Turkey condemns BBC story on PKK

Turkey has condemned the BBC for publishing an article on the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which Ankara describes as “clear support for terrorism”.

The article, published yesterday, features interviews with members of the PKK – which Turkey and many Western countries class as a terrorist organisation – and was entitled “In pictures: PKK fighters prepare for battle with IS [Daesh]”.

“Publishing in this way about an organisation which is named as a terrorist group by many countries, particularly EU countries, was a clear support for terrorism,” the Turkish Foreign Ministry said in a statement today.

Ankara has called the publication of the piece “unacceptable” describing it as “written and visual propaganda” for the PKK.

The BBC wrote in the story that: “The PKK is considered a terrorist organisation by the Turkish authorities and several Western states, but it is now a key player in the battle against the jihadist group Islamic State [Daesh].”

However the ministry said the story tried to encourage participation in the illegal group, and depicted the PKK as “an innocent organisation” fighting Daesh.

It added that promoting and praising terrorism is a crime.