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This article refers to the Turkish political group. For the animal see Gray Wolf; for the death industrial music group see The Grey Wolves.

Grey Wolves (Bozkurtlar in Turkish) is the common name for the members of the Turkish Nationalist Movement Party ("Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi", MHP), an ultra-nationalist movement founded by Alparslan Türkeş in 1961.

They are named after a legendary wolf that led captive Turks to freedom. Their formal name in Turkish is ülkücüler (the idealists) and Ülkücü Hareket (The Idealist Movement) (see Actual Idealism). Ülkü Ocakları (Hearths of Ideal), the proper platform of Grey Wolves, denies any "direct" links with MHP and presents itself as an independent youth organisation. Their female supporters are called Asena.

History

Like all other parties, MHP was banned after the military coup of September 12, 1980 and it lost many of its core cadres to the neo-liberal Motherland Party or various vestiges of the Islamist movement.

The Nationalist Task Party ("Milliyetçi Çalışma Partisi", MÇP) was founded in 1983 as a successor to the MHP, and as of 1992 is again known as the MHP.

A significant pillar of the MHP's ideology is the dream of creating the Turan, the Great Turkish Empire, including all Turkish (sometimes referred as Turkic) peoples mainly in the successor Central-Asian countries of the former Soviet Union as well as China (the Uyghurs of East Turkestan).

The MHP opposes any concessions to Kurdish terrorists, namely the PKK. Despite being anti-PKK they have also Kurdish supporters who are mostly of the Zaza-tribe. The paramilitary wing of the Grey Wolves have been utilized by the Turkish intelligence services to assassinate Kurdish leaders^[1].

The MHP has ties to the Turkish mafia and to the Turkish intelligence services[1&3].

Le Monde diplomatique claims the "Grey Wolves", in particular Abdullah Çatlı, have allegedly worked with Gladio "stay-behind" networks. [1]. The 1981 attempt on Pope's life may even have been manipulated by this NATO clandestine structure, according to Lucy Komisar. She underlines the fact that Mehmet Ali Ağca, the failed assassin, was a Grey Wolves member who had worked with Abdullah Çatlı in the 1979 murder of a left-wing newspaper editor. "Çatlı then reportedly helped organize Ağca's escape from an Istanbul military prison, and some have suggested Catli was even involved in the Pope's assassination attempt" reports Lucy Komisar, adding that at the scene of the Mercedes-Benz crash where Çatlı died, he was found with a passport under the name of "Mehmet Özbay" - an alias also used by Mehmet Ali Ağca ^[2].

[2], [3].

Some significant slogans

Tanrı Türk'ü Korusun ve Yüceltsin! (God save and sublime the Turk!)
Şehitler Ölmez, Vatan Bölünmez! (Martyrs don't die, the Fatherland isn't divided!)
Ülkücü Hareket Engellenemez! (The idealist movement can't be hampered!)
Alparslan Türkeş'in askerleriyiz! (We are the soldiers of Alparslan Türkeş!)
Dökülen kan, alınan can bizim / Yıkılsın liberal kapitalizm! (The blood spilled and the lives taken are ours / May liberal capitalism collapse!)
Elimizde Kur'an, Hedef Turan! (Qur'an in our hands, our target is Turan!)
Çakal çakaldır, bozkurt olamaz ki!(Jackal is a jackal, and can never be a greywolf.)

References

^ Cite error: The named reference lee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
^ Lucy Komisar. "The Assassins of a Pope". Retrieved 07/04/2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

3 The Double Standard: The Turkish State and Racist Violence (Chapter 13) in Racism in Europe (edited by Tore Bjorgo) (ISBN 0312124090)

4Maksudyan, N. The Turkish Review of Anthropology and the Racist Face of Turkish Nationalism.CULTURAL DYNAMICS, 2005, Volume 17, Issue 3, pgs 291-322

External links

Bozkurt Destani, from the official site of Ülkü Ocakları (Hearths of Ideal) (in Turkish)
Egoyan award winning film not shown yet in Turkey - Toronto Star
Turkey’s pivotal role in the international drug trade - Le Monde diplomatique (about links between Abdullah Çatlı and Gladio "stay-behind" networks)
Istanbul: Gateway to a holy war - CNN
Turkey takes nationalist turn - Christian Science Monitor

[lee-1] Cite error: The named reference lee was invoked but never defined (see the help page).

[Komisar-2] Lucy Komisar. "The Assassins of a Pope". Retrieved 07/04/2006. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help)

[1]

[2]

@@ Line 1: / Line 1: @@
 :''This article refers to the Turkish political group.  For the animal see [[Gray Wolf]]; for the [[Death industrial#Death_industrial|death industrial]] music group see [[The Grey Wolves]]''.
-'''Grey Wolves''' (''Bozkurtlar'' in [[Turkish language|Turkish]]) is the youth organization, founded in 1965, of the [[Turkey|Turkish]] [[Nationalist Movement Party]] ("Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi", MHP), an [[ultra-nationalist]] movement founded by [[Alparslan Türkeş]] in [[1961]]. They are named after a [[legend]]ary [[wolf]] that led captive [[Turkish people|Turks]] to freedom. Their formal name in Turkish is ''ülkücüler'' (the idealists) and ''Ülkücü Hareket'' (The Idealist Movement) (see [[Actual Idealism]]) <!-- does this mean that it was inspired by "Actual Idealism"? then we have to write it; see stuff is not the best way to explain relations -->. ''Ülkü Ocakları'' (Hearths of Ideal), the proper platform of Grey Wolves, denies any "direct" links with MHP and presents itself as an independent youth organisation. Their female supporters are called ''[[Asena]]''.
+'''Grey Wolves''' (''Bozkurtlar'' in [[Turkish language|Turkish]]) is the common name for the members of the [[Turkey|Turkish]] [[Nationalist Movement Party]] ("Milliyetçi Hareket Partisi", MHP), an [[ultra-nationalist]] movement founded by [[Alparslan Türkeş]] in [[1961]].
+They are named after a [[legend]]ary [[wolf]] that led captive [[Turkish people|Turks]] to freedom. Their formal name in Turkish is ''ülkücüler'' (the idealists) and ''Ülkücü Hareket'' (The Idealist Movement) (see [[Actual Idealism]]). ''Ülkü Ocakları'' (Hearths of Ideal), the proper platform of Grey Wolves, denies any "direct" links with MHP and presents itself as an independent youth organisation. Their female supporters are called ''[[Asena]]''.
 ==History==
+Like all other parties, MHP was banned after the [[Turkish military coup, 1980|military coup of September 12, 1980]] and it lost many of its core cadres to the [[neo-liberal]] [[Motherland Party]] or various vestiges of the [[Islamist]] movement.
-=== Foundation and ideology ===
+The Nationalist Task Party ("Milliyetçi Çalışma Partisi", MÇP) was founded in [[1983]] as a successor to the MHP, and as of [[1992]] is again known as the MHP.
-The Grey Wolves were founded in 1965 as the youth organization of the [[Nationalist Movement Party]] (MHP) created by [[neofascism|neofascist]] [[Alparslan Türkeş]] in 1961. Alparslan Türkeş is a noted admirer of [[Adolf Hitler]], and the MHP has a [[racism|racist]] and [[fascist]] ideology with strong [[Nazi]]-like [[ideology]].<ref name="lee">{{cite book|
-title = The Beast Reawakens:Facism's resurgence from Hitler's Spymasters to Today's Neo-Nazi Groups and Right Wing Extremists |
-author = Martin A. Lee | date=1999 | publisher=[[Routledge]] | id=0415925460}}</ref> A significant pillar of the MHP's ideology is the dream of creating the [[Turan]], the "Great Turkish Empire", including all [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]] (sometimes referred as Turkic) peoples mainly in the successor Central-Asian countries of the former Soviet Union as well as [[China]] (the [[Uyghur]]s of [[East Turkestan]]). This racist and supremacist ideology is similar to Nazi concepts of [[Aryan race|Aryan]] [[master race]] and to the German expansionist policies which led to [[World War II]].<ref name="lee" />
