TURKEY: For Turks, the Semdinli bomb case revived memories of the darkest days when security forces ruled with an iron fist, writes Nicholas Birch
Turkey's civilian leaders and top brass met yesterday to discuss continuing investigations into a bomb attack apparently carried out by military intelligence agents, as European officials joined calls for justice to be done.
"Severe sanctions must be taken against those responsible for such provocation," the European enlargement commissioner, Olli Rehn, said on Wednesday, fueling speculation the Semdinli bomb case would become a benchmark of Turkey's EU reforms.
It is easy to see why, and not just because the blast, which killed one man outside a bookshop in the southeastern town on November 9th, coincided with the release of an EU progress report severely critical of human rights abuses in Turkey.
It was the 17th bomb attack in this remote Kurdish region in the last two months. But while the others remain unsolved, this time locals caught the suspect as he tried to flee in a car with two other men. He turned out to be a former member of the Kurdish separatist PKK turned informer. His two colleagues were members of Turkey's paramilitary police intelligence service.
For Turks, the revelations revived memories of the darkest days of the PKK's 15-year war against the state, when security forces had near total control over the southeast. Many see the bombing as an attempt by anti-democratic forces to sabotage Turkey's EU-reforms by stirring up instability.
"We will pursue this issue to the very end," prime minister Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday.
Prosecutors from the southeastern city of Van have now charged two men with terrorism.
Yet despite the insistence of foreign minister Abdullah Gul that "Turkey is no longer the old Turkey", doubts remain about the ability of the judiciary to remain impartial in cases involving military personnel.
In part, that is because prosecutors often depend on military police to gather evidence in criminal investigations. The Semdinli case has also been dogged by irregularities since the start, raising suspicions that certain aspects of military procedure may still be above the law.
The PKK informer remains in custody, but the two intelligence officers were quickly released, sparking protests that spread throughout the region to cities in western Turkey.
Five people died in three separate incidents when security forces opened fire. Yasar Buyukanit, the land forces chief slated to become Turkey's top general next August, was criticised for describing one of the released men as "a good kid."
On November 18th, tensions rose further when two Turkish F-16 jets buzzed a crowd of 40,000 attending the funerals of three of the shooting victims.
"They should have been proud to see the F-16s," said air force chief Faruk Comert, insisting these were routine flights. - (Guardian service)