Interior Minister Yerlikaya: “There is no politics of terrorism; terrorism can only be fought against, and only through struggle.”

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya attended a provincial security council meeting in Balıkesir during a series of programs. In his press statement, Yerlikaya stated, “City officials cannot be allies of terrorism.”

At the meeting held at the Balıkesir Teacher’s House, which lasted for 3 hours, Minister Yerlikaya made statements. Starting his speech with a message of unity and solidarity, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, “We established and saved this eternal homeland by fighting against seven continents. We are united in brotherhood with all our wealth that makes us a nation, including Turks, Kurds, Arabs, Circassians, Laz, and Georgians. Since the day we opened the gates of Anatolia, we have been one and together. It is the guarantee of our state that everyone lives in peace and security on these lands. It is our duty to ensure the rights, law, peace, and security of both Turks and Kurds.”

Stating that no one can exploit the trust given by the people, Interior Minister Yerlikaya emphasized, “Municipalities are the lanterns of local administrations. However, this authority exists to serve the people. No one can exploit the trust given by the public. Municipalities exist to serve their citizens. Municipal administration is done to facilitate life in every situation, ensure the development of the city, and lighten the burden of citizens. The reason for the existence of municipalities is to meet the common needs of all citizens living in their city, district, or town. Municipalities are not ditches of terrorism and affiliation. Establishing relations with terrorism, channeling resources to terrorists, protecting terrorists, and gossiping around are not municipalism. I repeat once again from here. City officials cannot be allies of terrorism. Terrorism has no politics. It can only be fought against. As our President has expressed, we will not allow anyone to threaten Turkey through terrorist organizations. We will maintain our political courtesy to the end, but we will not yield to threat politics.

Dear members of the press, after the appointment of acting mayors for the municipalities of Mardin, Batman, and Halfeti, various actions were carried out in different provinces. A total of 235 suspects were detained in connection with these actions. Additionally, a total of 217 accounts that shared criminal content on social media have been identified, and necessary actions have been initiated against the account managers,” he stated.

Providing information about the security meeting held in Balıkesir, Minister Yerlikaya said, “We would like to share with you the efforts made for the security and peace of Balıkesir with the 2024 figures. Dear members of the press, when we compare the first 10 months of this year, from January 1 to October 31, 2024, with the same dates in 2023, there has been a 3.6% decrease in 10 major crimes committed against individuals throughout Turkey. In Balıkesir, this decrease was 6.1%. We always say this. Our citizens watching us from their screens hear this from us. They will continue to hear it. Our primary duty is prevention. Then to capture, and then to deliver justice. Now, we have reduced the number of incidents in Balıkesir regarding 10 major crimes. The clearance rate was 97.9% nationwide; in Balıkesir, it was 98.5% in the same period. In terms of crimes against property, while the number of incidents decreased by 29.8% nationwide in the same period, in Balıkesir, this decrease was 27%. But let me also state that, in the same period, the average number of incidents in 5 types of theft decreased by 48% nationwide. We would like to say that the same average also decreased by 48% in Balıkesir, aligning with the national average.

So, if we ask what the clearance rate for crimes against property is, the national clearance rate has increased by 14.6%, reaching 81.3%. In Balıkesir, it has been 82.5%, one point above the national average. Our esteemed friends, one of the performance criteria of our country administrators and law enforcement, our police and gendarmerie, is always expressed. We are always in competition regarding catching fugitives. Let me express this. Again, from January 1 to October 31, 2024, our police and gendarmerie in Balıkesir made 2,863 arrests. I say this is currently at 85%. There is one case in question. Because our friends are working tirelessly, including those who have served their sentence for certain crimes, including those who have been released from prison, and those who are still walking among us under judicial control. They continue their work without interruption. Regarding unlicensed firearms, we share the figures related to unlicensed firearms in every city we visit. Look, our security units in Balıkesir have seized 1,565 firearms and processed 1,865 individuals.

Addressing the issue of carrying unlicensed firearms, Interior Minister Yerlikaya stated, “Two days ago, the draft bill prepared by our Ministry of Interior was accepted by our Interior Commission, and it will soon come to the general assembly. As you know, we have a proposal regarding unlicensed firearms. If this law is enacted in the general assembly, anyone caught with an unlicensed firearm will face imprisonment. Here, I want to express this to all our citizens.”

Emphasizing that they will continue the fight against organized crime decisively, Yerlikaya said, “In the fight against organized crime in Balıkesir, our determination continues as it does across the country. Again, in the first 10 months of this year, 27 operations were conducted against 15 organized crime groups, resulting in their dismantling. We would like to express that there are 88 detainees and 25 under judicial control. We do not recognize any power other than the will of our citizens, the will of our nation, and the strength of our state. Regardless of whether it is international, national, regional, or local, if someone is arrogant enough to commit a crime, be assured that they will be swiftly dealt with by our chief prosecutor, security forces, and under the coordination of our governor. So far, we have successfully handled 751 cases across Turkey, of which 15 were conducted here. Whether in urban life in police jurisdiction or in the countryside in gendarmerie jurisdiction, we are determined to cut off their breath.”

