Counter-Guerrilla

Seal of the U.S. Office of Defense Cooperation. The 13 stars represent the original 13 US states, and indicate a United States Department of Defense organization (see seal).[1]

Counter-Guerrilla (Turkish: Kontrgerilla) is a Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative backed by the United States as an expression of the Truman Doctrine. The founding goal of the operation was to erect a stay-behind guerrilla force to undermine a possible Soviet occupation. The goal was soon expanded to subverting communism in Turkey.

The Counter-Guerrilla initially operated out of the Turkish Armed Forces' Tactical Mobilization Group (Turkish: Seferberlik Taktik Kurulu, or STK). In 1967, the STK was renamed to the Special Warfare Department (Turkish: Özel Harp Dairesi, ÖHD). In 1994, the ÖHD became the Special Forces Command (Turkish: Özel Kuvvetler Komutanlığı, ÖKK).

The military accepts that the ÖKK is tasked with subverting a possible occupation, though it denies that the unit is Gladio's "Counter-Guerrilla", i.e., that it has engaged in black operations.[2][3] After the dissolution of the Soviet Union, the Counter-Guerrilla were used to fight the militant Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (cf. Susurluk scandal),[4] which has since its inception been regarded as a major threat by the deep state in Turkey.[5] Mehmet Ali Agca was part of the group in the late 1970s.[6]

Counter-Guerrilla's existence was revealed in 1971 by survivors of the Ziverbey incident, and officially on 26 September 1973 by Prime Minister Bülent Ecevit. The subject has been broached by parliament at least 27 times since 1990, however no successful investigation has taken place.[7] Deputies of the incumbent party in any given administration always voted in dissent.[8]

  1. ^ "DFAS Logo/Seal". Defense Finance and Accounting Service. 2008-10-16. Archived from the original on August 20, 2010. Retrieved 2008-10-16.
  2. ^ ""Kontrgerilla", "Gladio", "Derin Devlet" gibi kavramlar hakkında" (Press release) (in Turkish). Turkish Armed Forces. 2006-01-16. BA-01/06. Archived from the original on 2008-03-08.
  3. ^ Directorate General of Press and Information (1990-12-03). "Ayın Tarihi" (Press release) (in Turkish). Office of the Prime Minister. Archived from the original on December 5, 2008. Retrieved 2008-10-21. ...Doğan Beyazıt, Özel Harp Dairesi'nin kontrgerilla olmadığını vurgulayarak, Özel Harp'in, düşman işgali altında kalan bölgede 'gerilla, yeraltı ve kurtarma-kaçırma' çalışmaları olduğunu söyledi.
  4. ^ Cite error: The named reference KomTur was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
  5. ^ Aytaç, Önder; Uslu, Emre (2008-08-25). "Soner Yalçın'dan 'Ergenekon'u anlamsızlaştırma kılavuzu'". Taraf (in Turkish). Archived from the original on September 12, 2008. Retrieved 2008-12-11. Evet, Gladio yapılanması Sovyetler Birliği yıkılıncaya kadar etkinliğini korudu. Ancak tehdit ortadan kalkınca yapı da merkezden, yanı Amerika'dan dağıtıldı. Avrupa ülkelerinde Sovyet tehdidinin kalkmasıyla birlikte, yönetimdeki askerlerin ağırlığı ortadan kalmaya başlayıp sivillerin hâkimiyeti güçlenince, bu yapı da re-organize edildi. Bizde ise aynı dönemde, hem sivil asker dengesinde bir değişme olmadığından, hem de terörün ülke güvenliğini yoğun bir şekilde tehdit etmesi hâlâ söz konusu olduğundan, bu yapı ortaya çıkarılamadı ve yapı yerelleştirilerek dönüşüme tabi tutuldu.
  6. ^ "TÜRKEI: Wie Olivenöl und Wasser". Der Spiegel (in German) (29). 16 July 2007. Retrieved 2017-01-08.
  7. ^ Insel, Ahmet (2008-12-07). "Özel Harp Dairesi'nden Jitem'e". Radikal 2. Radikal (in Turkish). Retrieved 2008-12-27. 1990'larda Özel Harp Dairesi ve kontgerilla tartışmalarının 27 kez TBMM gündemine geldiğini tespit eden Kılıç, hiçbirinde Meclis araştırması kararının çıkmamış olmasına işaret ediyor.
  8. ^ Uğur, Fatih (2007-02-26). "Kontrgerilla mı Ergenekon mu, Çeteler mi?". Aksiyon (in Turkish). 638. Feza Gazetecilik A.Ş. Archived from the original on April 24, 2008. Retrieved 2009-01-03.