Turkey's Land Forces Commander Says Operations Against P.K.K. Will Continue Until It's Wiped Out At Home And Abroad

LEFKOSA - Turkey's Land Forces Commander Gen. Ilker Basbug said Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) will continue operations against terrorist organisation PKK with determinism until it is wiped out in Turkey and abroad, in places it took shelter.
Gen. Basbug who is visiting Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to make inspections in Turkish Peace Force in Cyprus (KKTB), gave a press briefing at KKTB headquarters on Friday.
Gen. Basbug said, 51 terrorists were killed, 46 terrorists were captured and 41 terrorists surrendered so far in operations carried out in Turkey in 2008. He said for the most part these operations were carried out in Kupeli, Bestler, Dereler regions and Tunceli and Bingol provinces, located in southeastern Turkey.
-CULTURAL DIVERSITY-
Gen. Basbug said Turkish Republic respected cultural diversity and had made and would continue to make necessary arrangements for cultural diversity to exist and survive, as long as it remained in the individual cultural scope and did not harm the nation state.
"But other than this, nobody can expect or ask Turkey to make arrangements for an ethnic group, in the political arena outside the cultural scope that would jeopardise the unitary nation state structure," said Gen. Basbug.
(OZG-AÖ)