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27-11-03, 09:50
Why militancy reigns in Bingol
By Richard Galpin
BBC correspondent in Bingol
Along a remote mountain road punctuated by frequent military check-points lies the provincial town of Bingol, deep in the predominantly Kurdish area of eastern Turkey. It is not a place blessed by good fortune. For more than a decade the bloody conflict between Kurdish separatist rebels and the security forces has been waged around here and sporadic clashes continue.
In May this year it was also struck by a natural disaster. An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale took almost 200 lives. The damage can still be seen on many of the dull apartment blocks and offices that dominate the skyline.
DNA tests
But now Bingol is again making the headlines - this time as a centre of Islamic militancy. The four suicide bombings this month which targeted synagogues and British interests in Istanbul appear to have been the work of a group of men, most of whom originally came from this remote, impoverished town.
Already the Turkish government has used DNA testing to identify the two men suspected of bombing the synagogues and has named them as Gokhan Elaltuntas and Mesut Cabuk. Both were from Bingol. A third man from the town is believed to have carried out the attack on the HSBC bank in Istanbul last Thursday, although this is still to be confirmed by the authorities. The bodies of the two synagogue bombers have already been buried in unmarked graves in the local cemetery.
'Angel'
The families brought the bodies back from Istanbul last weekend and buried them in the middle of the night. On Monday, the last day of Ramadan, the relatives were back at the cemetery visiting these and other graves. But they were in no mood to talk to the media. They even threatened to beat up a plain-clothes police officer who had the misfortune of getting caught in the middle when we tried to interview them.
But family friends were willing to talk. "I can't believe a friend has carried out this act of brutality which we all condemn," said Halim, who has a shop next to one owned by the Elaltuntas family in Bingol. It's very shocking, we were neighbours for six years and he was a very nice, honest man. I trusted him. He prayed regularly but he was not an extremist." Outside the main mosque another friend described Gokhan Elaltuntas as an "angel" saying it was impossible he belonged to a radical Islamic organisation.
Afghan trips
But other people we met in the town and spoke to on condition of anonymity had a very different story to tell. One businessman who had links with the father of Mesut Cabuk, said all three suspected suicide bombers from Bingol had travelled frequently to countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan for training. "They were always coming and going," he said. And he said at least five people from the town had been killed fighting a Jihad or Holy War in Bosnia in the 1990s.
The roots of militant Islam in this area date back to the late 1980s when a brutal Muslim militia was established called Hezbollah. It is believed to have killed thousands of Kurds during the separatist conflict which finally died down in 1999. The government at the time stands accused of promoting Hezbollah as a deliberate tactic to help crush the rebellion. "After the conflict with the Kurdish rebels was over, the government wanted to stop Hezbollah. But they got out of control," says Ridvan Kizgin, chairman of the Bingol Human Rights association. "These suicide bombings in Istanbul are the result of the government's mistaken policy at the time."
Internet clues
A senior government official in Bingol said he believed some if not all the suspected suicide bombers from the town had been arrested and interrogated in the past on suspicion of having links with Hezbollah. It also seems clear that all three men knew each other and had connections with an internet cafe in the town where they spent much time. The police say they have now raided the cafe and have taken material away for further investigation.
What is yet to be established is whether the men were using the internet cafe to plot the attacks and whether they were in contact with global Jihad organisations such as al-Qaeda. Computer files from the internet cafe could reveal vital clues.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3241870.stm
By Richard Galpin
BBC correspondent in Bingol
Along a remote mountain road punctuated by frequent military check-points lies the provincial town of Bingol, deep in the predominantly Kurdish area of eastern Turkey. It is not a place blessed by good fortune. For more than a decade the bloody conflict between Kurdish separatist rebels and the security forces has been waged around here and sporadic clashes continue.
In May this year it was also struck by a natural disaster. An earthquake measuring 6.4 on the Richter scale took almost 200 lives. The damage can still be seen on many of the dull apartment blocks and offices that dominate the skyline.
DNA tests
But now Bingol is again making the headlines - this time as a centre of Islamic militancy. The four suicide bombings this month which targeted synagogues and British interests in Istanbul appear to have been the work of a group of men, most of whom originally came from this remote, impoverished town.
Already the Turkish government has used DNA testing to identify the two men suspected of bombing the synagogues and has named them as Gokhan Elaltuntas and Mesut Cabuk. Both were from Bingol. A third man from the town is believed to have carried out the attack on the HSBC bank in Istanbul last Thursday, although this is still to be confirmed by the authorities. The bodies of the two synagogue bombers have already been buried in unmarked graves in the local cemetery.
'Angel'
The families brought the bodies back from Istanbul last weekend and buried them in the middle of the night. On Monday, the last day of Ramadan, the relatives were back at the cemetery visiting these and other graves. But they were in no mood to talk to the media. They even threatened to beat up a plain-clothes police officer who had the misfortune of getting caught in the middle when we tried to interview them.
But family friends were willing to talk. "I can't believe a friend has carried out this act of brutality which we all condemn," said Halim, who has a shop next to one owned by the Elaltuntas family in Bingol. It's very shocking, we were neighbours for six years and he was a very nice, honest man. I trusted him. He prayed regularly but he was not an extremist." Outside the main mosque another friend described Gokhan Elaltuntas as an "angel" saying it was impossible he belonged to a radical Islamic organisation.
Afghan trips
But other people we met in the town and spoke to on condition of anonymity had a very different story to tell. One businessman who had links with the father of Mesut Cabuk, said all three suspected suicide bombers from Bingol had travelled frequently to countries such as Pakistan and Afghanistan for training. "They were always coming and going," he said. And he said at least five people from the town had been killed fighting a Jihad or Holy War in Bosnia in the 1990s.
The roots of militant Islam in this area date back to the late 1980s when a brutal Muslim militia was established called Hezbollah. It is believed to have killed thousands of Kurds during the separatist conflict which finally died down in 1999. The government at the time stands accused of promoting Hezbollah as a deliberate tactic to help crush the rebellion. "After the conflict with the Kurdish rebels was over, the government wanted to stop Hezbollah. But they got out of control," says Ridvan Kizgin, chairman of the Bingol Human Rights association. "These suicide bombings in Istanbul are the result of the government's mistaken policy at the time."
Internet clues
A senior government official in Bingol said he believed some if not all the suspected suicide bombers from the town had been arrested and interrogated in the past on suspicion of having links with Hezbollah. It also seems clear that all three men knew each other and had connections with an internet cafe in the town where they spent much time. The police say they have now raided the cafe and have taken material away for further investigation.
What is yet to be established is whether the men were using the internet cafe to plot the attacks and whether they were in contact with global Jihad organisations such as al-Qaeda. Computer files from the internet cafe could reveal vital clues.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/europe/3241870.stm