| Country: | Turkey |
| Details of Formation: | The Counter-Guerilla started to operate out of the Turkish Armed Forces’ Tactical Mobilization Group (STK) which was founded by brigadier general Karabelen with the consent of the National Defense Supreme Council on Sept. 27, 1952. Karabelen had previously been trained in the USA in special warfare which had involved elements of CIA recruitment (Wikipedia Counter-Guerilla). |
| Details of Termination: | Unlike in other countries, Gladio has not been dissolved in Turkey (Wikipedia Operation Gladio), but continues to exist under the name of Special Forces Command (Wikipedia Counter-Guerilla). |
| Purpose: | Gladio was a clandestine stay-behind anti-communist initiative whose founding purpose was to establish a guerilla force capable of countering a possible Soviet invasion. This purpose was soon expanded to subverting communism in Turkey. Since the end of the Soviet Union, Gladio in Turkey is mainly used to fight the PKK (Wikipedia Counter-Guerilla). |
| Organisation: | Upon founding, Gladio operated out of the Turkish Armed Forces’ Tactical Mobilization Group (STK). In 1967 it was renamed to Special Warfare Department (ÖHD). In the early 1990s it became the Special Forces Command (ÖKK). The STK operated under the authority of the Chief of the General Staff, in the 1970s the ÖHD was headed by Genarl Kemal Yamak. Though the parliament wanted to address the Gladio issue many times since 1990, the deputies of the incumbent party of any given administration always voted in dissent (Wikipedia Counter-Guerilla). |
| Weapons and Training: | The founder of the STK had been previously trained in the United States. Together with 15 others trained there they later formed the core of the ÖHD. The STK did not give its officers weapons. During the 1970s the ÖHD received munitions and money from the US, but rejected US-aid from 1973-74 on (Wikipedia Counter-Guerilla). |
| Size: | When Gladio was named Special Forces Command in 1992, it had more than 7000 members (Wikipedia Counter-Guerilla). |
| Reason for Membership: | -- |
| Treatment of Civilians: | The Counter Guerilla was involved in torture and killings of civilians, in torture centers and during demonstrations. They claimed to be above the law to and entitled to kill. Prosecutors and generals obstructed investigations in unsolved murders and police did not intervene in the shooting of protesters (Wikipedia Counter-Guerilla). |
| Other Information: | The Turkish branch of Gladio is also known as Counter-Guerilla. It is believed to have influenced the military coups of 1971 and 1980. Its existence in Turkey was revealed in 1971 and recognized in 1973 by the Turkish PM (Wikipedia Counter-Guerilla). It belonged to the wider Gladio operation network in Europe whose groups were ultimately answerable to NATO-CIA rather than domestic governments in event of attack by Warsaw Pact. |
| References: |
Wikipedia. “Counter-Guerilla”. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Counter-Guerrilla&oldid=843408764 Wikipedia. “Operation Gladio“. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Operation_Gladio&oldid=835600108 |