Terrorism in Turkey

Terrorism in Turkey is a significant issue for Turkish authorities. While the government labels deaths in the Kurdish–Turkish conflict as terrorism related, this is disputed by pro-Kurds.[note] In addition, involvement in the Syrian Civil War and radical political elements in the country have also been a source for alleged terrorist incidents.[1] Terrorist attacks have had a negative impact on the country's tourism sector.[2]

History

According to Nadir Öcal and Jülide Yildirim, most of the terrorist incidents in Turkey have been concentrated in South Eastern and Eastern Turkey and major cities.[3]

Ottoman Empire
Picture dramatizing the Yıldız assassination attempt.

Several nationalist groups used violence against an Ottoman Empire in apparent decline. One was the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (in Armenian Dashnaktsuthium, or "The Federation"), a revolutionary movement founded in Tiflis (Russian Transcaucasia) in 1890 by Christapor Mikaelian. Many members had been part of Narodnaya Volya or the Hunchakian Revolutionary Party.[4] The group published newsletters, smuggled arms, and hijacked buildings as it sought to bring in European intervention that would force the Ottoman Empire to surrender control of its Armenian territories.[5] On 24 August 1896, 17-year-old Babken Suni led twenty-six members in capturing the Imperial Ottoman Bank in Constantinople. The group backed down on a threat to blow up the bank.[6] On 21 July 1905, a bombing perpetrated by the same group targeting Sultan Abdul Hamid II failed to kill the Sultan, while killing 26 and injuring 58 others.

1970s

Terrorism in Turkey in the 1970s stemmed from the student protest movement in the 1960s. Leftist radicals first attempted to challenge the political regime by use of sit-ins, street demonstrations, and the establishment of a new political party, the Turkish Labor Party (TLP). After only receiving 3% of the popular vote in the 1965 election, and 2.7% four years later, leftist radicals began to turn to a more militant approach. Knowledge on the use of explosives and weapons was provided by the Palestine Liberation Organization (PLO).[7]

Left-wing terrorism began in 1969 when the Proletarian Revolutionaries and Proletarian Socialists formed the Federation of Revolutionary Youth of Turkey (Dev-Genç). Terror activities included bank robberies, bombings and kidnappings (for ransom). In 1971, the military declared martial law to arrest revolutionaries. By 1973, these incidents had stopped.[8]:15

Two Armenian groups conducted a number of terror attacks aimed at Turkish diplomats, ASALA (Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia) and JCAG (Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide). These attacks spawned a period of ten years from 1975 to 1985. Their efforts were mostly based overseas, but some attacks occurred in Turkey such as the May 1977 bombing of the Istanbul airport and railway and Ankara Esenboğa airport attack.[8]:10–12

Between 1976 and 1980, more than 5,000 people were killed in hundreds of terrorist incidents.[7]

1980s and 1990s

In the 1980s and 1990s, Jihadist terrorism in Turkey was an isolated phenomenon represented by the Turkish Hezbollah and the Great Eastern Islamic Raiders' Front.[9] Since the 2000s, there has been a rise in attacks from Islamist groups, some with links to Al-Qaeda.[10] One group that has been studied by researchers is the Turkish Hezbollah.[11]

In the 1990s, Islamic terrorist organizations were active in Turkey. Their objective was to bring down the secular democratic regime in Turkey and to establish an Islamic Sharia‐based state (similar to Iran). In July 1993, an arson attack took place where extremists set fire to a hotel where a cultural festival was taking place. Islamic groups attacked and threatened Jewish personalities and the Jewish community in Turkey.[12]

In the course of the Kurdish–Turkish conflict (1978–present) there were an estimated 30,000-35,000 deaths between 1984 and 2000, mainly in Eastern and Southeastern Turkey.[13] While the Turkish government position has been to classify the deaths in the conflict as terror related, other dispute this claim and allege human right violations by the Turkish authorities.[14][15]

2010s

The 2016 Atatürk Airport attack, consisting of shootings and suicide bombings, occurred on 28 June 2016 at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul, Turkey. Three ISIL-linked terrorists murdered forty-five people and injured 230.

The Dokumacılar is an Islamic terrorist group composed of about 60 Turkish militants who joined ISIL. The group is responsible for the 2015 Suruç bombing which resulted in 32 deaths.

Other attacks, including the 2017 Istanbul nightclub shooting, were perpetrated by ISIL.[16]

2020s

In February 2020, an Istanbul court acquitted novelist Aslı Erdoğan of charges of terrorist group membership and "undermining national unity". She was one of several staff members of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem accused of having ties to Kurdish militants.[17]

Effects on voting behavior

The effects of terrorism on voting behavior in Turkey." Journal of Conflict Resolution 55, no. 2 (2011): 220-247</ref>

