Turkey’s Loyalties Divided In Combatting Terrorism
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan faces the challenge of divided loyalties within the government and the Justice and Development Party (AKP) in dealing with anti-terrorism legislation, writes Semih Idiz.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan frequently accuses the West of failing to cooperate with Turkey against terrorism. He raised his voice again after the recent suicide bombing at the US Embassy in Ankara. Erdogan appears justified, too: the bomber, Ecevit Sanli, came to Turkey from Germany for the attack, entering the country via Greece.
The German media has reported that Sanli wasn't under significant police scrutiny in Germany, despite his known record as an active member of the ultra-leftwing urban terrorist group the Revolutionary Peoples’ Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C).
Erdogan’s real target, however, is the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which is outlawed in Turkey and listed as a terrorist organization in most Western countries. But past and present human-rights violations against Kurds in Turkey have colored Western perceptions of the PKK, and have enabled the PKK's members to enjoy safe havens in various European capitals.
This was the case with the three female PKK activists killed in Paris in January. One of them, Sakine Cansiz, a founding member of the PKK, was residing freely in France — where the political elite have long been sympathetic towards Turkey’s Kurds — even though Turkey had placed her name on Interpol’s wanted list.
