Özçelik resignation rumor stirs Ankara

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Public Order and Security Undersecretary Murat Özçelik keeps his post. DAILY NEWS photo

Turkey’s Public Order and Security Undersecretary Murat Özçelik had reportedly come to the brink of quitting his position due to long-running differences with Deputy Prime Minister Beşir Atalay on strategies to combat terror and resolve the Kurdish question.

The government denied the report yesterday. “Neither resignation nor dismissal (of Özçelik) is on our agenda. It’s out of the question,” Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç told reporters after the Cabinet meeting yesterday.

Newspaper reports suggested that Özçelik submitted his resignation but government did not accept it. There were several points of disagreement between Atalay and Özçelik over how to carry out the fight against the PKK.

Özçelik was appointed to the head of the institution in late 2011 after having served as Turkey’s ambassador to Baghdad. His close contacts with Iraqi Kurdish leaders and knowledge of the Middle East earned him a key position.

A recent amendment on the anti-terror fight strategies caused wide discussions in Turkey as it suggested dialogue with the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) while military operations on the PKK would continue.