Thanks to everyone who’s expressed concern for my wellbeing after yesterday’s bomb in Taksim Square.
In the incident, a suicide bomber detonated himself at the entrance to a police bus. He killed himself and injured 15 police officers and 17 members of the public. Te indications seem to be it was PKK-related, though Al-Qaeda has also undertaken terror acts in Turkey in the past.
I wish for a speedy and full recovery for all those injured.
The police seemed to do a good job of cordoning off the square, sending in forensics teams to gather evidence, etc.
Taksim Square is a very symbolic high point at the hub of Istanbul’s commercial area. In the evening we walked along Istiklal Caddesi, one-third of a mile or less away from the square, and though the crowds seemed a little diminished, many Istanbullers were going ahead with their life and showing admirable resilience in the face of the terror attempt.
Still, the event does perhaps underline the need for the government to get the PKK issue resolved– politically, which is the only way this can be achieved.
3 thoughts on “Yesterday’s Taksim Square bomb”
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God save you Helena,
As long as you are struggling for the just cause God will protect you from any pain and unwilligness.
Assigned reading (if I may), for Helena and Professor Quandt:
You both may find Critical Geographer Anna Secor’s important piece on the Kurdish experience in Turkey highly revealing, as well as relevant:
“An Unrecognizable Condition Has Arrived”,
published in Derek Gregory and Allen Pred’s exemplary volume “Violent Geographies: Fear Terror and Political Violence” (2006). Here is the Amazon link:
http://www.amazon.com/Violent-Geographies-Terror-Political-Violence/dp/041595147X/ref=sr_1_1?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1288737742&sr=1-1
This compendium is one of the most vital collections of analyses problematizing the world’s complex political geographies in a post-9/11 world compiled thus far.
NB: A reflection piece is due in two weeks…
:0)
another ‘suicide bomber’? can we be sure?
at least hes not a iraqi resistance fighter suiciding in an iraqi market.But these stories of suicide boimbing are always suspect. What is the evidence? Bombs can be planted by others then exploded from a distance.