* Newspaper report of strychnine poisoning denied
* Ozal’s son calls for investigation of “dark years”
* Turgut Ozal helped shape modern Turkey
By Can Sezer
ISTANBUL, Nov 4 (Reuters) – An autopsy on late President
Turgut Ozal, who led Turkey out of military rule in the 1980s
and whose body was exhumed last month, will reveal he was
poisoned, his son believes, calling for a full investigation of
the “dark years” two decades ago when he died.
Ahmet Ozal was speaking after a newspaper report said high
levels of poison had been identified by the autopsy, carried out
after his father’s body was dug up on the orders of prosecutors
investigating suspicions of foul play in his death.
State forensic authorities have denied the media report.
Ozal’s moves to end a Kurdish insurgency and create a Turkic
union with central Asian states have been cited as motives for
would-be enemies in the shadowy “deep state”, in which security
establishment figures and criminal elements colluded.
Ozal died of heart failure while in office in April 1993 at
the age of 65. After undergoing a triple heart bypass operation
in the United States in 1987, he kept up a gruelling schedule
while remaining overweight until he died.
But his family believe he was the victim of a plot.
“Even though 19 years have passed, thanks to technological
advances and rigorous investigation they are capable of finding
poisonous substances … I believe they will be found,” former
member of parliament Ahmet Ozal told Reuters late on Saturday.
“I am 100 percent sure his death was not normal. If it is
indeed proven, then Turkey should thoroughly investigate the
dark years,” he said, noting that top investigative journalist
Ugur Mumcu was killed in a car bomb the year Ozal died.
It was Turkey’s military leaders who appointed him as a
minister after a period of military rule following a 1980 coup.
Ozal went on to dominate Turkish politics during his period
as prime minister from 1983-89. Parliament then elected him
president, but those close to him believe his reform efforts
displeased some in the security establishment.
While prime minister, Ozal survived an assassination attempt
by a right-wing gunman in 1988 when he was shot at a party
congress, suffering a wounded finger. Ahmet Ozal said he
believed there was a cover-up over the assassination attempt.
“If the assassination (attempt) is investigated … we may
see interesting connections to things happening these days. It
could also offer an insight into my father death,” he said,
noting a presidential order would be needed for such an
investigation.
Turkish political history has been littered with military
coups, alleged anti-government plots and extra-judicial
killings. A court is currently trying hundreds of suspects
allegedly linked to a nationalist underground network known as
“Ergenekon” accused of plotting to overthrow the government.
Turgut Ozal’s brother, Korkut Ozal, said in 2010 he believed
Ergenekon had killed the president. ‘Extrajudicial killings’
were common at that time and have been blamed on shadowy
militant forces with ties to the state.
STRYCHNINE CLAIM DENIED
Those suspicious about his death have pointed to efforts
which Ozal made to end the conflict with Kurdish militants
during his time in office, including securing a Kurdistan
Workers Party (PKK) ceasefire shortly before his death.
A report in Bugun newspaper on Friday said it had obtained a
copy of the autopsy which revealed high levels of “strychnine
creatine” in Ozal’s body.
Strychnine is a highly toxic alkaloid used as a pesticide
which causes muscular convulsions and death through asphyxia.
Creatine is an organic acid which supplies energy for muscle
contraction.
However, the head of the state forensic medicine institute,
Haluk Ince, said such a substance had not been found and the
report had not yet been completed.
“We did not find the material referred to in the newspaper
story. We don’t know how that story came about,” Ince told
reporters in the wake of the Bugun article, adding the institute
aimed to complete its work in December.
No post-mortem examination was conducted at the time of
Ozal’s death, reportedly at the request of his widow.
Viewed as a visionary who helped pave the way for the free
market economic policies under which modern Turkey has thrived,
Ozal also gave firm support to the West, supporting the U.S.-led
coalition which expelled Iraq from Kuwait in 1991.
Ahmet Ozal said his father helped transform Turkey from a
coup-torn, state-run economy to the emerging power it is now,
boosting freedom of expression, religion and private enterprise.
“This was the foundation that gave birth to modern Turkey.
Along with this, perhaps the most important was the
transformation of people’s mindset. With that you can change
anything,” he said.
(Writing by Daren Butler; Editing by Jon Hemming)
