Terrorist attack in Ankara: investigation continues

Yesterday's explosion at a bus stop near the public garden Güvenpark when there were large crowds of people in the center of Ankara, was the fifth terrorist attack in the past few months. According to recent reports, 37 people were killed. More than 125 people were injured. According to the Prime Minister of Turkey, Ahmet Davutoglu, 11 people have been detained on suspicion of involvement in the terrorist attack.

It is known that a car exploded between two buses. "30 people died yesterday at the scene. A suicide bomber was identified among them," the Minister of Health of Turkey Mehmet Myuezzinoglu said.

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was forced to postpone his visit to Jordan. "I offer my condolences to the families of those whose close people were killed and wish a speedy recovery to the injured. Due to instability in the region in recent years, Turkey is the target of the terrorists," he said.

Minister of Internal Affairs Minister of Internal Affairs Efka Ala promised to announce the names of the suspects of the attack today. Despite the Turkish media about the first arrested, the Turkish authorities haven't given any official comment on the alleged perpetrators of the explosion. In addition, no one terrorist group has taken  responsibility for the attack yet, although, according to media reports, the female suicide bomber Ceher Chagla Demir was involved in the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party).

The representative of the National Congress of Kurdistan in Moscow Selahattin Soro considers that the PKK is not involved in the explosion at the bus stop. "It's definitely not the PKK because it is not its style. The PKK doesn't organize massive attacks against random people. It fights only with those who oppress the common people," he said.

Ex-President of Turkey Abdullah Gul urged all political parties to fight against terrorism.

"Everyone, regardless his political views, should work together in the fight against terrorism and radicalism," he wrote in his microblog.

In this regard, "Vestnik Kavkaza" asked our Turkish experts whether the growth of terrorism is able to unite the political forces of the country.

The senior lecturer of the Department of International Relations at the University of Economics and Technology TOBB (Ankara) Togrul Ismayil that the growing number of terrorist acts can only divide the Turkish political system. The expert drew attention to the fact that the growth of critical and oppositional sentiment towards the country's leadership and the ruling party is the danger to Turkey's political stability first of all now. "It may lead to a split in society, but in general, we see that the party National Movement (IPA) and the national Republicans support the government in the fight against terrorism, and this is very important moment. Only the Democracy of peoples party (PDN) expresses its solidarity with the community on the issue of terrorism, but it is recognized as a terrorist organization,'' Togrul Ismail concluded.

Turkish political scientist Burak Bilgehan Ozpek stated in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza that he doesn't believe that these tragic events will contribute to the unification of the parties, even in the fight against terror.

"It is not possible in the current circumstances. It is necessary to stop all sorts of talks and speculations about presidential control system in order to unite all parties against terror today. Proponents of this idea believe that the chaos in Turkey will stop if it becomes a presidential republic. And I think the Gul's statement should be viewed in this way," the analyst said.

Minister of Internal Affairs Efka Ala promised to announce the names of the suspects of the attack today. Despite the Turkish media reporting about the first arrests, the Turkish authorities haven't made any official comment on the alleged perpetrators of the explosion. In addition, no one terrorist group has taken  responsibility for the attack yet, although, according to media reports, the female suicide bomber Ceher Chagla Demir was involved in the PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party).

The representative of the National Congress of Kurdistan in Moscow, Selahattin Soro, considers that the PKK is not involved in the explosion at the bus stop. "It's definitely not the PKK because it is not its style. The PKK doesn't organize mass attacks against random people. It fights only with those who oppress the common people," he said.

Ex-President of Turkey Abdullah Gul urged all political parties to fight against terrorism.

"Everyone, regardless of his political views, should work together in the fight against terrorism and radicalism," he wrote in his microblog.

In this regard, Vestnik Kavkaza asked our Turkish experts whether the growth of terrorism is able to unite the political forces of the country.

The senior lecturer of the Department of International Relations at the University of Economics and Technology TOBB (Ankara) Togrul Ismayil said that the growing number of terrorist acts can only divide the Turkish political system. The expert drew attention to the fact that the growth of critical and oppositional sentiment towards the country's leadership and the ruling party is a danger to Turkey's political stability first of all now. "It may lead to a split in society, but in general, we see that the party National Movement (IPA) and the national Republicans support the government in the fight against terrorism, and this is a very important moment. Only the Democracy of Peoples Party (PDN) expresses its solidarity with the community on the issue of terrorism, but it is recognized as a terrorist organization,'' Togrul Ismail concluded.

Turkish political scientist Burak Bilgehan Ozpek stated in an interview with a correspondent of Vestnik Kavkaza that he doesn't believe that these tragic events will contribute to the unification of the parties, even in the fight against terror.

"It is not possible in the current circumstances. It is necessary to stop all sorts of talks and speculations about presidential control system in order to unite all parties against terror today. Proponents of this idea believe that the chaos in Turkey will stop if it becomes a presidential republic. And I think Gul's statement should be viewed in this way," the analyst said.