Tuesday

Vanessa the Loyal Goose Network Member

I haven't posted for a while. I was also planning not to post for a few months, but I saw something incredible on some other blogs. Someone from Goose Network blog gives us some clues about the Ergenekon connections of the Gulen charter school attackers.

Whole article is linked here. But I wanna give you the glimpse of it:



I am very proud to announce the new addition to Goose Network gang. This newest addition will probably complete the final missing part of the big puzzle, the Goose Network, who has been eagerly busy with hatching their eggs everywhere in the Cyber World. Ladies and gentlemen, here comes the final missing piece of the Goose Network puzzle: Vanessa Kachadurian.

(I am not going to put her picture here for privacy reasons. As for her full name, I think it is a fair treatment for her considering that she has by far published a number of people’s full names in her numerous blogs. Besides, I do not have the intention to make her a target in the eyes of other people. This shameless tactic belongs to Goose Network members, not me.)

When I first launched this blog more than a year ago, I published a list of Goose Network members. That list included Vanessa’s name as well. Yet since that time, her name has totally slipped out of my mind. Recently, I have decided to make a quick search after seeing her name on that list again. To my astonishment, the things I found out were really huge. I soon realized that I was encountering arguably the most enthusiastic member of the Goose Network. So much so that, many of my claims have proved me wrong on some issues. Now, I am both hoping to clarify my previous claims and add new stuff here. But one thing is clear: Vanessa Kachadurian is one of the most active members of the Goose Network and she is definitely on someone else’s payroll, because as you will see below, thanks to countless evidence, nobody would allocate such amount of time for something that is irrelevant (or not directly relevant) to one’s life.

Initially I took searching her name very lightly, but as I found new things, I got the motivation to continue and decipher more, because new information was in rapid succession.

The Crucial Information

For this, I decided to Google her name. Writing Vanessa Kachadurian Gulen (becuase she is one of the inventors of so-called Gulen Charter Schools concept , I came up with this comment. In case, the link is removed, you can see the picture below.


She (perhaps accidentally) wrote her name (Vanessa Kachadurian) at the bottom of her own comment, because in order to claim otherwise (that is the deliberate writing of her name) one has to be idiot to inscribe UtahMom on top of the page and then Fresno, California, along with the real name at the bottom. In that comment, I randomly took a sentence and made a quick copy-paste of it and came up with the same exact comment on different blogs and websites but this time under various nicknames such as MD Parent (!) and EducationTruth. It looks like she was becoming UtahMom, Maryland (or medical doctor) Parent or EducationTruth depending on the blog, news or the school she commented about.

She exactly writes the same comment and sometimes changes her nickname. I saw that she wrote the same comment on her Facebook page where she uses her real name in a slightly different way.

I also found out that she was using countless nicknames when attacking what she calls Gulen Charter Schools. She is also constantly giving links to many admiral ship websites, particularly “Charter School Watchdog” website and to her blogs whose link I am planning to provide below.

Her Facebook Adventures

On Facebook (as mentioned above), she has pages of comments along with… guess who? Bill Thacker of Arizona! Surprise surprise, right? Using a slightly different name (Vanoush Khatchaturyan) there, Vanessa has been using this discussion page for more than a year only to give links and write responses to another paid member of Goose Network, Mr. Thacker. Together, they filled like seven pages to defame charter schools. write unfounded things about them but if you actually copy and paste what they have written to a single Word page, it will take more than a hundred pages (actually 113 pages). In their comments they just support each other’s claims but they are not afraid to show their teeth to any “would-be intruders”. It is like this is their backyard to play in. I can’t help but admire their dedication. On another occasion, Vanessa comments on one of Bill Thacker’s posts by thanking him and acting as if she was the first time visitor and did not know much about the info Thacker provided.

Even on Facebook India she writes defamatory things about Erdogan, Gulen etc. She uses other Facebook websites in various languages again in order to represent her true Goose Network spirit. She actively uses ANCA (The Armenian National Committee of America) Grassroots. Such determination!

That is it? Just started! She utilizes her real Twitter account to inform people about some radio programs where Donna Garner was invited as a guest. There, hardliner Garner gives complete misinformation about so-called Gulen Charter Schools. Through her Twitter account, she also helps the Goose Network team defame American charter schools 24/7. Even in the midst of a hot genocide debate among fellow Armenians, she joins the debate with the sole purpose of writing only about Gulen and American charter schools. She sometimes goes too far to use the same aggressive rhetoric to the politicians in Hawaii. Like I said, she is so busy with the comments and other activism she puts on the web that even when there is no comment under any news of a not-so-much-visited webpage, she takes this opportunity to write the same things by employing the artifacts of her copy-paste mindset.

Read the rest

Friday

Where is Paul Williams?

I found an article on Paul Williams, who has long been disappeared. Looks interesting...

Did you notice that Paul Williams has been lying low in the last a few months? Where did he go? His notorious website (The Last Crusade) has suddenly disappeared due to some unknown reasons! Before his website disappeared, he had already been inactive since last February adding no new inflammatory and provocative content about Islam, Fethullah Gulen (and his so-called Gulen Charter Schools) and his radical perspective on some Muslims around the world.

The last unfortunate incident in Norway must have scared some people like Paul Williams, Brigitte Gabriel and Daniel Pipes, because in the last a few years they have been doing nothing but fear-mongering with their boogeyman concepts like Islamophobia, radical Islam etc.

Anyway, Paul Williams' The Last Crusade is now gone even though its blog-type version is still active with some funny narratives. For example, he tried to display a kitsch example of yellow journalism with his false article on Fethullah Gulen. He made some weird claims about Gulen: "Fethullah Gulen has established a 45 acre mountain fortress. The fortress remains protected by 100 Turkish guards and a sentry post. Local residents have complained of automatic gunfire coming from the complex and of a low flying helicopter that surveys the area for would-be intruders."

Of course those claims had to be verified by some upright journalists like Dan Berrett of Pocono Record. He published a rather neutral piece contradicting what Herr Williams had to say. 

Upon seeing his yellow journalism was refuted by the real journalists, Paul Williams, in his blog version of his website accused Mr. Barrett of being deceived by the sweet rhetoric of Gulen comparing the latter to Hitler.

Those reactions really bug me. OK, you were just exposed and what you had to do was to sit still instead of accusing a neutral journalist who did his best to portray a somewhat controversial figure in the United States.

He was also adept in false descriptions as well. He once talked about a Harmony Science Academy, but showed a picture related to Tarek Ibn Ziyad Academy. This clearly shows his biased and hate-filled approach about any charter schools like Harmony Public Schools. 

Maybe Paul Williams is busy with the lawsuit McMaster University brought to him. I won't go into detail on this issue. You can find more information on Goose Network website. Whatever the reason, Paul Williams, such a fervent and zealous guy, suddenly disappeared leaving a number of accused people and coined concepts (like Gulen Charter Schools) behind him.

He is more than welcome to return as long as he gives up his old antics!

Wednesday

If Whoever Touched Gulen was Doomed, We'd Be Ashes by Now

Anti-Gülen and anti-Gülen movement books are sold in bookstores throughout Turkey. The books are available at airport bookstores as well.


