EJ Declaration on the Terrorist Attack in Ankara

11/10/2015

Declaration on the Terrorist Attack in Ankara
of the  European Journalists Association-The Communication Network (EJ)

 

We, the European Journalists, are appalled by yesterday’s terrorist bombings in the Turkish capital Ankara which took nearly a hundred innocent lives and wounded hundreds more. This is a hideous crime which no political cause can condone.

We, the members of the EJ, gathered at our annual congress in Budapest, are deeply worried this act of brutal violence is destabilizing not only Turkey just days before a crucial parliamentary election but the whole of this turbulent and volatile region at the gates of Europe. It is deeply symbolic that the victims were people who had come to demonstrate for peace and democracy in Turkey. This reveals what the real aim of the perpetrators are.

Whoever is behind this despicable act should know that by stirring tension and atmosphere of fear he is playing a very dangerous game which could spread the already burning fire of war far behind local and regional borders with unforeseeable consequences.

We appeal to the Turkish authorities to react prudently and responsibly in the aftermath of this bloody crime against humanity. We also appeal to the leaders of the leaders of the Kurdish community in Turkey and especially to the PKK to categorically dissociate themselves from the terrorists who committed the Ankara bombings. This will help defuse the critical situation and create conditions for a solution of the Kurdish problem through peaceful dialogue in the interests of Turkey and the whole region.

 

Budapest,
October 11, 2015