Erdogan: There Is Not A Concept Like 'Kurdish Minority' In Turkey

OSLO - Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said on Monday, ``there is not a concept like `Kurdish minority` in Turkey. The concepts of Kurdish and PKK should not be mixed up.``
Prime Minister Erdogan, who is currently paying a state visit to Norway, met Turkish citizens at the Oslo Military Museum Meeting Hall.
When asked, ``Turkish citizens, who want to seek asylum in Norway, claim that they were Kurdish origin or they were members of PKK. They misrepresent themselves. Will you discuss this issue with Norwegian officials?`` Prime Minister Erdogan said, ``the concepts of Kurdish and PKK should not be mixed up. Kurdish people are citizens of the Republic of Turkey. On the other hand, PKK is a terrorist organization. It is a serious mistake to characterize all Kurdish people as members of PKK.``
``We have three red lines: ethnic nationalism, regional nationalism and religious nationalism. We will try everything to prevent them. There are some western circles trying to divide our country,`` he said.
Upon another question, Prime Minister Erdogan said, ``there is no `Kurdish minority` in Turkey. Kurdish people is one of the components forming our country. The most important thing is to understand each other. We should not allow those who try to divide our country.``