Bulletin de liaison et d'information - Institut kurde de Paris

REVUE DE PRESSE-PRESS REVIEW-BERHEVOKA ÇAPÊ-RWISTA STAMPA-DENTRO DE LA PRENSA-BASIN ÖZETi
Military blasts popular television news program
. .
'3200 Day' investigated for targeting army, encouraging insubordination
Anatolian Journalists Union says it will 'always side with the army'
Producers say allegations baseless, all authorities should take criticism
Turkish Daily News
ANKARA-
Turkey's Chief of Staff office
which last month opened a case against two
joumalists resulting in their brief arrest, said
on Friday a new investigation of a popular
television news program had been started.
The stalement came after a senior military
commander onFri~y lashed out at the
32 Gün (32nd Day) program forallegedly
encouraging armed forces personnel to insubordination.
Without directly naming the
32nd Day program which was broadcast on
the private Show Television, the statement
, by Chief of Staff General Secretary Gen.
Hur~it Tolun referred to interviews with
soldiers on the freezing.of army discharges,.
screened on television "on the night of Jan ..
10."
Tolun accused the program of deliberately
attempting to arouse popular contempt
for compulsory military service.
The program's producers later sai.din their
written statement that the allegatIons were
baseless and that authorities in democratic
regimes should be able to take criticism.
"Our mvestigation, and the information obtained
from privates, have revcalcd thaI, as
if a previous arrangement had been made,
some personnel on leave wereapp'roached
and made to utter statements argumg against
the current practice [of freezing discharges]
and to create feelings antago!listic
to military service amon¥ people and conscripts,"
went Gen. Tolun s statement, as reported
by the Anatolia news agency. Despite
repeated requests by the TON, the Chief
of Staffs office failed to provide a topy of
the original statement. Defense Ministry officials
said, meanwhile, they had nOlhing 10
do with Tolun's remarks and that they reflected
only the views of the army.
Tolun's statement read: "Under the pretext
that public information was being disseminated,
an atmosphere was created conducive to
compellin,g tfle Turkish Soldier, known for
his patriottsm, personal sacrifice and discipline,
to commit an act diametrically opposed
to the traditions and hierarchical structure of
the Turkish armed forces."
A further accusation' was that "with the
broadcast of the said program, in addition to
attempts to communicate to the public a mes- .
sage that certain privates areagainst the decision,
they were encouraged to failto comply
with the law, the regulattons and their supenors,
which is far worse."
Tolun also argued that "despite such adverse
counter-propaganda, the Turkish Armed
Forces, which derives its power from
the supreme Turkish nation and acts on its
orders, is continuing with its training and
preparations against the possibility of a war..
confident in the knowledge that it will do
whatever is required in times of war or pea- .
ce."
The senior commander, speaking on behalf
of the Chief of Staffs office, which in recent
weeks has been increasingly involved in domestic
issues, revealed that he had felt compelled
to issue Friday's statement following
demands by individuals and military personnel
offended by the programme.
A separate report from Anatolia implied
that the statement was also backed by the
Anatolian Press Union (ABB) which sent a a
message to the Chief of Staffs office complaining
of "remarks made against the Turkish-
Armed Forces." The ABB said in its message
that it would "always be on the side of the armed
forces," and branded those voicing criti.
cism as "people without patriotism."
As expected, the ChIef of Staffs office
welcomed ABB chairman Lütfü Akcan's
message and noted that it was "very mea.
ningfuL" Friday's accusations surfaced afte~
32nd Day screened interviews with off-duty:
but uniformed privates complaining of a recent
cabinet decision to freeze army discharges
for three to five months.
The program, said the 'producers, was designed
only to show public reaction to the
decision, already reflected in newspaper headlines.
"Because of this," the 32nd Day statement.
read, "the news item ended with the remark.
that despite everything, our soldiers are saying
that the greatest soldiers of all are our
own."
The p(ogàm'sstatement
also noted that
Gen. Töluns remarks did not reflect the truth
.and that no one had been forced to speak out
against military service in the said report. It
added, however, that "even to consider that
'the Mehmetcik [Turkish soldier] who has
gonedown in history for patriotism and discipline'
would make a certain statement under
pressure from, or with the encourage-
,ment of, any re~orter is to belittle his courage
and strength. '
Legal sources said Friday that if the Chief
of Staff investigation yields any significant,
results, producers of the 32nd Day program
may' face a military tribunal for committmg a
"military crime."
'Chief of Staff spokesman Col. Dogu SilahçlOglu
said, "Once the investigation is over,
whatever is necessary will be done." Last
month, acting on orders reportedly issued by
Chief of Staff Gen. Dogan Güre~. a military
,prosecutor in Ankara launched a case against
two other television journalists for screening
a program on draft dodgers.
The case led to a widespread debate on
Turkish democracy and civilian control. But
the milit~ still insists that since the "crime"
is one which falls within military jurisdiction,
they have the authority to put the suspects
on trial.
Erhan AkYlldlz, a producer for the private
TV channel HBB, and Ali Tevfik Berber, reporter
for the p,opular television news program
"Antenna, , were detained but later relea-
:sed to face their first hearing on Jan. 25.
Observers say the two recent incidents,
along with frequent statements by Gen. Dogan
Güre~ on national issues, indicate an increased
dominance of the Turkish military in
Turkish affairs. Gür~ recently warned Turks
against debating military issues, and said there
were circles with hidden intentions which
were "hiding behind the argument that the
army is not taboo" in order attack military
commanders.
, The chief judge at Tu~~ey's Constitutional
Court, Yekta Güngör Ozden, was first to
challenge the remarks and said in a recent interview
with the TON that "the army is not
taboo."
PKK deaths now 41 in Hakkari, military operation continues
Turkish Daily News
ANKARA. The number of outlawed Kurdistan
Workers' Party (PKK) militants killed in the sixday-old
operation by security forces on Mount
Kato in Hakkari provlOce has risen to 41, the Anatolia
news agency said Friday.
'~Theoperation on Mo~nt Kato being c.o~d.uct~d
by teams of the Hakkan Commando DIVIsIon IS
nearly complete," it sai4.
84
"The operation has spilled over to the Altindaglar
area where the presence of a large group of
PKK terrorists was detected."
"PKK positions are being bombed by Skorsky
and Cobra helicopters and shelled by artillery," It
said.
, "Meanwhile, an operation launched following a
PKK attempt to raid the Pirinçeken gendarmerie
border post in Hakkari province is continuing.
Fighterplanes are bombing PKK targets," Anatolia
added.
'
In another develoement, security- forces killed
two PKK militants 10 DiyarbakIr s Silvan town
and arrested 27 of them in various towns in
Diyarbalar province.
In a separate development in the Thracian province
of Edirne, unidentified robbers stole TL 4 bil.
'lion from a bank late Thursday night.