Sub-sub-series 9 - Susurluk Report

2 items

Materials pertaining to the Susurluk scandal, which took place during the peak of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict in the mid-1990s and which was referenced in multiple Kurdish Litigation Project cases. The events that led to the release of the Susurluk Report stemmed from a car crash that took place on 3 November 1996 in the small town of Susurluk, Balıkesir Province. It resulted in the deaths of three of the passengers: Abdullah Çatlı, a former ultra-rightist militant and a contract killer for the National Intelligence Organization (Turkey) (MİT), who was wanted by police for multiple murders and drug trafficking and was on Interpol's red list at the time of his death; Huseyin Kocadağ, a senior police official; and beauty queen and Çatlı's girlfriend Gonca Us. Sedat Bucak, an MP, suffered a broken leg and fractured skull but survived the accident. The Susurluk crash was a key event in the unravelling of the deep state in Turkey. The peculiar associations of the crash victims and their links with Interior Minister Mehmet Ağar led to a number of investigations, including a parliamentary investigation, of what became known as the Susurluk scandal. The scandal exposed a close relationship between the Turkish government, the ultra-nationalist paramilitary Grey Wolves organisation, and the Turkish mafia. The crash itself was shown to be an assassination arranged by the MİT. Vice President of the Police Intelligence Department Hanefi Avcı said that the gangs fell into infighting after alleged PKK financiers Behçet Cantürk and Savaş Buldan were assassinated, as the gangs had completed their mission of dismantling the PKK's financial foundation. It was later revealed that Prime Minister Tansu Çiller sanctioned the killing of businessmen who were suspected of lending financial support to the PKK.