Image by Arzu Geybullayeva. Former PKK leader Abdullah Öcalan (left) and MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli (right).

The state-run Turkish Aerospace Industries (TUSAS), one of the main drivers of Turkey's defense industry, was the target of a terrorist attack on Wednesday, October 23. According to the latest numbers, at least five employees were killed and 22 injured as the authorities continue investigating the deadly attack. Meanwhile, the government has implemented bandwidth throttling for several social media platforms, including Instagram, YouTube, TikTok, Twitter, and others, following the attack.

At around 4 pm, explosions and gunshots were reported on the territory of TUSAS. Minister of the Interior, Ali Yerlikaya, confirmed on X, (formerly Twitter) that it was a terrorist attack. In the evening, Yaşar Güler, the Minister of National Defense, said the outlawed Kurdistan Worker's Party (PKK), a group widely recognized as a terrorist organization, was likely behind the attack. The following day, Yerlikaya confirmed that one of the two attackers who “were neutralized” was a member of PKK based on DNA forensics.

The attack came a day after Devlet Bahçeli, the leader of an ultra-right Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and an ally of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP), made a statement on the potential release of the jailed PKK leader, Abdullah Öcalan.

The controversial statement

Had the statement been made by any other opposition politician, they likely would have been arrested or banned from politics, pointed out opposition news presenters. But Bahçeli's sudden suggestion of offering Öcalan parole and re-opening talks with the PKK — a group that has been designated a terrorist group by the United States, the European Union, and Turkey — was met with no objections.

Addressing his party at the parliament, on October 22, Bahçeli said, “Let the terrorist leader unilaterally declare terrorism is over and that his organization has been dissolved.” Bahçeli even suggested that Öcalan could be invited to the parliament and deliver this message at a parliamentary session of the People's Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party.

Earlier this month, during parliament's opening session, Bahçeli also shook hands with the co-leader of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Equality and Democracy (DEM) Party, Tuncer Bakırhan. Bahçeli seems to also have secured approval from his ally Erdoğan, who said on October 12, “We find Mr. Bahçeli's attitude positive and meaningful for our country's struggle for democracy. We hope that the number of those who take these steps will increase in the future.”

The sudden call stands in stark contrast to Bahçeli's 2007 position when he urged the state to execute Öcalan. The leader of the nationalist party also rejected peace talks in 2010. In 2021, when the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), DEM's predecessor, member Deniz Poyraz was killed, Bahçeli did not mince words, accusing Poyraz of being a terrorist. The same year, Turkey's Constitutional Court accepted an indictment seeking the closure of the HDP. Prior to the court ruling, the party was already subject to pressure in recent years. Scores of HDP's senior party members, including former co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş, were arrested on terrorism-related charges.

The last time the ruling government attempted to engage with the PKK was as part of the peace process initiated from 2013–2015. Eventually, the peace talks fell through, and the group carried out a number of terrorist attacks across the country while Turkish military and security forces engaged in operations against the group in Iraq and Syria.

Following the October 23 attack, it was reported that the Turkish military struck several targets in Iraq and Syria in retaliation.

Since 2017, the number of PKK-organized attacks dropped. Öcalan was placed behind bars in 1999 and sentenced to life in prison.

Following Bahçeli's remarks, Öcalan was allowed to meet with a family member for the first time since 2020. Following the meeting, Öcalan’s nephew, a member of DEM, Ömer Öcalan, wrote on X that his uncle said he had the power to transition the process from violence to legal and political grounds.

Expert on Kurdish issues and journalist with AlMonitor, Amberin Zaman, reasoned that the opening of talks with the PKK is linked to “a broader conflagration in the Middle East.” Zaman wrote:

Ankara, much like other regional actors, is on tenterhooks as Israel mulls its response to Iran’s Oct. 1 ballistic missile attack on Tel Aviv. In the ensuing chaos and instability, and with their Hezbollah allies and other Shiite militias badly weakened, factions within the Iranian regime such as the powerful Iranian Revolutionary Guard Corps could strike deals with the PKK, Turkish officials claim.

The attack

Bahçeli's suggestion did sit well with political leaders and commentators. Speaking at his party meeting, the leader of the IYI (Good) Party, Müsavat Dervişoğlu, fired back, saying Öcalan had no place in the parliament building.

The main opposition Republican People's (CH) Party said they would be open to talks with the PKK, but they also warned the move was primarily political, suggesting the ruling AKP and MHP alliance were looking to gain Kurdish party support before introducing constitutional amendments. This is in reference to discussions that the president would need to seek constitutional changes if he were to run in the next presidential election. In its current form, the constitution limits the presidency to two terms of five years. Already the legality behind President Erdoğan's candidacy in last year's general election was a point of debate. Nevertheless, President Erdoğan did run and secured victory in the second round of the presidential vote.

When President Erdoğan signaled his support for Bahceli on October 12, he also said, “As the number of those who take these steps increases, we hope that we can expand the base of social consensus on the new constitution.”

Temporary bandwidth throttling

The government was quick to throttle the bandwidth of several social media platforms and impose a media gag order following the attack. In response to the blocking, professor of law and expert on internet freedom issues in Turkey, Yaman Akdeniz, wrote on X:

Deprem veya terör saldırıları sırasında tüm sosyal medya platformlarına yönelik bant daraltma uygulaması basının haber yapma, vatandaşın da haber ve bilgi alma hakkını baltalamaktadır. Bu sadece sansür değir aynı zamanda tüm vatandaşların haberleşme özgürlüğünün ihlalidir. https://t.co/vIqlPMLFoj

— Yaman Akdeniz (@cyberrights) October 23, 2024

The practice of throttling bandwidth to all social media platforms during earthquakes or terrorist attacks undermines the media's right to report and citizen's right to obtain news and information. This is not only censorship, but a violation of all citizens’ freedom of communication.

This is not the first time authorities have throttled access to social media platforms. Most recently, access to Instagram was blocked in August 2024, by the country's communication authority. In February 2023, following a devastating earthquake, there was a temporary throttling of Twitter and TikTok, as well as detentions and criminal proceedings against social media users.

In December 2023, the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK) — Turkey's top telecommunications watchdog — imposed an access ban on 16 VPN providers.  In 2022, following a deadly explosion in Istanbul, the Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) — Turkey's chief censor—imposed a broadcast ban on media, while the Information Technologies and Communications Authority (BTK), throttled access to social media platforms.

While access to platforms was restored on October 24, it remains to be seen what lies ahead in peace dialogue on the Kurdish issue.