| Army wants PKK ’totally eradicated’ |
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ISTANBUL - Allied countries need to unite and develop a common front in order to succeed in the fight against terrorism says Chief of Staff Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð. He also says the military is determined to wipe out the PKK and that NATO’s success in Afghanistan is vital to the future of the alliance.
Countries that are today targets of terrorism have no guarantees they will not be threatened in the future, and Turkey is determined to wipe out the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, said the chief of general staff at an international seminar in Istanbul on Monday.
"This problem can only be solved with the collective efforts of all nations and in particular allied nations. We believe that countries need to merge their positions and politics and adopt a common stance," said Gen. Ýlker Baþbuð at the start of the two-day Silk Road 2009 General/Admiral seminar.
"Our aim while fighting [PKK] terrorism is to end all hopes of the terrorists and their supporters. We believe that alongside the fight against terrorism, state actions in the economic, socio-cultural, security, propaganda and international relations fields form a whole and complement each other," said Baþbuð.
Asymmetric threats
"However, for terrorist organizations to believe they can hang on to their arms and only seek economic and socio-cultural change is wrong and that is why we are very determined to fight the terrorist organization until it is disbanded and lays down arms," he said.
A total of 119 participants are attending the seminar, the 10th year that it has been held, and include military representatives from NATO and European Union countries.
Baþbuð said following the Cold War the biggest threat posed to the alliance comes from asymmetric threats, the biggest of them being terrorism.
"Terrorism does not just take the lives of innocent people, it also threatens common human values like democracy, freedom and human rights," said Baþbuð.
"Whatever the source or the reason countries need to cooperate to tackle terrorism. It does not prove enough if any one country attempts to root out terrorism by itself," he said. Baþbuð hailed joint NATO programs and said they helped improve security and strengthen NATO’s borders.
He said it is important to have more cooperation with the United Nations and EU to be able to handle new problems that arise.
Pointing to NATO operations in Afghanistan he said success would not only be important for Afghanistan itself but would also be a sign of NATO’s future and its capability to deal with 21st century problems.
Baþbuð said Turkey has not only provided assistance to NATO in operations but has provided vital leadership, too. |
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