Cold welcome for freed Turkish soldiers

[Truth Bearer]

Cold welcome for freed Turkish soldiers
By Sarah Rainsford
BBC News, Istanbul


The release of eight soldiers after two weeks held hostage by the PKK has not been celebrated in Turkey.


Some here have branded them cowards - even traitors.
Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin told an audience at Ankara University on Monday that he could not be entirely happy about the soldiers' release.

They were captured in an ambush by the PKK close to the Iraqi border on 21 October. Twelve other soldiers were killed in what was the worst clash of its kind with Kurdish separatists in many years.

"No member of the Turkish armed forces should have found themselves in such a situation," the minister began.

"As a Turkish citizen I cannot accept the fact that they went with the terrorists that night. Our soldier is prepared to die if necessary when he is protecting the country."

'Shame!'

The soldiers' families kept a very low profile while their sons were held hostage. The justice minister's statement prompted one mother to break her silence.



The military did not want this debated in public, because people had already started asking questions about how the hell it happened
Mehmet Ali Birand
Turkish columnist

"Why is our family honour being trampled upon just because my son was taken hostage?" demanded Aynur Atakul in one Turkish newspaper.
"I sent my son to his military service in a dignified manner. Would it have been better if he had died there?"

Many comments left on the webpage of Hurriyet, Turkey's most widely-read newspaper, suggest precisely that.

"Shame, shame, what shame! Eight weak soldiers. I wish they had stood and fought and become martyrs," reads one typical entry.

"What were they doing when their comrades were martyred beside them? If I were them I would be unable to look anyone in the face after this," says another.

There are only a few expressions of sympathy with the hostages.

Barely a mention

The October ambush itself sparked mass street protests across Turkey against the PKK, which is recognised as a terrorist organisation by the United States and the European Union.


When the coffins of the 12 soldiers were returned home, huge crowds turned out for their funerals. Newspapers and the airwaves were filled with calls for revenge strikes against PKK bases inside Northern Iraq.
But the eight missing men barely got a mention.

And when their release came, the official announcement - like that of their capture - was terse.

"During an armed clash with the PKK terror organization communication was cut with eight members of the Turkish Armed Forces," read a statement on the Chief of Staff's website.

"As of 4 November 2007 those eight soldiers have rejoined the Turkish Armed Forces," it read.

Unlike recent hostage crises involving Israeli and British military members, here in Turkey the government, military and media played this one very low-key.

One explanation is concern, in the current nationalistic climate, about the potential for clashes between Turks and Kurds in Turkish cities.

But some read more into the near-silence.

"The reflex of the mainstream press here is to turn a blind eye to anything they see as humiliating to national pride," explains Burak Bekdil, of the Turkish Daily News.

"The military did not want this debated in public, because people had already started asking questions about how the hell it happened," says respected columnist Mehmet Ali Birand.

"Something went dreadfully wrong for the soldiers to be taken by the PKK - and that reflects badly on the Turkish military," he says.

"The media played it down on purpose."

Voluntary surrender?

Four days after their release, the former hostages are still being questioned by military prosecutors. An already suspicious public is ready to believe the rumour that one of them has links to the PKK.

"Prosecutors will be focusing on whether or not the soldiers left with the PKK voluntarily," explains retired military judge Umit Kardas.

"If they did they could be charged with membership of a terrorist organisation."

"This has really shaken the military," he adds.

In a further blow to Turkish pride, pictures from the handover of the eight soldiers have now made their way into local newspapers.

They show three members of the Turkish parliament from the pro-Kurdish DTP party standing beside a poster of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned PKK founder. In others, the MPs are seen greeting the hostage-takers with handshakes and kisses.

Though the DTP insist they were present for humanitarian reasons, to aid the soldiers' release, they are now being investigated on suspicion of supporting a terrorist organisation.


Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Cold welcome for freed Turkish soldiers

Published: 2007/11/08 02:15:17 GMT

[Truth Bearer]

And these people want to join Europe??
Havethey ever bothered to ask these young lads whether they wanted to do the forced armed service??

