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Category: Middle East

Turks hope Israeli apology for flotilla raid sparks tourism boom

AFP – The air-clearing apologies were both made and accepted.

Now, Turkey’s tourism industry is holding its breath and hoping that Israel’s apology for a deadly 2010 raid on a Gaza-bound aid flotilla will translate into a new love affair that will bring Israeli holidaymakers back to its beach resorts.

“After the apology, I think we’ll reach 500,000 (Israeli) tourists this year,” said Timur Bayindir, the president of the Association of Hotel Owners in Turkey (TUROB), convinced that any grudges between the two allies were erased thanks to last week’s diplomatic breakthrough.

And he is not the only one who is optimistic.

“The cooperation between the two countries will resume as before,” Basaran Ulusoy, the president of the Association of Travel Agencies in Turkey (TURSAB), told mainstream daily Sabah.

Prior to the spat, Turkey-Israel relations were warm, and vacationers from the Jewish state were a common sight along the Turkish Mediterranean coastline. Among the 558,000 tourists that visited Turkey in 2008, one out of every 13 was Israeli, making it their top holiday destination.

But relations soured in 2009, when Israel unleashed its devastating 22-day Operation Cast Lead on Gaza.

Turkey was infuriated.

It accused Israel of using disproportionate force in the conflict that cost the lives of 1,400 Palestinians — half of them civilians — and 13 Israelis, 10 of them soldiers.

The criticism did not go down well in Israel, where trade unions called for a boycott of Turkey. The number of Israeli tourists in Turkey fell to 312,000 that year.

A year later, relations between the two states hit rock bottom. Israeli commandos staged a botched pre-dawn raid on the six-ship flotilla to Gaza headed by Turkey’s Mavi Marmara, in which nine Turkish nationals are killed.

In response, Ankara expelled Israel’s ambassador to Turkey and suspended their military cooperation. And angry Turkish mobs took to the streets and burned Israeli flags.

That was when Israeli holidaymakers really began to turn their backs on Turkey.

In 2010, the number of Israeli tourists plummeted to 110,000, in 2011 to 79,000, and last year it only slightly rebounded to 84,000.

The March 22 apology made by Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu to his Turkish counterpart Recep Tayyip Erdogan — and brokered by US President Barack Obama — may reverse the trend.

“Before the apologies, we pushed very hard (for) Greece and Bulgaria, but since last week we try to do our best to push Turkish products,” Eyal Kashdan said, the chief executive of Flying Carpet Travel, one of the market leaders in promoting Israeli tourism in Turkey.

“Actually, clients prefer the (Turkish) products, the hotels of Turkey… because of the luxury of the hotels and the all-inclusive system, and they feel that the Turkish cuisine is similar to the Israeli cuisine,” he told AFP.

Still, he does not go as far as to say the Turks can now expect a boom in Israeli tourism. At least not yet. “I think the clients need more time to feel better with the (Turkish) hospitality,” he said.

His reservations are echoed by Daniel Zimet, president of the Zimet Marketing Communications agency which promotes Turkey in Israel.

“Israelis shall be ensured 100 percent that there is nothing to worry about when going to Turkey,” he said, adding that Erdogan is still walking a fine line in regards to doubts cast on whether the Israeli commanders of the flotilla raid still risk judicial proceedings in Turkey.

“It’s still a way to go before things will be totally clarified between the two nations.”

via Turks hope Israeli apology for flotilla raid sparks tourism boom | The Raw Story.

April 1, 2013
‘Turkey shot self in foot with its hostile anti-Syria policy’

The leader of Turkey’s main opposition party Kemal Kilicdaroglu says that Ankara has shot itself in the foot with its hostile anti-Syria policy.

Kemal Kilicdaroglu, leader of the main Turkish opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP)

During a speech in the southern city of Adana, the leader of the Republican People’s Party (CHP) condemned Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s stance towards Damascus.

Kilicdaroglu accused Erdogan of siding with Saudi Arabia and Qatar against the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad.

He said that the Turkish government’s stance towards Syria is not in line with his country’s national interests, but instead serves that of the US, Germany, and France.

The opposition leader further warned Ankara against anti-Syria policies by saying that they would leave Turkey isolated in the region. He said Turkey should focus on gaining allies in the region instead of turning them away.

Qatar has recently allowed the Syrian opposition to open an embassy in its capital Doha. This is while the original Syrian embassy in Doha remains closed.

In February, Kilicdaroglu criticized Erdogan’s policy regarding Syria, calling it a “grave mistake.” He also said that as a result of Ankara’s financial and military support for the Syrian opposition, increasing numbers of Syrian people were losing their lives.

Protests have been held in Turkey against the government’s anti-Syria policies over the past months.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011. Many people, including large numbers of Army and security personnel, have been killed in the violence.

The Syrian government has said that the chaos is being orchestrated from outside the country, and that a very large number of the militants operating in the country are foreign nationals.

