translated in Turkish as Ayaklanmaları Bastırma Harekâtı: Teori ve Pratik per orders from then chief of the ÖHD, major general M. Cihat Akyol. - U.S. Army Field Manual 31-15: Operations Against Irregular Forces. Translated into Turkish as Sahra Talimnamesi 31-15: Gayri Nizami Kuvvetlere Karşı Harekat, and put into practice on 25 May 1964 per orders from general Ali Keskiner.
- Senior infantry colonel Cahit Vural's Gerillaya Giriş (1972).
Later, the generals formed the Turkish Resistance Organization
Turkish Resistance Organization
The Turkish Resistance Organisation was a Turkish Cypriot pro-taksim paramilitary organisation formed by Rauf Denktaş and Turkish military officer Rıza Vuruşkan in 1958 as a defence organisation to counter the Greek Cypriot Fighter's Organisation EOKA....
to counter the Greek Cypriot EOKA
EOKA
EOKA was an anticolonial, antiimperialist nationalist organisation with the ultimate goal of "The liberation of Cyprus from the British yoke". Although not stated in its initial declaration of existence which was printed and distributed on the 1st of April 1955, EOKA also had a target of achieving...
. Operating under the authority of the Chief of the General Staff, the STK was quartered in the JUSMMAT building in Bahçelievler, Ankara
Bahçelievler, Ankara
Bahçelievler is a neighborhood in Çankaya District of Ankara, Turkey. The name means 'houses with gardens' in Turkish language.The neighborhood was known in the 1970s as a battleground for the right and left wing political factions...
. Ismail Tansu says that the American headquarters were facing the old Gülhane building, and that the STK's headquarters were in a villa near Kolej, Kızılay
Kizilay
-Places:Cyprus* Kızılay, Cyprus the Turkish name for the town of TrachonasTurkey* Kızılay, Ankara, a neighborhood of Ankara, and one of the primary nerve centers of the city-Other uses:...
. He also said that he used to meet soldiers from the J3 Operations Directorate a few times a week, alternating between their bases. Some of his associates were colonel Latent, captain Berger, and major Hill.
In the 1960s, Türkeş established the "civilian" Associations for Struggling with Communism and funded the far-right National Movement Party . These formed the core of future ultra-nationalist militants, used by the Counter-Guerrilla in destabilizing events.
The CIA employed people from the far right, such as Pan-Turkist SS-member Ruzi Nazar (father of Sylvia Nasar
Sylvia Nasar
Sylvia Nasar is a German-born American economist and author, best known for her biography of John Forbes Nash, A Beautiful Mind.- Early life and history :...
), to train the Grey Wolves
Grey Wolves
The Idealist Youth , commonly known as Grey Wolves , is an ultra-nationalist neo-fascist youth organization. It is accused of terrorism. According to Turkish authorities, the organization carried out 694 murders between 1974–1980.-Name:...
, the youth wing of the MHP. Nazar was a Turkoman
Turkmen people
The Turkmen are a Turkic people located primarily in the Central Asian states of Turkmenistan, Afghanistan, and northeastern Iran. They speak the Turkmen language, which is classified as a part of the Western Oghuz branch of the Turkic languages family together with Turkish, Azerbaijani, Qashqai,...
born near Tashkent
Tashkent
Tashkent is the capital of Uzbekistan and of the Tashkent Province. The officially registered population of the city in 2008 was about 2.2 million. Unofficial sources estimate the actual population may be as much as 4.45 million.-Early Islamic History:...
who had deserted the Red Army
Red Army
The Workers' and Peasants' Red Army started out as the Soviet Union's revolutionary communist combat groups during the Russian Civil War of 1918-1922. It grew into the national army of the Soviet Union. By the 1930s the Red Army was among the largest armies in history.The "Red Army" name refers to...
