Turkish Chief of Staff General Yasar Buyukanit accused Thursday some NATO allies of providing assistance to the PKK terrorists but did not name any countries. "It [terrorism] is supported by those who give us lessons on human rights," he lamented.

"There are countries directly and/or indirectly supporting PKK terrorism, among our (NATO) allies," the military leader said at an international symposium on "New Dimensions of Security & International Organizations."

"Turkey cannot get the international support in its rightful fight against terrorism," Gen. Buyukanit complained.

"Land mines used in Turkey and explosives such as C4, A3, A4 which are used in every murder in Turkey are not bought from supermarkets" Buyukanit said.

"Countries (backing terrorism for political purposes) use double standard in combating terrorism, and turn a blind eye to activities of persons or organizations that do not stage terrorist attacks on their own territories. Incidents prove that these countries are unable to control terrorism, backed or created by themselves, and terrorism hits those countries in the end," Gen. Buyukanit stated.

The Turkish military leader reiterated that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) are ready for international cooperation and solidarity, and to share information and intelligence regarding security issues.

"What makes us sad about the fight against terrorism, which threatens our identity and our country as a democratic, secular, social state of law, is that these terrorist activities are backed by some countries that are trying to teach us lessons on human rights. Some institutions (in those countries) have grown to become terrorist associations. I'd like to ask how a joint fight against terrorism is possible under such circumstances," Buyukanit stressed.

Unpredictable environment

Buyukanit pointed to the changes that took place in the last decades saying, "with the end of the Cold War period that lasted more than 40 years, the wind of change that took place in every field started to unsettle and even remove the parameters on which we founded our strategies in politics, economy and security."

Buyukanit stated that merely by looking at the changes in the last 17 years since the end of Cold War, and 6 years since September 11 "we can see how the intervals of change have narrowed down."

Buyukanit said perceptions of threat have changed in this new period. "International security environment has become very uncertain and unpredictable. Those societies that cannot understand this change on time, will unfortunately remain bystander to the results."

Buyukanit stated that determining when and how the risks and threats will take place is not as easy as it was during the Cold War. "We do not know how and when we will face the threat. The threat seems weak compared to states' power and capabilities however it has an asymmetric power that can create the desired effect on the desired time, place and manner. Today we witness this in many places in Afghanistan and Iraq. The point that needs to be underlined is that it is a prerequisite which the states should not apply double standards in terms of security. "

Backing separatism

"Supporting separatist movements and attempting to change sovereignty rights and/or the regime of a country are as illegal and dangerous as terrorism itself," Buyukanit warned.

Buyukanit said, "the new security environment in our age has also shaped the new threats. Terrorism is the biggest threat against security. Under the new security concept, there are serious differences regarding international definition of terrorism. This conflict has rendered it difficult to take global measures against terrorism."

"Some of our allies focus on terrorism stemming from fundamentalist trends. Actually, terrorism cannot be defined in this way. Terrorism is also fed by separatist nationalist tendencies. This kind of terrorism is as dangerous as the first one. However, some countries consider such kind of terrorism a domestic problem. This is an extremely dangerous approach since it seriously hampers the fight against terrorism," he said.

"Terrorism stemming from ethnic nationalism uses a different identity definition for its own political purposes. It supports this with armed acts. If an ethnic structure is acting with a political purpose, it becomes a racist structure and this is ethnic nationalist terrorism. The ethnic nationalist fascist terrorist organization PKK is an example of this," he stressed.

UN role

Buyukanit said that there is need for a global cooperation against terrorism in order to be successful.

"Those who not only stage these attacks but also who extend financial, logistical and propagandist support to terrorists should be deemed as a terrorist," Buyukanit said.

Buyukanit said that an efficient international cooperation in fight against terrorism is only possible under the banner of the UN.

Economic imbalances

On the other hand, Buyukanit said that economic imbalance is another security threat.

Within this framework, countries that own energy resources and countries that control the transportation corridors have geopolitical and geostrategical importance, Buyukanit noted.