Several international human rights organizations have accused foreign-sponsored militants of committing war crimes.

SZH/HN

via PressTV – ‘Turkey shot self in foot with its hostile anti-Syria policy’.

March 31, 2013
Israel’s olive branch to Turkey indicates smart strategy

Arthur I. Cyr is Clausen Distinguished Professor at Carthage College and author of “After the Cold War.”

March 30, 2013 12:00 am • By Arthur I. Cyr(0) Comments

On March 22, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu of Israel reached out the hand of peace by telephoning Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey to apologize. Often belligerent “Bibi” Netanyahu was making amends for the notorious incident in 2010, when Israeli armed forces boarded a Turkish ship attempting to deliver humanitarian supplies to occupied Gaza.

Israel’s marines killed nine civilian Turkish activists in the incident, and once-solid ties between the two nations plummeted. The call was not only the right thing to do, but also a successful start down the long road of repairing relations between the two formerly close allies.

The conversation occurred at Ben Gurion Airport in Tel Aviv. President Barack Obama, who was on the point of departure from his successful visit to Israel, brokered the conversation. The U.S. leader rightly deserves considerable credit for engineering this rapprochement.

The particularly effective last act of the Israel visit may prove the most important of Obama’s trip to the Middle East, thanks primarily to Turkey’s steadily expanding regional and international roles. Last June, a Syrian missile shot down a Turkish F-4 jet fighter.

Some expected war. Instead, Turkey’s government in Ankara expanded air defenses and troops on the border, consulted NATO and worked within international law. Ironically, Syria’s aggressive missile launchers increased the growing isolation of their government.

The destruction of the Turkish plane bolstered the collective international effort to bring down the Syria government. Turkey was added to the June Geneva summit of UN Security Council members to address the Syrian civil war.

Turkey is a pivotal nation, Western in practices with a Moslem majority population. Since the successful revolution in the 1920s led by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the government of Turkey has been constitutionally secular. The army has served as watchdog to keep religion at bay.

Since 2002, Turkey has been governed by the Islamic Justice and Development Party (AKP), with substantial popular support reinforced in elections in 2007 and 2011. Relations with the military have been tense but manageable. The people remain committed to representative government, an effective counter against al-Qaeda and other extremist movements.

Meanwhile, the European Union has turned Turkey’s application for membership into endless ordeal. Condescension combined with inefficiency is reflected in the slow motion of Brussels Eurocrats.

Turkey commands vital sea lanes and trade routes, including the Strait of Bosporus, and oil and gas shipping avenues. Last year, Azerbaijan and Turkey signed a $7 billion gas pipeline deal. Turkey’s trade and investment with Eastern Europe and Central Asia grows, effectively leaving behind a restrictive and often elitist European Union.

Ankara-Washington cooperation is strongly rooted. Turkey has been engaged in Afghanistan, including military command responsibilities. During the first Persian Gulf War, U.S. B-52 bombers were deployed on Turkish soil, a potentially risky move by Ankara. Turkey played a vital Allied role during the Korean War; the UN military cemetery at Pusan contains a notably large number of Turkish graves.

The Bush administration’s invasion of Iraq was bitterly opposed by Ankara. As predicted, Kurdish terrorists based in Iraq have been freed to attack Turkey, leading to retaliatory military strikes across the northern border.

Obama made a point of visiting Turkey at the start of his administration. Bringing Israel and Turkey back together provides a nice bookend at the start of his second term.

Washington must continue rebuilding relations with this great nation.

via GUEST COMMENTARY: Israel’s olive branch to Turkey indicates smart strategy.

March 31, 2013
Turkey resumes gold exports to Iran

Turkey resumes gold exports to Iran

Source: Radio Zamaneh

Turkey exported $120 million in gold to Iran in February and, according to Reuters, this evidence reveals that despite U.S. restrictions, the trade of natural gas for gold continues between the two countries, albeit at lower levels.

Reuters reported on March 29 that TUIK, Turkey’s statistics institute, says the country did not export any gold to Iran in January 2013; however, in February, $114.9 million in gold was sold to Iran, and gold exports to Dubai, which is often a route for the transfer of gold to Iran, went up from $371 million in January to $402.3 million.

A gold merchant in Istanbul told Reuters that the gold traders do not want to draw too much attention to their dealings with Iran, which is perhaps why gold exports to Iran were stopped in January.

Iran is a major supplier of natural gas and oil to Turkey, and U.S. sanctions on Iran have put restrictions on paying for these commodities in euros or dollars.

Turkey has been exempted from U.S. sanctions on trade with Iran but that exemption is due to expire in July.

via Turkey resumes gold exports to Iran.

March 31, 2013
Syria refugee crisis: One million and counting

Syria refugee crisis: One million and counting

Beirut, 24 days ago

One million people have fled Syria’s civil war, piling pressure on the country’s neighbours who are struggling to support them, the United Nations refugee agency said on Wednesday.

