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DW: Turkey’s ruling AKP party has history of links to Islamist groups

August 17, 2016 By administrator

Erdogan-Islamic-TiaThe German Interior Ministry has said that, based on information from Germany’s intelligence service, BND, it believes Turkey has “developed into a central platform of activity for Islamist groups in the Middle East.”

As an example of the “ideological affinity” between the Turkish government and Islamist groups, the ministry cited Turkey’s ties to the Palestinian group Hamas, the Muslim Brotherhood in Egypt, as well as armed Islamist opposition groups in Syria.

With regard to Hamas, the German government takes its cue from the European Union, which has classed the group as a terrorist organization since 2003. Whereas the West was shocked when Hamas won the 2006 parliamentary elections in the Palestinian territories, Turkey’s AKP government received a Hamas delegation in Ankara, validating them as representatives of the Palestinian people. Ankara countered Western criticism by saying that “the international community should openly convey its expectations to Hamas.”

Hamas chief Khaled Mashaal appeared to be pleased with the support from Turkey. At the time, the Islamization of Turkey’s foreign policy was just beginning to become an issue. But the reception of the Hamas delegation gave a taste of things to come. According to Turkish diplomatic sources, Erdogan again met with Mashaal this past June.

The support for Hamas reached a high point in 2010 when a Turkish organization loaded a ship with aid supplies for Palestinians and attempted to breach an Israeli sea blockade of the Gaza Strip. Israeli commandos raided the ship, killing 10 Turkish activists. A diplomatic row between Turkey and Israel ensued, and the two countries only normalized relations a few weeks ago.

Sympathies were clear

Erdogan’s goodwill toward Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood is also not new. When brotherhood member Mohammed Morsi became Egypt’s first democratically elected president, he had Erdogan’s support. And when the Egyptian military toppled Morsi in 2013 in the wake of mass protests and banned the Muslim Brotherhood, Erdogan protested and spoke of a coup, accusing Israel of being involved. According to the German Interior Ministry report, Turkey continues to show solidarity by, among other things, sheltering numerous leading members of the brotherhood. Egyptian exiles are also permitted to oppose the new Egyptian government on a Turkish propaganda channel broadcast by satellite.

Less clear is the relationship between Turkey and the so-called “Islamic State” and other radical Islamic jihadist groups. Officially, the Turkish government has labeled IS a terrorist organization. At the same time, reports have repeatedly surfaced during the civil war in Syria that Ankara has bought oil from IS, supplied it with weapons and money, and allowed wounded jihadists to be treated in Turkish hospitals. On the other hand, IS has also claimed responsibility for a series of attacks in Turkey.

It is clear that, for the Turkish government, any growth in power of the Kurds in Syria or Iraq along the Turkish border is suspect, because it fears the separatist tendencies of the Kurdish minority in Turkey. Since the West is supporting the Kurds in the fight against IS, and Syrian President Bashar al Assad is also an opponent of Erdogan, it stands to reason that Erdogan has, at least selectively, benefited from “Islamic State.”

Acid test: NATO

None of this is really new. But up until now, it was also not part of the public discourse. Foreign policy specialist for Germany’s Christian Democrats (CDU) Roderich Kiesewetter confirmed this recently in an interview with public broadcaster WDR: “Turkey has been supporting Hamas for 10 years now. We have discussed this matter privately with Turkey very intensively. We have also very clearly voiced our concerns that Turkey is helping to finance IS.” Kenan Engin, a Turkish-Kurdish political scientist from the University of Heidelberg told Nordwest Radio that Turkey is not just passively tolerating IS, but rather, actively supporting the organization.

So, what are the consequences? Kiesewetter sees no cause to end the EU’s refugee deal with Ankara, nor to end the dialogue with Turkey. Berlin is used to negotiating with “much more difficult countries,” such as Saudi Arabia or Iran, he said. However, Turkey does need to understand where the line is. “A visa deal with Turkey is only possible if democratic principles are upheld,” he said. He also called on NATO to address the fact that “a major member country is clearly supporting an enemy that is being fought by NATO states.”

Deputy parliamentary group chairman for the Social Democrats (SPD), Rolf Mützenich, says it’s not so much Turkey’s role that is the problem. “The yardstick will be whether this platform for activity is being used to commit acts of violence,” Mützenich told the Frankfurter Rundschau newspaper. CDU politician Kiesewetter has also stressed that isolating Turkey will not help improve the situation. “If Turkey were to turn its back on NATO and Europe, then we would have a giant power between Europe and Asia that would be difficult to control.”

