Daesh, YPG, FETO hurt Muslims most, says Erdogan

By Alam

ISTANBUL

Daesh and other terrorist groups have caused the greatest havoc for Muslims, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said Monday.

Speaking at a youth gathering in Istanbul organized by the Turkey Youth Foundation (), Erdogan said Muslims had suffered the most harm at the hands of Daesh, the YPG and the Fetullah Terrorist Organization (FETO).

“Prominent terrorist groups such as Daesh, and FETO traitors cause the most harm to Muslims,” he said.

YPG is the Syrian offshoot of the PKK -- listed as a terror group by Turkey, the EU and the U.S. -- and FETO is accused of orchestrating a military coup attempt in Turkey last year that martyred 249 people.

Erdogan said modern-day "Lawrence of Arabia" figures were still working to destabilize the region.

The Turkish president was making reference to T. E. Lawrence, a British army officer credited with instigating an Arab insurgency against then Ottoman Turkish rule during World War I.

“A century ago, there was a Lawrence, speaking language dressed like locals. Today, the modern with cloak and beards are doing the same thing.”

He said there were attempts to redraw the borderlines around Turkey over terrorist groups.

The president slammed Europe for adopting an anti-democratic stance against himself and the Turkish government.

“We witness that Europe disregards its concepts that were described as supreme principles,” Erdogan said, referring to banned rallies in Germany and the Netherlands on the April 16 referendum on constitutional changes.

Erdogan also repeated his criticism of the Swiss government over a rally of members and sympathizers of the PKK terrorist group in the country's capital, Bern.

Later, speaking at another opening ceremony in Istanbul, he said: “They made my poster in front of the [Swiss] parliament building that showed a gun pointed at my head and the words ‘Kill Erdogan’.”

He added that “Life is given by god and can only be taken by god.”

Some 250 PKK members and supporters took part in a rally in front of the federal parliament building in Bern on Saturday. In the meeting, a banner, which read "Kill Erdogan", pictured him with a gun pointed at his head.

Erdogan said Europe was experiencing "ignorance" reminiscent of era.