Killing civilians ‘not self-defense,’ says British ambassador

ISTANBUL

Killing innocent civilians cannot be counted as self-defense, British Ambassador to Turkey Richard Moore has said on his official Twitter account, responding to a user claiming the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) has a “clean history of self-defense.”

“Since when did blowing yourself up in Kızılay [and] killing more than 30 innocent bystanders count as self-defense?” Moore asked another social media user, who said the ambassador “should know better” than call PKK militants “terrorists.”

Moore dismissed the user’s claim when the person claimed the blast that hit central Ankara on March 13 and killed at least 37 people “was not the PKK,” and that army servicemen, not civilians, were killed in the attack.

“Oh yes it was and no they weren’t,” he responded. 

The discussion started when Moore complained about extreme reactions at different ends of the spectrum when he offers condolences to Turkish security forces killed during anti-terror operations. 

“[I] get called a hypocrite by some who bizarrely believe the U.K. secretly supports the PKK and an enemy of Kurds by sympathizers of the latter,” he said, adding that he is neither.

“I believe the PKK must give up terrorism,” he said, while Turkey should address the matter through peaceful dialogue and democracy.