‘Provocations may continue during critical period for Turkey’

As Parliament passed a comprehensive constitutional amendment package last week, some circles have been attempting to fan tension in the country through provocations and terrorist attacks. More than 10 soldiers have been killed since mid-April, including five soldiers killed on April 30 at a gendarmerie outpost in the eastern town of Tunceli during an attack by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and another five killed last week in clashes with terrorists and due to land mine explosions.

    Bugün daily columnist Adem Yavuz Arslan, who has been warning that terrorist attacks might be used to block the constitutional reform package based on some intelligence passed on to the security forces, reiterated his concerns in his column yesterday. “On the day I wrote that I hoped these intelligence reports proved false there were terrorist attacks in Giresun, Tunceli, Şırnak and Hakkari. … Recent incidents have shown that current intelligence reports are almost 100 percent accurate. There is an intelligence report I previously obtained but did not dare to make public. Now I am writing about it to warn officials.

The PKK is now planning to assassinate political figures as part of a series of violent acts. These assassinations are aimed at trigging a Kurd-Turk clash. Everybody should be on the alert,” he said.

Arslan, also the Ankara representative of Bugün, gave a similar warning in his column dated April 26 based on intelligence conveyed to security forces, underlining that Turkey has entered a sensitive period with the recent government initiative to amend the Constitution. “The PKK and some leftist organizations have reportedly chosen military zones and outposts as their targets. Again, according to intelligence data, eastern Tokat, Giresun and the Amanos Mountains in the southern province of Hatay have been determined as targets of new attacks,” he had said.

Şamil Tayyar from the Star daily said in his column titled “Chaos plan” on April 26 that terrorist attacks might be used to block the constitutional reform package. “The scenes of chaos seen in Samsun [where Ahmet Türk, a former party leader, was attacked] and other provinces are going to become more dramatic. For this to happen, terrorist organizations such as the PKK, Ergenekon and the extreme-left Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front [DHKP/C] might be used. Some groups will work in cooperation with theses organizations in the provinces of Giresun and Samsun,” he wrote.

Based on an e-mail sent to the Kayseri Police Department on April 20, Tayyar argued in his column yesterday that the assaults on Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız and Türk, former leader of the now-defunct Democratic Society Party (DTP), in recent weeks were organized by the same forces. Tayyar says the ultranationalist Turkish Revenge Brigade (TİT) is behind the two assaults, according to the tip-off e-mail. The investigation launched into the attack on Yıldız has confirmed Tayyar’s arguments.

Tüzmen: Youths are used in provocations

In line with the two journalists’ warnings, there was an attempted attack on another government official on Sunday. Tension was high at a funeral for Spc. Sgt. Metin Can, who died in the Dağlıca area of Hakkari’s Yüksekova district on Friday. At the funeral at Hoşkadem Mosque in Adana’s Kozan district, a small group chanted slogans against the government. The group also attempted to attack Justice and Development Party (AK Party) Mersin deputy Kürşat Tüzmen, but they were stopped by riot police. Some people kicked the car Tüzmen left in.

Commenting on the attempted attack, Tüzmen said he believes that the young people who tried to assault him are being provoked and manipulated by some circles. “On the one hand, the terrorist organization is threatening us and on the other, those who claim to be nationalists are protesting against us,” he said.

There have also been claims that the group at the funeral tried to provoke the family of the slain soldier ahead of the attack. The police are now investigating whether recent assaults during soldiers’ funerals were ordered by TİT.

The organization is believed to be behind a number of assassinations and unsolved murders in Turkey’s recent history. The brigade claimed responsibility for an armed attack in 1998 on Akın Birdal, who was president of the Human Rights Association (İHD) at the time. The politician was seriously injured in the attack. The armed group was also allegedly behind a bombing at Diyarbakır’s Koşuyolu Park in 2006 that left 10 people dead. It also claimed responsibility for a 1999 attack on a restaurant in the northern Iraqi city of Kirkuk, in which 55 people were killed. A meeting on normalizing relations between Kurds and Arabs in the region was being held at the restaurant when the attack occurred.

The İstanbul 13th High Criminal Court, which is currently hearing the trial of Ergenekon, a clandestine criminal organization accused of plotting to overthrow the government, is examining whether the brigade could be working for Ergenekon.

Meanwhile, AK Party Adana Provincial Chairman Mustafa Kebude claimed that the Workers’ Party (İP) and the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) were behind the provocation in Kozan on Sunday. Holding a press conference yesterday, Kebude showed some photographs taken during the incident and said some people in the group were members of the İP.

The Adana Governor’s Office also announced yesterday that an investigation has been launched into the incident.

Marginal groups could provoke university students, police chief warns

National Police Chief Oğuz Kağan Köksal has warned Turkish police chiefs to take the necessary precautions against possible acts of violence by extremist groups throughout the country intended to incite university students to violence.

In a circular reportedly sent to 81 police chiefs, Köksal warned of new provocative acts that could follow the assaults in recent weeks on Energy and Natural Resources Minister Taner Yıldız and former leader of the now-defunct Democratic Society Party (DTP) Ahmet Türk. Both had been punched in the face by nationalist attackers opposing the government’s attempts to address the Kurdish issue through reforms.

Noting that extremist groups are planning to carry out activities to trigger tension and disrupt peace in society, Köksal said university students will be used in these activities.

“Precautions should be heightened ahead of and following open or closed meetings, congresses and press conferences attended by leading state figures, deputies and political party leaders,” the circular read.

The national police chief also listed some precautions that should be taken, such as: “Personnel who take part in such meetings should be informed before the meetings; officials should work in coordination with civil society organizations; personnel on duty at these events should have the necessary equipment; and crisis management strategies should be immediately applied if unexpected incidents occur.” Köksal said police chiefs are responsible for the implementation of these measures. Sedat Güneç Ankara