24 May 2007

1. "Turkey: A Bombing, a Scapegoat and Election Season", the PKK has not claimed responsibility for the attack, and has not carried out a suicide bombing in eight years. Moreover, when the PKK has staged suicide attacks, the targets were different, such as security forces, police and the Turkish government, not civilians.

2. "Kurdish rebels deny role in deadly Turkey bombing", the main Kurdish rebel group in Turkey denied Wednesday that it was behind a suicide bombing that left seven dead and 100 injured Tuesday in Ankara, a pro-Kurdish news agency reported.

3. "Pro-Kurdish Party condemned Ankara Bombing", press release from Ahmet Turk, Chairman of the Democratic Society Party (DTP).

4. "Turk PM agrees with army on possible Iraq operation", the Turkish prime minister saw eye to eye with the army over a possible military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, following a bomb attack in Ankara which killed six, state media reported.

5. "Weekly Magazine Nokta Tried Under Article 301", the newest trial under the controversial article 301 is that of journalists Ahmet Sik and Lale Sariibrahimoglu for "denigrating the armed forces". Journalist Ali Bayramoglu speaks of an increase in authoritarianism.

6. "Iranians shell Kurdish guerrilla haven in northern Iraq", Iranian forces bombarded northern Iraq's rugged Qandil mountains with mortars on Wednesday, targeting Kurdish guerrillas, a local official said.

1. - Stratfor - "Turkey: A Bombing, a Scapegoat and Election Season":

23 May 2007

Summary

Turkish authorities said May 23 they believe a Kurdish suicide bomber carried out the May 22 bombing in Ankara. Blaming a Kurd, along with the blast's timing, will allow the Turkish military and ultra-secularist political forces to undermine the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party, accusing it of being soft on the Kurdish issue. The bombing thus will intensify the struggle between the AK and its opponents ahead of July parliamentary polls.

Analysis

Investigators believe the May 22 bombing in Ankara, Turkey, was the work of a suicide bomber, Ankara Gov. Kemal Onal said May 23. He added that the explosives and equipment used resemble those used by Kurdish militants. For his part, though Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan did not directly accuse the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) of involvement in the bombing, he suggested the PKK -- Turkey's largest Kurdish separatist organization -- was a key suspect. Meanwhile, Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul convened an emergency meeting to discuss new security measures.

The bomber probably was not directly linked to the core PKK, though the perpetrator could have been linked to a smaller group. The PKK has not claimed responsibility for the attack, and has not carried out a suicide bombing in eight years. Moreover, when the PKK has staged suicide attacks, the targets were different, such as security forces, police and the Turkish government, not civilians.

The military and secularists have good reason to accuse the Kurds rather than Islamist militants, for whom suicide bombings are a calling card. Turkey, and especially its secular military, prides itself on being able to contain militant Islamist elements in the country, and fears the impact of Islamist militant activity on foreign investment. More important, the perception of a resurgent Kurdish militancy can provide great leverage for promoting opposition to the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party. Kemalist Turks are already up in arms as much as possible on the issue of Islamism.

Though it is odd that Gul and not the interior minister presided over a meeting relating to domestic security, it is not completely surprising. Gul, who in late April and early May narrowly failed to win a presidential vote, is worried about the bombing's implications for the AK in parliamentary elections set for July 22. Even before the presidential election fiasco, Gul and Erdogan had a war of words with military chief Gen. Yasar Buyukanit over the Kurdish rebel issue.

The country's Kemalist military establishment and anti-Islamist political parties, especially the main opposition Republican People's Party, have been using Kurdish separatism -- an issue about which the Turks are highly sensitive, to put it mildly -- to attack the AK government. Accusing the Erdogan administration of a weak stance against the PKK and other Kurdish rebel groups, the military went so far as to create tensions between Ankara and the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in northern Iraq.

While the government also maintained a tough attitude toward the KRG's allowing Turkish Kurdish rebels to operate from northern Iraq, it stuck to diplomacy to try to get Iraqi Kurdish authorities to stop PKK activity in its territory. The army, on the other hand, issued statements threatening cross-border military strikes if the KRG did not rein in the PKK. The issue was less about the PKK than about using the rebel group to weaken the AK ahead of the presidential contest.

Now with parliamentary elections coming, it can be expected that this suicide bombing will be an even bigger stick with which the military and its political allies can beat the AK. Already there have been a number of massive rallies nationwide in recent weeks against the alleged bid by the AK to de-secularize the Turkish republic; they will prove mild-mannered family picnics compared to the rage the Kurdish issue can stoke.

Though this could weaken the AK's parliamentary strength, the ruling party is still likely to re-emerge from the new elections as the single largest party in the legislature -- an outcome AK's opponents can live with for now. Ultimately, the AK's opponents would like to send the party back into opposition -- or perhaps even have it banned. But for now they would like to block it from taking the presidency. In essence, the AK remains the power to beat in the coming elections, though issues like this have brought about the downfall of more than one Turkish power group.

2. - AFP - "Kurdish rebels deny role in deadly Turkey bombing":

ANKARA / 23 May 2007

The main Kurdish rebel group in Turkey denied Wednesday that it was behind a suicide bombing that left seven dead and 100 injured Tuesday in Ankara, a pro-Kurdish news agency reported.

"We announce that we... have no connection twith this attack and that we do not approve of such methods," said a statement by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey's southeast since 1984.

The statement was published on the Internet site of the Firat news agency.

Earlier, Ankara Governor Kemal Unal said a 28-year-old man suspected of belonging to the PKK was behind Tuesday's powerful explosion which struck a busy commercial area during the evening rush hour.

