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Erdogan transforms neighborhood watchmen into loyalist force

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Erdogan transforms neighborhood watchmen into loyalist force

Turkish lawmakers are considering a bill to empower the country's controversial neighborhood watch in what critics say is a ploy to give the president a vigilante force under his direct control.

RTX4CEPK-870.JPG
A member of Turkish police special forces takes part in a drug raid in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 16, 2018. Photo by REUTERS/Osman Orsal.

Amberin Zaman


akp, militias, recep tayyip erdogan, turkish politics, turkish parliament, paramilitaries, watchmen

Jun 8, 2020

Turkey's parliament will resume debating a controversial bill this week augmenting the powers of a neighborhood watch force that critics charge is linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ongoing efforts to stamp out all dissent and cement one-man rule.

If the legislation is adopted, an existing force of around 28,500 neighborhood watchmen will have the right to frisk citizens, demand identification, search their cars and use their weapons and force if needed. The vagueness of their expanded mandate, which includes “preventing crimes” and “preventing public gatherings deemed to disrupt public order” as well as “locating” individuals wanted by the police, has raised alarm. The bill says the implementation of its articles fall directly under the authority of the president.

Opposition lawmakers have sought to block its passage but to no avail thus far. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and his far-right allies from the Nationalist Action Party have 340 seats between them in the 600-member legislature, enough to pass the law unimpeded. Some seven of its 18 articles have already been adopted. Watchmen, a formerly benign force, have been deployed for decades but their numbers have been rising in recent years.

Cihangir Islam, an independent in the Turkish parliament, said, “The watchmen are going to be a third armed force responsible for internal security alongside the police and the gendarmerie, as in closed and tough regimes, where intelligence and armed forces exist to keep each other in check.” Islam continued in an interview with the news site Diken, “The prevailing worry is that its purpose is not so much to provide security for citizens as to keep them under control.”

Another is that the force will take it upon itself to police morals. “Who knows, maybe that’s what is wanted of them,” Islam speculated.

Turkey’s hard-line Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a June 4 speech that moves to empower the neighborhood watchmen were inspired by the president.

Soylu said that Erdogan had told him that he wanted “to hear the whistle of the watchman when I am in bed. I want my citizens to be assured when lying at home in their beds to do so in peace, in the knowledge that someone is guarding over them in the street."

"We took this as an order and began our work," Soylu recalled.

In its dissenting opinion seen by Al-Monitor, the opposition People's Democratic Party (HDP) noted that Soylu’s comments proved that “we are living under a regime where a single man’s words become law.”

The HDP catalogued abuses perpetrated against citizens by the watchmen. They include the March 28, 2018 kidnapping of a 19-year-old girl in the mainly Kurdish town of Derik and drawing a gun on a man in Diyarbakir’s Baglar district on Sept. 11, 2019 and “torturing him in the middle of the street.” The HDP warned that broadening their license would only encourage the auxiliary force to commit further abuses.

Murat Somer, a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Koc University, sees parallels with Iran’s much-feared Basij, the brutal paramilitary volunteer militia formed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini used to quell social unrest and to serve as the eyes and the ears of the regime.

Somer told Al-Monitor in emailed comments, “From Iran’s Basij to Venezuela’s Colectivo, authoritarian regimes are known to establish security forces outside of more regular military and police forces. These are considered less controllable by regular state forces and more loyal to the person or party in power. It is not credible that the law’s real aim is fighting crime, as the government claims; if it were true, it would make more sense to recruit more police and require longer training for the [existing] watchmen.”

Turkey, by the government’s own admission, has plenty of policemen as it is. In EU member countries there is one police officer for every 314 people. As of 2019, Turkey had one for every 211, Soylu disclosed in response to a question tabled by a main opposition Republican People’s Party lawmaker.

