Ramifications of Turkish Bombing Last Thursday
January 8th, 2008 by Sharlina
The larger meaning of a terrorist car bombing that killed five people and wounded 68 last Thursday in southeastern Turkey is discussed in an editorial in the International Herald Tribune today. The article implores the lethal blast to be seen against “the backdrop of a domestic struggle over the political and cultural identity of Turkey.” It also indicates that a reprisal of the dirty war that the Turkish military conducted against the PKK in the 1980s and ’90s could endanger the continuance of Turkish economic and political reforms and also undermine regional relationships with Iran, Syria, and Israel, as well as Turkey’s bid for membership in the European Union and Turkey’s relationship with the United States.
Posted in Kurds, PKK, Terrorism, Turkey, US foreign policy |
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January 8th, 2008 at 4:07 pm
I like the sentiment of this editorial. Turkey must be careful not to lose track of the bigger picture. Virtually every “scandal” or “crisis” regarding Turkey recently has involved seemingly dated chases of long-gone events and conflicts - the Armenian Genocide, the Kurdish issue, secularism, Cyprus etc. Turkey should seek to build upon their liberal democracy which has been growing ever since the coup of 1997 and let go of old battles, no matter how difficult. This is especially true if they do truly wish to progress toward Europe since the EU has become an embodiment of the idea of “letting go of the past.”