Turkey must fight terrorism within limits of law

Turkey was shocked Tuesday morning with yet another deadly terrorist attack. As has become a routine application of the advanced Turkish democratic governance authorities immediately clamped a news blackout on the heinous incident. The details of the attack cannot be reported. There are people killed and wounded.

The prime minister was vouching last weekend once again for the press freedom in the country. Justice minister was boasting last month that there were no journalists in Turkish prisons. Yet, in this country of great and free media reporting on a deadly terrorist attack can be prohibited and despite assurances of the justice minister there are 32 journalists behind prison walls.

Tragicomedy as it is, Turkey is heading full speed to a very uncertain and dangerous situation? Since the November polls, or perhaps since the June polls, this country has been sailing through a very different and troubled period of its recent history. Everyone lost track of counting how many people were killed in terrorism-related violence not only in the terrorism stricken southeast only but in western parts of the country, including capital Ankara and largest city Istanbul.

Many cities and towns of southeastern Anatolia, that were turned into ammunition depots of the separatist gang in front of the watchful but still eyes of the government and the security forces all through the so-called Kurdish opening, have become targets of a massive operation. Several towns have been almost constant curfew since the November elections. A very prominent Kurdish intellectual, Diyarbak?r Bar Association Chairperson Tahir Elçi was shot dead in front of security forces in the heart of Diyarbak?r. The state was so desperate and so incapable that even the on the spot...