Turkish military continues PKK fight

Dec. 17, 2009

ANKARA, Turkey, Dec. 17 (UPI) -- The head of the Turkish military pledged Thursday to take on Kurdish terrorist groups amid a national backlash over a decision to ban a pro-Kurdish party.

Protests erupted throughout Turkey in recent days following a parliamentary decision to shut down the pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party, or DTP, because of allegations of ties to the separatist Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK.

Riot police swarmed to the predominately Kurdish southeast of the country, leaving at least four dead as demonstrators threatened to overtake local merchants.

Gen. Ilker Basbug, the Turkish chief of staff, said he would continue the military fight against militants in the PKK, Turkey's English-language daily Hurriyet reports.

"The goal is to bring the terror problem down to the bottom of Turkey's list of problems," he said.

Ankara recently unveiled a series of concessions for the Kurdish minority community in Turkey in an effort to find a political solution to simmering conflict with the group.

Besir Atalay, the Turkish interior minister, said he would move forward with political reforms for the Kurdish community despite the unrest.

He stressed, however, that securing peace meant ending terrorist attacks from the PKK, describing the DTP backlash as an obstacle.