The Susurluk Accident

Devrimci Halk Kurtulus Cephesi (DHKC) release, 11 January 1997

November 16, 1996 Tuncer Gunay, investigative journalist states that after the coup of 1980 Abdullah Catli, Huseyin Kocadag, Alaatin Cakici and Oral Celik were given the task by the state to lead special units in actions against the Armenian organisation ASALA. According to Gunay, Catli murdered Agoc Agopyan. Furthermore Catli is said to have taken Agca out of prison and he played an active role in the murders of Behcet Canturk and Savas Buldan. Gunay states he knows Catli since 1979 and he met him last in August, 1996. Catli is said to have gone abroad in 1980. In that period suddenly the attacks against ASALA started. ASALA is said to have not possessed a mass base and supposedly consisted of units of some 20 militants. During meetings of the general staff with leaders of the Special Operation Units it was discussed how ASALA could be destroyed. In that period there were only 2 organisations in Turkey who would have been capable of doing that: the Turkish secret service MIT and the police. But it was impossible for both to conduct actions abroad, considering the laws of that time. In stead these two forces were to establish special units who were going to do the job. The legendary MIT deputy-chief Hiram Abas was also involved in leading these units. The developments after the murder of Casino King Luftu Topal show the relations between State-Mafia-police even more clearly. According to the statements of the policemen from the 3. Special Unit, who were interrogated, Topal was also involved in drug trafficking. As the responsibles for the murder, they named Tansu Ciller and Mehmet Agar. Mehmet Agar stated to the chief-editor of the Harriet, Ertugrul Ozturk: We’ve carried out thousands of operations. But I can not tell more about this. The result of our operations was peace for the people. It has been quiet in Turkey for 3 years now. But from now on we can not take anymore risks. In Cizre it was even impossible to walk peacefully across the street. But now there is no difference anymore between the West and the East. Sadik Avunduoglu, chairman of the parliamentary investigation committee for murders by unknown perpetrators, stated the wealth of Ciller was clear evidence for her involvement with the Mafia.

As a result of the accident in Susurluk:—the MIT report and the accusations it contains became public,—it became known that Interpol had a international arrest warrant issued against Abdullah Catli,—it was revealed that Catli received a diplomatic passport anyway,—it becomes likely that Bucak, Catli and Kocadag met Agar in the Princess Hotel,—it is thought that the nephew and the brother of the leader of the Soylemez gang, Sene Soylemez, were murdered by a gang, led by Bucak,—it became known that the murderer Haluk Kirici, wanted for the massacre in Bahcelievler—18 years ago, carried a card with him, signed by Mehmet Agar, identifying him as a protege,—it was revealed that an assault was planned against Abdullah Catli in 1996, involving a policeman,—it was discovered that the members of the Special Operation Teams, Tekdemir from Ankara and Mehmet Hadi Ozcan met Catli in Catli’s villa,—it became clear that Catli was taken out of a Swiss prison, where he was jailed because of drug trafficking, most likely by the CIA,—it became clear that Turgul Turkes, the deputy chairman of the MHP (and of the leading drug traffickers) met Catli in Nachavan Elcibey,—Omer Ay, one of the closest friends of Catli in the `70s, stated that Catli co-operated with the state since the coup of September 12, 1980, carrying out special operations,—it became known that the gun which Catli had registered belonged to Nihat Yasak who recently lost his life during a confrontation.

November 17, 1996 Demirel to the press: Let’s not burn down the whole house because of one mouse. Susurluk was a mistake by the state. According to the putschist general Evren, they used the Grey Wolves for special actions. The MIT even made use of enemies, and if this was going to continue, soon nobody would want to work for the state. Necdet Menzir is said to have phoned chief of police Mehmet Agar, warning him not to send his people to Menzir’s area.

