Turkey to use sociopsychological action plan to counter terrorism

The Turkish intelligence units observe that the PKK is trying to regain its former strength by conducting shocking attacks when it loses support, cautioning that the PKK militants who were dispersed because of the ongoing crackdown in rural areas may opt for conducting terrorist attacks in the cities, particularly in metropolitan areas. According to the intelligence units, in the future the PKK will distinguish between its armed attacks and social attacks. Its social attacks will aim to create psychological uneasiness in society, and the government is planning to counter these attacks by introducing a psychological warfare plan.

The main tenets of this plan were discussed in a National Security Council (MGK) meeting held on Oct. 21, and it was drafted after the country’s counterterrorism strategy was determined in detail. This plan aims to dissuade the people who support the PKK’s terrorism and includes several measures intended to counteract the effects of the PKK’s propaganda on the people of the region. The social aspects of the counterterrorism efforts will be emphasized. The misconceptions disseminated by the terrorist organizations will be curtailed, and the loyalty of citizens to “the state, the nation, the country and the flag” will be reassured. A greater importance will be attached to channels of communication.

Due to the modified organization of the MGK, the psychological warfare plan will be conducted by the Higher Counterterrorism Board (TMYK), chaired by Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek. As part of the reforms the government implemented to ensure increased harmonization in Turkey’s EU bid, the MGK began to be chaired by a civilian secretary-general in 2003, and because of this organizational change, the MGK’s public relations department, which was formerly in charge of psychological warfare, became dysfunctional, which in turn led to defects in the psychological aspects of the country’s counterterrorism efforts. To eliminate these defects, the government has decided to make the TMYK more functional. In this context, the security affairs department, subordinated to the Prime Ministry, but which, too, was not very active, will be transformed into a general directorate, connected to the TMYK. These public institutions will identify psychological, social, cultural and economic priorities of counterterrorism.

As part the psychological warfare plan, data on forms of terrorism, rates of support for terrorism, demographical structure and economic and social status of the terrorism-intensive areas have been collected. This data will be used to guide the efforts to determine political, social, economic and security aspects of counterterrorism. The psychological action plan also has a role for media organizations in counter-terrorism efforts and entails coordination in this respect.