Filed Under: News Tagged With: AKP, Gülen-linked, Islamic, link, Party

Columbia University Researchers Confirm Turkey’s Links to ISIS

November 24, 2015 By administrator

turkey-ISISBY HARUT SASSOUNIAN

A team of Columbia University researchers from the United States, Europe, and Turkey confirmed last week that the Turkish government has provided to ISIS: military cooperation, weapons, logistical support, financial assistance, and medical services. This detailed investigation was headed by David L. Phillips, Director of the Program on Peace-building and Rights at Columbia University’s Institute for the Study of Human Rights. He had served as Senior Advisor and Foreign Affairs Expert for the U.S. Department of State.

Here are brief excerpts from the extensive research documenting the direct links between Turkey and ISIS:

  1. Turkey Supplied Military Equipment to ISIS
  • An ISIS commander told The Washington Post on August 12, 2014: “Most of the fighters who joined us in the beginning of the war came via Turkey, and so did our equipment and supplies.”
  • Kemal Kiliçdaroglu, head of the Republican People’s Party (CHP), disclosed on Oct. 14, 2014, documents from the Adana Office of the Prosecutor, revealing that Turkey supplied weapons to terrorist groups. He also produced transcripts of interviews with truck drivers who delivered the weapons to the terrorists.
  • According to CHP Vice President Bulent Tezcan, Turkish agents drove three trucks loaded with rockets, arms, and ammunition to ISIS in Syria, on January 19, 2014.
  • Cumhuriyet newspaper quoted Fuat Avni as stating that Germany and the United States had audio tapes confirming that Turkey provided financial and military aid to terrorist groups associated with Al Qaeda on Oct. 12, 2014.
  • Documents made public on Sept. 27, 2014, revealed that Saudi Prince Bandar Bin Sultan financed the transportation of arms to ISIS through Turkey.
    1. Turkey Provided Logistical Assistance to ISIS Fighters
    • According to a June 13, 2014 article in Radikal newspaper, Turkish Interior Minister Muammar Guler issued the following directive: “Hatay is a strategic location for the Mujahidin crossing from within our borders to Syria. Logistical support for Islamist groups will be increased, and their training, hospital care, and safe passage will mostly take place in Hatay.”
    • The Daily Mail reported on August 25, 2014 that many foreign militants joined ISIS in Syria and Iraq after traveling through Turkey.
    • Britain’s Sky News obtained documents showing that the Turkish government stamped passports of foreign militants seeking to cross the Turkish border into Syria to join ISIS.
    • A senior Egyptian official indicated on Oct. 9, 2014 that Turkish intelligence is passing to ISIS satellite imagery and other data.
    1. Turkey Trained ISIS Fighters
    • CNN Turk reported on July 29, 2014 that in the heart of Istanbul, places like Duzce and Adapazari have become gathering spots for terrorists.
    • Turks who joined an ISIS affiliate were shown on July 28, 2014, at a public gathering in Istanbul.
    • A video showed an ISIS affiliate holding a prayer-gathering in Omerli, a district of Istanbul.
    • According to Jordanian Intelligence, Turkey trained ISIS militants for special operations.
    1. Turkey Extended Medical Care to ISIS Fighters
    • An ISIS commander told The Washington Post on August 12, 2014, “We used to have some fighters — even high-level members of the Islamic State — getting treated in Turkish hospitals.”
    • On Oct. 12, 2014, Taraf newspaper reported that Dengir Mir Mehmet Firat, a founder of Pres. Erdogan’s ruling party (AKP), divulged that Turkey supported terrorist groups and still supports them and treats them in its hospitals.
    1. Turkey Supported ISIS Financially Through Purchase of Oil
    • On Sept. 13, 2014, The New York Times reported on the Obama administration’s efforts to pressure Turkey to crack down on the extensive network of oil sold by ISIS.
    • Fehim Taştekin wrote in Radikal on Sept. 13, 2014 about illegal pipelines transporting oil from Syria to Turkey.
    1. Turkey Assisted ISIS Recruitment
    • Kiliçdaroğlu announced on Oct. 14, 2014 that ISIS offices in Istanbul and Gaziantep are recruiting fighters. On Oct. 10, 2014, the Mufti of Konya stated that 100 men from his city had joined ISIS four days ago.
    • OdaTV reported that Takva Haber served as a propaganda outlet for ISIS to recruit Turkish-speaking men in Turkey and Germany.
    • Minister of Sports, Suat Kilic, an AKP member, visited Salafi Jihadists who are ISIS supporters in Germany. These Jihadists recruit supporters by distributing free copies of the Quran and raising funds to sponsor suicide attacks in Syria and Iraq.
    • OdaTV released a video showing ISIS militants riding a bus in Istanbul.
    1. Turkish Forces are Fighting Alongside ISIS
    • American investigative journalist Seymour Hersh asserted in the London Review of Books that “Prime Minister Recep Erdogan was known to be supporting the al-Nusra Front, a Jihadist faction among the rebel opposition, as well as other Islamist rebel groups.”
    • On Sept. 20, 2014, Demir Celik, a Member of Parliament representing the People’s Democratic Party (HDP), stated that Turkish Special Forces had joined ISIS in the battlefield.
    1. Turkey Helped ISIS in Battle for Kobani
    • Anwar Muslim, Mayor of Kobani, revealed on Sept. 19, 2014 that trains full of Turkish forces and ammunition were delivered to ISIS. On September 30, 2014, a CHP delegation visited Kobani, where locals declared that everything from the clothes of ISIS militants to their guns comes from Turkey.
    • A Nuhaber video showed on Sept. 25, 2014 Turkish military convoys, carrying tanks and ammunition, moving freely under ISIS flags in the Jarablus region of Syria and the Karkamis border crossing.
    • Salih Muslim, PYD leader of Kurdish fighters, reported that 120 militants had crossed into Syria from Turkey on Oct. 20-24, 2014.
    • According to an op-ed written by a YPG Kurdish commander in The New York Times on Oct. 29, 2014, Turkey regularly allows ISIS militants and their equipment to pass freely over its border.
    • Diken reported on Oct. 1, 2014: “ISIS fighters crossed the border from Turkey into Syria in full view of Turkish soldiers.”
    1. Turkey and ISIS Share a Worldview
    • RT reported on Oct. 3, 2014 on Vice President Joe Biden’s remarks detailing Turkish support to ISIS.
    • Hurriyet newspaper quoted a Turkish civil servant on Sept. 26, 2014: “I was shocked to hear words of admiration for ISIL from some high-level civil servants.”
    • An AKP council member posted on his Facebook page: “Thankfully ISIS exists…. May you never run out of ammunition….”
    • Erdogan’s son Bilal and Turkish officials met with ISIS fighters, according to Sariyer Gozlem.

