In the Wake of Ankara Bombing, Erdogan Expands Definition of Terrorism

Turkish President Recep Erdogan has said that there is a need to expand the definition of terrorism.

In a speech given in the wake of Sunday’s suicide bombing in Ankara, which caused 37 deaths and wounded more than 100, he said that “a terrorist holding a gun or a bomb and those who use their position and pen to serve the aims [of terrorism],” are essentially the same.

The new definition could implicate activists, lawmakers and particularly journalists in the country.

Journalists have a tough job in Turkey; reporting against the government often leads to their arrest. The most recent arrests occurred because editors of the Cumhuriyet were allegedly “divulging state secrets.” Erdogan had vowed that the the Chief Editor of the paper would pay a “heavy price,” and filed a personal complaint against the man, demanding that he serve multiple life sentences.

Others could also be implicated. Thousands of prosecutors, police officers and judges were dismissed during a 2013 corruption investigation that was targeted at the government.

While no group has stepped forward to claim responsibility for the attack, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu claimed that the evidence “almost certainly” showed that the PKK was behind it. 11 have thus far been detained in relation to the attack. “There are very serious, almost certain indications that point to the separatist terror organisation,” he said, referring to the PKK.

Four of the people detained came from Sanliurfa, with officials stating that the car they had used, had come from a showroom in the region. Turkey responded to the blast by launching air strikes against Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq, on Monday.

Deputy PM Numan Kurtulmus stated that one of the dead bombers was “definitely” a woman. Unnamed security officials claimed that the female suicide bomber was from the town of Kars, and was a member of the PKK. Curfews have been imposed in the two Kurdish-majority towns of Yuksekova and Nusaybin.

The HDP, Turkey’s Kurdish party, condemned the attack and said that it shares “the huge pain felt along with our citizens.” Preceding this, in October last year, more than 100 people were killed in another suicide bombing attack on a Kurdish peace rally.

The BBC gave a summary of the various Kurdish groups in the region, and explains their affiliations aptly:

Turkey

• Pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) – with representation in parliament but accused by ruling party of supporting militants
• Banned Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) – hostile to Turkish government, has camps in northern Iraq and operates in south-eastern Turkey
• Kurdistan Freedom Hawks (TAK) – offshoot of PKK, said it was behind last month’s Ankara bombing

Syria

• Democratic Unity Party (PYD) – linked to PKK
• People’s Protection Units (YPG) – controls area on Turkish border known as Rojava. Mainly fighting IS, but regarded by Turkey as an extension of the PKK

Iraq

• Kurdish Regional Government (KRG) – runs Kurdish region of northern Iraq with Peshmerga as armed forces, has friendly relations with Turkey
• KDP – dominant political party in the region

Sources: BBC, Time, Foreign Policy

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