Uğur Mumcu

Infobox journalist
name = Uğur Mumcu


birth_date=birth date|1942|8|22|mf=y
birth_place=Kırşehir
death_date=death date and age|1993|1|24|1942|8|22|mf=y
death_place=Ankara
credits= editorial opinion columnist and investigative journalist in "Cumhuriyet"

Uğur Mumcu (August 22, 1942 – January 24, 1993 [http://www.umag.org.tr/umageng.htm About] , um:ag] ) was a Turkish Kemalist intellectual, investigative journalist and columnist for the leading liberal broadsheet, "Cumhuriyet". He was killed one morning outside his home by a bomb placed in his car on January 24 1993.

Biography

Uğur Mumcu was born as the third of four siblings in Kırşehir, where his father was working. He went to school in Ankara and in 1961 attended School of Law at Ankara University. After graduation in 1965, he practiced law for a while. He then visited England to learn English and upon his return to Turkey worked as a teaching assistant at Ankara University from 1969 to 1972.

He started to write in his university years, first in the magazine "Yön" and then in several other leftist periodicals. Between 1968 and 1970, he wrote articles on politics for the newspapers "Akşam", "Cumhuriyet" and "Milliyet".

Arrested shortly after the 1971 military coup, he was tortured. Later, Mumcu wrote that his torturers had told him: "We are the counterguerrilla. Even the President of the Republic cannot touch us."Lucy Komisar, [http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m1295/is_n4_v61/ai_19254727 Turkey's terrorists: a CIA legacy lives on] , "The Progressive", April 1997 en icon]

In 1974, Uğur Mumcu started a career as a columnist, with the periodical "Yeni Ortam" and from 1975 on, in the broadsheet newspaper "Cumhuriyet", which he continued until his death (apart from a few months in 1991 when he was in dispute with the management).

Uğur Mumcu also published books on current and historical political issues of Turkey. He was investigating the Kurdistan Workers' Party at the time of his assassination.

Assassination

On the morning of January 24, 1993, he left his home and was killed by a C-4 plastic bomb as he started his car. Although his assassination was long thought to have been ordered by Islamists, documents found during the 2008 Ergenekon investigations at General Veli Küçük's house showed that Mumcu was killed while he was investigating how 100,000 firearms, owned by the Turkish Armed Forces, ended up in the hands of Jalal Talabani, one of the Kurdish leaders of northern Iraq and, as of 2008, president of Iraq. [http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=149402 Ergenekon linked to Mumcu murder] , "Today's Zaman", 5 August 2008] 25 days after Mumcu, General Eşref Bitlis, who was investigating on the same issue, died in a plane accident, most likely caused by a sabotage.

PKK/JITEM informant Abdülkadir Aygan alleges that the assassination was carried out by JITEM operatives including Ahmet Cem Ersever, who had a briefcase of about 20kg of C-4, obtained from a Vietnam veteran. Aygan added that he and Aytekin Özen had used some of the C-4 to assassinate the President of the Diyarbakir Bar, Mustafa Özer. The unnamed American soldier had allegedly given the explosives to the Regional Emergency Governorate ( _tr. Olağanüstü Hal Bölge Valiliği) in 1991 or 1992. [cite news|url=http://www.sabah.com.tr/2008/08/25/haber,915E4DBA1F7E453FB10DD5C7C1DA8116.html
accessdate=2008-08-27
title=Mumcu'yu öldüren C-4 ABD'li eski askerden
work=Sabah
first=Ferhat
last=Unlu
date=2008-08-25
quote=Ersever'in valizinde yaklaşık 20 kilo C-4 olduğunu gözlerimle gördüm. Bu patlayıcıları 1991 ya da 92'de Vietnam gazisi bir Amerikalı adam Olağanüstü Hal Bölge Valiliği'ne vermişti. Ersever de patlayıcıları oradan aldı.
language=Turkish]

Uğur Mumcu's brother, Ceyhan Mumcu, disputes allegations that Ergenekon was involved, finding the evidence weak. He suspects Israel's involvement since they supported Barzani and Talabani in the Gulf War and their ambassador to Turkey summoned Uğur, the only journalist to write about this, shortly before his death. [cite news|url=http://www.zaman.com.tr/haber.do?haberno=725106
accessdate=2008-08-27
title=MİT belgesi gerçek, kardeşimi İsrail öldürdü
work=Zaman
date=2008-08-12]

Family

Uğur Mumcu is survived by his wife Güldal, and their children Özgür and Özge Mumcu. Güldal Mumcu and her children established the Uğur Mumcu Investigative Journalism Foundation (um:ag, _tr. Uğur Mumcu Araştırmacı Gazetecilik Vakfı) in October 1994. Güldal Mumcu is currently a member of Turkish parliament.

Bibliography

* "Mobilya Dosyası", um:ag Publishing (October 1975), 279 p., ISBN 975-8084-28-3
* "Suçlular ve Güçlüler", Tekin Publishing (May 1977), 99 p., ISBN 975-8084-24-0
* "Sakıncalı Piyade", um:ag Publishing (1977), ISBN 975-8084-20-8
* "Bir Pulsuz Dilekçe", um:ag Publishing (1977), ISBN 975-8084-22-4
* "Büyüklerimiz", um:ag Publishing (1978), ISBN 975-8084-06-2
* "Çıkmaz Sokak", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-02-X
* "Tüfek İcad Oldu", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-21-6
* "Silah Kaçakçılığı ve Terör", um:ag Publishing (1981), ISBN 975-8084-19-4
* "Söz Meclisten İçeri", um:ag Publishing (1981), ISBN 975-8084-18-6
* "Ağca Dosyası", um:ag Publishing (February 1982), 175 p., ISBN 975-8084-29-1
* "Terörsüz Özgürlük", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-10-0
* "Papa - Mafya - Ağca", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-15-1
* "Liberal Çiftlik", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-07-0
* "Devrimci ve Demokrat", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-16-X
* "Aybar İle Söyleşi", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-05-4
* "İnkılap Mektupları", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-03-8
* "Rabıta", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-14-3
* "12 Eylül Adaleti", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-23-2
* "Bir Uzun Yürüyüş", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-11-9
* "Tarikat - Siyaset - Ticaret", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-12-7
* "Kazım Karabekir Anlatıyor", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-08-9
* "40'ların Cadı Kazanı", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-13-5
* "Kürt İslam Ayaklanması 1919-1925", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-04-6
* "Gazi Paşa'ya Suikast", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-09-7
* "Sakıncalı Piyade" (play), um:ag Publishing ISBN 975-8084-27-5
* "Söze Nereden Başlasam" um:ag Publishing (October 1999), 119 p., ISBN 975-8084-79-8
* "Bu Düzen Böyle mi Gidecek?", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-79-8
* "Bomba Davası ve İlaç Dosyası", um:ag Publishing, ISBN 975-8084-81–X
* "Sakıncasız" (play) um:ag Publishing (November 1984), 112 p., ISBN 975-8084-83-6
* "Eğilmeden Bükülmeden", um:ag Publishing,
* "Kürt Dosyası" Tekin Publishing (Augut 1993), 107 p., ISBN 975-8084-17-8

ee also

* List of assassinated people from Turkey

References

External links

* [http://www.kimkimdir.gen.tr/kimkimdir.php?id=383 Who is who] tr icon