Deep state
Encyclopedia
The Deep state is alleged to be a group of influential anti-democratic coalitions within the Turkish
political system, composed of high-level elements within the intelligence services (domestic and foreign), Turkish military, security, judiciary, and mafia. The notion of deep state is similar to that of a "state within the state". For those who believe in its existence, the political agenda of the deep state involves an allegiance to nationalism
, corporatism
, and state interests. Violence and other means of pressure have historically been employed in a largely covert manner to manipulate political and economic elites and ensure specific interests are met within the seemingly democratic framework of the political landscape.
Former president Süleyman Demirel
says that the outlook and behavior
of the (predominantly military) elites who constitute the deep state, and work to uphold national interest
s, are shaped by an entrenched belief, dating to the fall of the Ottoman Empire
, that the country is always "on the brink".
The ideology of the deep state is seen by leftists as being anti-worker or ultra-nationalist; by Islamists as being anti-Islamic and secularist; and by ethnic Kurds as being anti-Kurdish, and by liberal democrats are anti-democratic and anti-liberal.
As pointed out by former prime minister Bülent Ecevit
, the diversity of opinion reflects a disagreement over what constitutes the deep state.
One explanation is that the "deep state" is not an alliance, but the sum of several groups that antagonistically work behind the scenes, each in pursuit of its own agenda.
Rumours of the deep state have been widespread in Turkey since Ecevit's term as prime minister in the 1970s, after his revelation of the existence of a Turkish branch of Operation Gladio
, the "Counter-Guerrilla
".
To the foreign observer, the Turkish belief in the deep state is an interesting social phenomenon, seemingly based on a confluence of fact and conspiracy theories. Many Turks, including elected politicians, have stated their belief that the "deep state" exists.
, for example, founded a secret committee, essentially a personal army to protect himself since he had been attacked following the war against Russia and Austria. Even his second-in-command, the Grand Vizier
, was unaware.
Conspiratorial coalitions were particularly active during the Committee of Union and Progress
era, when they were involved in planning the deposition of the Sultan. One infamous hitman, Yakup Cemil, was employed by the state, and shot on Enver Pasha's command after he was no longer needed. Some say that these societies were instrumental in Turkification
following the demise of the Ottoman Empire. The secret policy of Turkification was allegedly carried out by covert groups in order for its instigators not to be discovered.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
himself availed of secret societies (e.g., Sentinel Association) that today would be considered special forces
units to further the republican cause
. Some hold that today's alleged deep state is a continuation of these societies.
After World War II
, an organized and institutionalized form of the deep state was set up with American guidance to counter a possible Soviet invasion, under the Special Warfare Department . The ÖHD, termed the "Turkish Gladio" by some, was described by its former leader Kemal Yamak as a stay-behind
resistance group.
Speaking to Derya Sazak of the daily Milliyet
, former Republican People's Party
representative Süleyman Genç said that the ÖHD exerted such influence that it hampered the Turkish Armed Forces, and identified the ÖHD as the core of the deep state. Genç pressed for a parliamentary inquiry on the phenomenon in 1978, but party chairman and prime minister Bulent Ecevit insisted he drop the matter, after talking to the ÖHD chief, Kemal Yamak, who said that the ÖHD would not interfere in civilian affairs and that politicians should not probe further. Genç's house in Karyağdı Street, Ankara was subsequently bombed on 5 January 1979.
Murat Belge
of Istanbul Bilgi University
says that the deep state became increasingly active during the multi-party period, as factions within the state vied for power.
Kendal Nezan
of the Kurdish Institute of Paris
said that Abdullah Çatlı
, a Grey Wolves leader who was killed in the Susurluk car crash
, "is reckoned to have been one of the main perpetrators of underground operations carried out by the Turkish branch of the Gladio organisation and had played a key role in the bloody events of the period 1976–1980 which paved the way for the military coup d’état of September 1980. As the young head of the far-right Grey Wolves militia, he had been accused, among other things, of the murder of seven left-wing students." Çatlı was seen in the company of Avanguardia Nazionale
founder Stefano Delle Chiaie
, while touring Latin America and on a visit to Miami in September 1982 .
Apart from Çatlı, ultra-nationalists used by the Turkish intelligence agencies included Mehmet Ali Ağca
(who attempted to assassinate the Pope), Haluk Kırcı, İbrahim Çiftçi, Tugay Maraşlı, Yahya Efe, Oral Çelik, Mehmet Şener, Alaattin Çakıcı, Tevfik Ağansoy, Ali Yasak, Abuzer Uğurlu, and Bekir Çelenk. In the 1990s, these people, who maintained contacts among security forces, were involved in various illegal activities (including gambling, drug trafficking, and money laundering
) which were uncovered during the 1996 Susurluk scandal
.
