ANKARA - Turkish people do not make concession and give in to terrorism, Turkish Police spokesman Ramazan Er said on Friday.
Holding a press conference, Er stressed that Turkish people and police are experienced against acts of terrorism. ''The Turkish nation makes no concession to terrorism and they don't give in to terrorism. The Turkish nation overcomes it with determination.''
Asked whether police had negligence in yesterday's blasts in Ankara and Istanbul, Er said, ''there are 264 bomb disposal experts in Turkey. They received a training program of three months.''
''The explosion in Ankara happened while our police officers were approaching a suspicious parcel and the blast in Istanbul happened aboard a city bus while it was moving. It has been proven that one of the people killed in the blast had been involved in acts by a leftist organization in the past. Investigations into explosions have been continuing,'' he said.
Replying to another question, Er said police have taken every security measure ahead of U.S. President George W. Bush's visit to Turkey.
''No one should feel panic or fear. Our country has hosted many international meetings in previous years and our own security forces took the security measures for them. Events like the ones that occurred yesterday in our country take place from time to time in all countries of the world,'' he said.
Four people were killed and fourteen others were injured in the blast in Istanbul, and three people including two police officers were wounded in an earlier blast outside Hilton Hotel in Ankara.
Police have been conducting regular spot-checks throughout Turkey and destroyed suspicious packages Thursday and Friday in several provinces.
Security will be extremely tight in Istanbul with more than 23,000 police on duty and a large summit area will be closed to the public.
British Prime Minister Tony Blair, French President Jacques Chirac and other NATO leaders will attend the summit in Istanbul on June 28-29.
Washington stated on Thursday that those blasts would not affect Bush's travel plans.
(MS-AÖ) 25.06.2004