The Threat of Terrorism in Turkey

Terror in Turkey? Or just a lot of gobble?

The words ‘Terrorist threat’ can inspire many feelings in travellers: Fear, unease, and in many cases, irrationality.

We’ll say it from the start though. It is no secret that Turkey is prone to terrorist attacks, with many committed by the
Kurdistan Workers Party – a Kurdish separatist organization fighting for the establishment of a Kurdish state.

There is no way of putting it lightly – terrorists can attack in Turkey, and when they do, people get injured and killed.

The Australian Department Of Foreign Affairs and Trade has issued warnings saying travellers should exercise a “high degree
of caution” due to the level of threat, with some areas flagged as “reconsider your need for travel”. The British Foreign Office
also says travellers should “remain vigilant at all times”.

Where do the dangers lie?

The key to minimizing your risk is sticking to the West of Turkey – in 2010 only 27% of Turkish terror attacks occurred there,
and the majority of those attacks were aimed at police or military units. Terror groups in Turkey, by and large, target workers
with positions of authority and tend to avoid civilians. (Although this is not strictly a rule)

The large majority of terror strikes in the country occur between terrorist groups and Turkish security forces in the East and
South East, and on the border regions with Syria, Iraq and Iran.

However, large sections of the travelling community have not been fazed by the threat of this kind of terrorist activity, and
continue to plan trips to the East.

All things considered, if you are staying in Istanbul or provinces in the West, your mortality is probably at greater threat by
choking on a tasty kebab than it is by the full brunt of an I.E.D.

While Turkey has its dangers, many consider Turkey, and especially Istanbul, to be just as safe as Western countries. It’s not
called the 'Bridge between the West and East' for nothing – Turkey is a highly hospitable country, and is many degrees
removed from its more hard-line Arabic neighbours.

It’s important that warnings issued by your respective foreign offices are heeded but it's also equally important not to eschew
travel to a magnificent part of the world due to paranoia.

If you do decide to travel to Turkey, stay abreast of all local information regarding any potential threats – talk to locals, read
the papers and news websites – stay informed and you will have a safer trip.

Safety At The Dawn Service Pilgrimage

The ANZAC Day Dawn Service on the coast of Gallipoli has become a pilgrimage for many thousands of Australians and New
Zealanders who come to commemorate the fallen in war and reflect on the ANZAC spirit.

But, being a large tourist attraction, some have raised concerns about the safety of the event.

So is the dawn service secure? We asked Mat McLachlan, head of Mat McLachlan Battlefield Tours about what kind of
preventative measures are put in place.

“The security at the Gallipoli Dawn Service is always tightly controlled. Visitors have to submit to bag checks and x-rays, plus
there are hundreds of armed Turkish security personnel in attendance.

“We advise all our visitors to get to the site as early as possible and expect delays due to the high levels of security. The whole
operation is extremely well run and the safety and security of the attendees is the number one priority.

“Security is so tight that the biggest problem we usually have to contend with is passengers who lose patience with the
screening process! But at such an important international event, security has to be given top priority.”
But despite the thick layer of protection, Mat also encourages visitors to Turkey to keep an eye out for any risks.

“We do advise our passengers that there have been terrorist attacks in Turkey in the past and to keep themselves informed of
developments at www.smartraveller.gov.au . There have been no terrorist attacks at Gallipoli during the Dawn Service in the
past.”

“We tell our passengers that security levels at the Dawn Service are extremely high, and therefore this is probably as safe as
they will be during their entire time in Turkey.

“Turkey has had some problems with terrorism in the past, so it is up to every passenger to decide whether they wish to make
the journey or not, but Turkish and Australian authorities treat security at Gallipoli as an absolute priority. In my opinion the
chance of a terror attack at the Dawn Service is very small.”
Covered for terror?

If you are unfortunate enough to be involved in the rare event of a terrorist attack, and are injured, fortunately you are
completely covered for any medical expenses incurred.

However, it is important to check the government status of the area you are visiting – at time of publication the status for
certain areas in Turkey sit at Reconsider Your Need To Travel.

If warnings for these areas change to Do Not Travel by your foreign office, and you are injured, you may have your claim
voided if there is suspicion you placed yourself at voluntary risk.

Terror in Turkey: What lies behind it?

