ANKARA - Turkey had never backed terrorism, wherever it was staged, and whatever its purpose was, Cemil Cicek, Turkish Justice Minister and government spokesman said on Monday.
After the meeting of the Council of Ministers, Cicek told reporters that if a single country, whose attitude towards terrorism was clear, was asked to be shown, this country should be Turkey.
Turkey had suffered much from terrorism for years, and it was still face to face with this threat, Cicek stated.
Cicek said, ''therefore, we have never sympathized or backed terrorism wherever it was staged, and whatever its purpose was. Our position regarding this matter is obvious. As the (Turkish Republic) state, we have never tolerated terrorism, and we will never do so.''
-ATTACKS ON TURKISH DRIVERS IN IRAQ-
Asked if the Council of Ministers discussed attacks on Turkish lorry drivers in Iraq, Cicek said that Iraq was an issue concerning Turkey's foreign policy which they were always discussing.
Cicek noted that there was an authority vacuum in Iraq, and therefore, everything could not be kept under control.
Turkey had taken necessary measures, and would continue to do so, Cicek stated.
Cicek said, ''we are ready to take into consideration every measure suggested by others. Some (political) parties say that the government is not doing anything (to solve this problem). We have sincerely taken every measure we can and do everything we can under these conditions, and we continue to do so. But, if others have some suggestions and if they tell them, we will try to act in line with them.''
-TURKEY HAS FULFILLED ITS OBLIGATIONS-
Asked if Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan informed the Council of Ministers about his meeting with Guenter Verheugen, the European Union (EU) Commissioner for enlargement, Cicek said that they thought that political criteria had been fulfilled.
Cicek added, ''we should be given a negotiation date on December 17th. We haven't said that everything required has been done. We can see that we have some shortcomings in practice. But, we can also see that EU member countries also have some shortcomings from time to time. Being given a negotiation date doesn't mean that we will join (the union) the following day. We will undergo a certain process, and it is possible to eliminate these shortcomings in that process. But, we think that Turkey has fulfilled its obligations to get a date from the EU.''
(BRC) 06.09.2004