Grey Wolves 



Origins

This armed group was formed in the early 1970s by Alparslan Türkes as the armed branch of the extreme right-wing Nationalist Action Party (Millietci Hareket Partisi) (hereinafter “MHP”), which was outlawed in 1980.   Many analysts have suggested that CIA and NATO supported the formation of this armed group as part of an alleged foreign policy to counter communism through creating paramilitary organizations in several western European countries.  

 

Location / Main area of operation

 This armed group operates in Turkey and northern Cyprus.


Objectives

The Grey Wolves espouses an extreme right-wing ideology seeking to fight communism and left-wing followers in Turkey.   It also pursues a nationalist agenda, so-called Pan Turkism, which seeks to reunite all Turk people, mainly of the Central Asian countries of the former Soviet Union and the Caucasus, in a single nation.

 

 

 

Number of Members


There is no recent information concerning the current number of active members. According to Daniela Ganser, a researcher at the Federal Institute of Technology in Zurich, during the coup d'état of 12 September 1980 in Turkey, this armed group had an estimated 1,700 members.

 

Type : Regional

The Grey Wolves is a regional non-state armed group as its armed operations have taken place in both Turkey and northern Cyprus.
As regards the legal status of northern Cyprus, it first must be noted that the UN General Assembly has passed several resolutions stating that Turkish forces occupy that area.[[See UN GA Res. 33/15 (1978);UN GA Res. 34/30 (1979) ("deploring the fact that part of [the Republic of Cyprus] territory is still occupied by foreign forces"); UN GA Res. 37/253 of 13 May 1983. ]] Additionally, the declaration of the Turkish Cypriot authorities issued on 15 November 1983, and which purport to create an independent State in northern Cyprus, has been declared invalid by at least two UN Security Council resolutions. The European Court of Human Rights has also stated in several cases that Turkish armed forces exercise effective overall control in northern Cyprus. Several authors also consider the situation in northern Cyprus following the Turkish invasion in July-August 1974 as one of military occupation.
Nevertheless, the government of Turkey has contested that it occupies northern Cyprus. Recently, in a letter dated 31 October 2007 the Permanent Representative of Turkey to the United Nations stated the following:

“The Cyprus problem is not one of “occupation” …, but a political problem between the two peoples of Cyprus, namely Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots . . . .”

As has been suggested in cases like the present - in which one or more of the parties involved dispute whether there is a belligerent occupation - the resolutions and decisions of international bodies are considered with the highest importance. In the present case, the resolutions and rulings of previously mentioned international organizations support the proposition that Turkish forces occupied northern Cyprus at least until recent years.
 

Conflict Status : Active

This armed group carried out several massacres in Turkey in the 1970s and 1980s, such as the attack in Malatya in 1975, in which 100 people were wounded, one killed and numerous houses damaged; the Bahcelievler massacre carried out on 8 October 1978 in which seven members of the leftist, non-militant Turkish Worker’s Party (TIP) were killed; the massacre of Maras on 24 December 1978; and the massacre in Çorum Katliaminin Bilançosu on 28 May 1980 in which an estimated 57 people were killed and 300 wounded.

The name of this armed group became international known in 1981 when an alleged member, Mehmet Ali Agca, shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. After the 1980 military coup, and more specifically in 1985, Alparslan Türkes and other leaders of the MHP and the Grey Wolves were arrested. Türkes was held in prison until 1990.

According to Daniela Ganser, during the 1980s many members of the Grey Wolves were released from prison in exchange of their fighting against the left-wing Kurdish militant movement PKK in the south-east of Turkey. Conflict arose soon after in this region and several massacres against Kurds were reported by the Grey Wolves and other paramilitary groups.

The closed links that existed between the Grey Wolves and, more generally, the so-called Counter-Guerrillas on one hand, and certain Turkish governmental institutions on the other, such as the special Warfare Department, have been documented by several authors and even recognised in January 1998 by then-Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yimaz. These links resurfaced with the car accident that took place on 3 November 1996 in Sursuluk, Turkey in which the then-second-in-command of the Grey Wolves, Abdullah Catli, together with Husseyin Kocadag, the former commander of the Turkish counter-insurgency units, were killed.  
After the car accident, several demonstrations took place demanding for investigations of ties between state institutions and para-military squads. Several days later, Turkish President Suleyman Demirel recognised the claims that staff of the special operations section of the Turkish General Directorate of Security had been engaged in murders, extortions, and drug trafficking “of a highly serious nature.” Additionally, in January 1998 Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yimaz declared that “an execution squad was firmed within the [Turkish] state.”
Since the 1990s, this armed group has also reportedly been involved in armed actions against the PKK and more generally, against Kurdish activists. In the last decade, alleged involvement of the Grey Wolves has also been reported in armed attacks against journalists located in Turkey and northern Cyprus, as well as in an armed campaign against several political parties in northern Cyprus. For instance, the International Press Institute (IPI) denounced the attack of a Turkish Cypriot journalist, Murat Kanatli, by a group of 20 to 30 members of the Grey Wolves in Lefkose (Nicosia, Cyprus) on 17 October 2003. In addition, the Grey Wolves are suspected of having conducted an armed campaign in northern Cyprus during March-April 2004 “aimed at stopping an overwhelming vote by Turkish Cypriots at the April 24, 2004, referendum to agree to the so-called revised ‘Annan Plan’ for the reunification of Cyprus.” In particular, it is reported that by 20 April 2004, members of the Grey Wolves had attacked the headquarters of several political groups in favour of approving the referendum.