In 1992, the commander of the ÖHD, General Kemal Yilmaz declared that the special department was still active in the conflict against the PKK.
In 2008, dozens were indicted and arrested in the Ergenekon investigation for conspiring
to oust the Justice and Development Party
in 2009.
, who in 1974 revealed the "Counter-Guerrilla
". Until then, the United States had been funding the Special Warfare Department under Joint United States Military Mission for Aid to Turkey (JUSMMAT) program; a Truman Doctrine
-based initiative. When annual aid negotiations fell through, the commander of the ÖHD, General Kemal Yamak, asked General Semih Sancar, then the Chief of General Staff to ask Ecevit for a slush fund
of 1 million dollars. It was at that point Ecevit learned of its existence, and demanded a briefing. His inquisitiveness and attempt to rein in the organization resulted in an assassination attempt at Izmir airport in 1977. In his memoirs, Yamak said that Ecevit's party itself contained ÖHD operatives, who were selected and educated at a young age by the chief of staff. When Ecevit obliquely asked Yamak about the extent of the party's infiltration Yamak told him not to worry, as the "boys were upright and specially educated...does that not make them better members of parliament? Besides, have any of them been implicated in a scandal?"
Former President and General Kenan Evren
, who led the 1980 military coup related in his memoirs a meeting with the then-Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel
on May 5, 1980, stating that Demirel asked him to use the staff of the ÖHD in the fight with the terrorists apparently hinting at the incident in Kizildere village on March 30, 1972. Kenan Evren refused stating that he would not allow renewed rumours about counter-guerrillas. Kenan Evren made similar remarks in the daily Hürriyet
of November 26, 1990. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tansu Çiller
embraced both "those who died for the state, and those who killed for the state" as heroes.
Former President Süleyman Demirel described the deep state as synonymous with the military, and capable of subordinating the legitimate state in times of turbulence. Kenan Evren himself confirmed the suspicions, in an interview with journalist Yavuz Donat.
The newest allegation comes from the current Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
. In the television show İskele Sancak on Turkish TV channel Kanal 7 on 26 January 2007, he stated his belief in the existence of the deep state: "I don't agree with those who say the deep state does not exist. It does exist. It has always has - and it did not start with the Republic; it dates back to Ottoman times. It's simply a tradition. It must be minimized, and if possible even annihilated." Some see the Ergenekon investigations, under Erdogan's watch, as the execution of this purge.
, which led a covert war against Communism. A few of the rest are:
in Balıkesir
province. In this accident, former Deputy Chief of Istanbul
Police Hüseyin Kocadağ, the leader of the Grey Wolves
(Nationalist Action Party’s youth organization) Abdullah Çatlı
, and a woman named Gonca Us died; DYP
Şanlıurfa
MP
Sedat Bucak
, who was also the leader of a large group of village guards
in Siverek
, was injured. Curiously, Çatlı was carrying a fake passport under the alias "Mehmet Özbay", the very same alias used by Mehmet Ali Ağca
, the assassin who had shot Pope John Paul II
. This coalition exposed the connections between the security forces, politicians and organized crime, and led to the resignation of interior minister Mehmet Ağar
of the True Path Party
.
A parliamentary investigation commission established after the accident published a 350-page report in April 1997. The Commission’s report maintained that the state organs used the Grey Wolves and that some state forces initiated the right-left conflicts in the 1970s.
Nurullah Tevfik Agansoy
, who was the hitman of one of the ülkücü ("idealist") mafia leaders, Alaattin Cakici, had made statements claiming the involvement of Ozal family in the Civangate scandal which led to a war of words between himself and Cakici. The duel was concluded in September this year in Bebek, Istanbul with Agansoy's assassination but the hitman's death only to lead more scandalous question marks. Two special protection officers of Deputy Prime Minister Ciller, who were with Agansoy during the incident were also killed in the shooting. Their presence has not been explained.
district, Hakkâri province
killing one man and injuring others. The owner of the bookstore spent fifteen years in prison for providing logistical help to the PKK. This was eighteenth bombing in the province since July. Local people caught the attackers who turned to be two non-commissioned army officers and a former PKK militant on the payroll of the Turkish Gendarmerie. The PKK turncoat threw two hand grenades into the bookstore. The incident attracted huge media attention and created a public uproar. In response, the government promised that all individuals responsible for the attack would be identified and punished. The three suspects were later charged, tried and convicted at a civilian court. They each received around 40 years of prison sentences.