Published time: April 02, 2015 14:39

Police officers stand guard outside Istanbul's police headquarters April 1, 2015. (Reuters/Osman Orsal)
Tags
Arms, Crime, Election, Police, Politics,Religion, Security, Shooting, Terrorism,Turkey, Violence

The spectacular terrorist attack on the Caglayan Justice Palace and its bloody resolution, culminating in the deaths of the
hostage-takers and their hapless hostage, are events that occupy public opinion in Turkey.

But this gruesome episode all but underlines what appears to be at stake in Turkey's upcoming general elections.

Last Tuesday, Turkey was struck by a power blackout of truly gigantic proportions. The Turkish press announced
that "electricity was reportedly cut in 79 of Turkey's 81 provinces,” including the country's metropolitan population centers such
as Istanbul, Ankara and Izmir. The outage started at 10:36 a.m. and persisted till about 9 p.m. The Turkish daily Hurriyet
quoted electricity officials as saying that this was Turkey's biggest blackout in 15 years. In fact, Turkey's PM Ahmed Davutoglu
declared that "every angle, including terrorism, is being investigated" in connection with this nationwide event crippling the
nation's infrastructure and hampering people's lives.
In response, the Minister for Energy and Natural Resources, Taner Yıldız came out and said "at this stage whether or not its
terrorism is a big possibility. I can't say either whether it is a cyber attack.” While the country was enveloped in this electric fog
of disinformation, a very real terrorist attack was perpetrated in the heart of Istanbul's judiciary: around lunchtime two
members of the outlawed group Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (or DHKP-C) entered the Caglayan Justice
Palace, Europe's largest courthouse covering an area of more than 300,000 square meters that was opened in 2011. This
bombastic building has really come to symbolize the ruling Justice and Development Party's (or AKP) tight hold over the
country's justice system and public bureaucracy.
Terror Strikes and Martyrdom Ensues

The two men subsequently identified as Safak Yayla and Bahtiyar Dogruyol apparently entered the Caglayan Justice Palace
dressed in judge’s robes and proceeded to the sixth floor where the office of the prosecutor Mehmet Selim Kiraz is located.
Yayla and Dogruyol then took the prosecutor hostage:"a statement published on a website called Halkın Sesi included a photo of
Kiraz with a gun pointed at his head.” The prosecutor had been supervising the investigation into the death of Berkin Elvan, the
teenager hit by a tear gas canister in the course of the Gezi Park protests in the summer of 2013. The statement indicated that
Kiraz was to be “punished by death” if demands were not met by 3:36 p.m. - three hours after the hostage crisis began. The
DHKP-C demanded that the police officers “who murdered Berkin Elvan confess their crimes during a live broadcast” to then be
tried in “people's courts.”In addition, the statement also called for the dropping of any charges against those prosecuted for
their involvement in protesting Berkin Elvan's death.
During the standoff, Yayla and Dogruyol used the prosecutor's mobile telephone, repeatedly calling two separate numbers on
Bulgaria and Greece - arguably to consult with other DHKP-C members hiding abroad. Then, the terrorists Yayla and Dogruyol
requested that a delegation conduct negotiations with the authorities on their behalf. As a result, in the course of a six-hour
period negotiations were held between the police and the hostage-takers. But in the end, a special forces' team launched an
operation which started out with an explosion followed by an ominous silence, and, in turn, followed by multiple gunshots.
The two DHKP-C members were killed, while the prosecutor Kiraz was severely wounded by gunshots to his body and head,
arguably fired by the DHKP-C members. Mehmet Selim Kiraz was then rushed to the hospital where he passed away towards
midnight. And now, as a result of a law passed in 2012 by the AKP government, the slain prosecutor will attain the rank of a
martyr. According to Islamic tradition, those who die in the service of their faith become martyrs and are thus assured their
place in Paradise (Cfr. Quran 22.58). In the Turkish Republic, however, soldiers dying in battle or as a result of a terrorist
attack were traditionally regarded as martyr, a clear indication of the fact that nationalism in many ways was meant to replace
Islam during the Kemalist era (1923-2002). But this changed in 2012, as explained by then-still-PM Recep Tayyip
Erdogan: "We are including civilians who die in terror events into the category of martyrs... and their relatives will receive
compensation and a monthly allowance.”
Turkish riot police stand guard in front of the Justice Palace in Istanbul March 31, 2015. (Reuters/Osman Orsal)
A second terror strike

The following day, 1 April 2015, other DHKP-C members launched an equally audacious as well as foolhardy terror attack at
about 17.50. This time their goal was the Police Headquarters on Vatan Avenue (commonly referred to as the Emniyet) in the
Aksaray district of Istanbul.

