BY GUNGOR MENGI
VATAN- By now even our children know what foreign forces seek through their deadly attacks: They want the state to bow and the nation to submit to ethnic divisions. The raw anger we see at soldiers' funerals is a kind of defiance. Whatever price is paid, if the nation and motherland stand together, no terrorist attack will make the state bow or the nation submit. This is what the uproars from the crowds at the funerals prove. But the accusations of some that the government is protecting the PKK are unfair. We shouldn't confuse our friends with our enemies. It's true that the government has made grave mistakes in its northern Iraq policy and fight against the PKK. It will pay for those mistakes politically. Turkey will protect itself thanks to the reflexes of its thousand-year state tradition. If we fail to stand shoulder to shoulder against these terrorists, we will lose more lives. Forces opposing the PKK shouldn't point fingers at each other just because they have different political orientations. This would not only hurt our fallen soldiers but also embolden the killers. The anti-government slogans heard at yesterday's funerals and the atmosphere they create should certainly have whetted the terrorist group's appetite. We shouldn't forget that Turkey isn't ruled by idiots who believe that they will destroy Turkey by killing a few soldiers or officers every day. The leaders of the terrorist PKK are professionals with 25 years of experience. At this point, they even have the support of some foreign forces. Their aim is to split our society in half, Turks on one side and Kurds on the other, and to escalate insecurity and internal conflicts by forcing our leaders to make mistakes. So we should work to make sure fallen soldiers' funerals don't become traps which will only deepen divisions. The security meeting set to be held at the Prime Ministry today with top commanders may provide a new beginning. Passing a law authorizing the government to order a cross-border operation may put the fear into those trying to cow Turkey with terrorist acts.