Gagrule.net

Gagrule.net News, Views, Interviews worldwide

  • Home
  • About
  • Contact
  • GagruleLive
  • Armenia profile

The government in Ankara is mostly to blame, writes DW’s Baha Güngör.

June 30, 2016 By administrator

Baha Güngör was the head of DW's Turkish department until 2015

Baha Güngör was the head of DW’s Turkish department until 2015

The toll of the brutal terrorist attack on Istanbul Ataturk Airport is alarming and not only because of the high number of victims. There is much speculation as to how the terrorists with explosive belts and guns were able to slip past security at the international terminal of Turkey’s largest airport. It is no longer a question of whether the ugly face of terrorism will appear in Turkey, but when it will happen again.

Momentum for the enemies of democracy

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s recent attempts to take the bull by the horns have come too late. The foreign policy maneuvers being made in an attempt to mend broken relations with Russia and Israel are significant because both countries have a wealth of intelligence information and analyses that can anticipate the direction in which terrorism is evolving and what regions and countries are particularly under threat. Whether actions against terrorism are sufficient and effective measures are possible is another matter.

Not only Russia and Israel, but also the US and European allies have long been witnessing how Turkey has developed into a hub of supposedly religiously driven henchmen working for the patrons of terrorism. And people are paying the price for Erdogan’s political misjudgment with their lives, while Turkey has been burdened with economic setbacks that have set the country back decades.

By not recognizing the results of parliamentary elections, rejecting the country’s constitutional court as “not worthy of respect” and ending the reconciliation policy with the Kurds, Erdogan has given the enemies of democracy momentum.

The submissively applauded speeches in which Erdogan relentlessly promises his people better and safer times can, at best, blind the trusting supporters and beneficiaries of the system. The critical observers of the country, unlike journalists and scientists who subscribe to Erdogan’s convictions, can expect to be charged with criminal offenses and given prison sentences, instead of the president’s recognition. It’s simple: Anyone who undermines a democratic constitutional state, restricts freedom of the press and speech, and harmonizes essential state structures such as the police and judiciary, paves the way to terrorism.

Polarization must be stopped

The Turkish Republic, which will be celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023, originally wanted to develop along the lines of contemporary, western civilization. What has happened instead after 14 years under Erdogan’s rule threatens to become a cesspool of war and terrorism, like all the crisis regions in the Middle East.

Erdogan would be well advised to respond with less hostility to his critics, starting now, and instead, to go along with the advocates of European values. This will not necessarily reduce the risk of new terrorist attacks like everywhere else in the world; however, a closer alliance with Europe would at least offer the hope of having a positive influence on the mood in Turkey – and moving away from the fruitless and disastrous polarization of the people.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Ankara, blame, bombing, dw, İstanbul

Syria blames Turkey for pushing refugees to Europe

September 3, 2015 By administrator

This is Turkish Crime against Humanity

This is Turkish Crime against Humanity

A senior Syrian official has blamed Turkey for the flood of Syrian refugees heading toward Europe amid growing concerns over the failure of the international community to do enough to protect stranded Syrian asylum-seekers.

Syrian Deputy Foreign Minister Faisal Miqdad said Thursday that Turkey has been encouraging the Syrians on its soil to seek refuge in Europe despite claims by Ankara that it is bearing the huge costs of Syrian refugees.

“The…issue, some people may not be aware is that the Turkish government which declares to have a lot of these refugees is itself encouraging those refugees to go to Western Europe,” Miqdad said during a joint briefing to reporters with his Iranian counterpart Hossein Amir-Abdollahian in Damascus.

The senior diplomat said, however, that Syria is doing its best to urge Syrians not to leave the country.

“Under the present circumstances the best thing we can do is to encourage Syrians to stay here,” Miqdad said, adding, “We are calling on all Syrians to come back to their country because this is their rightful place of existence.”

