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.