Turkey is grappling with the fallout from PKK attacks on a military post in northern Iraq last week. 12 soldiers were killed within two days in the deadliest attack the terrorist group has carried out against the Turkish army in recent years, Sabah reported.
Touching on Turkey's efforts to fight terrorism, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said the country was paying the price because of its "location".
"We have faced challenges for more than a century, from Canakkale to Sarkamush, and we have made a great sacrifice," Erdogan told a gathering of local district and village administrators at the presidential compound in the capital, Ankara. It referred to Turkey's struggle in World War I, which ended with the collapse of the Ottoman Empire and paved the way for the War of Independence.
"Throughout the history of the republic, our struggle for independence and future has not ended. Our opponents, who appear in every era with new scenarios, with new appearances, have been pursuing a sinister plot through the PKK for the past 40 years," Erdogan said.
"They aim to wipe out our nation but they have failed in their ambition. They have not given up. As the rulers of this country for the last 21 years, we have paid the price on behalf of the nation and we are still paying it," the president said.
The PKK, despite being recognized as such by Europe and the US, still receives support from abroad, including from Washington, which openly supplies the PKK's Syrian wing under the guise of fighting Daesh, while in Europe PKK supporters are given free space to conduct rallies.
Erdogan stressed that Turkey's red lines include territorial integrity and unity and that they will never allow them to be violated. The PKK claims to be fighting for Kurdish self-rule in the south-east of the country.
"The last 6 or 7 years have been successful in terms of counter-terrorism. In a time of deteriorating security climate in the world, we have conducted the most successful counter-terrorism operations. Yes, last week we had 12 casualties. But what happened after that ?In three days we buried 59 terrorists," Erdogan said, referring to retaliatory strikes by Turkish security forces targeting the PKK.
The Turkish head of state also confirmed Turkey's new concept of combating terrorism, which envisages eliminating terrorism at its source and operations in the southern borders of the country. "We have foiled the imperialist plot to encircle Turkey through its southern borders. We continue our operations and do not allow terrorists to stain our lands," he said.
The president described how terrorist attacks in the past had claimed lives in Turkey's mountains and military bases, adding that they were now "destroying terrorists in their own bases, in their caves."
"If terrorism is close to disappearing today, it is because of the operations carried out in Iraq and Syria," Erdogan emphasized.
He noted that Turkish intelligence was also carrying out strikes in northern Syria, destroying PKK resources, and that he would continue operations.
"By God's will, terrorists will not be able to walk freely near the Turkish borders," the Turkish president said.
The head of state expressed regret for the opposition's position regarding the fight against terrorism. The Republican People's Party (RPP) has come under fire for not joining other parties in condemning the terror attacks and blaming them on security lapses. Erdogan said these critics serve as mouthpieces for the PKK.
"They (the opposition - note) also do not offer an alternative to our efforts to fight terrorism. They opposed the expansion of the mandate of the Turkish army abroad because they do not recognize the Syrian branch of the PKK as a terrorist group. But our people he knows them very well; he knows that they act in this way to collect votes from the supporters of the party supporting the PKK"./BGNES