to join the Nazis during World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
in order to fight on the Eastern Front
Eastern Front (World War II)
The Eastern Front of World War II was a theatre of World War II between the European Axis powers and co-belligerent Finland against the Soviet Union, Poland, and some other Allies which encompassed Northern, Southern and Eastern Europe from 22 June 1941 to 9 May 1945...
for the creation of a Turkistan. After Germany lost the war, some of its spies found haven in the U.S. intelligence community
U.S. Intelligence involvement with German and Japanese War Criminals after World War II
While the United States was involved in the prosecution of war criminals, principally at the International Military Tribunal in Nuremberg and the International Military Tribunal for the Far East in Tokyo, the Nuremberg Military Tribunals, and other judicial proceedings, US military and...
. Nazar was such a person, and he became the CIA's station chief to Turkey.
The STK became the ÖHD in 1967.
Search for funding
During the 1970s, the Special Warfare Department was run by general Kemal Yamak. In his recently-released memoirs, he stated that the United States had set aside ~$1m worth of support; part munitions, part money. This arrangement continued until 1973-4, when Yamak decided the munitions did not meet the department's needs. The Americans allegedly retorted that they were footing the bill, and had right of decision. Yamak left the meeting and expressed his concerns to the Chief of General Staff, Semih Sancar, and the agreement was subsequently annulled.It was only when Yamak asked prime minister Bülent Ecevit
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
for an alternative means of funding did Ecevit became aware of the operation's existence; the other members of the cabinet remained in the dark. Ecevit suggested that the organization seek support from Europe. Yamak contacted generals from the United Kingdom, followed by France. The commander of the Turkish army at the time, General Semih Sancar, informed him the U.S. had financed the unit as well as the National Intelligence Organization
National Intelligence Organization
The National Intelligence Organization is the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey. It was established in 1965 to replace the National Security Service....
since the immediate post-war years.
Post-USSR
In the early 90s, Turkey and AmericaUnited States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
were at loggerheads over the Kurdish
Turkish Kurdistan
Turkish Kurdistan is an unofficial name for the southeastern part of Turkey, which is inhabited predominantly by ethnic Kurds. The area covers between 190,000 to 230,000 km² , or nearly a third of Turkey...
issue. In order to reduce U.S. influence over the Turkish military, chief of staff Doğan Güreş restructured the ÖHD and renamed it to the Special Forces Command in 1992. The ÖKK, whose 7000+ recruits are colloquially called "red berets" , combats terrorism and protects the chiefs of staff and the president on trips abroad. Similarly, civilian counter-guerrillas are collectively named the White Forces .
In 1993, the parliament formed a commission to investigate the numerous unsolved murders believed to be perpetrated by the Counter-Guerrilla. Their report enumerated 1797 such deaths; 316 in 1992 and 314 in 1993 alone. General Güreş contacted the Speaker of Parliament, Hüsamettin Cindoruk
Hüsamettin Cindoruk
Hüsamettin Cindoruk is a Turkish politician and the 17th Speaker of the Parliament of Turkey between 1991-1995. He has also been the leader of two political parties, notably of the True Path Party.-Biography:...
, to stop the investigation in order to prevent the outing of his men.
Meanwhile, State Security Court prosecutor Nusret Demiral ordered the police force not to co-operate with the parliamentary commission in solving the crimes.
Turkey maintains strong military ties with the U.S., through the ODC-T, whose leader is "the single point of contact with the Turkish General Staff regarding all United States military organizations and activities in Turkey". As of 2008, this position is held by major general Eric J. Rosborg. Since 1993, the chiefs of the ODC-T have been U.S. Air Force generals. The offices of the ODC-T are located at Kirazlıdere Mevkii, İsmet İnönü Bulvarı № 94, Balgat, 06100 Ankara.
Istanbul pogrom
In 1955, members of the ÖHD participated in planning the Istanbul PogromIstanbul Pogrom
The Istanbul riots , were mob attacks directed primarily at Istanbul's Greek minority on 6–7 September 1955. The riots were orchestrated by the Turkish government under Adnan Menderes. The events were triggered by the false news that the Turkish consulate in Thessaloniki, north Greece—the...
