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Turkey to fight PKK 'until we win': Erdogan
Munich, Germany (AFP) Feb 9, 2008 Turkey will fight Kurdish rebels in northern Iraq until "we win", Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Saturday, and called on foreign partners to help cut funding to the rebels. The PKK rebels "are a clear threat to the innocent people of Turkey", Erdogan told an international security conference in Munich, Germany, adding that "based on international law Turkey has moved to get rid of the threat". "We are going to continue until we win," he said, speaking of recent incursions and strikes by Turkish forces against Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) bases in mountainous northern Iraq. Turkey, he added, also expected support from its friends and allies in the fight against "this terrorist organisation". "The European Union has declared the PKK a terrorist organisation, but despite this it is still operating under different names in many EU countries," he noted. Erdogan said the PKK had collected five million euros (7.3 million dollars) in just one unamed European country, and expressed surprise that "some PKK criminals" had been arrested in Europe only to be released without charge. "Some countries apply double standards or seem unwilling to fully cooperate" in the fight against the rebels, notably by extraditing terrorist suspects to Turkey, he noted. Kurdish rebels get much of their funding in Europe through human-trafficking and drug-running, he said, calling on European partners to crack down on such operations. Erdogan also reaffirmed his country's commitment to join the European Union, adding that any other alternative offered by the Europeans would "not be acceptable". "You don't change the rules in the middle of the game," he said, referring to suggestions by several EU members that Turkey be offered a "privileged partnership" with the EU rather than full membership. "Turkey has made its decision to become a member of the EU ... and it is not going to consider any other option," he added. German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who with the French president opposes full Turkish membership of the EU, said Friday that Berlin respected the country's accession talks but said it "still has a long road to walk" before joining. The annual security conference in the Bavarian capital will bring together around 250 delegates from 50 countries including NATO head Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, and Mohamed El Baradei, head of the UN atomic agency. A raging Taliban insurgency in Afghanistan -- and US calls for reinforcements there -- is expected to dominate the agenda, along with Washington's plans for a missile defence shield in eastern Europe. Community Email This Article Comment On This Article Related Links News From Across The Stans
Failure in Afghanistan would threaten Europe: Gates
Munich, Germany (AFP) Feb 8, 2008Failure in Afghanistan would directly threaten European security, US Defense Secretary Roberts Gates warned Friday as he sought to mobilize NATO allies and more especially public opinion in Europe. |
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