The comments came a few hours after the United Nations denounced the international community for its failure to protect Syrians fleeing war at home.

Urgent action needed

A 24-page report by the UN Commission of Inquiry released Thursday called for “urgent action” by the international community to protect civilians fleeing the ongoing crisis in Syria.

The commission stated that the responsibility to protect Syrian refugees “is not being adequately shared or shouldered.”

“The global failure to protect Syrian refugees is now translating into a crisis in southern Europe,” the report said.

The commission’s chief chair, Paulo Sergio Pinheiro, said civilians have been bearing the brunt of the ongoing militancy and crisis in Syria. “Civilians are suffering the unimaginable as the world stands witness.”

The report is to be presented to the UN Human Rights Council (UNHRC) on September 21.

According to the report, more than 2,000 Syrians have also drowned in the Mediterranean while trying to reach Europe since 2011. The figures are based on 335 interviews with witnesses and victims and collected from January to July 2015.

In the latest shocking sign of the migrants’ plight, a three-year-old Syrian boy, identified as Aylan Kurdi, was among 13 Syrian people, including his five-year-old brother, who drowned and were washed up on a beach near the resort town of Bodrum, some 400 kilometers (250 miles) west of the city of Antalya, on Turkey’s idyllic ‘Turquoise Coast’ on Wednesday.

Hundreds of ill-fated Syrians, fleeing the violence perpetrated by the Takfiri Daesh terrorist group and trying to seek refuge on the Greek soil, have lost their lives during unfortunate boat travels where the vessels overturned.

The UN report also highlights abuses being committed by militant groups such as Daesh and the al-Qaeda-linked al-Nusra Front that are wreaking havoc across Syria. It also said militants have adopted new tactics such as hit-and-run attacks and car bombings following recent battlefield losses to Kurdish fighters in Syria.

The report says the militant groups used tactics like encircling populated areas, which has caused malnutrition, starvation and chronic illness among the besieged residents.

The UN says the militancy in Syria has internally displaced more than 7.6 million people, and compelled over four million others to take refuge in neighboring countries, including Jordan and Lebanon.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: blame, refugees, Syria, Turkey

Libyan Prime Minister told Sputnik Qatar, Turkey to Blame for Forcing Political Islam in Libya

August 27, 2015 By administrator

1026251035Certain states aim to impose political Islam in Libya, Libyan Prime Minister told Sputnik in an interview. The country’s internationally recognized government is in need of arms to fight militants and seeks international airstrikes targeting the Islamic State extremist group.

OBRUK (Sputnik) – Qatar and Turkey are to blame for forcing political Islam on Libya, the prime minister of the internationally recognized Libyan government, Abdullah Thani, told Sputnik.

“There are states wishing to impose political Islam on us. Turkey and Qatar, for example, are attempting to impose it on Libya despite the people’s rejection,” Thani said.

That rejection was exemplified in the recent parliamentary elections, the prime minister added.

Thani acknowledged the willingness to cooperate with activists of political Islam as an integral part of the political landscape in the country.

“However, partnership does not imply hegemony, and not only in Libya. Qatar and Turkey have that experience in Egypt, where they strongly support the Muslim Brotherhood,” Thani stressed.

The internationally recognized Libyan government seeks international airstrikes targeting the Islamic State (IS) extremist group, not against political rivals, Prime Minister Abdullah Thani continued in an interview with Sputnik.The Arab League pledged military assistance during an extraordinary session requested by the internationally-recognized Tobruk-based government last week. The association ruled out targeted anti-IS airstrikes over Libyan territory.

“We asked for airstrikes on IS, not on our political rivals,” Thani clarified.

The prime minister argued for surgical strikes in coordination with the Libyan army because “all parties agree that IS must be stopped.”

The northeast port city of Tobruk government’s call for help came as Islamic State gained control over the northern Libyan city of Sirte, killing up to 200 people in mid-August.Libya is in need of arms to fight militants and does not consider foreign military assistance to be an encroachment on the sovereignty of the country, according to Abdullah Thani.

