ERDOGAN: "THE MILITARY HAS DONE AND WILL CONTINUE TO DO WHAT IS NECESSARY"
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan yesterday reiterated that the military would take every measure necessary in the fight against the terrorist PKK. "The military has done whatever is necessary and will continue to do whatever is necessary," he told a joint press conference in Ankara with his visiting Macedonian counterpart. "Turkey has no negative attitude towards Iraqi civilians or friends. Turkey's enemies are the terrorist camps in northern Iraq which threaten our national unity. We are exercising our rights under international law." /Hurriyet/
GENERAL STAFF: "NO CIVILIANS WERE TARGETED, AND REPORTS OF CIVILIAN CASUALTIES ARE DISINFORMATION"
The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) said yesterday that it had inflicted heavy losses on terrorist PKK camps in northern Iraq in weekend airstrikes and in a small-scale incursion afterwards by ground forces. In a statement posted on its website, the military confirmed that Turkish ground troops had crossed a few kilometers into northern Iraq yesterday after spotting a group of PKK militants trying to move into Turkey overnight. The military again reiterated that no civilians were targeted and that reports of civilian casualties were disinformation. "The air operation was planned very precisely and it executed with great caution," said the statement. "Only facilities used by the terrorist organization (PKK) were included in the list of targets in the operation, and no civilian residential areas were targeted." In related news, President Abdullah Gul said, "From now on, whatever is necessary in the fight against terrorism will be done," On a visit to Konya, Gul also said Turkey's only goal in northern Iraq was to combat the PKK threat. "There are no other goals," he added. "Iraq is Turkey's neighbor, and we want to save the Iraqis from this vexing terror. The whole world has seen that Turkey has no ulterior motives. In the end, everybody has understood that Turkey is right in this fight." /Star-Hurriyet/
RICE: "THE UNITED STATES, IRAQ, AND TURKEY SHARE A COMMON INTEREST IN STOPPING THE PKK"
On a surprise visit to Iraq, US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice yesterday met with regional administration leaders in Kirkuk, then proceeded to Baghdad and met with Iraqi President Jalal Talabani. Afterwards, at a joint press conference with Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshyar Zebari, Rice said, "The United States, Iraq, and Turkey share a common interest in stopping the activities of the PKK which threaten to undo the stability of the north, which clearly have resulted in deaths in Turkey, and when we were recently together in Istanbul, we actually had a trilateral discussion about our common interest in dealing with this problem." She added, "This is a circumstance in which the United States has constantly counseled that we need an overall comprehensive approach to this problem, that no one should do anything that threatens to destabilize the north." Addressing Turkey's recent cross-border operation into northern Iraq, she said, "As to the activity last Sunday, this was a Turkish decision and we have made clear to the Turkish government that we continue to be concerned about anything that could lead to innocent civilian casualties or to a destabilization of the north." For his part, Zebari said, "We want stability and security in Iraq and with Iraq's neighbors also and the border areas. The PKK presence is unacceptable. The PKK has conducted terrorist activities against Turkish interests and civilians and their presence is not acceptable, neither by the Iraqi government nor the KRG (Kurdish regional administration) authorities." /Turkiye/
EC'S PIERINI: "THE TURKISH ARMY IS VERY IMPORTANT FOR THE EU"
Marc Pierini, the head of the European Commission Representation in Turkey, said yesterday that the Turkish Army has great importance for the European Union. In a guest opinion column in Dunya daily, Pierini wrote, "Let's think about the military dimension of an EU and NATO where the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) is completely integrated in their all peacekeeping operations: Turkey has the second greatest army in NATO, and it can clearly change the planning possibilities of possible EU peacekeeping operations in the Near and Middle East and Africa as well as other regions." /Milliyet/