Turkish foreign minister rules out early elections, views fight against PKK

Anatolia news agency
7 May 06

Ankara, 7 May: “Early elections and presidential election do not
take place in our agenda. Rules and time schedule for elections are
clear. We will not waste our time with such things,” said Turkish
Foreign Minister and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul on Saturday
[6 May].

Speaking at a congress of the ruling Justice and Development Party
(AKP) in Altindag town of Ankara, Gul said: “Since interest rates
dropped, we could save nearly 100 quadrillion Turkish lira in the
last three years. Now, we are able to allocate money to public
services. These are great achievements. But there are some circles
who feel uneasy about our achievements.”

“The terrorist organization PKK [Kurdistan Workers’ Party] is also
uneasy about these. Therefore, it has given rise to its acts of
violence. Our security forces have been trying to do everything
in their power to prevent such acts. Also, we have been working on
new laws with the aim of providing a more influential fight against
terrorism. We will never make concessions from democracy, fundamental
rights and freedoms,” Gul added.