New detentions made under Ergenekon probe

Thirty-seven more people, including seven retired generals, were detained yesterday in coordinated police operations in six cities under the ongoing Ergenekon probe. Among the detainees were Kemal Guruz, former chairman of the Board of Higher Education (YOK); Professor Yalcin Kucuk; Tuncer Kilinç, retired general and former National Security Council (NSC) secretary general; retired Gen. Kemal Yavuz; Ibrahim Sahin, former deputy chairman of the Special Operations Unit of the National Police Department; retired Gen. Erdal Senel, former judicial adviser to the General Staff; and a police chief, a naval officer and a colonel. The alleged criminal network known as Ergenekon made headlines in June 2007 after police seized grenades, explosives and fuses in a shanty house in Istanbul. Last October a criminal court in Istanbul began trying 86 suspects in the case. Commenting on the new detentions, main opposition Republican People Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal branded the probe political and unlawful, in violation of international norms of justice and Turkey's Constitution. He said that law was being ignored and used as a tool for political gamesmanship under the probe. Dismissing Baykal's claims, Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin said, "This is a wholly judicial prosecution, not a political issue." In related news, Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Justice Hasan Gerceker said yesterday that the court had decided to discuss a police search of former Supreme Court of Appeals Chief Prosecutor Sabih Kanadoglu's house under the probe.