QA-15, 29 Febuary 2020, Statement of the Spokesperson of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs, Mr. Hami Aksoy, in Response to a Question Regarding the Regulation on the Designation of TAK and HPG as alias PKK Terrorist Organisation in the UK

We welcome the entry into force on 28 February 2020 of the regulation which includes the incorporation of TAK and HPG, both extentions of PKK/KCK, as alias of the said terrorist organisation to the terrorist organisations list of the UK.

PKK terrorist organisation uses this kind of labels in order to avoid responsibility for heinous attacks targeting civilians and disguise its relation to various acts of terrorism. It is, therefore, important to clearly put forth that these labels are the alias of PKK.

In view of the UK’s regulation as a precedent, we consider that making a similar update in the lists of terrorist organisations of our other allies and the EU is a requirement brought by the international cooperation on countering terrorism.