The staked of the legal process suddenly increased when Prosecutor Ferhat Sarıkaya, who prepared the original indictment, alleged that there were connections between high-ranking military officers and suspects Gendarmerie Sergeants Ali Kaya, Özcan İldeniz and Veysel Ateş, the PKK turncoat; however his investigation was cut short. In reaction to this indictment, the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors in the Ministry of Justice dismissed him from the profession and disqualified him from working as a lawyer. In September 2007, the case was transferred to a military court and the three suspects were released and returned to their official positions. The legal process following the incident showed that lower courts can play a crucial role in holding security forces responsible for human rights violations and provide access to politically weak groups despite the resistance of the high judiciary. Yet the government failed to fulfill its initial promises and did not provide protection to the lower courts that remained under immense pressure from the high judiciary and military command.
, an ethnic Armenian newspaper editor was killed on 19 January 2007 outside the office of his journal Agos
. The juvenile killer Ogün Samast
was later arrested with the weapon in Samsun. After his arrest, a video clip was released showing him posing with two police officers in front of and holding the Turkish flag. Among the suspects believed to have assisted Ogün Samast was Erhan Tuncel. On 7 February 2007 the Anka news agency reported on the ties of Tuncel to nationalist circles and the fact that he had been working as a police informer and staff member of the Gendarmerie's intelligence service, JITEM.
was shot dead, and the Istanbul office of the Cumhuriyet
newspaper was attacked by grenade. Appearing before court, a president of a chapter of the nationalist Ülkü Ocakları
named Alparslan Arslan said he had committed both crimes. Arslan added that the next targets were well-known journalist Mehmet Ali Birand
and popular game show host Mehmet Ali Erbil
.
Arslan claimed to have planned the assaults himself, however this was cast into doubt in 2007, when a gang allegedly conspiring to overthrow the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party
was uncovered. A year later, prosecutors indicted 86 high-ranking suspects—and Alparslan Arslan, who was said to be working for the gang. The charges range from possession of firearms to running an armed terrorist organisation, including both of Arslan's attacks. The bombing of the newspaper was previously thought to be the work of Islamic fundamentalists, but is now described as part of the first stage of Ergenekon's campaign to stoke division and unrest
. The group's motives are currently unclear, but it has been said that they sought to sever Turkey's ties with the West; Russian ideologue Aleksandr Dugin
described them as "pro-Russian".
Turkey
Turkey , known officially as the Republic of Turkey , is a Eurasian country located in Western Asia and in East Thrace in Southeastern Europe...
political system, composed of high-level elements within the intelligence services (domestic and foreign), Turkish military, security, judiciary, and mafia. The notion of deep state is similar to that of a "state within the state". For those who believe in its existence, the political agenda of the deep state involves an allegiance to nationalism
Nationalism
Nationalism is a political ideology that involves a strong identification of a group of individuals with a political entity defined in national terms, i.e. a nation. In the 'modernist' image of the nation, it is nationalism that creates national identity. There are various definitions for what...
, corporatism
Corporatism
Corporatism, also known as corporativism, is a system of economic, political, or social organization that involves association of the people of society into corporate groups, such as agricultural, business, ethnic, labor, military, patronage, or scientific affiliations, on the basis of common...
, and state interests. Violence and other means of pressure have historically been employed in a largely covert manner to manipulate political and economic elites and ensure specific interests are met within the seemingly democratic framework of the political landscape.
Former president Süleyman Demirel
Süleyman Demirel
Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel, better known as Süleyman Demirel , is a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister seven times and was the ninth President of Turkey.-Life:Demirel was born in İslamköy, a town in Isparta Province...
says that the outlook and behavior
World view
A comprehensive world view is the fundamental cognitive orientation of an individual or society encompassing the entirety of the individual or society's knowledge and point-of-view, including natural philosophy; fundamental, existential, and normative postulates; or themes, values, emotions, and...
of the (predominantly military) elites who constitute the deep state, and work to uphold national interest
National interest
The national interest, often referred to by the French expression raison d'État , is a country's goals and ambitions whether economic, military, or cultural. The concept is an important one in international relations where pursuit of the national interest is the foundation of the realist...
s, are shaped by an entrenched belief, dating to the fall of the Ottoman Empire
Fall of the Ottoman Empire
Some scholars argue the power of the Caliphate began waning by 1683, and without the acquisition of significant new wealth the Ottoman Empire went into a fast decline...
, that the country is always "on the brink".
The ideology of the deep state is seen by leftists as being anti-worker or ultra-nationalist; by Islamists as being anti-Islamic and secularist; and by ethnic Kurds as being anti-Kurdish, and by liberal democrats are anti-democratic and anti-liberal.
As pointed out by former 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 :...
, the diversity of opinion reflects a disagreement over what constitutes the deep state.
One explanation is that the "deep state" is not an alliance, but the sum of several groups that antagonistically work behind the scenes, each in pursuit of its own agenda.
Rumours of the deep state have been widespread in Turkey since Ecevit's term as prime minister in the 1970s, after his revelation of the existence of a Turkish branch of Operation Gladio
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...