, which promoted both the state's secret policy of Turkification
Turkification
Turkification is a term used to describe a process of cultural or political change in which something or someone who is not a Turk becomes one, voluntarily or involuntarily...
, and the subversion of Communism.
Coups of 1971 and 1980
After the military coup in 1960, yet another juntaMilitary junta
A junta or military junta is a government led by a committee of military leaders. The term derives from the Spanish language junta meaning committee, specifically a board of directors...
was exposed by National Intelligence Organization
National Intelligence Organization
The National Intelligence Organization is the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey. It was established in 1965 to replace the National Security Service....
(MİT) agent Mahir Kaynak, who in early 1971 informed both Joint Chiefs of Staff, General Memduh Tağmaç and also the fiercely anti-communist Commander of the First Army based in İstanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
, General Faik Türün, who was a veteran of Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
and was decorated personally by General Douglas MacArthur
Douglas MacArthur
General of the Army Douglas MacArthur was an American general and field marshal of the Philippine Army. He was a Chief of Staff of the United States Army during the 1930s and played a prominent role in the Pacific theater during World War II. He received the Medal of Honor for his service in the...
there. The information conveyed to them was that a number of high-ranking Turkish officers, including the Army Chief of Staff and the Air Force Chief of Staff were planning to execute a military coup on 9 March 1971 with the media support of pro-Soviet leftist intellectuals in a number of Turkish newspapers.
On 10 March 1971, the CIA sent the State and Defense departments a cable stating that the Turkish high command had convened that day resolving to carry out a counter-coup.
The 1971 coup on 12 March was executed to forestall a Soviet supported left-wing coup originally planned to take place on 9 March 1971.
Immediately after the coup, Soviet leaning intellectuals, civilian and non-ranking members of the 9 March junta were interrogated in a building allegedly belonging to the MİT (see the next section). One member of the 9 March junta, colonel Talat Turhan, was interrogated by the chief of the MİT, Eyüp Ozalkus. Turhan expended much effort on exposing the Counter-Guerrilla after his release.
It has been alleged that the oppositional juntas were in fact two facets of the same organization.
The counter-guerrilla engaged in sporadic acts of domestic terror
State terrorism
State terrorism may refer to acts of terrorism conducted by a state against a foreign state or people. It can also refer to acts of violence by a state against its own people.-Definition:...
throughout the 1970s , serving as a pretext for yet another coup in 1980. By the time it took place, this third military coup in the short history of Turkish democracy (1950–1980) was seen as necessary by the unwitting public to restoring peace. It was also encouraged by members of Parliament, many of whom had joined the Counter-Guerrilla in their youth.
With this coup firm steps were taken to bring the country under the military's heel. A stifling constitution was drafted, a Supreme Education Council was established to bring intellectuals into line, and the National Security Council
National Security Council (Turkey)
The National Security Council comprises the Chief of Staff, select members of the Council of Ministers, and the President of the Republic...
was beefed up to do the same for politicians.
After having served his role in instigating the 1980 coup, Alparslan Türkeş was jailed by the high command. In fact, General Madanoğlu intended to execute him by a firing squad
Execution by firing squad
Execution by firing squad, sometimes called fusillading , is a method of capital punishment, particularly common in the military and in times of war.Execution by shooting is a fairly old practice...
, but his friend Ruzi Nazar (of the CIA) intervened.
Ziverbey villa
After the 1971 coup d'état, the Ziverbey villa in ErenköyBagdat Avenue
Bağdat Avenue is a notable high street located on the Anatolian side of Istanbul, Turkey. The street runs approximately from east to west in the Maltepe and Kadıköy districts, almost parallel to the coastline of the Sea of Marmara...
