Press Release from Peace Association, Turkey
(
zeynep bespinar May 14th 2013)
While
the official statements from the AKP government claim the death
toll
is 49, according to the information from the hospital officials
in
Reyhanlı, it is actually more than 100, after the
two
bombs
that exploded in the town center near the municipality building
and
main post office on May 11th.
Conflicting
statements from the AKP government after the incident
: Speaking
from Berlin, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said: "It
is
possible
that there would be provocations during such a critical
transition
period in Syria." Refering to the government of Syria with
a
threatening
attitude, Davutoğlu continued: "Nobody should test the
power
of Turkey. Whoever has committed this act will get a full
response
from us if needed. It is not a coincidence that all this
happened
just as critical decisions were being made for the 'transition
period' and diplomatic contacts were intensifying. Turkey will not give
up
its decisive policies."
In
Istanbul, Prime Minister Erdoğan accused parties that wanted
to
sabotage
the "peace process" with the Kurdish in Turkey. He said
"We
have
started a new era with the peace process in our country and those
who
can't stand this process may have done this."
Deputy
Prime Minister Beşir Atalay claimed that the
organization
behind
the bombings was a pro-Syrian government group
"Syrian
Resistance".
The group is led by Mihraç Ural, an Antakya Alawite, and
an
ex-leftist leader who has been fighting in Syria against FSA with
his
group in Syria.
The
statement issued by the Head of Parliament, Bülent Arınç said
that
" the Assad
regime" is the usual suspect behind the incident.
People
of Reyhanlı take to the streets to denounce the AKP
right
after the explosions, video footage from the journalists in the
area
captured the reactions of the town people , expressing
their
anger towards the Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, blaming him and
the
AKP government for the massacre. The young people were
shouting
on the ruins of the explosion for Erdoğan to resign
immediately.
Very shortly after these reactions by the locals, the
government
declared that it was forbidden for the press to broadcast
from
the area.
Demonstration
in Antakya
a few hours after the explosions, a huge demonstration in the
city
centre of Antakya was attended by thousands of people. The demonstration
was
headed
by an organisation "The Union to Prevent an
Imperialist
Intervention
into Syria". The organisation demanded the resignation
of
the governor of Antakya. Speaking on behalf of the
organisation,
Eylem
Mansuroğlu said that the perpetrators of this massacre are
the
bloody
Al-Qaeda murderers, Al Nusra jihadist gangs and the AKP
-government
who protects and supports these groups.
Mansuroğlu
said:
"This
attack is a direct result of the war policies of the AKP-
government.
This attack is about the policies of animosity by the
government
in order to destroy the historical, economic, cultural and
family relations that exist between the peoples of Turkey and Syria.
We,
as the forces of democracy, had noted numerous times in
our
statements
in the past that the war policies led by the AKP government
will
bring about nothing but blood, suffering and death.
We
want peace. We demand an immediate end to the misuse of
Turkish territory . We demand that murderers who threaten another country must not be given shelter. We want to support the the
genuine refugees from Syria. The victims of war need to be cared for. But t
the armed militants are to be expelled from the Turkish territory immediately.
Only
the people of Syria should determine the future of Syria.
The
sectarian
conflict that is being fuelled in Syria will turn into a
conflict
that will soak the whole of Middle East with blood. The
bombings
in Reyhanlı are a clear proof of this danger."
The
Communist Party of Turkey (TKP) also participated in
the
demonstration,
carrying banners saying "Hands off Syria". The TKP
also
issued a statement demanding the resignation of the Minister
of
Foreign
Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu. The declaration noted that: "The
AKP
Government
has been a straight supporter of the bloody provocations in
Syria.
Turkey was drawn into a dreadful swirl with the rhetoric
of
"diplomatic
profundity". The peoples of Turkey and the
people
of Hatay in the first place are paying the price for the infamy of the attempt to
gain
regional power by feeding the enemies of the people of Syria.
The
explosions
in Reyhanlı indicate that the "foreign policy"
of
subcontracting
for imperialism has hit the wall.
The
chief architect of these anti-human and warmongering policies,
the
minister
of foreign affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu must step down
immediately.
