A terrorist attack rocked central Istanbul on Sunday, killing at least six and injuring dozens. The video appears to show a woman dropping a bag on a busy shopping street a minute or two before the explosion. There can be no justification for such horror. It is important that those responsible are held accountable,” says Dr. Michael Rubin in his article.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan often accuses opponents of terrorism with little or no evidence. In 2013, for example, he slapped the terrorism label on environmental protesters upset by his plans to pave a green space in Gezi Park. Two years later, Islamic State killed more than 100 in central Ankara. Erdogan tried to point the finger at the Kurds, but subsequent intelligence suggested that the Islamic State was responsible. It was a shame that the bomber’s mother tried to hand her son in beforehand, but Turkish police refused to accept her tip because Erdogan did not consider the Islamic State a terrorist group.
After Erdogan and his onetime ally Fethullah Gülen fell out a decade ago, Gulen’s associates within the security services began leaking evidence of Erdogan’s corruption, including alleged phone transcripts that showed Erdogan and his son Bilal they discuss where and how to hide cash.
Erdogan then recast Gulen’s followers as members of a nefarious terrorist group, whom he then accused of masterminding the failed coup attempt of 2016. In reality, this episode looked more like a Reichstag fire plot than a legitimate coup .
With inflation over 85% and the Turkish currency in freefall, Erdogan is in desperate need of a distraction. Perhaps he will blame the Gulenists as he did when one of his militant followers assassinated the Russian ambassador. Or, obsessed with Kurdish self-government, he may also seek to brand Syrian Kurds as terrorists by linking the bomber to the Autonomous Administration of North and East Syria.
He may also seek to use bloodshed and accusations of Kurdish guilt to extort concessions from Sweden. Indeed, on November 14, 2022, police paraded him a Syrian national whom they accused of acting on orders from the Syrian Kurdish authorities. Who knows; He might even suggest that the suspect (or scapegoat) is a Syrian Kurdish Gulenist with ties to both International Jewry and the Kemalists of the Republican People’s Party.
Erdogan would not be the first to use terrorism for such cynical purposes. Then-Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin used an alleged Chechen separatist bombing of a Moscow apartment building to consolidate power. Today, many analysts believe that Putin himself was behind the attack.
Erdogan will inevitably point the finger at one suspect or another. However, if he really wants the support of the international community, he should allow the international community to investigate independently. Simply put, Erdogan and his Ministry of Interior do not have the credibility for NATO or the European Union to take them at their word. And, if Erdoğan has nothing to hide, then he should not deny the opportunity to confirm his research foreign partners.
It is necessary to condemn the terrorism in Istanbul. Turks deserve the same security as citizens of any other state. Ordinary citizens should be able to walk down the street, shop and visit cafes without fear of violence and murder.
Turks and the international community must bring justice to those responsible, wherever they live: in the deserts of Syria, in the slums of Istanbul, in the mountains of Iraq or in the presidential palace in Ankara.
