Turkish President Regep Tayyip Erdogan has once again denied the Armenian Genocide.
Furthermore, addressing a massive crowd in western city of Bursa before ruling Justice and Development (AK) Party’s Women Branch congress, Erdogan stated that Turks were the “real victims of a genocide,” Ermenihaber.am reported.
In the same speech Erdogan the ongoing Operation Olive Branch in northwestern Afrin region of Syria will be completed “in very short time.”
The president also criticized opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP), which called on people to take to the streets and protest against the military operation in Afrin, according to Anadolu Agency.
“Nobody should take this call seriously… They will pay the heavy price,” Erdogan said. “This is a national struggle. We would crush anybody who opposes this. There will be no compromises or tolerance on this issue.”
On Sunday, there were reports that HDP’s lawmaker from southeastern Van province Nadir Yildirim called on local people to hit the streets against the operation.
Turkish troops, accompanied by pro-Turkey rebels, reportedly seized control of several areas in the region of Afrin on Monday, the BBC reported.
But Kurdish fighters later said they had recaptured two of the villages.
Turkey considers the Kurdish militia it is targeting in the region – the YPG – to be a terrorist group.
