Civilian MGK Still Non-Existent

Lawyer Cetin said nobody has so far seen the regulation which allows civilians to be appointed as Secretary-Generals of the National Security Council. Regulations and laws on the council should be open to public, said Cetin.

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Although the law on the structure of the National Security Council (MGK) was amended a year ago, there has been no change in the then- criticized phenomenon of the "secrecy of the regulation showing the implementation of the law," said lawyer Fethiye Cetin.

"The fact that the regulation about the Secretary-General of the MGK and his duties were secret was being criticized at the time," said Cetin.

"From what was said, we knew that there were such units within the MGK Secretariat that had duties unimaginable within a democratic state with rule of law. Later, it was said that the secrecy on the regulation was lifted and that a new regulation was prepared. But nobody has so far seen that new regulation."

"A formation far from a policy of transparency"

With the reforms in the 7th Harmonization Package, civilians were allowed to serve as Secretary-General of MGK. Only military officials could have that task in the past. With these reforms, anyone could be appointed as MGK Secretary-General, with the proposal of the Prime Minister, and the approval of the President.

With the reforms, the deputy prime minister, instead of the MGK Secretary-General, will have the duty to coordinate and do the follow-up on the "advisory" decisions taken by the MGK.

"It is important for the MGK Secretary-General to be a civilian, and for the MGK's structure and regulations to become transparent," said Cetin. "That's apart from the secret documents, of course. But the legal regulations should be open to the public."

What does "Military is positive" mean

The Radikal Newspaper reported that a civilian will be appointed as the Secretary-General of MGK and added that two ambassadors, Umit Pamir and Osman Koruturk were possible candidates. The report said that both Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, and the General Staff had positive feelings toward Pamir and Koruturk.

"That means these civilian people would not get approval if the military did not think positively of them," said lawyer Fethiye Cetin. "Such reports alone show that we have a long way to go."

Cetin added:

"As a result, military bureaucracy should be under political bureaucracy. Every country, of course, has security units. But in a democratic country with rule of law, these units cannot have control over the politicians. Nevertheless, appointing a civilian as MGK Secretary-General is a positive step, and should be supported." (YS/BB/EA/YE)

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