Baroness Royall of Blaisdon – 2015 Parliamentary Question to the Foreign and Commonwealth Office
The below Parliamentary question was asked by Baroness Royall of Blaisdon on 2015-12-03.
To ask Her Majesty’s Government what assessment they have made of reports (1) that since July Turkey has hit PKK targets in northern Iraq more frequently than ISIS targets; (2) that Turkish police have arrested more members of the Kurdish political opposition than suspected ISIS members within Turkey; and (3) that Turkey is shelling Kobane, despite it being under the control of Kurdish forces who are cooperating with the coalition against ISIS.
Baroness Anelay of St Johns
The Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) continues to kill Turkish police and security forces. The PKK must cease its violence and the peace process needs to be resumed. We support Turkey’s right to defend itself against all forms of terrorism.
We welcome Turkey’s invaluable contribution to the international campaign against Daesh, particularly its agreement for the use of its airspace and airbases, as a member of the Global Coalition committed to defeating it. Turkey has been carrying out strikes against Daesh since July 2015, and have detained over 2,500 Daesh suspects since 2013, of whom one third are foreigners. Turkey recognises the role that Syrian Kurds have to play in the fight against Daesh, and accepts that Syrian Kurds receive Coalition support.