“A number of things have been published against me; dozens of books have been written. However, I have never done anything to keep an unprinted book from publication.
I only pursued my rights as a citizen by legal means in the face of baseless accusations, slander, and assaults against my individual rights. Even books which were identified as illegal by court decisions and whose authors were sentenced to pay compensation have been reprinted.

“Particularly during the period that started with the Feb. 28, 1997 unarmed military intervention, many books, manipulated by certain parties as part of a psychological war against me, have been marketed. The allegations in these books were no different from the allegations raised in the courts where I was acquitted. These books were even part of the case dossier and their contents were included in the indictments. The value of the allegations in these books is well known by the public. It is clear that it is impossible in this age of information to prevent any publication from reaching readers. It is also apparent that such attempts would only result in greater interest in the publication one sought to prohibit. Personally, I have made no appeal or complaint about the said book or its author.” These are the words of Turkish Islamic Scholar Fethullah Gülen. The book Gülen referred to is “İmamın Ordusu” (“The Imam’s Army”), whose draft manuscript was prepared by journalist Ahmet Şık, who has since been arrested in connection with the Ergenekon investigation, and included a compilation of past allegations that the Gülen movement has seized control of the Turkish state.
Şık shouted “Whoever touches him is doomed” when he was taken into custody; shortly after his arrest, his lawyer Bülent Utku made the following comment: “My client informed us that he was arrested because of a book he had recently drafted that he is planning to name ‘İmamın Ordusu,’ depicting how Fethullah Gülen’s movement is entrenched within the state.”

The party to which Şık’s accusations were directed was now identified as the Gülen movement. On March 3, 2011, in addition to Şık, Ergenekon suspects Professor Yalçın Küçük, journalist Nedim Şener, OdaTV Coordinator Doğan Yurdakul, OdaTV writer İklim Bayraktar, OdaTV writer Müyesser Yıldız, journalist Sait Çakır, OdaTV Ankara representative Mümtaz İdil and Aydın Bıyıklı were taken into custody after their houses were searched. Former National Intelligence Organization (MİT) member Kaşif Kozinoğlu’s house was also searched, but he was taken into custody later because he was abroad. The persons who were detained had allegedly assumed roles in carrying out media activities on behalf of Ergenekon. The İstanbul 12th High Criminal Court decided to confiscate the draft of the book seized during the search in Şık’s house because its publication would “serve the goals of the Ergenekon armed organization and prevent a fair trial.”
‘Şık’s draft manuscript was written to undermine and devalue the Ergenekon investigation’

Police notes, issued on March 16, 2011, stated that a draft manuscript by Şık, titled “The Imam’s Army,” was seized during the search at OdaTV on Feb. 14, 2011. It was also noted that the draft seized at OdaTV was 189 pages long and that a document titled “Ulusal Medya 2010” as well as Microsoft Word documents titled “000KITAP,” “Nedim,” “Hanefi” and “Sabri Uzun” were seized during the same search. The notes go on to say: “A review of the documents revealed that ‘Ulusal Medya 2010’ details the current strategy of the Ergenekon terrorist organization, while the Word document 000KITAP contains a draft manuscript of ‘The Imam’s Army.’ The Word documents ‘Nedim’ and ‘Hanefi’ contain notes showing that a book by Hanefi Avcı, ‘Haliçte Yaşayan Simonlar,’ was written upon instructions by the Ergenekon terrorist organization, and the Word document ‘Sabri Uzun’ includes a note reading: ‘Sabri has reservations about the book matter. Let us try to convince him. The book should be ready before the elections. Nedim will see Ahmet Şık about this matter. Be brave while working on the book. Do not hesitate on making additions to removals from the book. This should be more comprehensive than ‘Simon.’ I congratulate Nedim. He should force Ahmet to work.

Hanefi will get out and join you. Extend moral support to Emin and Sabri. Try to convince Sabri to allow himself to be cited as an author. It should be quick. It should be ready before the elections’.”

The search notes also state that the digital data seized during the search carried out at Şık’s house as part of the investigation included three separate Word documents, ‘000KITAPSON’ (299 pages), ‘Ahmet Kitap’ (301 pages) and ‘KİTAPPPPPPPPPPPPP’ (302 pages), and that there was no significant difference between these three versions of the book. The relationship between the draft seized at OdaTV and the drafts found in Şık’s house was explained as follows: “The draft manuscript seized at OdaTV included a section at the end with the headline, ‘Notes,’ suggesting that these were notes on the manuscript, and it seemed that these notes were relevant to the first two pages in the copies of the manuscript seized at Şık’s house. The police logs kept during the seizure of the drafts also said that the draft manuscript found during a raid of the OdaTV offices did include the part titled ‘Notes,’ but this part was included in a different section of this version than in the copy seized at Şık’s home. There were also some sentences left out in the OdaTV version that were present in the version found at Şık’s house.”

The notes further say that in line with the instructions in the Word document “Sabri Uzun,” seized at OdaTV, members of the organization made additions to and removals from the draft forwarded to Şık. The search notes concluded as follows: “The notes seized at OdaTV, the notes in the draft manuscripts and other evidence reveal that the book ‘The Imam’s Army’ was a product made under the instruction and direction of the Ergenekon terrorist organization and that this work was done actively by Ahmet Şık, Nedim Şener, Soner Yalçın, Sabri Uzun and OdaTV staff as well as other unidentified suspects.” The 49-page review note also stated that the book was a work prepared in accordance with the strategies spelled out in the file “Ulusal Medya,” and that its ultimate goal was to undermine the Ergenekon investigation in the eyes of the public.
The draft seized by prosecutor Zekeriya Öz was uploaded to the Internet as part of a campaign of civil disobedience on March 31, 2011. The uploaders argued that Şık’s book included the assertion that the Gülen movement was in control of the state apparatus. However, Şık’s allegations were nothing new: The book makes references targeting Gülen and the Gülen movement. Some journalists and writers who have been observing the growing interest in Fethullah Gülen since the 1980s have made strong criticisms against the movement of which he is the spiritual leader, with some publishing extremely derogatory books and articles. Was the argument that whoever touches him is doomed? Has anything happened to those who criticized him?

‘I published the harshest pieces against Gülen and nothing happened to me’

One of the most suitable people to satisfactorily answer this question is İsmail Arlı, owner of Togan Publishing since 2003. Arlı owns a publishing house that sent some tapes which he claimed belonged to Gülen to private TV stations during the Feb. 28, 1997 coup. He also published, among a number of anti-Gülen titles, “The True Face of Fethullah Gülen,” which served as the basis for an indictment against Gülen, as well as books by Ergün Poyraz, who is now in prison as an Ergenekon suspect. We asked Arlı: “You are probably the one person to have ‘touched’ Gülen the most. What happened to you?” He has already responded, remarking: “If whoever touches him is screwed, it should have been me who would have gotten screwed first; I should have been in ashes by now because I have published the harshest material against Gülen. I have published the most derogatory books against him. Even the Cumhuriyet Publishing House is inspired by my cover designs. Nothing has happened to me so far.”

