Soldiers Stage Garbage Protest Against Mayor

Soldiers attached to the Mountain and Commando Brigade in the Southeast province of Hakkari have staged an unusual protest in the city centre where they hit the streets to collect garbage and displayed a placard saying: "Municipality, conduct your duty not separatism".

According to the local Yuksekova Haber newspaper published in Hakkari about 150 soldiers, some of them in plainclothes, attended the protest while Turkey's mass circulation daily Hurriyet said some 500 soldiers, together with wives and children, turned out for the garbage collection.

Brigade commander Brigadier General Azmi Utfan Cinek was seen to be distributing bin liners during the event.

One soldier, on a bullhorn, made the point public: "The Municipality should clear this trash. But come and let us do this together. We are paying environment tax, paying for garbage collection and water. But the municipality is not doing the cleaning. So come and let's do it together. It should not be us but the municipality clearing these streets".

Those attending the garbage collection protest on the Fatih, Valilik and Cumhuriyet avenues of the city then placed some of the full bin liners in front of the municipality building and left them there.

Mayor: Provocation

Hakkari Mayor Metin Tekce reacted to the garbage collection campaign and said in his statement on the issue that a military institution had displayed behavior similar to a political party and the incident was provocative.

"It is particularly worth thinking that the highest level military commander of a province has organized such a rally" Tekce said. "The garbage [in Hakkari] is collected twice a day. The people appreciate this work. Garbage is only an excuse here".

Tekce said in reference to military personnel being involved in last year's bombing of a bookstore in Semdinli, "As you know, a number of explosions took place in Hakkari last year. Most recently various things surfaced with the Semdinli incidents. In my view this initiative is a continuation of the Semdinli incidents. These provocations are being constantly made. But the people of Hakkari have always acted with common sense. They have shown this common sense in this incident too."

Tekce said the military had acted like a political party and argued this was the first time such an incident was recoded in the world. He added that they would make a more extensive statement on the issue later. (TK/II/YE)