blasts in Turkey

[verte76]

It's being reported that three people were killed in blasts in two Turkish towns. I went to one of these cities, Antalya. It's a beautiful town on the Mediterranean. This is really sad. Here's the link to CNN.

http://www.cnn.com/2006/WORLD/europe/08/28/turkey.blasts/index.html

 

[Justin24]

When will this world finally have enough of the Extremists. I told my friend the other day, that I think Religon is BS. Judaism, Islam, Christianity is BS a religion created by man to controll the masses. I believe in God and I reach out to him, not through religion but through other means.

 

[AcrobatMan]

sad but expected

 

[ntalwar]

I told my friend the other day, that I think Religon is BS.

What does this explosion have to do with religion?
This attack was claimed by the Kurdistan Workers Party, and is related more to land than religion.

 

[Justin24]

In General

 

[verte76]

Yeah, the Kurdish Worker's Party carried out these attacks. They did the attacks because they want their own homeland, separate from Turkey. They live in southeastern Turkey, and that's where they want their state to be. The Kurds are Sunni Muslims, like most Turks, so it's got nothing to do with religion.

 

[yeter]

Very sad. I worked in Turkey for three years. Great country, great people.

 

[A_Wanderer]

So religion and marxism are two things that should be avoided, not too much difference anyhow

 

[verte76]

So religion and marxism are two things that should be avoided, not too much difference anyhow

I think Marxism can be considered a religion of sorts. Or maybe it's an anti-religion? Does that make any sense?

 

[yolland]

I don't see how this demonstrates that "Marxism" should be avoided; militant nationalism would be more like it.

Militant Kurds warn they will wreak havoc on Turkey's tourism industry

By LOUIS MEIXLER
Associated Press, August 29, 2006

ANKARA - An extremist Kurdish militant group warned that it will turn "Turkey into hell" and urged tourists to avoid travel to the country.

The warnings and five recent bombings that have killed three people and wounded dozens are part of what appears to be a trend in the Kurdish guerrilla war against the Turkish state: bombings against "soft targets" like tourist sites and Istanbul neighborhoods, in addition to attacks against Turkish troops and police in the overwhelmingly Kurdish southeast. The past few months have seen an upsurge in violent attacks in the southeast that have left dozens of soldiers and guerrillas dead. That has led to a tougher Turkish crackdown in the region, the massing of Turkish tanks and artillery along the Iraqi border and threats to attack the main guerrilla bases in northern Iraq.

The bombings also come as Turkey is increasingly pressuring Washington to take measures against the guerrillas in northern Iraq and Ankara has threatened to take unilateral action if Washington keeps stalling. On Tuesday, the United States appointed former Air Force general Joseph Ralston as a special envoy for countering the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK. "Gen. Ralston will have responsibility for coordinating U.S. engagement with the government of Turkey and the government of Iraq to eliminate the terrorist threat of the PKK and other terrorist groups operating in northern Iraq and across the Turkey-Iraq border," U.S. State Department spokesman Sean McCormack said.

The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons, a militant group believed to be an offshoot of the much larger Kurdistan Workers Party, claimed responsibility for both blasts. The Falcons, who are believed to number several hundred, are believed to largely made up of Kurds who fled fighting the southeast and now live in slums ringing Turkish cities in the west. They have accused the PKK of weakness and claim to be attracting PKK guerrillas to their ranks. Many analysts, however, believe that they are closely allied with and possibly even directed by the PKK leadership.

"We have promised to turn ... Turkey into hell," the group said in a message posted Tuesday on its web site. "The fear of death will reign everywhere in Turkey." In a Monday message taking responsibility for the Marmaris bombing, the group warned that "Turkey is not a safe country, tourists should not come to Turkey...There is no limit to our rage."

Tourism is a critical industry in Turkey, with foreign tourists bringing in US$13.9 billion last year.

Not exactly relieving news that the US is getting drawn into it, but given the Iraq connection, inevitable I suppose.

 

[verte76]

I'm going back, terrorists or no terrorists. I have more of a chance getting killed going to the airport in the car than I do anywhere in Turkey.