Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Jan 30 2007

Five civilian guns for every military firearm in Turkey, records show

The words of Rakel Dink, widow of slain Turkish editor of Armenian
origin Hrant Dink, are still fresh in our minds: `Whoever the
assassin may be, either 17 or 27 years old, I know myself that he too
was once a baby.

One cannot accomplish anything without first questioning how an
assassin was created from such a baby.’
The assassin, Ogün Samast, being 17 years of age caused as much
horror as the sudden death of Hrant Dink; lying on the ground, shot
to death through the back of the neck. People used to die as a result
of random shots directed into the air at weddings, soccer games and
similar occasions in Turkey; however, this latest incident showed
that young murderers are created through the ease with which they can
obtain weapons.
Turkey is fourth in terms of weapon usage and the number of threats
against life following the US, Argentina and Brazil.
There are 7 million guns and only 2 million of them are licensed.
Sixty percent of all murders are committed with guns, most of which
are unlicensed. Fifty percent of the perpetrators are young people.
The ratio of five civilian guns for every military firearm is another
serious issue.
While the memory of 16-year-old O.A. who killed Roman Catholic priest
Andrea Santaro in Trabzon was still fresh, 17-year-old Ogün Samast
traveled from his home city to kill Hrant Dink, a man he never knew.
The murder of Father Santaro, the attack on the Council of State in
Ankara and the murder of Hrant Dink have started a new debate on
political murders, the crime scenes and the murderers. With the
exception of Alparslan Arslan, the perpetrator of the attack on the
Council of State, the murderers all being under the age of 18 points
to a great danger. These are planned murders that are being committed
by young people. The danger is that teenagers have access to guns in
an environment where weapons possession is escalating.
Surveys estimate that there are around 7 million guns in Turkey. And
the number of civilian guns is fivefold that of the military, whereas
the ratio should ideally be one to one. Meanwhile, of all the weapons
in circulation in Turkey, only 2 million of them are licensed.
Seven million guns in the general population works out to one gun for
every 10 people. For various reasons, 3,000 people are killed with
firearms in Turkey every year.
A survey by Dr. Ayhan Akcan, coordinator of the Bakırköy
Psychiatry Treatment and Research Center (BAPAM), showed that 70
percent of the population has guns for purposes of both
self-protection and security. The survey also finds that 35 percent
of those who want to have possession of guns have difficulty in anger
control management and that they are likely to use guns at any time.
`The data on individual weapons are alarming for Turkey,’ Akcan said,
adding that the guns owned by adults are accessible to young people.
Akcan asserted that there is a relation between the increasing number
of political murders and the increasing number of weapons.
The Umut Foundation, which works on reducing personal ownership of
weapons, looks at this issue from outside of the aspect of `political
murders.’
Nazire Dedeman, chairwoman of the Umut Foundation, said, `One of our
biggest fears is that people might start massacres in order to raise
their voices, as in the cases of Argentina and Brazil.’ In order to
fight this, she demands that weapons not be presented as an
indispensable part of (Turkish) culture.
Former Prosecutor of Supreme Court of Appeals Ahmet Gündel said the
proliferation of weapons will increase murders of all kinds,
including political. `We should consider the ramifications of gun
ownership for daily occurrences as well. Little debates end up in
foul language and fistfights, and if either of the sides involved
have guns, then it ends in death. … Applications for guns should be
decreased to a minimum, and those applicants should have jobs
requiring the use of guns. We need serious regulations for that,’
added Gündel.
Psychiatrist Cemal Dindar says the main problem is that young bodies
are turned into weapons. He says that clear opposition to any kind of
activity that values weapons needs to be implemented.
As in the murder of Hrant Dink, the reasons and motives of political
murders, the murderers’ state of mind is not so simple as to be
linked only to `individual weapons possession.’ However, it should be
remembered the social and physical `culture of weapons’ is supported
by conditions in Turkey.