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ANKARA: Mafia state in Turkey behind blasts: HDP leader

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Ankara-terrorThe leader of Turkey’s main pro-Kurdish party has blamed a “mafia state” in the country over the death of more than 85 people in twin blasts in the capital, Ankara, that targeted pro-Kurdish members and activists.

“We are faced with a huge massacre. A vicious, barbaric attack has been committed,” Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) leader Selahattin Demirtas said in Ankara on Saturday.

“We are faced with a murderous state which has turned into a mafia and a state mentality which acts like a serial killer,” Demirtas said.

At least 86 people were killed and 126 wounded when twin explosions targeted activists who had convened outside Ankara’s main train station for a peace rally organised by leftist and pro-Kurdish opposition groups.

Demirtas said the attack was a repeat of the bombing of an HDP rally in the southeastern city of Diyarbakir ahead of June 7 elections and a July 20 bombing blamed on Daesh Takfiris in the town of Suruc that killed scores of pro-Kurdish activists. The bombing of the HDP rally in Diyarbakir killed four people while the bomb attack in Suruc left 32 pro-Kurdish activists dead and hundred others wounded.

“Is it possible that a state with such a strong intelligence network did not have prior information on the attack?” Demirtas said, adding, “It’s a continuation of the type of attacks in Diyarbakir and Suruc. Is it possible that it [the state] didn’t have any information in Suruc, Diyarbakir?”

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has declared three days of national mourning over the blasts in Ankara.

The premier said the terrorist attacks target democracy, stability and unity in Turkey.

Davutoglu said there were “strong signs” that the blasts were due to two bombers blowing themselves up, adding that Daesh Takfiris, the PKK militants and the outlawed leftist Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) are potential suspects. He added that an investigation is continuing into the attack.

The Turkish government had earlier described the bombings as a “terrorist attack.”

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned the blasts as a “heinous attack” on the country’s “unity” and “peace.” He said the perpetrators would be found and “be delivered to justice.”

The European Union foreign policy chief, Frederica Mogherini, has called on Turkey to stand united against terrorism in the wake of the Ankara bombings.

“Turkish people and all political forces must stand united against terrorists and against all those who try to destabilize a country that is facing many threats,” the EU chief stated.

PKK halts activities in Turkey

Meanwhile, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has called on its members to halt militant activities in Turkey unless they are threatened by an attack.

On Saturday, the Firat news agency, which is close to the PKK, cited the group’s head as saying that the militants had been ordered to stop activities inside Turkey following calls from both in and out of the country.

The PKK reportedly said its militants would avoid acts that could prevent “fair and just election,” which is scheduled to be held on November 1. In the June polls Erdogan’s party lost its overall majority after HDP’s major gains.

The PKK announcement came just hours after the Ankara blasts.

Turkey military operations

Turkey has been engaged in one of its biggest security operations in the southern border region in the recent past. The Turkish military has been conducting offensives against alleged positions of the Daesh Takfiri terrorists in northern Syria as well as those of the PKK in northern Iraq and southeastern Turkey.

The security operations began in the wake of the deadly July 20 bombing in Suruc. On July 22, the PKK claimed responsibility for the killing of two Turkish police officers, saying they were cooperating with Daesh.

The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.

On Friday, the PKK announced its readiness to strike a new deal with the government in Ankara, three months after the previous two-year ceasefire deal was ended.

Airspace Violation, You Say? Turkey Slams Russia for What Ankara Does Daily to Greece, Iraq, Syria

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1025112881Russian fighter jet briefly entered Turkish airspace earlier this month causing uproar, but media outlets failed to report that the Turkish Air Force intentionally does what Russia did accidentally and on a far larger scale – it violates Greek airspace daily, a German website stated.

“One could understand the emotional outburst of the Turks if it was not completely artificial. … They should not get so upset when they themselves have long violated the airspace of their neighbor,” Alles Schall und Rauch noted.

On Monday alone, Turkey violated Greek airspace four times, the media outlet reported. Greek authorities recorded a total of 1.306 airspace violations committed by 101 Turkish military aircraft from January until August 2015. But this figure pales in comparison to January 2014 when approximately a thousand violations allegedly took place.

