SUSURLUK

Susurluk: translation

The notorious car accident in Susurluk,Turkey, on 3 November 1996—in which in the same vehicle a well-known, right-wing terrorist and convicted drug dealer supposedly a fugitive from justice was killed along with a high-ranking police official, while a Kurdishvillage guardchieftain (SedatBucak), who also was a member of the Turkish parliament, was seriously injured—seemed to give credence to allegations of aDeep Stateinfiltrated at the highest levels by organized crime.

Among many other specific allegations, Susurluk indicated that Turkey had probably created an illegal organization to extra-judicially kill several thousand ethnic Kurdish civilians who were perceived as supporters of theKurdistan Workers Party(PKK). In return for their services, Turkey allowed gangsters to traffic in drugs, murder their opponents, and engage in a host of other illegal activities. Despite the widespread publicity, only the lightest sentences have been handed down very reluctantly in the Susurluk case.