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
was used to interrogate some members of the opposing junta which wanted to abolish democratic institutions and establish a Baas
Baas
Baas is a surname, and may refer to:* David Baas , American football center* Ian Baas , race car driver* Johann Hermann Baas , German medical historian* Maarten Baas , Dutch furniture designer...
-like pro-Soviet administration. The mastermind behind Ziverbey interrogations was brigadier general Memduh Ünlütürk, working under lieutenant General Turgut Sunalp, who was reporting to the Commander of First Army, General Faik Türün. The latter two generals were Korean War
Korean War
The Korean War was a conventional war between South Korea, supported by the United Nations, and North Korea, supported by the People's Republic of China , with military material aid from the Soviet Union...
veterans who had served in the Operations Department . The interrogation techniques they used in Ziverbey were inspired by what they had seen done to Korean and Chinese POWs during the Korean War. Prisoners were bound and blinded.
Intellectuals such as İlhan Selçuk
İlhan Selçuk
İlhan Selçuk was a Turkish lawyer, journalist, author, novelist and editor.Selcuk was born in the western Turkish Aydın Province in 1925. He earned a law degree from Istanbul University in 1950. He began writing for magazines and newspapers after his graduation. He also authored numerous books and...
(of the 9 March junta) and Uğur Mumcu
Ugur Mumcu
Uğur Mumcu was an intrepid Turkish investigative journalist for the leading Kemalist broadsheet, Cumhuriyet. He was assassinated with a bomb placed in his car, outside his home.- Biography :...
were tortured there. Several Ziverbey victims confirmed that the interrogators introduced themselves as "Counter-Guerrillas", above the law, and entitled to kill.
Under duress to write an apologetic statement, Selçuk famously revealed his plight using a modified acrostic
Acrostic
An acrostic is a poem or other form of writing in which the first letter, syllable or word of each line, paragraph or other recurring feature in the text spells out a word or a message. As a form of constrained writing, an acrostic can be used as a mnemonic device to aid memory retrieval. A famous...
which decrypted to "I am under torture". The key letter was the first of the penultimate word of each sentence in his statement.
Another prisoner, outspoken liberal Murat Belge
Murat Belge
Murat Belge is an outspoken left-liberal Turkish intellectual, academic, translator, literary critic, columnist, civil rights activist, and occasional bull fighter.- Career :...
, says that he was tortured there by Veli Küçük, who later founded JITEM and Hezbollah (Turkey) to counter the Kurdistan Workers' Party
Kurdistan Workers' Party
The Kurdistan Workers' Party , commonly known as PKK, also known as KGK and formerly known as KADEK or KONGRA-GEL , is a Kurdish organization which has since 1984 been fighting an armed struggle against the Turkish state for an autonomous Kurdistan and greater cultural and political rights...
. Küçük says he could not be responsible since he was stationed in Şırnak and has been charged with colluding with another Ziverbey victim, İlhan Selçuk (see Ergenekon).
The activist film director Yılmaz Güney
Yilmaz Güney
Yılmaz Güney, was a Kurdish film director, scenarist, novelist and actor from Turkey. Many of his works are devoted to the plight of ordinary, working class people in Turkey.- Biography :...
was also present. A friend of his in the MİT had tried to prevent him from being captured by telling his superiors that Güney was also a spy, but the ruse failed. A MİT officer who was present, Mehmet Eymür
Mehmet Eymür
Mehmet Eymür is a retired Turkish intelligence official. He led the counter-terrorism department of the National Intelligence Organization , which he joined as a student in 1965 as a "pursuit officer"...
, said Güney was treated well in return for his co-operation.
General Yamak denied that the ÖHD was involved, and dismissed any notion of a "counter-guerrilla".
Ziverbey is notable for:
- being the first time the term "Counter-Guerrilla" was mentioned to anyone who was not already a member.
- revealing the fact that the counter-guerrilla co-operated with the MİT.