Greek military aircraft frequently flies over Turkey’s territory as well, Alles Schall und Rauch noted, referring to this as a cat-and-mouse game.

“By the way, the Russian military aircraft did not really violate Turkish airspace, because Ankara unilaterally moved the border 8 kilometers (5 miles) into Syrian territory. It has been a so-called buffer zone since June 2012. At the time a rocket fired from Syria shot down a Turkish military plane that violated Syria’s airspace,” the media outlet explained.
On October 3, a Sukhoi Su-30 multirole fighter (NATO reporting name: Flanker-C) entered Turkish airspace for a few seconds due to poor weather conditions. Moscow officially apologized for what it referred to as a “misunderstanding” and pledged to avoid such incidents in the future.
In an interview with EurActiv, Russia’s envoy to the EU Vladimir Chizhov noted that “all lines of contact between Moscow and Ankara are open. Including military to military. The Russian military are in an on-line mode of contact with the Turkish military, to discuss any issues that might arise.” moreover,  Airspace Violation of daily bombing northern Iraq killing kurdish women children.

Turkey: Bomb attack injures 24 in SE Turkey, Ankara blames PKK

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96fa701e-61bd-48ab-ba4a-5a808dfd4375A bomb blast has injured 24 people in the southeastern Turkish province of Mardin amid the escalation of tensions between Ankara and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

According to Turkey’s state-run Anadolou news agency, the bomb attack targeted a bus carrying police forces in Mardin late Friday, injuring 24 people, including 10 policemen.

The attack was carried out by the PKK militants, the agency said, adding that the wounded were taken to Kiziltepe and Mardin hospitals to receive medical treatment.

Earlier in the day, the PKK supporters launched a rally in the city of Istanbul to protest against Ankara’s growing crackdown on Kurdish militants.

The demonstrators reportedly blocked the streets by lighting fires, and engaged in clashes with the police. Turkish forces used tear gas and water cannon to disperse the angry protesters.

The demo came after clashes between Turkish security forces and Kurdish militants claimed the lives of seven people, including a seven-year-old boy, in the southeast of the country.

The PKK has been fighting for an autonomous Kurdish region inside Turkey since the 1980s. The conflict has left tens of thousands of people dead.

There has been renewed conflict between the PKK and Turkish security forces since July. Turkey has been launching airstrikes against purported Daesh targets in Syria as well as PKK positions in Iraq after a Daesh bomb attack left 32 people dead in the southeastern Turkish town of Suruc on July 20.

Reports say that over 60 Turkish security personnel have lost their lives since the recent flare-up of clashes between Ankara and Kurdish militants in June.

Ankara disinformation on Syria causes diplomatic fiasco with Washington

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ankara-disinformation-on-syria-causes-diplomatic-fiasco-with-washington_8517_720_400Washington has had to dismiss statements from the Turkish Foreign Ministry three times in the past two weeks pertaining to developments concerning Syria and the coalition efforts against ISIL.

On Thursday, a day after Pentagon spokeswoman Commander Elissa Smith said that the United States launched air raids against ISIL from the İncirlik airbase in southern Turkey, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu caused controversy when he proclaimed to the press that, “The US has yet to hit Daesh [ISIL] through Turkey,” adding that only “reconnaissance flights” started from the base.  Report BGN

Later in the day, both the US Central Command and the Turkish Military confirmed that the strikes took place. Çavuşoğlu’s aide claimed the prior statement was a “misunderstanding.” He added, “Mr. Minister had wanted to say that there were no Turkish jets [hitting ISIL targets].”

The safe zone that never was

Thursday’s back and forth between Ankara and Washington served only as a mirror for Wednesday.

Another controversy erupted when foreign ministry undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu claimed that both sides had agreed that a safe zone was to be created in Syria. “The control and protection of this region cleared of (ISIL) will be conducted by Syrian opposition forces and the necessary air defence and support for this … will be provided by the United States and Turkey.”

The response from Washington came with Mark Toner from the US State Department emphasizing “We’ve been pretty clear from the podium and elsewhere saying there’s no zone, no safe haven—we’re not talking about that here. What we’re talking about is a sustained effort to drive ISIL out of the region.”

