by S. Giovanna Giacomazzi

West should be concerned about Turkey’s troubles

The lack of American press coverage concerning the disturbance in Turkey this month is, at the very least, dismaying.

Since 1952, Turkey has taken upon itself to defend Western anti-Communist values in the Middle East. That was the year Turkey joined NATO and began antagonizing some of its Arab neighbors by assuming the apparent role of NATO’s representative in the area.

More recently, Turkey has proved its importance to the West during the events of the Gulf War. In the autumn of 1990, when the USA, urged by Kuwait and Saudi Arabia and with practically the entire consensus of world opinion, made clear that it would not accept Kuwait’s annexation, Turkey lent its support firmly to the American position.

Western economic sanctions were supported by closing the oil pipeline from Kirkuk in Iraq to Yumurtalik and, as the crisis escalated into war, it allowed bombing of Iraq by U.S. planes from bases in Incirlik and Diyabakir.

Communism may have waned and the Gulf War may be behind us, but Turkey has proven its strategic importance to the West and the recent events merit our attention.

On March 12, four tea houses and a bakery were bombed in Istanbul. The tea houses were gathering places for members of the Alawite Muslim community, a group that represents one third of the population and who have helped Turkey serve as a role model to 100 million Turkic speakers in the new Muslim republics of Central Asia and the Muslim parts of the Balkans. They have been demonstrating how Muslim beliefs can be combined with modern policies.

The disturbances in Istanbul extended to the capital city of Ankara on March 13, where thousands of demonstrators congregated in the center of the city, where they began a march toward parliament. Demonstrators responded to attempts to disperse crowds with stone throwing. Police used high-pressure hoses against the crowd, which resulted in numerous injuries.

The demonstrators had been convoked by labor unions and human rights organizations in protest against the confrontations in Istanbul between police authorities and the Alawite Islamic group. The disturbances on March 13 concluded with at least 17 deaths and more than 100 injured. The Turkish parliament has created a commission to investigate the disturbances.

It would seem evident that the Turkish government and police authorities have found themselves in the midst of a conflict involving the moderate Alawite and the ever-growing number of supporters of Islamic fundamentalism.

In light of recent dramatic changes in once moderate north African nations such as Morocco and Algeria, involving extreme violence and terrorism instigated by Islamic fundamentalists, and given the important role that Turkey has played in the last few decades in propagating moderate issues and attitudes, it would seem that the events deserve, if not alarm and concern, at least mention.

March 1995

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