Main Opposition deputy seeks inquiry into potential terror attacks after Swedish Embassy’s security warning

ANKARA

Main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) deputy Sezgin Tanrıkulu on Jan. 27 demanded a parliamentary inquiry to Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım asking what the government has done to take extra security measures after the Swedish Embassy warned its citizens residing in Turkey of potential terror attacks in Ankara. 

The message released on Jan. 27 urged its citizens to avoid Ankara’s Kızılay Square. 

“Considering the fact that some embassies released similar security warnings before the recent bomb attacks, will the AKP [Justice and Development Party] take any additional security measures against a potential attack?” Tanrıkulu asked.

He also inquired whether Sweden had issued warnings for other provinces and what the Interior Ministry did to take substantial security measures at restaurants, entertainment venues, trade centers, airports and sanctuaries; and asked whether the allegations that some denunciations made before the previous attacks were not taken seriously and whether there were any probes into such cases.

Tanrıkulu asked about the legal and administrative proceedings concerning individuals who were found negligent in the previous attacks. He reiterated the total number of attacks carried out in Turkey since June 5, 2015, and asked whether assistance was offered to survivors who were left with permanent injuries after the terror attacks.

Most recently on Jan. 26, the U.S. Embassy in Ankara warned its citizens of “increased threats from terrorist groups in Turkey,” and urged them to “carefully consider the need to travel to Turkey at this time, and avoid travel to southeast Turkey due to the persistent threat of terrorism.”

Before the Jan. 1 Reina attack in Istanbul, the U.S. embassy, on Dec. 22, 2016, had released a security message urging its citizens to be “mindful of this when deciding to attend public gatherings for Holiday and New Year’s Eve celebrations.”