This was reported by the state news agency Anadolu, citing Turkish Justice Minister Bekir Bozdag on Tuesday. The police had previously spoken of 48 arrests. The Green politician Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic meanwhile warned of an impending Turkish attack on Kurdish areas.
Kurdish militia and PKK denied being behind the attack
Six people were killed and more than 80 injured in the attack on Sunday’s busy Istiklal shopping street. The police then arrested a woman who is said to have planted the bomb. According to the authorities, the woman is Syrian and has connections to the “PKK/YPG/PYD”. From Turkey’s point of view, the Syrian Kurdish militia YPG and its political arm PYD are offshoots of the banned Kurdish Workers’ Party PKK and also “terrorist organizations”. However, both groups denied any responsibility for the attack.
A statement by the Union of Communities of Kurdistan (KCKKCK) on Tuesday said: “The attempt by the fascist AKP-MHP state to blame this attack on our movement and claim that it was perpetrated from Rojava is one highly deliberate manipulation. Everyone knows that one of the most important parts of the Kurdish genocide of the fascist AKP-MHP alliance is the occupation of Rojava. It is very obvious that the AKP-MHP aims to create the necessary environment for an invasion, by targeting Rojava with this plot.” Rojava is the Kurdish name of one of the de facto autonomous regions in northern and eastern Syria. The KCK is considered the civilian umbrella organization of the PKK. Erdogan’s AKP holds a majority in the Turkish parliament with its partner, the ultra-nationalist party MHP.
Meanwhile, according to the Turkish Interior Ministry, an operation against the PKK was launched in the eastern Turkish province of Tunceli. 881 people are involved in the operation. The operation aims to “neutralize terrorists” who sought refuge in the region. The Turkish military regularly takes action against the PKK in the country’s eastern provinces and in northern Iraq.
The foreign policy spokeswoman for the Greens, Ewa Ernst-Dziedzic, reacted with concern. There are increasing signs that Turkish President Tayyip Recep Erdogan “could use the terrible terrorist attack in Istanbul as a constructed justification for again attacking the autonomous Kurdish region in north-eastern Syria or Kurdish regions in northern Iraq,” she warned in a broadcast on Tuesday . Even before the investigation had really started, the Turkish police had already presented an alleged course of events and pointed the finger at the Kurdish militia YPG, which also vehemently denied the accusation and condemned the attack on civilians, according to the MP.
“If Turkey attacks, displacement, death and terror will grip the civilian population in the region. For many people, fleeing will again be the only way to escape the horror of war. Nobody can want that. In the face of this dangerous activity, I am therefore calling for an international, impartial investigation into the assassination attempt in Istanbul against the background of the fatal local, regional and international consequences of a possible invasion is anything but credible,” said Ernst-Dziedzic.
US President Joe Biden expressed his “deep condolences” to his Turkish counterpart Erdogan on the sidelines of the G20 summit on the Indonesian island of Bali. The White House said on Tuesday that Biden had assured Erdogan that the United States was standing by its NATO partner. As recently as Monday, Turkish Interior Minister Süleyman Soylu rejected the US condolences. He accused Washington of supporting “terrorist organizations” in northern Syria.
Pope Francis expressed his condolences to the families of those killed and those injured. The head of the Church is “deeply saddened” and prays that “no act of violence will discourage the people of Turkey in their efforts to build a society based on the values of brotherhood, justice and peace,” said the Vatican telegram to the Apostles on Tuesday Nuncio to Turkey, Marek Solczynski.
Source: Nachrichten
