Counterterrorism to run after election, president says

ANKARA

Counterterrorism operations will continue after the Nov.1 general election, Turkey’s president said Monday.

“No one should expect slackness,” Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a speech to village leaders at the presidential palace in Ankara.

He said Turkey equally saw the PKK, Daesh, the Syrian-Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD) and its armed wing the People’s Protection Units (YPG) as well as the far-left Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) as terror groups.

It was the 13th meeting with village chiefs since Erdogan was elected president in August last year. He has referred to these local leaders, known as muhktars, as having “key roles in ensuring stability and safety in Turkey”.

He called for the muhktars to ensure people turn out to vote in Sunday’s poll. “Voting is an honor and a virtue,” Erdogan said.

Turkey returns to the polls after the June 7 election failed to produce a majority party and the largest party and efforts to form a coalition government proved futile.

Erdogan said the country had re-establish an environment of stability and safety that was “harmed after June 7”.

Turkey has faced a wave of terror attacks since July that have resulted in numerous clashes between Turkish security sources and the PKK terrorists, especially the southeast.

"Our Kurdish brothers should also take a firm stand against the terror group," Erdogan said, emphasizing the need for unity in the face of terrorism.

"We have to protect our country heart and soul," he said. "There is nowhere to go apart from this land. Turkey is big enough to include us all and strong enough to ensure a safe and prosperous future for all of us.

"We have reached the 92nd anniversary of the Republic by maintaining our faith in our future and protecting our independence despite all the troubles."

Referring to Republic Day on Thursday, the president said a public reception would be held at the Presidential Palace Wednesday at which 10 members of the public from each of Turkey’s 81 provinces would be invited.