The PYD and YPG

Another point of difference between Turkey and the United States regarding tackling ISIL has been the role of Syrian Kurdish Groups such as The Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed structure, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), with Ankara against the principle of supporting the groups.

The state-run Anatolia News Agency was on the forefront saying that Turkey and the US agreed not to allow the PYD to enter any area cleared off from ISIL. When asked if the US will allow a potential attack from Turkey against the PYD and the YPG, Toner answered back “No, no, our understanding with Turkey is that they will not attack, and we would not agree to that.”

Turkey Minister: Ankara to return EP report because of reference to 1915 events

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EP-Turkey-reportTurkey will return European Parliament’s report because of reference to the resolution on the 1915 events, EU Affairs Minister Volkan Bozkır told reporters.

He said Ankara does not accept the report that is the most “unfortunate” decision by the European Parliament, Hurriyet Daily News reported.

A reference to a resolution on the events of 1915 was added to EP’s Turkey Progress Report at the last minute, the Minister said.

“On the grounds of this reference, we find this report unacceptable. It will be returned back to EP by our Permanent Rep to the EU in Brussels,” Bozkir stated, adding that Turkey “never accepted and will never accept that the events of 1915 be named as genocide.”

European Parliament members have adopted a resolution commemorating the 100th anniversary of the Armenian Genocide with majority of votes in April.

Ankara Warns European Parliament about Mentioning Armenian Genocide

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Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkir

Turkey’s EU Minister Volkan Bozkir

ANKARA—Turkey’s EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkir, speaking to journalists after talks with the European Parliament’s (EP) Turkey Rapporteur Kati Piri, said that Ankara would declare the EP’s upcoming progress report for Turkey “null and void” if it mentions anything about the Armenian Genocide, the Daily Sabah reports.

Bozkir made the threats while referring to the European Parliament’s recognition of the Armenian Genocide in April this year. He also emphasized that this would be the first time that Turkey rejects a progress report by the EP.

The EP in April adopted a resolution that urges all EU member states and Turkey to recognize the 1915 massacre and exile of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire as genocide. Turkey continues to deny the Armenian Genocide, defying the consensus of most Western historians.

Bozkir also added that the EP should avoid mentioning Turkey’s Kurdish nationalist PKK party, who have advocated for greater rights and independence for Turkey’s Kurds. Bozkir revealed that his main concern was the EP’s planned declassification of the PKK as a terrorist organization. He warned: “If there is any reference to the removal of the PKK from the black list in the EU, it is impossible for us to accept the report.”

He further added that Turkey will not accept the report if it hinders continuation of the negotiation process and implied an end to the EU’s economic contributions to Turkey.

He said that this year’s progress report is yet to be announced even though it should have been published two months ago and added: “The report is getting more complicated with changing proposals as 420 proposals have been requested.”

Turkey has been a candidate country to join the EU since 1999. Negotiations for the accession to the EU began in 2005. Turkey must comply with 35 policy areas, or chapters, setting out reforms needed to become a member.

Gökçek questions origins of German-Turkish politician over ‘genocide’ remarks

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Genocide denier, Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek. (Photo: DHA)

Genocide denier, Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek. (Photo: DHA)

Ankara Mayor Melih Gökçek on Tuesday asked if the leader of Germany‘s Greens, German-Turkish politician Cem Özdemir, is Armenian due to Özdemir’s remarks calling on Turkey to recognize as genocide the killings of Armenians during the last years of the Ottoman Empire.

“I am asking the deputy of German Greens Party just out of curiosity… Please answer, Cem Özdemir… Are you of Armenian origin?” Gökçek asked in remarks posted on Twitter.

Gökçek then shared a two-minute video about the countries that accuse Turkey of committing genocide and said “Those who blame us for genocide should accept these genocides first.”

The video, apparently a part of a documentary aired on state-run TRT, lists the countries’ previous acts that, the video said, amounted to genocide.