 

 

 

Structure of the organization

This armed group carried out several massacres in Turkey in the 1970s and 1980s, such as the attack in Malatya in 1975, in which 100 people were wounded, one killed and numerous houses damaged; the Bahcelievler massacre carried out on 8 October 1978 in which seven members of the leftist, non-militant Turkish Worker’s Party (TIP) were killed; the massacre of Maras on 24 December 1978; and the massacre in Çorum Katliaminin Bilançosu on 28 May 1980 in which an estimated 57 people were killed and 300 wounded.

The name of this armed group became international known in 1981 when an alleged member, Mehmet Ali Agca, shot and wounded Pope John Paul II in St. Peter’s Square in the Vatican. After the 1980 military coup, and more specifically in 1985, Alparslan Türkes and other leaders of the MHP and the Grey Wolves were arrested. Türkes was held in prison until 1990.

According to Daniela Ganser, during the 1980s many members of the Grey Wolves were released from prison in exchange of their fighting against the left-wing Kurdish militant movement PKK in the south-east of Turkey. Conflict arose soon after in this region and several massacres against Kurds were reported by the Grey Wolves and other paramilitary groups.

The closed links that existed between the Grey Wolves and, more generally, the so-called Counter-Guerrillas on one hand, and certain Turkish governmental institutions on the other, such as the special Warfare Department, have been documented by several authors and even recognised in January 1998 by then-Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yimaz. These links resurfaced with the car accident that took place on 3 November 1996 in Sursuluk, Turkey in which the then-second-in-command of the Grey Wolves, Abdullah Catli, together with Husseyin Kocadag, the former commander of the Turkish counter-insurgency units, were killed.  
After the car accident, several demonstrations took place demanding for investigations of ties between state institutions and para-military squads. Several days later, Turkish President Suleyman Demirel recognised the claims that staff of the special operations section of the Turkish General Directorate of Security had been engaged in murders, extortions, and drug trafficking “of a highly serious nature.” Additionally, in January 1998 Turkish Prime Minister Mesut Yimaz declared that “an execution squad was firmed within the [Turkish] state.”
Since the 1990s, this armed group has also reportedly been involved in armed actions against the PKK and more generally, against Kurdish activists. In the last decade, alleged involvement of the Grey Wolves has also been reported in armed attacks against journalists located in Turkey and northern Cyprus, as well as in an armed campaign against several political parties in northern Cyprus. For instance, the International Press Institute (IPI) denounced the attack of a Turkish Cypriot journalist, Murat Kanatli, by a group of 20 to 30 members of the Grey Wolves in Lefkose (Nicosia, Cyprus) on 17 October 2003. In addition, the Grey Wolves are suspected of having conducted an armed campaign in northern Cyprus during March-April 2004 “aimed at stopping an overwhelming vote by Turkish Cypriots at the April 24, 2004, referendum to agree to the so-called revised ‘Annan Plan’ for the reunification of Cyprus.” In particular, it is reported that by 20 April 2004, members of the Grey Wolves had attacked the headquarters of several political groups in favour of approving the referendum.

