Vatansever Kuvvetler Güç Birliği Hareketi (VKGB, variously translated as ''Union of Patriotic Forces'', ''Association for the Union of Patriotic Forces'', ''Power Union of Patriotic Forces'' etc.) is a Turkish ultranationalist group, various members of which are charged in the

Ergenekon trials The Ergenekon trials were a series of high-profile trials which took place on 2008–2016 in Turkey in which 275 people, including military officers, journalists and opposition lawmakers, all alleged members of Ergenekon, a suspected secularist ...

, after the VKGB trial was merged with the Ergenekon trials in 2009. VKGB was headed by Taner Ünal. At the time of the arrest of the VKGB leadership in mid-2007, it was estimated to have 2-3000 members. It had been founded in April 2005 by former Grey Wolves as part of a new form of ultranationalism labelled "

ulusalcılık is a secularist (), neo-nationalist ideology in Turkey that is influenced by Kemalism. Until the late 20th century, the word had been used as an equivalent of 'nationalism'. However, in the mid-1990s, it transformed into a ideology led by left-wi ...

" with a greater emphasis on

anti-imperialism Anti-imperialism in political science and international relations is a term used in a variety of contexts, usually by nationalist movements who want to secede from a larger polity (usually in the form of an empire, but also in a multi-ethnic so ...

and more open to alliances with the left. In 2006 Semih Tufan Gulaltay said he was considering merging his

National Unity Party The National Unity Party, National United Party, Party of National Unity or National Unity Front may refer to: * National United Party of Afghanistan (founded 2003) * National Unity Party (Albania) * National United Party (Armenia), defunct * Natio ...

with the VKGB. At some point the VKGB developed links with another ultranationalist group, the

Kuvayı Milliye Derneği The Kuvayı Milliye Derneği (National Forces Society) is a racist ultra-nationalist organization based in Mersin Mersin (), also known as İçel, is a large city and a port on the Mediterranean Sea, Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey. It ...

. Members include

Muzaffer Tekin Muzaffer Tekin (28 October 1950, in Çankırı – 1 April 2015) is a former member of Turkey's Special Warfare Department, and a suspect in the Ergenekon trials as well as the Turkish Council of State shooting. In August 2013 Tekin was sentenc ...

Alparslan Arslan Alparslan Arslan (born 1977 in Kiğı) is a Turkish criminal convicted for murdering Council of State (Turkey), Council of State member Mustafa Yücel Özbilgin, and wounding four others. He also took part in the bombing of the newspaper ''Cumhuriy ...

and Fikri Karadağ. Prosecutors charged members of the group with rigging military procurement tenders, and that the group carried out military training with a view to carrying out terrorist attacks. Links with the assassination of Hrant Dink have also been evidenced.

Today's Zaman ''Today's Zaman'' (Zaman is Turkish for 'time' or 'age') was an English-language daily newspaper based in Turkey. Established on 17 January 2007, it was the English-language edition of the Turkish daily '' Zaman.'' ''Today's Zaman'' included dom ...

, 6 July 2007
Probe links former army officers to political murders
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References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vatansever Kuvvetler Guc Birligi Hareketi Ergenekon (allegation) 2005 establishments in Turkey Far-right politics in Turkey Turkish nationalist organizations