Somer reasoned there may be a link between the watchmen law and Erdogan's waning poll numbers amid an economic slump that has been sharpened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several pollsters suggest that support for Erdogan and the AKP has slipped to around 30% from highs of more than 50%. In its May 2020 survey, Metropoll said 54% of respondents said their living standards had deteriorated over the past year. Around 44% said they believed the economy would get worse in the coming year.

This gloomy picture has put Erdogan and his allies on edge.

Somer said, “Intriguing recent statements in the Erdogan-controlled media seem to be aimed at intimidating the opposition with the specter of heavily armed and violent pro-Erdogan vigilantes. All this gives rise to fears that the incumbent may not allow a peaceful rotation of power through elections.”

A series of government procurement tenders announced by the Security Directorate for the month of June and published on May 27 has done little to allay such concerns. The list includes 5,000 hand grenades, 44,000 collapsible batons and one million rubber bullets.

Somer contended nonetheless that "while it is clear that the Erdogan government or elements within it have long been pursuing authoritarian regime-formation through such policies and others, they may not have the necessary cadres, vision if not the ambition, and power to achieve this goal." Moreover, Erdogan "is faced with splits and growing dissent within his own party, increasingly beholden to his junior [far Right nationalist] coalition partner, and challenged by diminishing public support, a divided but highly dynamic opposition and a well-established tradition of popular sovereignty exercised through elections."

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/06/turkey-parliament-debate-neighborhood-watch.html
 
Pakistan's populist Premier Niazi also recruited hundreds of thousands of youth.

Quite fascinating indeed.

Modi already has RSS.

Trump has Alien Force.

I wanna say DON'T DO IT
 
Pakistan's populist Premier Niazi also recruited hundreds of thousands of youth.

Quite fascinating indeed.

Modi already has RSS.

Trump has Alien Force.

I wanna say DON'T DO IT

RSS is full of buddhas with half pants :D
all of them look like clowns .

Erdogan transforms neighborhood watchmen into loyalist force

Turkish lawmakers are considering a bill to empower the country's controversial neighborhood watch in what critics say is a ploy to give the president a vigilante force under his direct control.

RTX4CEPK-870.JPG
A member of Turkish police special forces takes part in a drug raid in Istanbul, Turkey, Jan. 16, 2018. Photo by REUTERS/Osman Orsal.

Amberin Zaman


akp, militias, recep tayyip erdogan, turkish politics, turkish parliament, paramilitaries, watchmen

Jun 8, 2020

Turkey's parliament will resume debating a controversial bill this week augmenting the powers of a neighborhood watch force that critics charge is linked to President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ongoing efforts to stamp out all dissent and cement one-man rule.

If the legislation is adopted, an existing force of around 28,500 neighborhood watchmen will have the right to frisk citizens, demand identification, search their cars and use their weapons and force if needed. The vagueness of their expanded mandate, which includes “preventing crimes” and “preventing public gatherings deemed to disrupt public order” as well as “locating” individuals wanted by the police, has raised alarm. The bill says the implementation of its articles fall directly under the authority of the president.

Opposition lawmakers have sought to block its passage but to no avail thus far. Erdogan’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) and his far-right allies from the Nationalist Action Party have 340 seats between them in the 600-member legislature, enough to pass the law unimpeded. Some seven of its 18 articles have already been adopted. Watchmen, a formerly benign force, have been deployed for decades but their numbers have been rising in recent years.

Cihangir Islam, an independent in the Turkish parliament, said, “The watchmen are going to be a third armed force responsible for internal security alongside the police and the gendarmerie, as in closed and tough regimes, where intelligence and armed forces exist to keep each other in check.” Islam continued in an interview with the news site Diken, “The prevailing worry is that its purpose is not so much to provide security for citizens as to keep them under control.”

Another is that the force will take it upon itself to police morals. “Who knows, maybe that’s what is wanted of them,” Islam speculated.

Turkey’s hard-line Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu said in a June 4 speech that moves to empower the neighborhood watchmen were inspired by the president.

Soylu said that Erdogan had told him that he wanted “to hear the whistle of the watchman when I am in bed. I want my citizens to be assured when lying at home in their beds to do so in peace, in the knowledge that someone is guarding over them in the street."

