Turkish gov’t plans to change terror fight structure

The government has created a new structure for the fight against terror that involves action from police forces as well as the military, the prime minister revealed Thursday in the wake of a recent deadly ambush.

The high casualty rate of the July 14 terrorist attack that killed 13 troops in Diyarbakır’s Silvan district has sparked concerns about the military’s ability to fight such attacks and appears to have spurred the government to speed up efforts to find new ways to deal with the issue.

Speaking to journalists on his way back from northern Cyprus, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Thursday that “we have to think differently now” after the Silvan attack. “We cannot have good intentions toward those with bad intentions.”

The government is working on a plan that tasks police officers with domestic security in the fight against terror, Erdoğan said, adding that “a step will be taken depending on the sensitivity of the region.”

“The government does not carry out operations for pleasure. If the terrorist organization puts down their weapons, terror will be minimized, because security forces do not carry out operations unless they receive intelligence,” he said.

Speaking about the Supreme Military Council, or YAŞ, set to take place in August, Erdoğan said the government’s main priority was to establish a frontier unit of 5,000 soldiers.

Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahin and Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay both made statements Friday clarifying Erdoğan’s remarks. Şahin said preparations for a new structure were underway but added: “There is no schedule for this. Our police forces are always ready for an operation. There is nothing to announce in advance. The time and place will play out according to the course of events.”

Şahin further clarified that police forces would not be replacing soldiers, but simply playing a more active role in terror incidents. “This is a method developed by our ministry,” he said. “In time, the necessary structural and administrative changes will take place in the fight against terror. This new structure will not completely involve police forces, and it will not exclude soldiers.”

Contracted soldiers tasked with border security, another practice new to the Turkish military, will also be “indirectly” involved in the fight against terror, he said.

Atalay announced Friday that the government was conducting a “very comprehensive operation” regarding police involvement in dealing with terror incidents. “We have held many meetings, and have made various analyses on the matter,” he said.

“This is not only about security, but also about national unity, democratization and human rights,” Atalay added.

CHP asks for clarification, MHP critical

Akif Hamzaçebi from the main opposition Republican People’s Party, or CHP, asked Erdoğan to clarify why police forces were being involved when a total of 50,000 contracted soldiers were about to be hired. “Is he saying that military precautions have not been enough?” asked Hamzaçebi.

The CHP official also expressed his confusion over Erdoğan’s statement that the Silvan attack had prompted the prime minister to “think differently,” questioning whether the premier meant that terror was “tolerated” before, and that that had changed now.

Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, group deputy chairman Oktay Vural told reporters that Erdoğan’s statements regarding the new structure had caused confusion as to what the government was doing in the fight against terror.

“The government, incapable when faced with a brave terrorist organization, is at the point of handing over the responsibility to those fighting terror,” said Vural, adding that the security forces were being used as a scapegoat for strategic mistakes. “Instead of fighting terror, they are negotiating with terrorists.”

Şahin, meanwhile, revealed that the result of the Interior Ministry’s investigation into the terrorist attack in Silvan would be announced within a week. As part of the investigation, the ministry examined the site of the attack, talked to eyewitnesses and looked over documents, the minister said.


/Hurriyet Daily News/