Two individuals, a man and a woman, carried out the assault - the woman being armed with a rifle, two hand grenades and one
pistol. The ensuing firefight led to the death of the latter, identified later as Elif Sultan Kalsen, while the man apparently
managed to escape. Two police officers were also injured as a result.

Recently Kalsen had come to public attention, as security footage of her evading police capture in the wider Taksim area was
aired on various Turkish television channels. Following the foiled attack, Vatan Avenue was closed for traffic till 23.00. Later
on, at about 04.30 in the morning, the police sent out various special forces' teams to conduct simultaneous searches at a
number of addresses in the popular Okmeydanı area of Istanbul. The teams arrested a number of suspects, whom they started
questioning in the course of the following hours. Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who was abroad at the time of the
attack on the Caglayan Justice Palace, immediately visited the relatives of the murdered prosecutor upon his return home.

Erdogan and his wife Emine spent about an hour consoling Kiraz family members, and upon leaving their house, he addressed
the crowd that had gathered outside: "I believe that the martyrdom of our brother will [transform Mehmet Selim Kiraz into] a
patron saint of a new blossoming in this country. This [then] will God-willing become a means for the awakening of our people . . .
As people who believe in fate and providence, we, as people of this civilization [arguably referring to the religion of Islam] will
God-willing continue on [this] road [towards a New Turkey] with patience, [and] faith.” In this way, Erdogan cunningly utilizes
the tragedy to push his own agenda, thereby even transforming Kiraz into a quasi-holy figure supporting the AKP and its
policy aims from the afterlife.
The DHKP-C vs. the AKP

In this way, two DHKP-C suicide commandos managed to grab the wider public's attention, while highlighting the lax security
precautions in Turkey's courthouses and basically turning the wider population's sympathies towards the ruling AKP and its
leadership.

The dead Yayla, Dogruyol, and Kalsen belonged to an organization that is listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, but also by the
US and the European Union. The DHKP-C's most notorious action dates back to the previous century when its members staged
an attack on the so-called Sabancı Towers in Levent, Istanbul. On 9 January 1996, Mustafa Duyar, İsmail Akkol ve Fehriye Erdal
gunned down the businessmen Ozdemir Sabancı and Haluk Gorgun, as well as secretary Nilgun Hasefe. With this cold-blooded
murder, the DHKP-C made its mark on Turkish society as an extreme leftwing, Marxist-Leninist and anti-capitalist terror
group bent on disrupting the Turkish state and its workings. As an offshoot of the Revolutionary Left (or Dev Sol), the group
formally took shape in 1994 under the leadership of Dursun Karatas (1952-2008) and has since continued its fight against the
Turkish government which it considers to be a pawn of the imperialist West. As a result, the DHKP-C is particularly known for
its anti-U.S. and anti-NATO stance, the two mainstays of Western imperialism for many.

During the Kemalist era (1923-2002), the Western orientation of the Turkish state was all but proverbial, particularly after
1952 when Turkey joined NATO as its first and still only Muslim member. Hence, arguing that Turkey was but a pawn of
Western imperialism seemed easy. The group has continued its fight into the 21st century, as the overtly Islamic AKP ushered
in a post-Kemalist regime that appears keen to reassess and revitalize Turkey's Islamic past and identity. Nevertheless, the
AKP leadership also appears very much beholden to the dictates of Washington.
Prior to the accession of Tayyip Erdogan as PM, DHKP-C members killed two policemen and an Australian tourist (in 2001).
During the current administration, the DHKP-C appears to have been behind a suicide bombing at the US Embassy (2013),
directly targeting the local lair of the great bogeyman himself. Whereas very recently, on 6 January 2015, a female member of
the group blew herself up at the so-called tourist police station in the Istanbul district of Sultanahmet, killing one officer and
injuring another. Afterwards the group claimed responsibility, declaring that the suicide attack was meant to "to punish the
murderers of Berkin Elvan" and "to call the fascist state that protects AKP's corrupt, stealing ministers to account.” In this way,
the organization appropriated the anti-AKPGezi protests for its own cause. At the same time, it seems now that the DHKP-C
has singled out the AKP-led government as its current target. In all likelihood, this re-calibration of the Marxist-Leninist and
anti-capitalist terror group's object was necessitated by the AKP's openly neo-liberal economic policies, and particularly the
corruption allegations, popularly known as #AKPgate, aimed at various high-ranking AKP members, including the charismatic
Tayyip Erdogan. In the end, one could argue, the DHKP-C has now become the sworn enemy of Turkey's ruling party and its
neo-liberal stance disguised under an Islamic veil of obfuscation and demagoguery.

