Former Denk chairman Selçuk Öztürk apologizes to soldiers he accused of murder. His statement in a parliamentary debate on civilian casualties after the bombing at Hawija caused a huge outcry. Öztürk himself was threatened and had to take security measures, it now appears.
In a statement prepared by law firm Cleerdin and Hamer, military unions and Öztürk say they want to end the issue that has dragged on for two years.
In November 2019, the former Member of Parliament was discredited during a debate about a Dutch bombing raid on Iraq’s Hawija. There were 74 victims, presumably many civilians. That could have happened because the information was not good. The pilots could not be blamed, they acted in good faith. Still, the Denk MP compared the bombing of Hawija to murder.
Thousands of soldiers felt insulted and felt that a border had been crossed. Especially because it is politicians in the House of Representatives who send soldiers on missions. Accusing them of murder afterwards felt like a knife in the back for many soldiers.
A total of 3,500 soldiers joined the initiative of lawyer Michael Ruperti to report the crime, including four military unions and the former Supreme General of the Army, Mart de Kruif. They reported incitement to hatred, violence, discrimination, insult and defamation.
However, the Public Prosecution Service did not prosecute, because Öztürk made his statement during a debate in the House of Representatives. There he enjoys parliamentary immunity. The soldiers then went to court to enforce prosecution.
Apologies
Last summer, the unions and the former MP had a good conversation about the issue, it now appears. In it, Öztürk indicated that he did not want to criticize the soldiers who carried out this operation in any way, nor did he want to insult them. That impression has been created and he is now distancing himself from it, according to the statement.
According to Öztürk, he was misunderstood, but he admitted that this was partly due to his own choice of words. With the knowledge he has now, he would have made it much clearer that he was criticizing the ministers and certainly not the military who carried out this mission. He has apologized insofar as he contributed to the formation of the misunderstanding.
Endangered
Öztürk himself was threatened after his statements and had to take security measures. He is no longer in the House of Representatives.
The military unions have accepted his apology and are now drawing a line under the issue. “Öztürk wanted to address the ministers and not the military. That is an important signal for us, which means that we can now put an end to it. We hope that all politicians realize that a line had been crossed with this,” said ACOM chairman Jan Kropf.
According to lawyer Michael Ruperti, who represents the military, the legal procedure that was still ongoing is now being withdrawn. ,,Öztürk has apologized. He has come to realize that his words have deeply moved soldiers. That is a good thing and with that we can close this.”
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