Turkey discusses gendarmerie inaction in attack on PM’s convoy

Turkey is discussing the inaction of a group of gendarmes in Hopa, Artvin province, as a group of violent protestors attacked the prime minister’s election convoy there on Tuesday.

The protestors attacked a bus carrying Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and a large group of Justice and Development Party (AK Party) members, critically injuring a policeman who fell from the top of the bus after being hit by a stone. The protestors later attacked the wounded policeman with sticks and stones. The officer is currently in life-threatening condition. Additionally, a demonstrator died during the protest reportedly due to a heart attack.

In the photo, a group of protestors are seen throwing stones at police officers who were rushed to the area to guard the prime minister’s convoy. The photo also shows a group of gendarmes who are deployed in the area, passively watching clashes between the police and protestors. The gendarmes were most probably invited to the area to assist the police force against the protestors and are now under mounting criticism for failing or refusing to do so.

On Wednesday, State Minister Hayati Yazıcı spoke to reporters about the Hopa incidents, alleging that there were serious “security flaws” in the area. “An anti-democratic mob attempted to sabotage the prime minister’s electoral campaign in Hopa. We had previously been informed that such protests were planned there. … I’d like to clearly state that there were serious security flaws in the area. Inspectors of the Interior Ministry will examine the suspected flaws,” he noted. An investigation is currently under way into the violent protests in Hopa.

Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç also spoke about the inaction of the gendarmerie in Hopa, saying the questions raised by the inaction beg an answer from “related authorities.” “In a photo [published by some newspapers,] gendarmes are seen standing to the side. This is a question mark. Why did gendarmes remain inactive? I am sure that the district governor [of Hopa] will make an explanation. They [related bodies] should make an explanation as to why gendarmes remained inactive while police officers were fighting protestors,” he stated.

According to Emre Uslu, an academic who also has a background in the police force, both the police department and the gendarmerie command in Artvin were cautioned beforehand against expected protests in the province by intelligence organizations, but both institutions “failed to” take required measures to avert any possible tension in the province. “And the gendarmerie’s stance [by refusing to assist police officers against violent protestors] is a scandal. If there is no military tutelage in Turkey, as many claim, gendarmerie authorities [in Artvin] should be removed from office for their negligence in the incidents,” he told Today’s Zaman.

Associate Professor Önder Aytaç, also a researcher and a writer, claimed that the gendarmerie may be hoping to “seize authority of the police force” in some city centers by showing police officers unsuccessful in dealing with security-related issues. In Turkey, the police force is responsible for ensuring security in urban areas while the gendarmerie is responsible for ensuring security in rural areas. “The police force ensures security for 87 percent of Turkey, and the gendarmerie ensures security for 13 percent of Turkey. There is more or less the same distribution in all democratic countries. And the gendarmerie is not expected to have a higher proportion in a democratic country,” Aytaç noted.

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