Turkey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan. (Reuters/Edgard Garrido)

The Islamic Great Eastern Raiders-Front or IBDA-C

But, in some ways, this re-calibration also seems to operate the other way around. Recently, a bomb attack on the offices of the
Islamist periodical Adımlar Dergisi was immediately attributed to the DHKP-C by papers close to the AKP-led government.
Whereas, it seems that on 19 March, six days before the actual attack, a group calling itself the People's Defense Unit (or Halk
Savunma announced via Twitter Birligi) that the people behind the periodical were to be punished for "legalizing the
murderers.”
As such, the Adımlar Dergisi is closely affiliated with the group Islamic Great Eastern Raiders-Front (or IBDA-C). According to
Yoni Fighel, a researcher at the Israeli Center for Special Studies (CSS), IBDA-C is"basically a Sunni Salafist group that advocates
Islamic rule in Turkey,” basing themselves primarily on the writings and ideas of the poet and intellectual Necip Fazıl Kısakurek
(1904-83).
These days, the works of Kısakurek enjoy great popularity in Turkey, as his work is universally praised by such prominent
figures like the President, Tayyip Erdogan, and the PM, Davutoglu. Kısakurek, Fighel explains, really "sought to establish
another Turkish caliphate throughout the entire Islamic world, based on a restoration of pure Islamic values.” Arguably, such a
way of thinking aligns quite well with the AKP's medium to long-term goals for the Republic of Turkey. As a result, it should
come as no surprise that the ruling AKP appears rather sympathetic to the organization of IBDA-C and its members. The IBDA-
C leader Salih Mirzabeyoglu, better known as the Commander (or as he was known after birth in 1950, Salih Izzet Erdis) was
sentenced to life imprisonment for heading a terrorist organization aiming to topple the political regime through armed
struggle on 29 December 1998. But, rather unexpectedly, he was pardoned on 23 July 2014, and even met with Erdogan some
four months later. And, it appears the AKP very easily and quite self-assuredly refers to the Marxist-Leninist DHKP-C as a
handy and useful scapegoat whenever a terror event occurs, as if this organization somehow crystallizes all the unsavory
qualities deemed anti-Islamic and unbefitting the New Turkey that is now in the process of being built and solidified in
accordance with Islamic precepts arguably covering up neo-liberal goals and gains.
In view of the upcoming general elections on 7 June, the timing of the murder of Mehmet Selim Kiraz and the subsequent
attack on the Emniyet on the Vatan Avenue seems calculated to spread a sense of unrest amongst the wider public. Prime
Minister Davutoglu expressed these sentiments at the funeral service of the prosecutor in the Istanbul district of Eyup: "We are
aware that we face an axis of evil and there is an attempt to instigate an atmosphere of chaos ahead of the election.”
As such, pro-government media immediately seized upon the terrorist outrage to denounce the opponents of the AKP as
openly sympathetic to the terrorists. The newspapers Hurriyet, Cumhuriyet, Posta and Bugun, all belonging to Dogan Grubu, a
media holding well-known for its opposition to the AKP, are now being subjected to an investigation over the charge they were
broadcasting "propaganda for the terrorist group.” This gruesome episode will thus further deepen the already existing chasm
between supposedly secular Turks and pious and dutiful AKP supporters. The figure of Erdogan continues to polarize the
population, particularly as he now appears to employ his supposedly impartial position as president to campaign openly for
the ruling AKP and its policy aims. It seems that in the aftermath of this bloody hostage crisis lines are being drawn in the sand.
It seems to me as if the AKP leadership is now really all but repeating the words uttered by George W. Bush in the aftermath of
the 9/11 attack: "Either you are with us, or you are with the terrorists.”
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those
of RT