News:

After a week, a Security Reform Package is on the Parliament's agenda again. (Source: Agencies)

Comment:

The Government seeks to push through the 132-article-bill through Parliament and enact it in spite of harsh critics and dissent of the opposition parties. While doing so, the government uses a very professional tactic. Through creating a perceptual agenda over the articles refused by the opposition, it is covering or veiling its real intentions or all the other very important articles contained in the package. As there is, jerking the public and opposition over issues contained in the articles like the proposed punishment for those using Molotov cocktails, or covering their faces with masks at demonstrations...

Three points stand out in this package. The first one is providing the governors with super authorities. Some of these are: the Governor will be able to give direct orders to the police commanders and officers in order to take urgent steps to find criminal wrongdoers. The Governor will be authorized, to give orders to judicial institutions, as well as local administrations and to personnel of any public institutions and organizations (provisions reserved), with exception of military institutions, in order to ensure the fulfilment of his measures and decisions with the aim of ensuring public order and safety or ensuring the protection of life and property. Public institutions and organizations are obliged to carry out all orders and instructions of the Governor. It seems that the Government wants to prepare the basis for the presidential system which is discussed these days. It seems that if the presidential system would be implemented, than the governors would get a wide range of authorities like in America.

As for the second point, through binding the gendarmerie general command to the Ministry of Interior Affairs, it is aimed to provide the Ministry with important powers. Some of these are: with exception of the provincial gendarmerie commander, the governor will be allowed to remove any of the gendarmerie staff within the province. The Ministry of Interior will determine the assignment, replacement and secondment of any department chiefs other than the rank of a general, and province and district gendarmerie commanders. All actions and processes of gendarmerie outside of its military duties are to be inspected and supervised by the Ministry of Interior, the Governors and their chiefs. "With exception of the Admirals, the Coast Guard Command's Chief of Staff and the chiefs-in-office at the Coast Guard Command's Headquarters, as well as the section commanders are to be assigned by the Ministry of Interior.

As it can be seen, this package gives the Ministry a rather wide range of authorities. In other words, the Government wants to solidify its power up to the hilt through gaining control over every institution and through total passivation of the English (powers). Together with that, it plans to make this institution ready for the presidential system.

As for the last point, it is aimed at closing the Police College which is especially President Erdogan's and the Government's struggle field against the Parallel structure and which provides important human resource to the police. In this, the Government wants to deal big blow to the parallel structure.

In short, as I stated before, the Government puts its steps into action with great professionalism through veiling its true goal by jerking the opposition parties and the public over the other articles.

Written for the Central Media Office of Hizb ut Tahrir by
Yılmaz Çelik