Ümit Özdağ: PKK and YPG are preparing to attack Turkey

Victory Party Chairman Ümit Özdağ met with journalists in Sivas.

Making statements regarding the current agenda, Özdağ questioned the stance of HÜDA-PAR, a junior partner of the AKP, regarding the 'joint declaration' crisis in Parliament.

"IS THERE ANYONE AMONG YOU WHO HAS HEARD WHAT HÜDA-PAR HAS SAID?"

Stating that unity must be ensured on the domestic front against terrorism, Özdağ said, "The AKP, MHP, IYI Party, and Felicity Party (Saadet Partisi) are issuing a declaration for condemnation. The CHP and HDP are not participating in this. Is there anyone among you who has heard what HÜDA-PAR, a partner of the ruling power, has said? Are they condemning PKK terrorism? No, they are applauding it as well," he stated.

The highlights from Özdağ's statements are as follows;

Speaking about the 12 soldiers who were martyred in Northern Iraq, Özdağ said, "For the last three days, the heart of the Turkish nation has been bleeding with the sad news coming from Northern Iraq. The events that have taken place are actually not surprising at all. The ring of fire around our country is tightening every day. As the Victory Party, we have been persistently warning the cadre that is trying to manage the Turkish state—and failing to do so—as well as Turkish politics and the Turkish people for months that our country is under a heavy siege and that this siege is tightening every day. However, not only are the necessary steps not being taken, but steps and moves that will leave Turkey facing severe threats are being carried out one after another," he stated.

WHAT HAPPENED AT THE TUZLA INFANTRY SCHOOL

Speaking about the events at the Tuzla Infantry School, Özdağ said, "Look, before the attack in Northern Iraq, where the true nature of the terrorist organization will become clearer in the coming days, another development took place in Turkey. In the Turkish Armed Forces, the lowest rank in the officer class is a second lieutenant. A fight broke out among the second lieutenants over whether or not to carry a photograph of Atatürk. Later, a person in uniform, whose loyalty was not to the Republic, the Constitution, the Turkish Nation, or Atatürk, but to a cult sheikh, refused to pin the Atatürk photograph to his chest. The second lieutenants who opposed this intervened," he stated.

Continuing his speech, Özdağ also reacted to the Ministry of National Defense, saying, "On one side, there are men who have gone outside the chain of command by refusing to wear Atatürk's picture, and who determine their hierarchy not according to their commanders but according to the cult they belong to. On the other side, there are second lieutenants who recognize Atatürk as the commander-in-chief. We all remember very clearly what happened to Turkey on July 15."

Özdağ continued his words as follows;

"In a country where, on one hand, there is the PKK terrorist organization, on the other hand, the terrorist organization called the YPG, the siege of American forces in the Aegean, and the deployment of British, French, and American forces in the south, encouraging policies that will cause division within the Armed Forces is clear treason against the homeland. With what unity can you fight against which enemy with second lieutenants who cannot turn their backs on each other in Ankara, Istanbul, or Kırıkkale? Our country has a Balkan defeat that it experienced in the recent past. The reason for this is the discord within the army. While our country is under a heavy siege and facing severe threats, no discord should be allowed to enter our Armed Forces. The primary responsibility for this lies with Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, and then with the Minister of National Defense and the Chief of General Staff."

"PKK AND YPG ARE PREPARING TO ATTACK TURKEY"

Stating that the details of the attack carried out by the PKK terrorist organization on the Hakkari Mountain Commando Brigade in Northern Iraq will emerge in the coming days, Özdağ said, "We are waiting for some raw information that has reached us to be clarified and shared with the Turkish public by the authorities. This latest development has also shown that while there is an operational and tactical struggle against the PKK, there is no strategic struggle being waged. Every passing day works in favor of the PKK and YPG. Because the PKK/YPG–US alliance in Iraq and Syria has become clear. The PKK and YPG are preparing to maintain their presence in these regions, increase their armed capabilities and skills, and, just as they raided our bases when the time came, they are preparing to attack Turkey," he said.

"TURKEY IS UNDER SIEGE"

Saying, "If we do not enter into a strategic struggle with the PKK, unfortunately, we will be forced to conduct such a struggle within Turkey," Özdağ continued, "In such a process, the initiative would not be in Turkey's hands, but in the PKK's. Turkey is under siege. Its institutional structure inside is severely damaged. Experienced cadres in counter-terrorism have been retired due to government policies that prioritize partisanship over merit," he said.

Drawing attention to the years 1996-1997 within the scope of the strategic struggle against the PKK, Özdağ said, "We must start a period like the one where we triggered the process of ending PKK terrorism and the process of capturing Öcalan, if necessary by threatening Syria and risking a Syrian war."

REACTION TO THE GOVERNMENT REGARDING MILITARY HOSPITALS

Recalling the resolution process, Özdağ said, "You used to say 'let mothers not cry' while sitting at the table with the PKK. You are the ones causing mothers to cry by closing military hospitals. While all this is happening, as the Victory Party, we want to express again the rapid steps that need to be taken. The thing a soldier of an army at war needs most is ammunition, food, and a doctor they can trust when they are wounded. The military health system has been liquidated. Even the Swiss army has a military hospital. The Turkish army does not have a military hospital. It is unbelievable. The military health system must be opened immediately. Let our experienced former military doctors reorganize and be able to save the wounded Mehmetçiks (Turkish soldiers)," he said.

HE ADDRESSED FORMER MINISTER AKAR: MILITARY COURTS MUST BE ESTABLISHED IMMEDIATELY

Addressing former Minister of National Defense Hulusi Akar, Özdağ said, "When the former military administrative court judges came to visit you while you were the Minister of Defense, did you or did you not use the expression 'discipline in the army has fallen off a cliff'? If you used this expression, why, as the Minister of National Defense and former Chief of General Staff, did you not fulfill the requirements? You are the person who has remained in the position of being the number one in the TSK (Turkish Armed Forces) for the longest time after Marshal Çakmak. Why don't you explain to Erdoğan that military courts are necessary? Military courts must be established immediately," he stated.

'JOINT DECLARATION' CRISIS: IS THERE ANYONE WHO HAS HEARD WHAT HÜDA-PAR HAS SAID?

Touching upon the joint declaration crisis in the TBMM (Grand National Assembly of Turkey), Özdağ said, "While all this is being done, unity must also be ensured on the domestic front. Can you imagine in Parliament; there is a question of condemning these latest terrorist incidents, the AKP – MHP – IYI Party – Felicity Party are issuing a declaration for condemnation. The CHP and HDP are not participating in this. Is there anyone among you who has heard what HÜDA-PAR, a partner of the ruling power, has said? Are they condemning PKK terrorism? No, they are applauding it as well," he said.

Stating that Turkey is being 'stabbed' not only from the outside but also from the inside, Özdağ concluded his words by saying, "Despite this, our country will certainly overcome these severe problems it is experiencing. We, as the Victory Party cadres, possess experienced cadres who know the state, international relations, and the security system. PKK terrorism can end, it can be ended. The ring around Turkey can be broken, and the covert invasion of Turkey can be ended. The Turkish nation is capable of this. The Turkish state can achieve this."

News Source: 12punto