SEMDINLI

This is a small city in the extreme southeasternTurkishprovince ofHakkari. On 9 November 2005, it became an excellent example of theDeep Statewhen a bookstore owned by a former member of theKurdistan Workers Party(PKK) was bombed, killing one and wounding another. Although the bombing was made to look like the work of the PKK, it soon became clear that it was actually a provocation byJITEM, the Gendarmerie Intelligence and Counterterrorist Service.

The bombers were caught by bystanders and proved to be members of a paramilitary antiterror intelligence squad. Yasar Buyukanit, the Turkish Land Forces commander and subsequently chief of staff, notoriously declared that those apprehended were "good guys" and rejected any official connection. A thorough investigation, however, was blocked by the Turkish military, and the public prosecutor was summarily sacked when he tried to pursue the case.