ANKARA - Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Tuesday that Turkey was in a successful (military) operation process that would both secure the (Turkish-Iraqi) border and restore stability and tranquility in the region.
Taking the floor at the Justice & Development (AK) Party Group meeting, Erdogan said, "we have used whatever necessary within the framework of international law, and we will continue to do so."
Commenting on cross-border operations, Erdogan said Turkey did not have a negative point of view towards friendly Iraqi people, Iraq's territorial integrity, national unity and stability. "On the contrary, Turkey is resolved to contribute to the tranquility and prosperity of Iraqi people."
"Turkey knows very well the requirements of the international law," Erdogan indicated. He said, "we acted after taking all diplomatic, military, social and economic measures. I would like to make it clear that civilians have never been our targets. The target is definitely the terrorist camps. We carry out our task by using all technological means."
Erdogan said, "we have so many times relayed our demands to the Iraqi administration to heal the wound and to take out this tumor from the body. However, any (positive) result that will relieve (Turkish) people has not been obtained. On the contrary, the heinous hands continued their murders. We said that Turkey is out of patience. Nobody can oppose if Turkey today reciprocate the attacks on its civilians, soldiers, and police."
Indicating that there were many countries that suffered a lot from terrorism, Erdogan said, "I am sure they understand what we have been suffering."
"As a result of the active diplomacy we have been carrying out, international community started to acknowledge Turkey's rightfulness. Turkey cannot have a negative or hostile attitude against its neighbors. However, those who assume a hostile posture against Turkey should see Turkey's firmness and will. I reaffirm that our target is the terrorist camps in northern Iraq. We are not looking into the origin and/or race of the terrorists. A terrorist is a terrorist regardless who s/he is or what s/he serves for," Erdogan said.
Erdogan said terrorists actually wanted to disrupt the harmony in the region, adding "they not only harm us but also the people living in northern Iraq. Our target is to uproot terrorism from the borders of our country, as well as the region."
Erdogan said acts of terrorism was an impediment on development of some regions of Turkey and north of Iraq. He said, "terrorists harm people of the region the most. Entrepreneurs do not invest in Southeastern Anatolia because of the uneasiness. They do not invest in the region as fear, hopelessness and insecurity prevail there."
Erdogan also refuted the claims that there were civilian casualties among people living in north of Iraq.