Turkish leaders' Eid messages focus on beating terror

ANKARA

Turkey’s president and prime minister issued messages of hope at the beginning of Eid al-Adha, saying the country would overcome the renewed threat of terrorism.

In their messages at the start of the four-day holiday, known as the feast of the sacrifice, that recognizes Ibrahim’s submission to God in his willingness to sacrifice his son, the two leaders spoke of the difficult times Turkey faces with renewed fighting in the southeast.

“We are going through hard times in this Eid,” President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a statement. “And as you know, Turkey will go to the polls on Nov. 1. It will be a reelection, an early election, and this election will pave the way for Turkish people to overcome these problems.”

He added: “The Turkish people will take a step to ensure the safety and stability of the country in this election. I offer my greetings to all citizens.”

Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu made a plea for unity in his statement.

“We are the children of the same air and atmosphere,” he said. “We have been living together on the same land for centuries, we have been celebrating Eid with the same prayers.

“And each member of this country will continue to celebrate Eid together and sing songs of fellowship.”

He added: “We should stand with each other against those who want to separate us.”

PKK terrorists renewed their armed campaign two months ago following the July 20 Suruc massacre in which a suspected Daesh suicide bomber killed 33 pro-Kurdish activists. The violence has threatened to overshadow a rerun of June's general election to be run on Nov. 1.

Since late July, the PKK has killed around 30 civilians and martyred more than 120 members of the security forces, according to the state, while the Turkish military says it has killed around 1,200 terrorists in Turkey and northern Iraq.

Erdogan also criticized the U.S. over its support for Kurdish fighters in Syria closely linked to the PKK terrorist organization.

The People’s Protection Units (YPG), are the armed wing of the Democratic Union Party (PYD) and have been heavily supported by U.S. air power in the fight against Daesh. The Kurdish fighters control most of Syria’s 900 kilometer (560 mile) border with Turkey.

“The YPG or the Democratic Union Party are both terrorist organizations to us,” Erdogan said. “The U.S. does not pay the price in this issue but Turkey does and we know all the deeds of PYD or YPG. So, I think they [the U.S.] will reevaluate this decision.”