Hostage Crisis And Questions

Turkey breathed a sigh of relief on Saturday when 46 Turkish nationals seized by Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants in June were released after 101 days in captivity. The hostages included Turkey’s consul general in Mosul, members of the special forces and family members.
There is no doubt that the safe return of these hostages to Turkey from the hands of a dangerous terrorist organization has made everyone happy and joyful. However, there are many questions concerning how the hostage crisis was able to be resolved and whether any concessions were made to ISIL.
The Bugün daily’s Nazlı Ilıcak says the news about the release of the Turkish hostages on Saturday was perhaps the happiest news Turkey has received in a long time; however, she says there are many question marks surrounding the settlement of the crisis. “Was a deal made with ISIL? The government has said a ransom was not given and that no hostage exchange took place, and if these statements are true, there is no question of a bargain [having been made]. Is it possible to separate the return of the hostages from the US demand that Turkey take a more active role against ISIL? In other words, since the hostages’ return, will Turkey be able to comply with the West’s demands concerning the fight against ISIL? Did the US make any contribution to the settlement of the hostage crisis? Or did ISIL not dare to further offend the Sunni tribes it depends on, when it is under pressure in Iraq and Syria?” Ilıcak asks. She says that just as the Turkish Foreign Ministry and the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) were blamed for the hostage crisis and held responsible for it in June, now is the time to congratulate them for their success in saving the hostages.
The Hürriyet daily’s Ahmet Hakan also asks questions regarding the settlement of the hostage crisis, saying he wonders whether the hostages were saved as the result of an operation or negotiations, because Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu and President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan commented differently on the issue. “Were our hostages saved through a military operation or via silent diplomacy?” he asks. Another thing Hakan wonders is, since Turkey succeeded in saving its citizens from ISIL, might this cause Western countries to ask for Turkey’s support in the release of their own citizens held by ISIL? Yet another thing Hakan is curious about is whether ISIL aimed to prevent a Turkish-Kurdish alliance by releasing the hostages at a time when the Syrian regime is attacking the Kurdish region of the country.

FATMA DİŞLİ ZIBAK (Cihan/Today's Zaman)