Turkey: “Atatürk, Youth, and Sports Day” celebrations May 19 in Ankara

Event

Various events are planned in Turkey’s capital Ankara throughout the day on Friday, May 19, as the country commemorates “Atatürk, Youth, and Sports Day,” marking the anniversary of the beginning of the Turkish War of Independence. The main ceremonies will be held in parliament and at Atatürk’s mausoleum. Large crowds are expected and as such traffic disruptions are likely.

Although no warning was issued regarding a specific terrorist threat, Turkish police on Friday reportedly arrested four suspected members of the Islamic State (IS) allegedly planning an attack. Police operations were conducted in the cities of İzmir and Istanbul, the eastern Anatolian province of Erzurum, and the southeastern province of Mardin.

Context

The 2016 Atatürk, Youth, and Sports Day celebrations took place under heavy surveillance and a terror warning was issued by the Turkish police. The United States Embassy had also released a similar warning at the time.

A recent constitutional referendum has exacerbated the country's already-heightened sociopolitical tensions. Additionally, Turkey has suffered from repeated bombings and other attacks since the establishment of IS in neighboring Iraq and Syria and the collapse of a long-term ceasefire in 2015 between the government and the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which has waged a three-decade insurgency for Kurdish autonomy.

Advice

Due to the prevailing threat of terrorism, individuals in Ankara, and Turkey more generally, are advised to avoid all demonstrations and rallies, to report any suspicious objects or behavior to the authorities, and to maintain a particularly high degree of vigilance when visiting sites deemed especially vulnerable to an attack (public transportation, train stations, ports, airports, public or government buildings, embassies or consulates, international organizations, schools and universities, religious sites, festivals, etc.).

For these and other security concerns, some Western governments advise against travel to areas along the Syrian and Iraqi borders.