Terrorist Groups in Turkey

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Table of Contents

Overview
Conclusion
References

Overview

There are small upcoming groups conducting terror in Turkey. However, the Turkish government fails to officially acknowledge them because there are inconclusive and barely cause substantially threat (Ker-Lindsay & Cameron, 2009).

Because of this, the Turkish National Police (2013) has only designated four groups as terrorist groups falling under three categories; separatists, left wing and terrorist groups that exploit religion. These terror groups include Al Qaeda, Hezbollah, DHKP/C and PKK/KCK. Although quite a few in number, these groups have caused increased terror attacks in Turkey by conducting bombings, kidnappings, road blockings, assassinations and illegal street demonstrations among other attacks.

This has often necessitated the Turkish government to improve the local emergency response to save the increased number of life and property lost during the terror attacks. Markedly, in the year 2012 alone, besides innocent civilians, the government lost over 132 military personnel to terror attacks.

According to Roach (2003), knowing a terror group’s goals, objectives or mission provides a strong basis for countering terror attacks because the government can anticipate and calculate the probable moves of the terrorists. With this in mind, this paper discusses the goals, objectives and missions of these terror groups to shed light on them and show the possibility of an effective strategy for countering terrorism in Turkey.

DHKP/C or the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Font

Sevinc (2008) notes that DHKP/C mission is overthrowing the regime that exists in Turkey aided by a violent revolution to set up a communist society using Marxist-Leninist principles as a guide.

To become successful in its mission, the group, through a series of successful terrorism operations in Turkey has attained one of its goals, which is to establish a centre in European countries with dense Turkish populations. Another key goal to help it achieve its mission includes developing public riots led by armed struggle in rural and urban area. In addition to this, the group’s goal is targeting Israeli, European and American enterprises, which the group perceives as global imperialism advocates who sabotage communism.

This also goes for targeting government officials to weaken the Turkish government, such as in the case of year 2009 Suicide Bombing, a failed bombing attack targeting the Minister of justice. The key objective of the group is attaining its goals through conducting assassinations, armed attacks and laying bomb traps for their presumed enemies.

Al Qaeda

As a religion motivated terror group, Al Qaeda’s mission is overthrowing Muslim governments that it perceives as Western world puppets, and to setting up Islamist regimes. To attain its mission, Sevinc (2008) notes that the group’s key goal is attacking US and US allies whom it perceives as the enemies of the Islamic religion. By doing so, the group believes that it contributes to establishing an Islamist State in the county.

To attain its goal, the group has several objectives, which are bombing and conducting suicide attacks on the US and its allies citizens and interests present in Turkey. For instance, the year 2003 saw Al Qaeda perform suicide attacks on 2 Jewish Synagogues and a British bank, HSBC bank that left 61 people dead and over 647 injured.

Hezbollah

Hezbollah, a religious-based terror group’s mission is to demolish Turkish presumed secular regime and establish it with strict Islamic religion rules through violent and forceful means. To attain this mission, the group focuses on its goal of initiating propaganda to help attract sympathizers or members who join the militia to help conduct violent and forceful terror activities or objectives.

These include shootings, kidnappings, armed attacks, acid attacks on women deviating from strict Islamic dressing code, arsons and beatings. The group also applies premeditated brutal torture techniques methodologically (NATO Science for Peace and Security Series, 2008).

PKK or the Kurdistan Workers Party

As a separatist terror group, PKK mission is adopting a long-term public war to oversee the independence of the Kurds in areas where they are dominated, including Syria, Iran and Iraq.

This is as guided by the Marxism ideology to help to end the Kurds oppression. Goals and objectives that help to attain its mission include trying to manipulate the world public opinion, society and political arena to fit its purpose and garner membership. This also goes for exploiting concepts, such as legal defense, democracy and civil disobedience to appeal to foreign states to garner approval and funds.

In addition, they focus on exploiting weak members of the society, primarily children and women by using them to conduct public violence. Some of the public violence involves demonstrations full of violent acts and conflicting with the police in the streets (National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism, 2013). This also goes for using them to conduct suicide bombings, collect intelligence and target-reconnaissance.

Conclusion

Markedly, the terror groups have strong ideologies that form the basis of their missions. A terror group’s mission forms the basis of its goals and objectives, which over the years become predictable due to their repeated nature. Therefore, the Turkish government can predict the probable course of actions that the terror groups will take and probable targets.

For instance, in Hezbollah’s case, they can predict that the terrorists may attack or kidnap women who do not conform to the Islamic dressing code. Therefore, they can monitor such terror attacks hotspots, such as public places to prevent such attacks and arrest the terror perpetrators. Such moves as guided by terror group’s mission, goals and objectives could help prevent terror attacks and weaken terror groups in Turkey.

References

Ker-Lindsay, J., & Cameron, A. (2009). Combating international terrorism: Turkey’s added value. Web.

National Consortium for the Study of Terrorism and Response to Terrorism. (2013). Terrorist organization profile: Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Web.

NATO Science for peace and Security Series. (2008). Organizational and Psychological Aspects of Terrorism. Ankara: IOS Press.

Roach, C. (2003).Terrorism: Turkey point. Lincoln, NE: iUniverse Inc.

Sevinc, B. (2008). Participation in terrorist organizations: An analysis of left wing DHKP/C and religiously motivated Turkish Hezbollah terrorist organizations. Ann Arbor, MI: ProQuest.

Turkish National Police (2013). Terrorist organizations in Turkey. Web.

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