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ANKARA, July 14 (AFP) - 17h25 - Turkish Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan lashed out Thursday at
the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) and the
Reuters news agency, accusing them of having called
the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) a
"militia" in their news reports.
"I condemn the BBC and Reuters, both of which
declared the PKK terror organization a militia," he
said. "I invite the world media to display an
objective approach to this issue."
"If this way of thinking continues, it should be
known that the terror targeting Turkey ... today,
will tomorrow target them and make them suffer,"
Erdogan said.
Erdogan was speaking at a meeting here with Turkish
industrialists, during which he observed a moment of
silence for the victims of last week's bombings in
London.
The Reuters Ankara bureau declined to comment,
saying a statement was likely to be issued by the
organization's headquarters in London.
The BBC could not be immediately reached.
Ankara has long complained of inadequate
international support in its struggle against the
PKK, even though the group has been blacklisted as a
terrorist organization by both the European Union
and the United States.
The conflict between the army and the PKK has
claimed about 37,000 lives since 1984, when the
rebels took up arms for self-rule in mainly Kurdish
southeastern Turkey.
Some 100 Turkish soldiers and PKK militants have
been killed in a resurgence of violence in the
region over the past three months, after the PKK
last year called off a five-year unilateral
ceasefire proclaimed after the 1999 arrest of its
leader, Abdullah Ocalan.
Ocalan is currently serving a life term for treason
in a Turkish prison.
AFP
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