Europe 'Silently Witnessing Erdogan’s Crimes' – German Media

The operation Ankara is carrying out in southeastern Turkey is war against its own people, a German journalist underscored in an article for Neues Deutschland. There is no one in Europe who could stop Erdogan.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is obsessed with war against the Turkish people, journalist Roland Etzel wrote in his article for Neues Deutschland.

The author commented on the recent operation in southeastern Turkey where security forces destroyed 110 militants of the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in the span of four days.

According to Etzel, there is currently no one in Europe who Erdogan would listen to. Moreover, the president has pledged to help Europe tackle the migrant crisis in exchange for €3 billion from Brussels.

"Erdogan expressed readiness to do a dirty job at the Syrian-Turkish border. His reward is Europe’s silence about Turkey’s crimes," the article read.

Clashes between Turkish forces and PKK militants have been underway in southeastern Turkey, including in the towns of Cizre and Silopi, as well as the city of Diyarbakir.

The anti-terrorist operation has involved nearly 10,000 military and police forces. They have been clearing the areas of PKK militants and dismantling barricades set up and mined by militants. Over the last five days, over 100 PKK militants have been destroyed. The government declared a curfew in some Turkish regions populated by Kurds.

The current offensive indicates a new stage in the long-lasting standoff between Turkish President Erdogan’s authority and the PKK, after a two-year truce collapsed in July.

The PKK first declared an insurgency in Turkey in 1984 to create an independent Kurdish state, and the group continues to work for regional autonomy and the rights of ordinary Kurdish citizens.