by CHRIS MORRIS IN ANKARA
The Guardian (London)
THE trial of 11 men for the attempted murder of Turkey’s leading human rights activist, Akin Birdal, threatens to expose a scandal linking rightwing extremists and state security agencies.
The trial began last week in dramatic fashion when the alleged ringleader of the plot, Cengiz Ersever, threatened prosecution lawyers, and boasted that he could have killed Mr Birdal within 24 hours if that had been his intention. The trial was then adjourned until later this month, and Mr Ersever was dragged kicking and screaming from the court.
He served for five years as a senior army officer fighting Kurdish guerrillas in south-eastern Turkey and, he said, since 1996 he had organised the training of recruits to the far-right Turkish Revenge Brigade, an armed group.
Mr Birdal, who survived the assassination attempt in May, when six bullets hit his chest and legs, believes the trial could bring significant revelations. “This is not a simple criminal case,” he said. “It is a symbol of the illegal activities which take place within the state system.”
The prosecution claims the attack was carried out on the instructions of an ultra-nationalist militant, Mahmut Yildirim, who is known by the code name Yesil, or Green. He is thought to be a key player in what has been called the Susurluk affair.
The first hint of scandal came in November 1996. A senior police officer, a wanted gangster and a former beauty queen were killed when their car crashed in the western town of Susurluk. An MP who works closely with the security forces in south-eastern Turkey survived. He and the former interior minister are now facing criminal charges.
Public demand for an investigation of the links between the state and the extreme right led to the publication this year of most of an official report. It confirmed that senior security officials had used rightwing gangs to kill opponents. In return, there was leniency over drug smuggling, extortion rackets and money laundering in casinos.
Further investigations into the casino business, which is now banned in Turkey, and the supply of forged official documents are continuing but progress has been slow.
Many people believe Turkey’s powerful military and the state security agency, MIT, have been reluctant to help the Susurluk inquiry. Without their co -operation, little can be achieved.
Political attention on the scandal may decrease further now that a decision has been taken to hold an early general election next April.
Nevertheless, many of the details are out in the open, and that in itself is significant. “It can’t be swept under the carpet now. We know too much,” said Sedat Ergin, the Ankara editor of the Hurriyet newspaper.