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Senior general 'stoked Kurdish conflict to
keep Turkey out of EU'
8.3.2006
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One of Turkey's most
powerful generals has been accused of setting up
rogue units in the south-east of the country to
provoke clashes between Kurdish separatists and
security forces. The accusations, made by a
prosecutor in the eastern city of Van, against
General Yasar Buyukanit, the head of Turkey's land
forces, have rattled the politically powerful
military. It is thought the alleged activities are
part of an effort to derail Turkey's bid to join the
European Union.
General Buyukanit , who was chief commander in the
region from 1997-2000, is due to become chief of
staff in August. The separatist Kurdistan Workers
Party (PKK) launched an armed struggle for a
homeland in the region in 1984. The conflict has
claimed more than 30,000 lives.
The charges were part of an indictment of two
soldiers and a Kurdish informer over the bombing of
a bookshop in November in the south-eastern town of
Semdinli, on the Iraqi border. The general cannot be
prosecuted by civil courts.
The blast, which killed one man, made headlines when
a tale was revealed of shadowy rogue elements within
the security forces. Local people chased and caught
three men suspected of planting the bomb only to
find out that two were non-commissioned officers,
part of a paramilitary intelligence unit, and the
third, a Kurdish rebel turned informer. Their car
was registered to the local gendarmerie and
contained a list of 105 potential targets, including
the bookshop owner.
In his 100-page indictment of the three suspected
bombers, a prosecutor, Ferhat Sarikaya, reportedly
accused General Buyukanit and other senior officers
of setting up an illegal force to create unrest
among the Kurds that would undermine Turkey's
application to join the EU. Mr Sarikaya alleged that
the bombing in November was part of a series of
similar attacks intended to provoke the security
forces into a clampdown on the restive Kurdish
region that would then unleash European criticism
and jeopardise Turkey's hopes of joining the EU.
Turkey's army says it backs Ankara's mission to join
the EU, but some officers fear that EU-required
reforms would reduce the armed forces' influence,
encourage Kurdish separatism and strengthen the
Islamist movement.
For many, the Semdinli bombing brought back memories
of the 1990s - the peak years of the conflict - when
rogue elements in the security forces were accused
of summary executions, extortion and kidnappings.
Turks refer to those elements as a hidden "deep
state". That murky era has yet to be investigated.
General Buyukanit said last year that one of the
three suspects, who had served under him, was "a
good chap". In the indictment, General Buyukanit was
accused of seeking to influence the judiciary by
supporting the suspect. The three may be jailed for
life if convicted.
Turkey's generals are widely seen as guardians of
the pro-Western, secular system introduced by the
founder of modern Turkey, Kemal Ataturk. Their
powers have been scaled back recently in keeping
with EU reforms, but the military still has
influence over domestic and foreign policy.
Under Turkish law, members of the armed forces
cannot be tried in civilian courts. General
Buyukanit and other officers could only be tried if
a military prosecutor decided to take up the
investigation. The general staff has accused the Van
prosecutor of overstepping the limits of his
authority.
www.independent.co.uk
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