This is an expression Mahir Kaynak used for critical issues. Kaynak, who looked and evaluated situations from a strategic viewpoint, was a revelation in terms of providing commentary as well. I was the editor of most of the books written by Mahir Kaynak, or the compilations of his remarks published as books between 2003 and 2013. I spent a lot of time with him and had many discussions. I listened in detail about the services he provided and the duties he carried out.
Mr. Mahir, too, like other MIT (National Intelligence Organization) officials, was a reluctant speaker. Contrary to popular belief, he always carried many secrets on his person. It is during tough times that one learns about a person’s character. In my opinion, Mahir Kaynak was someone who worked in favor of the state and nation in very difficult times. First and foremost he was the man who unraveled the secrets of the March 9, 1971 junta. In those days MIT had received information that the Marxists were about to carry out a coup. The state knew that the trio of Doğan Avcıoğlu, İlhan Selçuk and Cemal Madanoğlu, along with the oligarchy in the bureaucracy that supported them, was planning to carry out a Marxist coup. Mahir Kaynak was sent in their midst to learn the details. Yes, Mr. Mahir was an agent, but he was never a provocateur.
Kaynak, who was well-versed in the literature of the left, rose quickly within that group and gained its trust. By informing on the March 9 junta he managed to save Turkey from a major disaster. He was a champion of democracy. It is unfortunate that the left in Turkey developed a hatred for Mahir Kaynak due to this incident. He was ignored. Kaynak, who informed on the junta, was one of the first MIT agents to be exposed and have his identity revealed. He paid a heavy price both financially and in terms of his social life. Just as Engin Ardıç said, if he had been tasked with monitoring the Ticanis or Nurcus (both religious communities) then he would have monitored their activities. That was his job.
He was only given passive postings after March 9. At one time he was even tasked with nonsensical jobs such as what contributions do tea houses in Turkey make to economic progress. Mahir Kaynak decided to open up to the public in the 1990s. He wrote articles in Aktüel magazine. The Turkish right backed him. He started appearing on the then recently-established Kanal 7 and other television stations. Back then he had said, “If I had stayed in the left, perhaps I would have even become its leader.”
He was one of the first people to emphasize peace during the 1990s when the Kurdish issue was the main issue in Turkey and the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) was very ruthless. He paid the price for that as well. Şemdin Sakık, known as the PKK’s number two man, was arrested on April 13, 1998. On April 25, 1998 a person who didn’t even want to mention his name penned a disgusting article titled “Let’s know who the lowlifes are.” On May 2, 1998 Uğur Dündar read out the “memorandum” during a Kanal D broadcast.
According to Sakık’s claims, Cengiz Çandar, Mehmet Ali Birand, Akın Birdal, Yalçın Küçük, Yaşar Parlak, Mahir Kaynak and Mahir Sayan along with some businessmen, artists and politicians were receiving money from the PKK. Akın Birdal was attacked by the Turkish Revenge Brigade and was left in a coma for a long time.
The media, however, particularly Doğan Medya, ignored Mahir Kaynak. Whereas the Counter-Guerrilla, which was the Turkish branch of Operation Gladio, had chosen Mahir Kaynak as a target. According to what he told me, two people came to his house in Erenköy shortly after the memorandum surfaced and told him they could smuggle him out of the country. When I asked him “what that signified,” Mahir Kaynak said, “If I had listened to them and left the house with them, they would have killed me and thrown my corpse in a corner.” Doğan Medya acted like Mahir Kaynak was not mentioned at all in the memorandum and never even uttered his name. It portrayed it as if it was only Cengiz Çandar and Mehmet Ali Birand who were being unjustly accused. Mahir Kaynak won the lawsuits he filed against the Hürriyet newspaper and Kanal D, but because he said that the Turkish justice system “should not be a tool to become wealthy through compensation” the Supreme Court of Appeals overturned the decision and only granted him a nominal amount of compensation.
It was the junta members of March 9 that accused Mahir Kaynak of “aiding the PKK and receiving money from it.” It was because Kaynak didn’t give them the opportunity to carry out a coup. Their dream was dashed. Now while everyone has good things to say about Mr. Mahir, the perpetrators of March 9 are remembered as putschists and junta members.
He foresaw everything about the Kurdish issue in his first book titled “Bugünü Dünden Okumak,” (Understanding Today Through Yesterday) which was published in 1989, and had written that this issue could only be resolved through peace. He was the first person to mention the term Deep State during an appearance with Nabi Avcı on Kanal 7 in 1995. Just like he enriched our lexicon with the term Global Capital. He thought differently and wouldn’t view events the same way as others did. He used the comment “this is an operation. The United States and United Kingdom are one part of the operation while Global Capital is the other part” to view events from an entirely different perspective.
He wrote immensely significant books such as “Derin Devlet,” (Deep State) “Dünyayı Kımler Yönetiyor” (Who Runs the World) and “Büyük Ortadoğu Projesi” (Greater Middle East Project.) As mentioned above, Bügünü Dünden Okumak is his masterwork. I recommend it strongly to everyone. Turkey has lost an intelligent mind and a great analyst.
May he rest in paradise.
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