Around half the refugees are children, most of them aged under 11, and the numbers leaving are mounting every week, UNHCR added.

“With a million people in flight, millions more displaced internally, and thousands of people continuing to cross the border every day, Syria is spiralling towards full-scale disaster,” UN High Commissioner for Refugees António Guterres said in a statement.

“We are doing everything we can to help, but the international humanitarian response capacity is dangerously stretched. This tragedy has to be stopped.”

Nearly two years ago, Syrians started trickling out of the country when President Bashar al-Assad’s forces started shooting at pro-democracy protests.

The uprising has since turned into an increasingly sectarian struggle between armed rebels and government soldiers and militias. An estimated 70,000 people have been killed.

UNHCR said the number of Syrians quitting their country has increased dramatically since the beginning of the year with more than 400,000 – nearly half the total figure – since January 1.

They arrive traumatised, without possessions and having lost members of their families, it added.

Most have fled to Lebanon, Jordan, Turkey, Iraq and Egypt and some arrive in North Africa and Europe.

Lebanon – the country closest to Syria’s embattled capital of Damascus – is the smallest of the country’s neighbours but has received the most refugees.

Including Syrian workers and self-supporting Syrian families, one in five people in Lebanon is now Syrian.

Refugee flows into Lebanon have doubled to 4,400 a day in the past three weeks, UNHCR representative in Lebanon Ninette Kelley told Reuters in an interview.

But despite pledges of $1.5 billion by international donors for a U.N. response plan to help Syria’s displaced, only 25 per cent has been funded, UNHCR said.

In Jordan, energy, water, health and education services are being strained to the limit, the agency added. Turkey has spent more than $600 million setting up 17 refugee camps, with more under construction.

There is no end in sight for Syria’s civil war and international powers are divided over how to respond to it. Russia and Shi’ite Iran support their historical ally Assad while the United States and Sunni Muslim Gulf countries back the opposition.

Both Damascus and the opposition have said they will consider peace talks but no meetings have been arranged. – Reuters

via Syria refugee crisis: One million and counting.

March 31, 2013
Al-Jaafari: Syria opposes the current text of the Arms’ Trade Treaty

Syria’s Permanent Representative to the UN Dr. Bashar al-Jaafari said that Syria has sought and will seek the legislation of arms trade due to the risk posed by illicit arms trade on international security and peace.

During the closing session of the UN conference on the arms trade treaty, al-Jaafari said that Syria opposes the current text of the treaty as it doesn’t address foreign occupation, the right to self-determination of people under occupation, and the crimes of aggression, in addition to not having a clear article on the absolute ban of providing weapons to terrorist elements and groups.

Al-Jaafari pointed out that Syria exerted big efforts to bring the delegations’ different points of view together to reach an unanimously draft of the arms trade treaty as the mission was not easy due to the deep differences among the member states.

He said ” My country’s delegation worked hard to reach an agreement that preserves the rights of all the countries and tried to approximate the points of view through holding several meetings with a number of delegations and through proposing a number of essential points which we want that the treaty to include as it becomes balanced.”

He added “My country opposes the current text of the treaty for the coming reasons:

First: The treaty ignored the proposals of a number of countries including Syria on the inclusion of a reference in the text to the foreign occupation and the inalienable rights of the people under the foreign occupation to self-determination, as the Israeli occupation still occupies Arab territories in the Syrian Golan, Palestine and Lebanon.

Second :The selectivity and transparency in the supervising procedures on armament don’t constitute a balanced and overall approach as it hinders the international community of committing to disarmament.

Third: the current teary is an interference in the Security Council’s affairs.

Fourth: The treaty is not unanimous as it doesn’t take into consideration the stances and views of a number of countries, among them Syria.

Fifth: The text doesn’t include a frank paragraph on the categorically ban of supplying weapons to the armed terrorist groups and members.

Al-Jaafari asserted that ignoring this dangerous issue which my country is suffering from due to providing the armed terrorist groups with arms by some countries is completely unacceptable by Syria as it is considered a flagrant violation of the international principles and charters with the aim of liquidating any hope of a political and peaceful solution to the crisis in Syria, based on the UN Security Council resolutions No. 2042 and 2043.

Sixth: The treaty ignored the identification section to tackle some ambiguity on some idioms which have been mentioned in the treaty.

Seventh: the text ignored an important issue that is the aggression crime which is unanimously identified and agreed on by the international community based on the UN General Secretariat Resolutions No. 3314 for 1974.

Al-Jaafari stressed that the objection of one delegation on the draft means that there is no consensus, adding that “We support consensus on a good treaty, not on an inapplicable treaty which would be used in the future to put pressures on some countries.

via Al-Jaafari: Syria opposes the current text of the Arms’ Trade Treaty.

March 31, 2013