General amnesty for terrorists impossible: PM

ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. AA photo

A general amnesty is impossible for those who have been engaged in terror, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has said during a press conference at Atatürk Airport in Istanbul before leaving for his trip to Gabon, Niger and Senegal.

"There are rumors about house arrest for [Abdullah] Öcalan [the leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK]. This could never happen during the Justice and Development Party's [AKP] rule," Erdoğan said.

"This [İmralı meeting process] is not a new process, it is a continuing process that was started before. A while ago there were Oslo meetings, and these kinds of meetings can be done again, perhaps in another city," he said.

"Intelligence is the most important instrument in politics. States use intelligence in order to be effective both inside and outside of the country. This is what we have done. We have taken this step to succeed in our struggle against terror," he added. "We have not been engaged in this meeting [İmralı meeting] as politicians. Against terror we are struggling, with politicians we are negotiating."