, the "Counter-Guerrilla
Counter-Guerrilla
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...
".
To the foreign observer, the Turkish belief in the deep state is an interesting social phenomenon, seemingly based on a confluence of fact and conspiracy theories. Many Turks, including elected politicians, have stated their belief that the "deep state" exists.
Background
Turkish secret societies can be traced back to the Ottoman Empire. Sultan Selim IIISelim III
Selim III was the reform-minded Sultan of the Ottoman Empire from 1789 to 1807. The Janissaries eventually deposed and imprisoned him, and placed his cousin Mustafa on the throne as Mustafa IV...
, for example, founded a secret committee, essentially a personal army to protect himself since he had been attacked following the war against Russia and Austria. Even his second-in-command, the Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier
Grand Vizier, in Turkish Vezir-i Azam or Sadr-ı Azam , deriving from the Arabic word vizier , was the greatest minister of the Sultan, with absolute power of attorney and, in principle, dismissable only by the Sultan himself...
, was unaware.
Conspiratorial coalitions were particularly active during the Committee of Union and Progress
Committee of Union and Progress
The Committee of Union and Progress began as a secret society established as the "Committee of Ottoman Union" in 1889 by the medical students İbrahim Temo, Abdullah Cevdet, İshak Sükuti and Ali Hüseyinzade...
era, when they were involved in planning the deposition of the Sultan. One infamous hitman, Yakup Cemil, was employed by the state, and shot on Enver Pasha's command after he was no longer needed. Some say that these societies were instrumental in 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...
following the demise of the Ottoman Empire. The secret policy of Turkification was allegedly carried out by covert groups in order for its instigators not to be discovered.
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk
Mustafa Kemal Atatürk was an Ottoman and Turkish army officer, revolutionary statesman, writer, and the first President of Turkey. He is credited with being the founder of the Republic of Turkey....
himself availed of secret societies (e.g., Sentinel Association) that today would be considered special forces
Special forces
Special forces, or special operations forces are terms used to describe elite military tactical teams trained to perform high-risk dangerous missions that conventional units cannot perform...
units to further the republican cause
Turkish War of Independence
The Turkish War of Independence was a war of independence waged by Turkish nationalists against the Allies, after the country was partitioned by the Allies following the Ottoman Empire's defeat in World War I...
. Some hold that today's alleged deep state is a continuation of these societies.
After 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...
, an organized and institutionalized form of the deep state was set up with American guidance to counter a possible Soviet invasion, under the Special Warfare Department . The ÖHD, termed the "Turkish Gladio" by some, was described by its former leader Kemal Yamak as a 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...
resistance group.
Speaking to Derya Sazak of the daily Milliyet
Milliyet
Milliyet is a major Turkish daily newspaper founded in 1950.-History:Milliyet came to publishing life at the Nuri Akça press in Babıali, Istanbul as a daily private newspaper on 3 May 1950...
, former Republican People's Party
Republican People's Party (Turkey)
The Republican People's Party is a centre-left Kemalist political party in Turkey. It is the oldest political party of Turkey and is currently Main Opposition in the Grand National Assembly. The Republican People's Party describes itself as "a modern social-democratic party, which is faithful to...
representative Süleyman Genç said that the ÖHD exerted such influence that it hampered the Turkish Armed Forces, and identified the ÖHD as the core of the deep state. Genç pressed for a parliamentary inquiry on the phenomenon in 1978, but party chairman and prime minister Bulent Ecevit insisted he drop the matter, after talking to the ÖHD chief, Kemal Yamak, who said that the ÖHD would not interfere in civilian affairs and that politicians should not probe further. Genç's house in Karyağdı Street, Ankara was subsequently bombed on 5 January 1979.
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 :...
of Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University
Istanbul Bilgi University is a private, non-profit university in Istanbul, Turkey. It was actually established in 1994 under the name ISIS , but its name was changed to Istanbul Bilgi University with the foundation of the school on June 7, 1996...
says that the deep state became increasingly active during the multi-party period, as factions within the state vied for power.
Kendal Nezan
Kendal Nezan
A nuclear physicist by profession, Dr. Kendal Nezan is president of the Kurdish Institute of Paris and a board member of the Washington Kurdish Institute....
of the Kurdish Institute of Paris
Kurdish Institute of Paris
Kurdish Institute of Paris , founded in February 1983, is an organization focused on Kurdish language and culture. It is one of the main Kurdish academic centers in Europe...
said that Abdullah Çatlı
Abdullah 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...
, a Grey Wolves leader who was killed in the Susurluk car crash
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...
