Offspring of AKP: a 22 year old police officer killing an ambassador in the name of religion

BERKANT GÜLTEKİN
@gultekinberkant

After his killing of Russia’s Ambassador to Turkey Karlov, there have been certain claims put forth about his assassinator Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş. A high ranked member of the police department told Reuters that ‘they were investigation the connection of the riot squad member Mevlüt Mert Altınbaş with FETÖ and that there were very solid indications in that regard.’

Aside from this, in order to present bases on ties of Altıntaş with FETÖ, it has been expressed on mainstream media in Turkey that Altıntaş had taken off from work prior to July 15 coup attempt; that he had gone to a ‘Cemaat dershane’ (a tutoring center run by Gülen community); and that he had been listed as a suspect in the files regarding leaking of test questions in Turkey.

On the other hand, another look at the incident suggests that it was possible for Altıntaş to be a member of Al-Nusra since the slogans he chanted at the time of the murder were those of known for statements of the jihadist Al-Nusra group.

Without a doubt, all these assertions are extremely worthy of attention and cannot be left aside without probing further. Each claim and argument must be investigated diligently. However, regardless of the findings, assassination of Ambassador Karlov, which is now one of the most significant incidents in terms of world politics, has in itself deep marks of political and sociological changes in Turkey since the early 2000’s.

Assassinator was an 8 year old child in year 2002

Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş, assassinator of Ambassador Karlov, was only an 8 year old child when AKP came to power in Turkey. The profiles of his mother and sister, who were taken into custody in Turkey’s Aydın district very shortly after the assassination, gave the impression that hi family was not necessarily very religious. However, this riot police member, who had been on duty for two and a half years, screamed out Islamic slogans at Ankara’s Çankaya Modern Arts Center after shooting the Ambassador from his back and desired to spark up a sectarian fire in Turkey through his messages about Syria, where he said, ‘do not forget Aleppo.’

Whether Altıntaş was a FETÖ member of a member of Al-Nusra, it does not change the fact that the Islamic movement that has ruled Turkey for almost 15 years by now has been designing the society and the public posts with a religious mindset. Matter of fact, mentioning of the names of both of these organizations – FETÖ and Al-Nusra – does in itself make it even more visible. A person who was an 8 year old child when Turkey’s Justice and Development Party (AKP) came to power turned into a member of police force who kills an ambassador with jihadist slogans by the time the ruling party leaves behind its 14 year long rule. Under these conditions, conventional wisdom brings forth the question of ‘how this country has become like this.’

A religious mindset in place both in national and international level

Made up of a coalition of cults and communities, AKP has used Islam as a means to gain a societal and political hegemony since the day it came to power. The state mechanism, which has been entrusted to different cults or communities, has been shaped not based on modern foundations but rather based on religious norms. Religion has been mounted as a point of power that is the ‘common ground’ and the ‘bond that keeps the people together’. Even the most pressing and significant question in Turkey – the Kurdish question – was tried to be solved by AKP through a religious base.

Foreign policy of AKP has also been designed and practiced with the same ideological mindset. It was also planned for AKP to lead a ‘Sunni Muslim Brotherhood’ generation, which would also be adaptable to Western capitalism, in the Middle East. While there were efforts to open up space for ‘moderate Islamists’ through a wave of uprisings referred to as ‘Arab Spring’, AKP also took its place in this wave by supporting the groups in opposition to Esad in Syria. As Syria has become looking more like Afghanistan with the presence of jihadists, Turkey has begun to resemble Pakistan, which is equally considered a ‘home to jihadists.’

Was Altıntaş a police or a mujahid?

Just like millions of young people in Turkey, Ambassador Karlov’s assassinator Mevlüt Mert Altıntaş also went through all these times. The conscious of Altıntaş had developed and got shaped in a country where education has become reactionary; academy has been diverted from scientific research; religious associations have opened up dormitories; neighborhoods have become under the rule of cults; government officials have showed off with Korans in their hands at city squares; police officers have given oath on Koran before taking on duty; and, a group of a cult has organized within the armed forces and tried to seize power from the ruling party.

Consequently, assassinator Altıntaş, who had been trained by state institutions for becoming a police officer, appeared with an image of a ‘mujahid’ (warrior of Islam) who had given an oath to sacrifice his life in the name of religion, rather than appearing as a police force members of a modern country.

As seen in recordings, Altıntaş waited for cameras to focus on Ambassador before attacking and lifted up his index finger after shooting; and, began shouting ‘I have devoted to jihad! Only my dead body would come out of here’ and acted as if it was a short propaganda film. Obviously, all had been planned in advance. It was also obvious that he really wanted to reach the ‘title of martyr’ in the eye of some, probably with the influence of the latest development in Aleppo and religious sentiments in Turkey in regards to it.

Murdering of Ambassador Karlov in Turkey’s capital Ankara by a Turkish police officer has now brought Turkey face-to-face with western countries, especially Germany, which has been accusing AKP with ‘in support of terrorists’; and, AKP will have difficulty in explaining this latest situation.

Ruling party AKP might find it significant for itself for the assassinator to have been a FETÖ member, rather than a member of Al-Nusra. However, this will only remain as a tiny detail in the big picture where secularism has been made void and religion has been taken as the base of both the society and the state.

Front page article of BirGün on 20 December 2016, Thursday

Source: https://www.birgun.net/haber-detay/bu-noktaya-nasil-geldik-140293.html