Turkey Archives

Egypt is accusing Turkey of working with the Islamic State on the Sinai Peninsula,

July 30, 2015 By administrator

A senior Foreign Ministry official said later that Egypt could prove Turkey was supporting the Islamic State affiliate in Sinai, Ansar Beit Al Maqdis, or Champions of Jerusalem, a terrorist group that has fired rockets at Israel and attacked security forces after the Egyptian military under Mr. el-Sisi overthrew the country’s Islamist president, Mohammed Morsi. The group also calls itself Wilayat Sinai, or Sinai Province.

“We have evidence linking the Turkish government to Ansar Beit Al Maqdis,” said the source. “This is in addition to the support the Turks have given to the Muslim Brotherhood and Hamas.”

On July 4, Egyptians made public pictures of men killed or captured in Sinai who were suspected of being agents with Turkey’s intelligence agency, MiT. On July 23, the privately owned, pro-government Tahrir News identified the four men as MiT colonel Ismail Aly Bal and operatives Diaa El Din Mehmet Gado, Bakoush Al Hussaini Youzmi and Abd Allah Al Turki.

Egypt made the striking statements after Turkey launched its first attacks against the Islamic State in northern Syria last week and allowed the U.S. to use Turkish air bases for bombing runs against the militants after Turkey resisted American assaults from its territory for the past year.

Jacques Neriah, a former deputy head for assessment of Israeli military intelligence, said the American-Turkish cooperation likely reflected Ankara’s attempt to conduct damage control and bolster its image in Washington.

“I believe that after the Egyptians published the names of four captured Turkish agents, the Americans started asking Ankara tough questions,” Mr. Neriah said. “The Turks needed to reassure the Americans that they are in fact the good guys and this is why out of the blue they let the Americans use Incirlik [Air Base] in order to attack ISIS.”

Turkish military campaign aims to prevent Kurdish unity in Syria: HDP co-chair

July 30, 2015 By administrator

ANKARA – Reuters

The main aim of Turkey’s recent military operations in northern Syria and Iraq is to prevent Kurdish territorial unity and not to combat Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), the leader of Turkey’s pro-Kurdish opposition HDP said on July 30.

In an interview with Reuters, Selahattin Demirtaş accused President Tayyip Erdoğan and the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) of dragging Turkey into conflict in revenge for the AKP losing its majority in a June 7 general election.

That election saw the HDP win enough votes to enter parliament as a party for the first time, ending more than a decade of single-party rule in the NATO member country.

“The AK Party is dragging the country into a period of conflict, seeking revenge for the loss of its majority in the June election,” Demirtaş told Reuters in the capital Ankara.

“HDP passing the threshold and the AK Party losing its parliamentary majority are being used as a pretext for war.”

Turkey launched near-simultaneous air strikes on the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) camps in northern Iraq and ISIL fighters in Syria last Friday, in what Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has called a “synchronised fight against terror”.

But its assaults on the PKK have so far been much heavier than its strikes against ISIL, fuelling Kurdish suspicions that its real agenda is keeping Kurdish political and territorial ambitions in check, something the government denies.

“Turkey carried out a couple of air strikes against the Islamic State just for show, without causing serious damage to it, nor is Islamic State feeling serious pressure from Turkey,” Demirtaş said.

“Turkey’s operations do not aim at taking measures against Islamic State. The main objective is to prevent the formation of a Kurdish entity in northern Syria,” he said.

Air strikes

Ankara is uncomfortable with the steady advance of Syrian Kurdish PYD forces, helped by U.S. air strikes, against ISIL. Around half of Syria’s 900 km (560 mile) border with Turkey is now controlled by Kurds.

Erdoğan and the AKP worry that those advances will embolden Turkey’s own 14 million Kurdish minority and rekindle a three-decade insurgency by the PKK, deemed a terrorist organisation by Turkey, the United States and Europe.

After Ankara agreed to open its air bases to the U.S.-led coalition last week following years of reluctance, Turkey and Washington are working on plans to provide air cover for Syrian rebels and sweep ISIL fighters from a strip of northern Syria along the Turkish border.