In his recent remarks during an interview with the Armenian Service of Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, Özdemir said Ankara should normalize bilateral relations with Yerevan and open the closed border with its easterly neighbor ahead of the upcoming centennial commemoration of the 1915 events and that Turkey “will eventually recognize the [1915 events as] genocide.”

Gökçek also accused Germany on Wednesday of practicing double standards. He shared an online news portal website link that reports Germany describing as chaos the anti-austerity protests ahead of the inauguration ceremony for the European Central Bank’s new headquarters in Frankfurt. The news portal also claims that Germany supported nationwide Gezi Park protests in Turkey in the summer of 2013 by using the common slogan during the Gezi Park protests, “Do not surrender.”

Gökçek, known for his controversial remarks, claimed in January that Israeli intelligence Mossad is behind the deadly Paris attacks that took place on Jan. 7 and Jan. 9.

Chechen leader in Ankara ‘killed for $1 million’

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chech.thumbA man who is suspected of involvement in the killing of the separatist Chechen Republic of Ichkeria’s honorary consul in Ankara in 2013 told friends that his group committed the crime for $1 million, a witness has told the court, the Hurriyet Daily News reports.

Medet Ünlü, 53, was killed by armed assailants at the honorary consulate in Ankara on May 22, 2013.
Turkish citizen Murat Aluç was arrested as the main suspect on Oct. 11, 2014. He confessed to the crime, claiming that pro-Russian Chechens in Turkey “promised him a life in Ukraine” for the assassination.

Ö.Ş., another detained suspect who is accused of hiding Aluç from law enforcement for months, was released by the court pending trial, despite the prosecutor’s request that he be arrested.

A witness told the prosecutor in Ankara on Jan. 28 that Aluç was wearing a different hat every time he left Ö.Ş’s house during his time as a fugitive following the murder, daily Hürriyet has learned.

“We killed Medet Ünlü for $1 million. We were planning to kill five more people from this neighborhood, but the balloon burst,” the witness quoted Ö.Ş. as angrily yelling at a local cafe, according to the testimony.

Aluç told the prosecutor that he received $40,000 from a goldsmith in Istanbul’s Beyazıt neighborhood for the killing.

The Prosecutor’s Office in Istanbul is probing the claim, while the investigation in Ankara is continuing.

Meanwhile, the family of Ünlü has filed a new complaint after the latest testimonies, demanding the released suspects in the case to be arrested.

The family claims that Aluç was hired by a Russian citizen who returned to Russia two days after the murder.

Ünlü was against Russian military operations in Chechnya and had been working as an activist to stop Chechens from going to fight in Syria as jihadists. His wife had claimed in a petition in July that Ünlü had been under the surveillance of Turkish intelligence when he was killed and “suffered oppression” from some circles, particularly pointing to Ramzan Kadirov, the pro-Russian leader of Chechnya who is accused of gross human rights violations in the territory.

In a separate case, five Chechens who were killed in Istanbul between 2009 and 2011 were murdered in the name of Russia’s intelligence agency, according to a Feb. indictment by Bakırköy Public Prosecutor Ahmet Demirhüyük in Istanbul.

A Chechen activist died in Istanbul after being hospitalized with suspected food poisoning on March 2, with some of his relatives and Turkish activists accusing Russia’s intelligence agency of poisoning him.

 

Turkey: Rival groups clash at Ankara University, more than 40 detained

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rival student groups at Ankara University on Thursday. (Photo: DHA)

rival student groups at Ankara University on Thursday. (Photo: DHA)

A clash broke out between rival student groups at ankara university‘s Faculty of Language, History and Geography on Thursday, with around 46 students detained.

Students who were injured by sticks and stones thrown during the fighting were taken to nearby hospitals by ambulance.

One man, reportedly a security guard, was shot by his gun during the tumult; however, it is not known whether he mistakenly shot himself or if the gun was fired by someone else.

Teams from Ankara Police Department’s homicide unit, counterterrorism bureau and crime scene investigation department have been dispatched to the university. Dozens of police officers have also been assigned to the campus and have put security measures in place.

The incident comes on the heels of the killing of a nationalist student at another university in a similar clash. Fırat Yılmaz Çakıroğlu was killed during a fight between supporters of the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) at İzmir-based Ege University last week.