We know for the time being that the “specially trained soldiers” will have at least three years of training and that they will work/serve in the region for at least five years. This is good news. At last the prime minister has heard the calls of the mothers of the fallen. For years now, parents of the fallen soldiers complain that their sons were sent to the frontiers after a mere three months of training and very little experience with rifles and shooting.I have some concerns, though.
1. If a specially trained army is seen as a solution to the terrorism problem -- and it seems logical that such a trained army will have fewer casualties -- then what was the fault of those soldiers killed or wounded in the past? What was the fault of the parents whose children were sent to the frontier with a few days of actual training? Deciding that the state will now only send specially trained soldiers to that part of the country means that the state accepts its wrongdoing in the past. Shouldn’t the victims of those wrong policies be compensated? And what compensates for a life?
2. Southeast Anatolia is not the front line of a battle. People live there, people spend their lives there and it is the homeland of millions. A specially trained army should be developed not only for fighting with the terrorists that have found a space within that population but also for living among that very same population. The current relations between the Turkish army and the Kurdish locals not only contributes to the number of the fallen -- because our soldiers are not well prepared -- it also contributes to the number of terrorists because our soldiers are not educated on human rights, constructive communication with the locals, respecting the values of the local people, speaking a few Kurdish words and so on. Yes, we want a specially trained army there, but that special training should include psychology, public relations, human rights, religion and communication skills. Let the soldiers going to the Southeast read Mem û Zîn first. Let them memorize a few words from Bediüzzaman Said Nursi. Let them sing the songs of Şiwan Perwer first.
3. A specially trained soldier may turn into a coldblooded killer if he is not controlled by civilian authorities. Let this new army be specially trained and specially controlled. Their training should include civilian elements. EU funds should be used to have the soldiers attend training on human rights.
4. What will happen to the less trained armies currently established in the Southeast? Where will their commanders be appointed? Commanders who may have acted illegally, illegitimately or immorally in the Southeast must be rehabilitated before they are sent to non-conflict areas. We have seen former combatants turn their peaceful environment into a warfront just because they know only how to fight.
5. It is not only the lack of training of the soldiers that creates the undemocratic application on the ground. The people are also not well informed about their democratic rights. If 17,000 people were killed by unknown assailants in the past and if no meaningful court case was heard about these murders, then the problem cannot be reduced to the level of military mismanagement. The ignorance of people is as problematic as the arrogance of soldiers. We need specially trained teachers in the region.
6. Soldiers must be trained specially to fight terrorism, not the terrorists. If the Turkish army is able to help build hospitals in Afghanistan, why does it know only how to die and to kill here in Turkey? We also need specially trained non-combatant soldiers in the region.
Despite all these concerns I find the decision of the government courageous and right. My concerns are not about the decision; they are about the application. I hope to one day see the gendarmerie arm of the army altogether abolished; anti-terrorist activities taken over altogether by the police, and the army dealing with external threat perceptions only.
