Türkiye’s state-owned defense company TUSAŞ (TAI-Turkish Aerospace Industry) was the target of a terrorist attack perpetrated by the PKK, a Kurdish separatist terrorist organization fightihürng for a Kurdish state to be established on Turkish, Iraqi, Syrian and Iranian lands yesterday. The two terrorists, one male and the other female, were killed while four staff of TUSAŞ and a taxi driver, whose car was forcibly taken by terrorists, were killed. Interior Minister announced that there are also 22 injured people.
The attack came after President Erdoğan’s coalition partner Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of nationalist MHP party, stated that he would even accept a pardon for Abdullah Öcalan, PKK’s jailed founder, and even welcome his speech in Turkish parliament provided that he calls for a farewell to guns. While reaction to Bahçeli’s call were mixed in Turkish political spectrum and Turkish society, the PKK leaders based Qandil mountains of Iraq rejected it and declared that they will continue to fight. Analysts say, Bahçeli’s statement is a rare one in Turkish political history as the call was made a nationalist leader. They add that PKK’s rejection shows that it doesn’t want peace but only war. Attacking TUSAŞ facilities is an apparent answer of PKK, they add.
In addition, majority of Turkish people believe that the PKK acted just a pawn for external enemies. People think that it is not a coincidence that the attack took place in Kazan district of Ankara while Erdoğan was in Kazan city of Russia for BRICS summit. In addition, TUSAŞ distresses foreign powers rather than the PKK. The defense company currently produces Hürkuş training jet, tests turbo-jet engined Hürjet and KAAN fighter jet. TUSAŞ has already delivered ATAK military helicopter and will deliver first units of Gökbey civilian helicopter nowadays.
Assoc. Prof. Ibrahim Karataş told Straturka that “TUSAŞ attack seems to be have planned long before. Yet, its conduct was made one day after the call for a new peace process. This means that both the PKK and external powers agreed on the date of the attack to give their messages at the same time. In other words, two birds were hit with one stone.”
Whether Bahçeli and the government will step-back from their intention of commencing a new peace process is yet to be learned soon.
