Gül in London defending war against Kurds
Gül in London defending war against Kurds
In an interview with the British daily paper The Guardian Turkish president Abdullah Gül defended his country negative record in dealing with the Kurds by arguing that "terrorist groups" had been trying to sabotage the process of reform.
On a three-days official visit to London (the first by a Turkish president in 23 years), Gül said to Guardian's Ian Black that cross-border raids might be necessary if Turkey was attacked from safe heavens. Talks in Great Britain are likely going to be dominated by Syria.
Gül declined to comment directly on reports that Turkey was preparing to establish a buffer zone on the Syrian border. Creating a haven for armed groups was out of the question, he said, although Ankara would continue to offer a "democratic platform" for Syrian opposition organisations.
"Syria is now at a dead end so change is inevitable," Gül said. "But we don't believe the right way to create change is through external intervention. The people must make that change. Civil war is not something that anyone would want to see happen. Everything must be done to prevent it. It is very dangerous."
Gül's strongly worded comments came on a day that saw Syrian soldiers shoot and injure two Turkish pilgrims on a bus near the Syrian town of Homs, the focal point of recent violence. It is further evidence of how Turkey is being affected by the prolonged instability in its southern neighbour. Witnesses claimed the soldiers had opened fire when they realised the passengers were Turks.
The Turkish president said he had spoken to Assad regularly until a few months ago and had advised him to allow free elections, release political prisoners and announce a clear timetable for reforms.
"It's quite too late for that sort of thing now," he said. "He seems to have opted for a different route. And frankly we do not have any more trust in him."
The Arab awakening had happened with "something of a delay", said Gül, whose Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) has ruled Turkey since 2002. He had urged Arab leaders to follow Turkey's example.
"There was a need for deep-rooted reform," he said. "They could not carry on as they were for ever. In the end, it would either be the people or some sort of external interference that would bring change. Turkey now is a source of inspiration to many of these countries."
On a three-days official visit to London (the first by a Turkish president in 23 years), Gül said to Guardian's Ian Black that cross-border raids might be necessary if Turkey was attacked from safe heavens. Talks in Great Britain are likely going to be dominated by Syria.
Gül declined to comment directly on reports that Turkey was preparing to establish a buffer zone on the Syrian border. Creating a haven for armed groups was out of the question, he said, although Ankara would continue to offer a "democratic platform" for Syrian opposition organisations.
"Syria is now at a dead end so change is inevitable," Gül said. "But we don't believe the right way to create change is through external intervention. The people must make that change. Civil war is not something that anyone would want to see happen. Everything must be done to prevent it. It is very dangerous."
Gül's strongly worded comments came on a day that saw Syrian soldiers shoot and injure two Turkish pilgrims on a bus near the Syrian town of Homs, the focal point of recent violence. It is further evidence of how Turkey is being affected by the prolonged instability in its southern neighbour. Witnesses claimed the soldiers had opened fire when they realised the passengers were Turks.
The Turkish president said he had spoken to Assad regularly until a few months ago and had advised him to allow free elections, release political prisoners and announce a clear timetable for reforms.
"It's quite too late for that sort of thing now," he said. "He seems to have opted for a different route. And frankly we do not have any more trust in him."
The Arab awakening had happened with "something of a delay", said Gül, whose Islamist Justice and Development Party (AKP) has ruled Turkey since 2002. He had urged Arab leaders to follow Turkey's example.
"There was a need for deep-rooted reform," he said. "They could not carry on as they were for ever. In the end, it would either be the people or some sort of external interference that would bring change. Turkey now is a source of inspiration to many of these countries."
