Top Turkish general tells Kurds "we love you"
Posted: Mon Apr 10, 2006 3:30 pmDIYARBAKIR, Turkey, April 10 (Reuters) - Turkey's top soldier made a rare visit to the country's troubled, mainly Kurdish southeast on Monday and said the army was with its people and wanted to help them.
"We love all the people of this region. We are the armed forces of the whole nation. We are serving the whole nation," said General Hilmi Ozkok, head of the military General Staff, in televised comments in Diyarbakir, main city of the southeast.
Ozkok said the protesters did not represent the real attitudes of people in the region. He also accused the protesters of deliberately using children during the clashes to gain sympathy and embarrass the security forces.
"The Turkish Armed Forces are doing their job," he added.
Turkey's powerful military feels frustrated that recent EU-linked reforms aimed at curbing its influence have curtailed its ability to hit back hard against the PKK, Turkish media say.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10330958.htm
"We love all the people of this region. We are the armed forces of the whole nation. We are serving the whole nation," said General Hilmi Ozkok, head of the military General Staff, in televised comments in Diyarbakir, main city of the southeast.
Ozkok said the protesters did not represent the real attitudes of people in the region. He also accused the protesters of deliberately using children during the clashes to gain sympathy and embarrass the security forces.
"The Turkish Armed Forces are doing their job," he added.
Turkey's powerful military feels frustrated that recent EU-linked reforms aimed at curbing its influence have curtailed its ability to hit back hard against the PKK, Turkish media say.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/L10330958.htm
