Right to live cannot be compromised

In the absence of the right to live, all other rights, freedoms, norms and values become irrelevant and meaningless. Does the nation or the state matter much for someone who has fallen for the noble cause of defense of the nation and the state or is a cause for which someone sacrifices his life worth anything at all if there is no breath left to take?

The separatist gang ended its "unilaterally declared non-confrontation period." The much-abetted Islamist terrorists not only killed 32 people in the Suruç suicide bombing, there is concern that sleeping cells of the gang were "woken up" to carry out some other heinous actions in the country. Hardly a day passes without the separatist gang undertaking some disgusting attack on Turkish security personnel. When the Islamist gang will attack again, no one, apparently not even the intelligence agency, knows.

Continuing sorties against hideouts or headquarters of both the separatist and Islamist gang in neighboring countries and frequently sweeping domestic lands and rounding up well over 1,000 people of all ages and gender could not make Turkey a more secure country. On the contrary, a "secret" security memorandum sent by police headquarters to all local police stations warned of probable terrorist attacks and ordered stringent measures be taken to avoid such actions taking place at shopping malls, cinemas, bus, train and metro stations. In full awareness of the bitter reality that a similar warning had gone to the Suruç Governor's Office and local police headquarters with somehow no measure taken to save the lives of 32 people, there is a panicked atmosphere.

Obsession with security might cripple liberties and become a real burden on privacy. How many of us are happy with the cameras at every...