TURKISH TV HOSTS DISCUSS POSSIBLE ANTI-TERROR MEASURES
NTV, Turkey
Oct 8 2007
The NTV Television Network in Turkish at 1700 gmt on 8 October airs
its Monday-Thursday show "Difference of Interpretation" in the usual
format of a point-counterpoint discussion of selected current topics
by programme hosts Emre Kongar and Mehmet Barlas.
Barlas opens the show by expressing grief over the loss of 15 soldiers
killed in two incidents in Southeast Anatolia on 7 October.
Kongar joins him in expressing condolences to the families of the
fallen soldiers.
Kongar notes that "terrorists" continue to take lives in "a country
where the death penalty has been abolished" and calls on "certain
circles" to condemn such acts. He also laments the coming referendum
on an "inconsistent constitutional amendment package" in the midst
of such violence. Addressing the audience, he appeals to the Turkish
people not to "fall into the trap of divisions between Sunnis and
Alevis, Turks and Kurds, and the religious and nonreligious."
Barlas notes that Turkey has had to cope with "PKK terrorism" since
the mid-1980’s and says that this is "not just Turkey’s problem."
Pointing out the PKK’s presence in European countries and in
"US-occupied Iraq," Barlas says that this is partly a "problem of
public security in the Southeast" and partly "a dangerous element of
international politics affecting Turkey." He says that politicians,
soldiers, and the media must see the "trap set for Turkey from
outside." He adds that "Turkey would lose its claim to the 21st
century if it gives up a single inch of land" and cites as examples
the consequences of Ottoman territorial losses in the 19th and early
20th centuries. Both hosts agree that territorial integrity is an
"existential issue" for a state.
Reiterating that the Turkish state and people must be determined
"not to give up a single inch of land," Barlas says that Turkey’s
politicians and public must be prepared for a "marathon run"
in generating solutions to the problem of "terrorism." He then
discusses the risks of any intervention in northern Iraq and says
that this may "not produce any results" and may have to turn into a
"permanent occupation." He says that a Turkish intervention may unite
Iraqi Kurds and that Turkish forces may sustain even bigger losses
in fighting the PKK allied with other Kurdish groups.
Kongar comments on the importance of "cutting off financial support"
to terrorist groups. He blames the EU and the United States for
allowing "money laundering" operations by terrorist groups and says
that Turkey must frame the PKK problem in the context of the global
war on terrorism and press for global measures against it. He charges
that the United States "continues to provide logistical support to
the PKK in northern Iraq" even as the US Congress prepares to pass an
"Armenian genocide resolution." Noting that this resolution may lead
to Armenian territorial demands from Turkey, he says that these actions
"are not consistent with any strategic partnership."
Barlas says that the recent escalation of terrorist acts in
Turkey may be attributable to "weaknesses in intelligence" in the
country’s security apparatus. Noting that Kurds are now represented
in parliament through the Democratic Society Party, Barlas says
that Turkish intelligence "needs to explain to the public why the
separatist wing of the Kurdish community has changed its strategy"
and resorted to increased violence. He adds that this would "make
the war against terrorism easier from a perspective of public opinion."
Kongar ends the show at 1720 gmt repeating an emphatic appeal to the
public "not to accept defeat by hatred and animosity."