ALMANAC TURKEY 2006-2008 SECURITY SECTOR AND DEMOCRATIC OVERSIGHT ALMANAC TURKEY 2006-2008: SECURITY SECTOR AND DEMOCRATIC OVERSIGHT ISBN 978-605-5832-53-7 TESEV PUBLICATIONS Editors: Ali Bayramoğlu, Ahmet İnsel Publication Coordinator: Hale Akay Prepared for Publication: Koray Özdil Translator: Leyla Tonguç Basmacı Language Editor: Laurie Freeman Design: Rauf Kösemen, Myra Page Layout: Myra Printed by: İmak Ofset Türkiye Ekonomik ve Sosyal Etüdler Vakf› Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation Demokratikleme Program› Democratization Program Bankalar Cad. Minerva Han No: 2 Kat: 3 Karaköy 34420, İstanbul Tel: +90 212 292 89 03 PBX Fax: +90 212 292 90 46 [email protected] www.tesev.org.tr Copyright © August 2010 All rights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced electronically or mechanically (photocopy, storage of records or information, etc.) without the permission of the Turkish Economic and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV). This publication is partially funded by the European Union. The content of this publication is the sole responsibility of TESEV and can in no way be taken to reflect the official views of the European Union and other supporting institutions. The viewpoints in this report belong to the authors and they may not necessarily concur partially or wholly with TESEV’s viewpoints as a foundation. TESEV would like to extend its thanks to the European Union, the Consulate General of Sweden in Istanbul, the Open Society Foundation, and the TESEV High Advisory Board for their contributions with regard to the publication and promotion of this book. ALMANAC TURKEY 2006-2008 SECURITY SECTOR AND DEMOCRATIC OVERSIGHT edItORS Alİ bayramoğlu, ahmet İnsel PUBLIcatıon COORDINATor HALE AKAY august 2010 Contents FOREWORD, vii SECURITY INSTITUTIONS, 103 INTRODUCTION,1 Turkish Armed Forces: Institutional and Military Ali Bayramoğlu, Ahmet İnsel Dimension, 105 Hale Akay FRAMEWORK INSTITUTIONS, 7 Appendix 1: Prohibited Military Zones, 139 Democratic Oversight: A Theoretical Assessment, 9 Appendix 2: Coast Guard Command, 140 Hale Akay Hale Akay Legislation: The Turkish Grand National Assembly, 12 Turkey’s Defense Expenditures in the 2000s, 143 Nezir Akyeşilmen Gülay Günlük-Şenesen Appendix: Reports by the Human Rights OYAK: Whose Economic Security?, 151 Investigation Commission, 21 İsmet Akça The Executive Branch, 23 The Defense Industry, 153 Meryem Erdal Lale Sarıibrahimoğlu Appendix 1: The Cloak of National Security Military Interference in Politics and on the Right to Strike, 31 the Politicization of the Army, 157 Aziz Çelik Ferda Balancar, Esra Elmas Appendix 2: The Supreme Military Council, 33 The Gendarmerie, 172 National Security in the Constitution, 35 Murat Aksoy Meryem Erdal The Police Organization, 188 National Security in Legislation, 40 Biriz Berksoy Meryem Erdal OTHER INSTITUTIONS, 201 Military Jurisdiction, 63 Ümit Kardaş The Village Guard System as a “Security” Policy, 203 Dilek Kurban GUIDING INSTITUTIONS, 71 Private Security, 211 The European Union: Security And Civil-Military Mehmet Atılgan Relations, 73 BIBLIOGRAPHY, 219 Hale Akay ABOUT THE AUTHORS, 235 NATIONAL SECURITY COUNCIL, 89 National Security Council, 91 Zeynep Şarlak Foreword The Democratization Program of the Turkish Economic with democratic principles create obstacles that need to and Social Studies Foundation (TESEV) argues that be solved through reforms. In a democratic model where within the scope of its Security Sector Reform Projects, political power is transferred from the public to the all institutions in the security sector -- from the Armed parliament, and from there to the executive power and Forces to the General Directorate of Security, from administrative institutions, in the absence of external intelligence agencies to the Ministry of Defense, and oversight, these administrative institutions acquire from private security firms to village guards -- should power and autonomy that blocks the realization of a be subject to civilian and democratic monitoring and democratic, citizen-centered concept of human security oversight. In line with this objective, since 2004 TESEV based on the rule of law. For the democratization of has been providing security sector institutions, policy- security institutions, including the armed forces, the makers, civil society, and the media with information police force, the gendarmerie, and intelligence agencies, about this sector, in order to identify issues and develop it is necessary for the parliament, the executive, judicial solutions, as well as to raise awareness and build authorities, civil society, and the media to be actively capacity for the democratic oversight of the security involved in the oversight of security institutions’ sector. Our publications