Turkey's government on Tuesday resisted calls from the powerful military to broaden emergency measures to combat Kurdish separatist rebels after an attack that killed 17 soldiers. Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, whose Islamist-rooted AK Party has often clashed with the military, is under pressure to crush rebels of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) after Friday's attack, the deadliest against the military in a year.
The army, which has complained liberal reforms imposed by the European Union on Turkey under Ankara's accession bid have curbed its ability to combat internal threats, wants the government to expand emergency measures. Turkish media have reported those measures include extending the period under which suspects can be held without charge, the power to conduct searches without a judge's order and banning lawyers during the interrogation of detainees.
But Erdogan told parliament on Tuesday he would respect human rights in the fight against the outlawed PKK. "Our country will continue its march without stepping back from democracy, human rights and freedoms," Erdogan said. "Our government has the necessary will on the struggle against terror. We will continue our solemn attitude based on common sense to the end."
Granting such measures would undermine Turkey's bid to join the European Union. Brussels has said while some human rights reforms have been made in Turkey, more are needed. Turkey's military has unseated four elected governments in the last 50 years and exerts vast influence behind the scenes, but in recent years has seen its influence diminish somewhat.
General Hasan Igsiz, deputy chief of Turkey's military staff, said at the weekend the PKK attack proved there was a need to "find a balance between security and human rights. "We respect measures to protect human rights but the people who could be harmed by terror should also be taken into consideration," Igsiz said. Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Sahin told reporters on Tuesday.
"Turkey is not at the point of making a choice between freedom and security. We have to assess both our freedom and security at the same time and not trace back from either of them. This is what suits Turkey." Parliament is likely to approve on Wednesday a government request for an extension of its mandate to launch military operations against PKK rebels based in Iraq from where they cross into Turkey to stage attacks.
Turkish warplanes pounded suspected Kurdish rebel targets in northern Iraq for a second day on Tuesday, stepping up an aerial bombing campaign. Nato member Turkey has attacked PKK bases in northern Iraq several times over the past 12 months but has confined itself to shelling and air strikes since a brief large-scale land offensive in February.
Turkey blames the PKK, considered a terrorist organisation by the United States and the EU, for the deaths of more than 40,000 people since it launched its armed campaign for an ethnic Kurdish homeland in south-east Turkey in 1984. The deadly attack last week has again raised questions whether military might was enough to end the violence in impoverished, predominantly Kurdish southeast Turkey, which has long complained of discrimination and lack of investment.
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