Gallipoli security boosted
GALLIPOLLI: A massive increase in security for the Anzac centenary events at Gallipoli will see triple the number of soldiers and police deployed in the wake of a terror attack this week in Istanbul.
At least 4000 military and police personnel – including officers from Australia and New Zealand – will now be on guard on the peninsula, throwing the original modest security plan out the window.
Ironically Turkish snipers will be placed around the sites of the original defenders’ trenches – but this time protecting those on the beach.
At least six security checkpoints have also been set up from the main road and closest peninsula village of Eceabat for the 20km trip to Anzac Cove and key sites such as Lone Pine and Chunuk Bair.
The massive Turkish contingent will be supported by an unspecified number of Australian Federal Police and New Zealand police backed by intelligence officers from both countries as well as a detail from Britain in the unprecedented security net not just over the peninsula but along parts of the D555 highway from Istanbul to Gallipoli.
Originally a force of 1000 personnel was considered adequate but the increase followed Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s ex- tending an invitation to 77 world leaders for commemorations, with acceptances including Prime Minister Tony Abbott, Prince Charles and his son Prince Harry.
But it also follows general political unrest over what many critics claim has been response to the attempted introduction of hardline “police state’’ policies enacted by Erdogan’s ruling party after street protests in 2013.
Security briefings involving Turkish and Australian authorities has also raised the threat from Islamic State where a Turkish security watchlist now has just over 10,000 names of those with suspected ties to the group.
This week Turkish authorities rounded up two dozen suspected members of a radical leftist group behind a bloody hostage standoff that left a top Istanbul prosecutor dead and shocked the country.
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