+A significant pillar of the MHP's [[ideology]] is the dream of creating the [[Turan]], the Great Turkish Empire, including all [[Turkic peoples|Turkish]] (sometimes referred as Turkic) peoples mainly in the successor Central-Asian countries of the former [[Soviet Union]] as well as [[China]] (the [[Uyghur]]s of [[East Turkestan]]).
-=== The 1980 military coup ===
+The MHP opposes any concessions to Kurdish terrorists, namely the [[PKK]]. Despite  being anti-PKK they have also [[Kurds|Kurdish]] supporters who are mostly of the [[Zaza]]-tribe. The paramilitary wing of the Grey Wolves have been utilized by the Turkish intelligence services to assassinate Kurdish leaders<ref name="lee" />.
-According to Daniele Ganser, founder [[Alparslan Türkeş]] was a member of [[Counter-Guerrilla]], the Turkish branch of [[Gladio]], a [[stay-behind]] [[NATO]] [[anticommunist]] paramilitary organization, which was supposed to prepare networks for [[guerilla warfare]] in case of a [[Soviet]] invasion.<ref name="Ganser"> {{cite book|
-title = NATO's Secret Armies, [[Operation Gladio]] and Terrorism in Western Europe |
-author = Daniele Ganser | date=2005 | publisher=[[Franck Cass]] | location=London |id=0714685003}} </ref> ''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]'' confirms that the Grey Wolves were infiltrated and manipulated by Gladio, and that important Grey Wolves member [[Abdullah Çatlı]] had worked with Gladio. According to the same article, Abdullah Çatlı met with Italian international terrorist [[Stefano Delle Chiaie]], who, apart of taking part in Italy' strategy of tension, also maintained links with [[Augusto Pinochet|Pinochet]]'s [[DINA]] and participated in the Argentinian [[dirty war]].<ref> {{en icon}}/{{fr icon}} {{cite news | title= "Turkey's pivotal role in the international drug trade"| date=1998 July | publisher=[[Le Monde Diplomatique]] | url=http://mondediplo.com/1998/07/05turkey}} </ref> However, in [[History of Italy as a Republic|Italy]], [[History of Greece|Greece]], and Turkey, Gladio supported a [[strategy of tension]] (''strategia della tensione'' in Italian) which used [[false flag]]s terrorist attacks in order to discredit the communist movement.<ref> [http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/collections/coll_gladio.htm#Documents Official documents] concerning Gladio, including [[SIFAR]] (Italian military service) report on Gladio, extracts of former CIA director [[William Colby]]'s memoirs, Italian prime minister [[Giulio Andreotti]]'s public revelation to the Senate of the existence of Gladio in October 1990, Parliamentary investigation into the Swiss Defense Ministry, 1995 Italian parliamentary report on Terrorism, etc </ref><ref> [http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/news/media_desk.htm#Gladio Secret Warfare: Operation Gladio and NATO's Stay-Behind Armies]  ETH Zurich research project on Gladio directed by Dr. Daniele Ganser. Many documents available in various languages, including Turkish articles; audio interviews of Ganser; Ganser's June 2005 article in ''The Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations''; ''[[Der Spiegel]]'' article, etc. </ref> According to other sources, the MHP has ties to the Turkish mafia and to the Turkish intelligence services.<ref> ''The Double Standard: The Turkish State and Racist Violence'' (Chapter 13) in ''Racism in Europe'' (edited by Tore Bjorgo) (ISBN 0312124090) </ref><ref> Maksudyan, N. ''The Turkish Review of Anthropology and the Racist Face of Turkish Nationalism'', in ''[[Cultural Dynamics]]'', 2005, Volume 17, Issue 3, pgs 291-322. </ref> Indeed, Martin A. Lee also wrote that the para-military wing of the Grey Wolves were covertly supported by the CIA, which worked with the Gladio network<ref name="lee" />, while a December 5, 1990 article by the Swiss ''[[Neue Zürcher Zeitung]]'' stated that the Counter-Guerrilla had their headquarters in the building of the US [[Defense Intelligence Agency|DIA military secret service]].<ref name="ETH Chronology"> [http://www.isn.ethz.ch/php/documents/collection_gladio/chronology.htm Chronology of Gladio events], at the ISN institute] </ref>
