Early in the day the western province of Muğla hosted a group of Turkish and Austrian swimmers who joined the ninth Peace Swimming Marathon. The swimmers swam for nearly four hours before they reached a group of Greek swimmers who had set off from Symi Island in Greece. The two groups met off the shores of the Mediterranean Sea.
Seventy-five-year-old Nuri Ay, who participated in the marathon, expressed his desire for lasting world peace. “I joined the marathon to contribute to peace efforts in the world. We want to set an example for all world politicians. We do not want them to quarrel any more. We want them to show more tolerance to one another,” he noted.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan issued a statement in which he stressed the importance of peace for the entire world. He said everyone should fulfill their responsibilities for the restoration of world peace and justice before it’s too late, especially at a time when terror has become a global problem and violence and injustice continues to dominate in some parts of the world. He added that international efforts for the realization of the Alliance of Civilizations are of utmost importance for the restoration of peace in the world.
Issuing a statement, the Human Rights Association (İHD) called on the government to take the opportunity to stop the clashes with the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK), and prevent the deaths of innocent people in the future. The PKK recently announced a cease-fire.
“Our country needs peace. We do not want to pay the price for armed conflicts that have continued for more than a quarter of the century. We want the [Kurdish] problem to be settled through democratic means. For this reason, we are calling on the government to act responsibly and stop the [military] operations [against the PKK] so that long-term peace can be achieved,” the statement read.
