Turkey's culture of fear
A panic-stricken media generates public and financial insecurity in Turkey.
On July 20, in the mainly Kurdish border town of Suruc, a suicide bomber claimed the lives of 32 and injured over 100 peace activists who wanted to contribute to the reconstruction of Kobani, the Kurdish town that survived the Islamic State (IS). The suicide bomber, Seyh Abdurrahman Alagoz, an ethnic Kurd and citizen of Turkey, was allegedly an IS member.
As mainstream media outlets blamed IS for the attacks, the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) executed two Turkish police officers in their homes on July 22. While the PKK assumed responsibility for the deaths of two policemen, so far no accomplices of the Suruc suicide bomber have been arrested. Several individuals who were protesting the bombing were taken into custody.