"We took this as an order and began our work," Soylu recalled.

In its dissenting opinion seen by Al-Monitor, the opposition People's Democratic Party (HDP) noted that Soylu’s comments proved that “we are living under a regime where a single man’s words become law.”

The HDP catalogued abuses perpetrated against citizens by the watchmen. They include the March 28, 2018 kidnapping of a 19-year-old girl in the mainly Kurdish town of Derik and drawing a gun on a man in Diyarbakir’s Baglar district on Sept. 11, 2019 and “torturing him in the middle of the street.” The HDP warned that broadening their license would only encourage the auxiliary force to commit further abuses.

Murat Somer, a professor of political science at Istanbul’s Koc University, sees parallels with Iran’s much-feared Basij, the brutal paramilitary volunteer militia formed by Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini used to quell social unrest and to serve as the eyes and the ears of the regime.

Somer told Al-Monitor in emailed comments, “From Iran’s Basij to Venezuela’s Colectivo, authoritarian regimes are known to establish security forces outside of more regular military and police forces. These are considered less controllable by regular state forces and more loyal to the person or party in power. It is not credible that the law’s real aim is fighting crime, as the government claims; if it were true, it would make more sense to recruit more police and require longer training for the [existing] watchmen.”

Turkey, by the government’s own admission, has plenty of policemen as it is. In EU member countries there is one police officer for every 314 people. As of 2019, Turkey had one for every 211, Soylu disclosed in response to a question tabled by a main opposition Republican People’s Party lawmaker.

Somer reasoned there may be a link between the watchmen law and Erdogan's waning poll numbers amid an economic slump that has been sharpened by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Several pollsters suggest that support for Erdogan and the AKP has slipped to around 30% from highs of more than 50%. In its May 2020 survey, Metropoll said 54% of respondents said their living standards had deteriorated over the past year. Around 44% said they believed the economy would get worse in the coming year.

This gloomy picture has put Erdogan and his allies on edge.

Somer said, “Intriguing recent statements in the Erdogan-controlled media seem to be aimed at intimidating the opposition with the specter of heavily armed and violent pro-Erdogan vigilantes. All this gives rise to fears that the incumbent may not allow a peaceful rotation of power through elections.”

A series of government procurement tenders announced by the Security Directorate for the month of June and published on May 27 has done little to allay such concerns. The list includes 5,000 hand grenades, 44,000 collapsible batons and one million rubber bullets.

Somer contended nonetheless that "while it is clear that the Erdogan government or elements within it have long been pursuing authoritarian regime-formation through such policies and others, they may not have the necessary cadres, vision if not the ambition, and power to achieve this goal." Moreover, Erdogan "is faced with splits and growing dissent within his own party, increasingly beholden to his junior [far Right nationalist] coalition partner, and challenged by diminishing public support, a divided but highly dynamic opposition and a well-established tradition of popular sovereignty exercised through elections."

https://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2020/06/turkey-parliament-debate-neighborhood-watch.html

one day it will go to iraq way .
 
RSS is full of buddhas with half pants :D
all of them look like clowns .



one day it will go to iraq way .

it more Iranian way if you ask me ..... we are watching the beginning of another revolutionary guard that is protecting the regime .
 
it more Iranian way if you ask me ..... we are watching the beginning of another revolutionary guard that is protecting the regime .
You are talking on matters you don't understand. The Night Watchmen don't have anything in common with any paramilitary organizations in Turkey or abroad. The article is pure propaganda for consumption of people who really don't understand the Turkish security system and the crime situation in the country. The Night Watchmen are created to take some of the duties of the policemen and patrol on foot tiny alleys, back streets, ghettos, parks or places where the normal policemen can't reach with their vehicles or where to be more quite is beneficial for the encountering of crimes for example like usage of drugs, usage of alcohol on forbidden places, robberies, fights etc.

