Turkish president vows "great revenge" for PKK attacks

Turkish President Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday that those who killed 26 Turkish security members and wounded 22 others would be met with retaliation, vowing "great revenge" on the outlawed Kurdish Workers' Party (PKK). In initial comments on PKK attacks in the southeastern province of Hakkari early Wednesday, Gul said "those who caused us to suffer this pain will suffer equally. Those who assume that they can shake the Turkish state in this way will see that our revenge for these attacks will be great. They will eventually see that they cannot wage a war against the Turkish state." The president warned those who aided PKK "should also learn their lessons and endure the consequences of this," adding that " the whole world should know that Turkey will go ahead with its fight against terrorism with determination until the very end." Recognizing that fighting with terrorism is a long process, Gul underscored that Turkey is determined to fight the PKK. "If some people are assuming that democratic developments in Turkey could be obtained through acts of terrorism, they are seriously deluded. It is different to protect the rights of our own citizens and to fight terror without any concessions," the president said. Meanwhile, Parliament Speaker Cemil Cicek strongly condemned the PKK attacks, saying those attacks cast a shadow over the commission's eagerness to start working on a new constitution, but he added that Turkey cannot take a step back in its efforts to make a new constitution. Listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union, the PKK took up arms in 1984 to create an ethnic homeland in southeastern Turkey. More than 40,000 people have been killed in conflicts involving the PKK during the past over two decades.