Turkey: Information on the activities of radical Islamic groups, their links with political parties and the police's response to Islamic extremism

For general and detailed information on the above-mentioned subjects, please consult the attached documents. Concerning radical Islamic groups and their links with political parties in particular, Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, published in 1991, states that "Some public opinion surveys have put [the fundamentalists] at approximately 9 per cent of the population, which corresponds roughly to the voting strength of the Welfare Party" (1991, 348). However, at the 1994 local elections the Welfare Party finished third, increased its share of the vote to 18.3 percent and captured the mayoralties of Istanbul and Ankara (Political Handbook of the World 1994-95, 892). According to Revolutionary and Dissident Movements, the Welfare Party "is the main legal vehicle of Turkish Islamic fundamentalists" (1991, 346).

While addressing the subject of religious opposition, Revolutionary and Dissident Movements mentions that Islamic "terrorist groups" have murdered prominent secularists such as the jurist, Professor Muammer Aksoy, the former woman dean of the Ankara faculty of theology, Professor Bahriye Uçok and the journalist Cetin Emeç, all killed in 1990 (1991, 348). According to Islam and Islamic Groups, "the early 1990s were notable for a significant rise in the Islamic militancy resulting in the murders of prominent public figures opposed to the government's pro-Islamic measures" (1992, 254). Some of the groups which claimed responsibility for these attacks are: the Islamic Revenge Organization, also known as the Islamic Revenge Movement, the Turkish Islamic Commandos, the Kurdish Islamic Revolutionaries, the Islamic Jihad of Turkey and the Turkish Party of God (ibid., 254-55). The Associated Press reports that "the cracks in Turkey's secular edifice alarm Turkey's upper-middle class and intelligentsia" (1 Apr. 1995).

The Europa World Year Book 1994 states that "in July 1993, some 36 people died in a fire started by Islamic fundamentalists who were protesting against a liberal cultural festival that was being held in the eastern town of Sivas" (1994, 2948). According to Reuters, a fundamentalist group named Islamic Avengers' Front of the Great East (IBDA-C) claimed responsibility for the assassination attempt of 7 September 1994 on a prominent Turkish political scientist known for his secular writings (8 Sept. 1994). Another source reports that radical Islamic groups claimed responsibility for attacks on coffee-shops in Alawite Muslim neighbourhoods in March 1995 (Associated Press 1 Apr. 1995).

Several documents discuss the police's response to Islamic extremism. In particular, Islam and Islamic Groups states that

the military regime sought to respond to pressure from Islamists by approving a series of measures in 1981-82 making religious instruction compulsory in all secondary schools. At the same time, however, it also pursued a vigorous policy aimed at suppressing Islamic Fundamentalism (1992, 253).

At the time of the July 1993 Sivas incident, "the Cabinet, in an emergency meeting, responded to the renewed violence by imposing a curfew on Sivas and by dismissing the Director-General of the police force (The Europa World Year Book 1994, 2948). According to a 11 February 1994 press report by Xinhua News Agency the police in Istanbul dismantled a cell of the radical Islamic movement organization and claimed that "the arrests could be a major breakthrough in the investigation of radical Islamic terrorism in Turkey."

For further information on the above-mentioned subjects, please refer to the attached documents.

This Response was prepared after researching publicly accessible information currently available to the DIRB within time constraints. This Response is not, and does not purport to be, conclusive as to the merit of any particular claim to refugee status or asylum.

References

Associated Press (AP) Worldstream. 1 April 1995. Daniel J. Wakin. "Fundamentalists Mayors Flex Muscles in Secular Turkey With Turkey-Kurds." (NEXIS)

The Europa World Year Book 1994. 1994. 34th ed. Vol. 2. London: Europa Publications.

Islam and Islamic Groups: A Worldwide Reference Guide. 1992. Edited by Farzana Shaikh. London: Longman Group UK.

Political Handbook of the World: 1994-95. 1995. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications.

Reuters. 8 September 1994. BC Cycle. "Secular Turkish Writer Escapes Islamic Attack." (NEXIS)

Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991. 3rd ed. London: Longman Group UK.

Xinhua News Agency. 11 February 1994. "Turkish Police Bust Islamic Militants's Cell." (NEXIS)

Attachments

Associated Press (AP) Worldstream. 1 April 1995. Daniel J. Wakin. "Fundamentalists Mayors Flex Muscles in Secular Turkey With Turkey-Kurds." (NEXIS)

_____. 23 February 1995. "Members of Underground Islamic Group Arrested." (NEXIS)

_____. 31 December 1994. "Fundamentalists Protest New Year Celebrations, 10 Detained." (NEXIS)

_____. 16 September 1994. "Union Leader Detained During Strike Against Municipality." (NEXIS)

BBC Summary of World Broadcasts. 15 March 1995. "Disturbances in Istanbul: Interior Minister Comments on Istanbul Demonstrations." (NEXIS)

Deutsche Presse-Agentur. 26 April 1995. BC Cycle. "Fundamentalists Boycotting Polio Vaccination, Turkish Paper Says." (NEXIS)

The Europa World Year Book 1994. 1994. 34th ed. Vol. 2. London: Europa Publications, p. 2948.

The Guardian [London]. 14 March 1994. Jonathan Rugman. "Street Violence Erupts in Istanbul After Coffee House Shooting by Islamists." (NEXIS)

Islam and Islamic Groups: A Worldwide Reference Guide. 1992. Edited by Farzana Shaikh. London: Longman Group UK, pp. 251-56.

Manchester Guardian Weekly [London]. 19 March 1995. Jonathan Rugman. "Violence Erupts After Islamist Shooting." (NEXIS)

The New York Times. 27 March 1995. Late Edition - Final. Alan Cowell. "Bonn Fears Turks' Strife Will Spread." (NEXIS)

Political Handbook of the World: 1994-95. 1995. Edited by Arthur S. Banks. Binghamton, NY: CSA Publications, pp. 892-93.

Reuters. 8 September 1994. BC Cycle. "Secular Turkish Writer Escapes Islamic Attack." (NEXIS)

Revolutionary and Dissident Movements: An International Guide. 1991. 3rd ed. London: Longman Group UK, pp. 343-50.

The San Diego Union-Tribune. 15 March 1995. "Turks Worry About Unrest of Militants Liberal Muslims Riot After being Attacked." (NEXIS)

The Washington Times. 31 March 1994. Final Edition. Andrew Borowiec. "Islamic Fundamentalists Gain in Local Turkish Elections." (NEXIS)

Xinhua News Agency. 11 February 1994. "Turkish Police Bust Islamic Militants's Cell." (NEXIS)