UNITED NATIONS - Ambassador Baki Ilkin, Turkey's permanent representative to the United Nations, said on Wednesday that international cooperation was a must in fight against terrorism.
Speaking at a press conference on implementation of United Nations Counter-Terrorism Strategy adopted last year, Ilkin said the UN member states at their General Assembly on September 8th, 2006 adopted the Strategy. "The Strategy is the 'first international document' that can give a comprehensive response to terrorism," Ilkin added.
Ilkin said all member states wanted the strategy to be implemented comprehensively and asked UN to assume a central role.
Ambassador Ilkin underscored that all member states remarked that better dialogue, understanding and tolerance should be strengthened in international community to overcome the conditions causing terrorism. He said UN Alliance of Civilizations Initiative was important in this respect.
Ilkin said Turkey has been suffering from terrorism problem for 20 years, indicating that terrorism could be eradicated in case an international cooperation could be achieved.
"Terrorism, which targets a country today, may target other countries in the long term. International cooperation is the only way to combat terrorism that threatens the states," he added.
Responding to a question, Ilkin said no religion should be associated with violence or terrorism, and noted that it was extremely wrong to show a religion as reason of terrorism.
"Terrorism can not be justified with any reason," Ilkin said, noting that there should be a discrimination between religion-culture and terrorism.
Ilkin said Alliance of Civilizations Initiative, carried out by Turkey and Spain, aims at forming a tolerance and understanding between the religions and cultures, and recalled that next meeting of the Initiative would take place in Spain next month.
Implementation of the United Nations Counter-Terrorism Strategy will be reviewed in 2008.