The recent suicide bomb attacks in Ankara – the worst terrorist attack in Turkey’s modern history in which over 100 civilians were killed – is very bad news for the country which is going through a particularly volatile period. The attacks were especially horrendous, first of all because of the high death toll but also because the two suicide bombers targeted a peace rally – of all things – which was protesting against the war between the Turkish military and the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK).
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu initially said the Islamic State, the PKK and left-wing groups were all capable of carrying out such an attack but he later said IS was the main suspects in the atrocity. The IS has not yet claimed responsibility but the apparent aims of the bombers – the destabilisation of Turkey, the creation of more divisions and tensions between Turks and Kurds and increasing polarisation in the country – would suggest that IS could very well have been the perpetrators behind these attacks.
Furthermore, one cannot overlook the fact that IS and the Kurds are fighting each other in Syria and Iraq – with the latter proving to be a remarkable fighting force and managing to regain lost territory from the jihadists. Sadly, this is not the first time that the Kurds in Turkey have been the targets of a terrorist attack. Last July a suicide bomber or bombers attacked a pro-Kurdish peace rally in Suruç in the southeast of the country, killing 37 people. IS is also at war with the Turkish State, so any act of terrorism that can destabilise Turkey obviously serves the interests of the jihadists.
On the other hand, however, critics of the Turkish government, particularly the Kurds, believe it is using IS as a scapegoat for the attacks. Some even suspect that those responsible for the bombings are shadowy ultra-nationalist groups and right-wing elements within Turkey’s security apparatus with unofficial connections to the State. This would be a dreadful development, and difficult to believe, but it is certainly true that the Turkish government, as well as President Recep Tayyip Ergodan, have been stirring up ill-feeling towards the Kurds in the run-up to November’s elections.
This is probably because last June’s elections produced no clear-cut winner, and the ruling AK Party of Mr Davutoglu and Mr Erdogan lost its overall majority, mainly because the pro-Kurdish HDP won parliamentary seats for the first time.
Many Turks also blame the government for the collapse of a historic ceasefire (agreed two years ago) between the government and the PKK in July – which led to a resumption of war between the two sides and a ferocious military campaign by the government against the PKK.
The Turkish government has been stirring up ill-feeling towards the Kurds in the run-up to November’s elections
Critics accuse the Turkish government of deliberately inciting tensions with the PKK in order to win the support of right-wing voters in the November election and regain its overall parliamentary majority at the expense of the Kurdish HDP – which will lose all its parliamentary seats if it receives less than the 10 per cent threshold of votes needed for entry into Parliament.
The atmosphere between the Turkish State and the Kurds is unfortunately not good and there is deep distrust between the two sides. To make things worse, the reaction of the Turkish security forces after the bombings was shameful. Soon after the atrocity took place Kurdish and other activists gathered at a train station – only to be met by riot police firing tear gas at some of those who were trying to help the wounded.
Mr Erdogan condemned the Ankara bombings but said they were no different to PKK attacks on Turkish security forces, which is not a fair comment. The conflict with the Kurds has been going on for decades and is rooted in demands for greater Kurdish autonomy as well as more political and cultural rights. Of course, war is no solution and the best course of action would be a renewal of the ceasefire and a resumption of negotiations between the two sides. Could it be that Mr Edogan fears that the success of PKK-allied Syrian Kurdish militia, together with the autonomous region of Iraqi Kurdistan will entice Turkish Kurds to push for independence?
Turkey is facing a number of serious challenges at the moment. Two million Syrian refugees have been admitted there since the conflict erupted four years ago; it is at war with IS; Russian warplanes have entered its airspace without permission; the war with the Kurds has flared up again after a landmark ceasefire was agreed to two years ago; Turkish society is polarised, and the economy is showing signs of weakening.
What is needed right now is a new ceasefire between the Kurds and the Turkish State and an end to the incitement towards the Kurds. The ruling AKP must end its polarising rhetoric and appeal for national unity so that the whole country can face its challenges together, including the war against IS. After all, shouldn’t Turkey and the Kurds be natural allies against IS?
Nato, of which Turkey is a crucial member, and the EU, of which Turkey is a candidate country, must increase their engagement with Ankara, stress their support for its territorial integrity and security and encourage it to resume a dialogue with the Kurds with the aim of re-establishing a ceasefire between the two sides.