Time to re-examine the ’village guards’
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 06, 2009 00:00
Our first reaction to the brutal killings in the southeastern province of Mardin can only be that shared by the nation: shock and disbelief that an engagement party in the village of Bilge became a scene of such carnage, with a death toll of at least 44, including 16 women and six children.
Our hearts go out to the survivors and their families as do our condolences to all touched by this crime. We also acknowledge the quick reaction from the government, the words of strength from President Abdullah Gül and the call by Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan for all institutions in the country to aid in reconciliation.
As our headline today suggests, the search for answers to explain this crime is ongoing. Was this an act of terror? Authorities do not think so. Was this an act of "honor killing," a scourge in some sectors of the society? That speculative answer too fails to capture the scope and viciousness of the crime. Suspicion has also fallen on the institution of the "village guards," a temporary militia established 22 years ago with the goal of combating terror committed in the name of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. That all the men in the village were members of this militia, a security force that now numbers some 58,000 in Turkey, is an obvious concern.
We hope that as part of what will be a difficult process of both investigation and mourning that Erdoğan will convene a second look at this institution. It is commonly understood that many of the social problems and the violence in the Southeast trace to an archaic system of tribal loyalties. It is our view that this tribal system, indeed even the struggle with terrorism, is in many ways rooted to the continuation of the village guard system.
It is a system that pits village against village, tribe against tribe, pro-state groupings against anti-state groupings. It is a system that should never have been created to begin with. Even efforts to disband and disarm elements of it have ended in tragedy when villagers flee to the big cities, returning to find their homes occupied by armed forces ostensibly in the service of the state.
The village guard system has been criticized by the European Union, by Amnesty International and other organizations as an institution that abets many social problems in the Southeast rather than ameliorates them. Despite that, there were reports prior to the recent elections suggesting that moves are afoot to recruit as many as 10,000 more village guards. In impoverished regions, the appeal of a government paycheck and the promise of a retirement income is a powerful incentive. But there are far better ways to transfer income to the region. And far better ways to combat the scourge of tribalism with all it implies. When we are done mourning, we should abolish the village guards.
As our headline today suggests, the search for answers to explain this crime is ongoing. Was this an act of terror? Authorities do not think so. Was this an act of "honor killing," a scourge in some sectors of the society? That speculative answer too fails to capture the scope and viciousness of the crime. Suspicion has also fallen on the institution of the "village guards," a temporary militia established 22 years ago with the goal of combating terror committed in the name of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK. That all the men in the village were members of this militia, a security force that now numbers some 58,000 in Turkey, is an obvious concern.
We hope that as part of what will be a difficult process of both investigation and mourning that Erdoğan will convene a second look at this institution. It is commonly understood that many of the social problems and the violence in the Southeast trace to an archaic system of tribal loyalties. It is our view that this tribal system, indeed even the struggle with terrorism, is in many ways rooted to the continuation of the village guard system.
It is a system that pits village against village, tribe against tribe, pro-state groupings against anti-state groupings. It is a system that should never have been created to begin with. Even efforts to disband and disarm elements of it have ended in tragedy when villagers flee to the big cities, returning to find their homes occupied by armed forces ostensibly in the service of the state.
The village guard system has been criticized by the European Union, by Amnesty International and other organizations as an institution that abets many social problems in the Southeast rather than ameliorates them. Despite that, there were reports prior to the recent elections suggesting that moves are afoot to recruit as many as 10,000 more village guards. In impoverished regions, the appeal of a government paycheck and the promise of a retirement income is a powerful incentive. But there are far better ways to transfer income to the region. And far better ways to combat the scourge of tribalism with all it implies. When we are done mourning, we should abolish the village guards.