Threats in Semdinli Case, 'Don't Dig in'

[imported_RUDO]

Trial Opens, World's Eyes on Semdinli

Trial Opens, World's Eyes on Semdinli
By Erkan Acar, Yahya Oylek, Van
Friday, May 05, 2006

The first hearing in the Semdinli case about incidents that took place on 9 November 2005 started Thursday at Van’s 3rd High Criminal Court. Turkey’s Amnesty International responsible Emma Sinclair and lawyer Ajanta Kaza from the Bar Human Rights Committee in London also came to Van in to observe the hearing, where tight security measures are being taken.

Foreign observers; however, were not admitted to the courtroom due to a lack of space.


Sinclair, speaking to reporters, announced "They (Amnesty International) will prepare a report about the case and declare it publicly."


International news agencies AFP, AP and the BBC were among the media institutions following the case.


As Chief Judge llhan Kaya summarized the indictment that lead to Prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya's debarment aloud, the defense team objected. The lawyers, seeking to have the entire indictment file read out loud, emphasized this is an act against legal procedures and demanded for the judge's withdrawal from the case.


Four lawyers defended the accused in the first trial, whereas 25 lawyers are now in defense counsel.


As former prosecutor Ferhat Sarikaya was debarred by the Judges and Prosecutor's High Council (HSYK), Metin Dikec has now joined the hearing as prosecutor.


Under the supervision of Judge Ilhan Kaya; Muharrem Balli and Ferhat Erbas served as members of the court. Lawyers for the defense claimed Court Chair Ilhan Kaya "remains under the pressure of non-judiciary circles" and asked for his withdrawal. Chair Kaya reading aloud the indictment file by "summarizing and skipping" received an immediate objection by the defense team.

Suspects Ali Kaya and Ozcan Ildeniz were brought to the court late at night to prevent the press from taking pictures.


In the identity check at the hearing, non-commissioned officer Ali Kaya said he serves as Intelligence department chief at Hakkari’s Provincial Gendarmerie Commandership, and non-commissioned officer Ildeniz said he serves as Intelligence Team Commander at the Gendarmerie Intelligence Department in the same province.

Veysel Ates, the PKK informant, an elementary school graduate, said that he has been working as "military intelligence reporter" since 2003.


President Kaya afterward began to read aloud charges brought against the defendants from various parts of the indictment to sum up the arguments.


It was; however, noteworthy that Judge Kaya left out charges against Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, Land Forces Commander, along with other high-rank military officers. This provoked reaction from the joint attorneys.


According to Article 191 of the Criminal Procedure Code, Article 36 of the Constitution, and Article 6 of the European Convention on Human Rights, the indictment must be read in its entirety.

Mr. Kaya argued with Lawyer Hasip Kaplan over the reading aloud of the indictment.


Ali Kaya testified in the afternoon session of the trial.


Other defendants will give statements today (on Friday).


Kaya, Ildeniz and Ates face a life sentence in solitary confinement with no possibility of parole on charges of "involvement in activity against the totality of the state and the unity of the nation, of murder, attempted murder, and collaborating to commit a crime."

The closing of the indictment emphasized that public officers acted as terrorists leading up to the Semdinli incidents, and used force unlawfully.

[imported_RUDO]

Semdinli Case has Symbolic Importance for EU

Semdinli Case has Symbolic Importance for EU
By Cihan News Agency, Ankara
Saturday, May 06, 2006



Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission Co-Chair Joost Lagendijk said the Semdinli case has symbolic importance for the Union and it is considered as a test for Turkey.

Visiting the Human Rights Association (IHD) Friday, Lagendjik met IHD Chairman Yusuf Alatas and Mazlum-Der Chairman Ayhan Bilgen.

The European parliamentarian said human rights and democracy are important criteria for Turkey’s EU process. For the purpose of his visit to the IHD, he wanted to learn what the association officials think of the Counter Terrorism Act and the Semdinli case, Lagendjik said.

The press and non-governmental organizations voiced their concerns about the new TMK, Lagendjik reminded, and he visited the Human Rights Foundation to find out what these concerns are.

If the concerns raised are proven to be founded, he warned, the reform process in Turkey will be negatively affected. And if the three suspects in the Semdinli case are found guilty, they should be imprisoned. According to Lagendijk, this will send strong messages to the planners and perpetrators of such provocations that they too will be punished.

