News / Turkey

Erdogan calls for ‘redefining’ terrorism

Monday, 14 March 2016 10:31 PM [ Last Update: Monday, 14 March 2016 11:13 PM ]

A woman reacts as she is pushed by police in Istanbul on March 14, 2016 during an anti-government protest in memory of the victims of a car bombing in Ankara the day before. (AFP)

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has called for his country to “redefine” terror and terrorists after a deadly blast rocked the capital Ankara.

On Monday, Erdogan announced that the new definition would expand the country’s legal scope to encompass journalists, activists, legislators, and academics.

"Either they are on our side, or on the side of the terrorists," he said, adding that there was no difference between "a terrorist holding a gun or a bomb and those who use their position and pen to serve the aims" of terrorists.

The announcement followed a deadly car bomb explosion in the centrally-located Kizilay district of Ankara on Sunday that claimed the lives of at least 37 people and injured over a hundred more.

*This picture taken on March 13, 2016, shows a burning car after a blast in Ankara. (AFP)*

'Serious findings' point finger at PKK

Earlier, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu announced that there are strong indications that the blast was carried out by the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), which Turkey deems as a terrorist organization.

"There are very serious, almost certain findings that point to the separatist terrorist organization," he told reporters while visiting those injured in the incident.

He added that 11 suspects had so far been detained over links to the attack and that DNA testing was underway to identify the attackers.

*People carry an injured person on a stretcher at the scene of a blast in Ankara on March 13, 2016. (AFP)*

As of yet, no one has claimed responsibility for the blast, but Turkey launched retaliatory air strikes on PKK depots and shelters in the mountainous Kandil and Gara regions in northern Iraq on Monday.

The latest bombing occurred less than a month after 29 people lost their lives in a car bomb attack in central Ankara, which the Turkish government blamed on the PKK despite being claimed by a separate Kurdish group, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK).

Ankara has been engaged in a large-scale campaign against the PKK in its southern border region in the past few months. The Turkish military has also been conducting offensives against the positions of the group in northern Iraq.

The operations began in the wake of a deadly July 2015 bombing in the southern Turkish town of Suruc. More than 30 people died in the attack, which the Turkish government blamed on the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group.

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