[pankration]

Are these people nuts? 12 die, 8 get captured and somehow they failed to defend the country? Against who? The Kurds aren't invading Turkey. If it was my son being returned after being captured by the enemy, I'd be doing cartwheels. What a primitive attitude! This isn't patriotism; it's lunacy.

[Tsontos]

Amazing thing is that members of the government are saying those things

[Morphesau]

Originally Posted by Truth Bearer

They show three members of the Turkish parliament from the pro-Kurdish DTP party standing beside a poster of Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned PKK founder. In others, the MPs are seen greeting the hostage-takers with handshakes and kisses.

Story from BBC NEWS:
BBC NEWS | Europe | Cold welcome for freed Turkish soldiers

Published: 2007/11/08 02:15:17 GMT

Kanoun kai makia !

[akritas]

Turkish troops taken hostage by Kurdish rebels three weeks ago have been charged with "disobedience that could lead to a major catastrophe" a defense attorney said.

The soldiers returned home last Sunday after their release by the rebels. But they are now in a Turkish prison, facing charges in their homeland.

The charges brought against the soldiers on Saturday also included "undermining military discipline" and, for two of them, "escaping abroad," said lawyer Ramazan Korkmaz, who represents the soldiers.

The soldiers were abducted by rebels of the Kurdistan PKK on Oct. 21 following an ambush that killed 12 other soldiers. They were taken to a rebel base in the north of neighboring Iraq.

Από όμηροι κατηγορούμενοι
Στη φυλακή οδηγεί η Τουρκία τους στρατιώτες που έπεσαν αιχμάλωτοι στο PKK


Οι οκτώ στρατιώτες του τουρκικού στρατού κατά την περίοδο της αιχμαλωσίας τους

Αγκυρα

Αντιμέτωποι με βαριές ποινές βρέθηκαν τελικά οι οκτώ Τούρκοι στρατιώτες που είχαν αιχαμλωτιστεί από τους Κούρδους αυτονομιστές του PKK και είχαν κρατηθεί επί δύο εβδομάδες στο Βόρειο Ιράκ. Οι τουκρικές στρατιωτικές Αρχές ανακοίνωσαν ότι οι στρατιώτες κατηγορούνται για «απείθεια που θα μπορούσε προκαλέσει σοβαρές συνέπειες», χωρίς πάντως να γίνει γνωστό σε ποιες εντολές δεν υπάκουσαν.

Οι στρατιώτες κατηγορούνται ακόμη, σύμφωνα με τον δικηγόρο τους Ραμαζάν Κορκμάζ, επειδή «δεν εκπλήρωσαν το πατριωτικό τους καθήκον» και για «υπονόμευση της στρατιωτικής πειθαρχίας», ενώ δύο εξ αυτών βαρύνονται με την κατηγορία της «παράνομης εξόδου από τη χώρα».

Η κατηγορία της απείθειας μπορεί να επισείει ποινή κάθειρξης μέχρι 10 έτη, ενώ η παράνομη έξοδος από τη χώρα ποινή φυλάκισης πέντε ετών.

Οι οκτώ στρατιώτες κρατούνταν από Κούρδους αντάρτες από τις 21 Οκτωβρίου, έπειτα από ενέδρα του ΡΚΚ στην περιοχή Νταγλίτζα της νοτιοανατολικής επαρχίας Χακιάρι, κατά την οποία σκοτώθηκαν 12 Τούρκοι στρατιώτες. Αφέθηκαν ελεύθεροι στις 3 Νοεμβρίου στο βόρειο Ιράκ όπου κρατούνταν.

Στη συνέχεια ανακρίθηκαν από τον τουρκικό στρατό και μετά την ολοκλήρωση της ανακριτικής διαδικασίας διατάχθηκε η κράτησή τους στη στρατιωτική φυλακή του Βαν, στην ανατολική Τουρκία.

