Bahtiyar Aydın (1946 – 22 October 1993) was a Turkish general. He was a regional commander in the Turkish Gendarmerie in Lice, Diyarbakir in southeastern Turkey when he was assassinated by a sniper using a Kanas rifle. Officially a victim of the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) (which denied responsibility[2]), his death has long been considered suspicious. He was said to have "close relations with the public" and not to approve of the extrajudicial violence which was commonly used by the Turkish military in south-eastern Turkey at the time.[3]
Bahtiyar Aydın | |
|---|---|
| Personal details | |
| Born | 1946[1] Piraziz |
| Died | 22 October 1993 (aged 46–47) Lice, Diyarbakır |
| Military service | |
| Allegiance | Turkey |
| Branch/service | Turkish Army |
| Years of service | 1965–1993 |
| Rank | Brigadier-General |
Response to assassination
editAccording to former PKK commander Şemdin Sakık, Aydın was one of those assassinated by the Doğu Çalışma Grubu, an alleged group within the Turkish military said to be linked to the Ergenekon organization.[4] Other witnesses to the Ergenekon trials have also said that Aydın was assassinated by Ergenekon - possibly by PKK informants working with JITEM.[5][6] Aydın was one of those who believed the "Kurdish question" could not be solved by force, and needed a peaceful solution with economic and social measures.[7] In 2013 Diyarbakir prosecutors asked the local Gendarmerie for the original 1994 document allegedly containing testimony from an unnamed PKK suspect admitting to the assassination of Aydın. The Gendarmerie said that no such document or testimony could be found in its records, although a copy of part of the alleged testimony had been sent to a parliamentary commission in 1994.[8] In October 2013 a prosecutor indicted two retired military officers, saying that there was no evidence of PKK involvement.[9]
References
edit- ^ kimkimdir.gen.tr, Tuğgeneral Bahtiyar Aydın (1946 - 1993)
- ^ Hurriyet Daily News, 27 January 1997, Lice: the death of a district
- ^ Today's Zaman, 7 July 2009, Mysterious military commanders’ deaths remain unsolved Archived 2014-05-03 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Today's Zaman, 1 June 2012, Ex-PKK commander Sakık blames military junta for deaths of 33 soldiers Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Today's Zaman, 22 February 2012, Police, officer murders are work of JİTEM, witness says Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Today's Zaman, 13 March 2009, Coup diaries included in new Ergenekon indictment Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Today's Zaman, 14 May 2012, Başbuğ to testify on suspicious death of Bahtiyar Aydın Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Today's Zaman, 7 April 2013, Testimony of PKK member over general's death never happened Archived 2013-10-29 at the Wayback Machine
- ^ Today's Zaman, 27 October 2013, Innocent man in jail for 18 years for murder of army commander Archived 2013-10-28 at the Wayback Machine