, "is reckoned to have been one of the main perpetrators of underground operations carried out by the Turkish branch of the Gladio organisation and had played a key role in the bloody events of the period 1976–1980 which paved the way for the military coup d’état of September 1980. As the young head of the far-right Grey Wolves militia, he had been accused, among other things, of the murder of seven left-wing students." Çatlı was seen in the company of Avanguardia Nazionale
National Vanguard (Italy)
The National Vanguard is a name that has been used for at least two neo-fascist groups in Italy.-Original group:The original National Vanguard was an extra-parliamentary movement formed as a breakaway group from the Italian Social Movement by Stefano Delle Chiaie in 1960, initially based around a...
founder Stefano Delle Chiaie
Stefano Delle Chiaie
Stefano Delle Chiaie is a neofascist Italian activist . He went on to become a wanted man worldwide, suspect to be involved in Italy's strategy of tension, but was acquitted. He was a friend of Licio Gelli, grandmaster of P2 masonic lodge...
, while touring Latin America and on a visit to Miami in September 1982 .
Apart from Çatlı, ultra-nationalists used by the Turkish intelligence agencies included Mehmet Ali Ağca
Mehmet Ali Agca
Mehmet Ali Ağca is a Turkish assassin who murdered left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi on February 1, 1979 and later shot and wounded Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981, after escaping from a Turkish prison. After serving 19 years of imprisonment in Italy, he was deported to Turkey, where he served a...
(who attempted to assassinate the Pope), Haluk Kırcı, İbrahim Çiftçi, Tugay Maraşlı, Yahya Efe, Oral Çelik, Mehmet Şener, Alaattin Çakıcı, Tevfik Ağansoy, Ali Yasak, Abuzer Uğurlu, and Bekir Çelenk. In the 1990s, these people, who maintained contacts among security forces, were involved in various illegal activities (including gambling, drug trafficking, and money laundering
Money laundering
Money laundering is the process of disguising illegal sources of money so that it looks like it came from legal sources. The methods by which money may be laundered are varied and can range in sophistication. Many regulatory and governmental authorities quote estimates each year for the amount...
) which were uncovered during the 1996 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...
.
In 1992, the commander of the ÖHD, General Kemal Yilmaz declared that the special department was still active in the conflict against the PKK.
In 2008, dozens were indicted and arrested in the Ergenekon investigation for conspiring
Conspiracy (political)
In a political sense, conspiracy refers to a group of persons united in the goal of usurping or overthrowing an established political power. Typically, the final goal is to gain power through a revolutionary coup d'état or through assassination....
to oust the Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
in 2009.
Admissions of its existence
The first to publicly point at the existence of an influential, secret coalition, was Prime Minister Bülent EcevitBülent 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 :...
, who in 1974 revealed the "Counter-Guerrilla
Counter-Guerrilla
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...
". Until then, the United States had been funding the Special Warfare Department under Joint United States Military Mission for Aid to Turkey (JUSMMAT) program; a 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...
-based initiative. When annual aid negotiations fell through, the commander of the ÖHD, General Kemal Yamak, asked General Semih Sancar, then the Chief of General Staff to ask Ecevit for a slush fund
Slush fund
A slush fund, colloquially, is an auxiliary monetary account or a reserve fund. However, in the context of corrupt dealings, such as those by governments or large corporations, a slush fund can have particular connotations of illegality, illegitimacy, or secrecy in regard to the use of this money...
of 1 million dollars. It was at that point Ecevit learned of its existence, and demanded a briefing. His inquisitiveness and attempt to rein in the organization resulted in an assassination attempt at Izmir airport in 1977. In his memoirs, Yamak said that Ecevit's party itself contained ÖHD operatives, who were selected and educated at a young age by the chief of staff. When Ecevit obliquely asked Yamak about the extent of the party's infiltration Yamak told him not to worry, as the "boys were upright and specially educated...does that not make them better members of parliament? Besides, have any of them been implicated in a scandal?"
Former President and General Kenan Evren
Kenan Evren
Ahmet Kenan Evren was the seventh President of Turkey; a post he assumed by leading the 1980 military coup. He was also the last president to be born in the Ottoman Empire.- Biography :...
, who led the 1980 military coup related in his memoirs a meeting with the then-Prime Minister Süleyman Demirel
Süleyman Demirel
Sami Süleyman Gündoğdu Demirel, better known as Süleyman Demirel , is a Turkish politician who served as Prime Minister seven times and was the ninth President of Turkey.-Life:Demirel was born in İslamköy, a town in Isparta Province...
on May 5, 1980, stating that Demirel asked him to use the staff of the ÖHD in the fight with the terrorists apparently hinting at the incident in Kizildere village on March 30, 1972. Kenan Evren refused stating that he would not allow renewed rumours about counter-guerrillas. Kenan Evren made similar remarks in the daily Hürriyet
Hürriyet
-External links:* * ** * *...
of November 26, 1990. Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tansu Çiller
Tansu Çiller
Tansu Penbe Çiller is a Turkish economist and politician. She was Turkey's first and only female Prime Minister.- Early career :She is the daughter of a Turkish governor of Bilecik province during the 1950s. She graduated from the School of Economics at Robert College after finishing the American...
embraced both "those who died for the state, and those who killed for the state" as heroes.