Books that ‘touch’ him become best-sellers

Arlı has published many books harshly criticizing Gülen and the Gülen movement and directing serious accusations against them, including Ergun Poyraz’s “Kanla Abdest Alanlar (Those Who Perform their Ablutions with Blood)” (2007), Zübeyir Kandıra’s “Cemaatin Copları (The Batons of the Cemaat)” (2010) [Cemaat is the word used by Gülen’s critics and dissenters to refer to the movement], Serdar Öztürk’s “AKP ve Gülen’i Kurtarma Planı: Made in CIA (The Plan to Save the AKP and Gülen: Made in CIA)” (2011), Ahmet Akgül’s “Küresel Fesatçılık ve Fethullahçılık (Global Evilism and Fethullahism)” (2010) and Eren Erdem’s “Nurjuvazi (Nur-geoisie)” (2011) [from the combination of the word “Nur,” a follower of the religious community that follows Islamic writer Saidi Nursi, and bourgeoisie].

Noting that he has never faced any prosecution or pressure in relation to the marketing of these books, Arlı says: “Kandıra’s book was published by another publisher 13 years ago. I hold the publication rights for two years; we have sold 8,000 copies; and we are still selling it, the fourth edition is in circulation now. We have sold 1,500 copies of Hüseyin Özalp’s book, and 5,000 copies of Serdar Öztürk’s book. Even though it is a new publication, we have sold 8,000 copies of ‘Nur-geoisie.’ It is in its fifth edition. The total number of [anti-Gülen books] we have sold exceeds 30,000.”

Noting that he did not find Şık’s remark “whoever touches him is doomed” sincere, Arlı argues that Şık’s draft included in its first 40 pages many direct quotes from his publication “The Batons of the Cemaat.” After reading a draft of “The Imam’s Army” on the Internet, the author of that book asked Arlı, as his publisher, to file plagiarism charges against Şık.

İsmet Arslan, owner of Asya Şafak Publishing, which published an anti-Gülen book last year titled “Ergenekon ve Fethullah-Yeni Osmanlı Misyonuyla Kürdistan’ın İnşası” (Ergenekon and Fethullah: The Building of Kurdistan with a Neo-Ottoman Mission), says: “We consider some points before publishing an item. Nothing happened to us.”

The ‘curious’ case of Saygı Öztürk

Arlı also noted that Saygı Öztürk was another author extensively quoted in Şık’s draft manuscript. Öztürk, a veteran journalist, “touched” Gülen in his book “Okyanus Ötesindeki Vaiz” (The Preacher on the Other Side of the Ocean) published by Doğan Books in 2010. Öztürk, who also writes a column for the Sözcü daily in which he makes very strong criticisms against the AK Party and the Gülen movement, says that his book has sold 25,000 copies in a year. Öztürk hosts a TV program on the ART television network known for its neo-nationalist orientation, as well as on news station S Haber, a Gülen-affiliated network. Noting that he has never faced any investigation or pressure in relation to his book, Öztürk says: “When I was about to send the draft to the publisher, an old colleague of mine said to me: ‘I have a favor to ask. The conditions are just not right. It would be better if you do not send it to the publisher.’ I told him: ‘You either do journalism, or you don’t. If I have documentation, I do not insult anyone, and I do not take sides, then this book should be no different from any other.’ There has been no problem at all with the publisher.”

Noting that his books are based on evidence and documentation and that he makes sure to speak to the relevant people before publication, Öztürk says he has never been accused of anything except breach of confidentiality. Once his book was released, he received an offer from the Samanyolu News TV station. Öztürk, who “touched” the Gülen movement with this book, explains why he accepted the offer to host a TV program on a channel close to the movement as follows: “At the time my book had just been published, and I got an offer. For me whether it’s with A TV or B TV does not matter. I am hosting a TV show on ART TV right now. I am a frequent guest on a program aired at Kanal D. I am a commentator on a radio program. I am just a journalist. I am doing what journalism ethics requires. I would not think, ‘Well, let me not hurt these people just because I am with STV [the network that owns S Haber]. [Hiring me] was the producer’s decision. I am not insulting anyone; I pay attention to that. I did not make any effort to attract attention and praise. I am in favor of the truth. I am friends with everyone at STV, including the tea server and the cameraman. Just like at other TV stations…just the way I see friendship and love at other channels, I see the same at S Haber. I have no considerations other than journalism. I have never been treated negatively.”

Etyen Mahçupyan: Şık and Nedim Şener’s attitudes support argument that they are part of an operation

Etyen Mahçupyan, who brought the arrests of Şık and Nedim Şener under the spotlight in his column in the Zaman daily on March 10, 2011, wrote the following:

“Şener and Şık have both written and are currently writing books based on documents and information that fall outside of regular journalistic sources. The information they are using comes from one of the shadowy and illegal groups within the state. It is therefore legitimate to ask who the actual writer is. You may write the book by yourself, but what you write depends on the sources that influence and manipulate you. Furthermore, the reliability of the information provided to you is another matter of controversy. … The name of Şık’s book is ‘İmanın Ordusu’ (The Imam’s Army). It is very suspicious for someone seeking to write a book about the Gülen movement and give objective analysis on the role of the movement within the police force to choose this title. It is too provocative and aggressive of a title. This choice suggests that the author of the book has an ideological motive rather than writing the book out of purely journalistic reasons. Of course every writer is entitled to call his book whatever he wants and every title has a function, but this particular case just goes to show that the book isn’t just about journalism. When he was arrested, Şık said, ‘Whoever touches him is doomed.’ A number of books, however, have been published against Gülen’s movement so far and none of the authors of these books have been doomed. This suggests that this is not about ‘touching’ Gülen, but about what you do and whose interests you serve and what group you are a part of when you do the touching. Şık’s reaction unfortunately shows that he does not have an objective stance and that he might have violated the limits of journalism.”

Mahçupyan said that journalist Şener’s words “For Hrant Dink, for Justice” as he was being carried away by the police were unfortunate. Mahçupyan stressed that the case of Dink -- a close friend of his -- had become a subject open to abuse and exploitation and that Şener wanted to take advantage of this. Mahçupyan concluded his column with the following sentences: “In conclusion, the argument that Şener and Şık’s supporters put forth is meaningless. The question is whether their recent activities should be considered proper journalism. And, sadly, their attitude supports the view that they have become part of a larger plan.”

Faruk Mercan: We haven’t seen anyone who writes about Fethullah Gülen doomed in the last 25 years

Journalist Faruk Mercan is one of those who best know the legal process against Gülen in Turkey. He responds to the question as to whether he has experienced any incident where publications against Gülen faced legal action as follows: “Many people, including Professor Alpaslan Işıklı and Emin Değer, the advisor to the General Staff on legal affairs during the March 12, 1970, military intervention period, have published against Fethullah Gülen. Hikmet Çetinkaya alone has written about 15 books. Saygı Öztürk authored five-to-six books on Gülen. Starting in the mid-1980s, journalists started writing books and articles about Fethullah Gülen. If whoever touches him had been doomed, we should have seen at least a few such incidents over this period. No one has been doomed in this 25-year period. Besides, those who argue that they were doomed are not journalists who had shown an interest of any kind in the Gülen movement previously. They appear from nowhere with a book on Gülen. The prosecutor concludes that they assume this task upon directions from a certain circle. And this task is to undermine and delegitimize the Ergenekon investigation. They were not interrogated in regards to the content of the books on Gülen.”