But the move will also ensure that territory remains out of the hands of the PYD, preventing Syria’s Kurds from joining up areas under their control into what could otherwise become a strip of Kurdish land running from the Iraqi border almost to the Mediterranean.

“Erdoğan stressed in the past that they would never allow the unification of Kurdish cantons in northern Syria. Jarablus is the only obstacle for this unity,” Demirtaş said, referring to a Syrian town on the edge of the proposed “safe zone”.

Turkish officials have said the aim in Syria is to push ISIL away from the border and their operations will not target Syrian Kurdish groups.

They say the strikes against PKK camps in northern Iraq, meanwhile, are a response to increased militant violence in recent weeks, including a series of targeted killings of police officers and soldiers blamed on the Kurdish militant group.

At least nine members of the security forces have been killed over the past week by suspected Kurdish militants.

The PKK has said the air strikes are an attempt to “crush” the Kurdish political movement and create an “authoritarian, hegemonic system” in Turkey.

July/30/2015

Turkey: Three soldiers killed in an attack on a military convoy by the PKK (Army)

July 30, 2015 By administrator

Three Turkish soldiers were killed in the attack Thursday morning a military convoy by Kurdish guerrillas in the southeast of the country, the military said in a statement.

The attack, in the border province of Sirnak, was the deadliest since the outbreak reported on July 20 a new cycle of violence.

She was awarded by the Army to the “separatist terror organization”, which refers to the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). Three soldiers, including an officer, were killed in the crossfire. A member of the rebellion was killed, the source said.

The military convoy was ambushed while conducting a “security operation” in the area, which is both border of Syria and Iraq. “Drones, helicopters and commando units were deployed to the scene of the attack,” the military said.

The Kurdish rebellion multiplies the actions of guerrillas since the attack Suruç (south) that killed 32 young activists of the Kurdish cause, while the Turkish Air Force daily target PKK bases.

Thursday, July 30, 2015,
Stéphane © armenews.com

Turkey’s AKP deputy prime minister sparks new sexism row

July 29, 2015 By administrator

Senior government official Bulent Arinc told a female lawmaker ‘as a woman, you should shut up’ during an emergency session in the Turkish parliament. The televised incident prompted outrage and demands for an apology.

The altercation took place on Wednesday night, while the deputy prime minister Arinc was holding a speech justifying the government’s decision to attack Kurdish militants in Iraq. He grew increasingly agitated with a group of pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) members who were loudly mocking his comments.
“Madam shut up! As a woman, you should shut up!” he yelled at a female lawmaker Nursel Aydogan on live television.
His remarks immediately provoked a flood of criticism on social media, with hashtags such as #BirKadinOlarakSusmayacagiz (as women we are not going to be silent) #KadinDusmaniArinc (Arinc is an enemy of women).

Both HDP and Republican People’s Party (CHP), demanded an apology from the government official.
“We as the CHP strongly condemn the sexist, discriminatory and humiliating comments violating women’s rights,” said CHP deputy leader Selin Sayek Boke.
“Making such a comment under the roof of parliament is unacceptable. We invite him to apologize,” she added.
Nursel Aydogan, to whom Arinc directed her remarks, said: “I don’t take it personally. It is an insult against all women including their own (ruling party) lawmakers.”
A history of gaffes
This is not the first time Arinc has drawn attention and ridicule from women’s-rights activists.
In a widely publicized incident last year, he publicly stated that women should protect their “chasteness” and not laugh in public.
This triggered an online response from women around the world, including British actress Emma Watson, posting pictures of themselves laughing.
Critics of the ruling AKP party, of which Arinc is a member, say it is eroding women’s rights in Turkey.
dj/sgb (AP,AFP)

Source: dw.com

The Guardian: Papers proving Ankara-ISIS cooperation discovered by Americans

July 29, 2015 By administrator

The documents about cooperation between Turkey and the Islamic State have been caught by the American side, The Guardian correspondent in the Middle East Martin Chulov told BirGun.

The British reporter said that during the murder of ISIS member responsible for the sale of oil the American side discovered a large number of papers and e-documents disclosing cooperation between Ankara and ISIS.

