We need time to learn the truth in Paris: Turkish president

ISTANBUL

Turkish President Abdullah Gül, DHA photo

Turkish President Abdullah Gül has preached calm following the Jan. 10, execution-style killings of three Kurdish women in Paris, saying time is needed to reveal the truth concerning their murders.

"We need a couple of days to understand what really happened and what the truth behind this incident is. Then the reality will be revealed. Whatever is said now won't go beyond predictions," Gül said earlier today during a visit to the inner Aegean province of Uşak.

French Interior Minister Manuel Valls told reporters outside the murder scene that the three women had been “without any doubt executed” and described the killings as “totally unacceptable.”

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said the attack could be a provocation attempt.

“We should first wait for the result of the investigation,” Erdoğan told a press conference in Dakar, his last stop on a three-day Africa tour. “There are [forces] who don’t want a solution. This attack could be an attempted provocation.”

Erdoğan urged all parties to wait until French officials bring light to the case. “To make a premature judgment would be an error. It could be an internal feud. Apart from that, we are currently carrying on a fight against terrorism. We want progress, and there are those who don’t accept it,” said Erdoğan, adding that Turkey would pursue its “goodwill steps in fighting terrorism until it gets results.”

Meanwhile, Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç expressed “his sadness” over the killings. The motive raised a lot of questions, according to Arınç, who told reporters in Ankara: “No matter what crimes [they have allegedly committed], this is a very bad development.”

The co-leaders of the Peace and Democratic Party (BDP), Gülten Kışanak and Selahattin Demirtaş, also strongly condemned the killings. In an official statement, the BDP leaders announced that they would travel to Paris to speak with French authorities about the issue and attend funeral ceremonies for the victims.