Mercan notes that the evidence held by the prosecutors shows a link between Şık, Şener, OdaTV and other Ergenekon suspects. Mercan goes on to say: “Considering that the various parts of these books were also found on other computers, the question ‘Who wrote the final draft of this book?’ is a fairly legitimate one to ask. Editorial contribution to these books is normal; however, who decided to assign the authors to write these books, why were these parts changed and who drafted the final version of these parts are important questions that need answering. Therefore, the way they wrote these books is not usual. Above all, it is not the content of the books that is being questioned. What is under investigation is the objectivity of these books that the prosecutors say were part of a plot. The goal here is to undermine the Ergenekon case and to intimidate the police officers and judges handling this case. In fact, the actual target is not Gülen. He is used as an argument and a tool here. Even Gülen himself declared that he had no complaints or plans to file a lawsuit with respect to the books.”

‘That book did not befit Ahmet Şık,’ says Alper Görmüş, his former boss at Nokta newsweekly

These remarks by Faruk Mercan may also be considered together with statements by Alper Görmüş, who in 2007 served as editor-in-chief of the Nokta newsweekly, where Şık was also employed at the time. Görmüş, who was strongly criticized after the arrest because he did not stand up to defend Şık, made the following comment on Şık in a book launch meeting held in İstanbul on May 11: “Ahmet Şık’s book is very poor; it is a book of propaganda that includes no new information. I hope Ahmet is released so that we can discuss this. That book did not befit him. There is nothing in it that was newsworthy. However, the masses still think that the book presents extraordinary information, and for this reason the Gülen movement took action to make sure that it was prohibited. This is a big mistake.” Noting that the prosecutor has the right to track the process in the case of Şık’s arrest, Görmüş says: “It is the right of the prosecutor to pursue the trace of the notes on an unpublished manuscript seized at OdaTV. But it was a big mistake that the book was not published.”

Court of Appeals unanimously acquitted Gülen of charges of seizing the state in 2008

In an indictment he drafted on Aug. 30, 2000, then-Ankara State Security Court (DGM) Chief Prosecutor Nuh Mete Yüksel filed a lawsuit against Gülen in the Ankara 2nd DGM, requesting his conviction under Article 7/1 of the Counterterrorism Law (No: 3713) and claiming that he had since 1989 been involved in activities to establish an illegal organization to create a state based on religion by changing the secular state structure.
His indictment included the same allegations voiced by those who today claim that whoever touches Gülen is doomed. The allegations against Gülen in that indictment were as follows: “That he seeks to create a theocratic Islamic dictatorship by imposing Islamic provisions in all systems of the state; that he plans on eradicating the Republic of Turkey, a democratic and social state governed by the rule of law, replacing it with an Islamic state governed by Shariah law; that he would use the youths brainwashed in his schools to achieve this goal; that he is eager to create a support base by relying on the foundations, schools and study centers under his control and on the effective financial power he has in hand using an Islamist ideological approach; that he seeks to ensure that his followers find employment in public posts, including the police department and the Ministry of Education; that he wants to raise youths that hold positive sentiments towards political Islam in Turkey; that he attempts to govern all Muslims in the world by meeting with the pope and that he abuses the secular regime to attain his goals through his movement’s infiltration into state institutions.”

The indictment made no reference whatsoever to any concrete action constituting a crime as spelled out in the Counterterrorism Law. Instead, the charges in the indictment were based on his views in print and visual media as well as his social activities. In other words, his ideas and beliefs constituted the basis for the charges against him.

The Ankara 11th High Criminal Court, in judgment number 2000/124 E-2003/20 K on May 5, 2006, decided to acquit Gülen upon the trials and hearings due to unsubstantiated claims. An appeal was filed with the 9th Chamber of the Court of Appeals, which unanimously endorsed Gülen’s acquittal by the Ankara 11th High Criminal Court on March 5, 2008.

The Office of the Prosecutor at the Court of Appeals objected to this verdict on April 4, 2008, under Article 308 of the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK), which offers an extraordinary course of law with the Criminal Chamber of the Court of Appeals. The chamber, however, dismissed the objection by the office of the prosecutor on June 24, 2008. In this way, the acquittal was ascertained and finalized.

Çetinkaya: I wrote what I wrote about Gülen. I have nothing else to write about him

The most serious and protracted opposition to Fethullah Gülen was carried out by Cumhuriyet columnist Hikmet Çetinkaya, who did not even hesitate to depict Fethullah Gülen on the front pages of his books as an American accomplice with an “angry Uncle Sam” portrait.

He authored the following books on Gülen over the years: “Kuzu Postunda Kurt Türkiye’de Tarikatların ve Cemaatlerin Örgütlü Siyasi Gücü, Fethullah Hoca’nın Önlenemeyen Yükselişi” (1996) (Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: The Political Power of Organized Religious Orders and Communities, the Unstoppable Rise of Fethullah Hoca); “Fethullah Gülen’in 40 yıllık Serüveni 1” (2004) (The 40-year Venture of Fethullah Gülen-1); “Fethullah Gülen’in 40 yıllık Serüveni 2-Yol Arkadaşı Nurettin Veren Anlatıyor” (2005) (The 40-year Venture of Fethullah Gülen-2: His Best Friend Nurettin Veren Speaks Up); “Fethullahçı Gladyo” (2008) (The Pro-Fethullah Gladio); “Amerikan Mızıkacıları” (2009) (American Musicians).

In legal terms, he was most probably the man who had most frequent legal disputes with Gülen. In these days when the slogan “whoever touches him is screwed” has become popular, Çetinkaya’s visit to the Journalists and Writers’ Foundation, of which Gülen is the honorary chair, is actually meaningful.

Doğan Akın, who covered this visit on July 10, 2011 on the website of the T24 News Portal, where he works as editor-in-chief, uses the following direct quote from Çetinkaya: “They invited me to the foundation; so I went there. We had breakfast for two hours. Jokes were exchanged. Yes, in the past, they made kids [in the Turkish Olympiads] recite Necip Fazıl rather than Nazım, Cemal Süreyya and Atilla İlhan. The world is changing, so we have to change as well. I am improving myself. I am changing. I wrote what I wrote about Fethullah Gülen. I have nothing else to write about him anymore. The guy has been living abroad since 1998.”
Çetinkaya, who stressed in the same piece that he always based his allegations against Gülen and the Gülen movement on court decisions, further said: “No information was leaked to me from the police. I never received information or intelligence from the police or the military. I never went through the doors of the General Staff. They would never call me anyway. I have been writing these things since 1973, but I never received information from the police. I do not know Hanefi Avcı or others. Some of my colleagues, let me keep their names to myself, file reports based on information coming from the police.”

Noting that Gülen has filed a number of lawsuits against him, the Cumhuriyet columnist says: “I won some of these and he won some. In the cases lost, I was ordered to pay fines and compensation. I will write again if there is anything new. I would not write the old stuff as that would be me repeating myself.”

Journalist Doğan Akın, who reiterated remarks made by Journalists and Writers’ Foundation Chairman Mustafa Yeşil, quoting from Gülen, saying: “Hikmet Çetinkaya has always bravely written what he believed. I never damned or cursed him.” He further noted: “We have to think about the Gülen movement and Çetinkaya’s venture. That venture, no matter what we think, says we have to try to understand and at least listen to each other. Trying to agree to disagree will be even better than chanting slogans because democracy does not promise anything more valuable than tolerance of diversity. And everything that is solid is evaporating.”

