Turkey marks 178th anniversary of gendarmerie

By Sefa Sahin

ANKARA (AA) - Turkey’s gendarmerie marked its 178th anniversary Wednesday.

The military-based police force, which serves in a law-and-order function as well as defending Turkey in times of war, was officially founded on June 14, 1839, to preserve security and public order.

Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu, gendarmerie head Gen. Yasar Guler and an accompanying delegation visited Anitkabir, the Ankara mausoleum containing the remains of the Turkish republic’s founder Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

After laying a wreath, Soylu said Turkey’s gendarmerie continued to make “history every day” by fighting threats to Turkey from terrorism and drugs.

The force has its origins in the Ottoman Empire. In Istanbul, the Ottoman capital, security and public order duties were performed by a different organization, creating a need for a different security force across the whole empire.

To this end, public order stations were opened inside and outside Istanbul staffed by janissaries called Karakullukcu.

After the abolition of the janissary corps in 1826, security and public order services were performed by military organizations called Asakir-i Muntazama-i Mansuri, Asakir-i Muntazama-i Hassa and Asakir-i Redife.

Following an 1839 proclamation, the duty of protecting the people’s right to life and property was assigned to officers who worked under the authority of provincial or sanjak governorates.

- Centralized branch

The Tevhid-i Zabita period in 1846 saw further integration of law-enforcement services. A new, centralized military law-enforcement branch emerged with the main purpose of ensuring internal security and public order.

Later, a regiment was established in each Turkish province and its personnel were composed of infantry and cavalry. The organizational structures of regiments, battalions, companies and platoons were also put in place.

After the 1877-78 Ottoman-Russian War, Grand Vizier Sait Pasa had officers brought from England and France to train local forces and more changes were made to the gendarmerie’s organizational structure.

Following the declaration of the Second Constitutional Period in 1908, the gendarmerie achieved great successes, particularly in the Balkans. For this reason, the organization was restructured in 1909 and affiliated to the Ministry of War and its name changed to the General Gendarmerie Command.

Gendarmerie units performed interior security duties and took part in national defense on various fronts as part of the armed forces during World War I and Turkey’s War of Independence, which lasted from 1919 to 1922.

Today, the Gendarmerie General Command is made up of officers, NCOs, specialized gendarmeries, specialized sergeants, cadets, enlisted specialists and conscripts plus civil servants and support staff -- around 140,000 personnel in total.

Gendarmerie units have been the most important element in the struggle against terrorism, mainly from the PKK since 1984.

More than 1,200 people, including security force personnel and civilians, have lost their lives since the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and EU -- resumed its decades-old armed campaign in July 2015.