Cem Ersever

Cem Ersever
Personal details
Born6 June 1950
Erzurum, Turkey
Died4 November 1993(1993-11-04) (aged 42–43)
Ankara, Turkey
Military service
AllegianceTurkey
Branch/serviceTurkish Army
Years of service1968–1993
RankMajor

Ahmet Cem Ersever (1950 – 4 November 1993) was a commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie, and said to be one of the founders of the Gendarmerie's JITEM intelligence unit. He was assassinated in November 1993.[1] His girlfriend and translator Nevval Boz was also assassinated, along with İhsan Hakan, a former PKK member.

Prior to his assassination, Ersever had left the army and began speaking to the press, and said he was in charge of JITEM's south-eastern operations. In his resignation statement he said "A gang formed inside the authorized organization in the Southeast is preventing the Turkish nation from seeing the real dimensions of the events taking place there."[2] He published a book on the war with the PKK under the pen-name Ahmet Aydın. His interviews with journalist Soner Yalçın were published in Aydınlık, after which the Military Prosecutor's Office opened an investigation, and took a deposition from Ersever.[3] Ersever's archive went missing after his death, but was later found in the house of Veli Küçük during investigations for the Ergenekon trials.[4][5] A report found in Küçük's house suggested that journalist Uğur Mumcu, General Eşref Bitlis and Ersever had all been killed to cover up arms sales from the Ergenekon organization to armed Kurdish groups.[6]

He was declared a "martyr" by the Turkish Gendarmerie in 2011.[7] Doğu Perinçek has claimed that Ersever was assassinated to cover up his role in the assassination of Eşref Bitlis earlier that year.[8] A report in the 1990s by police chief Hanefi Avcı said that Ersever had been killed by Mahmut Yıldırım (codename Yeşil) on the orders of Veli Küçük.[2]

Books

  • Ersever (under pen-name Ahmet Aydın[5]) (1993), Kürtler, PKK ve A. Öcalan, KİYAP
  • Ersever (under pen-name Ahmet Aydın) (1993), Üçgendeki tezgâh ("Conspiracy in the Triangle"), KİYAP
  • Çetin Ağaşe (2003), Cem Ersever ve JİTEM gerçeği, Bilge Karınca
  • Tutkun Akbaş (2009), Cem Ersever'in son 90 günü ve kayıp kitabı "Şam'daki kemancı", Dama Yayınları

References

  1. ^ Ergenekon indictment reopens gendarmerie major’s murder case Archived 2008-12-05 at the Wayback Machine, Today's Zaman, 13 August 2008.
  2. ^ a b Today's Zaman, 2 February 2008, Ersever’s top-secret archive found in general’s house Archived 2014-04-18 at the Wayback Machine
  3. ^ Today's Zaman, 2 October 2011, Recordings of late major confirm illegitimate practices in anti-terror fight Archived 2011-10-04 at the Wayback Machine
  4. ^ Today's Zaman, 13 August 2008, Ergenekon indictment reopens gendarmerie major’s murder case Archived 2012-09-21 at the Wayback Machine
  5. ^ a b biyografi.net, Cem Ersever - (04.11.1993)
  6. ^ Ergenekon linked to Mumcu murder Archived 2013-12-13 at the Wayback Machine, Today's Zaman, 5 August 2008
  7. ^ Hurriyet Daily News, 10 January 2011, Turkish Gendarmerie declares alleged JİTEM founder a 'martyr'
  8. ^ Hurriyet Daily News, 7 December 1996, Perincek says Ersever killing was to cover up Bitlis murder