Turkey calls on EU to ‘act against terror’ in line with Europol’s report

ANKARA

Ankara has urged EU nations to take measures to stop the PKK and the DHKP-C from using European soils as a logistical base for propaganda and fundraising efforts as these findings have been brought back to the agenda by the European police agency Europol’s 2020 terrorism report.

“The findings of the Europol, an EU institution, overlap with our data we have brought to the attention of our European counterparts and therefore prove our rightfulness,” Hami Aksoy, the spokesperson of the Foreign Ministry, said in a statement on June 25.

Aksoy cited Europol’s EU Terrorism Situation and Trend Report, released on June 23, which underlined that the PKK and the DHKP-C terror organizations continued to use European soils as logistical base.

“On this occasion, we are renewing our calls to the relevant countries not to allow the terror organizations to use European soils and to cooperate with us in a result-based understanding against terrorism,” Aksoy said.

The PKK and the DHKP-C are listed as terror organizations by the EU, the United States and Turkey.

Europol’s report says both terror organizations remain active on EU soils in propaganda, recruitment and providing logistical support to its members.

“Members and sympathizers of the PKK continued to be involved in legal and illegal activities to raise funds in order to support the group and its affiliates. The main source of revenue appeared to be the annual fundraising campaign and cultural events,” it said.

PKK raises financial support for terror acts

To date, the PKK has not carried out any terrorist attack on EU soil but remains active there, the Europol suggested, stressing: “Members and sympathizers of the PKK continued to be involved in legal and illegal activities to raise funds in order to support the group and its affiliates. The main source of revenue appeared to be the annual fundraising campaign and cultural events. Legitimate businesses were also used. For example, law enforcement in Germany shut down two companies suspected of being part of PKK organizational and financial structures across Europe. Sweden and Turkey reported that the group is also involved in serious and organized criminal activities.”

DHKP-C uses EU soils for terror attacks against Turkey

As for the DHKP-C, the report stressed that it continued using the EU as a logistical base to support the group’s operations in Turkey.

“Although the threat of a terrorist attack by DHKP-C in the EU is at a low level, its members continued to use EU Member States as a logistical base to support the group’s operations in Turkey. Austria, for example, stated that a fixed structure is in place in Europe – through which money, weapons and military equipment are procured for terrorist activities in Turkey. Legally established associations are used as cover for some of these illegal structures,” it added.