ISTANBUL: The Turkish government yesterday presented a bill granting greater powers to the security forces after deadly pro-Kurdish protests, as the opposition accused the authorities of creating a “police state”.
The “homeland security reform” bill was submitted to parliament’s justice commission by the ruling Islamic-rooted Justice and Development Party (AKP), a parliamentary source told AFP.
Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinc said the legislation would grant the police “the best tools” to counter what he described as “vandalism” on the streets.
At least 34 people were killed and 360 wounded, including police, earlier this month when Kurds took to streets over Turkey’s lack of support for the mainly-Kurdish Syrian border town of Kobane, which is under attack from Islamic State (IS) jihadists.
Over 1,000 people were detained for their involvement in the protests which caused damage to hundreds of public buildings. “We cannot tie the hands of our police in the face of such barbarism,” Arinc said.
“If powers given to our police are not enough to counter the killings, vandalism and threats to the safety of our citizens, we need to equip them with the best tools they need,” he said. The bill also calls for stricter punishment for offenders damaging public property, wearing masks to conceal their identity, as well as resisting the police, Turkish media reported.
It allows the authorities to hold protesters charged with rioting in pre-trial detention right up until the end of their trials. Police will have the power to detain those “who are likely to stage a protest or engage in a violent act” in what the government calls “pre-emptive detention”. “Reasonable doubt” will justify a police search as opposed to the current “strong suspicion based on concrete evidence.” Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu warned the protesters against destroying water cannon trucks, a favourite tool of Turkish police in dispersing protests.
“We will buy five or 10 TOMAs for each TOMA destroyed,” using the Turkish acronym for the water cannon trucks. Opposition lawmakers denounced the new measures, saying they would turn Turkey into a police state.
“This is like throwing gasoline on a fire... at a time when so many children are being killed by police on the streets,” said pro-Kurdish lawmaker Idris Baluken of the People’s Democratic Party (HDP).
AFP
