The United States Department of State for the first time included the Fetullah Terror Organization (FETÖ) in its 2016 Country Reports on Terrorism, and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK)-affiliated Democratic Union Party (PYD) and the People’s Protection Units (YPG) terrorist organizations were mentioned in the Turkey chapter of the report.
In the relevant chapter, Turkey was stated as continuing its battle against terror organizations, particularly PKK and Daesh, also large-scale terror attacks organized in Turkey in 2016 were listed.
Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş addressed the United States’ report when he bequeathed his office to Fikri Işık. “It has proved that we are right. His [Fetullah Gülen’s] extradition should be ensured. This is a deficient but positive report, which should be completed. Necessary steps regarding house arrest should be taken,” said Kurtulmuş.
It is stated in the report that the National Security Council designated FETÖ as a terrorist organization on May 26, 2016. The report also included, “The government asserts that the Gülen movement planned and led the July 15 coup attempt, which killed more than 240 people and injured more than 2,100.”
The report also shared, according to government sources, that “as of November 22, more than 86,000 civil servants were dismissed from public service, and as of October 8, authorities had arrested nearly 35,000 suspects for their affiliation with FETÖ.”
Underscoring Turkey’s fight against terrorist organizations and foreign terrorist fighters, the report included steps that Ankara had taken within the scope of counterterrorism.
According to the Ministry of Internal Affairs’ data in the report, from January to November 23, 2016, Turkish security forces detained 3,089 individuals for links to Daesh, 1,381 of whom were foreign nationals. It subsequently arrested 1,204 individuals, 618 of whom were foreign nationals.
Moreover, the Euphrates Shield Operation that Turkey launched in August against Daesh, and Turkey’s active membership of the Global Coalition to Defeat Daesh are among the featured titles in the report.
Regarding Turkey’s fight against foreign fighters, the report stated:
“The Government of Turkey continued to expand its ‘Banned from Entry List’ to prevent foreign terrorist fighters traveling to Turkey. Risk Analysis Units continued to operate at major ports of entry and internal transit points to designate potential foreign terrorist fighters. Security forces increased their ability to keep persons and contraband from crossing Turkey’s borders.”
The report also addressed Turkey’s contributions to the operations launched against Daesh, and stressed the importance that it opened Incirlik Air Base and other sites to Coalition aircraft in support of counter-Daesh operations in Iraq and Syria.
The report said that Turkey is a founding member of the Global Counterterrorism Forum (GCTF), and served as its co-chair from Sept.2011 to April 2016. “As the co-chair of the Coalition’s Working Group on Foreign Terrorist Fighters with the Netherlands, Turkey hosted an international meeting of the working group in Antalya on October 26-27.”
The report added that the PKK continued with its terrorist attacks in Turkey during 2016, and according to Anadolu Agency, Turkish Armed Forces killed, wounded, or captured more than 8,000 PKK terrorists in operations since July 2015. It was stated that more than 750 government security personnel were martyred in PKK-attributed attacks during this timeframe.
The Kurdistan Freedom Falcons/Hawks (TAK), a PKK splinter group, was stated to have increased terrorist attacks targeting security personnel, infrastructure, and tourism facilities. The report addressed that attacks by the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front (DHKP/C), a Marxist-Leninist terrorist group against the U.S. and North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) continued.
While the report did not designate PYD/YPG as a terrorist organization, the relevant chapter read:
“The Government of Turkey has domestically identified several organizations as terrorist groups, including Turkish Hezbollah, the Communist Party of Turkey/Marxist–Leninist (TKP/ML), and its armed wing, the Liberation Army of the Workers and Peasants of Turkey (TIKKO), as well as the Marxist-Leninist Communist Party (MLKP). Turkey also considers the Syria-based Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its military wing, the People’s Protection Units (YPG), to be terrorist organizations closely linked to the PKK.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the European Union and the United States.
The PKK has been conducting armed violence in the southeastern part of Turkey since 1984. More than 40,000 people, mostly civilians, have been killed in the three-decade long conflict.
