Military worried about DTP poll success
Güncelleme Tarihi:
Hürriyet Daily News
Oluşturulma Tarihi: Nisan 04, 2009 00:00
ANKARA - The Turkish military signaled concern about the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP’s, success in increasing its influence in southeastern Anatolia after last week’s local elections.
The DTP is seen as the political arm of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, a terrorist organization fighting against the Turkish state mainly in that region.
"We cannot evaluate the election results. But this does not stop us from thinking about the reasons for the election results, especially in southeastern Anatolia," military spokesman Brig. Metin Gürak said in a weekly news conference Friday.
DTP success could spread
The DTP won almost all municipalities in the region and could even spread its success to the northern part of southeastern Anatolia, sparking concerns among the ruling party. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek said the results show that "ethnicity-based politics" were increasing their influence and called all parties to think strategically about it. Gürak did not elaborate further on his statements, but his description of the issue suggested the military shared the same concerns as Çiçek. The DTP is often accused of not cutting its links with the PKK.
On Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s denial that he made a call to the PKK members to drop their arms, Gürak recalled Turkey’s expectations from Iraqi authorities to prevent the terrorists’ activities in Iraq.
"We cannot evaluate the election results. But this does not stop us from thinking about the reasons for the election results, especially in southeastern Anatolia," military spokesman Brig. Metin Gürak said in a weekly news conference Friday.
DTP success could spread
The DTP won almost all municipalities in the region and could even spread its success to the northern part of southeastern Anatolia, sparking concerns among the ruling party. Deputy Prime Minister Cemil Çiçek said the results show that "ethnicity-based politics" were increasing their influence and called all parties to think strategically about it. Gürak did not elaborate further on his statements, but his description of the issue suggested the military shared the same concerns as Çiçek. The DTP is often accused of not cutting its links with the PKK.
On Iraqi President Jalal Talabani’s denial that he made a call to the PKK members to drop their arms, Gürak recalled Turkey’s expectations from Iraqi authorities to prevent the terrorists’ activities in Iraq.