“We need weapons and ammunition… But we do not believe military assistance is akin to foreign interference,” Thani argued.

The prime minister said that a lack of weapons and an abundance of people willing to take up arms “creates an imbalance.”

“The international community helped us overthrow the [Gaddafi] regime, but did not help in building a new state,” Thani explained to Sputnik.

Libya has been in a state of civil war since the overthrow of longtime leader Muammar Gaddafi in 2011 and is now split into two rival governments. The Tobruk-based government led by Thani is recognized internationally. The country’s capital of Tripoli and adjacent western areas are controlled by self-proclaimed authorities.

On Wednesday,the UN envoy to Libya, Bernadino Leon, told the UN Security Council the rival Libyan authorities were in the “final stages” of forming a national unity government.

Source: http://sputniknews.com/middleeast/20150827/1026251430.html#ixzz3k2Ajqwv7

Filed Under: Articles, Interviews Tagged With: blame, Islam, Libya, Turkey

Iraq’s Maliki blames Turkey for fall of Mosul

August 18, 2015 By administrator

Vice President Nouri al-Maliki,

Vice President Nouri al-Maliki,

Iraq’s former prime minister, Nuri al-Maliki, on Tuesday condemned as having “no value” a parliamentary panel’s findings on the fall of Mosul to the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) which called for him and other top officials to stand trial for negligence.

“What happened in Mosul was a conspiracy planned in Ankara, then the conspiracy moved to Arbil,” Maliki said in posts on Facebook, referring to the capitals of Turkey and the Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG).

Filed Under: News Tagged With: blame, Maliki, Mosul, Turkey

Syrian Kurds blame Turkey for backing ISIS militants,

June 12, 2014 By administrator

By Amberin Zaman

The YPG accuses Turkey of fanning the flames of the conflict, providing arms and sanctuary to ISIS and sealing its borders in an effort to quash the Kurds’ march toward self-rule. Turkey denies the accusations, describing ISIS as a terrorist group and a threat.

AL-TLEILIYE, Syria — A raised metal bed stands in a yard. The stench of rotting flesh chokes the air. A man in fatigues points to traces of blood blotting the earth, 000_nic6337380.sisaying, “Women, children, they murdered them in their sleep. They even killed the dog; that’s what causing the smell.”

Djvar Osman is a commander for the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Kurdish militia that controls a band of mainly Kurdish-populated territory in northeastern Syria they call Rojava. We are in al-Tleiliye, a tiny village close to the Turkish border that was raided May 29 by the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

The jihadists shot dead 15 civilians, many as they slept outdoors, in what appears to have been a retaliatory attack against the YPG. One of the victims, Mohammed Mahmoud Hossain, was only a year old. All were Sunni Arabs, apparently mistaken for the village’s original occupants, Kurdish-speaking Yezidis, who are doubly targeted because of their syncretic faith.

As YPG commanders ponder the dizzying gains of ISIS in neighboring Iraq — the group captured the city of Mosul on June 8 — an Arab farmer in a hamlet outside al-Tleiliye stiffens when approached by a journalist. He survived the bloodbath, but his brother did not. “I cannot say more,” he rasps, pulling an imaginary zipper over his mouth. He walks toward a concrete hut, its walls covered in a crude Arabic scrawl. “We have come to slaughter you. It’s forbidden for Jabhat al-Nusra to approach,” it reads.

The turf battle between the YPG and Islamist extremists has been raging along the Turkish border for more than a year. It has taken mind-bending turns with ISIS fighting against other opposition fighters, including Jabhat al-Nusra, to win control over strategic border crossings with Turkey. Thus, the Arab farmer’s hamlet has changed hands between Jabhat al-Nusra and ISIS and is presently under YPG rule. The other big prize, the Rumeilan oil fields to the east of Serekaniye, are also for the most part in Kurdish hands. Whoever controls the oil fields and the borders controls the illegal fuel trade, which in turn helps finance the purchase of weapons and influence.

