Country of origin information report Turkey March 2007

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8.12 The AI report for 2006 also noted that “Police also regularly used disproportionate force against demonstrators… particularly targeting leftists, supporters of the pro-Kurdish party DEHAP, students and trade unionists. Often those alleging ill-treatment, particularly during demonstrations, were charged with resisting arrest while their injuries were explained away as having occurred as police attempted to restrain them... In March, in the Saraçhane area of Istanbul, demonstrators gathering to celebrate International Women’s Day were violently dispersed by police, beaten with truncheons and sprayed with pepper gas at close range. Three women were reportedly hospitalised. The scenes drew international condemnation. In December, 54 police officers were charged with using excessive force; senior officers were not charged, but three received a ‘reprimand’ for the incident.” [12d]
OTHER GOVERNMENT FORCES
Jandarma/Gendarmerie
8.13 As recorded on the website of the General Command of Gendarmerie, updated on 17 July 2006: “The Gendarmerie of The Republic of Turkey, which is responsible for the maintenance of safety and public order as well as carrying out other duties assigned by laws and regulation, is an armed security and law enforcement force, having military nature…In accordance with Act No 2803 on ‘The Organization, Duties and Powers of The Gendarmerie’, the duties of the gendarmerie fall in four main points as administrative, judicial, military and other duties…The administrative duties cover the activities preventing crime in order to perform the protection, watching, safety and public order” [99] (Section on Duties)
8.14 As recorded in the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) report ‘Almanac Turkey - Security Sector and Democratic Oversight 2005’:
“The basic law concerning the General Command of Gendarmerie (Jandarma Genel Komutanl) (JGK) is the Law on the Establishment, Duties and Jurisdiction of Gendarmerie No. 2803, put into effect by the Turkish Grand National Assembly (Türkiye Büyük Millet Meclisi, TBMM) on 3 October 1983… (p99-100) The official headcount of JGK, established in 1839 as a military organisation, stands at 280,000, 80% of which are enlisted under compulsory military service, whereas the unofficial number is probably closer to 300,000… (p101) At any one time, there are 5,000 gendarmerie conducting special missions in Turkey, such as protecting television transmitters belonging to Turkish Radio and Television Corporation… 11,773 gendarmerie, around 10,000 of which are enlisted as part of the compulsory military service, are responsible for providing security, on the 397 kilometers-long Iraqi border as well as for parts of the Iranian and Syrian borders.” [98b] (p102)
8.15 The same 2005 TESEV report further notes that:
“The gendarmerie executes its duties with officers, petty officers, special officers, non-commissioned officers and soldiers who are trained in the school of the gendarmerie and associated training units. Gendarmerie schools train officers who have graduated from the military academy as well as petty officers who have earned the right to become officers by means of outstanding achievement, in accordance with the services provided by the gendarmerie. Petty and special officers are also trained and educated by these bodies.” [98b] (p103)
Village Guard
8.16 As recorded in the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) report published in May 2006:
“The position of provisional village guards (geçici köy korucusu) was created on 26 March 1985 through a clause added by Law no. 3175 to the 1924 Village Law (Law no. 442). They were hired pursuant to the decision of the cabinet of ministers, at the request of the interior ministry. Currently, this practice is in effect in 22 provinces. Not much is publicly known about the principles on which provisional village guards are hired and fired and what their duties precisely entail, since the Implementing Regulation (Yönetmelik) on Law no. 3175 is classified on the grounds that it pertains to ‘national security’. According to the interior ministry, as of 7 April 2006 there were 57,174 provisional village guards in the region. In addition, there are also voluntary village guards (gönüllü köy korucusu), or civilians who volunteer to become village guards with the stated purpose of protecting themselves and their families against the PKK.” [98a]
8.17 The same (TESEV) 2006 report further added that:
“In principle, the hiring of both provisional and voluntary village guards was discontinued in accordance with a government decree in 2000. However, a recent local news account reported that 650 voluntary village guards had been hired in the Sason district of Batman. In response to the TESEV Working Group’s query, an interior ministry official said that ‘these people had volunteered to protect their villages themselves’, that the sub-provincial governor’s office had merely registered their names, and that they were not provided with firearms. According to the interior ministry, 5,139 provisional village guards ‘committed crimes’ between 1985 and April 2006, and 868 of them were arrested.” [98a]