The security forces’ negligence over the brutal killing of 33 soldiers in one incident has long been discussed since it was made public back in 2005, but lessons have not been learned from any of the attacks, which have already taken around 50,000 lives.
Sad news came on Wednesday morning, as 24 Turkish soldiers and police were killed in one incident, while 18 were injured in simultaneous attacks carried out by the PKK in the district of Çukurca and also near the Iraqi border in the southeastern province of Hakkari. This was perhaps the first time since the 1993 killing of 33 soldiers that 24 have died in one incident.
Retired Col. Mithat Işık, speaking to Habertürk TV yesterday morning, drew attention to the intelligence gap on the part of the state, among other things, that has made it easier for the PKK to stage recent attack against both gendarmerie and police targets.
It is not acceptable for the state to continuously repeat mistakes in its fight against terrorism and the PKK in low-intensity warfare that has lasted almost 30 years.
According to initial reports, the PKK attacked Hakkari and Çukurca gendarmerie and police lodgings as well as a military outpost at the Iraqi border from eight different points. Why did the state not receive adequate intelligence on the activities of the PKK to prevent this terrorist group from staging such a massive assault? The Turkish public should seriously question the way the state has been handling its fight against the PKK.
Recent revelations by an officer make us rethink the serious security mistakes being made on the part of the state in its fight against terrorism.
Lt. Col. Onur Dirik, who was sentenced to three years in prison on charges of causing the death of a senior lieutenant and has been accused by the public of failing to prevent the deaths of 12 soldiers in a PKK attack on a military outpost in Dağlıca, Hakkari, in 2007, says he was chosen as a scapegoat to throw suspicion off of those truly responsible (Today’s Zaman, Oct. 16). Dirik, who was discharged from the military, indicates the mistakes being made in the chain of command of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in the fight against terrorism.
As a matter of fact, former Chief of General Staff retired Gen. Işık Koşaner confessed a number of the military’s flaws in Turkey’s fight against PKK terrorism in a voice recording posted online on Aug. 23. Koşaner later confirmed that the voice recordings belonged to him. He therefore confirmed earlier media claims that the Turkish military had serious deficiencies when it came to counterterrorism.
Koşaner said during a speech addressing a group of military officers that the situation in the military was shameful. “One issue that gets us in trouble is that we are failing to ensure unity of command. Wherever there is an operation or an ambush or whatever, a commander should be in charge. He should be responsible for that region. We have the very big advantage of being able to receive intelligence from unmanned aerial vehicles [UAVs]. A commander who sees images from a UAV should immediately intervene in the situation,” he said (Today’s Zaman, Aug. 23).
Wednesday’s attacks came a few days after President Abdullah Gül visited troops in the region to boost morale in an area that has seen increased violence in recent months. He was also accompanied by top commanders, including Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel.
President Gül is also the commander-in-chief of the TSK in peacetime. The fact that commanders were accompanying Gül on his visit to the Kurdish-populated region was intended to send a message that the Turkish state has been acting as one voice and that it is behind the Kurdish people.
The Hakkari attack obviously came as a message by the PKK that the state is weak, as opposed to Gül’s intended message of state unity.
A shortage of arms required in the fight against terrorism has stood as another weakness of the state. It has been only recently that mine-resistant vehicles were deployed to the southeastern region, where mines have taken many lives. It is unacceptable for the Turkish inventory to face shortages in attack helicopters, UAVs and mine-resistant vehicles required for an effective fight against terrorists. This is despite the fact that Turkey earmarks the most resources for defense and security.
Turkey has made many mistakes in the fight against terrorism, primarily a lack of civilian directive to the military. The government disclosed only in mid-July that the fight against the PKK will take place under its guidance and with professional soldiers.
Turkey has to break the vicious cycle in its fight against the PKK and should quickly address the above-mentioned deficiencies of the state.
