Politic and Army in Turkey

Documentary about Turkey after the bomb attacks on November 20th in Istanbul. What is the true power of the army, how is the islamic government dealing with the situation and what are the people thinking about the recent events of terror.

8:40 Min. ORF - weltjournal, 3. December 2003

The residents of Istanbul are slowly moving back into the business district of Takism, but the streets around the British consulate general are still closed. Not only windows but also the feelings for public security are destroyed.

The leader of the government, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, knows that the four bomb assassinations in Istanbul were also against his coalition. The politics of his party favors a liberation of the Islamic rules; today for example many fans and members are unveiled.
Recep Tayyip Erdogan: “Our religion – the Islam – is based on freedom, tolerance and peace. And nobody have the right to use terror, dead and destruction in the name of Islam.”

His tolerant Islamic politics are not accepted at all: the Turkish “Fighters for the Islamic East” – one of the groups who confessed the attacks – declare on the internet, Erdogan is an agent of the West and his government is non-Islamic. But these groups are isolated from the majority and their network seems to be unclear; it will need time to find the wirepuller.

Right after the attacks units of the army were present in the streets of Istanbul. Sinazi Demir, ex-general: “We fighted and destroyed the fundamentalist group Hisbullah in Turkey, an umbrella network like al Quaida in Afgahnistan with similar objectives and related believes. They have the potential, the abroad contacts and the infrastructure in the underground…. But we cannot fight only with the army against terrorist that would be old fashioned. Military actions can be only the last step, we need other social mechanism which are preventive against terror: development of society, equality of education and social perspectives will lead to a community without terror.“

At the moment only few students are at the university district. The bomb attacks spread fear over the city. The residents avoid public areas. Öykü and Erdem are looking for books for the next exam. They are studying politics and wish - as most Turkish people do - a democratic system without terror and military control. Öykü: „Turkey is in a process of democratization, even so the position of the army. In the past the army was a basic element for stabilization. This was partly necessary to avoid development into the wrong direction. But now things are different, the people have a consciousness. We want to be a modern society where the politics made the decision.....“

The bomb attacks were also mostly against the young generation which have a high expectation concerning Europe and democracy.