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Bomb targets PM's party as Turkey
struggles with Kurdish separatists
6.4.2006
By Stephen Castle in Istanbul
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A bomb ripped through an
office of the party of Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the
Turkish Prime Minister, as he battled to contain a
tide of violence which has claimed 16 lives
following protests from Kurdish separatists.
The blast in Istanbul yesterday injured at least two
people, shattering windows up to the third floor at
the Justice and Development Party's office in the
city's Esenyurt district.
A militant group called the Kurdistan Freedom
Falcons claimed responsibility. The group, which
also claimed responsibility for a separate bomb in
Istanbul on Friday, has singled out the Prime
Minister and his party as targets.
Suspected Kurdish rebels also killed three soldiers
in an ambush in a mountainous area of south-eastern
Turkey, while two other soldiers died after stepping
on land mines believed to have been planted by the
rebels.
A government crack-down against Kurdish separatists
has coincided with alarm abroad at the drift of Mr
Erdogan's government, which has been tilting policy
towards Islamic voters in the run-up to elections.
Diplomats are worried that, instead of pursuing
reforms, Mr Erdogan is pandering to Islamic
sentiment. "We are in a pre-electoral phase," said
one, "and he needs to deliver more to his original
supporters on issues related to Islamic values."
The European commissioner for Enlargement, Olly Rehn,
has warned that the EU may be heading for a "train
crash" in membership negotiations with Ankara over
Turkish refusal to open ports and airports to
Cypriot-registered ships and aircraft. It is the
ever-divisive Kurdish issue, however, which has
provoked the violence and European diplomats blame
the government for many of the difficulties.
Fighting in the south-east, which left 37,000 people
dead, largely ended in 1999 after Abdullah Ocalan,
the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party
(PKK), was captured and the government proposed
economic reforms for the region.
Critics argue that Mr Erdogan has failed to address
the Kurdish problem, implementing only minimal
reform after raising hopes of concessions during a
visit to the region last summer. That has in turn
allowed Kurdish separatists to exploit strong
feelings of anger over high unemployment, poverty
and lack of autonomy and cultural rights.
Some fear that the increasingly volatile political
climate could make Mr Erdogan vulnerable to
political interference from Turkey's powerful
military, which favours tough action.
Rioting began after funerals for four Kurdish
guerrillas in the south-east and brought violence to
Istanbul, where four people have died in the past
week. One person was killed in a bomb attack claimed
by a Kurdish group, and three others died after
masked men threw petrol bombs at a packed bus. In
street clashes across the country this week,
thousands of protesters have hurled stones and
petrol bombs at police who have responded with tear
gas and live ammunition.
The government has deployed 5,000 troops with
Sikorsky and Cobra helicopters to the area.
Itlaunched an operation on Gabbar mountain, in the
Sirnak region, last week to stop guerrillas crossing
the nearby border with Iraq.
The EU regards the separatist PKK as a terrorist
group, but is increasingly concerned by the
direction of Mr Erdogan's policy since Turkey began
negotiations on EU entry last October. Since then
the pace of reform has slackened as the Prime
Minister seeks to placate supporters in his
Islamic-rooted party.
Mr Erdogan's support for the head of an Islamic
finance house as Turkey's next central bank governor
has rung alarm bells in Brussels.
European diplomats expect the Prime Minister to try
to force through measures allowing headscarves to be
worn in universities, and to increase access to
higher education for students from religious
schools.
independent.co.uk
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