Kızıldere Operation
On 30 March 1972 special forces raided Kızıldere village in NiksarNiksar
Niksar is a city in Tokat Province, Turkey. It has been settled by many empires over the centuries, and it was once the capital city of the province.At 350 m...
district, Tokat
Tokat
Tokat is the capital city of Tokat Province of Turkey, at the mid Black Sea region of Anatolia. According to the 2009 census, the city of Tokat has a population of 129,879.-History:Tokat was established in the Hittite era....
province and killed the 10 young men who had kidnapped three foreign hostages and kept them in Kızıldere. The victims included Mahir Çayan (THKP-C), Hüdai Arıkan (Dev-Genç), Cihan Alptekin (THKO
People's Liberation Army of Turkey
People's Liberation Army of Turkey was an armed underground far-left movement in Turkey. It was founded at the Middle East Technical University in Ankara, Turkey in 1970 by Hüseyin İnan, Yusuf Aslan, Sinan Cemgil, Deniz Gezmiş, Taylan Özgur and Cihan Alptekin....
), taxi driver Nihat Yılmaz, teacher Ertan Saruhan, farmer Ahmet Atasoy, Sinan Kazım Özüdoğru (Dev-Genç), student Sabahattin Kurt, Ömer Ayna (THKO) and lieutenant Saffet Alp. The three hostages (two British and one Canadian citizen) they held in an attempt to prevent the execution of three student leaders (Deniz Gezmiş
Deniz Gezmis
Deniz Gezmiş was a Turkish Marxist-Leninist revolutionary and political activist in the Turkey in the late 1960s...
, Hüseyin İnan and Yusuf Aslan) were also killed.
Although General Yamak denied it, an active participant, hitman Metin Kaplan said that the ÖHD was responsible. He mentioned talking to general Memduh Ünlütürk (himself a Counter-Guerrilla, and infamous participant of the Ziverbey villa incident) about what to do with the Communist inmates of Maltepe prison, who were planning to escape. On the advice of two U.S. generals, they let the prisoners escape, and then take hostage three NATO officers at Ünye. This created the pretext for their assassination.
Taksim Square massacre
On 1 May 1977 the trade union confederation DİSK held a rally on Taksim SquareTaksim Square
Taksim Square situated in the European part of Istanbul, Turkey, is a major shopping, tourist and leisure district famed for its restaurants, shops and hotels. It is considered the heart of modern Istanbul, with the central station of the Istanbul Metro network...
, Istanbul
Istanbul
Istanbul , historically known as Byzantium and Constantinople , is the largest city of Turkey. Istanbul metropolitan province had 13.26 million people living in it as of December, 2010, which is 18% of Turkey's population and the 3rd largest metropolitan area in Europe after London and...
with half a million participants. Unidentified people shot at the crowd and killed 36 people. The perpetrators were never caught. Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit
Bülent Ecevit
Mustafa Bülent Ecevit was a Turkish politician, poet, writer and journalist, who was the leader of Republican People's Party , later of the Democratic Left Party and four-time Prime Minister of Turkey.- Personal life :...
, and member of the leftist Republican People's Party
Republican People's Party
Republican People's Party may be:*Republican People's Party *Republican People's Party *Republican Popular Party See also:* Russian Republican People's Party...
, declared to then President Fahri Koruturk
Fahri Koruturk
Fahri Sabit Korutürk was a Turkish navy officer, diplomat and the sixth President of Turkey.-Biography:He was born in Istanbul, at Soğukçeşme Sokağı, a small street between Topkapı Palace and Hagia Sophia. He attended the navy cadet school in 1916, was graduated in 1923 and from the Naval Academy...
that he suspected the Counter-Guerrilla's involvement in the massacre.
