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Article | Turkey's Deepening Divisions
TURKEY'S DIVISIONS ARE SO DEEP THEY THREATEN ITS FUTURE
By Soner Cagaptay | Guardian | October 17, 2015
Soner Cagaptay is the Beyer Family Fellow and director of the Turkish Research Program at The Washington Institute, and author of "The Rise of Turkey: The Twenty-First Century's First Muslim Power" (Potomac Books, http://washin.st/ZI45JV).
President Erdogan needs to focus on fighting the terrorist threat, not his political opponents.
It is highly likely that the twin bombs that killed at least 100 people in Ankara last Saturday were the work of Isis. The best Turkish and American intelligence suggests this. Yet, since the massacre, the Turkish government and the opposition have been blaming each other for being complicit in the carnage.
Isis has a strategic game here: it is aware of Turkey's deep polarisation and, by not taking responsibility for the bombing, it hopes to deepen the chasm and even provoke conflict. The country's polarisation is rooted in 13 years of rule by President Recep Tayyip Erdogan's Justice and Development Party (AKP). An ultra-conservative and rightwing politician, Erdogan has produced economic growth and his successes have built a loyal, conservative voter base. Erdogan's supporters, constituting about 40% of the electorate, adore him. In December 2013, when Erdogan faced corruption allegations, his supporters started showing up at AKP rallies shrouded in kefen (the white cloth in which dead Muslims are shrouded before being buried), symbolising that they were committed to go as far as sacrificing their lives for him. FULL TEXT
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