The journalist stressed that the US will not disclose the contents of documents, but will use them as a trump card against Turkey if needed.

Turkish security forces kept secret the data about who exactly was buying oil from Islamist terrorists.

According to the journalist, Turkey and ISIS have common interests related to the elimination of the Kurds and Assad.

————————————————————————————————————

Time To Unite Time To #PartitionTurkey by #BoycottTurkishProduct to bring peace and prosperity to the Region

Germany: Özdemir warns of ‘Mini-Pakistan’ in Turkey as Germany sharpens travel advisory

July 29, 2015 By administrator

German politician Cem Özdemir has slammed Turkey’s president, saying the country was turning into a “mini-Pakistan.” The German foreign office has warned of possible terror attacks on transport systems in Istanbul.

The co-chair of the Green party in Germany’s Bundestag, Cem Özdemir, issued strong words Wednesday against President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, saying Turkey would be “plunged into chaos” under his leadership.
His comments followed Turkey’s retaliation against attacks on its soil by launching airstrikes against the “Islamic State” (“IS”) militant group in Syria, but also against the minority Kurdish militant group PKK’s headquarters in northern Iraq. A peace process to end some 30 years of deadly violence between the outlawed PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and the Turkish government, which had been underway since 2013, was called off by Erdogan this week.
“We cannot look away when a country, which until yesterday wanted to join the EU, is transforming under Erdogan into a mini-Pakistan with an authoritarian ruler, right on the European border,” Özdemir, who was the first person of Turkish heritage to become a member of Germany’s parliament back in the 1990s, told the “Passauer Neuen Presse” newspaper.
According to Özdemir, the long-time Turkish leader had been turning a blind eye to “Islamic State” and Turkey’s actions against the group were merely symbolic.
“It’s to deceive us in the West. Hardly any positions from ISIS are being attacked and relatively few ISIS supporters have been arrested,” he said, using an alternative name for IS.

Travelers urged to be vigilant

Meanwhile, the German government has warned its citizens of an increased risk of terror attacks in Turkey, especially in the city of Istanbul, in the wake of Ankara’s assault. The foreign office has updated its advice to citizens planning to travel there and is urging them to monitor the situation carefully.
“There could be increased attack activity by the PKK,” the foreign ministry said in a statement on its website.
“Beyond that there are indications of possible attacks on the underground rail network and bus stops in Istanbul,” the ministry added.
Data from Turkey’s tourism ministry, released Wednesday, showed the number of foreign visitors fell by 2.25 percent during the first six months of this year, news agency Reuters reported. During that time 14.89 million people visited Turkey.
Germany is a NATO partner of Turkey and home to about 3 million people of Turkish origin.
se/kms (Reuters, dpa, AFP)

Source: DW.com

Erdogan needs anti-Kurdish hysteria to hold early elections in Turkey

July 29, 2015 By administrator

An anti-Kurdish hysteria is building up in Turkey, and the probability of early elections in the country is 75%, with a 25% chance of forming a new government, Director of the Institute of Oriental Studies of Armenia’s National Academy of Sciences, academician Ruben Safrastyan told a press conference today.

According to him, the present tense situation is to the advantage of the current Turkish government and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is prepared to hold early elections as he hopes to gain a majority of votes in the parliament and form a homogeneous cabinet instead of a government coalition.

The expert stressed that the escalation of the situation may result in a chaos in Turkey’s internal political life. ‘Based on the history of Turkey, I can say that in most cases they solve problems by force,” the expert said in response to a question about the likelihood of a civil war in Turkey and violation of its territorial integrity.

Speaking about activities of the Islamic State (IS) militant group, R. Safrastyan said that IS poses a threat to the whole region. He noted that among the group members are Azerbaijani militants who will return to their homeland one day.

The situation in Turkey has escalated over the past week after the terrorist act perpetrated by the Islamic State in the city of Suruc on the border with Syria and the killings of policemen in southeastern provinces, with the Kurdish Workers’ Party (PKK) claiming responsibility for the murders, followed by Turkey’s air strikes on IS in the north of Syria and PKK in northern Iraq. In response, PKK said on its website that a truce with Ankara is senseless. Turkish President Erdogan also rejected the peace process.