+The MHP has ties to the Turkish mafia and to the Turkish intelligence services[1&3].
-At the time of the [[Turkish military coup, 1980|military coup of September 12, 1980]], led by general [[Kenan Evren]] (who was also the leader of Counter-Guerrilla) they were some 1 700 Grey Wolves organizations, with about 200 000 registered members and a million sympathisers. However, after being useful for Kenan Evren's strategy of tension, the leader of the Counter-Guerrilla turned president outlawed the MHP and the Grey Wolves. Colonel Türkeş and other Grey Wolves were arrested. In its indictment of the MHP in May 1981, the Turkish military government charged 220 members of the MHP and its affiliates for 694 murders, according to [[Edward S. Herman|Edward Herman]] and Frank Brodhead in ''The Rise and Fall of the Bulgarian Connection''.<ref> (New York, 1986, quoted by Ganser) </ref> However, Grey Wolves emprisonned members were offered release if they accepted to fight the [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] minority and the [[Kurdistan Workers Party|PKK]]<ref>(see interview of Grey Wolves member Ibrahim Ciftci with ''[[Milliyet]]'' on October 13, 1996, quoted by Ganser) </ref>, as well as the [[ASALA]] ("Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia").
+''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]'' claims the "Grey Wolves", in particular [[Abdullah Çatlı]], have allegedly worked with [[Gladio]] "stay-behind" networks. [http://mondediplo.com/1998/07/05turkey]. The 1981 attempt on Pope's life may even have been manipulated by this [[NATO]] clandestine structure, according to [[Lucy Komisar]]. She underlines the fact that [[Mehmet Ali Ağca]], the failed assassin, was a Grey Wolves member who had worked with Abdullah Çatlı in the 1979 murder of a left-wing newspaper editor. "Çatlı then reportedly helped organize Ağca's escape from an Istanbul military prison, and some have suggested Catli was even involved in the Pope's assassination attempt" reports Lucy Komisar, adding that at the scene of the Mercedes-Benz crash where Çatlı died, he was found with a passport under the name of "Mehmet Özbay" - an alias also used by Mehmet Ali Ağca <ref name="Komisar">{{cite web|
-The MHP is strongly opposed to [[Kurdish people|Kurdish]] separatists, namely the [[Kurdistan Workers Party|PKK]]. However, despite being anti-PKK, they have also some Kurdish supporters who are mostly of the [[Zaza]]-tribe. The paramilitary wing of the Grey Wolves have been utilized by the Turkish intelligence services to assassinate Kurdish leaders.<ref name="lee" /> With Counter-Guerrilla, the Grey Wolves went to fight Kurds, and have been accused of killing and torturing thousands in the 1980s, and also carrying [[false flag]] attacks in which the Counter-Guerrilla attacked villages, dressed up as PKK fighters, and raped and executed people randomly (Ganser, 2005). The fact that Counter-Guerrilla had engaged in torture was confirmed by [[Talat Turhan]], a former Turkish general.<ref name="Ganser" /> In addition, they carried out operations to assasinate the leader squad of ASALA, in which they have succeeded.
+url = http://www.monitor.net/monitor/9703b/turkeycia-sidebar.html |
+title = The Assassins of a Pope |
+author = Lucy Komisar |
+accessdate = 07/04/2006
+}}</ref>.
+[http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/pen-l/2004w01/msg00066.htm], [http://adl.hayway.org/default_zone/gb/html/page3590.html].