I personally am not a fan of Erdogan but this article is ridiculous. The Night Watchmen have nothing to do with paramilitary organizations and doesn't have any paramilitary structure. All of the personnel are tied to the Ministry of Interior. Their training is not as extensive as of regular police officers but extensive enough to be able to respond on foot on crimes in the slums at night. They have more of supportive role to the police and the talented of them can be transferred to the police on their will after passing the needed tests.

If you want to talk about possible force that can act as "Rejime Guard" for Erdogan there are better candidates but I will not give it to you. I will let you use your brain, research and come back with a better article about possible Erdogan Regime Guard force.

I know that as an Egyptian and Sissi supporter you are looking for some sensation but in the specific structure there is nothing sensational at all. Your level fell to low with that. Now go, research and return with better conclusions and we may talk about it.

Just for information. Between September 2018 and February 2020 because of the successful work of the Night Watchers:
Judicial Action was taken against 1.658 people, they acted on 4.224 robberies, found 1.128 lost children and returned them to their parents, found 3.689 people over 18 years old, acted against 69.665 wanted people, confiscated 253kg and 319gr of drugs (cocaine, heroin, marijuana), confiscated 36.103 pills, 20 long barrel weapons, 2.321 combat pistols, 876 hunting rifles, 5 IEDs, 6 hand granades, 23.483 combat rounds/hunting rounds, 3.399 blank fire pistols, 3.538 magazines and weapon parts. Crimes against possessions decreased 10% and robberies of houses 16.7% and many more positives. The only people crying against them would be terrorism and organized crime supporters.
 
You are talking on matters you don't understand. The Night Watchmen don't have anything in common with any paramilitary organizations in Turkey or abroad. The article is pure propaganda for consumption of people who really don't understand the Turkish security system and the crime situation in the country. The Night Watchmen are created to take some of the duties of the policemen and patrol on foot tiny alleys, back streets, ghettos, parks or places where the normal policemen can't reach with their vehicles or where to be more quite is beneficial for the encountering of crimes for example like usage of drugs, usage of alcohol on forbidden places, robberies, fights etc.

I personally am not a fan of Erdogan but this article is ridiculous. The Night Watchmen have nothing to do with paramilitary organizations and doesn't have any paramilitary structure. All of the personnel are tied to the Ministry of Interior. Their training is not as extensive as of regular police officers but extensive enough to be able to respond on foot on crimes in the slums at night. They have more of supportive role to the police and the talented of them can be transferred to the police on their will after passing the needed tests.

If you want to talk about possible force that can act as "Rejime Guard" for Erdogan there are better candidates but I will not give it to you. I will let you use your brain, research and come back with a better article about possible Erdogan Regime Guard force.

I know that as an Egyptian and Sissi supporter you are looking for some sensation but in the specific structure there is nothing sensational at all. Your level fell to low with that. Now go, research and return with better conclusions and we may talk about it.

Just for information. Between September 2018 and February 2020 because of the successful work of the Night Watchers:
Judicial Action was taken against 1.658 people, they acted on 4.224 robberies, found 1.128 lost children and returned them to their parents, found 3.689 people over 18 years old, acted against 69.665 wanted people, confiscated 253kg and 319gr of drugs (cocaine, heroin, marijuana), confiscated 36.103 pills, 20 long barrel weapons, 2.321 combat pistols, 876 hunting rifles, 5 IEDs, 6 hand granades, 23.483 combat rounds/hunting rounds, 3.399 blank fire pistols, 3.538 magazines and weapon parts. Crimes against possessions decreased 10% and robberies of houses 16.7% and many more positives. The only people crying against them would be terrorism and organized crime supporters.

cool ...

The first thing that you need to know .... we are not obsessed by Erdo regime and searching for it’s flaws like you did regarding Sisi .... just take a tour inside the PDF to see how the Turks obsessed by Egypt and every thing inside it ..... so i will not search for any thing as I DON’T CARE .

regarding those neighborhood watch men .... you need to consider every possible scenario in the future ... now they are getting a little training ... may be some day in the future they will get more sophisticated training .... who knows...!

finally , calm down .... things are not always black and white ....

Bro he was calling pkk his ''muslim kurdish brothers and sister'' dont expect any research from his side.

so, you restrict all Kurds and the injustice that they suffer only by calling them PKK ....!?

This is not fair ..... :disagree:
 
so, you restrict all Kurds and the injustice that they suffer only by calling them PKK ....!?

This is not fair ..... :disagree:
You said killed kurds, well i assume you are talking about pkk since most casualties are happening in combats apart from collateral damage for which again pkk has a bigger share of.

But i would like to hear about the injustice you are talking about.
 
cool ...

The first thing that you need to know .... we are not obsessed by Erdo regime and searching for it’s flaws like you did regarding Sisi .... just take a tour inside the PDF to see how the Turks obsessed by Egypt and every thing inside it ..... so i will not search for any thing as I DON’T CARE .

regarding those neighborhood watch men .... you need to consider every possible scenario in the future ... now they are getting a little training ... may be some day in the future they will get more sophisticated training .... who knows...!

finally , calm down .... things are not always black and white ....



so, you restrict all Kurds and the injustice that they suffer only by calling them PKK ....!?

This is not fair ..... :disagree:
i recently seing that some Arabs especially Saudies supported pkk-pyd pigs.this is unbelievible after what those group made in norther syria.. they steal Arap lands ,home and killing innocent Arap people.. go to wikipedia check the town origin which they claim kurdish land.you would be suprised.Arab people are mixing thngs so much.it is something which you Arab shoudd keep it out of politics..
 
Last edited:
cool ...

The first thing that you need to know .... we are not obsessed by Erdo regime and searching for it’s flaws like you did regarding Sisi .... just take a tour inside the PDF to see how the Turks obsessed by Egypt and every thing inside it ..... so i will not search for any thing as I DON’T CARE .

regarding those neighborhood watch men .... you need to consider every possible scenario in the future ... now they are getting a little training ... may be some day in the future they will get more sophisticated training .... who knows...!

finally , calm down .... things are not always black and white ....



so, you restrict all Kurds and the injustice that they suffer only by calling them PKK ....!?

This is not fair ..... :disagree:
First of all I am calm enough. If you don't care about Sissi or Erdogan I care. If you are going to come here and plunder the place with some sh!t storm better save your time and contribute with something better.

Regarding those Watchmen you are the last guy that can talk to me about the future scenarios, possibilities and capabilities of the Night Watchmen or other elements part of the Turkish security system. The more trained and equipped the Night Watchmen become the more crime levels will drop because they see what the normal patrolling police team can't see.

The people that attack the Night Watchmen are the same people who's main objectives are to legitimize PKK in the parliament, deceive the Kurdish youth using the underdevelopment in the South East areas of Turkey caused by the local tribes and far left terrorist organizations by sabotaging investments, defend people who are in charge of the smuggling activities of international smuggling channels who's products like drugs, weapons, ammunition, illegal tobacco products are reaching not only the Eastern but also the Western part of the country. The same people are in charge of one of the biggest international drug smuggling routes going to Western Europe originating in Afghanistan, Iran and the Regional Kurdish Government in Northern Iraq (Kurdistan). They are the same people who are charged with the political protection of the biggest Marijuana factory in Turkey which is located in Diyarbakir's Lice area. If they scream then our guys are doing their job as they should.

I will say it again. If you want a sensation do your work better and research. Within the Turkish security system there are other and better candidates for "Regime Defenders". If you care so much that you lost your time here by posting sh!t I hope you have enough time to educate yourself on matters that are initiating curiousness in you as far as I can see. The cheap trolling will lead you nowhere. If you really care research, post, tag me and we will hopefully talk again.
 
First of all I am calm enough. If you don't care about Sissi or Erdogan I care. If you are going to come here and plunder the place with some sh!t storm better save your time and contribute with something better.

Regarding those Watchmen you are the last guy that can talk to me about the future scenarios, possibilities and capabilities of the Night Watchmen or other elements part of the Turkish security system. The more trained and equipped the Night Watchmen become the more crime levels will drop because they see what the normal patrolling police team can't see.

The people that attack the Night Watchmen are the same people who's main objectives are to legitimize PKK in the parliament, deceive the Kurdish youth using the underdevelopment in the South East areas of Turkey caused by the local tribes and far left terrorist organizations by sabotaging investments, defend people who are in charge of the smuggling activities of international smuggling channels who's products like drugs, weapons, ammunition, illegal tobacco products are reaching not only the Eastern but also the Western part of the country. The same people are in charge of one of the biggest international drug smuggling routes going to Western Europe originating in Afghanistan, Iran and the Regional Kurdish Government in Northern Iraq (Kurdistan). They are the same people who are charged with the political protection of the biggest Marijuana factory in Turkey which is located in Diyarbakir's Lice area. If they scream then our guys are doing their job as they should.

I will say it again. If you want a sensation do your work better and research. Within the Turkish security system there are other and better candidates for "Regime Defenders". If you care so much that you lost your time here by posting sh!t I hope you have enough time to educate yourself on matters that are initiating curiousness in you as far as I can see. The cheap trolling will lead you nowhere. If you really care research, post, tag me and we will hopefully talk again.

although you offensive language in your first post .... I talked to you sincerely ....

and again .... start cursing .... however I wanted a civilized and informative data .... but unfortunately it didn’t happen...:(
 
although you offensive language in your first post .... I talked to you sincerely ....

and again .... start cursing .... however I wanted a civilized and informative data .... but unfortunately it didn’t happen...:(

If you love the kurds so much then take them in your country you useless egyptian.
 
You are talking on matters you don't understand. The Night Watchmen don't have anything in common with any paramilitary organizations in Turkey or abroad. The article is pure propaganda for consumption of people who really don't understand the Turkish security system and the crime situation in the country. The Night Watchmen are created to take some of the duties of the policemen and patrol on foot tiny alleys, back streets, ghettos, parks or places where the normal policemen can't reach with their vehicles or where to be more quite is beneficial for the encountering of crimes for example like usage of drugs, usage of alcohol on forbidden places, robberies, fights etc.

I personally am not a fan of Erdogan but this article is ridiculous. The Night Watchmen have nothing to do with paramilitary organizations and doesn't have any paramilitary structure. All of the personnel are tied to the Ministry of Interior. Their training is not as extensive as of regular police officers but extensive enough to be able to respond on foot on crimes in the slums at night. They have more of supportive role to the police and the talented of them can be transferred to the police on their will after passing the needed tests.

If you want to talk about possible force that can act as "Rejime Guard" for Erdogan there are better candidates but I will not give it to you. I will let you use your brain, research and come back with a better article about possible Erdogan Regime Guard force.

I know that as an Egyptian and Sissi supporter you are looking for some sensation but in the specific structure there is nothing sensational at all. Your level fell to low with that. Now go, research and return with better conclusions and we may talk about it.

Just for information. Between September 2018 and February 2020 because of the successful work of the Night Watchers:
Judicial Action was taken against 1.658 people, they acted on 4.224 robberies, found 1.128 lost children and returned them to their parents, found 3.689 people over 18 years old, acted against 69.665 wanted people, confiscated 253kg and 319gr of drugs (cocaine, heroin, marijuana), confiscated 36.103 pills, 20 long barrel weapons, 2.321 combat pistols, 876 hunting rifles, 5 IEDs, 6 hand granades, 23.483 combat rounds/hunting rounds, 3.399 blank fire pistols, 3.538 magazines and weapon parts. Crimes against possessions decreased 10% and robberies of houses 16.7% and many more positives. The only people crying against them would be terrorism and organized crime supporters.
are they armed?? we have night watch in iran too but they are not armed. they just have baton and whistle.
 

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