Source: Panorama.am

Erdogan is Pursuing his Self-Interests, Instead of Fighting ISIS Terrorists

July 29, 2015 By administrator

BY HARUT SASSOUNIAN

Last month, only after losing his party’s parliamentary majority, President Erdogan realized that there are dangerous terrorists in neighboring Syria who are a threat to Turkey’s security.

Ironically, these are the same terrorists that Ankara has been arming, assisting their infiltration into Syria, and having them treated in Turkish hospitals. It is estimated that as many as 25,000 foreign and 1,000 Turkish Jihadists have crossed Turkey’s border in recent years trying to topple Syria’s President Bashar al-Assad.

Using the excuse that a Turkish soldier was killed by a shot fired from Syria last week, Erdogan ordered a series of bombing raids by land and air in Northern Syria and Iraq, as well as rounding up over 1,000 individuals in Turkey suspected of being Kurdish fighters, leftist militants, and ISIS followers.

After several years of reluctance, the Turkish government finally announced on July 24 that it would allow the United States to use one or more of its air bases to launch attacks on Jihadist groups in Syria.

Rather than fighting ISIS terrorists or cooperating with United States military operations in Syria and Iraq, Erdogan’s true intent is to consolidate his own hold on power and accomplish the following self-serving objectives:

1) Turkey’s President realizes that should his ruling party fail to form a coalition government, he would be obliged to call a new round of parliamentary elections. Therefore, by taking bold actions against ISIS and Kurdish fighters, Erdogan hopes that Turkish voters would give his party the few extra seats needed to regain a majority in Parliament.

2) Another important purpose for bombing Northern Syria and PKK bases in Iraq and arresting hundreds of Kurdish militants in Turkey is not fighting ISIS, but preventing Syrian, Iraqi and Turkish Kurds from joining hands to create an independent Kurdistan.

3) By carrying out military raids in Syria, Erdogan hopes to accomplish his long sought dream of toppling the Syrian government and installing a puppet regime, thus expanding his personal power as a neo-Ottoman Sultan.

4) Finally, by making brash declarations against ISIS and allowing Americans to use the Incirlik airbase, Turkey intends to convince the United States and Western Europe that it is a reliable NATO ally and loyal partner in the fight against terrorism. Creating such a positive image is particularly important at a time when the major powers are finalizing a nuclear agreement with Iran, which would increase the latter’s strategic role in the region and diminish that of Turkey.

By pursuing the foregoing four objectives, Erdogan is running the risk of destabilizing Turkey and neighboring states:

1) By attacking ISIS targets in Northern Syria, ostensibly in retaliation for the killed Turkish soldier, Ankara is breaking its secret understanding with ISIS to refrain from mutual attacks. ISIS is now compelled to hit back. Last week’s suicide attack in the Turkish town of Suruc, killing 32 persons and wounding over 100, is probably the precursor of such ISIS terror acts throughout Turkey.

2) Turkey broke last week the ceasefire agreement it had signed with the PKK in 2013, by bombing the latter’s bases in Northern Iraq and arresting hundreds of Kurdish militants in Turkey. The PKK has already retaliated by killing several Turkish policemen, and promising more bloodshed. Furthermore, by attacking Kurds in Syria and Iraq, Turkey would be weakening the only force that has successfully fought against ISIS. Since the United States views Kurdish fighters as its substitute troops on the ground, Turkish attacks against Kurds would undermine U.S. military objectives in the region.

3) Should Erdogan invade Northern Syria ostensibly to establish “a safety zone,” Turkish troops are likely to suffer many casualties, battling not only the Syrian army, but also heavily armed Kurdish fighters, and scores of rag-tag Jihadist groups. Turkey could also be confronted by Iranian troops coming to the aid of their Syrian ally and Hizbullah fighters from Lebanon who have been backing the Assad regime.

The Turkish President’s self-serving fake war against terrorism could have the tragic consequence of escalating the violence throughout Turkey and neighboring countries. If Ankara is truly interested in countering the Jihadists, it should have done that long ago, instead of arming and abetting ISIS and other terror groups. Turkish leaders are now going to reap what they sowed. They can only blame themselves!

