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PM Erdoğan criticizes attempts to demoralize police force
Erdoğan yesterday accepted newly appointed police chiefs at the Prime Ministry. Speaking during the police chiefs' visit, Erdoğan said all security units in the country are working in harmony. “Unfortunately, we see that security forces are sometimes unjustly criticized. We will continue to stand against the attitudes of some who try to demoralize our security forces in fighting crime and against those trying to politicize our security-related institutions,” Erdoğan said.
Erdoğan said his government has taken many significant steps in the last six-and-a-half years to bring the state and the public closer together. Noting that reforms they have carried out regarding democratization and human rights did not just remain on paper thanks to efforts of the security forces, Erdoğan said: “These reforms have been enforced successfully. We said we wanted to see our governors, district governors, police chiefs and members of the security forces as the smiling face of the state rather than a grim representation of it, and we achieved this.”
Stating that the confidence they have established between the state and citizens has been strengthened by the harmony among state institutions, Erdoğan said all security units in the country including the police, military, gendarmerie and intelligence units are working in coordination to prevent internal and external threats against the country. “Our police department, in particular, has achieved great success in crime prevention as well as capturing offenders. A number of terrorist activities have been intercepted, and they have fought with illegal organizations such as gangs and mafias. They have cracked down on criminal organizations,” he added.
Erdoğan also said his government regards torture as a crime against humanity regardless of its justification and shows “zero tolerance” toward it. “We can never excuse any kind of injustice, inequality and maltreatment of our people. According to us, a state which deems maltreatment, torture and violence as proper for its people cannot be a modern state,” he said,
Noting that just as in other fields, Turkey has succeeded in raising democratic standards in the country and guaranteeing human rights, Erdoğan said taking these historic steps further forward will be realized thanks to the police chiefs.
“All of you have taken on a great responsibility in your provinces. I believe that each of you will fulfill this responsibility and take on significant services for security and peace in your provinces. You also have a big part to play in bringing the state and the public closer,” Erdoğan told the new police chiefs. Stating that democracy, development and security are concepts that feed each other, Erdoğan said it is an obvious reality that as long as you strengthen democracy, keep the rule of law superior and realize economic development, security problems in the country will be minimal. He added that this is why the government regards the operation of the security forces significant for the economic and social development of the country.
At the end of his speech Erdoğan wished the newly appointed police chiefs success in their new posts. Interior Minister Beşir Atalay said eight new police chiefs have been appointed and 29 former police chiefs were appointed to other provinces in the last round of appointments. He added that approximately 500 district governors and deputy governors will be appointed by the end of July.
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