on this subject are a key means budgets, policies, practices, and decisions and for these of furthering these ends. The concept of “security institutions to base security services on civil society’s sector reform” advocated by TESEV transcends civil- requests. It is also extremely important that the concept military relations, which are much debated publicly of national security be redefined accordingly and be and in academic circles, and the dilemmas resulting centered on citizen security. from the military’s guardianship of the political system On the other hand, civilian actors’ active role in oversight arising from these relations. Security sector reform and monitoring mechanisms requires knowledge, means the establishment and efficient functioning of experience, and expertise that would enable the critical democratic mechanisms to ensure the civilian oversight analysis of data, policy, procedures, structures, etc. For and monitoring of domestic security institutions at a a democratic expansion in this sense, it is necessary for policy-making level. In its security sector work, TESEV civilian actors to break the military monopoly on security looks for ways to transform the concept of security, and defense and to develop expertise and independent considered a civic right, from an approach based on sources of public information on these subjects. national security, assumed to arise from circumstances TESEV’s primary aims are to make security institutions unique to Turkey, to an approach centered on citizens. transparent and accountable, to put the need for civilian The aim of our Security Sector Reform Projects is to bring oversight on the agenda of policy-makers, the media, civil a scientific and objective approach, and one based on society, and public opinion, and to address the deficit of universal principles, to subjects such as security sector information on this subject. In close cooperation with oversight, transparency, and accountability, which have the Geneva Center for Democratic Control of the Armed encountered obstacles in the debates about and process Forces (DCAF), whose founding members include the of harmonization with democratic standards. These Republic of Turkey since November 20, 2003, TESEV has projects also prepare the ground for the normalization of published handbooks comparing global and European the debate on civil-military relations, which in Turkey are security sector reforms and governance, providing generally subject to political controversies, ideological parliamentarians with guidance on security sector interference, and conflicts among the parties concerned. oversight, and including recommendations for increasing In Turkey, political crises between the military (and the accountability of intelligence agencies, as well as the the judicial power) and the parliament and the failure Turkish translation of the Code of Police Ethics. Since of institutions and processes within the scope of the 2007, with the support of the European Commission, decision-making mechanism to function in accordance TESEV has also been organizing activities designed to vii provide non-governmental organizations and the media established by the government, under its oversight and with information on the security sector’s democratic monitoring; amend legislation and practices that make it oversight, to identify obstacles to such oversight, and to difficult for civil administrators to efficiently fulfill their develop solutions. duties, powers, and responsibilities concerning domestic security; and continue reforms to redefine the duties and The first in the series Almanac Turkey: Security Sector powers of military courts. However, a detailed strategy and Democratic Oversight, edited by Prof. Dr. Ümit Cizre, plan on these reforms regarding the summarized points lecturer at the Bilkent University, was published by and the identification of shortcomings in legislation and TESEV in 2006 with the aim of meeting the need for practice has not yet been made public. information and analysis. Almanac Turkey 2005: Security Sector and Democratic Oversight presented within an This volume, Almanac Turkey 2006-2008: Security Sector objective framework the organizations, activities, and and Democratic Oversight, the second in the series, legal structures of security sector units, their principles takes into consideration all these developments and and understandings, and the reforms that Turkey has opportunities. It contains events, issues and objective carried out or is expected to carry out as part of the EU data necessary for their debate from the years 2006- accession process. 2008 and in some cases from the first months of 2009. We hope that this book, prepared very meticulously Following the publication of this work, which was met