Ankara, Turkey
Turkey's opposition has criticized Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan for rejecting Washington's offer to capture Kurdish terrorists using the U.S. tactic for finding and capturing Osama bin Laden.
Oktay Vural, deputy leader of the Nationalist Movement Party, said in a press conference on Wedneday that Erdogan's decision showed the government's unwillingness to fight terrorism perpetrated by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK). The PKK is fighting for a separate homeland for Kurds in Turkey.
Vural also said that Erdogan's anti-terror approach of legalizing PKK's demands only serve to boost the morale of terrorists.
U.S. Ambassador to Turkey Frank Ricciardone met with Erdogan on Tuesday and offered the prime minister the TTP (tactics, techniques and procedure) for use by the Turkish military against PKK. Ricciardone said the TTP is the U.S. military's method in fighting al-Qaeda terrorists, including the killing of bin Laden.
Erdogan, however, rejected the offer preferring to fight PKK terrorists within the means allowed by Turkish laws and experience. He also argued that the al-Qaeda is different from the PKK so the TTP approach may not be appropriate.
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