Seized documents suggest Ergenekon’s hand in Şık’s book

Today's Zaman

Documents seized at the offices of the odatv.com news portal and the house of journalist Ahmet Şık indicate the Ergenekon terrorist organization has links to the draft version of “İmamın Ordusu” (The Imam's Army). An İstanbul court recently ordered that all copies of the controversial book be seized.

Police confiscated a large number of documents at Odatv in a search last month and in Şık's house in early March. Şık is currently under arrest on charges of membership in Ergenekon, an alleged clandestine criminal organization accused of working to overthrow the government. Some of the documents were linked to a well-known plan of Ergenekon, titled “Ulusal Medya” (National Media), which explains ways of creating a “national media center” that will fight against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the faith-based Gülen movement and “unite the Turkish public under the Kemalist ideology.”

According to the documents, Şık prepared his book, “İmamın Ordusu,” in line with orders coming from Ergenekon. The book reportedly talks about followers of the Gülen movement infiltrating the police force. Last week a high criminal court in İstanbul ordered the seizure of all copies of the book for examination. Police raided the offices of a publishing house and the headquarters of the Radikal daily on March 24 and seized drafts of the book, which has not been published yet. The documents seized from Odatv and Şık's home suggest the draft of the book was edited by unidentified persons. When editing, those people asked Şık to “make additions” or “delete” some parts. While Şık's version is 189 pages long, the edited version of the book is 302 pages.

According to a document, titled “Ahmet Kitap” (Ahmet Book), the journalist is asked to make changes to his draft. “These developments [mentioned in the draft] are not how they actually occurred. They need to be corrected,” “It is not correct that we do not want to work with him. This is wrongly worded” and “[Sabri] Uzun did not say the İstanbul intelligence department is working to get us into trouble. This statement is wrong,” the documents read. Uzun is the former head of the intelligence unit of the Van Police Department.

The documents also warn Şık to act prudently with regard to potential lawsuits to be filed against the journalist in the future with a demand for compensation for damages due to statements included in the book. The documents advise the journalist not to provide the full names of people, instead just using first names and initials.

A document seized from the computer of Soner Yalçın, the jailed owner of Odatv, read that Şık’s books should be published before the June 12 parliamentary elections. Yalçın is also accused of membership in Ergenekon. The document also read: “The [Şık’s] book should be more striking than Simons.” By Simons, Yalçın was referring to a book by Hanefi Avcı, a jailed former police chief, titled “Haliç’te Yaşayan Simonlar” (Simons in the Golden Horn.) In the book, Avcı argues the Ergenekon trial is a conspiracy run by the government to silence its critics but at the same time acknowledges he had no proof to back up these allegations.

“İmamın Ordusu” was prepared in line with orders and directives coming from the Ergenekon terrorist organization, according to an initial report prepared by civilian prosecutors involved in the Ergenekon investigation. “To conclude, notes seized from Odatv and others suggest “İmamın Ordusu” is a work that follows orders and directives from the Ergenekon terrorist organization. The work was carried out by Şık, [journalist] Nedim Şener, Yalçın, Uzun and other journalists at Odatv and some other unidentified individuals,” the report reads.

In the meantime, some publishing houses have decided to join forces to publish “İmamın Ordusu,” according to the Cumhuriyet daily. Pencere Publications Editor-in-Chief Muzaffer Erdoğdu said a number of publishing houses discussed the issue and have decided to publish the book. He said he does not fear being called a “member of a terrorist group” if he manages to publish the book.

Reactions from colleagues

The revelation of suspected ties between Ergenekon and Şık’s book has drawn the ire of some journalists in Turkey, who reacted to earlier claims that Şık and other journalists were arrested for their opposition to the AK Party government. There were earlier allegations by critics of the Ergenekon investigation that the arrests of the journalists are directly linked to their journalistic activities. But Zekeriya Öz, the chief prosecutor in the investigation into Ergenekon, denied the claims in a statement he released in early March in which he said the arrests are not journalism-related but stemmed from evidence found against the journalists that cannot be made public because of the confidentiality of the ongoing probe.

According to Nazlı Ilıcak, a columnist for the Sabah daily, critics of an ongoing investigation into suspected links among Odatv, Şener and Şık have raised the argument that Şık’s book was “censored” for its anti-Gülen movement content to change the axis of debates over the book. “We cannot agree with casting a shadow over the truth based on the principle of freedom of press,” she noted. Another columnist from Sabah, Emre Aköz, said some journalists believe they receive intelligence and documents from some members of the police force and write books. “However, Ergenekon members are behind those members of the police force. Prosecutors are seeking ‘electronic traces’ by examining the copies of the book [İmamın Ordusu] and investigate by collecting tips,” he added.

Mehmet Baransu from the Taraf daily stated Şık told prosecutors in his testimony that he has a single copy of the book. “A copy of the book seized from the computer of Ertuğrul Mavioğlu [a journalist for the Radikal daily] has revealed contradictions in his testimony. Some are trying to cast a shadow on the truth through debates over the freedom of press and speech.
 
Published on Today's Zaman, 28 March 2011, Monday