At a press conference, Başbuğ said “We take all kind of measures inside the military on this issue. We established a special unit for that, we convey the necessary matters to the judiciary.”
“The former DEP deputies, whose trials were not completed yet, did not speak the official language in demonstrations and they called out to PKK to end its truce for 6 more months. They made use of the hesitations in bureaucracy in doing them. There are deficiencies in current laws.”
Basbug criticized the four former deputies of holding political rallies and speaking Kurdish in their rallies , even if “Their trials have not been concluded yet.”
“The existence of Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) in Northern Iraq is because of PKK. As far as PKK keeps staying there, we will also continue to be there. The task of providing the security of Turkey, belongs to Turkey. We take the necessary measures whenever we observe a risky situation. No one should doubt it. There is no withdrawal of TSK from northern Iraq. We conveyed this to the U.S. as well.
“The attempts of some ethnic groups to change the demographic structure of Kirkuk continue. We expect that the provisional government of Iraq prevents it. Otherwise the developments would not only make finding a just and permanent solution in Kirkuk impossible, but also would threaten the territorial and political integrity of Iraq. If wrong decisions, which would lead Iraq to a civil war, are taken, this concerns the security of Turkey directly.”
Basbuğ also added that there were no new demands of the U.S. from Turkey such as new bases.
