Turkey's anti-terrorism strategy under revision

17/10/2008

Turkey's political and military leaders are revising their combat strategy against the PKK, following recent terrorist attacks and growing public pressure.

Analysis by Ayhan Simsek for Southeast European Times -- 17/10/08

"Those who present the actions of the separatist terrorist organisation as successful acts are responsible for the blood that has been shed and will be shed," Turkish Chief of General Staff General Ilker Basbug said. [Getty Images]

Another rash of clashes between the Turkish army and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Thursday (October 16th) left five soldiers dead and 15 wounded. According to the General Staff, five members of the terrorist group also died. The latest attacks follow closely on the heels of other fatal incidents this month.

An attack on a Turkish army outpost left 17 soldiers dead on October 3rd, and an ambush of a bus carrying police in Diyarbakir killed five police officers on October 8th, generating huge public pressure on the government and military. The recent spate of deadly terrorist raids has forced Turkey's political and military leaders to start revising the country's anti-terrorism strategy.

According to reports by Turkish daily Taraf -- a strong critic of the military -- the Armed Forces were aware that the PKK was preparing to assault the Aktutun outpost on October 3rd. Citing confidential military reports from the region, Taraf claims that serious mistakes by the military have led to heavy casualties. Other local media referenced the reports this week, increasing public pressure on the armed forces.

Turkish Chief of General Staff General Ilker Basbug harshly criticised the reports at a press conference Wednesday. He accused the media of "systematically attacking" the military on the basis of false information, which he said was "beyond the bounds of [legitimate] criticism".

"Those who present the actions of the separatist terrorist organisation as successful acts are responsible for the blood that has been shed and will be shed," Basbug said. "This is my last word: I invite everyone to be careful and to stand in the right position."

Calls for a new strategy

Since 1984, Turkey's fight against the PKK has claimed almost 40,000 lives, sparking calls for a major change in anti-terrorism strategy and increasingly open criticism of the government's failure and the military's leading role in counterterrorism efforts.

Security expert Professor Mahir Kaynak said the cost of the two-decade-long fight against the PKK exceeds 75 billion euros. If Turkey had followed a better strategy against the PKK, thus avoiding that drain on its treasury, that money could have changed the face of Southeast Europe and Turkey, he says.

"Giving the military the major role in the fight against terrorism has been wrong. Of course the military forces should be deployed in the region to protect the territories and as a sign of sovereignty. But the fight against the PKK should be carried out by special security units instead of ordinary military units," he told Turkey's TRT public radio.

Stressing that the terrorism problem has various dimensions, including cultural, social and economic ones, Kaynak called for a broader strategy and emphasised that Turkey's anti-terrorism efforts should be pro-active, rather than being limited to countering the PKK's violent attacks.

Cevat Ones, a prominent expert on the Kurdish problem and a former deputy undersecretary of Turkey's National Intelligence Agency (MIT), underlined the need for a political solution. "The PKK is not the cause but rather the effect of a decades-long Kurdish problem," he told private NTV television.

"Social demands force politicians to seek a solution, but politicians fail to develop new policies," he said. "[The] Kurdish problem has some foreign linkages. But basically it is a domestic problem. It is Turkey's problem," Ones said. He suggested further democratisation and a new constitution based on universal principles to solve the Kurdish problem.

Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) has promised new openness towards ethnic Kurdish citizens in the country, but violence by the PKK increases public outrage and limits further democratic reforms.

Better co-ordination of anti-terrorism operations

Turkey's political and military leaders agreed this week on new measures to fight the group -- including a new approach where civilians may gradually have a greater role in decision-making.

The Higher Counterterrorism Board (TMYK) -- which is comprised of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, top commanders and relevant ministers -- agreed to set up a new anti-terrorism co-ordination body under the interior ministry.

The new unit will be responsible for strategic planning in the fight against terror, will facilitate intelligence sharing between civilian security units and the military and will organise regular meetings among civilian officials and military officers. Observers expect a high-level civilian bureaucrat, rather than a military officer, to chair the division.

The idea of a new anti-terrorism co-ordination body has long enjoyed military support. Lack of dialogue and co-ordination among security agencies, intelligence units and governmental officials has been one of the major problems in fight against terrorism, Basbug said last year.

As part of a revision of anti-terrorism strategy, the TMYK is expected to continue meetings in the coming weeks. Among the difficult questions it faces is the military's request for greater powers during anti-terrorism operations in the field.

Military officers say some EU-initiated reforms have watered down their powers in necessary security operations. Under the reforms, troops must obtain a prosecutor's permission before searching individuals or private property -- a handicap the military wants to end. It also wants to restrict telecommunications in contested areas, in order to cut off communications among PKK militants and thwart remote-controlled bombs. Other demands include longer detention periods for terror suspects and limitations on their right to consult with lawyers, whom the military accuses of carrying messages back to the PKK.

The AKP government says it will analyse the recently strengthened anti-terror laws of EU members Spain and Britain and plans to introduce new laws that conform to EU standards.

This content was commissioned for SETimes.com