PM Davutoğlu says Turkey not Syria, PKK will pay price for declaring cantons
by Anadolu Agency
ANKARASep 12, 2015 - 12:00 am GMT+3
by Anadolu Agency
Sep 12, 2015 12:00 am
Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu in a an interview on Thursday on A Haber made it clear that Turkey will not tolerate local self-rule claims made by some Kurdish mayors in the country's southeast,.
Davutoğlu said: "This is not Syria. Nobody can announce cantons as they wish. In a democratic judicial state the administrative system and its functioning are settled."
He also spoke out on the scenes of Peoples' Democratic Party (HDP) members being barred from entering Cizre in Turkey's southeast. Cizre is currently under a curfew. "Every committee, even the AK Party [Justice and Development Party] committee, has to abide by the measures taken there to restore public order," Davutoğlu said. "When we say public order, everybody should follow [the rules]."
He said that security measures would be lifted "whenever the arms are delivered, whenever the mines are cleared, ditches are closed and conditions exist in which Cizre citizens are able to go around every neighborhood and street. The [curfew] will end whenever necessary. ... The necessary food is being supplied to residents. The curfew is not for agonizing the public. The reason for the curfew is to prevent civilian casualties due to the mix of civilians with terrorists."
Davutoğlu also said that Turkey was using "two means" to combat the ongoing violence. "Turkey has faced serious terror attacks recently. Yet, we have been attentive to use two means against these. One of them is democracy. We never moved from democracy. The second is the public order necessary for safety," he said.
"Democracy and public order are two elements complementing each other. If there is no public order there are no liberties. If democracy and liberties do not exist, public order turns into an authoritarian structure," he added. Regarding stalled talks with the jailed leader of the PKK terrorist organization, Abdullah Öcalan, Davutoğlu said "There is not a situation that necessitates talks with İmralı [Island where Öcalan is imprisoned]. The focal point of previous [talks] was disarmament." The talks in 2013 were framed around disarmament. "There is no need for talks before creating this type of will, approach or perspective," he said.
Operations against the PKK, which listed as a terrorist group by Turkey, the EU and U.S., came after it renewed attacks on Turkish security forces following the July 20 Suruç suicide bombing that killed 34 people.
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