Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that terrorists and separatists have no choice but to surrender their weapons or die. He made the remarks during a speech in the northern city of Samsun.
“We no longer have any tolerance for terrorists plotting in our region as agents of the imperialists. These separatist murderers will either immediately bury their weapons in the ground or be buried with them. There is no third way here,“ Erdogan said.
He pointed out that “the era of weapons, violence and terror is over“ and “the separatist terrorist organization has reached the end of its useful life“. This organization in Turkey traditionally means the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), as well as its affiliated groups in Syria.
The Turkish leader pointed out that “everyone must now accept this reality“. “I emphasize that there is no longer a place for terror in our region. We have lived here for a thousand years, we own these territories. And we will stay here for centuries and live freely. We hope that on the basis of brotherhood and mutual respect, we will restore those areas where the separatists sowed discord“, Erdogan said.
The conflict between Turkey and the PKK has been going on since 1984. The Turkish authorities consider the PKK a threat to national security and regularly carry out actions against its supporters in the country and operations in northern Syria and Iraq. According to the Turkish Ministry of Defense, more than 3,000 Kurdish fighters have been killed this year as a result of operations in northern Syria and Iraq.