[imported_RUDO]

Semdinli Case Indictment Altered in Favor of Suspects

Semdinli Case Indictment Altered in Favor of Suspects
By Yahya Oylek, Van
Published: Friday, June 02, 2006
zaman.com


Today’s hearing of the Semdinli case at Van’s 3rd High Criminal Court has ended. The Judges and Prosecutor's High Council (HSYK), Metin Dikec, announced his 12 page-deliberation.

The prosecutor demanded a 50-year imprisonment for each suspect. The case has postponed until June 13 while the suspects remain in custody.

Top sergeant Ali Kaya, non-commissioned officer Ozcan Ildeniz and informer Veysel Ates took the stand on Thursday for the incidents on the 9th of November 2005 in the southeastern Turkish town of Semdinli.

With his deliberations, prosecutor Dikec changed the degree of the crime.

The suspects were previously being judged for the crimes "of proceeding to disturb the state security and unity of country, murder and attempted murder and agreeing to incur guilt".

Along with the statement of the prosecutor, the charges against the suspects were substituted with "being a member of an armed organization, attempted premeditated murder, and intentional bodily harm."

Previously suspects were charged with distorting the unity of the state, but now this turn has changed the case to a local organized crime with the revised indictment,

From the suspect’s attorneys in the case, Vedat Gulsen said Thursday the impulse articles in the indictment were substituted by the public prosecutor office’s in favor of the suspects. Noting the Public prosecutor's statement was in written form, Gulsen said they will examine and evaluate the 12-page statement. Since the penalty in favor of the suspects was granted, a verdict of acquittal is possible.

[Gavur]

Turkey's History Is Full Of Gangs

Sedat xxxkurt

The New Anatolian
June 5 2006

Turkey's history can be seen as a kind of history of gangs. In the
Ottoman Empire, leaving aside the ones in major cities or within the
state, there were always gangs or individual rebellion leaders in
the mountains of Anatolia, who are, even today, still hailed as heroes.

With the republic, the identities of the gangs have changed. Because
the War of Independence was waged by an organization then called
a gang by the empire's administrators. The gangs were sought and
sometimes found deep within the state.

One of the most important turning points in the issue of gangs was
the 1980 military coup. Before the coup, the gangs were the mafia,
and arms smuggling was one of their chief sources of income. Those
gangs had international connections and were under the control of NATO,
a product of the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. "Deep gangs"
were giving the same gun both to the left and the right-wing, by which
they were killing each other. The aim of the right-wing and nationalist
groups was to stop the expansion of Russia. Since the gangs' and NATO's
goals were common, mostly the right-wing was getting this support.

Conditions matured for the carrying out the 1980 coup, and finally
a message was sent to the U.S. administration: "Our boys managed it".

Alparslan Turkes, then the leader of the Nationalist Movement Party
(MHP), said their ideology was in power while they were in prison.

And the leaders of the coup were giving new missions to the members
they used to stop the Russian threat. Fighting terrorist group the
Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA). In return
for this, the MHP members who were being tried were acquitted.

(The nationalists who were left behind by the state became important
figures in a new business: collecting bounced checks. This was the
first step of a new type of gang in Turkey and this model survived
for long time, enjoyed the support of the state or the police)

We came across the heroes of this period in mafia, politician,
and state connections, which were revealed after the 1996 Susurluk
scandal. Murdered MIT members, casino kings and many Kurdish
businessmen... The concept of gang, mafia and deep state were changed
after the Susurluk scandal.

The collaborators of those who were involved in fishy business in the
name of state were all in illegal actions and were called gangs. And
those people, after a while, stopped working for the state and became
the real mafia. So gangs, in which there were soldiers, military
officers, high-ranking police officers and MIT administrators, emerged.

Hanefi Avci, who was then the police intelligence department acting
head and now is Edirne police chief, best described the Susurluk
connections. In his testimony at the parliamentary commission
probing the Susurluk scandal, he claimed that there was an "illegal"
organization established within the state to fight terrorism. He
also said this organization then became a gang, which was established
within the MIT, the police and Gendarmerie Intelligence (JITEM).

