FIGHTING TERRORISM: A CHANCE TO IMPROVE BILATERAL U.S.-TURKISH TIES
By Selahattin Ibas
Washington Institute for Near East Policy, DC
Feb 22 2007
The terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, led all countries
to assess the threat of terrorism and generate new perspectives on
countering it. This is necessarily a global effort. Even when terrorist
activity is executed in a single country, the preparatory training,
planning, directing, financing, and logistical support are conducted
in several.
Despite the fact that Turkey has long fought terrorism and called for
all nations in every forum to cooperate in this fight, it took the
September 11 attacks to open a worldwide cooperative dialogue. While
there is no clear definition of terrorism in international criminal
law, commonalities among terrorist movements provide a basis for the
common international struggle against them. Turkey is fully aware of
the gravity of the threat. Its painful past experiences inspire its
significant contributions toward the international counterterrorism
struggle.
Turkey’s War against Terrorism
As flank country of NATO during the Cold War and as a frontline
member today, Turkey has struggled against a variety of terrorist
challenges. Among these, the terrorist Armenian Secret Army for the
Liberation of Armenia (ASALA) executed 153 attacks against Turkish
citizens around the world and killed thirty-four Turkish diplomats
between 1974 and 1984.
Turkey was also forced to overcome leftist terrorists, which reached
a peak in the 1970s and still pose a threat today. Besides these
networks, Turkey continues to struggle against groups that aim
to convert its secular, democratic governmental structure into a
religious fundamentalist order.
Still, the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) has caused more casualties and
injuries than any other terrorist group in Turkey. The PKK conducts
terrorist activities based on a micronationalist ideology, funding
its violence through illegal activities such as the narcotics trade
and arms smuggling. The PKK also collects money from Turkish citizens
living abroad — especially in the European Union (EU) — by means
of extortion and kidnapping. Currently, the PKK has approximately
1,850 armed terrorists in Turkey and 3,500 members abroad, with
the majority in northern Iraq. In addition, its front network —
providing political, financial, and logistical support to terrorist
activities — is active in about thirty countries, many in Europe.
After the September 11 attacks, the PKK changed its name to the
Kurdish Liberty and Democracy Congress (KADEK). Then, in 2003, it
changed again to the Kurdish People’s Congress (KONGRA-GEL) in order
to subvert international terrorist designation and sanctions.
However, its infrastructure, leadership, methods, armed elements, aim,
and symbol remain unchanged. Under any name, the PKK has continued
armed operations even after announcing a ceasefire on June 1,
2004. Since then, the organization has killed or injured more than
1,500 people. Therefore, any sympathy for the PKK has no grounds.
Since 2001, several nations have created lists of terrorist
organizations in concert with agreements to combat terrorism. The
PKK, under both its original name and its more recent names of
convenience, can be found on the terrorist organization lists of the
United States, European Union, United Kingdom, Germany, Canada. In
2002, NATO expressed its resolve to combat terrorist organizations,
including the PKK.
Since January 2003, Turkey has sought support to remove the PKK from
northern Iraq. Despite negotiations and meetings among government
and military authorities at several levels, no substantial progress
has thus far been recorded. Although the United States takes active
military measures against many terrorist organizations considered a
worldwide threat — especially in Iraq and Afghanistan — the fact that
it does not take any compelling measures against the PKK contradicts
its global war on terror. Further, the new Iraqi government throws
its territorial sovereignty into question by permitting a terrorist
organization to take shelter in northern Iraq.
The United States should ensure that liquidating the PKK in northern
Iraq is part of its efforts in the global war on terror.
Turkish Contributions to Fighting Terrorism
Turkey has ratified all thirteen international counterterrorism
conventions, protocols, and resolutions adopted by the UN. Moreover,
Turkey is a party to the European Convention on the Suppression
of Terrorism.
In Afghanistan, Turkey has contributed and continues to contribute to
the U.S.-initiated Operation Enduring Freedom. It has participated
in the International Security and Assistance Force (ISAF) since the
latter’s inception, and undertook a leadership role in ISAF II in
2002 and ISAF VII in 2005.
Turkey firmly supports NATO’s efforts to fight terrorism. Turkish
forces can be of great help to future NATO missions. Moreover, Turkey
hosted of the 2004 NATO Istanbul Summit, at which crucial decisions
were made regarding ongoing NATO operations in various regions of the
world and the transformation of alliance activities — in addition
to the announcement of the Istanbul Cooperation Initiative.
In 2005, Turkey established the Center of Excellence-Defense Against
Terrorism in Ankara in order to further contribute to the international
struggle against terrorism. Turkey is actively participating in
counterterrorism activities as a member of the Organization for
Security and Co-operation in Europe. Turkey builds regional peace,
security, and prosperity by actively participating in regional
organizations such as the Black Sea Cooperation Force; Black Sea
Economic Cooperation; Confidence and Security Building Measures in
the Black Sea; and Coast Guard Agreements in the Black Sea. Turkey
works to expand the scope of these organizations by inserting issues
related to counterterrorism into their agreements.
Conclusion
The deadly terrorist attacks around the world over the last five
years have shown once again that the transnational character of
terrorism cannot be limited by the borders of any nation. Terrorism
has no language, religion, nationality, region, or ideology; it is
an international phenomenon that threatens all people equally.
To succeed in the global war on terror, concrete progress is necessary
in the following areas: a consistent approach to terrorists and
terror organizations regardless of where they operate; prevention of
the use of terrorism as a means of foreign policy; and goodwill and
cooperation at the international level. Internationally accepted
agreements should be written into national laws and acted upon
accordingly, and the sanctions that could be imposed on nations that
violate their commitments should be clearly indicated and firmly
implemented by the UN.
Under any name, the PKK is a regional threat. Since its establishment,
it has created trouble in Turkey as well as in Iran, Iraq, Syria, and
Lebanon, challenging peace and security across the Middle East. Turkey
is doing its best to combat terrorism at the national, regional,
and international levels, and it expects others to do the same. Other
countries should take decisive action against the terrorist the PKK
according to their international responsibilities.
An increase in PKK-led violence in Turkey would be a serious threat to
the nation’s stability. Because the PKK’s main bases are in northern
Iraq, most Turks would blame the United States and the Iraqi Kurds
for any such violence. Washington’s reluctance to take action against
the PKK has already created much distrust. Action against the PKK
would be a necessary first step in rebuilding U.S.-Turkish relations
in the post-Iraq war environment, and would win Turkey’s heart in the
bargain. It would also gain the United States a stronger ally in Iraq
and the global war on terror.
Col. Selahattin Ibas (Turkish Air Force) is a visiting Turkish military
fellow at The Washington Institute.
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