PKK surrenders on the increase, indicates army
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Hurriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mart 07, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The military says the separatist PKK is failing to convince its recruits to stay and credits its own increased air operations since it carried out a large scale ground offensive and the provisions for surrender in the Penal Code for this success
Propaganda from the terrorist PKK organization, to dissuade deserters from the organization does not work, as evidenced by the number of terrorists who have surrendered to security forces, according to the military.
Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak, head of the General Staff Communication Unit, briefed reporters Friday about testimonials from terrorists who recently escaped from the organization.
He said during his interrogation one terrorist said they were banned from reading the statements handed out by the Turkish Armed Forces and were warned that they would be subjected to chemical poisoning if they touched the distributed papers. Another terrorist said they were banned from listening to radio and television broadcasts so that they would be unable to be updated about the legal regulations.
Cruel PKK tactics
Gürak said another terrorist was caught by the PKK when he first attempted to escape from the organization and he was handcuffed and sentenced to imprisonment for 16 months, while another said the chieftains of the group laid mines on the escape routes of the members.
"The methods resorted to by the separatist terrorist organization to prevent escapes using such propaganda have not served the purpose as understood by the increase in the number of those who have surrendered," said the spokesman.
He said the testimonies given by the surrendered members of the PKK amid the compassion and good treatment of security forces clearly showed that they were unaware of their legal rights.
"One terrorist who surrendered said a (relevant) law was not known within the organization and if it were known there would be an increase in escapes because there are many who want to flee," said Gürak.
He said Article 221 of the Turkish Penal Code opens the way for the release of the outlawed group members who were not engaged in any armed attack was quite clear.
"For example, 13 of 14 members who surrendered in 2009 were released in five days under the relevant law. As a consequence, this legal process must be well understood by everyone including the parents whose children were grabbed by the organization," he said.
In response to a question about the security measures to be taken for Nevruz, a traditional festival to celebrate the coming of spring in Anatolia and Central Asia on March 21, Gürak said the military expected everyone to act responsible and with common sense.
In comments on the Turkish ship "TCG Giresun" deployed off Somalia to help fight piracy, Gürak said the transit of two Turkish-flagged ships, Eylül-K and Nazlı-G, through the commercial ship corridor allocated for the Aden Gulf was planned. He said the TCG Giresun would accompany and control the two ships.
Brig. Gen. Metin Gürak, head of the General Staff Communication Unit, briefed reporters Friday about testimonials from terrorists who recently escaped from the organization.
He said during his interrogation one terrorist said they were banned from reading the statements handed out by the Turkish Armed Forces and were warned that they would be subjected to chemical poisoning if they touched the distributed papers. Another terrorist said they were banned from listening to radio and television broadcasts so that they would be unable to be updated about the legal regulations.
Cruel PKK tactics
Gürak said another terrorist was caught by the PKK when he first attempted to escape from the organization and he was handcuffed and sentenced to imprisonment for 16 months, while another said the chieftains of the group laid mines on the escape routes of the members.
"The methods resorted to by the separatist terrorist organization to prevent escapes using such propaganda have not served the purpose as understood by the increase in the number of those who have surrendered," said the spokesman.
He said the testimonies given by the surrendered members of the PKK amid the compassion and good treatment of security forces clearly showed that they were unaware of their legal rights.
"One terrorist who surrendered said a (relevant) law was not known within the organization and if it were known there would be an increase in escapes because there are many who want to flee," said Gürak.
He said Article 221 of the Turkish Penal Code opens the way for the release of the outlawed group members who were not engaged in any armed attack was quite clear.
"For example, 13 of 14 members who surrendered in 2009 were released in five days under the relevant law. As a consequence, this legal process must be well understood by everyone including the parents whose children were grabbed by the organization," he said.
In response to a question about the security measures to be taken for Nevruz, a traditional festival to celebrate the coming of spring in Anatolia and Central Asia on March 21, Gürak said the military expected everyone to act responsible and with common sense.
In comments on the Turkish ship "TCG Giresun" deployed off Somalia to help fight piracy, Gürak said the transit of two Turkish-flagged ships, Eylül-K and Nazlı-G, through the commercial ship corridor allocated for the Aden Gulf was planned. He said the TCG Giresun would accompany and control the two ships.