Today’s Zaman, Turkey
Feb 22 2007
Think tank declares war on `deep state’
An influential independent policy unit yesterday fired a series of
salvos at what it called the lack of public accountability over the
state security forces in Turkey and called for greater political
oversight of the armed forces and police as well as more transparency
over finances and criteria of efficiency.
Ergin Cinmen
There was now an unhealthy convergence between those countries which
had had called for greater democratization in Turkey but which were
now prepared in a post 9/11 world to sacrifice their own citizens’
rights in the name of greater security, according to civil rights
activist Yýlmaz Ensaroðlu. He was speaking at press conference
organized by the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation
(TESEV) designed to draw attention to the erosion of individual
rights in the name of greater security that was occurring both in
Ankara and the European Union. For more than a year the organization
has been reporting on developments both in Turkey and in EU member
states and making representation both to the Turkish parliament and
to pan-European bodies abroad, but yesterday was the first time it
tried to bring its work to a general public.
The recent murder of the Armenian-Turkish journalist Hrant Dink
was also cited as a cruel result of a historical emphasis on
terrorism as something which affected the interests of the state but
not the individual.
The police were anticipating Mr Dink would be a target and yet failed
to protect him despite the considerable autonomy of action they
enjoy, according to lawyer Ergin Cinmen even those apprehended for
inciting 17 year-old Ogün Samast for pulling the trigger were not
being tried under anti-terror legislation but that for common
assault. Mr Cinmen was a lawyer who had led civil protests against
the cover-up of evidence of collusion between the security forces and
organised crime — the 1996 Susurluk affair. It was this incident
which led many ordinary Turks to suspect there was a deep state which
operated according to its own set of interests and which was
impervious to governmental control.
The perception is that security and civil rights have to be traded
off against each other whereas security is itself a democratic
right,’ according to Vokan Aytar who operates TESEV’s democratisation
programme. `Our aim is to open out the debate. The perception is
that the government is not in control of the security apparatus,’ he
said. The behaviour of the arresting officers who posed with Samast
for souvenir photographs strongly suggest if not actual collusion,
aprroval of the crime. `Even after the arrests, I don’t feel secure,’
Mr Aytar said.
Yesterday’s press conference was clearly an attempt to help restart
the process of democratic reform in Turkey which has stalled in the
wake of public disillusionment with Ankara’s EU application. A recent
publication co-sponsored by TESEV and the Brussels-based Centre for
European Policy Studies contains recommendations for both parties.
TESEV is also anxious to ensure that what it describes as `new
draconian revisions to the anti-terror law’ are in line with EU
practice.
TESEV has courted controversy in this field before. An annual
handbook `Security Sector and Democratic Oversight’ was bitterly
attacked by the current Chief of Staff Yaþar Büyükanýt for having the
hidden agenda of weakening the security forces, according to Mr
Aytar. Police academy academics who submitted articles are currently
being investigated `simply for submitting scholarly work,’ he said.
Despite these pressures, he pledged that the handbook would be
published again this year. TESEV’s publications on this subject are
now available in English online at
/eng/events/sec_human_righ ts.
22.02.2007
ANDREW FINKEL ÝSTANBUL
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress