What is the DTP?

Ahmet Türk, the co-chairman of the DTP, declared in front of cameras the other day that "We will continue our actions." What actions? Burning down tires in the streets, rooting out pavements and using the pavement stones in attacking police, torching cars, attacking election offices of other parties, hurling Molotov cocktails on police, civilians, cars and shops...

Which one of these "actions" are political attitudes that a legal political party can be involved in? Are those actions political party activities, or examples of how the terrorist gang with the help of a "legal" party is exploiting kids and getting them involved in terrorist actions?

Such actions in certain quarters of Istanbul and in southeastern cities have indeed become some sort of a routine. Over the past year hundreds of kids were used by the gang and the DTP as human shields in such violent demonstrations.

The PKK has even started referring to those kids with the "our young generals" jargon used for the kids participating in the Palestinian intifadah. That mentality was no different than the mentality of the AKP government that ordered kids at high schools to observe a minute of silence in memory of the Palestinians killed in Israel’s Gaza Strip aggression. This cruel-some exploitation of kids must be stopped.

The DTP and the PKK might not be bothered with what might happen to those kids used as human shields in violent demonstrations. However, reports from the prisons and remarks of the families of kids imprisoned clearly demonstrate that after spending several months behind bars these kids turn into radicals and potential members of the separatist gang.

But, at least the Turkish state must realize this growing threat and take measures accordingly.

The DTP, on the other hand, appears provoking a closure decision from the Constitutional Court. Why? Is it scared of a potential fiasco in the local polls? Apparently so. The DTP and the PKK tried to convert local elections into some sort of a referendum in 12 southeastern provinces. They might lose polls in at least 4 to 5 of those provinces. Is it why they are trying to obstruct polls?

A police report
According to a police report prepared on the basis of latest intelligence gathered, incidents in some big western cities and in almost all southeastern cities to "mark" the 10th anniversary of the capture of terrorist chieftain Abdullah Öcalan were indeed rehearsal of some bigger events on March 8, International Women’s Day, and March 21, Nevroz day.

Reportedly groups of PKK terrorists have infiltrated into Turkey from northern Iraq and have started preparations to shed blood on those two days with the aim and intention of disrupting the March 29 local elections. The gang reportedly was particularly after staging some deadly attacks in Istanbul, Ankara, İzmir and other western provinces in hopes of inciting a Turkish-Kurdish confrontation. The aim? To disrupt local polls...

Goodbye Gazanfer Özcan

Gazanfer Özcan, one of the giants of Turkish theater, passed away Monday evening. He was 78 years young. Since 1952, he acted in over 20 films, staged hundreds of plays at his Gönül Ülkü-Gazanfer Özcan Theater. For most of the Turks living outside Istanbul, however, he was known for the roles he played in the Kuruntu Ailesi (Anxious Family), Başımıza Gelenler (What happened to us), Baba (Father) and since 2004, the Avrupa Yakası (The European Flank) TV series.

Özcan has closed the curtain of life but as his actor and actress friends commented, only his mortal body passed away, he will always live in the hearts as a great master of theater. Goodbye Gazanfer Özcan until we meet again.