Sad News

Those of you who have been following international affairs may have read about the terrorist suicide bombing in İstanbul this past weekend. It took place in Taksim Square, the heart of İstanbul’s commercial district, during the Republic Day weekend. Given these circumstances, we are exceedingly lucky that few people were injured and that everyone caught in the attack seems to be recuperating. There were no fatalities. The attack appeared to be targeted at a police van that was stationed at Taksim Square during the morning. Currently, the Turkish government is investigating any links between the bomber and the Kurdistan Workers Party (the PKK) which has been fighting an armed insurgency in southeastern Anatolia for the past few decades. The PKK had declared a cease-fire for the month of Ramadan and later extended it for the entirety of  September and October, meaning the truce was set to expire the day of the bombing. The PKK has denied any involvement in the attack and extended their truce until the parliamentary elections in July 2011. It remains to be seen how Prime Minister Erdoğan and the AKP (Justice and Development Party, holding the majority of the seats in the Turkish National Assembly) will respond.

Read the New York Times article published 31 October covering the attack and the Cumhuriyet article (in English) detailing the PKK response published 2 November.