Third paragraph of an AP story on an attack that killed 45 people at an engagement party in Turkey:
"Citing Ozen, NTV said the motive could be an old feud between rival groups of pro-government village guards who fight alongside Turkish troops against Kurdish rebels in the region. If that is the case, the government would come under renewed pressure to rein in the militiamen, some of whom have been linked to drug smuggling and other crimes."
The usual argument about state violence is that new, still-developing states try to leverage private violence for state purposes, then cement a true monopoly on violence over time. But here's a well-established state that uses "village guards" to fight against Kurdish nationalists. States are usually happy to find a little extra violence that they can put to use. And the "drug smuggling and other crimes" usually come with it.
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2 comments:
Interesting. I wonder if this started as a sort of strategic hamlet approach to limiting Kurdish terrorist attacks.
I don't know, and I was surprised to see that -- I'd never heard about it before. Funny context in which to finally see it mentioned.
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