AKP government will surely pay for the crimes against
humanity
and against the people of Syria
First terrible results
"
Locals
clash with the Syrian refugees.
The
initial panic after the explosions soon turned into rage against
the
Syrians in the town. It was reported that there were clashes
between
the local population and the Syrian refugees after the
explosions.
In addition to the police, Turkish military had to
intervene
to suppress the clashes.
The
town with a local population of 70 thousand people has been
hosting
around 80 thousand refugees. Along with the refugees, there
are
also armed members of the Free Syrian Army (FSA). Reyhanlı has
been
the main hub for FSA in its fight in northern Syria. It is on one
of
the most significant supply routes for FSA, the Cilvegözü-Bab
Al
Hawa
route. FSA militants take refuge in camps setup in Reyhanlı
and
freely
cross the Syrian border to attack the Syrian government forces
and
cross the border back to Turkey to rest.
There
has been constant tension between the locals of Reyhanlı and
FSA
militants
since FSA has been in the area.
Media
ban by AKP government on coverage from Reyhanlı
.
After
the incident, the biggest censorship in the Turkish history came
into
force when AKP government introduced a media ban on coverage
from
Reyhanlı.
Three journalists were detained for violating the ban.
According
to the state prosecutor, media coverage from Reyhanlı would
expose
certain "state secrets".
Evidence
at the scene of incident were cleared by bulldozers
. Members
of the main opposition party CHP, went to Reyhanlı just hours
after
the bombings. One of the CHP deputies, Mevlüt Dudu who went to
the
explosion site said that "Police officers are not
gathering
evidence;
on the contrary they are burying the evidence. Bulldozers
are
clearing the scene".
The
government has issued a ban on the media to take pictures or videos
of
the crime scene. Two cameramen were detained for shooting
the
explosion
site.
Reyhanlı
incident ignites protests all over Turkey
. On
Sunday May 12th, there were massive protests held in cities all
over
Turkey, including İstanbul, Ankara, Mersin, Eskişehir and İzmir.
In
all the protests, AKP was denounced as the responsible party for
the
massacre in Reyhanlı. Speaking at the protest in Ankara,
Dengiz
Sönmez,
spokesperson for the main government employees union KESK,
said:
"As long as the forces of labor, democracy and revolution
are
standing
against US' subcontractor AKP, imperialism and its lackey
AKP
will eventually pay the price." Sönmez also indicated that
what happened
in Reyhanlı was an excuse for imperialist intervention in
Syria,
adding: "We will never leave the people of Syria stranded.
We
are
screaming from here that we will not let our country to be pushed
to
war."
Previous
incidents similar to Reyhanlı
There
have been four previous incidents in Turkey that resulted in
the
deaths
of civilians. All of the incidents were a direct result of
AKP's
policies towards Syria.
The
first one was in October 2012 when a mortar fire from Syria
resulted
in the deaths of five Turkish citizens and injury to nine
others
in Akçakale, a Turkish town on the Syrian border.
After
the incident, the residents of Akçakale stormed the AKP
mayor's
office,
holding AKP responsible for the deaths. AKP officials blamed
the
Syrian government and used the incident as an excuse for an
artillery
attack into Syria. A few days after the incident, evidence
pointed
to the armed opposition for the mortar attack, not the Syrian
army
the mortar attack.
The
second incident took place in January 2013 in the province
of
Gaziantep.
After an explosion that claimed the lives of Syrian
citizens
in the industrial section of town, AKP officials quickly
blamed
the Syrian government. Later on, it was revealed that the
explosion
was caused by an overheated acid boiler in a factory where
Syrian
refugees were put to work illegally.
On
February 11th 2013, there was a huge explosion in Cilvegözü
border
crossing
near Reyhanlı which claimed the lives of 14 people and
injured
more than ten. AKP government blamed Syria again but instead
of
providing evidence for their claim, the government censored those who sought the
evidence.
On
May 2nd, a group of people belonging to the Syrian opposition
wanted
to cross the border at Akçakale. When the Turkish police asked
to
see their passports, the group attacked with assault rifles,
killing
one police officer and injuring five civilians.The AKP government
was did not accuse the Syrian government for this serious boxer incident.
The
government
and the mainstream media dropped the whole issue within a few
days
after the incident.