Because it was out of business, we could not ask Günizi Yayıncılık, which published Çetinkaya’s books, whether they faced repercussions when they “touched” him.


Dozens of the anti-Gülen and anti-Gülen Movement books on the shelves

Ahmet Akgül “Küresel Fesatçılık ve Fethullahcılık” (Global Troublemakers and Fethullahism), Togan Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2010.
Hanefi Avcı “Haliç’te Yaşayan Simonlar: Dün Devlet Bugün Cemaat” (Simons Living in Halic: Yesterday the State, Today the Community), Angora, İstanbul, 2010.
Serdar Öztürk “AKP ve Gülen’i Kurtarma Planı: Made in CIA” (Plan to Save AKP and Gülen: Made in CIA), Togan Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2011.
Nedim Şener “Ergenekon Belgelerinde Fethullah Gülen ve Cemaat” (Fethullah Gülen and the Community in Ergenekon Documents), Güncel Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2009, Destek Yayınları, İstanbul, 2010.
Mehmet Ali Soydan “Devlet, Medya ve Siyaset Üçgeninde Fethullah Gülen Olayı” (The Fethullah Gülen Case in the State, Media and Politics Triangle), Birey Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 1999.
Ali Dağlar “Operasyon Adı: Ağa 01 -- İsmailağa Cemaatinden Gülen Cemaatine Uzanan Bir Davanın Perde Arkası” (Operation Code: Ağa 01 -- The Backstage of a Case from the İsmailağa Community to the Fethullah Gülen Community), Destek Yayınları, İstanbul, 2010.
Soner Yalçın “Bu Dinciler O Müslümanlara Benzemiyor: İsim İsim... Olay Olay...” (These Fundamentalists Do Not Look Like Those Muslims: Name by Name; Case By Case), Doğan Kitap, İstanbul, 2009.
Yusuf Akdağ “Din Kapitalizm ve Gülen Cemaati” (Religion, Capitalism and the Gülen Community), Evrensel Basım Yayın, İstanbul, 2011.
Nurettin Veren “Kuşatma / ABD’nin Truva Atı Fethullah Gülen Harekatı” (The Siege: Fethullah Gülen Operation as the Trojan Horse of the US), Siyah Beyaz Yayınları, İstanbul, 2007.
Merdan Yanardağ “Türkiye Nasıl Kuşatıldı? / Fethullah Gülen Hareketinin Perde Arkası” (How Turkey Was Surrounded? The True Face of the Fethullah Gülen Movement), Siyah Beyaz Yayınları, İstanbul, 2006.
M. Emin Değer “Bir Cumhuriyet Düşmanının Portresi ya da Fethullah Gülen Hocaefendi’nin Derin Misyonu” (A Portrait of an Enemy of the Republic or the Deep Mission of Fethullah Gülen), Cumhuriyet Kitapları, İstanbul, 2000.
Faik Bulut “Kim Bu Fethullah Gülen” (Who is This Fethullah Gülen), Ozan Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2009.
Saygı Öztürk “Okyanus Ötesindeki Vaiz” (The Overseas Preacher), Doğan Kitapçılık, İstanbul, 2010.
Zübeyir Kındıra “Fethullah’ın Copları” (The Truncheons of Fethullah), Su Yayınları, İstanbul, 2001.
Zübeyir Kındıra “Cemaatin Copları” (The Truncheons of the Community), Togan Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2010.
Kaan Turhan “Ergenekon ve Fethullah: Yeni Osmanlı Misyonu’yla Kürdistan İnşası” (Ergenekon and Fethullah: Construction of Kurdistan Through New Ottomanist Mission), Asya Şafak Yayınları, İstanbul, 2010.
Aytunç Erkin “Fethullah Hoca’nın Şifreleri: Şifreleri Başmuavini Nurettin Veren Anlatıyor” (The Codes of Fethullah Gülen: His Chief Assistant Nurettin Veren Exposes the Codes), Kaynak Yayınları, İstanbul, 2005.
Bayram Balcı “Fethullah Gülen Okulları: Orta Asya’da İslam Misyonerleri” (Fethullah Gülen Schools: Islamic Missionaries in Central Asia), İletişim Yayınları, İstanbul, 2005.
Ergün Poyraz “Fethullah’ın Gerçek Yüzü / Said- i Nursi’den Demirel ve Ecevit’e” (The Real Face of Fethullah: From Said-i Nursi to Demirel and Ecevit), Otopsi, İstanbul, 2000.
Ergün Poyraz “Kanla Abdest Alanlar” (Those Who Perform their Ablutions with Blood), Togan Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2007.
Ergün Poyraz “Patlak Ampul” (Bright Lamp), Togan Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2007.
Hikmet Çetinkaya “Fethullah Gülen’in 40 Yıllık Serüveni -1” (The 40-Year Venture of Fethullah Gülen-1), Günizi Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2004.
Hikmet Çetinkaya “Yol Arkadaşı Nurettin Veren Anlatıyor: Fethullah Gülen’in 40 Yıllık Serüveni-2” (His Best Friend Nurettin Veren Speaks Up: The 40-Year Venture of Fethullah Gülen-2) Günizi Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2005.
Hikmet Çetinkaya “Fethullah Gülen ABD ve AKP” (Fethullah Gülen, the US and AKP), Günizi Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2007.
Hikmet Çetinkaya “Amerikan Mızıkacıları” (American Musicians), Cumhuriyet Kitapları, İstanbul, 2009.
Hikmet Çetinkaya “Fethullahçı Gladyo” (The Pro-Fethullah Gladio), Günizi Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2008.
Hikmet Çetinkaya “Kuzu Postunda Kurt Türkiye’de Tarikatların ve Cemaatlerin Örgütlü Siyasi Gücü, Fethullah Hoca’nın Önlenemeyen Yükselişi!” (Wolf in Sheep’s Clothing: The Political Power of Organized Religious Orders and Communities, the Unstoppable Rise of Fethullah Hoca), Çağdaş Yayınları, İstanbul, 1996.
Aytekin Gezici “İmamın Ordusu Son Sığınak: Dün Haliçte Yaşayan Simonlar, Bugün İmamın Ordusu” (The Army of the Imam -- Last Shelter: Yesterday Simons in Golden Horn, Today the Army of the Imam), Fertif Yayınları, İstanbul, 2011.
Hüseyin Özalp, “Ak Asker: Bir ABD-AKP ve Cemaat Projesi” (White Soldier: An American-AKP and Gülen Movement Project), Togan Yayıncılık, İstanbul, 2011.
Alpaslan Işıklı “Said Nursi, Fethullah Gülen ve Laik Sempatizanları” (Said Nursi, Fethullah Gülen and His Secular Supporters), Hasat Yayınları, 2007; Kaynak Yayınları, 2010.

Thursday

Ergenekon, Full Throttle!

"Isn't it interesting Ergenekon guys? Thank God, my website has not been shut down yet."