Former President Süleyman Demirel described the deep state as synonymous with the military, and capable of subordinating the legitimate state in times of turbulence. Kenan Evren himself confirmed the suspicions, in an interview with journalist Yavuz Donat.
The newest allegation comes from the current Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan
Recep Tayyip Erdogan
Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has been Prime Minister of Turkey since 2003 and is chairman of the ruling Justice and Development Party , which holds a majority of the seats in the Grand National Assembly of Turkey. Erdoğan served as Mayor of Istanbul from 1994 to 1998. He graduated in 1981 from Marmara...
. In the television show İskele Sancak on Turkish TV channel Kanal 7 on 26 January 2007, he stated his belief in the existence of the deep state: "I don't agree with those who say the deep state does not exist. It does exist. It has always has - and it did not start with the Republic; it dates back to Ottoman times. It's simply a tradition. It must be minimized, and if possible even annihilated." Some see the Ergenekon investigations, under Erdogan's watch, as the execution of this purge.
Organizations
The following clandestine organizations, some of which may be defunct, are sometimes associated with the deep state:- Operations Department
- Special Forces Command
- Special Warfare Department
- Tactical Mobilization Group
- Counter-GuerrillaCounter-GuerrillaCounter-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...
- Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counterterrorism serviceJandarma Istihbarat ve Terörle MücadeleJandarma İstihbarat ve Terörle Mücadele or Jandarma İstihbarat Teşkilatı is a controversial wing of the Turkish Gendarmerie. It is claimed that JITEM was active in the Turkey-PKK conflict...
- Ergenekon
- Turkish Revenge BrigadeTurkish Revenge BrigadeThe Turkish Revenge Brigade is an ultra-nationalist militant organisation that has used violence against those who are perceived to be insulting Turkey. In the 1970s, TİT gained notoriety during political clashes and are believed to be responsible for over one thousand deaths during this period...
Incidents
A number of incidents have fueled the discussion on the deep state. Some of them have since been traced to the Counter-GuerrillaCounter-Guerrilla
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...
, which led a covert war against Communism. A few of the rest are:
Susurluk scandal
The Susurluk scandal developed after a car accident on 3 November 1996 near SusurlukSusurluk
Susurluk is a small town and a district of Balıkesir Province in northwestern Turkey. It is famous for its production soap and dairy products.İstanbul-İzmir road passes through Susurluk. Susurluk is known for its toasted sandwich with tomato paste and its bubbly ayran. The population is 23,995...
in Balıkesir
Balikesir
Balıkesir is the capital city of Balıkesir Province. Balıkesir is in the Marmara region of Turkey and has a population of 265,747 inhabitants. Old name is Karesi or Karasi.- History :...
province. In this accident, former Deputy Chief of 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...
Police Hüseyin Kocadağ, the leader 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:...
(Nationalist Action Party’s youth organization) Abdullah Çatlı
Abdullah 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...
, and a woman named Gonca Us died; DYP
True Path Party
The Democratic Party , abbreviated to DP, is a centre-right, conservative Turkish political party, established by Suleyman Demirel in 1983 as the Right Path Party...
Şanlıurfa
Sanliurfa
Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language , in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323 inhabitants Şanlıurfa, , often simply known as Urfa in daily language (Syriac ܐܘܪܗܝ Urhoy,Armenian Ուռհա Owr'ha, Arabic الرها ar-Ruhā), in ancient times Edessa, is a city with 482,323...
MP
Member of Parliament
A Member of Parliament is a representative of the voters to a :parliament. In many countries with bicameral parliaments, the term applies specifically to members of the lower house, as upper houses often have a different title, such as senate, and thus also have different titles for its members,...
Sedat Bucak
Sedat Bucak
Sedat Edip Bucak is a Turkish politician, a chieftain of Zaza Bucak tribe. He was involved in the Susurluk scandal.He born in Siverek. His father is İsmail Hakkı. He leads the Bucak tribe in Siverek, Şanlıurfa Province...
, who was also the leader of a large group of village guards
Village guard system
Village guards ) are paramilitaries. Originally they were set up and funded by the Turkish state in the mid-1980s under the direction of Turgut Özal. Their stated purpose was to act as a local militia in towns and villages, protecting against attacks and reprisals from the insurgents, terrorists...
in Siverek
Siverek
Siverek is a town and district in the south-east of Turkey, in Şanlıurfa Province. Population 107,634 ; 247,000 .Siverek is in Şanlıurfa province but closer geographically to the large city of Diyarbakır...
