Prime Minister Erdoğan vows to end terror

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has stated that the only winners from terror are weapons traffickers, pledging to stop those who feed on the blood of the country's youth.

Erdoğan said Turkey is continuing its anti-terrorism efforts with the same determination as before. “Our security forces are doing what needs to be done. Our judicial system is working. But additional measures are needed in this fight. We use the most high-tech weapons there are, but if we fail to bring your democratic standards to higher levels, if we fail to eradicate poverty, we cannot rid ourselves of this curse, terrorism,” the prime minister said during a visit yesterday to Konya, where he attended ceremonies to commemorate Mevlana Jelaluddin Rumi on the 736th anniversary of the 13th-century Sufi saint's death.

Stating that his government was continuing its path under the light of Mevlana, Erdoğan said difficulties provided guidance. “Mevlana says, ‘Don’t be discouraged by a bump on your path; you will have to face many mountains.’ We think big, we target big and work in that direction.”

He said some groups were trying to perpetuate existing impasses in Turkey’s problems instead of creating solutions. “This nation will overcome every difficulty. Nothing can keep us shackled. Nothing can stop this nation from its sacred walk. We have overcome many disasters in our history. We have, with the permission of God, overcome all of them. We can and will do it again, as long as we have our self-confidence, as long as we stand together in unity,” Erdoğan said.

The prime minister also said that both Turks and Kurds have lost much in the past 30 years of the armed conflict waged by the terrorist Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) against Turkey. “Only those who sell guns, mines and drugs have won. Who lost? You did, I did, our young people did, their families did, the country did, the nation did. Can a person with a conscience and reason allow this to continue? … Of course, we will continue fighting terrorism. Today, our gendarmerie is in the mountains, our police are in urban centers, and they are fighting heroically. But we need other measures in anti-terrorism efforts. … No matter how many troops you deploy, you cannot end terror if you don’t eradicate poverty.”

The prime minister also opened various facilities in a single ceremony held at the Konya Cultural Park.