I was just exposing some Ergenekon connections and suddenly an invisible hand closed my blog on Salon.com!
This was one of the links to my blog:
You cannot find such a user now. That is why I had to launch a new blog to unearth my findings.
Now I can clearly see that Ergenekon is trying to press everyone to the wall!
Anyway, I can keep opening new blogs to see their real face.
You might ask me what my fault was. I was guilty of finding the connection between Ergenekon fascist terrorist organization in Turkey and the attackers of so-called Gulen Charter Schools. There are some other websites deciphering those connections, but I don't think any of them are as brave as I am.
Anyway...
To my journey, let's start with this piece of article:

The Real Face of Gulen Charter Schools Attackers

People linked with Ergenekon and sent to prison have something in common: the enmity against Islam and Fethullah Gulen. That is why they are launching a big attack on Fethullah Gulen by inventing a new concept: Gulen Charter Schools. They are so passionate in their desires that they are not shy to label some of the most successful charter schools in the nation as Gulen Charter Schools.

Those attackers can be grouped under two categories: first group is the Turks with ultra-nationalist views. Most of their leaders are in prison due to the fact that they are linked with the secret Ergenekon organization. If you take a look at previous postings and read the articles in the links, the picture becomes clear. Those are also the ones who have waged a war on Fethullah back in 1980s and 1990s. They think that they could not be successful enough within the boundaries of Turkey. Now they are ready to set the stage in various countries including the United States.

Second group mainly consist of Americans and some Turkish-Americans who are inspired, encouraged and motivated by the first group. First group's real agenda is Fethullah Gulen, but the members of the first group (people of Ergenekon) twist the reality by putting Gulen Charter Schools into the fire. What is the most important concern of Americans? Tax payer money. Then as members of the first group, you need to rally Americans by organizing constant attack on some charter schools (whom they called Gulen Charter Schools) and cooperate together.

First group is really in a tough position in Turkey. That is why they are begging for help. They are in trouble because of the findings about Ergenekon. That is why they have got to divert the attention on something or someone else who can be an easy target. For the very same reason they attack charter schools by labeling them Gulen Charter Schools.

Why are they attacking on certain charter schools? Becuase they know that there are some Turks who happen to work in those schools. They don't want their fellow Turks to be successful in the United States. Therefore they urge the US homeland security and other officials to revoke the visas of Turks.

Here lies the main danger for the Christians and Jews in Turkey. The plot of the first group has been revealed. They actually hate Christians and Jews with their ultra-nationalist mindset, but they seem to be the friend of the second groups dominantly consisting of Christians and Jews. The second group, on the other hand, thinks that these people really want to help them in their cause.

http://wwrn.org/articles/32230/

Upon reading this article, you will realize that people with their "cage" (kafes) plan, they are ready to attack the religious minorities in Turkey.

I will add more on this issue, but I do not have free time as much as the first group. Sorry guys..

Monday

Gulen-Inspired Schools Promote Learning and Service

Sorry, I was out for a while and before unleash my own stuff, I have found something interesting.

A Response to Philadelphia Inquirer Article 03.20.2011

 by Dr. Jon Pahl and Dr. John Raines

The recent article “U.S. Charter-School Network Draws Federal Attention” by Martha Woodall and Claudio Gatti can shed light on the existence of schools around the globe founded and led by individuals inspired by Muslim public intellectual Fethullah Gülen.  Unfortunately, the article also accepts unfounded allegations, if not smears, of Gülen and the informal Hizmet (service) movement.  Our own research, based on years of familiarity with the writings of Gülen, and associations with Turkish businessmen, scientists, and civic leaders, suggests a very different story.  These schools have consistently promoted good learning and citizenship, and the Hizmet movement is to date an evidently admirable civil society organization to build bridges between religious communities and to provide direct service on behalf of the common good.
 
In the first line of their article, Woodall and Gatti claim that “the FBI is investigating” Hizmet schools, “sources say.”  This leads the reader to believe the FBI would be these “sources” and these charter schools were run by Fethullah Gulen. In fact, as the article later clarifies, “federal officials declined to comment.”  So who are these “sources?”  A simple web search by Woodall and Gotti, or actual visits to the schools, might have led them to discover the good the schools are doing and these schools had no official contact with Fethullah Gulen.  And as the article admits, here in the U.S. they “meet federal standards.”

For the so-called affiliation of some US charter schools (allegedly called Gulen Charter Schools) to Fethullah Gulen, please visit http://www.charteradvocate.org/index.php/for-charter-opponents/77-gulen-charter-schools-gulen-charter-schools/76-gulen-inspired-charter-schools

Gulen inspired schools are often located in the poorest and most conflict-laden regions of the globe with higher percentage of scholarship students and tuition waivers.  They graduate students.  They are gender-inclusive (although some are boys’ or girls’ schools).  In Northern Iraq, the schools have especially promoted girls’ learning, as studied by sociologist Martha Ann Kirk.  In our experience—we’ve visited or studied Hizmet schools in Indonesia, Pakistan, Uganda, Kenya, and in the U.S—the schools generally exceed local standards by considerable margins.  The stories of these schools have not received the attention of the Afghani schools profiled in Greg Mortensen’s Three Cups of Tea, but they are very much in the same vein.  The schools welcome students of all (and no) religious backgrounds, and they promote critical study of the sciences—something the U.S. (and the world) sorely needs!   

A simple web-search by Woodall and Gotti would also have taken them to Fethullah Gülen’s website:  http://www.fethullahgulen.org/.  The banner there reads:  “understanding and respect.”  Gülen’s most widely read book carries the title Toward a Global Civilization of Love and Tolerance.  It is a counter to Samuel Huntington’s “clash of civilizations” argument.  Gülen advocates in the book for scientific education, inter-religious dialogue, and democracy.  Far from “not being linked to terrorism,” as Woodall and Gatti’s article damns-with-faint-praise, Gülen immediately and forcefully condemned the 9/11 attacks, calling Osama bin Laden “a monster.”  Gülen has been described, not without reason, as a Muslim Gandhi.  Recent events in Egypt carry more than a hint of influence from the kind of Sufi Islam that Mr. Gülen encourages.  A Conference in Cairo in 2009 that was convened to study Gülen’s thought was packed with young people and civic leaders.  It took as its theme the Arabic term “islah,” or “reform.”

Finally, what makes Woodall and Gatti’s article particularly troubling is its conspiratorial tone.  In fact, their story originated in the August 17, 2010 USA Today.  Woodall and Gotti appear to have recycled an old story without much research of their own, adding to it instead vague allegations and suspicions.

 Hizmet simply means “service” in Turkish.  The term refers to the spirit of the civil society movement inspired by this modest imam, and does not refer to some grand effort to “push for an authoritarian Islamic state,” as Woodall and Gotti imply.  University of Houston Sociologist Helen Rose Ebaugh has published the best general book on the movement, entitled The Gulen Movement:  A Sociological Analysis of a Civic Movement Rooted in Moderate Islam, and Georgetown Professor John Esposito (a Temple University graduate) has published with Ihsan Yilmaz a book entitled Islam and Peacebuilding:  Gülen Movement Initiatives.  

All in all, a little research by journalists, and readers, will lead to a more nuanced appreciation of this complex and fascinating global movement.  The Hizmet movement has already done much to promote inter-religious understanding, respect, and civil service--not to mention good learning--whatever the possible failures of some particular individuals, which we trust any investigation will discover.   In this era when Turkey might play a vital role as a bridge for peace between the West and the Muslim world (as a Turkish ambassador recently did in securing the release of four New York Times correspondents detained in Tripoli), it is important that journalists do their homework and report accurately and fairly on events and movements, and not circulate unsubstantiated allegations and stereotypes.

