IMPORTANT STEPS TOWARDS DEMILITARISATION

Within the framework of his visit to Bosnia Herzegovina, Minister for EU affairs and Chief Negotiator Egemen Bagis gave an interview to the members of the press and said that important steps are taken in Turkey towards demilitarisation.

Indicating that the civil Turkish Government did not make any attempts against the laws and Constitution while taking steps towards demilitarisation, Bagis said: “The government is doing what is necessary. All in all, the Constitution was prepared by the Parliament and was approved by our people. However, today we say that we still need a more civil constitution. In fact, we observe that efforts for demilitarisation are not sufficient.”

Stating that the use of the expression “demilitarisation” should not be understood as an attitude against our army or Turkish Armed Forces which is a military organisation, Bagis said that demilitarisation of Turkey and a strong army in the military posts would be in benefit of everybody.

Minister Bagis said that there is no other nation in the world who calls its army “the house of the prophet” and addresses its soldiers with the name of the Prophet (Mehmetcik). “That is why we hope for a stronger Turkey with its soldiers and civilians altogether”, added Bagis.

Stating that the states which were audited were the strongest states in the world, Bagis said that all bodies of the state including security institutions should be under control. Bagis continued as follows:

“The settlement and operations of those institutions should be controlled. Such control will help them working more efficiently and competitively. Actually, Turkey has taken important steps. And during this process, any crises did not arise. As we all know, these were all performed within the framework of the rules determined by the Constitution and the laws.”

During his visit to Bosnia Herzegovina, Minister Bagis met Sven Alkalay the Foreign Minister of Bosnia Herzegovina, Jelyko Komşiç the Croatian member and head of the tripartite Presidency and Bakir Izzetbegoviç the Bosnian member of the tripartite Presidency of Bosnia Herzegovina. Bagis also attended the opening ceremony of the cultural centre built in Fojnica by the Municipality of Umraniye.

Source: AA