Tons of explosives and MANPADS in PKK hands
The EU can try to explain what a good idea narrowing the definition of terror is to the 13 villagers killed by the PKK, which has recently acquired man-portable air-defense systems posing a greater threat to Turkish aircraft
On May 12, 13 civilians were killed in a blast detonated by the outlawed PKK on a road near Dürümlü, close to the village of Sarıkamış in Diyarbakır in the southeast. The PKK said in a statement that the bomb exploded by mistake, as if 15 tons of explosives loaded on a truck heading to a highly populated city was normal.News media groups, which have an intriguing reputation for overlooking PKK terror and violence, reported the horrible explosion as if it was just an accident and the PKK had no role in this tragedy. The PKK was bolder. In the statement in question, the terrorist organization accused the civilians who lost their lives in the explosion of trying to stop the truck from heading to Diyarbakir. Accordingly, those civilians were "state collaborators," a term that is commonly used by the PKK to define Kurds that do not accept the PKK's brutality and justify their killings. Human rights groups, which always put in their best efforts to whitewash the PKK's bloody methods, were blind and deaf again. However, no matter how they try to drop the subject, the explosion left a crater 5-meters deep and 35-meters wide on the road in rural Diyarbakir. If the explosives were to be transferred to another site and the blast was a mistake as the PKK claimed, imagine the size of the explosion that would have been carried out in the city of Diyarbakır. If so, the 13 civilians from Dürümlü lost their lives, while trying to prevent the killings of others.
The remains of the 13 collected in bags were buried on Tuesday. No bodies, no body parts; just 60 kilograms of blood and fluid were left from the 13 victims of the PKK, which argues that it is the one and only defender of the Kurdish cause.
Meanwhile, a video posted last week by pro-PKK social media accounts revealed that an AH-1W Super Copra attack helicopter was shot down by a PKK member carrying a man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS). The use of a surface-to-air missile, which is likely to be a Russian-made 9K38 Igla, shows that support from other states to the PKK now includes high-tech weapons. Some might think that the PKK captured those weapons from DAESH or other groups that fight in Syria or Iraq or purchased them from the black market. But such technology requires maintenance and training; and the PKK terrorist who fired the missile on the video looks like he has the necessary training. If the portable air-defense system is a Russian-made Igla as experts say, then it's important to underline that it is unavailable on the black market, as Yahya Bostan stated two days ago in his column on Daily Sabah.
The PKK has carried out many attacks against civilians and security forces in Turkey throughout the more-than 30-year conflict. After the terrorist organization ended the ceasefire last summer, relying on international support for the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, Turkey had to defend itself from terror attacks from DAESH and the PKK. But the international community was not eager to understand the situation that Turkey was going through, especially after the escalation of violence in the region during the Syrian civil war. While the U.S. chose to deny the organic link between the PYD and the PKK and not see that the arms delivered to the PYD in Syria have been carried through the Syrian border to be used in the PKK's fight against Turkey, Europe provided a safe haven for PKK members. In the capital cities of Europe, the PYD opened office after office widely used by PKK members. The PKK held meetings, events and protests in major cities for terrorists killed in the clashes; they even set up a tent behind the European Council building in Brussels.
On the other hand, the EU is pushing for a change in Turkey's anti-terror laws as a key condition of a visa-free travel deal between the EU and Turkey. The EU, which was so scared of the refugee flux and didn't hesitate for a second to think about the basic human rights of millions when they signed an agreement with Turkey to send them back, is now criticizing Turkey for having harsh anti-terror laws that allegedly violate progress on rights. Just two years ago, Ankara was again criticized for not fighting DAESH. Now, the PKK is killing one after another every day in Turkey, while Ankara is under attack for being harsh on terrorists and defenders of terror. Such contradictions make Turkish people believe that Turkey is under attack from terrorist groups that are supported by both ally and rival countries.
Think what they would do if a huge crater opened somewhere in Europe after a truck loaded with tons of explosives explodes? Think what they would do if terrorists started having MANPADS? After all, no one think about the PKK's victims' rights.
The remains of the 13 collected in bags were buried on Tuesday. No bodies, no body parts; just 60 kilograms of blood and fluid were left from the 13 victims of the PKK, which argues that it is the one and only defender of the Kurdish cause.
Meanwhile, a video posted last week by pro-PKK social media accounts revealed that an AH-1W Super Copra attack helicopter was shot down by a PKK member carrying a man-portable air-defense system (MANPADS). The use of a surface-to-air missile, which is likely to be a Russian-made 9K38 Igla, shows that support from other states to the PKK now includes high-tech weapons. Some might think that the PKK captured those weapons from DAESH or other groups that fight in Syria or Iraq or purchased them from the black market. But such technology requires maintenance and training; and the PKK terrorist who fired the missile on the video looks like he has the necessary training. If the portable air-defense system is a Russian-made Igla as experts say, then it's important to underline that it is unavailable on the black market, as Yahya Bostan stated two days ago in his column on Daily Sabah.
The PKK has carried out many attacks against civilians and security forces in Turkey throughout the more-than 30-year conflict. After the terrorist organization ended the ceasefire last summer, relying on international support for the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the Syrian offshoot of the PKK, Turkey had to defend itself from terror attacks from DAESH and the PKK. But the international community was not eager to understand the situation that Turkey was going through, especially after the escalation of violence in the region during the Syrian civil war. While the U.S. chose to deny the organic link between the PYD and the PKK and not see that the arms delivered to the PYD in Syria have been carried through the Syrian border to be used in the PKK's fight against Turkey, Europe provided a safe haven for PKK members. In the capital cities of Europe, the PYD opened office after office widely used by PKK members. The PKK held meetings, events and protests in major cities for terrorists killed in the clashes; they even set up a tent behind the European Council building in Brussels.
On the other hand, the EU is pushing for a change in Turkey's anti-terror laws as a key condition of a visa-free travel deal between the EU and Turkey. The EU, which was so scared of the refugee flux and didn't hesitate for a second to think about the basic human rights of millions when they signed an agreement with Turkey to send them back, is now criticizing Turkey for having harsh anti-terror laws that allegedly violate progress on rights. Just two years ago, Ankara was again criticized for not fighting DAESH. Now, the PKK is killing one after another every day in Turkey, while Ankara is under attack for being harsh on terrorists and defenders of terror. Such contradictions make Turkish people believe that Turkey is under attack from terrorist groups that are supported by both ally and rival countries.
Think what they would do if a huge crater opened somewhere in Europe after a truck loaded with tons of explosives explodes? Think what they would do if terrorists started having MANPADS? After all, no one think about the PKK's victims' rights.