According to Ecevit, the shooting lasted for twenty minutes, yet several thousand policemen on the scene did not intervene. This mode of operation recalls the June 20, 1973 Ezeiza massacre
1973 Ezeiza massacre
The Ezeiza massacre took place on June 20, 1973 near the Ezeiza International Airport in Buenos Aires, Argentina. Peronist masses, including many young people, had gathered there to acclaim Juan Perón's definitive return from an 18-year exile in Spain. The police counted three and a half million...
in Buenos Aires, when the Argentine Anticommunist Alliance (a.k.a. "Triple A"), founded by José López Rega
José López Rega
José López Rega was Argentina's Minister of Social Welfare during the Peronist government started in 1973 by Juan Perón and continued after Perón's death in 1974 by his third wife and vice-president, Isabel Martínez de Perón , until the coup d'etat of 1976 that initiated the so-called National...
(a P2
Propaganda Due
Propaganda Due , or P2, was a Masonic lodge operating under the jurisdiction of the Grand Orient of Italy from 1945 to 1976 , and a pseudo-Masonic or "black" or "covert" lodge operating illegally from 1976 to...
member), opened fire on the left-wing Peronists.
Moreover, Ecevit himself barely survived an assassination attempt twenty days after he publicly mentioned the possibility of a secret organization being behind the massacre.
Ankara's Deputy State Attorney Dogan Ōz then investigated on relationship between Alparslan Türkeş
Alparslan Türkes
Alparslan Türkeş was a Cypriot-born Turkish nationalist politician who was the founder and former president of the Nationalist Movement Party party...
's Nationalist Movement Party
Nationalist Movement Party
The Nationalist Movement Party , is a far-right political party in Turkey.In the 2002 general elections, the party had lost its 129 seats as it had won only 8.34% of the national vote...
(MHP) the Special Warfare Department and violent incidents of the 1970s. Dogan Ōz's report stated that "Military and civilian security forces are behind all this work." It also stated that the National Intelligence Organization
National Intelligence Organization
The National Intelligence Organization is the governmental intelligence organization of Turkey. It was established in 1965 to replace the National Security Service....
was complicit, and that "all these activities [were] guided by MHP members and cadres." The attorney Dogan Ōz was assassinated on March 24, 1978. İbrahim Çiftçi, a member of the Grey Wolves
Grey Wolves
The Idealist Youth , commonly known as Grey Wolves , is an ultra-nationalist neo-fascist youth organization. It is accused of terrorism. According to Turkish authorities, the organization carried out 694 murders between 1974–1980.-Name:...
, confessed to the crime, but his conviction was overturned by the military judicial system.
16 March massacre
Seven students (Hatice Özen, Cemil Sönmez, Baki Ekiz, Turan Ören, Abdullah Şimşek, Hamit Akıl and Murat Kurt) were killed and 41 were injured at Istanbul University's Faculty of Pharmacy on 16 March 1978. The assailants were members of the Grey WolvesGrey Wolves
The Idealist Youth , commonly known as Grey Wolves , is an ultra-nationalist neo-fascist youth organization. It is accused of terrorism. According to Turkish authorities, the organization carried out 694 murders between 1974–1980.-Name:...
. The lawsuit was canceled in 2008 due to the statute of limitation.
Bahçelievler massacre
A group of nationalists under the leadership of Abdullah ÇatlıAbdullah Çatli
Abdullah Çatlı was a Turkish convicted drug trafficker, and contract killer for the Counter-Guerrilla. He led the youth branch of the Nationalist Movement Party...
killed seven leftist students on 9 October 1978. Çatlı was convicted in absentia.
Kahramanmaraş massacre
On 23–24 December 1978, 111 AleviAlevi
The Alevi are a religious and cultural community, primarily in Turkey, constituting probably more than 15 million people....
people were killed. Unofficial figures are much higher. Martial law was declared afterwards, and the 1980 coup followed.
External links
- Doğan Öz, Counter-Guerrilla report: I, II (State prosecutor Öz was assassinated on 24 March 1978)
- "Turkey's terrorists: a CIA legacy lives on" The Progressive, April, 1997 by Lucy Komisar