Ergenekontributions

Hurriyet Daily News with wires

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An outpouring of support and cash has flowed toward a nongovernmental organization whose executives were targeted this week in the latest wave of Ergenekon detentions. 

The Association for Supporting Contemporary Living, or ÇYDD, was at the center of a police operation Monday in which eight senior members of the organization were detained and many computers were seized.

Speaking on Wednesday, ÇYDD executives Gülün Kaya, Lale Platin and Olcay Yezdani said their association and local bureaus were receiving hundreds of supportive phone calls every day since Monday, with many asking how they could donate. The ÇYDD’s main focus is awarding scholarships to poor children.

The ÇYDD was targeted as part of the controversial Ergenekon investigation, with eight executives detained and many of its bureaus searched. Prosecutors allege a criminal gang with close ties to retired generals, some politicians, businessmen and journalists were trying to incite chaos to topple the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP. More than 100 people stand accused of being involved while many commentators believe the government is exploiting the investigation to silence vocal critics.

The ÇYDD’s Kaya said the way their organization was targeted angered many people across the country. "An elderly lady named Sabahat Kesirli called from Adapazarı. She said she had saved 10,000 Turkish Liras for a rainy day but had decided to donate it to the association instead," she said.

She also said 87-year-old Osman Pakdemir called and said he would donate 250 liras despite having much debt. Kaya also said they could not hold back their tears when a retired teacher donated all he had, 6,000 liras, saying, "This is my funeral money. Let the children go to school." Some companies and individuals donated computers when they learned the police seized ÇYDD’s computers.
"One person came and just left a computer without giving his name," Kaya said.

She also said one person had called from Yalova, which was devastated in the August 17, 1999, earthquake, and told her that Türkan Saylan, the head of the ÇYDD, was with them when the quake struck and that they would be with her. Pianist Fazıl Say called Saylan from Tokyo to tell her that he was willing to do charity concerts once he was back, Milliyet daily reported.

Respected actor and the winner of Aydın Doğan Award for 2009 Genco Erkal said Monday that he would be donating the award money he received to the ÇYDD.

Scholarships
The ÇYDD’s Kaya said one businesswoman said she would cover the scholarships of 100 girls. "More than 50,000 liras were donated in two days. We’ll learn about the exact amount of donations in a few days," she said.

Along with the support, critics reacted harshly to the targeting of the ÇYDD and several active and retired university rectors in the latest round of the Ergenekon investigation. Many vocational groups and associations released statements over the last two days to condemn the targeting of ÇYDD.

Twenty members of the Adana Bar Association yesterday joined the ÇYDD in solidarity for what was happening. Adana Bar Association Chairman Aziz Erbek said he respected ÇYDD Chairwoman Saylan’s stance against anti-democratic acts. "As a lawyer, I believe justice will prevail," he said before joining the ÇYDD with his colleagues, reported Doğan news agency.

The detention of Doğan Gazetecilik executive board member Tijen Mergen, who joined forces with the ÇYDD to initiate the "Come on, girls, go to school," campaign, also created anger.

Since its launch, the campaign has collected 30 million liras in donations and built 28 girls’ dormitories and 10 primary schools and has given scholarships to 7,156 girls.

As of yesterday, none of the ÇYDD executives or Mergen remained in custody. They were released after questioning.

Speaking after her release, Mergen said she and daily Milliyet were trying their best to ensure girls in eastern parts of the country went to school. Her lawyer said Mergen was asked questions about the education campaign.

Meanwhile, the prosecutor’s office yesterday released the computers seized from ÇYDD offices after Pilatin said the names and details for 8,000 scholarship recipients were on the computers and that students would suffer if the computers were not returned.

Speaking to the Anatolia news agency Wednesday, Pilatin said the police had seized computers, laptops and even donated computers in wrappers.

According to daily Hürriyet, among the items seized from the Contemporary Education Foundation, or ÇEV, which was also among the nongovernmental organizations searched Monday, were a book report by a scholarship student, the "Speech" by Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and tickets to a classical music concert and classic books.



Association for Supporting Contemporary Living. Çağdaş Yaşamı Destekleme Derneği

Şimal Sokak No:10, 34430

Şişhane - Istanbul Dad Send Me to School CampaignTürkiye İş Bankası Kuledibi Branch Account No: 250 469

Tel : (212) 252 44 33