The AKP government, led by Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, has undertaken to escalate the crackdown on citizens in Kurdistan and Turkey after the controlled coup attempt of 15 July 2016. The so-called civil associations established especially after July 15 are linked to Erdoğan and Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu and engage in shady activities. Media outlets reported that the paramilitary forces that were organized and allowed to patrol in the streets before the coup attempt had been brought together by the associations in question. Some of the people working in these associations were trained by SADAT before the coup attempt and some others afterwards.

So, what is SADAT? How was it established? Why is it so popular? What are their activities in Kurdistan?

WHAT IS SADAT?

SADAT, which previously provided weapons to the al-Nusra organization in Syria, defines itself as a “company that provides consultancy and military training in the field of defence.” However, various allegations have been made about SADAT since the day it was founded.

SADAT was founded on February 28, 2012, by retired brigadier general Adnan Tanriverdi and 23 retired officers and non-commissioned officers. The company provides services such as military and interior training, defence consultancy, and ordnance procurement in the international arena. The founding members of the company state that they picked up this name because 'SADAT', which is used as an abbreviation for Defence Consulting in Turkish, but means "sayyids" in Arabic, an honorific title denoting people accepted as descendants of the Islamic prophet Muhammad.

SADAT explains its mission as “to establish a Defence Collaboration and Defence Industry Cooperation among Islamic Countries to help the Islamic World take the place where it merits among Superpowers by providing Strategic Consultancy, Defence and Security Training and Supply Services to Armed Forces and Internal Security Forces of Islamic Countries.”

WHO IS ADNAN TANRIVERDI, FOUNDER OF SADAT?

Retired Brigadier General Adnan Tanriverdi, who served for nearly 30 years in the General Staff Special Warfare Department and the TRNC (Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus) Civil Defence Organization, is the founder of SADAT. One of the students of Tanriverdi who gave lectures as an instructor at the Turkish Military Academy, is Turkish Defence Minister Hulusi Akar. Tanriverdi, who was promoted to brigadier general, was officially retired on 28 February 1997, since there was “no vacant position” for him. His military career was terminated because he was listed as an “Islamist” like many military personnel at that time.

After his military career, Tanriverdi joined the Association of Justice Defenders (ASDER), which was founded by retired soldiers like him, and remained the head of the association for 5 years. Later, he came up with the idea of restructuring the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) through the Strategic Studies Centre (ASSAM). Prior to founding SADAT, Tanrıverdi conducted research on the operation of American private companies that provided consultancy in the field of military strategy in the USA.

RELATIONSHIP OF TANRIVERDI AND ERDOĞAN

When Erdogan was elected mayor of Istanbul in 1994, Tanriverdi was among his rare supporters within the military establishment. During Erdoğan's candidacy, Tanrıverdi was serving as Brigade Commander in Maltepe, Istanbul. Erdoğan and Tanriverdi met through a mutual friend and got along quite well over the years. Tanriverdi was appointed as the Chief Advisor to the President in August in 2016 by Erdoğan. He became one of Erdoğan's most important advisors, particularly in the field of defence.

A speech delivered by Tanriverdi at a congress in Istanbul in December 2019 sparked a huge debate in public as he said that “we need to prepare for the coming of the Mahdi”, a messianic figure in Islamic eschatology. Serious public backlash to Tanriverdi's statement led to his dismissal from his positions as both chief advisor and Security and Foreign Policy Committee member in January 2020.

SADAT'S ACTIVITIES AND COUNTRIES

It is known that Tanriverdi had played an important role in fighting off the July 15 coup attempt through SADAT before he was appointed as a key advisor to the president. One of the most important facts about that night is the distribution of a huge number of heavy weapons to civilians under the leadership of SADAT. Moreover, it is not known which individuals hold these weapons at the moment. Tanriverdi, who assuredly rejected the allegations, said that “Do you think a company with less than 10 consultants might have played a role in suppressing the coup attempt?” However, mob leader Sedat Peker, who is aware of all the dirty relations and functioning of the state, explained what kind of paramilitary force SADAT is in his tell-all YouTube videos.

WEAPONS DELIVERED TO MERCENARY GROUPS IN SYRIA

It was revealed in 2014 that SADAT had sent trucks filled with weapons to al-Nusra and ISIS, which carried out massacres in Syria and Rojava, kidnapped and raped women and children, and continued their attacks not only in Syria but also in Iraq and South Kurdistan (North Iraq). Arms and other weapons of mass destruction delivered to Syria were used against the Kurds in Kobane, Şengal, Kirkuk, Mosul, Raqqa, Ain Issa, Girê Spî and Manbij. Even the Turkish opposition has admitted the weapon delivery, no matter how much Erdoğan's government has denied it.

RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN SADAT AND 'OCAK' ASSOCIATIONS

Another 'activity' of SADAT is to establish military camps and provide training. According to Turkish laws, no institution other than the Turkish Armed Forces, police force and the Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE) is allowed to produce, sell or use weapons on an institutional basis. However, SADAT, as a “private company”, provides military training and sells weapons internationally in defiance of Turkish laws. While SADAT’s activities are against the law, government procurement legitimizes SADAT.

It is reported that SADAT has given military training to a large number of individuals who work in OCAK associations established after 2016. It is further reported that these individuals took part in the rural and cross-border military attacks of the Turkish army in an unofficial way to “gain experience”. These paramilitary forces, who were civilians and had no official duties, were given an official title by the Turkish government after demonstrating their usefulness. In accordance with their contracts with the government, if they die, the whole process remains confidential and even their families are supposed to remain silent. Most of these civilians were used to suppress the self-government resistance that started in North Kurdistan in 2015 and 2016.

ACTIVITIES OF ASSOCIATIONS IN KURDISTAN

It is also reported that these associations received military training on how to respond to a possible civil war in Kurdistan and Turkey. Those working for these associations in Kurdistan do not only receive military training. At the same time, they conduct activities that corrupt ordinary people by promoting prostitution and drugs as well as cultural assimilation and moral corruption in Kurdistan. In fact, it is reported that moral corruption is their top priority in Kurdistan, while pro-state “Kurds”, policemen, village guards, soldiers and are also included in this criminal network. We witness that such associations open almost every day both in Kurdistan and Turkey. It is seen that their new offices in Kurdistan are opened and supported by pro-government families because it is well known that patriotic Kurdish families would not accept such an offer. Therefore, it is easier to conduct activities for them in Kurdistan through pro-government families that have betrayed their own people.

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