2,000 ISIS members are Turkish; Erdogan harbours jihadist terrorists.

By Solin Hacador:

Demir Celik, MP of the HDP (People’s Democratic Party), for Mus, a Kurdish-populated city, recently stated at a press conference held at the Turkish Parliament that there are around 2,000 specially-trained Turkish fighters within the ISIS terrorist group waging war against humanity.

There is clear evidence and the whole world knows that Turkish President, Recep Tayyip Erdogan has allowed jihadists to receive training in Incirlik Adana and that he has kept Turkey’s 885 km Syrian border open to the jihadists, including ISIS, providing them a safe haven over the last three years, along with logistic support. This means brutal jihadist terrorists have quite easily entered southern and western Kurdish areas and killed both civilians and security forces.

The declaration by Celik now obliges Recep Tayip Erdogan, President of Turkey, and Ahmet Davutoglu, Prime Minister, and his administration to give an explanation to the world and the Kurdish nation in particular for this very serious crime. Of course it is highly possible that they will deny their collaboration with jihadist terrorists.

Obviously, state sponsorship means critical resources for terrorists, with a continual provision of funds, arms, training, safe passage and sanctuary.  It is well reported by the international media that the Turkish AK Party (Justice and development Party) Government developed its collaboration with the jihadists in the Syrian Civil War and they used this as a springboard for their operations in Iraq.

A state that knowingly allows non-state actors to use its territory as a base of operations ought to be held responsible for their attacks though international law lacks a generic definition of terrorism both in treaty and customary law.

There is a reason for supporting such brutal Islamist groups. The reason is to strengthen Islamist power in the Middle East.

It is clear that social, political and even economic power of Middle East Islamists is rapidly growing. However, the phenomenon was not given sufficient attention when they started to make electoral advances in Palestine, Lebanon, Egypt, Morocco and Bahrain. This was followed by successes at the polls by the Islamic Action Front in Jordan in 1989 and the Justice and Development Party in Turkey in 2002.

Obviously, the danger these Islamists posed to humanity was apparent but most of the electorate never wanted see this. What is the danger, they asked? The answer to this question is now painted in blood with the terrorist attacks and military operations of extremist jihadist terrorists in Syria, Iraq and the Kurdish Autonomous Region.

The Islamist revolution in Turkey did not start in 2002. It started earlier, with Necmettin Erbakan (1926 – 2011), the Turkish political leader, founder and inspirer of Islamic political parties. He was very popular during the Refah (Welfare) Party’s era. In consecutive national elections his parties won 7.2 percent of the popular vote in 1987, 16.9 percent (through an electoral coalition with the National Action Party and Democratic Reform Party) in 1991, and 21.4 percent in the December 1995 elections.

Actually, the PKK shares some blame for the increase of Islamist extremism in Turkey. The reason I say this is that, in the 1994 regional election, Ocalan, the leader of the PKK, decided that the Kurdish electorate should not participate. That decision helped Erbakan to get substantial Kurdish votes.

Erbakan and his collaborators supported Turkish Hizbollah, and even encouraged many Kurdish youths from Amed, Batman, Bingol and Mardin to join the group. Many university students financially supported them during this period to help stop the rise of the PKK in Turkey. Hizbollah became a nightmare for all Kurdish people. This very brutal terrorist group was involved in the execution and torture of thousands of Kurds, including the execution of 500 PKK members.

They were supported by both Erbakan and Erdogan. After the death of Velioglu, the Turkish Hizbollah leader, the group began to disintegrate as most members defected to Iran and northern Iraq. They received significant support from Iran. It is now believed that many Turkish Hezbollah defectors made connections with other terrorist groups like Ansar al-Islam and al-Qaeda. They are most probably participating now in ISIS terrorist attacks.

The jihadist terrorist groups continue to inflict pain and suffering on people all over the world. A long term solution is needed to win the war on terror: the advancement of freedom and human dignity through effective democracy.

It is advised that Turkey must meet its obligations to combat terrorism and deny safe haven under U.N. Security Council Resolution 1373. Turkey is a member of the UN, NATO, OECD, OSCE, OIC and G20. Its full membership to the European Union has been negotiated since 2005. However, the Turkish human rights record continues to be an important obstacle to future membership of the EU. If Turkey does not fulfill its UN and NATO obligations, its membership should be reviewed and revoked. The Turkish AK Party Government cannot be allowed to walk away from these very serious international war crimes with clean hands. There is an international obligation to investigate this issue and not allow criminals to play with the peace of the world.

Solin Hacador is currently working as an academician and business investment advisor in Spain. She is specialized in international commercial law and human rights law. She is also a Kurdish human rights activist and writer working on a volunteer basis. She has a doctoral research on the development of European Union co-operation and intercultural dialogue. She is interested in Middle East politics, mainly in Kurdish politics, Kurdish literature, international law, particularly in human rights law; counter terrorism, war and peace processes.

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