THE GLOBAL DIMENSION
BY FIKRET BILA (MILLIYET)
Suicide car bombers attacked two synagogues in downtown
Istanbul at almost the same time early Saturday. The two
blasts killed 23 people, including both Jewish and Muslim
Turkish citizens, and some 300 were wounded. One explosion
went off outside the Neve Shalom synagogue, the city’s
largest. The other severely damaged the Beth Israel
synagogue in Sisli district. The explosions occurred during
morning Jewish Sabbath prayers, around 10 a.m. Most of the
causalities appeared to be residents living nearby and
passers-by. Houses and cars were completely destroyed where
the explosions took place. The Neve Shalom synagogue was the
scene of another bloody attack in 1986 by Palestinians in
which 22 people were killed. /All Papers/
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday surveyed
the damage caused by near-simultaneous bomb attacks on two
Istanbul synagogues on Saturday. Erdogan told reporters that
the deadly attacks were a reminder of terrorism’s worldwide
reach and the need for united international action against
it. Stressing that an investigation was already underway,
Erdogan said, “Those behind these attacks will be found, and
necessary measures will be taken.” Erdogan pledged that his
government would do its best to help victims of the attacks.
The premier also visited the wounded in hospital and
expressed his sorrow and condolences to Chief Rabbi Yitzhak
Haleva and members of the Jewish community at large. /All
Papers/
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul said yesterday that Turkey
was busy preparing a new breakthrough initiative to help
push a settlement on the Cyprus issue. Stressing that Turkey
was entering a very critical period for its European Union
membership bid, Gul said, “We are working on a new plan for
Cyprus through serious analysis rather than mere slogans and
enthusiasm.” During his visit to Kayseri over the weekend,
Gul told reporters that both sides in Cyprus should take
good faith steps to solve the issue. /Turkiye/
Countries worldwide condemned the deadly car bomb attacks
on Saturday targeting two synagogues in Istanbul, calling
them “tragic” and “reprehensible.” In related news, US
President George W. Bush said that the attacks prove that
terrorists do their work “without conscience or faith,” and
reiterated that the United States stands with Turkey in the
global fight against them. Calling Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan to express his sympathy over the bombings,
Bush said, “I condemn in the strongest possible terms the
terrorist attacks in Istanbul, where Turkey’s diverse
religious communities of Muslim, Jewish and Christian
believers have flourished together for centuries.” The US
State Department also strongly condemned the attacks. In
addition, Secretary of State Colin Powell telephoned his
Turkish counterpart Abdullah Gul to convey his condolences.
/All Papers/
In the wake of the twin attacks on synagogues in Istanbul
on Saturday, Israeli Foreign Minister Silvan Shalom arrived
in Istanbul yesterday. After visiting the chief rabbi in
Istanbul, Shalom laid wreaths at the Neve Shalom and Beth
Israel synagogues. Later Shalom met with Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul. “This attack has injured both Muslims and Jews,”
Shalom said afterwards. “These attacks on innocent
worshippers are the work of radicals and cowards.” Shalom
added he had faith the Turkish government would spare no
effort to find those behind the attacks and stressed that he
shared the shock and grief of the Turkish people. /Hurriyet/
A London-based Arabic newspaper said yesterday that a
unit of the al Qaeda network had claimed responsibility for
the weekend synagogue bombings in Istanbul that killed at
least 23. The editor of al-Quds al-Arabi said that a
division of Osama bin Laden's al Qaeda known as the Abu Hafs
al-Masri Brigades had sent it a statement claiming
responsibility for Saturday's near-simultaneous bombings. /Turkiye/
Religious Affairs Directorate head Ali Bardakoglu issued
a statement after Saturday’s deadly suicide attacks in
Istanbul forthrightly condemning the terrorist actions.
Attacks targeting innocent worshippers, no matter their
faith, show that these suicide bombers are utterly lacking
in values, said the statement. “We share the pain of our
Jewish citizens, with whom we have lived in Anatolia side-by-side,
peacefully, for centuries, and we condemn these terrible
attacks,” added Bardakoglu. /Hurriyet/
Condemning Saturday’s deadly car bombings of Istanbul
synagogues, opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)
leader Deniz Baykal said yesterday that Turkey had entered a
new period in its fight against terrorism. “We must
recognize that Turkey has entered a new era,” said Baykal.
