30 August 2010
General Işık Koşaner substantially in line with his predecessor
The new Chief of General Staff Gen. Işık Koşaner has outlined his plan of action at the weekend. During the handover ceremony he has spelled out four demands.
Without naming the BDP (Peace and Democracy Party) nor the party’s call for autonomy, Koşaner stressed the need to take action in the face of demands for autonomy. These actions were summarized in the formula used by the new Chief of General Staff who talk about taking effective legal measures against any initiative to build a second structure in the country. The other three demands focused on ensuring the central Iraqi government and the regional Kurdish administration will take measures against the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) based in northern Iraq. A refrain this which has become a kind of mantra for the army chiefs. The third demand focused on the need for preventing the support provided to the PKK and its members by some European countries; and the fourth on continuing to give the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) authorization to launch military strikes at the terrorist bases in northern Iraq.
Koşaner said the TSK would continue to be in favor of protecting the nation-state, unitary and secular state structuring. “The unitary state represents the unity of the legislative, executive and judiciary within the country’s borders. The same laws are valid in any part of the country.” he said.
And he added that “the unitary state is the guarantee of protection of the principle of equality and of not being engaged regionalism or ethnic discrimination and not creating a minority.”
Koşaner also also added that “divisive and separatist movements threatening our country’s integrity, security and peace have entered in a new phase of realizing [their goal] in recent times.”
ANF / NEWS DESK
ANF NEWS AGENCY
