After the most recent terrorist attack on Turkish soil inspired or organised by Daesh (Isis/Isil) on 28 June, I once again highlighted the context of Ankara’s long-standing complicity with Wahhabi extremism – in anticipation of understated media attention on the current government in Turkey.
However, I was pleasantly surprised to see that a number of news outlets actually did blame the Turkish regime for allowing the spread of Wahhabi thought in Turkey whilst simultaneously waging war on the country’s Kurdish communities – which have been some of the biggest critics of Daesh and its allies in Ankara.
Committed advocates of Kurdish rights over at Kurdish Question and ROAR Magazine were always going to slam the ethno-religious chauvinists currently ruling in Turkey. But other sources which have unfortunately parroted government propaganda all too often also chimed in this time.
The Guardian, for example, went with the headline:
Turkey paying a price for Erdoğan’s wilful blindness to Isis threat
and explained that:
[The] President’s preference for blaming everything bad that happens on the Kurds is no longer working
The Huffington Post also released a critical post, headlined:
How Erdogan Enabled ISIS To Attack The Turks
Salon, meanwhile, said:
Turkey’s “double game” on ISIS and support for extremist groups highlighted after horrific Istanbul attack
Although increasingly measured coverage from the liberal Western media may be coming far too late for hundreds of murdered Kurdish civilians, it’s nonetheless a positive step towards exposing President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his cronies as the murderous chauvinist tyrants that they are.
Let’s hope they keep it up.
Resistance Is Fertile 