Tension high as heinous attack leaves unanswered questions behind

At the same time, the atmosphere was tense across the nation yesterday, with thousands of citizens taking to the streets to condemn acts of terror, as a memorial ceremony was held for the soldiers who were killed on Monday after unidentified terrorists opened fire on them. The memorial ceremony was held at the Tokat Provincial Gendarmerie Command early in the morning amid growing reactions politicians and citizens against acts of terrorism. The harshest reaction came from Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who pledged on Monday to call to account the figures behind the heinous attack.

“This treacherous ambush is an open indication of the kind of provocation our country is faced with due to the place and time it occurred. Those who are behind this attack will be called to account in the harshest sense. May our martyrs rest in peace. I extend my most sincere condolences to the families of our slain soldiers,” he stated during a press conference he called in the United States.

The main question is linked to a past attack in the same district that occurred twelve years ago. Four soldiers were killed in the Sazak neighborhood in 1997 in an ambush laid by terrorists. No terrorist organization immediately claimed responsibility for the attack, but security forces later revealed that it was the result of cooperation between the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), the far-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C) and the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist-Leninist (TKP-ML).

The perpetrators of Monday’s attack have not yet been captured, and no organization has claimed responsibility thus far. Observers, however, believe it could be the work of the PKK.

A memorial ceremony was held for the slain soldiers at the Tokat Provincial Gendarmerie Command early yesterday. Seven soldiers were killed in a terrorist attack in Reşadiye on Monday.

Security forces initiated a comprehensive investigation to capture those who launched the attack.  Democratic Society Party (DTP) chairman Ahmet Türk called the killings of the soldiers a “provocation” during a speech he delivered at his party’s parliamentary group gathering yesterday. “I condemn this attack. Our hearts bleed for the seven soldiers who were killed in a provocation in Tokat. Light should be shed on this provocation. This grief belongs to us all. Our aim is to put an end to all similar sorrows,” he remarked.

The attack occurred around 1 kilometer away from a military outpost as a vehicle carrying the soldiers slowed down at a bend in the highway. The method of the attack was very similar to the Sazak assault in 1997. Soldiers were returning to their outpost and only had 1.3 kilometers to travel. There was heavy fog then, which helped terrorists to immediately flee the scene.

Reşadiye was also in thick fog on Monday at the time of the attack. Officials in the district said weather conditions had prevented security forces from quickly capturing the perpetrators.

Another question that has failed to have been answered thus far concerns the motive behind the assault. Tokat is not shaken by acts of terrorism often, which leads terrorism expertss to ponder on the reason which spurred the terrorists into the attack. According to most observers, the PKK might have aimed at hampering the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) efforts to solve the Kurdish question through peaceful methods and a democratization package with the attack.

In the meantime, a large number of protestors flocked to Tokat from nearby cities to denounce terrorism in the country. The protestors carried Turkish flags and chanted slogans against terrorist organizations. “Martyrs never die, country never divided,” they shouted.

The soldiers were patrolling a rural area in Reşadiye when the attack occurred. Three other soldiers were wounded in the heinous attack. Seven soldiers who were killed were identified as Sgt. Harun Aslanbaş and privates Onur Bozdemir, Kemal Pide, Ferit Demir, Yakup Mutlu, Cengiz Sarıbaş and Fatih Yonca.

A huge crowd waited outside the Tokat Provincial Gendarmerie Command until the memorial ceremony was completed. The crowd denounced the PKK terror with slogans and banners. The relatives of the slain soldiers shed tears beside the coffins of their loved ones. The remains of the soldiers were later sent to their hometowns for burial.

Bide was laid to rest in northern Ordu while Mutlu was laid to rest in Muş and Aslanbay in Adana. The other 4 slain soldiers are expected to be buried today.

A small group of students attending the Gaziosmanpaşa High School and Vakıfbank Namık Kemal Primary School also protested the treacherous attack in the streets of Tokat. Security measures were heightened in the province against the risk of a new attack by PKK terrorists.

In the meantime, Tokat Governor Şerif Yılmaz and AK Party deputies Zeyid Aslan, Dilek Yüksel and Osman Demir visited the three wounded soldiers at the Tokat Dr. Cevdet State Hospital.

President Abdullah Gül, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay and Parliament Speaker Mehmet Ali Şahin and representatives of a large number of civil society organizations also condemned the attack in their messages on Monday and Tuesday. Gül stated that he wholeheartedly denounced the attack, which was aimed at destroying the peaceful atmosphere in Turkey. “The fight of our country against terror will continue with same determination,” he noted. Şahin drew attention to the timing of attack and said it was thought-provoking that it occurred at a time when the state was working to strengthen the atmosphere of fraternity in the country.

The bloody attack came at a critical point as the Constitutional Court was preparing to hear a closure case against the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP). The party has refused to label the PKK a terrorist party despite encouragement from Turkish politicians.

PKK supporters have launched a series of demonstrations across the country since last week over DTP claims about a “smaller and low-standard” prison cell for the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Öcalan.

DTP deputy chairman Gültan Kışanak said it would not be plausible to put the blame for the attack on a single group or organization. “We should see this event in a bigger picture. If we put together what we have experienced in the last 15 or 20 days, we can see that this is not the work of a single group or organization. If an organization manages such an attack, then what is Turkey doing? We should question this,” she noted.

Mother consoles self with hair of slain son

The mother of 20-year-old Cengiz Sarıbaş, Hülya Sarıbaş, tried to lessen the grief of having lost her beloved son by smelling and kissing the locks of hair her son cut off before leaving for military service.

Sarıbaş said her son had long hair before he was called up by the army to complete his military service. Before leaving home, the soldier cut his hair and left several pieces of it with his family for them to remember him when he was away. Şarıbaş’s mother now consoles herself with her son’s hair. Şarıbaş’s father, Talip Sarıbaş, wants to ask the military’s top commanders if he can serve in the military in the place of his son.

Two noncommissioned officers wounded in Batman

Noncommissioned officers Mehmet Kavuslu and Kazım Ekinci were wounded on Monday night after terrorists attacked a lodging building with long-barrel rifles and hand grenades in the Beşiri district of the southeastern province of Batman.

The noncommissioned officers were on night watch at the time of the attack. They were immediately taken to the Batman State Hospital. Security forces launched an investigation to capture the perpetrators of the assault.