Turkey announces zero-tolerance policy, of Kurds

Turkey Vows No Tolerance of Kurd Militants Quick, admit Turkey to the EU. And U.S. out of Iraq! What could go wrong?

By SUZAN FRASER, Associated Press Writer
Fri Nov 25, 5:05 PM ET

ANKARA, Turkey - Turkey vowed Friday to offer no tolerance for Kurdish militants despite concern over actions of its own security forces after a convicted rebel was allegedly targeted in a grenade attack earlier this month.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan presided at a security meeting of Cabinet ministers and military commanders to discuss the Nov. 9 attack on a book shop in the mainly Kurdish town of Semdinli, which killed one person but not its apparent target.

The attack raised fears that security forces had attempted the kind of summary execution that was common in the fight against Kurdish rebels in the early 1990s. It sparked days of rioting by Kurdish rebel sympathizers that left four people dead.

The government has promised a thorough investigation and no cover-up, and parliament this week voted to set up its own committee to look into the attack.