Demirtaþ: What went on in Uludere is a terrifying massacre
Demirtaþ: What went on in Uludere is a terrifying massacre
A Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) delegation led by the party co-chair Selahattin Demirtaþ in on its way to Uludere where 35 people have been killed by Turkish warplanes on Wednesday night.
Demirtaþ said that what took place in Uludere was "a horrifying massacre" and added that all of the victims were villagers, including children and high school students. He also pointed out that the villagers were living on smuggling and that the officials in the region also knew that.
Demirtaþ recalled the remarks of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, who said a government which kills its own people loses its legitimacy in reference to embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. "I am using these exact words with respect to Erdoðan," the BDP leader said.
The BDP had declared a three-day period of mourning for the victims.
In the meantime the Turkish General Staff has been trying to "justify" the horrifying massacre in Uludere by claiming that it would have been impossible to know whether the civilians killed by warplanes were actually villagers or PKK guerrillas, as the PKK often used this area to cross the border. Somehow it is an appalling justification, made even worse by the assumption that the victims were "border smugglers" so to a certain degree lesser people.
"As a result of intelligence received from various sources and technical analyses carried out, - reads the General Staff statement - we understood that terrorist groups, which also included senior leaders, gathered in the region and that they were readying to stage attacks on our outposts and bases along the border; the relevant troops were warned."
The General Staff statement adds that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) detected a group heading towards the Turkish border with northern Iraq at 6:39 p.m. on Wednesday. "Considering that the area where the group was spotted was a region frequently used by terrorists - reads the statement - and that there was overnight activity towards our borders, we decided the group should be fired upon and the target was hit between 9:37 and 10:24 p.m."
Demirtaþ said that what took place in Uludere was "a horrifying massacre" and added that all of the victims were villagers, including children and high school students. He also pointed out that the villagers were living on smuggling and that the officials in the region also knew that.
Demirtaþ recalled the remarks of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoðan, who said a government which kills its own people loses its legitimacy in reference to embattled Syrian leader Bashar al-Assad. "I am using these exact words with respect to Erdoðan," the BDP leader said.
The BDP had declared a three-day period of mourning for the victims.
In the meantime the Turkish General Staff has been trying to "justify" the horrifying massacre in Uludere by claiming that it would have been impossible to know whether the civilians killed by warplanes were actually villagers or PKK guerrillas, as the PKK often used this area to cross the border. Somehow it is an appalling justification, made even worse by the assumption that the victims were "border smugglers" so to a certain degree lesser people.
"As a result of intelligence received from various sources and technical analyses carried out, - reads the General Staff statement - we understood that terrorist groups, which also included senior leaders, gathered in the region and that they were readying to stage attacks on our outposts and bases along the border; the relevant troops were warned."
The General Staff statement adds that an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV) detected a group heading towards the Turkish border with northern Iraq at 6:39 p.m. on Wednesday. "Considering that the area where the group was spotted was a region frequently used by terrorists - reads the statement - and that there was overnight activity towards our borders, we decided the group should be fired upon and the target was hit between 9:37 and 10:24 p.m."
