We have lived at an ‘empire of the devils’

Despite all the complaints and criticisms against the practice of justice, the Ergenekon case has revealed the ugly face of this country. (The Ergenekon case is an alleged ultranationalist shadowy gang accused of planning to topple the government by staging a coup, initially by spreading chaos and mayhem in society.) Even though a segment of it is exaggerated and ornamented with insufficient evidence, doesn’t what has happened appall you? 

Starting with Abdi İpekçi, we have witnessed the massacre of journalists including Uğur Mumcu and others, the murder of Father Andrea Santoro, the bloody raid on the Council of State, the assassination of Hrant Dink and the massacre of missionaries at the Zirve Publishing House, as well as the Sabancı assassination. 

There are more: the Gazi Mahallesi incidents, the Madımak disaster… The perpetrators of a major portion of these have not been found. The state, when it has wished to do so, has been able to find the perpetrators but has remained silent on these incidents. 

The ball was always thrown to the court named “exterior powers.” It was sometimes Iran, if not the outlawed Kurdistan People’s Party (PKK) or, if not them, then Mossad… However, nowadays, this old perception is about to change. 

As one reads the details of the indictment, isn’t it obvious that these plots were not the “conspiracy of external powers,” but on the contrary, “the work of internal powers?” 

Again, however exaggerated and full of insufficient evidence and mistakes they may be, don’t question marks increase as one goes into the details of the Ergenekon-Balyoz (Sledgehammer) cases and into the details of the “Coup journals?”

Did external powers commit the unsolved murders? 

No. They are obviously the work of internal powers. So much has occurred behind the curtains. I don’t know if it is the deep state or the amateur or professional killers. But it is an incredible plot… An incredible power struggle… 

An unbelievably loose crime network… Only 10 percent of the investigation, court records, phone records and relations revealed during interrogations are true in these indictments; even that much is enough… 

Turkey has become a country dominated by conspiracies and plots, and we seem to have been unaware of this. 

Please, don’t ever say, “I had no idea.” I’m sure everybody knew a part of it but it was only a few who saw the entire picture. The picture is now being completed and the horror is increasing. 

I lost confidence in this state’s police-prosecutor investigations, its experts and its justice long ago. Nowadays, I am in a position where I do not trust anybody. 

Turkey has actually been an empire of fear. It was surrounded by murder networks and we have been able to survive, well, by pure coincidence. 

This picture that has emerged, I’m repeating, “However much it can be exaggerated and sloppy,” again is dreadful. 

From whichever point of view you prefer (protecting secularism or Kemalism, for the love of the country, etc.), whatever name we wish to call it (deep state, etc.), our past now scares me more than ever. It looks as if we were fooling ourselves with external conspiracy theories. Moreover, we have gotten used to murders and assassinations. 

Is this the end of it all? 

Or will the devils come out tomorrow from the holes they have taken refuge in?