Cosmic room probe to enlighten history

Ömer Şahin ANKARA / Radikal

Prosecutors are investigating thousands of documents from the cosmic room. AA Photo

Thousands of documents seized in an unusual raid on a “cosmic room” at the army headquarters more than two years ago may enlighten a dark side of modern Turkish history, with a prosecutor preparing to file a lawsuit about a claimed assassination attempt targeting Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç.

Prosecutors searched the military’s top secret archives in Ankara, dubbed the “cosmic room,” for the first time in 2010, as part of investigations into the alleged plot to assassinate Arınç.

The prosecutor who examined the documents that contain state secrets kept hidden from the public is also preparing an indictment dealing with some of the biggest unresolved mysteries in Turkish political history. These include the Sept. 6-7, 1955 pogroms targeting the Greek population; the deadly May 1 demonstrations of 1977; the political unrest in Çorum in 1979; the 1995 events in Sivas; and the 2007 assassination of the Turkish journalist of Armenian origin, Hrant Dink. Mustafa Bilgili, the prosecutor in charge who is also leading the Feb. 28 “postmodern coup” investigation, will give the priority to the “cosmic room” probe.

Plan of Gül’s house

The lawsuit will also focus on the claims that the top dignitaries of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) were tracked. During the raid, the house plans of President Abdullah Gül, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin, Customs and Trade Minister Hayati Yazıcı, and AKP Deputy Head Mehmet Ali Şahin were found.

The documents also contain information on minority leaders, NGO executives, and opinion leaders. It is reported that this information might shed light on the murders of Dink and Father Andrea Santoro. The latter was shot dead in 2006 by a 16-year-old high-school student while kneeling in prayer in Trabzon.