Gov’t vows to fight against drugs, calls on civil society to support

ANKARA

The fight against narcotics is a matter that concerns the entire nation, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has said, calling on civil society to support a government-led fight against drug trafficking. 

“The struggle against narcotics is a public duty. It is a responsibility and an obligation for those who are in charge. But it is also the nation’s duty. We have to conduct it with the spirit of national mobilization, as all segments of the society,” Kurtulmuş said after a meeting with government figures on the fight against narcotics on July 19.

“On this matter, we hope the business world, civil society and especially media could support works that would raise awareness on the fight against narcotics,” he said.

Stating that Turkey has actively been fighting against drugs, he said the severity of the problem was still a pressing issue for the government. 

“Latest researches have shown that especially the younger generation’s involvement in drugs and the starting age of drugs has reached an overriding level. It is an important and dangerous indication for us that drug usage percentage has reached 10 percent,” Kurtulmuş said.

He also stressed that the threat was at a global level, stating that Turkey was an important country in the global narcotics traffic.

“There is a narcotics traffic between eastern countries and western countries. However, synthetic drugs are trafficked from the West to the East. Synthetic drugs have entered Turkey mostly from the West. Within this framework, we are conducting an effective fight,” he said, adding that synthetic drugs have been an important issue in the fight against drugs since 2011.

Kurtulmuş also said the struggle included battling against “narcoterrorism,” stating that “the PKK [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party] has been operating $1.5 million worth of narcotics traffic.”

“It is another disaster for our country that a terrorist organization, which is the enemy of Turkey, has such a serious financial source obtained from this crime against humanity,” he said.