The demonstration that began that morning started out large and grew swiftly. A rumor had circulated that the Jandarma had captured Zilar Azzawi, the infamous Kurdish terrorist leader nicknamed the Hawk, and was torturing her for information.
The protesters closed off Ipek Golu Avenue and blocked all of the main entrances to the Jandarma facility. The Jandarma responded quickly and with force. The academy outfitted all of the students in riot gear and surrounded the two main buildings, concentrating forces on the detention center in case the mob tried to rush the building and free Azzawi and other prisoners. Traffic was diverted around the protest site down Sumerbank and Ayak streets to other thoroughfares to avoid completely closing traffic to Van Airport.
The chaotic situation and the diversion of students, faculty, staff, and most of the security forces to the main avenue where the protesters were, made it all too easy to breach the facility from the southeast.
A dump truck drove through the outer and inner chain link service entrance gates on Sumerbank Street with ease, then sped past the weapons range and across the athletic fields. The handful of security guards gave chase and opened fire with automatic weapons, but nothing could stop it. The truck drove straight into the academy barracks building…
…where three thousand pounds of high explosives packed into the dump section detonated, destroying the three-story student barracks and heavily damaging the main academic building nearby.
“Today I am saddened to announce that I am instituting a state of emergency in the Republic of Turkey,” President Kurzat Hirsiz said. He read his statement from the state communications facility in Çancaya emotionlessly, woodenly, not even looking up from his paper. “This morning’s dastardly PKK attack on the regional Jandarma headquarters in Van, which resulted in at least twenty deaths and scores injured, forces me to respond with urgency.
“Effective immediately, local and provincial law enforcement departments will be augmented by regular and reserve military personnel,” he went on, still not looking up from his prepared statement. “They are there to assist in security operations only. This will free local and provincial police to make arrests and investigate crime.
“I must report that several threats by the PKK have been received via radio messages, coded classified ads in newspapers, and postings on the Internet, urging followers and sympathizers all around the world to rise up and strike at the Republic of Turkey. Our analysts have concluded that the messages are meant to activate sleeper cells throughout the region to begin concentrated attacks on government facilities all around the country.
“After the incident at Van, I am forced to take these threats seriously and respond in force. Therefore I am ordering the temporary shutdown of all government offices in Turkey, the establishment of a strict dusk-to-dawn curfew in all cities and towns, and mandatory one hundred percent individual and vehicle searches by security personnel.
“The next actions that I have ordered require the assistance and cooperation of the public at large. Because of the danger of unknowingly spreading terrorist instructions, I am asking that all newspapers, magazines, radio, television, and all private media outlets voluntarily cease publication of any advertisements, articles, or notices submitted by anyone who is not a reporter or editor of the publication, or where the source of the information is not verified or personally known. My intention is to avoid completely shutting down the media. It is essential that the availability of coded messages to sleeper cells be cut off completely, and my government will be contacting all outlets to ensure they understand the importance of their swift and thorough cooperation.
“Finally, I am asking that all of the Internet providers in the Republic of Turkey and those who provide service to Turkey voluntarily install and update filters and redirectors to block access to known and suspected terrorist Web sites and servers. This should not result in a massive denial of Internet services in Turkey. E-mail, commerce, and access to regular sites and services should continue normally—only those servers that are known to host terrorist or anti-government sites will be shut down. We will closely monitor all the Internet providers available to the people of Turkey to be sure access to legitimate sites is not affected.”
Hirsiz took a nervous sip of water from an off-camera glass, his hand visibly trembling, his eyes never looking at the camera. “I sincerely apologize to the people of Turkey for being forced to take these actions,” he went on after a long, uncomfortable pause, “but I feel I have no choice, and I beg for your prayers, patience, and cooperation. My government will work tirelessly to stop the terrorists, restore security and order, and return our nation to normalcy. I ask the citizens of Turkey to be vigilant, helpful to government officials and law enforcement, and to be strong and brave. Our nation has been through this before, and we have always emerged stronger and wiser. We shall do so again. Thank you.”
Hirsiz threw his statement pages away as Prime Minister Ays¸e Akas came up to him. “That’s the hardest speech I’ve ever given,” Hirsiz said.
“I hoped you would change your mind, Kurzat,” she said. “It’s not too late, even now.”
“I have to do this, Ays¸e,” Hirsiz said. “It’s far too late to change course now.”
“No, it’s not. Let me help you do it. Please.” An aide passed a note to Akas. “Perhaps this will help: the American embassy is requesting a high-level meeting in Irbil. The vice president, Phoenix, is in Baghdad and wants to attend, along with the secretary of state.”
“Impossible,” Hirsiz said. “We can’t stop this now.” He thought for a moment. “We can’t meet with them: the country is under a state of emergency. We can’t guarantee the safety of the president or of our ministers in Iraq.”
“But if you did attend, I’m sure they’ll offer substantial military, technical, and economic assistance if they meet with us—they rarely come empty-handed,” Akas said. “The American ambassador has already sent a message to the foreign ministry about compensation for the Patriot missile launches.”
“Compensation? For what? What did they say?”
“The ambassador, speaking on behalf of Secretary of State Barbeau, said an unarmed reconnaissance plane run by a private firm contracted to provide surveillance of the northern Iraq border area inadvertently emitted what they called ‘accidental electronic interference’ that caused us to fire those Patriot missiles. The ambassador was very apologetic and said he was authorized to offer substantial compensation or replacement of the missiles, and also offered assistance in providing information on any unknown vehicles or persons crossing the border into Turkey.” Hirsiz nodded. “This is a great opportunity, Kurzat. You can have the meeting, then cancel the state of emergency after the American vice president makes an agreement. You save face, and there’s no war.”
“Saved by the Americans again, eh, Ays¸e?” Hirsiz said emotionlessly. “You’re so sure they’ll want to help?” He motioned to an aide, who handed him a secure cellular telephone. “The timetable’s been moved up, General,” he said after speed-dialing a number. “Get your forces moving and the planes in the air, now!”
“Looks like the wheels are getting ready to come off the wagon up in Turkey, doesn’t it?” Kris Thompson said. He was sitting at the security director’s console in the Tank, watching news reports of the security crackdowns taking place in the Republic of Turkey on one of the big screens at the front of the Tank that was always tuned to an American all-news channel. The reports showed police and military forces clashing with protesters in the streets of Istanbul and Ankara. “Hirsiz is crazy. A state of emergency? Sounds like a military coup to me. I wonder if he’s still in charge.”