Turkey is not Syria, Turkish PM says

AĞRI

DHA photo

Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım has said that Turkey is not Syria, as he visited the Tendürek region in the Doğubayazıt district of the eastern province of Ağrı, where outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) militants killed a total of 10 people on Sept. 15.

“They want to turn Turkey into Syria or Iraq via cooperating with foreign powers. However, they forget one thing: This is not Syria or Iraq. This is Anatolia,” Yıldırım told journalists on Sept. 17, as he listened to the complaints of residents from the Somkaya, Gökçebulak and Karakent villages, where he went to offer his condolences for the village guards who lost their lives in the PKK attack.

“We should live as one and in unity. We experienced July 15. Ağrı was on the streets until the morning. Ağrı protested for its future and flag,” Yıldırım said, referring to the July 15 failed coup attempt, where people around Turkey took to the streets against the coup plotting soldiers.

“Look at the situation of Syrians and Iraqis in the absence of a flag. 10 million people were displaced. It was all tears and pain. They also want to do this to Turkey. They are feeding terror in order to divide Turkey. This is a dirty game. Don’t be deceived. Our tomorrow will be better than today. We will share our pain and joy. We will scratch the eyes of the ones who set eyes on our land,” he also said. 

Before travling to Ağrı, Yıldırım participated in the funerals of Gendarmerie Specialized Sgt. Adem Akatay and gendarme Ahmet Tezcan, who died in the PKK attack in Tendürek. He then headed to Ağrı and visited the families of the village guards who were killed in the same attack. Yıldırım also received information regarding the clashes that took place in Tendürek. 

During his visit, Yıldırım addressed terrorist organizations, characterizing them as “dishonorable intruders.”

“Bring whatever power you have on. We will kick you out of this soil. They [the PKK] harm the Kurdish people the most. There is no Turk, no Kurd, there is one nation,” he said. 

Yıldırım also conveyed a condolence message from President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan to the residents of Ağrı.