-The Grey Wolves then lost many of its core cadres to the [[neo-liberal]] [[Motherland Party]] or various vestiges of the [[Islamist]] movement. In 1983, the Nationalist Task Party ("Milliyetçi Çalışma Partisi", MÇP) was founded as a successor to the MHP; as of [[1992]] it is again known as the MHP.
-According to investigative reporter [[Lucy Komisar]], the 1981 attempt on Pope's life by Grey Wolves member [[Mehmet Ali Ağca]] may have been related to Gladio. Ali Ağca would in this case have been manipulated by NATO's clandestine structure, in an attempt to fuel again Italy's strategy of tension, which last big event was the 1980 [[Bologna massacre]]. Komissar underlines the fact that Ali Ağca had worked with Abdullah Çatlı in the [[January 1]], [[1979]] murder of [[Abdi İpekçi]], the editor of left-wing newspaper ''[[Milliyet]]''. "Çatlı then reportedly helped organize Ağca's escape from an Istanbul military prison, and some have suggested Catli was even involved in the Pope's assassination attempt" reports Lucy Komisar, adding that at the scene of the Mercedes-Benz crash where Çatlı died, he was found with a passport under the name of "Mehmet Özbay" - an alias also used by Mehmet Ali Ağca.<ref name="Komisar">{{cite web| url = http://www.monitor.net/monitor/9703b/turkeycia-sidebar.html | title = The Assassins of a Pope | author = Lucy Komisar | accessdate = 07/04/2006}}</ref>
-In [[2004]], the Grey Wolves successfully prevented the screening of [[Atom Egoyan]]'s ''[[Ararat (movie)|Ararat]]'', a film about the [[Armenian Genocide]].<ref> {{Cite news | title=Egoyan award winning film not shown yet in Turkey | accessdate=May 6, 2006 | publisher=[[Toronto Star]] | url=http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/pen-l/2004w01/msg00066.htm}} </ref><ref> [http://adl.hayway.org/default_zone/gb/html/page3590.html], [http://www.bozkurt.net/modules.php?name=News&file=print&sid=1934], [http://www.bozkurt.net/modules.php?name=News&file=article&sid=1905] </ref>
 ==Some significant slogans==
@@ Line 33: / Line 32: @@
 * ''Alparslan Türkeş'in askerleriyiz!'' (We are the soldiers of Alparslan Türkeş!)
 * ''Dökülen kan, alınan can bizim / Yıkılsın liberal kapitalizm!'' (The blood spilled and the lives taken are ours / May liberal capitalism collapse!)
+* ''Elimizde Kur'an, Hedef Turan!'' ([[Qur'an]] in our hands, our target is [[Turanism|Turan]]!)
 * ''Çakal çakaldır, bozkurt olamaz ki!''(Jackal is a jackal, and can never be a greywolf.)
 == References ==
 <references/>
+The Double Standard: The Turkish State and Racist Violence (Chapter 13) in Racism in Europe (edited by Tore Bjorgo) (ISBN 0312124090)
+Maksudyan, N. The Turkish Review of Anthropology and the Racist Face of Turkish Nationalism.CULTURAL DYNAMICS, 2005, Volume 17, Issue 3, pgs 291-322
 ==External links==
-* {{tr}} [http://www.ulkuocaklari.org.tr/bozkurt/ Bozkurt Destani], Official Grey Wolves site of ''Ülkü Ocakları'' (Hearths of Ideal)
+* [http://www.ulkuocaklari.org.tr/bozkurt/ Bozkurt Destani], from the official site of ''Ülkü Ocakları'' (Hearths of Ideal) (in Turkish)
+* [http://archives.econ.utah.edu/archives/pen-l/2004w01/msg00066.htm/ Egoyan award winning film not shown yet in Turkey] - ''[[Toronto Star]]''
+* [http://mondediplo.com/1998/07/05turkey/ Turkey’s pivotal role in the international drug trade] - ''[[Le Monde diplomatique]]'' (about links between [[Abdullah Çatlı]] and [[Gladio]] "[[stay-behind]]" networks)
 * [http://www.cnn.com/SPECIALS/2000/russia/story/chechnya/istanbul.connection/ Istanbul: Gateway to a holy war] - ''[[CNN]]''
 * [http://csmonitor.com/cgi-bin/durableRedirect.pl?/durable/1999/04/22/f-p6s1.shtml/ Turkey takes nationalist turn] - ''[[Christian Science Monitor]]''