"The State has but one face for me: that of the police. To my eyes, all of the State's ministries have this single face, and I cannot imagine the ministry of culture other than as the police of culture, with its prefect and commissioners."
~ Jean Dubuffet.
~ Jean Dubuffet.
There's been an attack against a police bus on the outskirts of the Kurdish capital, Amed (Diyarbakır). Yeni Özgür Politika reports five police dead and 23 police wounded. Bianet reports that Turkish media places the number of wounded from 15 to 19, while Al-Jazeera claims 22 were wounded, claiming that at least 11 of the wounded were police. Of course, numbers in Turkish media are interesting only for the creativity they lend to news pieces.
Photos from Hürriyet:
One thing's certain: With five less fascist police in the world, the day is ending better than it started.
In what may be the least shocking news of the year, the TBMM passed the request to extend the period of military operations into South Kurdistan. And in the least shocking detail of this shocking-less news, DTP's parliamentarians were the only ones to oppose.
Notice the reported comments of CHP parliamentarian Şükrü Elekdağ:
Criticizing the fact that the Aktütün [Bezele] border post was not reinforced after the attack, Elekdağ called upon all the deputies to condemn this attack.
And they didn't reinforce it from May. So there we have confirmation that the paşas did absolutely nothing to reinforce a military garrison that is, in fact, located in a very weak position. Good for HPG for exploiting this weakness so brilliantly but why are there not demands for paşa heads to roll?
Another article on the subject, MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli wants to extend OHAL into South Kurdistan while paying lip service to "democratic" means:
President of the National Movement Party (MHP) Devlet Bahçeli stated that the armed forces should move into Northern Iraq and form a secured buffer zone. However, he also emphasized that the problem could not be solved only with the military means; the social, political and cultural measures had to be taken.
Hey, if your boys can hold that terrain, Bahçeli, be HPG's very welcome guest.
Also from Bianet, the Human Rights Association (İHD) explains the extent of the General Staff's call for increased OHAL powers in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan:
President of the Human Rights Association (İHD) Hüsnü Öndül describes how the region was under the OHAL measures.
“There was violence everywhere. This was the time when there were missings, unsolved murders and tortures everywhere. This was the time when the villages were evacuated forcefully.”
OHAL had started in 1987 and lasted until 2002.
Öndül summarizes the demands of the police and military as such:
“They want to prolong the custody period to four days and decrease the time for the presence of the lawyers. They already had the government pass the practice of no lawyer for twenty four hours and then the one lawyer restriction. These are against the torture ban, the individual freedom and security and just trial.”
“They want to search the people, their belongings and their houses without the need to get permission.”
According to daily Radikal, the army and gendarmerie want to have the right to search, to take statement and to take people into custody.
For all of Katil Erdoğan's swagger about the march to "democracy" continuing in Turkey with no setbacks, the facts show quite obviously that there is no march to "democracy" to swagger about. In other words, it's just like that other famous police state: the US.
Dr. Kristiina Koivunen of Finland has been roasting under the Hewlêr sun most of the summer and she has a couple of recent posts over at her place. In a particularly interesting post, she describes her attempts to get the TC to issue her a document indicating that she's banned from entering the police state. Go have a read, it's very interesting, especially if you've ever spent time at the "new and improved" Habur Gate.
I'm glad she didn't run into the border dogs from hell that we encountered there earlier this year.
8 comments:
I think it's interesting that what occurs in Northern Iraq/Turkey is an afterthought by analysts, could lead to more violence, than the Iraq War.
You know, RE, the US and most of Europe did not settle down into "democracies" until after they had their violent civil wars.
I'm just saying . . .
As expected after issuing warning to fascist Turkish State TAK carried the major attack against the Turkish police force next day. TAK claims 11 police death and heros arriving their bases safely.
http://www.icpolitika.com/tak.html
I hope Turkish occupying troops leave Kurdistan at once for good or face the possible death as above.
I fully agree with Renegade Eye: a war between Turkey and Iraq/ Kurdistan autonomous region could be much more bloody than the present war in Iraq (where the amount of dead is more than one million, until now). How the international community refuses to see this?? A big war here would be a danger to whole the world!
One must keep in mind also that the relationship between Bagdad government and KRG has become worse, some weeks ago there were battles between peshmergas and Iraqi army near Khanaqeen, one soldier was killed in both sides. Turkey's attack here would make the partition process of Iraq faster.
do you think KRG wants this partition?
Kristiina do you think KRG may want this partition from Bagdad government you mentioned ?
Because it seems to me if they want this partition, then "Turkey's attack" would only serve them. In other words KRG has all the reasons to provoke such attacks from Turkey in order to justify the partition from Baghdad... that is if they are willing to... so "do they want to" is a very important question I think.
KRG does not want partition from Iraq if the new Iraq will be a democratic state where Kurds and other minorities have their rights. Unfortenaly the development does not seem to go towards this direction.
People here don't want any new war, this country has been on a state of war since early 80's , also since the Iraq-Iran war started.
thank you. it's assuring to know that the public does not want the partition. which I believe is the right choice. it's impossible to know what politicians want, so it's not important. lets just hope all goes the way public expects.
as for war, yes, iraqi's has had a lot of them but hopefully the kurds will gather and start acting as one body on bureaucratic ways to democratic solutions.
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