Social dynamics lead to suicide attacks: experts
Güncelleme Tarihi:
by İzgi Güngör
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Mayıs 04, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The motives behind suicide bombers are not limited to a strong need to belong to a group or ideology, but may also have links to the social features of the native country or even family dynamics, according to experts.
It is not only religious motivation or personal issues, but also the social dynamics of the country as a whole that can lead a person to become a suicide attacker, according to psychologists and psychiatrists.
With an attempted attack on former Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Türk last Wednesday, 23-year-old female suicide bomber Didem Akman was under the media spotlight last week. Akman, a young, well-educated woman who studied law at Turkey’s prominent Ankara University, attempted a failed suicide attack on Türk. Türk was the justice minister between 1999 and 2002 when high-security F-type prisons were opened to end the control and nesting of mainly leftist terrorist organizations in detention facilities. "I am studying law but I know that it is the illegal that is valid in this countryÉ I was forced to have a medical examination naked when I was imprisoned, for instance," she wrote in one of her letters during one of her prison stays.
Ex minister attacked
Born in the central Anatolian province of Çorum, Akman was previously jailed several times for her actions for the outlawed left-wing group, the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front, or DHKP/C. She was trained in terrorist camps abroad, according to police records. In recent years, she has allegedly detached herself from her family who reside in İzmir.
A similar attempt occured in Baku last week, when a Georgian citizen of Azerbaijani origin entered the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy in Baku and climbed five floors of the building, shooting everyone he met along the way. He then shot and killed himself.
Many psychologists and psychiatrists find it difficult to comment on the psychology of suicide bombers and their extreme actions without personal examination. But, similar to the profile of many suicide bombers, Akman’s background suggests her act may have links with the social dynamics of the country and the strong need for a sense of belonging.
"Her act bares the signs of a blood feud rather than an ideological case, as she simply acted with the sense of violence reinforced by hatred and revenge. She is against the F-type prisons and tries to kill someone who gave life to them," psychologist and social scientist Şükrü Alkan told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
"She does what she sees in society. She tries to solve a problem with violence, which is something that she witnesses and is a frequently applied practice in the country. She simply finds the solution in violence in a country where even May Day celebrations and the [Ergenekon case] detentions demonstrate many antidemocratic and violence-dominated actions."
Referring to her letter, Alkan said she negated the meaning of life and studied law because of the negative situation she faced. Alkan also pointed to the possibility of the existence of similar conflicts and unpleasant violence-related experiences with her family as well.
"It is a matter of question, for instance, how did they solve the problems within the family? Maybe she wanted to solve the unsolved problems in the family by studying law," Alkan said.
Psychiatrist Özlem Mestçioğlu said suicide bombers were usually young people motivated by the need to belong or to live up to their childhood role models. "Their heroes are usually militants in their early years. They believe or they are made to believe [by their ideological mentors] that they would serve an ideal if they performed the act [of suicide bombing.]. So they overvalue their ideals more than they value themselves," she said. There may be many reasons for committing a suicide attack. Family problems, adaptation problems in school and the need for a sense of belonging can all be influential, according to Mestçioğlu. For psychologist Vicdan Yücel, the values the suicide bombers defend are more valuable than their own lives, while for Şeref Özer, president of the Turkish Psychiatry Association, the missions they believe they have to undertake play the crucial role in their actions.
With an attempted attack on former Justice Minister Hikmet Sami Türk last Wednesday, 23-year-old female suicide bomber Didem Akman was under the media spotlight last week. Akman, a young, well-educated woman who studied law at Turkey’s prominent Ankara University, attempted a failed suicide attack on Türk. Türk was the justice minister between 1999 and 2002 when high-security F-type prisons were opened to end the control and nesting of mainly leftist terrorist organizations in detention facilities. "I am studying law but I know that it is the illegal that is valid in this countryÉ I was forced to have a medical examination naked when I was imprisoned, for instance," she wrote in one of her letters during one of her prison stays.
Ex minister attacked
Born in the central Anatolian province of Çorum, Akman was previously jailed several times for her actions for the outlawed left-wing group, the Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party/Front, or DHKP/C. She was trained in terrorist camps abroad, according to police records. In recent years, she has allegedly detached herself from her family who reside in İzmir.
A similar attempt occured in Baku last week, when a Georgian citizen of Azerbaijani origin entered the Azerbaijan State Oil Academy in Baku and climbed five floors of the building, shooting everyone he met along the way. He then shot and killed himself.
Many psychologists and psychiatrists find it difficult to comment on the psychology of suicide bombers and their extreme actions without personal examination. But, similar to the profile of many suicide bombers, Akman’s background suggests her act may have links with the social dynamics of the country and the strong need for a sense of belonging.
"Her act bares the signs of a blood feud rather than an ideological case, as she simply acted with the sense of violence reinforced by hatred and revenge. She is against the F-type prisons and tries to kill someone who gave life to them," psychologist and social scientist Şükrü Alkan told the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review.
"She does what she sees in society. She tries to solve a problem with violence, which is something that she witnesses and is a frequently applied practice in the country. She simply finds the solution in violence in a country where even May Day celebrations and the [Ergenekon case] detentions demonstrate many antidemocratic and violence-dominated actions."
Referring to her letter, Alkan said she negated the meaning of life and studied law because of the negative situation she faced. Alkan also pointed to the possibility of the existence of similar conflicts and unpleasant violence-related experiences with her family as well.
"It is a matter of question, for instance, how did they solve the problems within the family? Maybe she wanted to solve the unsolved problems in the family by studying law," Alkan said.
Psychiatrist Özlem Mestçioğlu said suicide bombers were usually young people motivated by the need to belong or to live up to their childhood role models. "Their heroes are usually militants in their early years. They believe or they are made to believe [by their ideological mentors] that they would serve an ideal if they performed the act [of suicide bombing.]. So they overvalue their ideals more than they value themselves," she said. There may be many reasons for committing a suicide attack. Family problems, adaptation problems in school and the need for a sense of belonging can all be influential, according to Mestçioğlu. For psychologist Vicdan Yücel, the values the suicide bombers defend are more valuable than their own lives, while for Şeref Özer, president of the Turkish Psychiatry Association, the missions they believe they have to undertake play the crucial role in their actions.