, was injured. Curiously, Çatlı was carrying a fake passport under the alias "Mehmet Özbay", the very same alias used by Mehmet Ali Ağca
Mehmet Ali Agca
Mehmet Ali Ağca is a Turkish assassin who murdered left-wing journalist Abdi İpekçi on February 1, 1979 and later shot and wounded Pope John Paul II on May 13, 1981, after escaping from a Turkish prison. After serving 19 years of imprisonment in Italy, he was deported to Turkey, where he served a...
, the assassin who had shot Pope John Paul II
Pope John Paul II
Blessed Pope John Paul II , born Karol Józef Wojtyła , reigned as Pope of the Catholic Church and Sovereign of Vatican City from 16 October 1978 until his death on 2 April 2005, at of age. His was the second-longest documented pontificate, which lasted ; only Pope Pius IX ...
. This coalition exposed the connections between the security forces, politicians and organized crime, and led to the resignation of interior minister Mehmet Ağar
Mehmet Agar
Mehmet Kemal Ağar is a Turkish former police chief, politician, government minister and leader of the Democratic Party.-Early years:...
of the True Path Party
True Path Party
The Democratic Party , abbreviated to DP, is a centre-right, conservative Turkish political party, established by Suleyman Demirel in 1983 as the Right Path Party...
.
A parliamentary investigation commission established after the accident published a 350-page report in April 1997. The Commission’s report maintained that the state organs used the Grey Wolves and that some state forces initiated the right-left conflicts in the 1970s.
Nurullah Tevfik Agansoy
Nurullah Tevfik Agansoy
Nurullah Tevfik Ağansoy was a Turkish mob boss, who was involved in the Susurluk scandal.His parents were Yaşar and Ayşe.Prior to 1980 Turkish coup d'etat, he was arrested by the Military Court No...
, who was the hitman of one of the ülkücü ("idealist") mafia leaders, Alaattin Cakici, had made statements claiming the involvement of Ozal family in the Civangate scandal which led to a war of words between himself and Cakici. The duel was concluded in September this year in Bebek, Istanbul with Agansoy's assassination but the hitman's death only to lead more scandalous question marks. Two special protection officers of Deputy Prime Minister Ciller, who were with Agansoy during the incident were also killed in the shooting. Their presence has not been explained.
Şemdinli incident
On 9 November 2005 a bookstore was bombed in ŞemdinliSemdinli
Şemdinli is a district located in the Hakkari Province of southeastern Turkey.The population is 11,211 as of 2010.It was previously in the Ottoman vilayet of Van and the district centre was called Nevşehir...
district, Hakkâri province
Hakkari Province
Hakkâri Province is a province in the south east corner of Turkey. The administrative centre is located in the city of Hakkâri . The province covers an area of 7,121 km² and has a population of 251,302 . The province had a population of 236,581 in 2000.The province was created in 1936 out of...
killing one man and injuring others. The owner of the bookstore spent fifteen years in prison for providing logistical help to the PKK. This was eighteenth bombing in the province since July. Local people caught the attackers who turned to be two non-commissioned army officers and a former PKK militant on the payroll of the Turkish Gendarmerie. The PKK turncoat threw two hand grenades into the bookstore. The incident attracted huge media attention and created a public uproar. In response, the government promised that all individuals responsible for the attack would be identified and punished. The three suspects were later charged, tried and convicted at a civilian court. They each received around 40 years of prison sentences.
The staked of the legal process suddenly increased when Prosecutor Ferhat Sarıkaya, who prepared the original indictment, alleged that there were connections between high-ranking military officers and suspects Gendarmerie Sergeants Ali Kaya, Özcan İldeniz and Veysel Ateş, the PKK turncoat; however his investigation was cut short. In reaction to this indictment, the High Council of Judges and Prosecutors in the Ministry of Justice dismissed him from the profession and disqualified him from working as a lawyer. In September 2007, the case was transferred to a military court and the three suspects were released and returned to their official positions. The legal process following the incident showed that lower courts can play a crucial role in holding security forces responsible for human rights violations and provide access to politically weak groups despite the resistance of the high judiciary. Yet the government failed to fulfill its initial promises and did not provide protection to the lower courts that remained under immense pressure from the high judiciary and military command.
Hrant Dink assassination
Hrant DinkHrant Dink
Hrant Dink or Հրանտ Դինք ) was a Turkish citizen of Armenian descent editor, journalist and columnist....
, an ethnic Armenian newspaper editor was killed on 19 January 2007 outside the office of his journal Agos
Agos
Agos is an Armenian weekly newspaper published in Istanbul, Turkey. It was established on 5 April 1996. Today, it has a circulation of over 9,000. It has both Armenian and Turkish pages as well as an on-line English edition...
