The process was controversial, the judgments are hard: The so-called Ergenekon proceedings, a court has imposed lengthy prison sentences against political opponents of the Turkish government. Supposedly they wanted to overthrow PM Erdogan. The judgment reveals how divided the country is.

Ergenekon is the name of a valley in Central Asia wher come Turks from in Turkish homeland. According to legend, fled after a devastating defeat the few Turks living there, grew to be a strong nation, and went with a gray wolf out to establish a great empire. It is a story that appeals to many nationalists and Kemalists. The wolf has since been their motive.

With a mammoth process, one of the most controversial in the history of Turkey, which ended on Monday after five years near Istanbul, Erdogan has now killed the wolf.

From the perspective of the Erdogan government Ergenekon is a network that will have prepared a coup: With killings and attacks it would spread fear and chaos and provide a pretext for the army to overthrow Erdogan to restore peace and order. so a kind of Pax-Erdogana

The Ergenekon members were called conspirators, traitors, terrorists. Among the 275 defendants were primarily military, but also lawyers, writers, journalists and opposition activists.

Turkey Judgements The Ergenekon Trial:”Tragicomic” allegations

A court in Silivri, near Istanbul – screened by security forces – said most of the accused guilty and imposed long prison sentences. The highest ranking accused, former Chief of Staff Ilker Basbug, was sentenced to life imprisonment. He should have been at the forefront of the Ergenekon gang and is considered as the main responsible for the planned coup. Basbug himself calls the allegations “tragicomic”.

Last year, several officers were convicted for allegedly wanted to concoct a coup. Superficially fits the in Erdogan declared aim prune the influence of the once-powerful officers on the policy – a at first sight quite comprehensible projects, after all, the armed forces have coups in the past decades three times and think of themselves as the true guardians of national interests.

But for most arrests the evidence is questionable, often lack the evidence altogether. In addition, the government is not against a small, secret group of conspirators before, but against half the armed forces leadership. Many writers, journalists, lawyers, businessmen and opposition politicians sit in jail Erdogan, many critics are convinced that pursuing a witch hunt against political opponents.

PM Erdogan and his government is cracking down on critics

There are the excesses of insecure, split Republic, proceed simultaneously in the modernization and Islamization. The boundaries often do not extend selective and often in a zigzag, where the common people, the intellectuals there, where the religious, the secular there, where the Kemalists, there Erdogan’s followers. Erdogan has made the former military dictatorship, a police state

The narrative, there had been in Ergenekon is a part of an even larger conspiracy called “Deep State” who wanted to help the generals in power has increasingly lost credibility. Erdogan, in power since early 2003 and July 2011 for the third year in office, rather gives the impression that cold even see how a selfish ruler makes the slightest opposition. Critics say it does not go to him to the subjugation of the military under democratic rules, but simply to his retention of power.

The number of arrests and intimidation has increased steadily over the past ten years. Long, many journalists dare not write what is, without writers on public appearances, critics of the government people need protection. The anti-terrorism law has become an effective instrument of power of the ruling, the alleged terrorist threat, a hard to resist-laying blame. The fear that someone would destabilize Turkey, their hurt is deep.

While intellectuals horrified warn against the restriction of the press and freedom of expression, many Turks still donate Erdogan applause when he proceeds with hardness against alleged enemies of the state. “We show a firm and courageous stand to break free from the harassment by gangs and mobsters our country and our citizens,” he says. And “. Nobody is above the law We are determined to fight against illegal gangs,” the newspaper quoted him as saying, “Hürriyet”.

Political killings in recent years there has actually been some in Turkey. The journalist Nedim Sener said that in fact the mastermind behind these attacks and murders are employed in government agencies. The process has Turkish reportedly brought in any case no guidance as to whether the condemned have to do with the murders. “And the current protests in Turkey and the reactions of the government to show how this country still thinks,” he says. The bill for his criticism he has received: He spent a year in prison – and is said to be members of the Ergenekon network.

Turkey Judgements in the Ergenekon Trial:”Oh, we need you very much”

New York writer Paul Auster said a year ago in an interview that he would not occur in Turkey, because there were sitting reason so many writers and journalists in prison. Then said the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, he does not know who this oyster, and scoffed: “Oh, we need you very much”

The Secretary General of the Islamic-conservative government party AKP Erdogan jumped in: oyster was probably part of the Ergenekon conspiracy

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