TURKEY : PKK Attack spurs anger, plans

Monday, October 22, 2007


The latest PKK attack mobilizes Turkey's top civilian and military officials. ‘What’s necessary will be done,’ says prime minister who cuts short a visit to Istanbul and returs to the capital for emergency meeting

ANKARA - Turkish Daily News
http://www.turkishdailynews.com.tr/article.php?enewsid=86578

A top security summit was meeting last night under the chairmanship of President Abdullah Gül to discuss measures after a deadly attack by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed at least 12 Turkish soldiers near the Iraqi border.

“We will make a decision at the end of our discussion about what sort of a step we will take,” Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan told reporters in Istanbul after casting his vote in a nationwide referendum on constitutional amendments. The meeting which was continuing when the Turkish Daily News went to press yesterday was attended by Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt, several Cabinet ministers and ranking military commanders. The security summit was scheduled to be held earlier in the day but it was extended to 8 p.m. to include Gen. Büyükanıt who was returning from abroad.

“We are determined to tackle this (PKK) issue in a cool-headed way. We have resolve,” said Erdoğan. “What's necessary will be done. We are not considering what others will say [if Turkey crosses the border to hit the PKK camps],” he said amid calls from the international community for restraint.

The prime minister also called on the media, television stations in particular, to make their broadcasts responsibly and with common sense.



Artillery pounding 63 likely targets

In the deadly attack, the PKK killed 12 soldiers and wounded 16 in the southeastern Anatolian province of Hakkari, said a statement from the General Staff.

Thirty-two PKK terrorists were killed during the attack on the military patrol, according to the General Staff statement. But the number was likely to increase as the clashes between the PKK and security forces were continuing. The deadly attack came after the Turkish Parliament gave the green light Wednesday for an incursion into northern Iraq by the military.

Fighting was continuing with helicopters providing cover for army units, said the statement. “Units are monitoring the escape routes of the terrorists” and heavy artillery is pounding “63 likely targets in coordination with the troop movements,” it added.

Ten other soldiers were missing according to unconfirmed reports. The PKK has taken “many hostages” among Turkish soldiers according to pro-PKK news reports, which could not be independently confirmed.

In a separate incident, at least 10 civilians were injured as a result of a landmine explosion as a minibus passed near the area where the soldiers were killed.

Turks yesterday staged protests in several cities including Ankara to condemn the PKK attacks and delivered messages of unity in the face of brutal terror.



High-level meeting at Interior Ministry

The attacks have mobilized both the top civilian and military officials of Turkey. Erdoğan cut short his visit to Istanbul and after casting his vote returned to Ankara.

The ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) held an emergency meeting, while some Cabinet ministers convened at the Interior Ministry before the top security summit later in the day.

Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek, who also chairs Turkey's Supreme Anti-terror board, Interior Minister Beşir Atalay and National Intelligence Organization (MİT) Undersecretary Emre Taner held comprehensive discussions over the current situation and the necessary steps. The outcome of the meeting was later forwarded to the Prime Ministry, which also hosted Gendarmerie Commander Gen. Işık Koşaner.

In the meantime, U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Ross Wilson conveyed his sorrow over the death of Turkish soldiers in the latest attack to the Turkish Foreign Ministry. In a written statement, he said ending the PKK violence was the joint objective of Turkey and the United States.



Gül to meet today with party leaders

President Gül went to his hometown Kayseri in central Anatolia to vote in the constitutional amendment referendum but postponed planned inauguration ceremonies in the city after the PKK attacks and returned to the Turkish capital to chair the top emergency meeting.

While in Kayseri, Gül told reporters that he would meet separately with the leaders of political parties represented in Parliament today for consultations.

“Our nation and the state are mobilized for a collective fight against terrorism,” he said. “Turkey has no eye on Iraqi territory but it is Turkey's right to stop this as long as Iraq continues to harbor terrorists.”

Gül declined to respond to a question about Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani's remarks that the semi-autonomous Kurdish administration would defend itself if the Turkish military launched a cross-border incursion.

“Don't ask me questions about such people,” said Gül, stressing that the central Iraqi government, not the Kurdish-controlled north, was an interlocutor for Turkey.

MHP: Cross-border is a must

In early reactions to the deadly attack, the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) said the government must show the courage to authorize the military for an incursion into northern Iraq.

“The cross-border operation must definitely be conducted,” MHP leader Devlet Bahçeli told reporters, referring to the Turkish Parliament's approval of a motion allowing a military strike to crack down on the PKK. “The Parliament and the nation are behind this motion. The government must be courageous to take all kinds of measures and give the political authorization (for a cross-border operation),” he added.

Bahçeli also called for an end to disinformation that would lead to panic among Turks.

“The media should be very careful. Both the government and the General Staff should provide the nation with accurate information.”



CHP: Turkey target of covert war

Opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal called for a national strategy to fight terrorism saying that the country has become part of a covert war.

“There is a war continuing via the PKK. Turkey must devise its policy in line with this understanding,” he said and called on the government not to be shy but to display a more determined stance.

The pro-Kurdish rights Democratic Society Party (DTP) leader Ahmet Türk said his party was suffering from enormous pain over the latest incident.