Shooting OK, says ruling AKP deputy

Defending changes to the Police Duty Law, a deputy of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, at a parliamentary commission meeting Wednesday said anyone who crosses the state, surely deserves to be shot.

Responding to pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP’s, deputy Hasip Kaplan’s comments that police had been shooting anyone who did not stop when they were told to, AKP’s Abdülkadir Akgül said, "I am not a person who likes to shoot, but I would still enjoy shooting those who committed a crime against my state and my nation."

Kaplan during the meeting on the Justice Ministry’s budget criticized changes made to the Police Duty Law, saying they had given too much power to police."A person who fails to stop, could be hearing impaired," said Kaplan, likening the law to a "Stop-shoot law." Kaplan asked Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin whether his ministry was working to amend the law. Akgül responded to the question, saying, "There are those who are human beings and those who commit crimes against humanity. According to the Stop-shoot law, those who commit a crime against the state deserve to be shot. There is too much justice in Turkey for everyone, anyway," said Akgül.

Republican People’s Party, or CHP, deputy İsa Gök said, "I am shocked. What will happen to prosecutors and judges? Will everyone prance around the streets with guns, acting like rangers? I cannot believe this."Akgül’s comments came only 10 days after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's response to the actions of an Istanbul shopkeeper who shot at a group of demonstrators protesting over reports outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK’s, jailed leader, Abdullah Öcalan, had been mistreated in prison.

Erdoğan said, "We asked for patience but how much patience can we ask for? If you break a man’s shop window or threaten his life, the man will try to defend himself. "We said one nation, one flag and one country. Those who object to this have no place in Turkey."

His response was seen as a tacit approval of the shopkeeper’s actions. The shopkeeper was later detained and is currently facing charges of illegal weapon use. Speaking at the commission meeting, Democratic Left Party, or DSP, deputy Harun Öztürk said, "Asking people to take justice into their own hands is tantamount to rejecting the system.

We need to realize that bullets from a shogun could hit any of us."When Kaplan asked Şahin whether Erdoğan was being investigated for making the comments, AKP deputies said the prime minister had explained his position. Erdoğan told his deputies Tuesday that the slogan "Love it or leave it" belonged to the far-right Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, and had nothing to do with him. MHP deputy Erkan Akçay said as a party they had rejected any such slogan. "Are there people who do not like the country? Of course there are. However, it is the state’s duty to both try to make them love our country and also to fight terrorists."

Elaborating on comments
When asked to elaborate on his comments yesterday, Akgül said: "Those who wrap bombs around themselves and kill innocent people cannot be shot by the police. Those in the mountains [PKK members] will kill our soldiers and we will just give them flowers. I never think that. Who is against the state? Terrorists. I’ll shoot them. What’s wrong with that?" He later said the police and soldiers would do the shooting. "I don’t like killing. I am not a sadist or a murderer. However, I know how to fight when confronted with separatism," he said.When he said he didn’t own a gun, he was asked how he would do the shooting. He said: "I am not going to do the shooting. We have security forces. What else can you think in a country governed by the rule of law?"