    It is absolutely unacceptable that while ISIS is committing mass murder in Paris and other European cities, its NATO ‘ally,’ Turkey, is continuing to aid and arm these terrorists. It is high time that Turkey is expelled from NATO and its leaders are indicted and brought to justice for their role in these heinous crimes.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: ISIS, link, Turkey

Report: Seized USB drives reveal Turkey’s links to ISIL

July 27, 2015 By administrator

224825A senior Western official claimed that information gathered at the compound of Abu Sayyaf, the individual responsible for oil smuggling operations on behalf of the Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) who was killed in a US commando operation a few months ago, points to high-level contacts between Turkish officials and leading ISIL members, the Guardian newspaper in the UK has recently reported.

While they had given voice to some resentment and mild criticism of Turkey‘s much-questioned approach against ISIL, until very recently, Western officials had refrained from directly criticizing Turkish decision makers. The recent revelation appears to be the first public criticism of Turkey’s approach and could complicate Ankara’s relations with its Western allies.

Turkey, which entered the fray against ISIL after two years of reluctance to take an active part in the international coalition against the militant group, had faced charges of ignoring, if not openly facilitating, militants’ border crossings to join ISIL in Syria. Ankara’s refutations of such accusations seemingly fall short of convincing its Western allies, and the Guardian report will likely fuel underlying questions about ISIL’s links with Turkey.

“In the wake of the raid that killed Abu Sayyaf, suspicions of an undeclared alliance have hardened,” the Guardian report said.

One senior Western official familiar with the intelligence found at the compound told the Guardian that “direct dealings between Turkish officials and ranking Isis [ISIL] members was now ‘undeniable.’”

The Guardian report continues: “’There are hundreds of flash drives and documents that were seized there,’ the official told the Observer. ‘They are being analyzed at the moment, but the links are already so clear that they could end up having profound policy implications for the relationship between us and Ankara.’”

With Turkey now striking ISIL targets in Syria after a bomb attack suspected to have been carried out by a militant killed 32 in the southern Turkish town of Suruç near the Syrian border and the killing of a soldier on the border, Ankara may have earned loud praise and strong support among its Western allies.

But questions and charges of tacit cooperation with the militant group over the past two years will, especially after the discovery of new information at Abu Sayyaf’s compound, overshadow today’s efforts and haunt Ankara’s ties with the West in years to come.

Filed Under: Articles Tagged With: Gulen-Linked Economy, ISIL, link, Turkey

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