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February 08, 2012
 
 
 
 
 
 

Erdoğan dismisses DTP calls to stop anti-PKK operations

14 September 2009 / TODAY'S ZAMAN WITH WIRES, İSTANBUL
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan insisted yesterday that the Turkish military would continue its operations against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), dismissing a recent call by pro-Kurdish politicians to the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) to halt operations against the terrorist group.

“There will be no operations at a place where no act of terror takes place. Are we happy to see more martyred soldiers? Some are concerned that their reason for the continuation of the bloodshed is getting weaker. We do not want mothers to shed any more tears. We do not want innocent people to be victimized any more. We will conclude this [peace] process with patience,” Erdoğan stated yesterday in Polatlı, a town near the Turkish capital. Democratic Society Party (DTP) officials recently said that the TSK's operations are undermining the government's recent efforts to settle the Kurdish issue and called for them to be halted.

A military spokesperson, in response, said the TSK would continue its activities as planned until the last terrorist was killed.

The prime minister also slammed opposition parties for not lending their support to the government's ongoing efforts.

“Some are saying they will go to the mountains. There you go! They cannot be the representatives of my Kurdish citizens. We have to respect each other no matter to which ethnic group we belong,” Erdoğan stated.

His remarks were made against officials of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), who said they would even go to the mountains to ensure the unity and security of the country for the next 50 years if their objections to the government's planned reforms were not heeded.

“We have been in power for the last seven years. So why didn't you take steps [to solve the Kurdish issue] before then? They are disturbed because we are taking these steps. They just say they do not agree with the government. They just pose obstacles. Why don't you tell us your own proposal? Our public wants a solution,” Erdoğan remarked. The prime minister also reiterated that he sees the residents of the Turkish Republic as the only interlocutor in the ongoing peace process. “Our interlocutor is the nation,” he said.

 
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