US, Once Again, Will Be Complicit in Turkey’s Crimes Against Humanity

July 29, 2015 By administrator

BY ARA KHACHATOURIAN

Turkish war planes that were used to attack Kurds

The United States’ “brilliant” foreign policy move over the weekend to strike a deal with Turkey to engage Ankara in its so-called fight against the Islamic State has quickly shown Turkey’s motives to finally back down and allow the US the use of its own airbase and to actively engage in the fight against what is also known as ISIS or ISIL.

Of course, this was prompted by what is being called an ISIS attack last week in Suruc, Turkey on the border with Syria as Ankara began enlisting the help of its NATO allies and the US to combat what it called terrorism on its territory.

It didn’t take long for Ankara to use this carte blanche provided to it by the US deal to turn its guns and warheads against the Kurdish population in Iraq. After staging a bombing attack on what was supposedly ISIS territory in Syria, Turkey attacked a Kurdish stronghold in Iraq, prompting the Kurds to call an end to the tenuous cease-fire with the Turks.

Turkey, which according to a former US Ambassador to Ankara, was facilitating the flow of Al-Qaeda and Islamic militants into Syria for a long time, also allowed its fluid border with the war-torn country to serve as a transport route for weapons and materials for ISIS, when its NATO ally, the US, had declared war on the Islamic State. Turkey’s apprehension to side with the US was its insistence that Syrian President Bashar al Assad should be removed from power in order to, according to Turkish officials, bring back stability, when in reality Turkey’s policy to extend its reach into Syria was the dominant factor in its posturing.

Furthermore, Turkey’s aiding and abetting of Islamist militants has had its immediate and intended impact on the Armenian population there—the invasion of Kessab, destruction of Der Zor and now the complete blockade of Aleppo.

Now, only days after the deal with the US, talk in Turkey has turned from how to fight ISIS to how to silence the Kurds, both within and outside Turkey—a long standing policy of the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) led by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan.

As a follow-up to its military attack on Kurdish bases in Iraq, Erdogan is now looking to outlaw the pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) by ordering a terrorism investigation into the party’s activities and calling for the revoking of the party’s parliamentary mandate.

The HDP, which won enough seats in parliament in last month’s elections to end the AKP’s absolute control of the Turkish legislature, has criticized official Ankara for inciting civil war and exposed Erdogan’s intentions to ice the Kurds from having any role in a future coalition government or the political stage in general. Erdogan’s actions against the HDP also undermine the democratic progress seen in Turkey after the June elections, a factor that was highly praised by the US.

So, what is the US to do when its ally is brazenly forfeiting its commitment to the intended aims of an agreement and is in fact using it to start a war against its own minority and continue its streak of crimes against humanity for which it is well known?

It is hard to believe that the seasoned US policymakers who thought of this disastrous deal did not see this coming. Since the US’ declared war on ISIS, the Kurdish population in both Iraq and Syria has proven to be a critical component of the fight on the ground, and has, according to the US military, been able to repel the threat from key positions in that area.

If the US does not take swift action, it will become complicit in another one of Turkey’s crimes against humanity. However, history has shown that the US does not mind being Ankara’s puppet, as was clear this past April when the world stood in recognition of the Armenian Genocide, and the US, once again, bowed out, continuing its complicity in that century-old crime against humanity.

Turkey: Isidor, the second car bomb exploded across the Kilis

July 28, 2015 By administrator

Depending on the pasture adjacent to Aleppo and Kilis bomb by Isidor to the Free Syrian Army checkpoint in two vehicles attacked Azez district was held. 2 people died in the attack.

Syria’s Aleppo to Kilis neighboring districts depend on pasture and Azez Free Syrian Army (FSA) of the second bomb by Isidor nighttime checkpoint was attacked by car.

Some people lost their lives that reported that five people injured in the attack of local resources in the region with the Öncüpınar vehicles were brought to the border gate.

2 out of 5 of the injured to ambulances Kilis State Hospital died despite intervention.

2 of the injured were transferred to hospitals in Gaziantep also.