On one recent morning, giant pillars of smoke billowed from outlying fields along the main road from Rumeilan to Aleppo, filling the air with acrid fumes. Men with blackened faces were producing their own oil from makeshift wells. “They are tribal Arabs. We keep telling them to stop this. It is ruining our crops and our health,” complains Welat Haj Ali, a former Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) fighter and Rojava’s unofficial undersecretary for defense. “The biggest battle [against ISIS] was fought here, in these fields,” he says.

The YPG accuses Turkey of fanning the flames of the conflict, providing arms and sanctuary to ISIS and sealing its borders in an effort to quash the Kurds’ march toward self-rule. Turkey denies the accusations, describing ISIS as a terrorist group and a threat.

On June 9, Turkish officials said they were investigating claims that ISIS had kidnapped 28 Turkish truck drivers in Mosul. But the YPG’s tight links to the PKK, the Kurdish rebel group that has been fighting for self-rule in Turkey since 1984, renders them an even greater threat in Ankara’s eyes. There is little doubt that until recently, Turkey was allowing jihadist fighters to move unhindered across its borders.

In Michu, a deserted Arab hamlet on the edge of the front lines, Abdo Sino, a paunchy YPG commander, echoes the view that Turkey is complicit in the violence. He points to a cluster of cinder block houses lying just north of the YPG dugout. The village, al-Rawiya, is under ISIS control. Sino and his men had carried out a hit-and-run raid against al-Rawiya on May 27, killing eight ISIS fighters and prompting the revenge attack on al-Tleiliye. “Two Turkish ambulances picked up their wounded and carried them back to Turkey. We saw it all through our field glasses,” Sino claims.

Many of the ISIS fighters are Chechens and Azeris. Sino shows us pictures he took of the dead combatants with his mobile phone. They have pale white skin, long curly hair and unkempt beards. Next comes a well-thumbed pocket manual titled “The Muslims’ Citadel.” It is filled with Quranic verses exalting martyrdom and was printed in Azerbaijan. Sino says he found it in the pocket of one of the slain ISIS men. 

YPG fighters in Michu are adamant that their ISIS foes continue to be allowed safe passage through Turkey. “We are going to bury [Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdogan right here, in Rojava,” vows one young fighter. But the battle has reached a stalemate, and the finger of blame is shifting toward Damascus, a further sign of the fraying entente between President Bashar al-Assad and the Kurds.

This temporary peace was forged when the regime redeployed its troops from the Kurdish areas in summer 2012 to fight opposition forces elsewhere in the country — and some say to get back at Turkey for its unabashed campaign to topple Assad. The ensuing vacuum allowed the Kurds to share power, albeit symbolically, with Christian and Arab locals.

The Kurds’ overtures to minorities (they have allowed the Syriac Orthodox Christians to form their own battalion to defend themselves and to help fight al-Qaeda) and their policy of empowering women (about a third of the YPG’s fighting force is female) have won them fawning reviews in the Western media. But Western governments led by Washington continue to spurn contact with the Rojava administration because of pressure from Turkey, a NATO ally, but also because the Kurds refuse to take up arms against Assad. But for how long, a growing number ask.

Assad’s recent battlefield gains are prompting worries that his next move will be against the Kurds. Until such time, he is using ISIS to keep them in check, the Kurds claim.

“Why else is the Syrian army turning a blind eye to ISIS activities around areas under its control?” asked Salih Muslim, the co-chair of the Democratic Unity Party (PYD), the political arm of the YPG, in a recent interview with Al-Monitor. Such fears have prompted the Kurds to hedge their bets. Muslim confirmed that Rojava officials had initiated new talks with the Istanbul-based Syrian opposition to secure recognition of their fledgling administration.

