Turkish General Warns US Over Developments In Southern
Kurdistan
Turkish NTV Sep 24, 2007
ANKARA - A senior Turkish general
has warned that the situation developing in Southern Kurdistan was giving power
to the region’s Kurdish population.
In an address to the Turkish Military Academy to mark the
opening of the academic year, General Ilker Basbug, the commander of Turkey’s
Land Forces, said that these developments in the north of Iraq were leading to
the Kurds gaining political, legal, military and psychological powers that they
never had in history.
“The USA should by now understand that it is time to act on
the PKK and that it should take the situation seriously,” Basbug said.
The political decision makers and the public should come to a
consensus over the threats that developments in Southern Kurdistan would create,
he said, adding that Turkey might not be able to stop the developments in Iraq
on its own but could prevent them and thus increase the costs.
Basbug said that USA should understand that without gaining
Turkey’s support it could not achieve a solution in Iraq.
The general also touched the topical issue of the drafting of
a new constitution for Turkey, saying that he was against the opening any debate
about the secular nature of the Turkish nation.
Claims that secularism was in conflict with democracy were
lacking any firm basis, he said.
The enemy of the Turkish revolution inspired by Ataturk, the country’s founding
father was fundamentalism and backwardness, he said.
General Basbug said that the point that they wanted to focus
on, which is clearly cited at the beginning of the constitution and article 24,
that sacred beliefs of religion should not be used in state works, politics and
to gain personal benefits or powers.
“Taking religion out of its context and turning it into an
ideology would politicise religion which would give the greatest damage to
religion itself,” Basbug said.