Jon Pahl, Ph.D.
Professor of the History of Christianity in North America
The Lutheran Theological Seminary at Philadelphia

John Raines, Ph.D.
Professor of Religion
Temple University


 

Tuesday

US Officials Refuted Turkish Ex-Intelligence Officer's Slander Against the Gulen Movement


A Turkish ex-intelligence officer's recent defamation campaign claiming that the Gulen Movement has been providing cover for the CIA since the mid-1990s is refuted by former US officials. Jeff Stein of the Washington Post has devoted his column, Spy Talk, this week to a hot debate going on in Turkey. What sparked the debate was a memoir by a former Turkish Intelligence Officer, Nuri Gundes. In his memoir, Gundes alleged that the movement sheltered 130 CIA agents at its schools in Central Asia. Post's Stein talked to former CIA officers about the accusations and asked them about their take on the issue. Stein says "Two ex-CIA officials with long ties to Central Asia cast doubt on Gundes’s charges.

Especially one of them, Mr. Graham Fuller, a former CIA station chief in Kabul and author of “The Future of Political Islam,” threw cold water on Gundes’s allegations: “I think the story of 130 CIA agents in Gulen schools in Central Asia is pretty wild,” Fuller said. “I cannot even imagine trying to credibly sell such a scheme with a straight face within the agency. As for Nuri Gundes, I am not aware of who he is or what he has written. But there is a lot of wild stuff floating around in Turkey on these issues and Gulen is a real hot button issue.” added the ex-CIA official. Stein also asked Fuller about the accusations arguing he has backed Gulen's visa issues and recommended him a green card. "I did not recommend him for a residence permit or anything else" said Fuller. "What I did do,” he explained, “was write a letter to the FBI in early 2006 …at a time when Gulen's enemies were pressing for his extradition to Turkey from the U.S. In the post 9/11 environment, they began spreading the word that he was a dangerous radical. In my statement to the FBI I offered my views…that I did not believe he posed a security threat of any kind to the U.S. I still believe that today, as do a large body of scholars on contemporary Islam. “I do not at all consider Gulen a radical or dangerous.” Fuller continued. “Indeed in my view--and I have studied a lot of Islamist movements worldwide--his movement is perhaps one of the most encouraging in terms of the evolution of contemporary Islamic political and social thinking…”

All in all, this time The Washington Post and a couple of former US officials busted claims and slanders against the Gulen Movement.

Read the article at Washington Post...

Wednesday

More Suspects Placed Behind Bars in Sledgehammer Case


Before entering the Beşiktaş Courthouse, retired Gen. Çetin Doğan told reporters that all evidence in the Sledgehammer case is fabricated. He is currently in Metris Prison.

Retired Gen. Çetin Doğan, the former head of the 1st Army, and seven other suspects in the Sledgehammer coup case were arrested after surrendering to İstanbul police on Monday.
The İstanbul 10th High Criminal Court last week ruled to put 163 retired and active duty members of the military -- including former top commanders -- behind bars on coup charges as part of an ongoing case into the Sledgehammer Security Operation Plan, devised in 2003 to unseat the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government. Sledgehammer is a subversive plot allegedly prepared by a clique inside the military that included plans to crash jets and bomb large mosques at busy prayer hours to undermine the AK Party with the hope of eventually overthrowing it.
More retired and active duty members of the Turkish military, including former head of the 1st Army, Gen. Çetin Doğan, were arrested and put behind bars on Monday. The officers are all accused of a failed attempt to overthrow the government. Such a charge calls for a sentence of up to 20 years in prison
All 133 suspects who attended the Sledgehammer hearing on Friday at the İstanbul 10th High Criminal Court were arrested and sent to prison. One of the suspects whom the court wanted to arrest was already under arrest as part of a separate criminal case. The court also issued arrest warrants for the 29 suspects who did not attend the hearing. While some of the suspects surrendered to security forces and were later arrested over the weekend, others are reported to be at large.
Early in the morning hours on Monday, Doğan, retired Gen. Nuri Ali Karababa, Gen. Nejat Bek, Gen. Hasan Fehmi Canan, retired Col. Ümit Özcan, Maj. Gökhan Murat Üstündağ, Maj. Refik Hakan Tufan and noncommissioned officer Halil Yıldız surrendered at the Beşiktaş Courthouse. Before entering the building, Doğan spoke to reporters about the Sledgehammer case, arguing that all evidence in the case is “fabricated.”
“There is not a single genuine signature on the documents. All are digital documents. Police officers put themselves in the place of prosecutors and judges and made a judgment about the documents. All of those documents were hastily prepared. All of them are fabricated,” he stated.
Doğan is a prime suspect in the Sledgehammer case. He is alleged to be the mastermind behind the coup plan. He was arrested in April of last year on coup charges but was released for health reasons.
The retired general also told reporters that his lawyer would appeal the court’s arrest decision. “If our appeal is rejected, then we will start a protest. We will not deliver defense statements during the trial. Our lawyers will take off their cloaks, and we will speak to our nation. I will prepare a manifesto. In addition, I will prepare my own indictment. We will no longer talk to prosecutors and judges,” he added.

Gen. Nejat Bek, Gen. Hasan Fehmi Canan, Retired Gen. Nuri Ali Karababa (from left to right)
In addition, Doğan stated that he would not go to the hospital even if his medical condition becomes serious. “I will continue to attend the trial,” he noted. In response to a question over why two suspects -- Gen. Ergin Saygun and Gen. Recep Rıfkı Durusoy -- were hospitalized at the Gülhane Military Academy of Medicine (GATA) shortly after the arrest order, Doğan said the two had health problems.
The suspects who surrendered underwent a health check at the courthouse. They were later sent to different prisons. Doğan was sent to Metris Prison, while active duty officers were sent to Hasdal Prison. “I am going on duty. This is a mobilization day. I told them [prosecutors] all the facts. They are arresting us without allowing us to defend ourselves,” he told reporters as he left the courthouse.
In the meantime, Republican People’s Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu told TRT 1, Turkey’s first and oldest television station owned by the state, that he expects justice for the Sledgehammer suspects. “What justice requires should be done. If there is a culprit, he should be investigated. But why did they [Sledgehammer suspects] get arrested? So that they would not destroy evidence. They [prosecutors] have been protecting the evidence. The suspects were once arrested and later released. None of them ran away. And they have been rearrested. For what reason?” he asked.
According to Mehmet Baransu, a columnist for the Taraf daily, some Sledgehammer suspects who have not surrendered to police thus far are planning to flee out of fear that the scope of the Sledgehammer case will expand and that they will be handed harsher punishments. Some plans included in Sledgehammer, he said, date back to the Feb. 28, 1999 post-modern coup. “The suspects are concerned that the Sledgehammer case will be merged with a case to be initiated against the Feb. 28 coup some day. Therefore, they are planning to flee abroad with their fortunes,” he wrote in yesterday’s column.
Some Sledgehammer suspects were prohibited from travelling abroad by court order.
On Feb. 28, 1999, the military overthrew the coalition government led by Necmettin Erbakan of the now-defunct Welfare Party (RP) on the grounds that it was engaging in religious fundamentalism. Prosecutors involved in separate coup cases believe the post-modern coup was the work of a shady network nested in the deep state.

