|
EU says probe into shady bomb attack is
test for Turkey
25.11.2005
|
|
|
|
ANKARA, Nov 25 (AFP)
- 17h00 - An investigation into a bomb attack widely
blamed on members of the security forces in Turkey's
mainly Kurdish southeast will test the supremacy of
law in this country, a senior EU official said.
"This is a test for Turkey -- a test to prove the
supremacy of law and that the laws are applied to
anyone regardless of who they are," Hansjoerg
Kretschmer, the representative of the European
Commission in Turkey, was quoted as saying by the
NTV news channel.
Kretschmer noted that some of the suspects in the
November 9 bombing in the town of Semdinli were
members of the security forces involved in the
investigation.
"The stance of the government in this respect is
very important and we hope the probe will be
successfully completed," he said.
The bombing sparked deadly riots and rattled Ankara
at a time when it is under pressure to demonstrate
its commitment to democracy and the rule of law in
its bid to join the European Union.
An angry crowd almost lynched three suspects after
the attack, which killed one person, against a
bookstore owned by a former Kurdish guerrilla.
Two of them turned out to be gendarmes -- military
units that police rural areas -- and the third, who
reportedly threw the bomb, was identified as a
former Kurdish guerrilla turned informer.
The authorities have drawn criticism for arresting
only the Kurdish informer and a third gendarme
suspected of shooting at the crowd and killing
another person in the unrest that followed.
The government has promised to shed light on the
incident and punish the culprits, a move Kretschmer
said was "encouraging."
The bombing raised questions over whether Turkey has
suceeded in purging rogue elements from the security
forces accused of summary executions, extortion,
kidnappings and drug-smuggling in the southeast
during the early 1990s, the peak years of a
separatist Kurdish rebellion.
The European Court of Human Rights has repeatedly
condemned Turkey for human rights violations during
the conflict.
Such breaches remained an obstacle to Turkey's EU
bid, which took off with the start of accession
talks on October 4.
The Kurdish conflict has claimed 37,000 lives since
the armed rebel Kurdistan Workers' Party, better
known by its acronym PKK and considered a terror
organization by Turkey, the EU and the United
States, took up arms for self-rule in the southeast
in 1984.
AFP
Top |
Kurd Net
does not take credit for and is not responsible for the content of news
information on this page
|
® 