Terrorists may be targeting the Anzac Day commemorations at Gallipoli peninsula in Turkey, according to information received by the Australian government.
At a media conference in Canberra the veterans’ affairs minister, Dan Tehan, said no further information could be provided about the nature of the threat but commemorations would go ahead with a high level of security.
Tehan said travel advice had been updated to reflect the threat but the advisory level for Turkey and Gallipoli remained the same, saying travellers should “exercise a high degree of caution”.
The advisory for Turkey has been at that level, the second of four levels, since March 2016 and is the same level as it is for France and Belgium.
But the Australian government advises travellers to reconsider their need to travel to Ankara and Istanbul because of the high threat of a terrorist attack, the third of the four levels.
Australian government advice also notes: “Turkish authorities are aware of this information and traditionally provide a high level of protective security around Anzac Day commemorations on the peninsula.”
Tehan said 509 people were now registered to attend, including 252 Australians, 199 New Zealanders and 58 people of other nationalities. “The commemoration will go ahead. The decision to travel that the traveller takes is ultimately their decision.”
He said Turkish and Australian authorities worked in close cooperation. “We are confident Turkey will make every effort to mitigate the threat,” he said, adding that security included military personnel, the paramilitary police, Turkish national police and private security companies. “Make no mistake, we will not let the terrorists win.”
The deputy commissioner for national security, Mike Phelan, said the Australian federal police had “confidence in the Turkish authorities to secure the peninsula and other celebrations in the area”. “They have a good track record of doing so.”
He said the information “suggests that terrorists may attack the peninsula” but was “nothing more specific than that”.
“That is all we have got at this stage. If it was any higher than that, the advisory would go higher.”
