Turkey's security concerns require global recognition

ISTANBUL

Turkey's national security concerns, which stem from the Syrian crisis, has to be recognized globally, said Turkish parliament speaker Mustafa Sentop on Saturday.

Sentop met with Afghan, Pakistani, Russian and Chinese parliament speakers as part of the 3rd conference of parliament speakers on combating terrorism and strengthening regional cooperation held in Istanbul.

“The spread of terrorism directly undermines the international peace and security,” said Sentop, adding that terrorism has been also jeopardizing global economy, sustainable development and growth.

Underlining that terrorism is a serious threat on regional and global scale, Sentop said that the terror issue requires more serious and multi-faceted assessment.

Highlighting Turkey’s fight against terror groups such as PKK/PYD-YPG, Daesh and Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO), he said his country resolutely continue its efforts to counter-terrorism in line with the human rights and international laws.

Syria has been locked in a vicious civil war since early 2011, when the Bashar al-Assad regime cracked down on pro-democracy protests with unexpected ferocity.

Since then, hundreds of thousands of people have been killed and more than 10 million others displaced, according to UN officials.

In its more than 30-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK -- listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the European Union -- has been responsible for the deaths of 40,000 people, including women, children and infants. The terrorist YPG is the PKK's Syrian branch.

Afghan Parliament Speaker Mir Rahman Rahmani pointed out that countries which considers terror as “a tool of interest” will experience serious problems.

“We must fight to eradicate terrorism. Terrorism threatens international human rights and security. We must unite our efforts to fight against terrorism,” Rahmani said.

Pakistani Parliament Speaker Asad Qaiser said conference on combating terrorism and strengthening regional cooperation paves the way for effective cooperation.

Qaiser underlined the importance of identifying the potential terror targets and combating the motivation and funding of terrorism.

Dongming Wang, deputy chairman of the National People's Congress of China, said the conference highlighted the responsibility of the parliaments and a number of joints approaches.

*Writing by Gozde Bayar.