Terrorist incidents


See also

Notes

References
  1. Mackintosh, Eliza. "Why Turkey is such a target for terror". CNN. January 12, 2017.
  2. Feridun, Mete. "Impact of terrorism on tourism in Turkey: empirical evidence from Turkey." Applied Economics 43, no. 24 (2011): 3349-3354.
  3. Öcal, Nadir, and Jülide Yildirim. "Regional effects of terrorism on economic growth in Turkey: A geographically weighted regression approach." Journal of Peace Research 47, no. 4 (2010): 477-489.
  4. Balakian, Peter. The Burning Tigris: The Armenian Genocide and America's Response. New York: Harper Perennial, 2004. p.104
  5. Chaliand, Gerard. The History of Terrorism: From Antiquity to al Qaeda. Berkeley: University of California Press, 2007. p.193
  6. Hoffman, Bruce. Inside Terrorism. New York: Columbia University Press, 2006. Page 51.
  7. Sayari, Sabri. "Political Violence and Terrorism in Turkey, 1976–80: A Retrospective Analysis." Terrorism and Political Violence 22, no. 2 (2010): 198-215.
  8. Mango, Andrew. Turkey and the War on Terror: For Forty Years We Fought Alone. Routledge. 2005.
  9. Malhotra, Brigadier VP. Terrorism and Counter Terrorism in South Asia and India: A Case of India and Her Neighbours. Vij Books India Pvt Ltd, 2011.
  10. Cline, Lawrence E. "From Ocalan to Al Qaida: the continuing terrorist threat in Turkey." Studies in Conflict & Terrorism 27, no. 4 (2004): 321-335.
  11. Ozeren, Suleyman, and Cécile Van De Voorde. "Turkish Hizballah: A case study of radical terrorism." International Journal of Comparative and Applied Criminal Justice 30, no. 1 (2006): 75-93.
  12. Karmon, Ely. "Islamic terrorist activities in Turkey in the 1990s." Terrorism and Political Violence 10, no. 4 (1998): 101-121.
  13. Rodoplu, Ulkumen, Jeffrey Arnold, and Gurkan Ersoy. "Terrorism in Turkey." Prehospital and Disaster Medicine 18, no. 2 (2003): 152-160.
  14. Turkey campaign (Chapter 2), Amnesty International, 1997. Archived 14 July 2007 at the Wayback Machine
  15. Turkey: Human Rights Developments, Human Rights Watch.
  16. Grierson, Jamie (3 January 2017). "Isis claims Istanbul nightclub attack as perpetrator remains at large". The Guardian.
  17. https://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-newspaper/turkish-court-acquits-novelist-accused-of-kurdish-militant-ties-idUSKBN2081DL
  18. "Greener Pastures for Bruce Fein: The Kurdish Conflict in Turkey". Asiantribune.com. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  19. Ibrahim, Ferhad; Gurbey, Gulistan (2000). The Kurdish Conflict in Turkey: Obstacles and Chances for Peace and Democracy. ISBN 978-0312236298.
  20. "Turkey in fresh drive to end Kurdish conflict". Middle-east-online.com. 28 September 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  21. "Turkey looks to Iraq to help end Kurdish conflict". Euronews.net. 16 June 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  22. Head, Jonathan (13 November 2009). "Turkey unveils reforms for Kurds". BBC News. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  23. Kinzer, Stephen (3 January 2011). "Nudging Turkey toward peace at home". London: Guardian. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  24. Emre Uslu. "Would Turkey intervene in Syria?". Today's Zaman. Archived from the original on 5 February 2012. Retrieved 5 February 2012., 5 February 2011
  25. "A Terrorist's Bitter End". Time. 1 March 1999. Archived from the original on 10 December 2008. Retrieved 10 April 2011.
  26. Birch, Nicholas (20 October 2009). "Kurdish rebels surrender as Turkey reaches out — War in Context". Warincontext.org. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  27. "The Kurdish Issue and Turkey's Future". Thewashingtonnote.com. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  28. BBC News Turkey may ban Kurdish DTP party
  29. "Kurdish rebels say they shot down Turkish helicopter". CNN.com. 7 March 1999. Archived from the original on 13 October 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  30. "Turkish military's best and brightest now behind bars". Reuters. 6 January 2012.
  31. "Turkish crackdown fails to halt Kurdish rebellion". Highbeam.com. 1 November 1992. Archived from the original on 5 November 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  32. "Turkey and Iraq seek to end Kurdish rebellion". Thenational.ae. Archived from the original on 14 September 2012. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  33. "Turkey says determined to uproot Kurdish rebellion". Kuna.net.kw. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  34. Tore Kjeilen. "Kurds". Looklex.com. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  35. "MINA Breaking News – Turkey marks 25 years of Kurd rebellion". Macedoniaonline.eu. 15 August 2009. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  36. Saatci, Mustafa (2002). "Nation–states and ethnic boundaries: modern Turkish identity and Turkish–Kurdish conflict". Nations and Nationalism. 8 (4): 549–564. doi:10.1111/1469-8219.00065.
  37. "Partiya Karkeran Kurdistan [PKK]". GlobalSecurity.org. Retrieved 23 July 2013.
  38. "TURKEY AND PKK TERRORISM" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 31 May 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  39. "A Report on the PKK and Terrorism". Fas.org. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  40. McDowall, David. A modern History of the Kurds. London 2005, pp 439 ff
  41. Viviano, Frank (23 February 1996). "Inside Turkey's Civil War, Fear and Geopolitics / For all sides, Kurd insurgency is risky business". Articles.sfgate.com. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  42. "The Kurdish Question In Turkish Politics". Cacianalyst.org. 16 February 1999. Archived from the original on 22 May 2011. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  43. "Israeli military aid used by Turkish in civil war against Kurds". Ivarfjeld.wordpress.com. 25 June 2010. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  44. "Thousands of Kurds protest to support jailed Abdullah Ocalan in Strasbourg". Ekurd.net. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
  45. Helena Smith in Athens (11 April 2003). "Turkey told US will remove Kurd forces from city". Guardian. London. Retrieved 15 April 2011.
This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is licensed under Creative Commons - Attribution - Sharealike. Additional terms may apply for the media files.