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INPRIMATU
The Istanbul attack continues to raise doubts: Why do they accuse PKK of authorship?
  • The attack on 13 November left six dead and 81 wounded. The Turkish Government has charged the attack against groups around the CPC, but the party has denied their participation. Some have questioned the government's claims and accused of diverting attention.
Maria Ortega Zubiate @ortegazubiate 2022ko azaroaren 16a
Haur bat loreak eskaintzen atentatua izan zen unean. / Argazkia: Burak Kara, Getty Images.

Just buried in the dead of the attack in central Istanbul, questions about the attack remain unanswered. The Turkish police have declared that they have arrested the culprit, a woman receiving orders from the Syrian PYD Democratic Union Party. The Turkish police consider this party affiliated with the CCP Kurdistan Workers Party, and therefore accuses it of aggression. For its part, the CCP denies its involvement in the attack and confirms that it does not attack civilians. Three days after the attack, nothing remains clear.

The accident occurred on Sunday 13. On Istiklal Avenue in Istanbul he visited the best known street in the city’s shopping centre. One bomb exploded and at the same time four people died, two others died in the hospital. In total, the attack left six dead and 81 injured, and from the outset, Turkish Government President Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the attack to be terrorism.

The aggression has awakened the spectre of terrorism and the statements of the Police and the President. In fact, in addition to the alleged aggressor, the police have interrogated another 46 people to investigate whether they could participate in the attack. Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu has condemned countries that “support” terrorist gangs: The United States, for example. In fact, EE.UU. has protected the militias of the Syrian Kurds in the country's war to confront the Islamic State.

To divert attention

Panic has spread among the population in relation to the attack and police presence in the affected area has increased. But it has been particularly striking, both for the citizens and for the international auditors, the authorship of the attack. Both the Turkish Government and the police have repeatedly stated that the culprit has been people close to the CPC, but the latter has stated that it has nothing to do with it, and that it is not their kind of attack, because they do not attack civilians. This version has been endorsed by international experts who have questioned the testimony of the government.

It is not the first time that there has been such an attack in Turkey, its authorship is doubtful. Polls also indicate that the Erdogan government is weakening, the protection of citizens is not so broad and the head of government is trying to obtain the support of ethnic and religious minorities, aware that in the elections that come without them it will be very tight. These elections will be held next June. Some say that there may be a relationship between both situations: If the CPC is accused, the invasion in Turkish Kurdistan may be legitimate and thereby diverting attention. David Meseguer, an expert in international journalism, reflects on this.