A terrorist attack on the Aktütün military outpost in the Southeast perpetrated by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) on Friday has given the military an opportunity to voice demands reminiscent of the emergency rule (OHAL) practices of the past, but figures clearly demonstrate and expert views indicate that OHAL -- martial law in terror-stricken southeastern provinces in place into the early 2000s -- has had disastrous consequences both in terms of democracy and freedoms and in fighting terrorism.

The Higher Counterterrorism Board (TMYK) is due to meet on Thursday for the second time after Friday's attack, in which 17 Turkish soldiers died, to discuss a new strategy to fight terrorism. The military is expected to express certain legal, administrative and technical demands of the government, including reinstating some of the powers given to it under OHAL legislation in the past. However, all data at hand and expert views suggest that OHAL never was and never can be a viable solution to separatist violence. More than 30,000 people died in the 15-year period of OHAL rule, which greatly restricted the basic freedoms of residents living in emergency rule region, between 1987 and 2002. The government is not unaware of the inefficacy of martial rule and is determined to not compromise on freedoms gained during Turkey's European Union harmonization process.

Justice Minister Mehmet Ali Şahin made that clear on Tuesday when he said: "Turkey is not in a position where it must choose between freedoms and security. We are obliged to evaluate both our freedom and security as a whole and not take a single step back from either one."

In fact, some find it difficult to understand why the military should even need OHAL powers. Retired military judge Ümit Kardaş claims there already are "extraordinary circumstances" and notes: "There are regions no one but the military can enter. Even their current authority is too great. The real problem here is that political parties have left this issue to the military."

For Kardaş, the region is in "a whirlpool of illegality," which is, far from being the remedy, the source of most of the problems. "This is an 84-year-old question. Has this issue been resolved? No. The military has to get out of this," Kardaş said, adding that the military's presence in the Southeast damaged the socio-psychological state of area residents. "They have been made to feel like enemies. They see the military as an occupying force."

If emergency rule is declared in the area, as noted, it will not be the first time such a measure was taken in Turkey. "Most of the problems actually stem from OHAL itself. Today, they have some powers they used to not have even during OHAL years," says Sedat Laçiner, head of the Ankara-based International Strategic Research Organization (ISRO/ USAK).

The government will most certainly clash horns with the military over its demands. But what does the army want? Both the General Staff and the Gendarmerie General Command, as Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Hasan Iğsız voiced to the government on Sunday, demand the government pass bills on five issues which they claim are weakening their counterterrorism efforts. They cite problems in the implementation of the Code on Criminal Procedure (CMK) as a major source of weakness in fighting terrorism. The army also wants changes to a CMK provision on search rules in anti-terror operations that require court or prosecutor approval for searching homes, offices or other buildings even in counterterrorism operations, arguing that when security teams are in hot pursuit of terrorists, they cannot capture militants hiding in homes and other closed areas as it sometimes takes too long to obtain court approval for a search.

The military also requests that it be given authorities called "administrative security powers," which include arresting and taking testimony from suspects -- an authority reserved only for the police and the gendarmerie. Currently, military units (non-gendarmerie) cannot use these powers during their operations against the PKK and, therefore, cannot detain or cross-examine terrorism suspects.

The military further wants the government to authorize gendarmerie units to conduct searches in areas under police jurisdiction. They also want to be able to use jammers to block wireless communications over an extended area when needed.

In addition to these demands, expressed by Gen. Iğsız, the military is expected to demand the declaration of a partial OHAL in the region, extending the four-day detention period for terrorism suspects, removing the legal obligation to assign a lawyer to terrorism suspects in custody on the grounds that certain lawyers share information with the PKK, ending the practice of having to apply to the governor for military campaigns against terrorism, removing legal obstacles about searching vehicles and individuals, banning the sale and distribution of pro-PKK publications in the region, preventing local villagers from spending summers on the plains to block the transfer of supplies to the PKK, granting special powers to governors to aid in anti-terrorism efforts, setting up special forces to fight terrorism and expanding the power of the gendarmerie to facilitate gathering preventive intelligence.

What has OHAL given Turkey?

According to Mazhar Bağlı, a sociologist from Dicle University, OHAL-like implementations have never resolved ethnic separatism in any part of the world. "These are attempts of the military to axe Turkey's EU process. They are trying to cover up for their own failure," he said, adding: "Turkey has modernized and become integrated with the rest of the world. It is impossible for it, after this point, to retreat into a shell." The only way for various groups to live together, Bağlı said, lies in applying the rule of law. "Other methods will move the state beyond law, which will actually prepare the groundwork for terrorism. In this sense, it is ridiculous to even discuss the possibility of reinstating OHAL."

Turkey first initiated emergency rule on July 19, 1987 in 13 provinces of the East and Southeast, where the PKK had intensified its violent campaign. OHAL was lifted on Nov. 30, 2002, 15 years after its implementation. However, some analysts assert that OHAL remained in place for 23 years, arguing that the situation in the region was no different from before the OHAL law was passed since the military coup d'état of 1980 had already introduced martial law throughout the country.

According to official figures supplied by the military, at least 23,500 militants and 5,000 Turkish soldiers died during the OHAL years. The PKK shot dead 307 public servants in the area, most of them teachers. A total of 4,485 residents were killed in various clashes and raids in the region. Furthermore, 11,000 soldiers were injured, 72,754 individuals were detained and 42,795 were tried on terrorism charges. Thousands were convicted. According to figures compiled by Republican People's Party (CHP) Diyarbakır deputy and lawyer Mesut Değer, whose findings seem to confirm those of the military, 36,140 individuals were killed in the region during the OHAL years. The number of mysterious murders with perpetrators never found, according to Justice Ministry figures, was 1,419, also in this period. Similar figures have been provided by Diyarbakır Bar Association President Sezgin Tanrıkulu, who also reports that 201 children younger than 16 were actually convicted by State Security Courts (DGM), special tribunals set up to deal with terrorism suspects only.

The region's residents stand to lose the most by OHAL implementations, notes Kurdish journalist and writer Ümit Fırat. He said both the PKK and the military wanted to see OHAL reinstated, for the former would like to preserve its raison d'être and the latter its power.

Human Rights Association (İHD) President Hüsnü Öndül also said it was unacceptable for Turkey to backtrack on freedoms. "Turkey's military and judicial bureaucracies do not want the country to become a democratic one. They want to restrict the freedom of expression, cultural rights and the right to hold protests and demonstrate," Öndül charged.

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