Mehmet Agar, Korkut Eken, Ibrahim Sahin from the police, Mehmet
Eymur, Duran Firat and Kasif Binbasi from the MIT and Lt. Col. Veli
Kucuk from JITEM were in this organization and involved in numerous
illegal actions under the leadership of Ahmet Cem Ersever, who was
later killed by Kemal Uzuner (a.k.a Cubuklu), a driver working at
JITEM, said Avci. He also said Abdullah Catli, an ultranationalist and
suspect of a political mass-killing in the late '70s was both used by
the MIT and the police, and Alaattin Cakici, a mafi! a leader was used
by the MIT. Abdullah Catli, his partner in crime Haluk Kirci and drug
smuggler Yasar Oz might be in the civil wing of the gang and conducted
many operations in the southeast region and were active in Istanbul,
doing operations against some businessman.

In the same period some other illegal organizations that could be
related to the state were discovered: the Soylemezler Gang, Hadi
Ozcan Gang, Yuksekova Gang etc. In all of them there were soldiers,
policemen, mafia leaders and an informant who once was a member of
the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The names connecting those people
were all the same.

What those gangs have turned into was very interesting, since a new
gang supported by certain people within the state plotted a coup in a
neighboring state, and some other people within the state prevented
this plot. And in another neighboring state, some circles within
the state prevented an assassination attempt by the state on the
leader of the terrorist organization. In another case the Turkish
Revenge Brigade (TIT), alleged to have connections with the MIT and
the military, was behind the assassination attempt on Human Rights
Association head Akin Birdal.

The Eurasia Ferryboat was hijacked to attract attention to the Russian
pressure in Chechnya and later the suspects one by one escaped from
Turkish prisons. And all of them had connections to the MIT. Journalist
Abdi Ipekci's murder, the attempts to assassinate the late pope and
former President Turgut Ozal, and the murder of businessman Ozdemir
Sabanci were all remembered for their connections to gangs, which
were this or that way supported by the state.

For this reason whenever the state connection is discovered in a fishy
business in Turkey, the Susurluk scandal comes to mind. The recent
bombing of a bookstore in Hakkari's Semdinli in which soldiers were
actively involved was called another Susurluk case. Also the attack
on the Council of State and the subsequent discovery of the Atabeyler
gang in Ankara.

Indeed all were different gangs and the only thing they have in
common with the Susurluk scandal was that all have members from the
police and the military, which in a way connected those gangs to the
state. On the other hand the most important difference was that no
name from the MIT was involved in them.

The nationalist and the military connections in recently discovered
gangs are interesting. The way that certain information was leaked to
the press regarding the issue was an intelligence type. And also the
address that information points out. But none of them have concrete
relations with the state, as was the case with Susurluk. When we take
a look at the recent gangs, we see that they felt themselves in charge
of serving the state. And those who discovered them are feeling in
charge of distracting attention from the issue. In sum, it seems that
Turkey will be struggling with those gangs for some more time.

[Gavur]

Flash News

http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/

» Ali Kaya and Ozcan Ildeniz, non-commissioned officers in the paramilitary gendarmerie, were sentenced to 39 years and 5 months each for 2005 bombing of a bookstore in Semdinli in which one person was killed, the court says.

[Gavur]

Semdinli bookshop owner arrested

Semdinli bookshop owner arrested
Yilmaz was arrested after being called to give a statement by prosecutors in Van.


NTV-MSNBC
Güncelleme: 11:07 TSİ 21 Haziran 2006 ÇarşambaVAN - The owner of a bookshop in the south east of Turkey bombed by members of the armed forces last year was arrested Tuesday on suspicion of being a member of a terrorist organisation.


Seferi Yilmaz, the owner of the Umit Bookstore in the south eastern town of Semdinli, was arrested in the city of Van after having been called to provide a statement to the office of the prosecutor. He was taken into custody outside the courthouse.

Yilmaz’ arrest came a day after two senior non commissioned officers of the Turkish armed forces were sentenced to 39 years prison for carrying out a bombing attack against his bookstore on November 9 last year. The NCOs were convicted on charges of homicide, forming an armed gang and attempted murder.

[Gavur]

So, was Lagendjik Wrong?




ABDULHAMIT BILICI
06.22.2006 Thursday - ISTANBUL 22:48

http://www.zaman.com/?bl=columnists&alt=&trh=20060622&hn=34222

When the Umut Bookstore was shaken by a blast on November 9 last year, Semdinli attracted everyone’s attention -- in Turkey and also abroad.

