General Staff Says Uludere Intelligence Received From MİT

Intelligence that paved the way for an air strike in which 34 Turkish citizens were mistakenly killed near Uludere in Şırnak province by Turkish jets on Dec. 28, 2011, was provided by the National Intelligence Organization (MİT), the General Staff implied in a statement it had sent to a parliamentary sub-commission established to investigate the incident.

The statement had earlier been sent to the sub-commission, but it was only recently brought to the media's attention after İdris Naim Şahin, who was interior minister at the time of the incident, claimed during a press conference on Tuesday that the Uludere massacre was orchestrated by MİT.

Thirty-four men and boys were traveling back to their villages in Uludere from cities in northern Iraq in December 2011 when Turkish jets bombed the group, with the military later saying that commanders mistook them for Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) militants.

Şahin alleged that MİT had leaked false intelligence to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), leading the military to stage an air strike on the group of Kurds.

He argued that a high-ranking MİT official had called a high-level TSK official and given him false intelligence, claiming that a senior PKK commander who uses the codename Bahoz Erdal had crossed over the Turkish border, prompting the TSK to stage the air strike.

The General Staff's statement to the sub-commission, established under Parliament's Human Rights Commission, seems to confirm Şahin's claim. In the statement, the General Staff said that "all the intelligence on Uludere was provided by national sources," apparently referring to MİT.
However, MİT, which also sent a statement to the same commission, argued that it was not aware of any information regarding the Dec. 28, 2011, incident and that the intelligence organization learned about what happened at 9:35 a.m. on Dec. 29.

AK Party rejects CHP motion to reinvestigate Uludere incident

A parliamentary motion introduced by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) to reinvestigate the Uludere incident has been rejected due to votes of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).

The CHP's motion was discussed during Wednesday's parliamentary session. Speaking on behalf of his party, CHP parliamentary group deputy chairman Levent Gök said the government is trying to block any investigation into the incident. He pointed out that an investigation into the incident had also been blocked within Parliament after a report which said officials involved were not guilty of misconduct was prepared by Parliament's Human Rights Commission, which is dominated by AK Party deputies.

Gök also said the Interior Ministry has swept the incident under the rug, only giving permission for a preliminary investigation, which was never turned into a real investigation. He added that the Uludere case was dropped after the General Staff Military Prosecutor's Office decided not to prosecute.

The General Staff Military Prosecutors' Office announced in January 2014 that there were insufficient grounds for legal action against five military personnel suspected of negligence.

The CHP deputy pointed to remarks made by ex-minister Şahin, Gök said when the CHP analyzed the situation, it was clear that MİT, the prime minister -- Recep Tayyip Erdoğan at the time -- and former Interior Minister Şahin had given contradictory statements, and also alleging that the government did not investigate the incident because high-ranking state officials were the ones responsible for it.

Gök indicated that the former minister's words paint a very serious picture. He asked whether it is Şahin who is lying, MİT or Erdoğan.

“Who is lying? Why do [they] deceive people?” he asked, urging an immediate, detailed investigation be launched into the massacre as soon as possible.

The pro-Kurdish Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) also supported the CHP in its proposed motion. Speaking during the session, HDP Şırnak deputy Hasip Kaplan said that since the ex-minister made these confessions, the judiciary should have to take the necessary steps concerning the recent development. Kaplan added that the Uludere Chief Public Prosecutor's Office must launch an investigation into the incident immediately, adding that former Interior Minister Şahin should also go to the prosecutor's office to testify regarding the Uludere incident and share what he knows about it.

After the speeches, a vote was held on whether or not to accept the motion. The motion was rejected due to negative votes from AK Party deputies, who hold the majority in Parliament.

Habib Güler/Emrullah Albayrak (Cihan/Today's Zaman)