Monday, 26 October 2009
Turkish General Staff Chief Gen. Ilker Basbug said Sunday, "no one can accept what happened in Turkey lately. I share the feelings of our veterans and relatives of martyrs."
Gen. Basbug told reporters about recent developments following return of some members of the PKK terrorist organization, "it is impossible to accept last week's developments. I do share the feelings of our veterans and relatives of martyrs. No one should forget the fact that if those people had not sacrificed their lives and those veterans had not been injured, where would Turkey have been in its fight against terrorism? If we forget this fact, it will be a big disrespect against our martyrs and veterans."
"In 1990s, the terrorist organization attempted to take a certain part of Turkey under its control and establish an independent state. Today, the PKK understood that it cannot reach such targets. They do not talk about independence any more," he said.
"The fight against terrorism is difficult. Our troops carry out this fight 24 hours a day and 365 days a year. They are not robots, they are humans. In 1990s, we did not have today's technological capabilities. We owe our current situation to our martyrs. More than 5 thousand troops were martyred in the fight against terrorism," Gen. Basbug added.