 

 

 

Leadership

The founder and historical leader of this armed group was Alparslan Türkes. It is reported that in 1960, he was one of the leading figures of the military coup against the Turkish government of Adnam Menderes; however, due to his desire for an authoritarian regime and support for Pan-Turkism, he was removed from the political scene and sent as a military attaché to the Turkish embassy in India. In 1963, he returned from India and attempted to overthrow the government together with Officer Talat Aydemir. This attempt failed and Türkes was arrested but was shortly released due to a lack of evidence. Türkes then became the leader of a right–wing Turkish political party, the Republican Peasants’ Nation Party (RPNP). In 1965, he founded the Turkish extreme-right National Action Party MHP (Millietci Hareket Partisi); shortly thereafter, Türkes created and led the Grey Wolves as the armed wing of the MHP. After the 1980 military coup and more specifically in 1985, Türkes and other leaders of the MHP and the Grey Wolves were arrested; Türkes was held in prison until 1990. Upon his release, Türkes returned to politics, renaming the Nationalist Action Party as the Nationalist Work Party and winning a seat in Turkish Parliament in 1991. Once elected, he espoused a more moderate policy, but the Grey Wolves continued their armed actions and Türkes died on 4 April 1997 from a heart failure.
As noted above, Abdullah Catli, the then-second-in-command of the Grey Wolves, died in a car crash in 1996. According to Daniela Ganser, he was one of most notorious members of the so-called Counter-Guerrillas during the 1970s.
Ali Agca is another prominent member of the Grey Wolves, due to his assassination attempt of Pope John Paul II in Rome in 1981, and his participation in the murder of the well-known Turkish journalist, Abdi Ipekci on 1 February 1979.
Most recently, according to the International Press Institute (IPI), Erhan Arikli “seems to be the leader of the Grey Wolves” in northern Cyprus, at least as of October 2003.

 

 

External aid/Third party involvement

 According to Daniela Ganser, Alparslan Türkes had close ties with the CIA and allegedly cooperated with the institution on the establishment and management of the Counter Guerrilla, the Turkish branch of Gladio, a stay-behind NATO anticommunist paramilitary organization which allegedly prepared networks for guerrilla warfare in case of a Soviet invasion.

 

External effects of the NSAG's armed activities

 The massacres carried out by this armed group in Turkey in the 1970s and 1980s created a large number of displaced persons. After the Massacre of Kahraman Maras in 1978, for example, the entire village was reported to have been emptied.

 

Funding

 There is little information in this respect. One commentator states that “[f]unding for the group came from membership dues of $ 4 per month per members, currency transactions, and drug smuggling.” Other sources confirm the ties of this armed group with the Turkish mafia.

 

Relationship with the international community

This armed group is not currently listed as a terrorist organization either by the U.S. Department of State or the European Union.

 

 

 

Books

• Balencie, Jean-Marc, and de La Grange, Arnaud (2005), Les Nouveaux Mondes rebelles (Paris: éditions Michalon). 

Articles and Chapters

• Atkins, Stephen E. (2004), “Grey Wolves (Turkey),” in Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers), available at link.
• Atkins, Stephen E. (2004), “Türkes, Alparslan (Turkey),” in Encyclopedia of Modern Worldwide Extremists and Extremist Groups (Westport, CT: Praeger Publishers), available at link.
• Cline, L.E., “From Ocalan to Al Qaida: The Continuing Terrorist Threat in Turkey,” 27.4 Studies in Conflict and Terrorism (2004), at 321-335.
• Donmez, R. (2004), “Turkey,” in Bogdan Szajkowski (ed), Revolutionary and Dissident Movements of the World 485 (London: John Harper Publishing).
• Fernandes, Desmond and Ozden, Iskender, “United States and NATO Inspired ‘Psychological Warfare Operations’ Against the ‘Kurdish Communist Threat’ In Turkey,” 2.12 Variant 10, at 10-16, available at link

 

Reports and resolutions of intergovernmental organizations

  • EU Council, Common Position of 27 December 2001 on the Application of Specific Measures to Combat Terrorism, Doc. No. 2001/931/CFSP, Official Journal of the European Communities L 344/93, 28.12.2001.
  • EU Council, Common Position 2006/380/CFSP of 29 May 2006, Official Journal of the European Communities L 144/25, 31.05.2006.
     

Governmental reports

  • U.S. Department of State, Foreign Terrorist Organizations (FTOs), Fact Sheet , Office of Counterterrorism, Washington, DC, 11 October 2005, available at link .
     

 

Reports of think tanks and non-governmental organizations

Press Information (in chronological order)

• “Cyprus: Brutal attack on Turkish Cypriot Journalist,” InfoProd, 23 October 2003.
• “Stage Set for Cyprus’ Rejection of Turkish Annan Plan as US, EU Set to Legitimize 1974 Turkish Invasion” (Gregory R. Copley), Defense & Foreign Affairs Daily, 23 April 2004.

 

Interviews

Internet resources

• Federation of American Scientists, Intelligence Resource Program, Grey Wolves, available at link
• Trend, M.H.P. Die Partei der Nationalistischen Bewegung, available at link (website by the leftist organizations that the Grey Wolves have been targeting)
• Wikipedia, Grey Wolves, available at link

 

 

Statements of the armed group

Agreements involving armed groups