Mehmet Eymür

Mehmet Eymür (born 1943 in Istanbul) is a retired Turkish intelligence official. He led the counter-terrorism department of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), which he joined as a student in 1965 as a "pursuit officer" (Turkish: takip memuru).^[1] He was the right-hand man for the MIT deputy undersecretary Hiram Abas,^[2][3] who was assassinated in Kadıköy, Istanbul after leaving the service.

Eymür is writing a series called Teşkilat ("Organization") about MİT and its Counter-Terrorism Department.^[4]

Career

Eymür gained fame for taking down numerous gangster in the "Godfathers Operation" (Turkish: Babalar Operasyonu) while heading the Smuggling Department, in concert with Atilla Aytek of the police force's smuggling department (Turkish: Emniyet Kaçakçılık ve Harekat Dairesi Başkanı). He prepared the controversial 1987 MIT Report that targeted former high ranking civil servants and politicians such as Nevzat Ayaz, Ünal Erkan and Mehmet Ağar.^[5] He was forced to resign on 10 June 1988 due to pressure.^[6] The MIT said the report was prepared without proper authorization.^[7] His colleague Hiram Abas, who was also discharged at the time, was critical of Eymür for divulging information.^[8]

Eymür subsequently entered the ice producing business in Antalya with a MİT colleague called Korkut Eken, however this partnership ended after five years on acrimonious terms.^[5][9]

Susurluk period

When Tansu Çiller became prime minister, Eymür was appointed chief of the Special Intelligence Department (Turkish: Özel İstihbarat Dairesi). Next came the Operations Department (Turkish: Operasyon Başkanlığı), where he was deputy chief to Şenkal Atasagun. The two did not get along, so Eymür asked the undersecretary, Sönmez Köksal, for a different position.^[10] On 31 January 1995, he was moved to the newly-established Counter-Terrorism Department.^[6] The department, created on Çiller's orders,^[11] was active in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict. Eymür said he almost had the PKK's leader, Abdullah Öcalan, assassinated,^[12] but failed due to irresponsible management of fiscal resources and sabotage (external, and inside the agency).^[13] In a testimony to the Susurluk commission, Hanefi Avci, former chief of the police force's intelligence department, said that Eymür's "gang" was illegal.^[9]

Following the scandal, Eymür prepared what has come to be known as the Second MİT Report (the first was in 1987), based on the "Askar Simitko, Lazım Esmaeili and Tarık Ümit incident" file from his Counter-Terrorism Department. This report was controversial for being prepared without authorization, and then leaked.^[14]

Avni Özgürel of Radikal says that the Counter-Terrorism Department was preceded by the Special Intelligence Department led by Hiram Abas. Çiller created an intelligence organization separate from the MİT subservient to her, called the Public Security Department (Turkish: Kamu Güvenlik Başkanlığı; KGB for short). Upon hearing news of unsavory activity from the organization, president Süleyman Demirel had it dismantled.^[15]

When Mesut Yılmaz replaced Çiller as prime minister, he ordered the fifty-person department dissolved.^[16] Eymür assigned to Washington, D.C. as a MİT representative to U.S. intelligence agencies and security firms.^[10] He also faced criminal charges in Turkey.^[17] Yılmaz said that the MİT strongly opposed Eymür's gang, and that such illegal activities now take place in the General Directorate of Security (police force) instead. Yılmaz said that the illegal group was loyal to Fethullah Gülen, a notable religious figure.^[11]

Eymür returned to Turkey in 1998 to help prepare a report against Atasagun, then the undersecretary of the MİT, who had recommended Eymür's dismissal and the dissolution of his Counter-Terrorism Department to Prime Minister Yılmaz in 1997.^[9]

Eymür finally left the MİT in 1999, and moved to McLean, Virginia; the seat of the CIA.^[18] He says he would entertain offers to consult the CIA as a terrorism expert.^[19]

Ergenekon

Most recently, he has been mentioned numerous times in the Turkish press as being the superior of Tuncay Güney; the mysterious figure, who helped launch the Ergenekon investigation. Eymür vehemently denies any connection.^[20]

Personal life

He has a spouse called Janset;^[9] a son, Alp,^[21] and a daughter, Ayşe. His father, Mazhar, was a member of the MİT's progenitor, the National Security Service (MAH). He took part in suppressing the Dersim rebellion.^[22] Eymür joined the agency after completing TED Ankara Koleji.^[6] He attended the İstanbul Academy of Economic and Financial Sciences (Turkish: İstanbul İktisadi ve Ticari İlimler Yüksek Okulu).^[21]

References

External links

• Personal Web site: Anadolu Türk İnterneti (Turkish)