Conflict growing between Kurds and Turks in South Eastern Turkey

[Biomiast]

Hi to all,

Turkey has been suffering from this inner conflict for years because it denies some of the basic rights of its Kurdish minority. For this reason, PKK claims to take up the arms for the Kurds and kill many soldiers as well as some civilians lately, yet they claim it was done by mistake. Two recent attack occured that shows that the conflict between two sides is further escalating. Normally, I defend the rights of the Kurds and looked at PKK with some understanding in the past, but I feel like this has been too much.

While Turkey condemns Syria for its attack against its people, they are not much different in actuality, but this is no excuse for killing a two year old girl by mistake:

Five policemen and three civilians died today in Güroymak district of the southeastern province Bitlis in a suspected roadside bomb explosion.

A bomb that was planted in a manhole went off while a police vehicle was passing, just outside Güroymak, security sources said.

Bitlis Gov. Nurettin Yılmaz told reporters in the eastern city that five police officers and three civilians were killed in the explosion, which was caused by a remote-controlled bomb. “Four other people were injured and are now receiving treatment at the Bitlis State Hospital,” he said.

Security sources said the main suspects in the attack were militants from the outlawed Kurditan Workers’ Party (PKK). The PKK has increased its attacks in recent months, namely against the police and civilian targets.

A 2-year-old girl and her father were among the civilian victims. They were travelling in a van behind a police car, according to reports. Eyewitnesses said a large hole was formed in the spot where the bomb went off. Several people were taken to the hospital, including police officers. Security forces launched a large-scale operation in the region.

President Abdullah Gül called Gov. Yılmaz to obtain information on the terror attack, Anatolia news agency reported.

Meanwhile, 40 people were taken into custody yesterday in simultaneous operations against the Kurdish Communities Union (KCK) in the southern provinces of Mardin, Gaziantep and Adana. In a written statement, the Mardin Police Department said simultaneous operations were carried out in the Kızıltepe, Nusaybin, Derik and Mazıdağı districts early yesterday morning, with a total of 22 people detained. In Adana, gendarmerie teams detained 14 people on alleged links to the KCK, while four others were detained in Gaziantep.

The KCK is the alleged urban wing of the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

Trials against the KCK started last year with 150 defendants, including 12 mayors of southeast Anatolian cities, including influential Diyarbakır Mayor Osman Baydemir. Many local politicians who support Kurdish rights have been put on trial. Some 100 defendants have been held for nearly 18 months.

The case is in a deadlock because the court refuses to allow the suspects to give testimony in Kurdish.

http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/n.php?n=ankara-turkey-2011-10-18


And today, 26 soldiers died because of attacks on military outposts. Turkey, unlike USA doesn't have a professional army, military service is mandatory and if you area conscientous objector, they threw you into prision. So here we are talking about soldiers that are there against their will and hoping that their service time expires before anybody attacks their posts to kill them, so they can go back to their family and children. And now 26 of them is dead. This will also further escalate the tension between Turks and Kurdish minority, so we can see some violent confrontation in the future.

Twenty-six members of the Turkish security forces were killed and 22 were injured in the southeastern province of Hakkari early on Wednesday in simultaneous attacks carried by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK).

Terrorists attacked several military and police buildings in the Çukurca district and Hakkari's city center and 26 soldiers and police officers were killed. At least 22 soldiers were also wounded when the terrorists opened fire on military outposts in Çukurca and Yüksekova districts in Hakkari province on the border with Iraq, the sources said. The attacks reportedly occurred simultaneously.

Hakkari Governor Muammer Türker confirmed the attacks in the predominantly Kurdish province of Hakkari but gave no further information about casualties. Earlier, the sources said 21 soldiers had been killed but later raised the toll. Turkey's armed forces could not be immediately reached for comment. The PKK did not immediately claim responsibility for the attacks.

Reuters said citing military sources that Turkish commandos crossed into northern Iraq in hot pursuit of the terrorists after the Hakkari attacks.

It was the deadliest PKK attack in several years. Around 100 terrorists were believed to have participated in the attacks, according to TRT television. The terrorists fled to northern Iraq at dawn after nearly four hours of intense fighting as Turkish military shelled their escape routes, NTV television said.

The attacks come only a day after five policemen and three civilians, including a 2-year-old girl, were killed in a roadside bomb attack planted by the PKK in nearby Bitlis province.

Wednesday's attacks also come only days after Turkish President Abdullah Gül visited troops in the region to boost morale in an area that has seen increased violence in recent months.

Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel and force commanders travelled to Hakkari after the news of the soldiers' deaths. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, who was scheduled to leave the country on Wednesday for an official visit to Kazakhstan, cancelled his trip. There are reports that Erdoğan will also go to Hakkari.

Erdoğan called an emergency meeting at the Prime Ministry after the attacks. Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdağ, Interior Minister İdris Naim Şahim, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Hakan Fidan are attending the meeting.

Turkey's Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu also cancelled a planned trip to Serbia on Wednesday. Finance Minister Mehmet Şimşek cancelled a scheduled trip to the US.

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-260316-pkk-kills-26-security-members-injures-22-in-hakkari-terror-attacks.html

There are those in Turkey that struggle for peace, end of armed conflict, yet their voice is silences because they are accused of collaborating with terrorists. And while the endless debate on who is right continues, people continue to die on both sides.

 

[SeekinTruth]

Could it be part of "fun and games" by foreign intelligence stirring up more trouble in the region? The Mossad/Israeli intelligence and CIA have been very active in the Kurdish regions of Iraq since the invasion.

Part of my mother's family were originally from Bitlis and my father's family was from Diyarbakır (previously call Dikranagerd) before the Armenian Genocide. There's been ethnic tensions there since late 19th century. But it seems like there are hidden forces who stir up trouble for all that time and pour fuel on the fire at specific times to keep the peoples at each other's throats. I don't know what's behind the recent escalation, but historically, foreign involvement has played a big role.

The Kurdish people do have legitimate grievances from long ago, but I think they've always been manipulated and used by others, including during the massacres of Armenians in the 1890's and the Genocide during WWI. I hope things settle down, but I doubt that would be allowed.

 

[Biomiast]

The Kurdish people do have legitimate grievances from long ago, but I think they've always been manipulated and used by others, including during the massacres of Armenians in the 1890's and the Genocide during WWI. I hope things settle down, but I doubt that would be allowed.

Indeed they do. And this is what that makes whole problem muddy. Because of these claims, Kurds take up arms, but as PKK financed their organization with smuggling across Turkey-Iraq borders, the whole organization becomes a remarkable enterprise for money. And those at the top do not want conflict to end, unlike people on both sides who are actually suffering.

Kurds openly admit they are manipulated in Armenian Genocide, which is an important step for accepting the truth for whole country. I watched many documentaries on Armenian Genocide that elaborates Kurds role and how they were used as a handle by government.

The thing is, Kurds were quite calm for some time, considering a truce and giving up arms, but Turkish armed forces continued to attack them. Then ruling party made it impossible for them to voice their opposition in the parliment, or through politics. Manipulated justice system throw much of the politic Kurdish opposition to jail, so only one left there was armed militants.

 

[Biomiast]

Turkish military launches massive ground offensive in Iraq


Turkey's military says about 10,000 soldiers are taking part in its offensive against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), making it the nation's largest attack on the insurgents in more than three years.

Turkey's military says about 10,000 soldiers are taking part in its offensive against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), making it the nation's largest attack on insurgents in more than three years.

The military launched the offensive on Wednesday after the PKK carried out raids near the Turkey-Iraq border that killed 24 Turkish soldiers. The military said 22 battalions, or about 10,000 soldiers, were taking part in the offensive, but it didn't say how many of them were in southern Turkey and how many in northern Iraq.

“Following these incidents [terror attacks], a large-scale ground offensive backed by air strikes has been launched in five separate regions within the country and outside the borders [in northern Iraq] with 22 battalions composed of commandoes and special operation units to find members of the terrorist organization who staged this heinous attack and to render them infective,” a statement released by the Turkish General Staff said.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan refused to share details of the military's offensive. "Our goal is to achieve results with this operation," Erdoğan told a nationally televised news conference. "The military is determinedly carrying out this [operation], both from the air and the ground," he said.

Turkey launched the cross-border offensive against the PKK after the group staged simultaneous attacks on Turkish military and police targets along the border on Wednesday, killing 24 soldiers and wounding 18 others.

The flag-draped coffins of slain soldiers were being flown to several cities across the country on Thursday for burial. A military funeral ceremony scheduled to be held for slain soldiers in Van was cancelled on Thursday. Separate funerals will be held for the soldiers in their hometowns.

The killings outraged many in Turkey and fueled nationalist sentiment. Many protesters, from high school students to post office workers, carrying huge Turkish flags and chanting anti-PKK slogans, marched in Ankara on Thursday.

http://www.todayszaman.com/news-260459-turkish-military-launches-massive-ground-offensive-in-iraq.html