Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has shut down rumors of a possible general amnesty for terrorists of the Kurdistan Workers` Party (PKK) as part of government-sponsored efforts to end the decades-long terror problem in the country.

“A general amnesty will not happen by any means. I have stated this several times before. I do not consider myself eligible to pardon a man who killed innocent people,” said the prime minister on Sunday as he attended a breakfast organized by representatives of some civil society groups in Balıkesir.

Erdogan`s remarks came as a clear response to rumors that the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) government had secret plans for a pardon for the terrorist PKK. However, the prime minister categorically denied the rumors. “If a man committed a crime against the state, the state may pardon him. But if a man killed a man, then the state does not have the authority to pardon the killer,” he stated.

According to the prime minister, his government is decisive about putting an end to the terror problem, despite all attempts to force the government to give up its efforts for peace. “We have been faced with obstacles whenever we took a step towards the solution [of terror] in the past 10 years. We have been faced with walls whenever we moved a step forward … None of them has discouraged us. We have always said we will solve the terror problem if God permits us,” he stated, adding: “A country where mothers cry cannot prosper. We will stop the crying of mothers and open a new and brilliant page for 2023 [the 100th anniversary of the establishment of the Republic of Turkey].”

Erdogan, in addition, lashed out at the opposition parties for not lending enough support to the government`s efforts for the restoration of peace. He also said the jailed leader of the PKK, Abdullah Ocalan, is not allowed to meet his lawyers because the lawyers misinform the people with “lies.” However, the prime minister said, the state allows his family to visit Ocalan.

More about: