EU condemns terrorism, keeps silent on BDP meeting with PKK

24 August 2012 / TODAY’S ZAMAN, ISTANBUL – EU Enlargement Commissioner Stefan Füle has condemned the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) attack in Gaziantep that killed nine people on Monday, but refrained from commenting on a publicized and controversial meeting between four PKK militants and Kurdish deputies.

The press office for Füle in a statement made to the Cihan news agency on Friday expressed deep regret over the loss of life in Gaziantep and extended condolences to the families of the victims.

“The EU condemns all terrorist attacks and deeply regrets the loss of life. Our thoughts are with the families of all those killed. We have intensified our dialogue with Turkey on counter-terrorism to address the terrorist threats that concern us all, and the fight against terrorism is an important aspect of the Positive Agenda for Turkey,” the statement said.

The statement also said the press office did not have enough information to comment on the meeting between PKK members and deputies. It said the EU strongly condemned terrorism, recalling that the PKK is listed as a terrorist group by the EU.

“We do not comment, as the circumstances in which the meeting happened and this video was done are unclear to us. But we would like to recall that the EU strongly condemns terrorism. The PKK is on the EU list of terrorist organizations. The EU encourages the Turkish authorities and all stakeholders to continue their efforts to find a solution to the Kurdish issue,” said the statement from the press office of the commissioner for enlargement and European neighborhood policy. The video showing PKK terrorists with a group of Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) deputies and an independent who was elected with the support of the BDP found its way into the Turkish media last Saturday. The video features four terrorists and nine BDP deputies led by the party’s co-chairwoman, Gülten Kışanak, chatting and hugging each other along a highway. An investigation was launched into the meeting, which the BDP has defined as an “encounter.”

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