| Native name | Susurluk skandalı |
|---|---|
| Date | Mid-1990s |
| Type | Scandal |
| Cause | Close relationship between the deep state in Turkey, the Grey Wolves, and the Turkish mafia |
| Outcome | Resignations of Mehmet Ağar and Tansu Çiller |
| Convicted | None |
The Susurluk scandal (Turkish: Susurluk skandalı) or Susurluk accident (Turkish: Susurluk kazası), was a 1996 political scandal in Turkey that exposed a close relationship between the Turkish government, the ultra-nationalistic paramilitary Grey Wolves organization and the Turkish mafia. It took place during the peak of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in the mid-1990s.
The scandal surfaced with a car–truck collision on November 3, 1996, near the small town of Susurluk in the province of Balıkesir. The victims included the deputy chief of the Istanbul Police Department, a Member of Parliament, and Abdullah Çatlı, the leader of the Grey Wolves and a contract killer for the National Intelligence Organization (Turkey) (MİT), who was on Interpol's red list at the time of his death. The peculiar connections of those involved in the crash with Interior Minister Mehmet Ağar brought to light the existence of a deep state in Turkey and an internal power struggle within the Turkish political structure.
The infighting had its roots in the state's escalating low-intensity conflict with the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) that had been taking place since 1984. Towards the end of 1992, a furious debate in the National Security Council (NSC) about how to proceed was taking place. The same year, the NSC ordered a coordinated black operations campaign against the PKK using special forces.[1][2] The Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, the "Counter-Guerrilla", contributed much of these special forces.[3]
Deputy prime minister Tansu Çiller tasked the police force, under the leadership of then-chief of police Mehmet Ağar, with crippling the PKK and assassinating its leader, Abdullah Öcalan. The police unit responsible for this job was the Special Operations Department (Turkish: Özel Harekat Dairesi, ÖHD). Abdullah Çatlı also took part. This caused consternation in the MİT, which had formerly counted on Çatlı to undertake reprisals against the militant Armenian organization ASALA. Especially concerned was Mehmet Eymür of the MİT's Operations/Counter-Terrorism Department, who had irreconcilable differences with Ağar.[4] Those involved then split into two camps - those loyal to Mehmet Ağar and those loyal to Mehmet Eymür. The scandal has hence been pithily described as "the battle of the two Mehmets".[5]
Intelligence expert Mahir Kaynak described the police camp as "pro-European", and the MİT camp as "pro-American".[6] According to Kaynak, Ağar's gang aimed to create a state within a state, complete with a shadow army (the village guard system), and intelligence organization, inside the police force. The MİT ultimately purged the gang in a crash that was passed off as an accident.[7] The subsequent media scrutiny surrounding the crash led to several investigations and the resignation of both Çiller and Ağar, though no government official associated with the scandal faced any immediate criminal trial.[8]
Yurt içinde de örgütün legal uzantısı olan dernek, parti ve gazetelerde patlamalar olmuş, PKK'nın patlaycı madde, silah ve diğer lojistik desteğinin çok önemli kısmını sağlayan bazı kişiler suikastlere uğramıştır. ...bunun tek elden koordineli bir şekilde ve yanlışlıklara yol açmayacak tarzda yürütülmesi esas olmalıdır.
ozer was invoked but never defined (see the help page).Siyasi iktidar, silahlı güç olarak Emniyet ve korucular, istihbarat Emniyet içinde oluşturulacak ya da o zaman kurulması planlanan yeni istihbarat örgütü olacaktı. Ülkeye egemen olan güç, durumu fark etti ve belki kaderin yardımıyla, belki de birilerinin desteğiyle, meşhur kaza oldu ve örgüt etkisiz hale getirildi.