Στην απολογία τους οι στρατιώτες υποστήριξαν ότι πιάστηκαν όμηροι όταν τους τελείωσαν τα πυρομαχικά. Ωστόσο, δημοσιεύματα του τουρκικού Τύπου αναφέρουν ότι οι οκτώ στρατιώτες δεν χρησιμοποίησαν τα όπλα τους.

Την ίδια ώρα στο «μάτι του κυκλώνα» βρίσκονται στην Τουρκία οι τρεις βουλευτές του φιλοκουρδικού Κόμματος Δημοκρατικής Κοινωνίας (DTP) που μεσολάβησαν ώστε να αφεθούν ελεύθεροι οι οκτώ στρατιώτες.

Το βίντεο και οι φωτογραφίες από την παράδοσή τους στους τρεις βουλευτές, σε αξιωματούχους του Ιράκ και της αυτόνομης κουρδική κυβέρνησης έκαναν το γύρο του κόσμου προκαλώντας αμηχανία στην Τουρκία, καθώς στις εικόνες που μεταδόθηκαν βουλευτές της τουρκικής Εθνοσυνέλευσης εμφανίζονται να συνδιαλέγονται με αντάρτες, τους οποίους η επίσημη Τουρκία αποκαλεί τρομοκράτες, μπροστά στο πορτραίτο του φυλακισμένου Κούρδου ηγέτη Αμπντουλάχ Οτζαλάν. Στις ίδιες εικόνες εμφανίζονται επίσης οι Τούρκοι στρατιώτες να αποχαιρετούν φιλικά τους ενόπλους του ΡΚΚ.

Τα «πυρά» του τουρκικού Τύπου και των διωκτικών αρχών κατευθύνονται κυρίως κατά της βουλευτού Φατμά Κουρτουλάν, ο σύζυγος της οποίας, Σαλμάν, βρίσκεται ενταγμένος στις δυνάμεις των ανταρτών. Η ίδια υποστηρίζει ότι βρίσκεται σε διάσταση με το σύζυγό της και δεν έχει επικοινωνήσει μαζί του εδώ και 13 χρόνια.

Ωστόσο, ο τουρκικός Τύπος επανήλθε με δημοσίευμα της εφημερίδας Aksam, η οποία δημοσίευσε μία φωτογραφία της βουλευτού, όπως ισχυρίζεται, ντυμένη αντάρτισσα, μαζί με άλλους ενόπλους του ΡΚΚ και στο χέρι της να κρατά ένα αυτόματο όπλο. Τα ίδια δημοσιεύματα υποστηρίζουν επίσης ότι η Κουρτουλάν ήταν ενταγμένη στη YAJK, τις μονάδες γυναικών της στρατιωτικής πτέρυγας του ΡΚΚ.

Το DTP διέψευσε τις πληροφορίες αυτές, υποστηρίζοντας ότι η φωτογραφία ανήκει σε άλλο πρόσωπο και όχι στη βουλευτή του κόμματος.

http://www.in.gr/news/article.asp?lngEntityID=848214&lngDtrID=245

[Ehetlaios]

Ωραίοι

[Tsontos]

I dont think this could happen in any other society in the world today.

[pankration]

I'm still shaking my head. Every time Turkey takes one step toward civilization they follow with two back. These surviving soldiers should be honored not imprisoned. I guess all Greece has to do in a war with Turkey is capture more than they kill, send them back to Turkey and those psychotics in the government will do the rest. If Darius ran the Persian empire the same way Alexander would have conquered them in 2 weeks!

[GreekSlav]

The former Turkish prisoners freed knew all too well what they were going to go through once returned. They had to have known. I am sure that they had wished to have been killed instead of captured and released.

On the other hand, I am sure also that the Kurds that captured them also knew exactly what would happen to the Turkish prisoners once returned to Turkey. They are giving these former Turkish prisoners a slow death. In this way, these Turkish soldiers will suffer not by Kurdish hands, but by Turkish hands. Then the Turks will expose to the world who they really are, once and for all.