Ankara will get new security mechanism, Turkish PM says after deadly attack

ANKARA

Turkey will develop a new security approach and mechanism for the capital city of Ankara, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said, following a nearly five-hour security meeting with his seniors and officials in the aftermath of a Feb. 17 car bomb attack that claimed 28 lives.

“Every province has special [security] needs,” the prime minister said, adding that Ankara had a special position as it was the capital hosting many government, state and opposition buildings, along with envoys of many countries.

The city has experienced social changes over the years and is no more a city of mere bureaucracy, the prime minister said.

“No security concept can succeed without people’s support,” Davutoğlu said, asking for help from Ankara locals.

The ball is now in the court of the Interior Ministry and the governor’s office in terms of scheduling.
Such plans will be developed for all provinces across Turkey, he said.

Elaborating on the new security mechanism Davutoğlu announced on Feb. 20, Turkish Interior Minister Efkan Ala said technology would be used more in the implementation of the new security mechanism. 

“That would be more prominent. Civil servants will be in official uniforms... Electronic devices will be used more,” Ala said on Feb. 21 when asked to comment on the new security mechanism revealed after the Feb. 17 Ankara attack. 

Ala added that Turkey was going through an era in which one can see terrorist organizations engaging in partnerships in certain countries and armed conflicts in others.

Davutoğlu said the number of suspects detained for links to the Ankara attack has increased to 22.

Some of the suspects are linked to a criminal organization that was involved in stealing the vehicle used in the attack, but the majority was linked to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), he claimed.

Davutoğlu claimed the attack was openly organized by the PKK-YPG, calling on citizens not to succumb to an “operation of perception.”

The YPG, however, has denied the attack, which was claimed by the Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK), a splinter group from the PKK that criticizes the larger outlawed group over its refusal to carry its war to Turkey’s larger cities.

“No measures can perfectly remove risks. We have to protect freedoms,” Davutoğlu said while commenting on criticism over measures against terrorism.

Some 103 people were killed in a suicide attack on Oct. 10, 2015, in Ankara. Officials said the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) was responsible.