In deed, news of the bombing from a region that has suffered from terrorism for years wouldn’t have attracted so much attention. However, this bombing was different from the routine attacks because it was the first time the attackers were caught red-handed. What’s more, one of the suspects was a PKK informant and the other two were non-commissioned gendarmerie officers (NCOs).

Naturally, the European Union was at the top of the list of those who were following the Semdinli case very closely because this issue has been related to Turkey’s possible EU membership in several ways. First of all, a considerable part of the membership process is closely related to the problems in this region. Furthermore, the matter is connected to civilian-military relations, an important leg in the reform process. The positive remarks that were made by a high-ranking commander regarding [NCO] Ali Kaya were also of paramount importance from the standpoint of the independence of the judiciary.


The EU’s close interest in the case, dubbed as “The Second Susurluk Scandal” was mostly orchestrated by Joost Lagendjik, the co-chairman of the Turkey-European Union Joint Parliamentary Commission (JPC) and Dutch member of the Greens in the European Parliament. Lagendjik, known for the support he lends to Turkey at critical times in the EU process, has been following this matter very closely. He also pays close attention on listening to all sides of the issue.


He even came at loggerheads with the Turkish judiciary because he showed much interest in the Semdinli issue, in his capacity as co-chairmain of the Turkey-EU Joint Parliamentary Commission.


The Dutch politician who came to Turkey to watch Orhan Pamuk’s hearing rapped both the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) at a meeting he attended in Istanbul on December 17. To be honest, I also found his words very harsh at that time. He said, “The armed forces started the provocations and the PKK responded to these provocations. The army loves fighting the PKK because the conflict keeps the army in the center,” which was the most controversial part of his speech.


These remarks drew broad condemnation. The press, in general, preferred to remain aloof. A group of lawyers famous in cases of this nature, filed a suit against Lagendjik and even asked the court to ban him from entering the country. However, as a result of the liberal interpretation of the court and Lagendjik’s function as a EU parliamentarian, the case was dropped.


The Van Third Criminal Court sentencing gendarmerie non-commissioned officers Kaya and Ozcan Ildeniz to 39 years, five months and 10 days, requires reconsidering the Semdinli case in regard to the attitudes of politicians, military, media and judiciary from the first day onward. Of course, the verdict is open to appeal. However, it is very strange that 3 judges in the local court delivered a unanimous guilty verdict in a case in which the public prosecutor who prepared the indictment was unanimously debarred by a panel of judges set up by the Supreme Board of Judges and Public prosecutors. The verdict was de facto unanimous because the only member who raised an objection was not against the verdict, but had asked that the defendants be sentenced for “endangering the state’s unity,” a more serious offense than forming a criminal gang and murder. He underlined that verdict should be based on the charges as written in the prosecutor’s original indictment.


Hence, the court seems to be convinced beyond reasonable doubt that the officers instigated provocation and the bombing incident was not some kind of PKK conspiracy to defame military as it has been argued.


Though regrettable, this decision shows that Lagendjik’s remarks regarding the military were partly right at least at the local level. For the time being, verdict does not say anything about the links between 3 persons and higher military ranks. Lagendjik commenting to CNN Turk on the verdict said that he was pleased with the court decision, adding, he hoped those individuals and institutions behind the guilty would be tried too.

This is a legitimate question. But it does not diminish the graveness of the Semdinli bombing. Because whether these officers and the informant acted on their own, or acted in a chain of command, it is a tragic case against all values like right to life, rule of law, democracy, etc.


This is the picture for the time being. However, certain so-called ultra-nationalist intellectuals devoid of reason and reality, has reacted strongly against foreign criticisms on Semdinli, saying: “EU parliamentarians who want to do away with the Treaty of Lausanne are attacking the Turkish army that defeated imperialism in a national struggle and in the revolution in Anatolia that was launched by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.”


As a Turkish citizen, I would like Lagendjik to be proven wrong. However, that has not been the case. And my views on Semdinli case remain the same as I wrote in my previous article (March 8) : “The Semdinli issue is an opportunity to separate the corn from the chaff, that is, separating those who protect national interest from gangs that have infiltrated into the armed forces. If this incident is brought to light, it will restore our confidence in the military and strengthen Turkish democracy. For me, these are far more important than the discussion on whether General Yasar Buyukanit will become next chief of general staff or not.”


June 21, 2006