Crackdown in Turkey

Two weeks ago, three NATO radar technicians--two Britons and a Canadian--were kidnaped, then murdered in a remote shack in North Central Turkey by members of a small extremist organization called the Turkish People's Liberation Army. Turkish soldiers waiting outside retaliated instantly by killing ten of the eleven terrorists inside with rockets and rifle bullets.

The most immediate response to the atrocity was a harsh crackdown on leftist radicals. Last week the government arrested more than 100 university students in Ankara and threatened to close down the schools if sympathy demonstrations for the terrorists continued.

Reflecting the army's impatience with the terrorists, President Cevdet Sunay, a former general, called for an end to "political discussions and conflicts" and asked parliament to give the government "general authority" to issue laws by decree. All four major parties refused, giving rise to fears that Turkey might be heading toward another impasse between the armed forces and the politicians.

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