Research: Was it AKP or Gülenists that had opened the borders for jihadists?
Although sources known for their affinity with the current government continue their assertions, as part of their propaganda, that Cemaat (Gülen community) members had actually allowed the passage of Syrian jihadist groups through Turkey, the names of only a few former officials, previously stationed at critical borders points, are mentioned in scope of the investigations on the coup attempt.
DOĞU EROĞLU
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@DoguEroglu
In the aftermath of the coup attempt, there has emerged a trend of putting the blame on the Gülen community for all kinds of fundamental rights violations, witch-hunt, massacre, and disasters that were experienced throughout the 14 years long AKP rule. The newest addition to that trend has been the assertions about Gülen community being responsible for Syrian jihadists’ usage of Turkey as a gateway. According to the claims that have recently been mentioned often in pro-government media, FETÖ members have been the main actors having allowed the jihadists to use the Turkey-Syria border easily. Although this is an attempt to find a cover for AKP’s unsuccessful intervention in Syria’s civil war through paramilitary factions, it becomes obvious that these claims are baseless when the officials positioned in cities and crossing points where jihadists are active are taken into consideration.
According to BirGün’s researches, among the chief officials that were or have been on duty at provincial police directorates, district police directorates, provincial governors’ offices, district governors’ offices, border security, and municipalities in Antep, Urfa, Hatay, Kilis, Yayladağı, Karkamış, Akçakale and Elbeyli between the years of 2013 and 2016, only 5 of them have been listed as suspects under the investigations on July 15 coup attempt.
Of these researched locations, four are provinces -Antep, Urfa, Hatay, Kilis- bordering Syria, and the other four are districts within these provinces -Karkamış, Akçakale, Yayladağı, Elbeyli –respectively - where border security units and check-points are located. Between the years of 2013 and 2016, over 100 relative offices were held by over 60 chief officers.
And, of these chief officers, the names of the five that have been listed in scope of the July 15 coup investigations are Ragıp Kılıç (2013, Hatay, chief police officer); Mehmet Akpınar (2013-2014, Kilis, chief police officer); Alpaslan Altınışık (2015, Yayladağı, district governor); İrfan Can (2013, Karkamış, brigadier); and Murat Soysal (2014-2015, Karkamış, brigadier).
Governors are clean; two former chief police officers detained
According to the research findings, among the 9 chief police officers that were on duty in provinces of Hatay, Kilis, Urfa, and Antep between the years of 2013-2016, only 2 of them have been detained in scope of current investigations. They are Hatay former chief police officer Ragıp Kılıç (2013) and Kilis former chief police officer Mehmet Akpınar (2013-2014).
On the other hand, none of the 9 governors of these provinces, who held or have been holding the position, have been included in the investigations. Furthermore, there are also no detentions of any municipality heads although these provinces are excessively used in terms of organization and behind the scenes services.
No officers of border zone districts detained as suspects
Since 2013, one of the easiest cross-points for Al Qaeda’s Syrian offset Al Nusra and for other jihadist groups supported by Turkey has been the Yayladağı border-district of Hatay. On the other hand, ISIL, which has grown since 2014, has used Kilis-Elbeyli, Antep-Karkamış, and Urfa-Akçakale points for trade, logistics, and passage of jihadists. After the victory of YPG in Kobane, ISIL lost power in Tal Abyad by 2015; therefore, Urfa’s Akçakale district, which is across Tal Abyad, also became less significant in this regard. In these districts, which have all been run under the authority of AKP municipalities, no municipality heads have been questioned or detained. Even more, the names of the district police chiefs for Yayladağı, Karkamış, and Akçakale have also not been listed as part of the investigations.
Only two soldiers have been detained
Among the 10 district governors of Elbeyli, Yayladağı, Karakış, and Akçakale between the years 2013 and 2016, only Yayladağı District Governor Alpaslan Altınışık has been listed.
As for the military officers stationed in Yayladağı, Elbeyli, Karakamış, and Akçakale border security units, the only two names listed are brigadier İrfan Can and brigadier Mehmet Soysal.