Stating that the fight against all forms of terrorist organizations continues decisively in Balıkesir as it does throughout the country, Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya said, “Regarding terrorism, concerning the PKK and KCK terrorist organization, we need to share that there have been 28 operations in Balıkesir, resulting in 11 arrests and 6 individuals under judicial control, and 11 terrorists have been neutralized. Again, concerning FETÖ, there have been 14 arrests during this period, with 17 under judicial control, 3 arrests regarding DAESH, and 7 under judicial control. We must state that one suspect has been arrested regarding leftist terrorist organizations through conducted operations. In an operation where 7 million 869 thousand lira was seized, funding for terrorism was confiscated.”

Yerlikaya reported that the fight against drugs continues relentlessly, stating, “How many operations have we carried out against drug traffickers who try to darken the lives of our children, youth, and future? We have conducted 635 operations against dealers and 2,978 operations against users, resulting in a total of 587 arrests and 181 individuals under judicial control in Balıkesir. I must mention that 155 kilograms of drugs, 176,998 units of other drugs, and 3,184 plants have been seized.”

Referring to the NARVAS Project, Minister Yerlikaya said, “You are as close as a phone button; when you call 112 or the ‘Do Not Sleep’ application, let us determine whether what you see, hear, or know is true. Tell us these things so that we can catch them more quickly and deliver them to justice. I want to express my gratitude to the 1,268 citizens who made reports in Balıkesir so far.”

Addressing the efforts to combat irregular migration in Balıkesir, Minister Yerlikaya stated, “We are continuing the fight against irregular migration without interruption, just like throughout Turkey. We monitor entry, stay, work, and exit into the country. What do we call illegal foreigners? We call them illegal migrants. We cannot accept this. We have been combating this since the day we arrived. And we are always keeping an eye on the organizers of human smuggling who provide the greatest opportunities for these migrants. Look, in Balıkesir, 67 organizers of human smuggling have been arrested during 96 operations in the first 10 months of this year. 28 under judicial control. Dear friends, during this cabinet period, we have surpassed 6,000 arrests nationwide regarding human smuggling organizers. Here, I challenge those who dare to continue this job. It will not be long before they encounter the same punishment as the 6,000 individuals we previously sent to prison. Let me say openly, we have no tolerance. For those who dare to engage in human smuggling with boats or vehicles in our beautiful city, we will see together what will happen to them under the rule of law. In the fight against irregular migration, we see that 4,101 individuals have been caught so far. 677 have been deported, and currently, there are three mobile migration units. What were we doing? We were conducting identity and fingerprint checks in public places regarding irregular or regular migrants. We discussed this vehicle with our governor. We are increasing this number to seven. So, how many mobile migration units have we started implementing since July 19, 2023? 270. How many foreigners have been controlled since that day? 2 million 30 thousand. How many irregular migrants have been identified during these controls? 151 thousand. Let me mention another figure for the first time. In the first four months of our 2 million 30 thousand applications conducted at mobile migration points, 74% of the foreigners whose fingerprint and identity checks were conducted turned out to be irregular migrants. Now, what has this figure been in the past four months? It has decreased to 2.8%. Our mobile migration units have truly provided us with significant advantages in our fight against irregular migration. We are carrying out our struggle against irregular migration in a humanitarian and ethical manner, in line with the values of civilization that have been bequeathed to us. However, we also show that we are uncompromising in carrying out this fight for public safety and order. And let’s share that 2,613 foreigners have been questioned by these three units, of which 114 were irregular migrants and sent to repatriation centers.”

Interior Minister Ali Yerlikaya also emphasized, “Another crime type we focus on is usury. We conducted ten operations related to usury in Balıkesir, resulting in 42 arrests, 14 individuals under judicial control, and the seizure of over 179,000 lira, as reported by our colleagues. Our cyber patrols in the virtual world are also ongoing. In connection to terrorism, our cyber units have detected 1,170 accounts related to illegal betting and child exploitation, leading to 24 arrests related to terrorism, 4 arrests, 58 related to illegal betting with 24 arrests, and 15 related to child exploitation with 2 arrests that were brought to justice.”

Highlighting the summer population increase in the region, Minister Ali Yerlikaya stated, “We have a summer population that is nearly double our own; it is a significant tourism destination. However, in such a place, we are determined to ensure that the number of incidents committed against individuals and property decreases and that we strive to improve continuously. Our patrol numbers have increased this year, with over 260 new vehicles added to our inventory from the police and gendarmerie, and this will further increase. At this point, I would like to express my gratitude to our governor and the philanthropists and businesses in our city who believe in us and want to share in this success. This will further increase. Our patrol numbers are being increased in both day and night by preventive measures from the gendarmerie and police. We will be everywhere. Similarly, regarding traffic, we are increasing it by 100%, and like in all of Turkey, we will have body cameras in Balıkesir in the sea coast guard, on land with the gendarmerie, and in the police. We will record all our transactions with our citizens for 30 days. Should we tell the citizens of Balıkesir that we are not coming empty-handed? Let’s announce it. We will propose our provincial police headquarters building to the 2025 investment program, and we will ensure that it is followed up, together with our deputies. We will also include the Bandırma district police headquarters building in the investment program. We have many ongoing government guesthouses. We have at least 20 items related to government guesthouses concerning the provincial administrative officers, police, gendarmerie, and a few related to the coast guard. We will present these to our citizens for service in 2025.