Talk about internet wars.

The ongoing investigation of an ultra-nationalist gang in Turkey, Ergenekon, has made some remarkable findings. In addition to killings and more planned assassinations – with the aim to destabilize Turkey and establish a fascist regime – the group has apparently organized nationalist propaganda on the web.

In the words of Todays Zaman, a Turkish newspaper:

A large number of professional Web sites offering nationalist content and pseudo-scientific research about Armenian genocide allegations, Turkey’s Kurdish population and Greece and Turkey’s religious citizens that have been on the Internet for a long time have been found to be operated by Ergenekon, a clandestine terrorist organization charged with attempting to overthrow the government.

These Web sites, which are updated frequently in both Turkish and English, feature extremely nationalist propaganda against Greeks, Kurds and Armenians, as well as Turkey’s own Muslim segments. They have been around for some time, standing out with their professional-looking content and design; however, these sites, rich with information, videos, photographs and documents, have never offered any contact information.

The investigation has revealed that a hub of retired and on-duty military personnel are behind a network of dozens of ultra-nationalist websites.

[…]

The Ergenekon investigation recently revealed that 35 Internet domains with similar content and design were registered with the same company.

The sites seem to have been trying to foment public opinion in line with the goals of the Ergenekon organization. The sites include www.abdullahocalanakademisi.info, apopkk.com, armenianreality.com, cameria.org, gencizbiz.net, genclik.info, gnkur.net, greekmurderers.net, irtica.net, irtica.org, naksilik.com, nursi.info, pkkapo.com, pkkgercegi.com, terorveguvenlik.net, turkatak.com and turkeyturks.com.

[…]

Despite the discovery, many of the websites are active and frequently updated. Perhaps the most famous one, http://www.armenianreality.com/, is still active. In addition to denying the Armenian Genocide, the website commonly refers to Armenians as “terrorists,” just like in the case of anti-Greek and anti-Kurdish websites operated by Ergenekon.

What is most interesting, though, is the fate of other nationalist Turkish websites who have heavily relied on Ergenekon’s internet content. One such website is Murad “Holdwater” Gumen’s http://www.tallarmeniantale.com/, where “Holdwater” says “Two Turkish sites I have borrowed material from [is] ataa.org and amenianreality.com.”

Incidentally, a Summer 2008 Intelligence Report by the Southern Poverty Law Center, a U.S.-based Civil Rights organization, exposed both tallarmeniantale.com and armenianreality.com in addition to two other sites:

[…]

TALL ARMENIAN TALE
www.tallarmeniantale.com
Claiming to present “the other side of the falsified genocide,” this website describes Armenians as lemmings and makes the argument that Armenians are inherently traitorous. Murad “Holdwater” Gumen, a Turkish-American illustrator best known for his work on Disney and Warner Bros. cartoon characters, is the webmaster for this site. “Armenians have clung to the tragic events of so long ago as a form of ethnic identity, and have considered it their duty to perpetuate this myth,” he writes. “As descendants of the merchant class from the Ottoman Empire, Armenians have been successful in acquiring the wealth and power to make their voices heard … and they have made good use of the ‘Christian’ connection to gain the sympathies of Westerners who share their religion and prejudices.”

[…]

ARMENIAN REALITY
www.armenianreality.com
Armenian Reality details a comprehensive alternative universe in which Muslim Turks were the victim of an Armenian-perpetrated genocide during World War I, not the other way around. The site also repeatedly characterizes Armenians as terrorists, making the outlandish claim that “Armenian crimes against humanity and war crimes against the Ottoman Turkish … have been forgotten amidst congressional preoccupation with placating the vocal and richly financed Armenian lobby.”

Another Turkish site, operated by Ergenekon members, writes about “Turkish genocides committed by Greeks.”

Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan and Israel’s President Peres were not the only ones to show anger at the Davos World Economic Forum on January 29, 2009. Radio Free Europe details an earlier “outburst” by Azerbaijan’s president Ilham Aliyev at a conference that morning attended by Erdogan:

Aliyev Following Erdogan’s Lead?

[…]

And when Aliyev was asked optimistically if Davos 2009 might be the first step toward establishing formal diplomatic ties between Baku and Yerevan, Azerbaijan’s president rejected the suggestion.

Aliyev said his country does not have relations with Armenia because of the “continued occupation of our territory by Armenian armed forces,” though negotiations continue.

“But unfortunately, as Prime Minister Erdogan said, for the last 17 years these negotiations did not lead to a resolution of the conflict. It did not lead to a peace agreement and it did not lead to the liberation of Azerbaijani territory — the internationally recognized territory of Azerbaijan,” Aliyev said.

“Under these circumstances, of course, we cannot talk about any kind of cooperation — whether it is energy or transportation. And [as long as] our lands are under occupation, this cooperation is not possible.”

Taken together, the January 29 events at Davos demonstrate more than just the failure of the forum to bring together uneasy adversaries. The angry exchange between Peres and Erdogan shows that public debate between government leaders at Davos also can damage bilateral relations between two countries considered allies.

And Aliyev’s outburst suggests his country is ready to adopt the tone set by its regional mentor, Ankara.

Actually, Aliyev was the first one to set an angry tone, not Erdogan.