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Investigation launched into mine blast that killed seven soldiers
Kılınç said they had carried out the investigation into the land mine blast on May 27, 2009, without going to the scene of the incident and that the gendarmerie teams wrote the report in their offices. They also tampered with the maps of the region showing where mines had been planted and where the blast had occurred.
Şengöz said they would start an investigation after obtaining Kılınç’s testimony.
The incident was uncovered with the aid of Kılınç, an ex-officer expelled due to alleged anti-secular activities, who claimed the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) covered up many incidents caused in part by its weaponry and put the blame on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).
The Zaman daily reported last week that the Van Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office had revealed that the land mine explosion was caused by mines planted by the Turkish military, contrary to the earlier widely held belief that they had been planted by PKK terrorists.
Laçiner: Mine blast incident not unusual in TSK Following a probe by the Van Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office which revealed that a land mine explosion that killed seven soldiers last year was caused by mines planted by the Turkish military, contrary to the widely held belief that they had been planted by outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) terrorists, more information regarding the Turkish military’s failures has been made public. Sedat Laçiner, the head of the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (ISRO/USAK), said the incident in Çukurca was not unusual and that many soldiers know of such deficiencies in the military but choose to remain silent for fear that they will be declared “traitorous” or “disloyal.” Laçiner said those incidents could be said to be caused by “friendly mines” and added that some people within the military have told him that planting mines is not well coordinated. Emrullah Bayrak Ankara |
Van prosecutors had launched an investigation into the mine explosion in Çukurca after a telephone conversation between Brig. Gen. Zeki Es and Maj. Gen. Gürbüz Kaya came to light indicating that the mines were planted by people who were responsible for the soldiers’ security. The investigation found that the mines belonged to the Turkish military. The prosecutors, who stated that the mines were planted on the orders of a Turkish commander, demanded that Es and Kaya, whose name is also mentioned in relation to the Sledgehammer coup plot, and other people responsible, be brought to justice for their role in the deaths of the seven soldiers.
Because the civilian court lacks jurisdiction over the matter, the case file was sent to the Military Prosecutor’s Office. The Van prosecutor’s report included evidence that the mines had been manufactured by the Turkish Mechanical and Chemical Industry Corporation (MKE) and had batteries used in the military.
There was also an administrative investigation by the Land Forces Command, which found that the mines were planted on the orders of military commanders. The General Staff, at the time of the explosion, released a statement saying that the mines had been planted by PKK terrorists who crossed into Turkey from northern Iraq.
After the telephone conversation between the two commanders about the mine blast was made public, the family of Ziya Bener, who was killed in the explosion, filed a criminal complaint with the prosecutor’s office.
The General Staff’s Military Prosecutor’s Office can now open a case against the defendants in accordance with Article 85 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK), which says: “Someone who causes the death of a person due to negligence shall be punished with three to six years’ imprisonment. If the act causes the loss of more than one person’s life, the punishment can be from three to 15 years.”
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