Attack on Turkish flag in Nusaybin sparks national outrage

By Ahmet Taş | Wise News Press

NUSAYBIN, TÜRKİYE — A provocative attack on the Turkish flag during a recent political meeting in Nusaybin has triggered a fierce national debate regarding legal impunity and the protection of national symbols.

Journalist Ahmet Takan, in a sharp analysis for Yeniçağ, argued that this desecration is not an isolated incident but a recurring symptom of past "settlement process" policies. Takan emphasized that the flag represents the independence and indivisible integrity of the state, calling on the Chief Public Prosecutor's Office of the Court of Cassation to take immediate action under Articles 68 and 69 of the Turkish Constitution.

Echoes of the 2014 Lice Flag Incident

Takan drew a parallel between current tensions and the infamous incident on June 7, 2014, in the Lice district of Diyarbakır. During that period, a provocateur scaled the fences of the 2nd Air Tactical Force Command and lowered the Turkish flag. Takan revisited unanswered questions from that era: why the guard posts were empty during the stoning of the base and why surveillance footage was delayed in being handed to prosecutors. He noted with irony that the 2nd Air Force Command was later abolished by a Supreme Military Council (YAŞ) decision, asking pointedly, "Which command will you shut down tomorrow?"

Constitutional Violations and Legal Accountability

The analysis points to Article 69 of the Constitution, which states that a political party can be permanently dissolved if it becomes a "center" for activities against the independence of the state or the indivisible integrity of its territory and nation. Takan argued that the rhetoric used during the Nusaybin gathering—defending organizations like the PKK/YPG/SDF—constitutes a clear violation of Article 68, which forbids political parties from encouraging criminal acts or undermining democratic and secular Republican principles.

The Sanctity of National Symbols

Recalling the 1996 Deryneia incident in Cyprus, where a Greek Cypriot was fatally stopped while attempting to lower the Turkish flag, Takan asserted that "the flag is our honor" and that any hand reaching for it must face the full force of the law. He criticized the current political climate where provocative speeches are made under the roof of Parliament, calling it the "most ignoble form of encouraging crime."

The analysis concludes by urging the judiciary to move beyond "cliché statements" and enforce real consequences. Takan warned that failure to act decisively on the Nusaybin-Qamishli border incident would only embolden further provocations and weaken the jeopolitical standing of the nation.

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