ANKARA
Turkey has condemned comments made Tuesday by Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby in which he criticized recent Turkish military operations against PKK bases in northern Iraq.
"We condemn and refuse the statement made by Arab League Chief Nabil Elaraby yesterday [Tuesday] regarding the operations launched by Turkey against the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) nestled in northern Iraq," the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement Wednesday.
"Such an attitude against Turkey's determined struggle against terror -- based on international law -- is impossible to understand given that the Iraqi government has openly declared that it is not able to prevent the terrorist attacks of PKK on Turkey and its citizens from its territory," the statement said.
Ankara also criticized Elaraby for not raising his voice when the PKK “declared an autonomous canton in some parts of Iraq”, calling on him to support not terror, but the fight against it.
Elaraby's latest remarks were not consulted among the Arab League members, and reflect his personal opinions, the Ministry statement said, citing reactions from the member states, including Qatar, which said that Elaraby's statement had not been discussed with the member states before it was released.
Arab League's Mohamed al-Fatah Naciri was summoned to the Ministry, and told that Elaraby's statement was unacceptable, the statement added.
Since a suicide bombing in Suruc, southern Turkey, killed 32 people on July 20, the country has witnessed a wave of bombings, shootings and arrests. More than 20 security force personnel have been killed in attacks mostly attributed to the PKK and at least 1,300 people arrested in operations targeting militant groups.
The Turkish air force has since bombed PKK bases in Turkey and northern Iraq.
The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S. and the EU.