3. - Flash Bulletin - "Pro-Kurdish Party condemned Ankara Bombing":

Press Release by Ahmet Turk, Chairman of the Democratic Society Party (DTP)

23 May 2007

We condemn strongly the bomb attack, which caused the death of 6 citizens and 100 wounded in Ankara. The government has to clear out the power which stands behind this inhuman violence action.

So that during the pre-election-period, the movement of some organizations acting against democratic justice and liberties and taking advantage from this violence, should be prevented.

The bomb explosion in Ankara, whoever might be responsible and whatever might be the intention of this action, should be objectively seen in accordance to the logic of paving a stage for a military cop that started with the note of April 27th published by the general staff before the elections.

Only the democratic will of the people, can stand against this kind of attacks.

Therefore we will give every pain to make it possible for the population to show its will and power
at the general parliamentary elections of July 22nd 2007, regardless to any violence, terrorist
movement or provocation.

We ask every democratic power, against any provocation and anti-democratic action, to react
immediately for building up peaceful conditions for the elections.

4. - Reuters - "Turk PM agrees with army on possible Iraq operation":

ISTANBUL / 24 May 2007

The Turkish prime minister saw eye to eye with the army over a possible military operation against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, following a bomb attack in Ankara which killed six, state media reported.

Ankara says thousands of Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) guerrillas use northern Iraq as a base, and last month armed forces chief Yasar Buyukanit called for a military operation into Iraq to quash them.

Asked whether such an operation was being considered, the state-run Anatolian news agency quoted Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan as saying: "We will do whatever is necessary for our country's peace and happiness.

"On this issue there can be no question of any difference of opinion with our armed forces, with our soldiers. . . On this issue, when it is necessary this step will be taken."

On Tuesday a suicide bomber killed six and injured dozens in a shopping mall in Ankara, the worst attack in the capital in at least a decade.

Ankara Governor Kemal Onal said the attack bore the hallmarks of Kurdish separatism but the PKK, whose separatist campaign goes back to 1984, denied it was responsible.

5. - Bianet - "Weekly Magazine Nokta Tried Under Article 301":

The newest trial under the controversial article 301 is that of journalists Ahmet Sik and Lale Sariibrahimoglu for "denigrating the armed forces". Journalist Ali Bayramoglu speaks of an increase in authoritarianism.

ISTANBUL / 22 May 2007 / by Erol Onderoglu

The weekly magazine Nokta was forced to close last month. It now faces a court case under Article 301 for an interview with security expert Lale Sariibrahimoglu and a follow-up article, both of which criticised the involvement of the army in domestic affairs.

Ahmet Sik, the reporter conducting the interview, and Lale Sariibrahimoglu are being tried at a penal court in Bakirköy, Istanbul. The prosecution is demanding up to 3 years imprisonment.

There had been discussions about changing the controversial Article 301, but in the current election fever, the government has quietly let the issue drop. Thus it still serves the purposes of the Armed Forces' General Staff and the General Command of the Gendarmerie.

Questioning the army is not legitimate

Journalist Ali Bayramoglu from the "Yeni Safak" newspaper commented that Article 301, which was formerly Article 159, allows for the demonstration of authority in a legal framework. He evaluated the latest trial under Article 301, saying that as long as the activities of the Nokta magazine met with army antagonism, the army would try to prevent the questioning of army institutions.

Particularly in the light of the recent warning to the government which the General Staff published on its website, Bayramoglu considers this trial a sign of more authoritarian behaviour on the part of the army.

Prosecution comes as a surprise

When journalist Sik appeared at court today to give a statement, he was notified by prosecutor Hasan Basri Zamanis that he was being prosecuted, based on a complaint by the General Command of the Gendarmerie. He and Sariibrahimoglu are accused of "decreasing the respect for the army among the people" and "denigrating the state's armed forces".

Sariibrahimoglu: All institutions need to be "cleaned"

In her interview, Sariibrahimoglu had commented on the pictures that emerged in the press after journalist Hrant Dink 's murder, and her comments are being used as the basis for the prosecution. The young man accused of shooting Hrant Dink was photographed as a hero at the police station, and many policemen and officers wanted their photos taken with him. Sariibrahimoglu had commented that "while the policemen were taken off active duty, the soldiers were only transferred to other places. If we look at this scenario, it is not just a case of protecting personnel, but of protecting a mentality. ...The Dink investigation has shown once more that all three institutions (here she is referring to the police, the army and the gendarmerie) are in need of cleaning up".

According to the BIA Medya Observation Desk, around 100 people have been tried under Article 301 in the last two years.

6. - AFP - "Iranians shell Kurdish guerrilla haven in northern Iraq":

SULAIMANIYAH / 23 May 2007

Iranian forces bombarded northern Iraq's rugged Qandil mountains with mortars on Wednesday, targeting Kurdish guerrillas, a local official said.

The barrage lasted much of the day and targeted several villages, said Hussein Ahmed, the mayor of Bashdar, one of the targeted villages.

"I expect there will be both human and material losses, but I don't know right now the extent of the damage," he told reporters.

The snow-capped Qandil mountains run along Iraq's border with both Turkey and Iran and are home to Kurdish guerrillas from the anti-Iranian faction Pejak, an offshoot of Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK), which opposes Turkey.

The movements have fought for decades for the autonomy of the Kurdish people, though recently they claim to have abandoned violence in favour of a peaceful solution.

Turkey has threatened to invade the northern Iraqi PKK haven if their activities are not reigned in by the Iraqi Kurdish regional government, while Iran frequently shells the area.