Turkey will fight to 'eliminate' terrorism, PM says

ANKARA

Security operations against the PKK terrorists will continue until all armed groups in Turkey are “eliminated”, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Wednesday.

“The operations will continue with determination until all the armed powers are eliminated other than the legitimate armed forces in Turkey,” he said in an interview with private broadcaster NTV.

He added: “If anyone participates in an act to destroy the peace of the country, we will not refrain from taking necessary measures.”

The prime minister called on residents living in Turkey’s Kurdish-majority provinces in the east and southeast to support democracy by standing against the PKK.

He went on to claim two-thirds of the PKK’s “camps, shelters, warehouses and armories” had already been destroyed in strikes on bases in northern Iraq.

Addressing the Justice and Development (AK) Party’s relationship with the Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which holds cabinet posts in Turkey’s interim government under Davutoglu, he added: “Our enemy is the terrorist organization."

“Whether HDP becomes an enemy or a competitor is related to the reaction it gives or does not give against the terrorist organization."

“The HDP is our competitor if it acts as a political party. If it legitimizes the terrorist organization, if it supports it and stands behind it, then it becomes the enemy of the nation.”

Turkey is due to hold a rerun of June’s general election on Nov. 1.

Turning to Turkey’s relationship with Israel, Davutoglu said talks over the Mavi Marmara incident - in which Israeli commandos killed nine Turkish nationals, including a Turkish-American, when they stormed the ship as it was heading for Gaza in 2010 - had taken place.

However, referring to this week’s events in east Jerusalem, where the Al-Aqsa Mosque has been the scene of clashes between Israeli security forces and Palestinian youths, Davutoglu asked if it was “possible to achieve normalization with an Israel that was trying to take Al-Aqsa away from Muslims, trying to destroy it?”

He added: “The normalization of our relations with Israel is hard unless there is a peace that ensures all Palestinian land has freedom and the Palestinian people live honorably in their own country just like other nations.”

Davutoglu also addressed the Turkish economy, claiming there was not a “fluctuation crisis” in Turkey separate from global trends despite the Turkish lira falling to record lows against the U.S. dollar.

“The situation is aligned with the general trend of the world economy and we will take the necessary measures to control it,” he said.

The premier also revealed he had discussed the European migrant crisis with German Chancellor Angela Merkel and EU President Donald Tusk.