Military disagrees with village guard criticism
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 09, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - Despite mounting criticism of the village guard system voiced by government officials, the Turkish military yesterday said the system should not be held responsible for the massacre of 44 people in the southeastern city of Mardin earlier this week.
"The incident in the Bilge village of Mardin province is absolutely a carnage and can’t be justified with any humanitarian value," military spokesman Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak told a weekly press briefing Friday. "But it is a wrong and biased approach to hold the village guards responsible for the incident as a whole and an institution," he said. Â
Ten suspects, some of whom were members of state-backed "village guard" units, were detained after the armed attack in Mardin, which left 44 dead. The village guards were established in 1985 to protect villages against attacks from the outlawed PKK. President Abdullah Gül and deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç earlier said the system could be revised or abolished.
Gürak also said Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ would pay an official visit to the United States and the works concerning the schedule were still under way. The date of the visit wasn’t clear yet.
In response to a question concerning the statements made by former Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt to journalist Mehmet Ali Birand, Gürak said what he said reflected Büyükanıt’s own thoughts.
"The statements of a retired Chief of General Staff which were reflected in the media belonged to himself and it is wrong to comment on his remarks," Gürak said.
’April 27 declaration mine’
Büyükanıt, who appeared on Birand's live news program "32. Gün" (32nd Day) Thursday night, said he himself wrote the April 27 declaration, widely known as the "e-memorandum," which was published on the official Web site of the General Staff of the Turkish military warning the government to stop allegedly Islamist activities.
In response to a question on whether he regretted that declaration as it created the impression that it earned a great deal of votes for the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Büyükanıt said "No, the Constitutional Court's decision proved us right. After the court decision, we thought it was a well-directed decision."
Ten suspects, some of whom were members of state-backed "village guard" units, were detained after the armed attack in Mardin, which left 44 dead. The village guards were established in 1985 to protect villages against attacks from the outlawed PKK. President Abdullah Gül and deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç earlier said the system could be revised or abolished.
Gürak also said Chief of General Staff Gen. İlker Başbuğ would pay an official visit to the United States and the works concerning the schedule were still under way. The date of the visit wasn’t clear yet.
In response to a question concerning the statements made by former Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt to journalist Mehmet Ali Birand, Gürak said what he said reflected Büyükanıt’s own thoughts.
"The statements of a retired Chief of General Staff which were reflected in the media belonged to himself and it is wrong to comment on his remarks," Gürak said.
’April 27 declaration mine’
Büyükanıt, who appeared on Birand's live news program "32. Gün" (32nd Day) Thursday night, said he himself wrote the April 27 declaration, widely known as the "e-memorandum," which was published on the official Web site of the General Staff of the Turkish military warning the government to stop allegedly Islamist activities.
In response to a question on whether he regretted that declaration as it created the impression that it earned a great deal of votes for the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, Büyükanıt said "No, the Constitutional Court's decision proved us right. After the court decision, we thought it was a well-directed decision."