. The juvenile killer Ogün Samast
Ogün Samast
Ogün Samast is a Turkish ultra-nationalist who killed Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink on January 19, 2007 in front of the headquarters of his newspaper Agos, in Osmanbey, Istanbul.-Background:...
was later arrested with the weapon in Samsun. After his arrest, a video clip was released showing him posing with two police officers in front of and holding the Turkish flag. Among the suspects believed to have assisted Ogün Samast was Erhan Tuncel. On 7 February 2007 the Anka news agency reported on the ties of Tuncel to nationalist circles and the fact that he had been working as a police informer and staff member of the Gendarmerie's intelligence service, JITEM.
Assaults on Cumhuriyet and the Council of State
In 2006, a secularist judge in the Turkish Council of StateTurkish Council of State
The Turkish Council of State is the highest administrative court in the Republic of Turkey and is based in Ankara. Its role and tasks are prescribed by the Constitution of Turkey within the articles on the supreme courts....
was shot dead, and the Istanbul office of the Cumhuriyet
Cumhuriyet
Cumhuriyet is a centre-left Turkish daily newspaper, founded on May 7, 1924 by journalist Yunus Nadi Abalıoğlu. Based in Istanbul, it has been situated since October 17, 2005 in Mecidiyeköy. Cumhuriyet was the last newspaper to leave the old press district Cağaloğlu...
newspaper was attacked by grenade. Appearing before court, a president of a chapter of the nationalist Ülkü Ocakları
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:...
named Alparslan Arslan said he had committed both crimes. Arslan added that the next targets were well-known journalist Mehmet Ali Birand
Mehmet Ali Birand
Mehmet Ali Birand is a liberal Turkish journalist, political commentator and writer.He began his journalistic career by writing in the Milliyet newspaper. In 1992 he joined Show TV and presented the news. Birand began hosting a political show titled The 32nd day which was first on Show TV and then...
and popular game show host Mehmet Ali Erbil
Mehmet Ali Erbil
Mehmet Ali Erbil is a Turkish comedian, actor and talk show host.-Biography:Mehmet Ali was born in Istanbul, Turkey, as the son of Saadettin Erbil, a theatre and film actor, in 1957. He is the grandson of Mehmed Efendi and the great-grandson of Mehmed Esad Erbilî.He completed his primary and...
.
Arslan claimed to have planned the assaults himself, however this was cast into doubt in 2007, when a gang allegedly conspiring to overthrow the Islamist-rooted Justice and Development Party
Justice and Development Party (Turkey)
The Justice and Development Party , abbreviated JDP in English and AK PARTİ or AKP in Turkish, is a centre-right political party in Turkey. The party is the largest in Turkey, with 327 members of parliament...
was uncovered. A year later, prosecutors indicted 86 high-ranking suspects—and Alparslan Arslan, who was said to be working for the gang. The charges range from possession of firearms to running an armed terrorist organisation, including both of Arslan's attacks. The bombing of the newspaper was previously thought to be the work of Islamic fundamentalists, but is now described as part of the first stage of Ergenekon's campaign to stoke division and unrest
Strategy of tension
The strategy of tension is a theory that describes how to divide, manipulate, and control public opinion using fear, propaganda, disinformation, psychological warfare, agents provocateurs, and false flag terrorist actions....
. The group's motives are currently unclear, but it has been said that they sought to sever Turkey's ties with the West; Russian ideologue Aleksandr Dugin
Aleksandr Dugin
Aleksandr Gelyevich Dugin is a politologist and one of the most popular ideologists of Russian expansionism, nationalism, and fascism, with close ties to the Kremlin and Russian military. He was the leading organizer of National Bolshevik Party, National Bolshevik Front, and Eurasia Party...
described them as "pro-Russian".
External links
- The Rise and Decline of the Turkish “Deep State”: The Ergenekon Case. An academic article by Serdar Kaya published at the journal Insight Turkey
- Derin Devlet. A series of articles in the daily SabahSabah (newspaper)Sabah is a popular Turkish daily newspaper, with a circulation of around 330,000 as of 2011. Its name means "morning" in the Turkish language originating from Arabic...
featuring interviews with Süleyman Demirel and Kenan Evren., presented by Can DündarCan DündarCan Dündar is a Turkish journalist, columnist and documentarian. He is one of the best known figures in Turkish media, described as possessing "impeccable republican credentials".-Biography:...
. 40 Dakika, Show TVShow TVSHOW TV is a nation-wide television channel in Turkey owned by Çukurova Holding. The channel was established by the Turkish businessmen Erol Aksoy and Haldun Simavi on March 1, 1992. During the last years, Show TV extended its range of viewers by adding more channels like Show Plus, Show Max and...
. 7 January 1997.