Bodyguards of Sedat Bucak on trial for executions. Ayhin Carkin and Omer Kaplan, official bodyguards of Sedat Bucak, are being prosecuted for murder in five different cases, killing 13 people died. One of the cases is the attack against the coffee-shop Beyaz Saraz in Okmeydani, August 13, 1993, in which 5 people were murdered. Witnesses testified that Selma Catlak (Tan) was shot in front of their eyes, after she had surrendered herself. In the 2 trials against both bodyguards, the prosecutor demanded 48 imprisonment in total. The trials still continue. The courts are still busy with the operation of January 27, 1992, in Mahmutbey in which Servet Sanim, Ismail Cengiz Gizenek and Huseyin Yasar were murdered, the operation of March 24, 1992 in Bahcelievler in which Ibrahim Yalcin Arikan, Avni Turan and Recia Dincer were murdered (for the 2. Court for Capital Crime in Bakirkoy), the attack on March 6, 1993 in Kartal in which Bedri Yagan, Gurcan Ozgur, Menekse Meral and Rifat-Asiye Kasap were killed. The massacre in Okmeydani, mentioned above, in which Selma Catlak, Mehmet Salgin, Sabri Atilmis,Hakan Kasa and Nebi Akyurek were murdered, is now tried by the 2. Court for Capital Crimes in Istanbul. The massacre of April 16-17 in Ciftehavuzlar in which Sabahat Karatas, Sinan Kukul, Taskin Usta and Eda Yuksel were murdered, is tried by the Court for Capital Crime in Kayseri. The murder of Ibrahim Ilci is tried by the 4. Court for Capital Crime in Istanbul. The murder of Nurten Demir and Ismail Akarcesme is tried by the 1. Court for Capital Crime in Beyoglu...

November 21, 1996 Sedat Bucak is on HBB Television. Bucak, claiming he has 30.000 armed men under his command, says he loved Catli like a brother. While he covers Catli with compliments, he warns Yilmaz to be very careful. Mesut Yilmaz states there are even ministers who give orders to the Mafia: These people are used for jobs which do not benefit the state, they benefit the interests of certain political tendencies. They co-operate with criminals for the money. The papers report that Agar had a secret meeting on September 2, 1993, with the leaders of the Bucak clan. On this occasion, 1.500 Kalashnikovs were given to the clan. The same offer was made to other clans, but most of them declined. The members of the Bucak clan received the assurance that there would be no unpleasant investigations into the affairs of the clan members in case they agreed to fight against the PKK. Agar is said to have ordered the murder of the Soylemez gang which is in jail. For this reason, Sedat Peker, convicted for the possession of drugs, murder and manhandling—and probably member of the Grey Wolves -, went to the prison where he beats up the prison director, saying: Why have they not been killed yet? Agar is said to have been Haluk Kirici wedding’s witness. When pictures of the wedding were published in the papers, Agar claimed he did not have any idea who’s wedding witness he had been.

November 22, 1996 The office of Mesut Yilmaz is said to be bugged.

November 23, 1996 Catli’s widow about the connections of her late husband: It’s possible some state officials helped my husband. He did work together with the state. But he didn’t have a high opinion about that. It was known who Catli was, and therefore they never disturbed him. My husband did not escape from this prison in Switzerland, he was liberated, as everybody knows. The CHP-chairman Deniz Baykal states: When the events in Susurluk are solved, Ugur Dundar (television journalist) and Dogu Perincek (publisher of the paper Aydinlik) will die. Everybody will get his turn. The state kills people. We must get rid of this burden, the state is executing its people. In Turkey, people are blackmailed, kidnapped and murdered.

Ciller calls Bucak, who plays a major role in the triangle of Mafia-state-police, a hero: He fought against terror like a hero, nobody should make the mistake to forget the past of these people.

