“The real issue is the strength of the gendermerie”
During the consultation meeting held on July 6, 1935 in Siirt with the participation of regional governors, Prime Minister İsmet İnönü made the following entry in his notebook:
A dangerous altercation between (Regional Inspector) Abidin Özmen and General Kâzım Orbay during the meeting. The district governor and the county governor should be able to change the commander of a gendarmerie station. The county governors should be assigned an armed police soldier. Orbay is opposed to granting governors the authority to give order for change. Özmen is insistent. Orbay is right. The gendarmerie might become confused from serving too many people. The real issue is the strength of the gendarmerie.
From İnönü’s notes, we understand that neither the commander of the gendarmerie, nor the prime minister agreed with Regional Inspector Özmen’s understanding of a “party state.” According to them, the state was supposed to have a gendarmerie, and not the party.
