Chief of General Staff: No Need for Martial Law after PKK Attacks

After the attack of militants of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) on a gendarmerie border unit in Şemdinli in the south-eastern province of Hakkari on Saturday (19 June), the Chief of General Staff, İlker Başbuğ, said that there is no need to declare martial law and a state of emergency (OHAL). Başbuğ thus rejected an according petition submitted by the chair of the opposition party MHP (National Movement Party, Devlet Bahçeli. The chair of the Republican People's Party (CHP), Kemal Klıçdaroğlu, criticized the Kurdish initiative of the government lead by the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

The deputy chair of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Bengi Yıldız, called on civilians to make use of their right to conscientious objection and to refuse military service.

Yıldız made a press release in the course of a demonstration in Batman (south-east) on Sunday (20 June). Though the demonstration was hindered by the police, Yıldız said, "There is no need to declare martial law and a state of emergency. We are right in the middle of martial law just now because our country entered a state of serious violence and war".

Başbuğ: No need for OHAL

General Başbuğ answered questions of journalists in Çanakkale (north-western Turkey). He said that in his opinion martial law and a state of emergency were not in question at the moment.

Referring to the death of eleven soldiers after the attack in Şemdinli, he said, "According to our assessment of the situation, the attack was carried out by a group of about 60 people. Due to the circumstances, it might have been around a hundred".

"The region's geography is difficult. Yes, we have thermal equipment there, we have thermal cameras. In fact, the local unit registered some viewings at around 11.30 pm and they reacted accordingly. However, another one or two hours passed in the meantime. Evaluating the situation without being sure of the geography can be very misleading. We went there yesterday (20 June) and had a look at the geography ourselves. Tracking such a small group coming from behind is difficult, especially during the night. I do not agree with the argument of a weakness of the intelligence. Of course we see insufficiencies. We have to analyze our deficits and insufficiencies".

Security summit

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan held a meeting in Ankara on Monday morning (20 June) with Deputy PM Cemil Çiçek, Minister of the Interior Beşir Atalay, Defence Minister Vecdi Gönül, Land Forces Commander Gen. Işık Koşaner, Gendarmerie General Commander Gen. Atila Işık, and National Intelligence Agency (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan.

The statement made after the meeting aimed at refraining from any publications that might encourage the PKK. It was announced to reinforce the co-operation with foreign countries and to review the intelligence flow and the personnel on duty in the region.

Statements of opposition parties

Referring to the government's democratic initiative, Kılıçdaroğlu from the CHP said in a meeting in Gaziantep (eastern Mediterranean coast), "They set out reiterating the concept of 'opening', they separated the society, they smashed against a wall. They said 'opening' and brought our country to the brink of separation".

MHP chair Bahçeli met President Gül on Monday and presented his suggestions to him in written form. Bahçeli stated, "We have come to a stage today where we are exposed to threats and danger. It is crucial to quickly implement short-term and temporary measures. The time has finally come to save our country from this scourge that has been haunting us for years. The only solution is the elimination of the PKK terror organization or to take hold of it". (EÜ/EÖ/VK)