Prime Minister: MİT Headperson Couldn’t Answer
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Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has answered journalist Hande Fırat’s questions on the TV program which has been aired on CNN Türk, Kanal D, TV2, Euro D, CNN Türk Radio and Radio D as live broadcast and whose income has been donated to July 15 Solidarity Campaign.
He has answered Fırat’s question “Could you get a straight answer?” about Prime Minister and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan hearing the coup attempt from their relatives and acquaintances, and stated that he couldn’t get an answer from Hakan Fidan, Chief of the National Intelligence Agency (MİT) about it.
“I asked National İntelligence Agency Headperson about it. ‘How on earth did that happen?’ I said. ‘Prime Minister didn’t know about it; President didn’t know about it. Okay, it is natural that President of General Staff knows about it, but you had to tell Prime Minister as well, because you are accountable to Prime Minister.’ Of course he couldn’t answer. In fact, he couldn’t say anything.”
New movement in MİT
Yıldırım has stated that there are arrangements for a new statutory decree. Yıldırım who has been asked about new statutory decree whether would concern the MIT, has pointed out that there are new arrangements concerning the MIT.
“Studies are being done. We haven’t exactly decided how it would be. We will evaluate and decide with our President. There are disarrangements in the Security Department, Gendarmerie and MİT[…] The new reconstruction which we would make, will handle internal and external threats equally and will contain active operational and resistance measures against ıntelligence. Intelligence structure which developed countries have, of course we have it as well, but annihilating disarrangement and incoordination, making it work properly by rearranging duty definitions with not allowing info pollution to happen.”
External and internal intelligence are separate in some countries. There is coordination under a single roof in some countries. There are 15 Intelligence agencies in some countries. There are a lot of different examples. There is no rule that says a country’s intelligence has to be exactly the same with another country. We can’t ignore our needs, our realities and our accumulations that we have gained until today. In intelligence activity, the most important thing is, you are following someone, spying on someone. Who controls you? I mean, how society will be sure about that you are doing your job properly? Who will spy on spy? If it is not that way, this means there is always a problem in intelligence.”
Continuing to work with Fidan
He has answered the question “Are you favoring to continue to work with the bureaucrat who you couldn’t get answer from?” about Hakan Fidan.
Let me say something honest, business has priority and importance to us. We averted a big disaster and we have a lot of works need to be done. After we do these, we will look to the past and what has been done wrong and where, what bureaucracy did wrong, we will criticize ourselves as well. When there are threats that we would fight, it wouldn’t be right if we reveal weakness in ourselves. This is a big crisis, quarrels such as you did your job, you didn’t do your job, you did less, won’t contribute to remove the consequences of this crisis. But rather it will make moral values hit bottom and could give birth to another crisis. Because of that our first priority is not which position individuals occupy, what they do and didn’t do, but cleaning and dispelling some matters.”
Judging of coup attempters
They won’t get away with it. But I want to say this especially. We will be just. Because Turkey is a state of law, Turkey does not terminate with extreme prejudice. They did it but we are the government, it will be unfair to do it as a government. (BK/UA)