Creating terror in a country such as Turkey with more than 70 million people, and particularly in a city the size of Istanbul, will plunge the country not just into dismay but rather into chaos. The attacks in Gungoren, a suburb of Istanbul, last Sunday killed 17 and wounded 150 innocent civilians. These attacks were designed to create chaos and intimidate the Government. So far, no terrorist organisation has claimed responsibility. If any group does, the whole web of terrorist organisations will have to shoulder the responsibility because in Turkey they are all interwoven, as the recent arrests indicate.
Turkey's President Abdullah Gul, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Deputy Prime Minister Hayati Yazici have all condemned the attack and were careful not to pin it on any terrorist organisation because they all believed that this was not the issue. Indeed Mr Erdogan made this point very clear, calling upon the media not to be a tool for the terrorists by propagating their vile actions and atrocities.
Naming and blaming a specific terrorist organisation without solid evidence would have been hasty and unwise for the following reasons: The attacks occurred only a few hours before the hearing set up on the question of outlawing the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) at the Constitutional Court. The AKP has been brought before the court by the chief attorney, Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya, for its attempt to undermine Turkey's secular regime and its alleged anti-laicist activities. It was only a week ago that the Turkish Army had intensified its attacks and bombings in northern Iraq to destroy bases of the PKK, a separatist organisation which Turkey has been fighting since 1984. About 86 suspects have been arrested, and perhaps many more will be arrested and brought to justice, in order to crack down on the Ergenekon nationalist group which has its roots in the 1950s and is allegedly responsible for the political killings of Ugur Mumcu, Necip Hablemitoglu and Hrant Dink.
It is very difficult to determine who is responsible for the attacks. Zubeyr Aydar, a PKK leader acting as a spokesman, has denied any involvement in them It is possible an organisation or a group seeking to create chaos in Turkey and undermine government authority could be responsible for such an atrocious attack. But it is unlikely such an organisation would take open responsibility. It is very unusual for such an unpatriotic attack against ordinary Turks to occur in Turkey.
Gungoren is a middle-class suburb on the European side of Istanbul where people on average incomes do their shopping. The nights in Istanbul now are cool and beautiful, and more suitable than the daytime for the people to stroll and enjoy. The blasts occurred around 10pm, at short intervals, one bomb going off after the other: the first bomb caused little damage and wounded few, but attracted a crowd of people who rushed to help. The second bomb was purposely aimed at those people who eagerly ran to render assistance. The purpose behind the bombs was no doubt to create chaos and instability, but the purpose behind the second bomb was mainly to damage the benevolence of the people, an act that can greatly harm not only Turkish culture but also Turkish unity. These terrorist attacks were indeed the most unethical ever to have taken place in Turkey.
Those responsible for these attacks should assure themselves that such attacks will never intimidate the Turkish people or the Government, and will never change the decision of the Constitutional Court regarding the closing down of the AKP. The Turkish Army will go on attacking and bombing PKK bases in northern Iraq as long as they are there. Arrests in connection with Ergenekon will continue, and its adherents will be brought to justice.
Turkey will continue with its reforms to win accession to EU and establish a bridge between the West and the Middle East. The Cyprus question will eventually be solved, pleasing both parties but never at the expense of the Turkish community in northern Cyprus.
Although the Constitutional Court had already concluded its verdict in favour of the AKP on Wednesday, had the verdict been to close down the party the general opinion was that it would have come back much stronger. The decision of the court clearly proves that democracy in Turkey will always prevail.
Dr M. Mehdi Ilhan is Turkish Studies Convener at the Centre for Arab and Islamic Studies (The Middle East & Central Asia) at the ANU.