Thursday, 05 May 2011
Turkey's Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan greets his supporters during an election rally in Kastamonu, northern Turkey. (File Photo)
One police officer was killed and another injured when the Turkish prime minister’s convoy was attacked on Thursday while he was en route to a campaign rally in Cankiri reported local TV station NTV.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was not injured and immediately airlifted in a helicopter.
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan was not injured and immediately airlifted in a helicopter.
A bomb exploded in front of the police convoy escorting the ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party bus after it made a stop in Kastamonu in northern Turkey, according to news reports.
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Addressing a rally later in Amasya, Mr. Erdogan expressed his sorrow over the deaths and blamed the attack on separatist groups.
“These dark minds who do not believe in democracy’s struggle; these separatist forces believe they can only achieve results this way and not through the ballot box,” the prime minister said.
Over the last three decades, the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK), or Kurdish Workers’ Party has waged a war of independence from Turkey, which is reported to have caused some 30,000 to 40,000 deaths.
Although the war subsided when party leader Abdullah Ocalan was imprisoned in 1999 and subsequently called for peaceful negotiations, PKK is still suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.
“We will not let anyone divide this land. My mighty nation will never yield to bandits,” the prime minister said, according to the BBC.
Mr. Erdogan is currently touring the nation ahead of the upcoming national parliamentary elections slated for June 12.
(Ikram Al Yacoub of Al Arabiya can be reached at: ikram.yacoub@mbc.net)
No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Addressing a rally later in Amasya, Mr. Erdogan expressed his sorrow over the deaths and blamed the attack on separatist groups.
“These dark minds who do not believe in democracy’s struggle; these separatist forces believe they can only achieve results this way and not through the ballot box,” the prime minister said.
Over the last three decades, the Partiya Karkerên Kurdistan (PKK), or Kurdish Workers’ Party has waged a war of independence from Turkey, which is reported to have caused some 30,000 to 40,000 deaths.
Although the war subsided when party leader Abdullah Ocalan was imprisoned in 1999 and subsequently called for peaceful negotiations, PKK is still suspected of involvement in terrorist activities.
“We will not let anyone divide this land. My mighty nation will never yield to bandits,” the prime minister said, according to the BBC.
Mr. Erdogan is currently touring the nation ahead of the upcoming national parliamentary elections slated for June 12.
(Ikram Al Yacoub of Al Arabiya can be reached at: ikram.yacoub@mbc.net)
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