LATEST TNP VIEWS ON ERGENEKON

C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 02 ANKARA 000779 SIPDIS E.O. 12958: DECL: 06/02/2019 TAGS: EU OSCE PGOV TU SUBJECT: LATEST TNP VIEWS ON ERGENEKON Classified By: POL Counselor Daniel O'Grady for reasons 1.4(b,d) ¶1. (C) SUMMARY: Turkish National Police (TNP) briefers told us May 29 they plan to roll out a third Ergenekon indictment within several months; expect the court to issue a crucial ruling on whether the case and investigation fit under the rubric of counterterrorism; and are confident that as the TNP's evidence comes to light during the trial, public skepticism over the accusations against public figures, such as Turkan Saylan, will evaporate. END SUMMARY ¶2. (C) On may 29, the Embassy received a briefing on the Ergenekon investigation from members of the Turkish National Police (TNP) Counterterrorism and Intelligence Branches, headed by the Director of International Relations and Analysis Section, Ufuk Ersoy Yavuz. The Embassy had actually asked for a briefing focused on the latest counterterrorism developments, and we were given a sweeping, albeit general, overview of Turkey's CT priorities. Ergenekon was the most informative part of the brief. TNP could not go into details of the investigation because of the ongoing trial, but was able to give an overview of the case, the prosecution's allegations, and the alleged nature of the Ergenekon organization. ¶3. (C) Much of the briefing reflected information that has seeped into press reports. The TNP analysts described Ergenekon as a loose organization of nationalist statists frustrated that parliamentary democracy is not defending their image of what Turkey should be. In order to fix this, they were conducting a terror campaign against minorities and their supporters in order to bring about a state of chaos resembling the Turkey of the 1970s. Yavuz called this a "case study" for how a coup could be prepared and justified. The TNP claims to have evidence proving that various parts of the organization were responsible for different roles: Veli Kucuk, for instance, was the ringleader for the wing responsible for fomenting chaos, whereas Dogu Perincek's Worker's Party (IP) was engaged in intelligence collection against potential targets. ¶4. (C) The TNP said it is preparing a third indictment, expected to be presented to the court this summer, which will detail the accusations against those subject to the most recent waves of searches and arrests. Among those mentioned in the indictment are likely to be Ferda Paksut -- wife of Constitutional Court Member Osman Paksut -- and Turkan Saylan, the now-deceased head of the Association for Support of Contemporary Life (CYDD). Recalling the controversies surrounding the investigations, particularly about Saylan, Yavuz noted that the investigation has been controversial at every step, but that each of the previous two indictments has clarified much of the controversy and shown the TNP to be justified. The third indictment will be no different, he assured us. The TNP also noted the potential for a fourth indictment alter in the year. Yavuz then noted that CYDD had previously been investigated for ties with the PKK by other state organs, including military intelligence, the Turkish National Intelligence Agency (MIT),and the auditing departments of both the Office of Associations and the Office of Charitable Organizations, so the TNP investigation should not be surprising. ¶5. (C) Yavuz told us that his office also expects the court "within several months" to issue a crucial "sub-ruling" to determine whether the case, and therefore, the investigation itself, should continue under the rubric of counterterrorism or whether it should be reclassified as an organized crime case. Regardless of the decision, he predicts that the investigation and trial will continue for a long time, drawing a comparison to Italy's Gladio trial, which took a decade to resolve and encompassed many more people than are currently under investigation for ties to Ergenekon. The courts may make other "sub-rulings" as circumstances warrant in the future. We pressed Yavuz on widespread complaints that the Ergenekon investigation is targeting AKP opponents and is relying on dubious evidence. Yavuz acknowledged that the TNP is aware of the prevalent skepticism, but contended that the TNP simply provides its documentation to the prosecutors who then make the determination whether to ANKARA 00000779 002 OF 002 proceed with arrests. He regretted that the TNP could not reveal immediately its evidence to the public, but said he was confident that when the evidence is eventually disclosed at trial, the public will be fully satisfied and all skepticism will vanish. (NOTE: He seemed remarkably confident on this point. END NOTE) ¶6. (C) COMMENT: The formal classification of the Ergenekon case is an important step. It will determine the framework under which the investigation can continue, the exact crimes for which the defendants can be tried, and, therefore, their possible sentences. To be tried as a terrorist organization, three conditions need to be met: ideology, organization, and planning to commit violence against Turkey, Turkish citizens, or Turkish interests. The hardest element to prove may be the organization element; Yavuz himself claimed that Ergenekon was highly decentralized with very few people within Ergenekon, if any, being fully aware of its scope. If Ergenekon is classified as an organized crime network, the investigation could temporarily slow down as it is transferred to a different branch of the TNP. Visit Ankara's Classified Web Site at http://www.intelink.sgov.gov/wiki/Portal:Turk ey SILLIMAN