Protests expected from suspects’ wives, lawyers

Doğan’s wife, Nilgün Doğan, told the Milliyet daily that the wives of Sledgehammer suspects who have been arrested plan to take to the streets in the coming days to protest the arrests. “We will take to the streets against injustice,” Mrs. Doğan was quoted as saying.
In addition, lawyers for Sledgehammer suspects are reportedly planning to remove themselves from the case. The lawyers held a meeting at the İstanbul Bar Association that was chaired by the association’s president, Ümit Kocasakal. Doğan’s lawyer Celal Ülgen told the public that the lawyers plan to protest the arrest of the suspects.
“We do not want to become a part of injustice. We do not want to ‘legalize’ a judiciary that is for us neither trustworthy nor independent,” he said. Ülgen also said the lawyers will make their final decision public after a meeting. If the lawyers decide to withdraw from the case, the court will appoint new lawyers from bar associations to defend the suspects.

We have already stated that some people attacking Gulen Charter Schools have deep and heartfelt relationship with Ergenekon organization.

Thursday

Gulen Chair Holder Praises Movement's Focus on Education

I have found this piece of news on a website. It is not something directly related to Ergenekon issue, but I find it useful in terms of understanding the motives of people why they have chosen Fethullah Gulen to attack. As you remember, one way to attack Gulen is to label some charter schools as Gulen Charter Schools in the US. Then they start digging on this false term called Gulen Charter Schools. After a while, I would not be surprised if those people start believing their own tales: Gulen Charter Schools..  

"The Gulen Chair holder at the Catholic University of Leuven in Belgium, Prof. Johan Leman highly values education and the Gulen Movement is the right partner for him to work with.

Social and cultural anthropology Professor Leman heads the Fethullah Gulen Chair for Intercultural Studies, which was established at the Catholic University of Leuven, one of Belgium's most prestigious universities, with the efforts of the Brussels-based Intercultural Dialogue Platform (IDP). As part of an agreement signed between the IDP and the university, the chair will carry out academic research and organize conferences for five years.


Stating that he thinks interreligious dialogue, which is also promoted by the Gulen movement, is vital in promoting coexistence, he said the fact that the movement is based on education is what makes it a perfect partner for him.

Gülen is a Turkish Islamic scholar well known for his teachings that promote mutual understanding and tolerance between cultures. Now residing in the US, Gülen has pioneered educational activities in a number of countries along with efforts to promote intercultural and interfaith activities around the world. He has written nearly 50 books in Turkish, some of which have been translated into several languages. One of the world's most influential Islamic scholars, Gülen was placed at the top of the list of "The World's Top 20 Public Intellectuals" by the Foreign Policy and Prospect journals in 2008."

Tuesday

Ergenekon Report

A detailed critical analysis on Gareth Jenkins’ Ergenekon report… Yıldıray Oğur, columnist at Taraf daily, contextualizes the report and points its inconsistencies and material errors.

Only one fourth of the report relates to the indictments
“There is concern that the case may turn into a big step taken towards an authoritarian single party administration, not a big step in the direction of institution of pluralist democracy in Turkey as claimed.” The introductory part of the Report by British Journalist Gareth Jenkins, who has become the last hope of the opponents of Ergenekon Case, titled: “Between Fact and Fantasy: Turkey’s Ergenekon Investigation, concludes with a quite familiar allegation, which has become a motto of a segment in the political debate in Turkey.
Contrary to what is thought, only 22 pages of the 83 page report relate to the initial two indictments for Ergenekon, one of which is 2455 pages and the other, 1909 pages. Still, the report appears to provide a solution to the need for “reading” by the Turkish opinion leaders and journalists, which put out substantial resistance as to the issue of not reading the Ergenekon indictments.
The global public opinion, which is unable to have first hand information on the issue of Ergenekon Case having its entire proceedings in Turkish, is the basic target of the report, which would serve as “Ergenekon for Beginners” for an ordinary Turkish reader.  It has the qualification as the first source containing initial assessment for the world not knowing Turkish about the issue of Ergenekon. And it is highly unfortunate for the world to learn about Ergenekon through this report in the beginning.
Myth of objectivity
Certainly, the fact that the report has been penned by a British journalist, who is thought to be ‘objective’ on Ergenekon Case, which has divided Turkey into supporters and opponents in Turkey, underlies the substantial interest enjoyed by the report both locally and internationally. 
Please click here to read the rest of the article. 
 

Friday

The Confessions of an Ergenekon Fanatic

A couple of days ago I received an interesting comment from an “anonymous” user. In his/her message s/he openly declares his/her connection with Ergenekon terrorist organization. I will summarize his/her message and add my own comments in parenthesis. I am sure that this guy or lady is one of the attackers of Gulen Charter Schools. S/he is also probably the webmaster of those junk amateur websites on so-called Gulen Charter schools. After Ergenekon's plans were revealed in Turkey and their leaders were put under arrest, those terrorist guys started to bark everyone including the Turks in the United States. In order to divert attention to somewhere else, they have started defaming people giving strange names such as Gulen charter schools.

“Ergenekon is the best (that is wrong; east or west, home is the best), we are protecting the rights of Turkey (I really wonder how you are protecting the rights of Turkey) and making us a strong nation. (Turkey is already strong nation. I believe you are undermining Turkey) You Gulen fools (first of all I am not a Gulen fool) are attempting to make other countries strong and you will fail. (If what you are saying true, then it is something good to work for the good of other countries, isn’t it?) Americans on to you (another contradictory sentence... If somebody is working for the good of America, then why should America be on to him/her?). The states in America do a poor job of inspecting your schools (which schools? I ain’t have any school! Besides, please don’t insult state institutions), but they are now catching on (Who? Whom? Where? How?) because the American charter schools are turning you in (any proof please?). You can manipulate in Turkiye (you mean Turkey, right? A sudden turn in an English sentence my fascist friend) but not in America. The Americans will take your free trips to Turkiye (if there is any free trip going on, please let me know. I love free trips) and your fake awards (A nice term: fake award… “Google” it please) but in the end they will also take their schools back (schools already belong to Americans, because all public and charter schools are the property of the government) and send Fethos (a classic Ergenekon fanatic’s way of using “strange” vocabulary. Most Americans are wondering what this word means) back to us to he can (grammar mistake, learn some English instead of training yourself with fascist ideas, my friend) finally stand trial like a man instead of hiding like a little girl (If you mean Fethullah Gulen, as far as I know he has already officially been acquitted from all his cases that were groundless enough to make a real accusation. If he wants to return Turkey today, there is no legal obstacle. Looks like too much fascist training keeps you away from the news.) Allah blesses Ergenekon (God won’t bless the terrorists who hang their prime minister and who plan to organize a military coup by creating havoc in the country). We (who do you mean? The Ergenekon guys?) will win (that means you are losing now?) and we will be in power. (Work hard, don’t give up my friend. YOU, the Ergenegon terrorist organization, might be in power by the year 2100)”

What is left to say? Looks like nothing… Only two pictures that could tell everything about those Ergenekon guys...

 HERE YOU CAN SEE HOW THEY HANGED THEN-PRIME MINISTER ADNAN MENDERES!

ERGENEKON GUYS, NEXT DAY, REQUESTED HIS WIFE THE PRICE OF THE ROPE AND THE WAGE OF THE HANGMAN!!!