The Turkish newspapers continue to be full of contradictory reports on the background and perpetrators of the two bombings outside Istanbul synagogues last Saturday. Though some continue to report that a man was seen on closed circuit television pictures, parking and walking away from a red car that later exploded, others seem convinced that both explosions were detonated by suicide bombers and that they have the identity of each killer, both of whom come from Bingol in the east of the country.
Speculation about the connection of these men to local extremist groups also has them being trained variously in Iran, Afghanistan or Chechnya, and there have been stories of a Pakistani passport being found with a picture of one of the killers.
Much of this detail deserves to be treated with the deepest reservation. It is too early in any formal investigation to be drawing such conclusions. What is more, anyone in the Turkish government who is briefing journalists ought to know better. Excessive speculation is likely to hinder the investigations.
It is nevertheless interesting that Turks of all political persuasions and walks of life have reacted with revulsion to the attacks. The Turks have reason to remember how such savagery had, by the late 1970s, become part of everyday life. Turkish society then seemed on the brink of tearing itself apart as terrorists from both sides of the political spectrum carried out bombings and assassinations. At one point the death toll was averaging a dozen people a day.
The past quarter of a century has seen Turkey transformed, economically at least. Modern Istanbul with its new business district of Levent is hardly recognizable from the cramped and chaotic city of 25 years ago. Private Turkish business has prospered since economic liberalization and the major cities have all the accoutrements of modern European cities.
Unfortunately some things have not changed. Turkish state finances remain a stunning mess because no government in the last 25 years has had the political courage to close down or sell off state companies whose substantial losses are a massive drain on the budget. Behind this failure to tackle such crucial challenges lies the weakness of the Turkish political system. The rivalries that divide politicians are so visceral that the greater goal, the well-being of the Turkish state, is all too often ignored. This is what happened in the 1970s as the old Justice and Republican People’s parties fought each other in and out of power. It was the inability of these leaders and their supporters to see the wider picture that brought Turkey to the brink of civil war. Turkish politics has not changed much, though moderate Muslim politicians have drawn support from both left and right. The blasts that shook Istanbul on Saturday should remind Turkey’s political class that they still have much to do.