“There may be other attacks. International solidarity is
necessary to fight terrorism.” He further warned that the
attacks showed that Turkey’s anti-terrorism defenses were
insufficient. /Aksam/
Israeli Prime Minister Ariel Sharon said yesterday that
the deadly bombings of two synagogues in Istanbul this
weekend showed that “terrorism knows no bounds.” Sharon
opened the weekly Israeli Cabinet meeting with a statement
expressing his nation’s condolences to the families of those
slain, Jews and Muslims alike, in the “despicable” terror
attack in Istanbul. “We saw once again that terrorism knows
no bounds,” he said. “Terrorism doesn’t discriminate on the
basis of religion or blood. Its aim is to sow fear and
terror through the slaying of innocent people.” He added
that Israel had full confidence that Turkey would capture
those responsible and bring them to justice. /Aksam/
In the wake of Saturday’s terrorist attacks in Istanbul,
True Path Party (DYP) leader Mehmet Agar said yesterday that
Turkey was a country which had proved itself on the
international stage in the fight against terrorism. “Our
nation will not be cowed by terrorist attacks,” he added. /Turkiye/
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan this weekend attended
celebrations marking the 20th anniversary of the Turkish
Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC). Also present at the
ceremonies were Turkey’s opposition Republican People’s
Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal, True Path Party (DYP)
leader Mehmet Agar, Air Forces Commander Gen. Ibrahim
Firtina and other government ministers and deputies. Turkey
will never forsake the TRNC, and its support will remain
steadfast, pledged Erdogan. /Cumhuriyet/
Thomas Weston, the special US coordinator for Cyprus, is
expected to arrive in Ankara today to discuss Turkey’s
European Union membership bid and the Cyprus issue with
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Foreign Minister
Abdullah Gul and other officials. While Greek Cyprus is due
to join the EU next May, Turkey hopes to get a date for its
membership talks during the December 2004 EU summit. In
related news, new Turkmen Front Iraqi leader Faruk Abdullah
Abdurrahman is expected to arrive in Ankara tomorrow to meet
with Gul. Current Iraqi Governing Council President Jalal
Talabani is also expected to visit Turkey tomorrow.
/Cumhuriyet/
Chief of General Staff Gen. Hilmi Ozkok yesterday met
with NATO Supreme Allied Commander for Transformation Adm.
Edmund P. Giambastiani in Ankara. During their meeting, the
two commanders discussed Turkey’s structures of force and
command as well as its relations within NATO. In addition,
recently established “perfection centers” and NATO’s
transformation were also taken up. /Turkiye/
Columnist Yilmaz Oztuna comments on the weekend bomb
attacks on two synagogues in Istanbul. A summary of his
column is as follows:
“Terror struck Istanbul last weekend. Who did it, and why?
This will be widely discussed, but to no avail. Al Qaeda
seems to be the most likely group in terms of this type of
attack. The message to Turkey and the world is as follows:
‘If you continue to cooperate with the US, you will suffer
such misfortunes. You should adopt a clear stance against
Israel and cease being interested in Iraq.’
If this is really the message, in Turkey it will actually
have the opposite effect. As we can’t make concessions to
terrorism, we will only align our policy with Washington’s
that more. In addition, this anti-Semitic attack – something
unfamiliar and alien to Turkey – will also cause a greater
rapprochement in our relations with Israel.
Whether the attack was carried out by a radical Islamic
group or not, Turkey will continue its current foreign
policy. In other words, the US is our strategic ally, and
our European Union membership bid will continue. The goal of
ruining Turkey’s peace and stability and weakening our
economy cannot be ignored either. Turkish-Israeli relations,
which are already good, will grow closer. The aim is to
shock and confuse us. Meanwhile, the message to Europe that
its turn might be next shouldn’t be missed. These are my
initial impressions. As the story develops, my views could
change as well.”
Columnist Fikret Bila writes on the concept of global
terrorism. A summary of his column is as follows:
“Saturday morning’s terrorist attacks on two synagogues
in Istanbul during Sabbath services must be evaluated
alongside the concept of ‘globalization.’ Global terrorism,
the phenomenon of terrorists operating simultaneously across
several nations, has been facilitated by globalization
itself and now has ironically become the greatest challenge
to the global world order. Terrorist networks at work today
use the technological tools of globalization to supply their
financial and human resources.
The US, as the world’s superpower leading the new world
order, believes that terrorism can be stopped through a show
of brute force. Washington has been pursuing a policy of
coercion in order to destroy threats to the global economic
order. The terrorist attacks have been used as a
justification for American forces’ occupation of both
Afghanistan and Iraq. However, this thesis is demonstrably
false. The fact is that globalization has created a breeding
ground for terrorism which cannot be eradicated through
military force alone. If the social and economic roots of
this breeding ground aren’t eliminated, there is no hope of
stopping terrorist groups.
The US should re-allocate at least a small portion of the
resources that it currently devotes to military operations
over to new initiatives aimed at eliminating the ever-growing
socioeconomic imbalances throughout the world. Continuing to
ignore the social and economic dynamics of terrorism will
inevitably do irreparable harm to world peace.
States cannot fight global terrorism individually.
Countries should establish international platforms to combat
global terrorism. In addition, a similar platform should
also be established to fight poverty and ensure a just
distribution of world income. One cannot stop global
terrorism without paying attention to all the factors
involved. The US must take these dimensions into account if
it wants to succeed in its plans in Iraq. The Iraqi
opposition should also be seen in this context. This issue
is more important than Washington’s economic plans to open
the resources of the countries it’s occupying to world
markets.”