He hopes that the recent trickle of US-funded aid through Kurdish-controlled northern Iraq will pave the way to formal contact with Washington.

Relations with Ankara are also showing signs of a thaw. Since March, Turkey has been allowing limited aid to be delivered twice a week through the Mursitpinar border gate to the YPG-controlled town of Kobane, under blockade by ISIS. And a new set of secret talks are reportedly underway between the PYD and Turkey’s national intelligence agency, MIT. These moves are closely bound up with Ankara’s peace negotiations with imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan, who is widely revered in Rojava. Mohammed Kemal, the Rojava official in charge of press relations, told Al-Monitor, “We have been instructed from the top [by Ocalan] to stop talking about Turkey’s support for ISIS.” The news had apparently not yet filtered to the YPG fighters in Michu.

Western diplomats say it is likely that Turkey has helped ISIS and other jihadists in the past, but they dismiss claims of collusion between ISIS and the Syrian government. “We have no evidence to prove this,” said a senior Western diplomat based in Iraq. Either way, friction between the Kurds and the regime is on the rise. Sporadic clashes between the YPG and regime forces have been erupting with greater frequency, most recently near the Yarrubiya border crossing with Iraq. The Kurds’ refusal to allow voting in many towns during the presidential elections sharpened the government’s anger.

I got to witness the tensions firsthand in the Syrian Kurds’ putative capital, Qamishli, where the regime maintains a sizable presence. I recklessly decided to take pictures of a building surrounded by posts painted over with the Syrian flag. It proved to be the headquarters of the dreaded Syrian Mukhabarat, or national intelligence. Armed Syrian soldiers stopped us, demanding to know who I was. My YPG minder said I was a journalist who had come to cover the presidential elections. The soldiers were unswayed, and a tense standoff ensued. The encounter was threatening to blow up into a firefight when a reinforcement of pumped-up YPG fighters arrived on the scene. The Syrians backed down with these parting words: “Your days are numbered.”

 

Amberin Zaman is an Istanbul-based writer who has covered Turkey for The Washington Post, The Los Angeles Times, The Daily Telegraph and the Voice of America. A frequent commentator on Turkish television, she is currently Turkey

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: blame, ISIL, Syrian Kurds, Turkey

Support Gagrule.net

Subscribe Free News & Update

Search

GagruleLive with Harut Sassounian

Can activist run a Government?

Wally Sarkeesian Interview Onnik Dinkjian and son

https://youtu.be/BiI8_TJzHEM

Khachic Moradian

https://youtu.be/-NkIYpCAIII
https://youtu.be/9_Xi7FA3tGQ
https://youtu.be/Arg8gAhcIb0
https://youtu.be/zzh-WpjGltY





gagrulenet Twitter-Timeline

Tweets by @gagrulenet

Archives

Books

Recent Posts

  • U.S. Judge Dismisses $500 Million Lawsuit By Azeri Lawyer Against ANCA & 29 Others
  • These Are the Social Security Offices Expected to Close This Year, Musk call SS Ponzi Scheme
  • Breaking News, Pashinyan regime has filed charges against public figure Edgar Ghazaryan,
  • ANCA’s Controversial Endorsement: Implications for Armenian Voters
  • (MHP), Devlet Bahçeli, has invited Kurdish Leader Öcalan to the Parliament “Ask to end terrorism and dissolve the PKK.”

Recent Comments

  • administrator on Turkish Agent Pashinyan will not attend the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State
  • David on Turkish Agent Pashinyan will not attend the meeting of the CIS Council of Heads of State
  • Ara Arakelian on A democratic nation has been allowed to die – the UN has failed once more “Nagorno-Karabakh”
  • DV on A democratic nation has been allowed to die – the UN has failed once more “Nagorno-Karabakh”
  • Tavo on I’d call on the people of Syunik to arm themselves, and defend your country – Vazgen Manukyan

Copyright © 2025 · News Pro Theme on Genesis Framework · WordPress · Log in