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Turkey: Efforts to quell tension in
southeast
23.11.2005
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Istanbul, 22 Nov.
(AKI) - Members of the Human Rights Commission of
the Turkish parliament have been visiting the
troubled southeastern province of Hakkari
(Kurdistan), where six people have been killed and
36 injured in recent unrest. Violent protests have
shaken the mainly-Kurdish populated Hakkari since
the 9 November bombing in the town of Semdinli of a
bookstore run by a former member of the outlawed
Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). Prime minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan also visited the towns of Semdinli
and Yuksekova, on Monday, in a bid to restore calm.
The locals captured the four alleged bombers while
they were trying to escape in a car. Three of the
suspects are reported to be members of JIT, the
intelligence service of the paramilitary police, and
one of them is a PKK informant. Furious locals are
blaming the security forces for the attack and,
fearing a cover-up, have clashed daily with police
in Semdinli and nearby towns, chanting pro-Kurdish
slogans.
The suspects and some lists of Kurdish names at the
back of the car reminded many of the presence of the
so-called 'deep state'. This can be defined as a
hardline nationalist structure with officials from
military, security and judicial bodies ready to
'intervene' if it feels the national interests are
not being sufficiently defended.
First unveiled during the 1970s when the governments
was fighting communism, the 'deep state' has also
been a subtle constant in the Turkish government's
war against the PKK, which has been waging an armed
campaign for a Kurdish homeland in the Southeast
since 1984.
The violence peaked in the 1980s and 1990s, but has
recently increased after the PKK ended a six-year
unilateral cease-fire. Turkey blames the PKK for the
deaths of more than 30,000 people since the early
1980s.
The Semdinli book shop incident has also recalled a
1996 scandal that erupted after a car carrying a top
police official, a wanted mobster and a
parliamentarian crashed in western Turkish town of
Susurluk. The fact that these men were traveling
together appeared to confirm widespread suspicion
that criminal gangs were in cahoots with politicians
and the military serving the purposes of the 'deep
state'. Semdinli is now being dubbed Susurluk II.
"Deep state believe they act on behalf of the nation
and the state and so may sometimes be willing to
ignore the law," Semih Idiz, a commentator for
CNN-Turk told Reuters.
"While the legal process is continuing we will
monitor it and do whatever is necessary on the
administrative front," Erdogan told a crowd of
hundreds gathered in a Semdinli street,
in an address appealing for national unity.
"Whatever ethnic, religious or regional group we are
part of we must live together hand-in-hand and
shoulder-to-shoulder," he said, flanked by heavily
armed special forces personnel.
After his visit to the scene of bombing, Erdogan was
confronted by locals carrying placards saying,
“Don’t forget Semdinli”, “Who will protect us if the
state murders people?”, “Tells the truth in Semdinli
but bluffs in Ankara” .
Erdogan reacted to the banners and said: “It is
wrong to welcome your prime minister like this. We
are the only government that has ensured that all
democratic and legal rights can be utilised by all”.
However the prime minister is facing increasing
pressure from the opposition and even from within
government ranks for clarity on the incident.
The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP)
submitted a petition last week requesting a
parliamentary inquiry into the matter, as ruling AKP
deputies and members of the opposition Motherland
Party (ANAVATAN) did the same.
www.adnki.com
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