Why terror hits Turkey from all quarters
Turkey has to deal with two terrorist organizations with ISIS hiding behind the mask of Islam and the PKK hiding behind Kurdish nationalism
After the June 7 elections, systematic terror attacks have been targeting Turkey. The perpetrators of these terror attacks, which have targeted not only members of Turkish security forces but also civilians, come from very different segments on the political spectrum. The banner of terror is carried one day by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), which hides behind the mask of Islam, and by the separatist PKK, which hides behind Kurdish nationalism although it does not hesitate to kill Kurds, on another. Meanwhile the Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), which does not hide its sympathy for the brutal dictator, Syrian President Bashar Assad, attacks U.S. institutions in Turkey.
So far Turkey has lost 75 of its citizens in terror attacks launched after the elections. But what happened for all of these terrorist organizations to escalate their attacks in Turkey? What is their purpose? There are different answers to these questions.
According to the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which politically represents the PKK with 80 deputies in Parliament, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government are responsible for this picture. HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş even went so far to blame Erdoğan for the Suruç suicide bombing in which 33 civilians were killed. When Turkish media asked what his evidence was, however, Demirtaş says he has none but points to his "feelings."
Hence, U.S. agencies have serious information pointing to ISIS as being responsible for the Suruç bombing. That is why the Turkish government started full-fledged operations against ISIS, which it defined as a terrorist organization in 2013 in both Turkey and Syria. Besides, how can Erdoğan, who has elected president with 52 percent of the vote and operates this office with absolute legitimacy, ever benefit from these terror attacks? The same question applies for the AK Party, which received nearly 41 percent of the vote, the most of any party in the elections. Is it not absurd to place the blame of such attacks on a political movement that has been fostering political stability in Turkey for 13 years and won one presidential election, two referendums, three general and three local elections?
But, let's take Demirtaş's baseless and absurd allegations seriously for a moment. Let's assume that the state has the ability to mobilize these groups, which it has been fighting against for years, and provoked them to launch these attacks. Then, upon figuring out the situation so swiftly, why did Demirtaş, who had an organic bond with the PKK and thanked the DHKP-C for their support during the election, not make a public call for these groups to end their violence? Of course, it may be too far-fetched to expect this from Demirtaş, who had not even condemned the attacks in which civilians lost their lives as a result.
Is it to force a coalition?
Another common impression in Turkish society is that this mounting tension has been specially designed to force coalition partnerships on politicians. Because almost all of the surveys conducted lately show that in the event of early elections, the AK Party, which has been ruling the country for 13 years, will regain its majority in Parliament. This possibility alone, however, is the nightmare of the opposition bloc and Turkey's rivals who were disturbed by the countries long-standing political and economic stability. To eliminate this nightmare, they are altogether working for a coalition that will endanger Turkey's stability and progress. That is why the uncertainty coming out from coalition talks has been emphasized as the chief motivation for the terror attacks.ISIS, the PKK and DHKP-C, which are either supported by regional actors or European countries, are ideally suited for this job. But Turkish society is quite familiar with these kinds of projects that use terror as their main instrument. Hence, this same old game supported by coup attempts, covert or otherwise, has always been played in Turkey's modern history. In the past, the military and bureaucratic status quo that is supported from abroad triggered the terror with its puppets in Turkey. Then by using terror they enforced such coalition forms, which were nothing more than pillars of the status quo. But the people of Turkey are well aware of these games, which they have learned through bitter experiences over the years. Undoubtedly, they will overturn these scenarios and Turkish democracy will be protected with its internal dynamics.
So far Turkey has lost 75 of its citizens in terror attacks launched after the elections. But what happened for all of these terrorist organizations to escalate their attacks in Turkey? What is their purpose? There are different answers to these questions.
According to the Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP), which politically represents the PKK with 80 deputies in Parliament, President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government are responsible for this picture. HDP Co-Chair Selahattin Demirtaş even went so far to blame Erdoğan for the Suruç suicide bombing in which 33 civilians were killed. When Turkish media asked what his evidence was, however, Demirtaş says he has none but points to his "feelings."
Hence, U.S. agencies have serious information pointing to ISIS as being responsible for the Suruç bombing. That is why the Turkish government started full-fledged operations against ISIS, which it defined as a terrorist organization in 2013 in both Turkey and Syria. Besides, how can Erdoğan, who has elected president with 52 percent of the vote and operates this office with absolute legitimacy, ever benefit from these terror attacks? The same question applies for the AK Party, which received nearly 41 percent of the vote, the most of any party in the elections. Is it not absurd to place the blame of such attacks on a political movement that has been fostering political stability in Turkey for 13 years and won one presidential election, two referendums, three general and three local elections?
But, let's take Demirtaş's baseless and absurd allegations seriously for a moment. Let's assume that the state has the ability to mobilize these groups, which it has been fighting against for years, and provoked them to launch these attacks. Then, upon figuring out the situation so swiftly, why did Demirtaş, who had an organic bond with the PKK and thanked the DHKP-C for their support during the election, not make a public call for these groups to end their violence? Of course, it may be too far-fetched to expect this from Demirtaş, who had not even condemned the attacks in which civilians lost their lives as a result.
Is it to force a coalition?
Another common impression in Turkish society is that this mounting tension has been specially designed to force coalition partnerships on politicians. Because almost all of the surveys conducted lately show that in the event of early elections, the AK Party, which has been ruling the country for 13 years, will regain its majority in Parliament. This possibility alone, however, is the nightmare of the opposition bloc and Turkey's rivals who were disturbed by the countries long-standing political and economic stability. To eliminate this nightmare, they are altogether working for a coalition that will endanger Turkey's stability and progress. That is why the uncertainty coming out from coalition talks has been emphasized as the chief motivation for the terror attacks.ISIS, the PKK and DHKP-C, which are either supported by regional actors or European countries, are ideally suited for this job. But Turkish society is quite familiar with these kinds of projects that use terror as their main instrument. Hence, this same old game supported by coup attempts, covert or otherwise, has always been played in Turkey's modern history. In the past, the military and bureaucratic status quo that is supported from abroad triggered the terror with its puppets in Turkey. Then by using terror they enforced such coalition forms, which were nothing more than pillars of the status quo. But the people of Turkey are well aware of these games, which they have learned through bitter experiences over the years. Undoubtedly, they will overturn these scenarios and Turkish democracy will be protected with its internal dynamics.