ANKARA - Dutch Ambassador to Turkey Sjoerd Gosses said on Tuesday that it was not the first time he was meeting families of martyrs and veterans, and noted that it would be very wrong to think that the Europeans were only interested in one side of this issue.
A group of relatives of martyrs and veterans and ambassadors and representatives of European Union (EU) member states met in a luncheon in Turkish capital of Ankara.
Speaking in the luncheon, Gosses said that the EU was trying to observe the real situation in Turkey, and attached importance to objective information.
Gosses noted that neither Europe nor Europeans were naive about incidents happening in Turkey.
Their prior target was to end violence, wherever it was coming from, Gosses said.
Gosses stated that they also gave the same message to former Democracy Party (DEP) deputy Leyla Zana last week since they could not meet Zana when she was in the prison.
They had a professional approach to the issue, and their approach was not biased, Gosses said.
Gosses expressed uneasiness about recent incidents of violence in Turkey.
Noting that the EU especially wanted Turkey to take steps to raise living stands in the southeast and other underdeveloped regions, Gosses said that such a move would contribute to peace.
Gosses called on families of martyrs and war veterans to look at the future, not the past.
U.S. Trade Attache to Turkey John Kunstadter expressed sorrow over the losses of Turkey, and said that Turkey's indivisible integrity was preserved thanks to self-sacrifice of families who lost their children due to terrorist attacks.
Kunstadter said that the United States had supported Turkey's fight against terrorism since August 15th, 1984, and would continue to do so.
(BRC-AÖ) 13.07.2004