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Turkish army rebuffs accusations against
top general
20.3.2006
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ANKARA, March 20,
2006 (AFP) - The Turkish army condemned as
"baseless" Monday accusations that its number two
acted outside the law in the fight against Kurdish
rebels and urged the government to find those
responsible for what it called a unjustified,
intentional attack on its ranks.
"A grave legal mistake has been committed by
directing harsh accusations against members of the
Turkish armed forces...on the imaginary allegations
of an individual which were not based on any
evidence," the army general staff said in a
statement.
The accusations against land forces commander Yasar
Buyukanit came in a indictment against two soldiers
and a Kurdish informer over the November 9, 2005,
bombing of a bookstore in the town of Semdinli.
The attack on the shop, owned by a former Kurdish
guerrilla, killed one person and sparked deadly
Kurdish riots.
The indictment, seen by AFP, says the army should
investigate Buyukanit for setting up a criminal
organization and abuse of power during his term as
regional commander in the southeast in the 1990s.
It also says the general attempted to influence the
judiciary when he said after the blast in Semdinli
that he knew one of the implicated soldiers to be "a
good guy."
Buyukanit can be tried only with the permission of
the general staff.
In a harshly-worded statement, the general staff
said it saw no need to launch an investigation
against Buyukanit after studying the indictment.
It accused the prosecutor who drafted the indictment
of "exceeding his authority" and producing
"unjustified and intentional" accusations against
the army.
The indictment was "aimed at wearing down the
Turkish armed forces and weakening their resolve in
the fight against terrorism," the statement said.
The army expects the government "to shed light on
all aspects of this onslaught, reveal those behind
it ... and take action against them", it added.
The bombing in Semdinli raised questions over
whether Turkey had succeeded in purging rogue
elements from the security forces. Members of the
forces are accused of summary executions, extortion,
kidnappings and drug-smuggling in the mainly Kurdish
southeast in the 1990s, the peak years of a
separatist Kurdish rebellion there.
The indictment demands life terms for the two
soldiers and the Kurdish informer for the blast,
which it describes as a provocative act to stir
unrest in the southeast, discredit the government
and undermine Turkey's bid to join the European
Union.
The justice ministry has launched an inquiry into
the prosecutor to see if he abused his powers by
levelling accusations against Buyukanit without
solid evidence.
AFP
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