November 25, 1996 The people are protesting. Several mass organisations set up committees to show their reaction to the public. The democratic mass organisations started to set up associations against organised crime. Mehmet Gul, former chairman of the Ulku Ocaklari (association of the Grey Wolves) in Istanbul, says Catli escaped from prison in Switzerland in the time that ANAP was in government and that Catli co-operated in the ANAP party congress. Party chairman Yilmaz is said to have met Catli before the congress. Yilmaz needed the support of the 300-500 fascist orientated delegates to win the congress, and that is where Catli came in. Catli primarily worked for Akbulut, but he also gave his support to Yilmaz. A former member of parliament and former minister of Culture in the period Catli was in a Swiss prison, says: Everybody who has been prime-minister or minister of the Interior in Turkey should know Catli travelled abroad as an agent, and they do know. ANAP party chairman Mesut Yilmaz is attacked by former fascists (at present Mafia members) in the Hilton hotel in Budapest.

November 27, 1996 Police director Alaatin Yuksel reports investigations in the last 6 months revealed the existence of several gangs where some 30 policemen belonged to. Yuksel says 350 policemen were suspended in on e year and some 100 files still had to be treated. It was again said that the death of Gendarmerie commander Esref Bitlis had not been the result of an accident, but that his plane had been sabotaged. It is said that Bitlis was murdered by a uniformed gang in Yuksekova. PKK-traitor Kahraman Bilgic is supposed to belong to that gang as well.

These are no village guards, these are criminal gangs. The village guards present a disturbing picture. In 11 years 23.000 temporary village guards were sacked, primarily because of murder, kidnapping, drug trafficking and arms dealing. There are 76.906 village guards in Turkey, 14.872 of them are volunteers. Ciller defends Catli: Those who fire bullets for this state, or who are shot, are remembered with respect, they are honourable.

November 28, 1996 Refah-delegate Firat says: Sedat Bicak has connections with the contra-guerrilla, when the truth about the gangs is revealed, the oppression in the East will also come to light. Sedat Bucak and his clan are doing nothing that could be of benefit for Turkey, they are only involved in organised crime and murder. In 1982, Abdullah Catli went the Latin America, together with the Italian delle Chiaie, from there they went to Miami. The Turkish and the Italian Gladio work together in the US.

A law to save Gladio. The minister of Justice is preparing a new law. According to this law, the number of crimes which are tried by the State Security Court will be reduced. Membership of a criminal association (the Mafia) will in future no longer be a case for the State Security Court (to reduce the workload of the State Security Court), it will become a case for the normal courts.

A newspaper publishes the following article: The victims of the gangs were Kurds and Armenians. The first job a A. Catli and his gang, used in Turkey for murder and trained by the Special Units, was the murder of Vedat Aydin through torture. Later, at the funeral, these people opened fire at the then party chairman Fehmi Isiklar and his friends. A. Catli and his friends committed this murder, controlled by state institutions. Musa Anter, a critical author, was murdered by these gangs. Sedat Bucak sheltered these murderers. It would be naive to think the governor of the region knew nothing about this. After the office of the paper Ozgur Gundem was bombed, the police director of Istanbul Menzir pointed at Agar as the one who gave the order, but nothing was done. Thousands of people were murdered by these criminal gangs. High-ranking officers, governors in this region and the former National Police Director Agar knew about it. Almost all papers report about these accusations.

November 30, 1996 The expert about the drug trade between Germany and Turkey, Harald Luder, explains that morphine is processed to heroin in laboratories in Istanbul. Turkey has been transformed into one gigantic drug laboratory. A parliamentary investigation commission began looking into the connections between the Mafia, the police and the state. But the democratic institutions have no hope the commission will unearth the truth. The chairman of the European Islam Association (ATIB), and accused of being an accessory in the plot against the pope, Musa Serdar Celebi, states in the press: The murders smell of the state. In Turkey, murders by unknown perpetrators are committed by a dark force. You can call it Gladio or the Department for Special Warfare if you like, but they really exist in Turkey. They accused the Ulkucus (Grey Wolves) then, but in reality it was Gladio. Gladio is walking around freely.