Security czar planned for Turkey
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 12, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - A new unit will be established within the Interior Ministry to better coordinate intelligence and combat terrorism while dispelling jealousy between the state’s intelligence organizations, according to the head of the ministry.
"We have completed our preparatory work for establishing the Public Order and Security Undersecretariat," said Interior Minister Beşir Atalay at a press conference yesterday about the unit’s establishment. "There is some jealousy among Turkey’s intelligence organizations. We will bring these units closer together and provide the coordination between them via the new unit."
Atalay said the respective draft law was signed by the Cabinet and had been sent to Parliament. They tried to reach a consensus with other ministries and respective institutions on the draft law, he said.
To stop terror activities from dominating democracy in the country, Atalay said the new unit would develop comprehensive strategies to fight terror and it would try to understand the changing perceptions of the issue of security. The unit would employ personnel who are specialized in their professions and develop strategies derived from analyses made by various security institutions. The new unit would also be responsible for informing the public of the terror-related incidents and rehabilitating those who are engaged in terror activities.
"The circumstances have never been better than now to combat terror. We have a problem whatever its name is. And the circumstances as well as the domestic and foreign factors today are more convenient than in the past," he said. "It seems that the human side of the issue lies at the very center of the terror issue. We have to find new ways to win the hearts of our people. We have to find ways for us to live together. All the initiatives we launched in this respect will be within the frame of laws and freedoms."
In response to the allegations that the much-criticized village guard system will be abolished, Atalay said the blame should not be put totally on the village guard system for the massacre of 44 people in the southeastern city of Mardin last week. "The incident has many dimensions. As I said earlier, the village guards are unfortunately part of this incident. The village where the massacre took place mostly consists of village guards and the majority of the dead and the suspects are village guards. This issue should be studied," he said.
Atalay said the respective draft law was signed by the Cabinet and had been sent to Parliament. They tried to reach a consensus with other ministries and respective institutions on the draft law, he said.
To stop terror activities from dominating democracy in the country, Atalay said the new unit would develop comprehensive strategies to fight terror and it would try to understand the changing perceptions of the issue of security. The unit would employ personnel who are specialized in their professions and develop strategies derived from analyses made by various security institutions. The new unit would also be responsible for informing the public of the terror-related incidents and rehabilitating those who are engaged in terror activities.
"The circumstances have never been better than now to combat terror. We have a problem whatever its name is. And the circumstances as well as the domestic and foreign factors today are more convenient than in the past," he said. "It seems that the human side of the issue lies at the very center of the terror issue. We have to find new ways to win the hearts of our people. We have to find ways for us to live together. All the initiatives we launched in this respect will be within the frame of laws and freedoms."
In response to the allegations that the much-criticized village guard system will be abolished, Atalay said the blame should not be put totally on the village guard system for the massacre of 44 people in the southeastern city of Mardin last week. "The incident has many dimensions. As I said earlier, the village guards are unfortunately part of this incident. The village where the massacre took place mostly consists of village guards and the majority of the dead and the suspects are village guards. This issue should be studied," he said.