Erdogan policy’s disastrous consequences

Crescent International

Shawwal 24, 1436 2015-08-10

Daily News Analysis

by Crescent International

Multiple bomb attacks in different parts of Turkey point to the problems President Recep Tayip Erdogan has created for himself. He only has himself to blame for refusing to listen to the people by respecting their wishes that they so clearly demonstrated during the June 7 elections. The AKP was reduced to a minority in parliament.

Istanbul,
Monday August 10, 2015, 17:54 DST

A series of attacks in different parts of Turkey have left the AKP-led government reeling. A landmine explosion in the predominantly Kurdish area of southeastern Turkey claimed the lives of four police officers and seriously wounded another earlier today. The device that caused the explosion in the Silopi district of Sırnak province was “suspected to have been planted by Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)” members, according to the Turkish daily, Today’s Zamannewspaper.

In another attack in the Sırnak Province, a soldier was killed when a military helicopter was targeted, also allegedly by the PKK. These attacks occurred against the backdrop of an attack on the US Consulate building in Istanbul resulting in a gunfight with the police. No one was hurt in the attack. The Turkish government blamed the outlawed group, the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C), a Marxist–Leninist outfit, for the attack.

As if these attacks were not enough, at least five police officers and two civilians were injured in a bomb attack on a police station in Istanbul. Further, a police chief was also killed when assailants opened fire on a team of police officers examining the scene of a Sunday car bomb attack on a police station in Istanbul's Sultanbeyli district. The spate of bombings and attacks appear linked to the current policies of the Turkish government.

Last month, the Turkish government headed by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu but in reality its policies determined by President Recep Tayip Erdogan, decided to join the fight against the takfiri terrorists. While the Turkish government decision followed a bomb attack in Sanliurfa, in southeastern Turkey that killed 33 people and injured more than 100, Ankara has instead targeted the Kurdish PKK. The bomb attack was carried out by the takfiri terrorists that the Turkish government has backed against the government of President Bashar al Asad for several years now.

The vast majority of Turks are opposed to the government’s current policy of backing the takfiri terrorists against Syria. This was reflected in the June 7 parliamentary elections when the AKP was soundly defeated snatching away its clear majority in parliament it had enjoyed since 2002. Far from respecting the wishes of the people, Erdogan has embarked on a scorched-earth policy against the Kurds. Since a pro-Kurdish party, the MHP secured 80 seats in parliament, Erdogan is trying to garner support of the rightwing fascist elements in Turkey by targeting the Kurds.

This is a short-sighted policy and will cause numerous difficulties for Turkey. Since the June 7 election, the other political parties have refused to enter into a coalition with Erdogan. The latter is also hoping to precipitate another election hence his attacks on the Kurds. He hopes to turn a sufficient number of people in Turkey against the Kurds to secure a majority in parliament. Erdogan is unlikely to achieve this goal but he is prepared to kill a large number of Kurds as well as destabilize the country.

Such cynicism is unlikely to sit well with the Turkish people that are already tired of Erdogan’s policy vis-a-vis Syria. Erdogan has demonstrably failed to overthrow the government of Bashar al Asad. Instead, he has created difficulties for Turkey. Cynicism, however, is an integral part of secular politics even if played by a politician who claims to represent Islamic values.

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