Waseem Saifeddin
01 November 2021•Update: 01 November 2021
BEIRUT, Lebanon
Turkey’s ambassador in Beirut on Monday expressed disappointment with a newspaper that carried an interview with an accused top figure in the terrorist group PKK.
Last Wednesday, Oct. 27, Lebanese daily Annahar Al-Arabi published an interview with Cemil Bayik, who called himself the PKK’s second-in-command.
"It is very appalling to see that Annahar Al-Arabi has approved to publish an extensive interview with one of the most internationally renowned terrorists," said Ali Baris Ulusoy in a letter sent to Ghassan Hajjar, the newspaper’s director.
Ulusoy decried the newspaper agreeing to act as “mouthpiece of a terrorist organisation and to become complicit in communicating its black propaganda by publishing such an interview.”
"At a time when Lebanon needs the support of its friends in the region, we consider this publication a very unfortunate move which has the potential to undermine its existing friendly and brotherly relations with Turkey," the ambassador wrote, referring to Lebanon’s political and economic woes.
He also stressed that the PKK is a terrorist group which has posed an existential threat to Turkey for nearly four decades.
In the interview by journalist Sarkis Kassarjian, who is known for his anti-Turkey writings, accused terrorist Bayik alleged that the PKK has 1,500 "militants" inside Turkey and 2,500 others outside Turkey. The figures are likely inflated, as Turkey has marked notable success against the terror group in recent years, eliminating its members – or convincing them to surrender – while making it hard for the group to attract new members.
Bayik also alleged that due to intensive Turkish airstrikes, PKK terrorists are operating in small units.
In its more than 35-year terror campaign against Turkey, the PKK – listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the US, and EU – has been responsible for the deaths of at least 40,000 people, including women, children, and infants.
* Writing by Ahmed Asmar in Ankara
