Category: Middle East & Africa

Erdogan: “The Image of the Jews Is No Different from that of the Nazis”

by Samuel Westrop

February 11, 2013 at 5:00 am

Now that we know that Turkey’s Prime Minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, uttered anti-Semitic comments similar to those made by Egypt’s President Mohamed Morsi, will the media do its best to avoid reporting those, too?

In November 1998, the Institute for Jewish Policy Research released its annual report on current trends in anti-Semitism across the world. In the section for Turkey, the journal quoted the then-mayor of Istanbul, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, in June 1997, at a meeting organized by the municipality to celebrate the city’s conquest by the Ottoman Turks, remarking: “The Jews have begun to crush the Muslims of Palestine, in the name of Zionism,” the mayor said, “Today, the image of the Jews is no different from that of the Nazis.”

Erdogan later became, and still is, the Prime Minister of Turkey, a man whom President Obama describes as a personal friend, in a country that is a member of NATO, and head of a government that is regarded as moderate, and, as the London Times recently reflected, an example of how Islamism and democracy do not have to be mutually exclusive.

Birikim, a Turkish socialist culture magazine, also attributes the quote to Erdogan. A search through Western newspaper records, however, shows no mention at all of these comments.

That remark is not the only example of Erdogan’s hostility in this regard. Turkish newspaper Yeni Safak has reported Erdogan commenting that the media does not fully report Israel’s “murder of innocent children” because the “world’s media is under the control of Israel, and this needs to be emphasised.”

In 2009 another Turkish newspaper, Taraf, reported that Erdogan, while attending the opening of a university, stated, “wherever Jews settle, they make money. They are not property owners, as being tenants suits them best. On the other hand, whatever we have or do not have, we will invest in our houses.”

In early January, when the Middle East Media Research Institute (MEMRI) produced a video of Morsi describing Zionists as “the descendants of apes and pigs,” it took almost two weeks and a barrage of criticism for a leading newspaper, the New York Times, finally to report the comments. The eventual action led to worldwide denunciation of Morsi’s remarks and even a condemnatory statement from the White House. Now that we know that Erdogan, Prime Minister of a country considered to be a leading ally of the West, made comments similar to Morsi’s, will the media do its best to avoid reporting those, too?

via Erdogan: “The Image of the Jews Is No Different from that of the Nazis” :: Gatestone Institute.

February 12, 2013
Syria crisis: ‘Powerful’ minibus explosion kills 13

The blast happened near the Cilvegozu border post, one of the main crossing points for Syrian refugees into Turkey

A minibus exploded on the Syria-Turkey border, killing at least 10 Syrians and three Turkish nationals, Turkish officials have said.

It is not yet known what caused the blast, which wounded dozens more.

Meanwhile, rebels have reportedly seized control of Syria’s largest hydro-electric dam, in what would be a strategic loss to the government.

Activists and opposition groups said fighters were guarding the dam’s entrances and exits in Raqa province.

Reports said the dam on the Euphrates River in the country’s north was still operational.

Syrian President Bashar al-Assad reiterated on Monday that he would not step down, “no matter how pressures are building up”, state-run Sana news agency reports.

“Syria will remain the beating heart of the Arab world and will not give up its principles despite the intensifying pressure and diversifying plots not only targeting Syria, but all Arabs,” he is quoted as saying by Sana.

Scene of clashes

Monday’s explosion happened in the area of the Cilvegozu customs post on the Turkish side of the border, in the southern province of Hatay.

It is one of the main crossing points for Syrian refugees into Turkey.

The Syrian-registered minibus blew up only metres away from the Turkish border gate, where scores of civilians and humanitarian workers were congregated, Turkish deputy prime minister Bulent Arinc said.

“It was a powerful explosion. But whether this was a vehicle laden with explosives or another type of explosion, I think, at the latest, will become clear tomorrow,” he said.

“All possibilities are on the table, including political motives.”

Turkey’s interior, justice and customs ministers were due to fly to the area to be briefed on the incident.

The crossing, which lies opposite the Syrian border post of Bab al-Hawa, has been the scene of clashes in recent months. Rebels fighting to overthrow Syrian President Bashar al-Assad captured Bab al-Hawa in July.

The latest incident comes after continued violence across the country left some 77 people dead on Sunday, AFP news agency quoted opposition activists as saying.

The Local Coordination Committees said clashes had broken out in the al-Afif neighbourhood of Damascus, near the the presidential complex.

Information from inside Syria is almost impossible to verify because of the heavy restrictions placed on international journalists there.

The fighting in Syria has killed at least 60,000 people, the UN says.

Dam ‘taken’

The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, a UK-based activists group, said Islamist fighters now controlled the Tabqa dam. The facility provides much of the electricity to the city of Aleppo.

Rebels launched an offensive in Aleppo in July, but since then the city has been divided between fighters and government forces, with neither side apparently able to push the other out.

“The rebels took control of the dam, which is still in operation. They are guarding both entrances but have forbidden the fighters from staying inside for fear the regime will bomb it,” SOHR director Rami Abdel Rahman told AFP.

The SOHR said Islamist fighters also took over three districts in the neighbouring town of Tabqa, where employees of the dam and their families live.

The SOHR is one of the most prominent organisations documenting and reporting incidents and casualties in the Syrian conflict. The group says its reports are impartial, though its information cannot be independently verified.

Moaz al-Khatib (file photo) Moaz al-Khatib’s offer of talks was criticised within his own movement

‘A Syrian opposition leader meanwhile has criticised the government for not taking up his offer of peace talks.

Moaz al-Khatib, of the Syrian National Coalition, said the regime’s response sent a “very negative” message to the world.

In a statement on his Facebook page, Mr Khatib said the government had “lost a chance to engage in a dialogue” to end the two-year conflict.

Last month, Mr Khatib said the Syrian National Coalition – an alliance of opposition groups – would meet Syrian officials, so long as Syria freed 160,000 political prisoners.

His overture, which has the backing of the US, was criticised by many of his coalition colleagues, who reject discussions while President Assad and his inner circle remain in power.

On Friday, Syrian Information Minister Omran al-Zohbi said the government was prepared to hold talks with the opposition without preconditions.

“We are serious about the question of dialogue,” Mr Zohbi said on state television. [But] When you speak of dialogue, it means dialogue without conditions, which excludes no-one.”

via BBC News – Syria crisis: ‘Powerful’ minibus explosion kills 13.

February 12, 2013
Arabs, Turkey Want to Control Serekaniye for Strategic Advantage, Kurdish Leader Says

Fighters of the Farouq brigade in Serekaniye. Photo: PYD.

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – The close proximity of the Syrian city of Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain) to the Turkish border is the reason behind ongoing violent clashes there between the Arab and Kurdish opposition to the Damascus regime, says Salih Muslim, the leader of the Kurdish Democratic Union Party (PYD).

The Kurdish opposition in Syria and the predominantly Arab Free Syrian Army (FSA), the main force fighting to oust President Bashar al-Assad’s regime, has been on the same side in its quest to topple the regime. But recently, fighting erupted in Serekaniye between the FSA and PYD-affiliated Popular Protection Committee (YPG), with the Kurds accusing Turkey of fueling an Arab-Kurdish war.

“Serekaniye is the Arab fighters’ door to Turkey and logistical support,” says Muslim. “If they control Serekaniye they will easily control Derik. As matter fact if they control Serekaniye they can control as far as Hassaka,” Muslim says.

He explains that Serekaniye has a strategic location, and controlling it would give the Arabs more leverage over the Kurds, because the Arabs can separate Kobani and Afreen from Jazeera. Muslim claims that Arab control over this region will impede traffic and communications between Kurds in the two geographically separate regions.

“There is no communication, there is fighting in this area. When the fight is over, the communications and relations will restore to their ordinary situation,” Muslim says. ”The Arab fighters are trying to eliminate communications and relations completely, and place Jazeera under their control,” he claims.

Muslim adds that upon discovering that they could not implement their plan through the FSA Turkish forces joined up with tribal leader Nawaf Basheer, who was appointed head of the Jazeera and Furat Liberation Front.

“They (Turkish forces) have allocated $200 million for this force,” Muslim says.

According to Muslim, “Basheer is after money. His tribe does not support him. Those who fight for him, they fight for money.”

In the past, Arab fighters have publicly claimed that the PYD receives orders from Turkey, saying that if it and the YPG comply with Turkish demands to stay away from the border from Serekaniye to Derik, then both would have to withdraw from these towns.

“Their plan is to disarm the Kurds, “Muslim says. “This is something different from the Syrian revolution, it does not serve the Syrian revolution. This is a Turkish demand to eliminate the Kurds.”

But Muslim believes that the fight in Serekaniye has brought the Kurdish factions closer together.

“It’s no longer a revolution for freedom and democracy. What’s happening today is a fight for power and distribution of power,” he told Rudaw.

Thus far, Muslim claims, eight members of the YPG have been killed, while the death toll within forces loyal to Turkey is estimated in the hundreds.

via Rudaw.net – English – Arabs, Turkey Want to Control Serekaniye for Strategic Advantage, Kurdish Leader Says.

February 11, 2013
Live stream; Iran Islamic Revolution anniversary ceremony

People around the world could watch the live stream broadcast of anniversary ceremony of Islamic Revolution in Iran.
According to MNA, this the 34rd anniversary of Islamic Revolution in Iran which will be broadcast, live stream via internet. These ceremonies will start simultaneously in Tehran and all other cities around Iran at 9:00 AM. The participant will end the ceremony by reading a resolution.

To view the live stream broadcast of these ceremonies, please go to:

Operation Argo: The Movie

February 10, 2013
Turkey says won’t halt gold flow to Iran

Turkey will not be swayed by US sanctions pressure to halt gold exports to Iran but Tehran’s demand for the metal may fall this year, said its Economy Minister Zafer Caglayan, Trade Arabia reported with a link to Reuters.

US officials are concerned that Turkey’s gold sales, which allow Iran to export natural gas, provides a financial lifeline to Tehran, which is largely frozen out of the global banking system by Western sanctions imposed over its nuclear programme.

Trade in Turkish gold bars to Iran via Dubai is drying up as banks and dealers increasingly refuse to buy the bullion to avoid sanctions risks associated with the trade.

Turkey has a six-month US waiver exempting it from financial sanctions against Iran, which is due to expire in July.

“We will continue to make our gold exports this year to whoever seeks them. We have no restrictions and are not bound by restrictions imposed by others,” the Turkish minister told reporters.

“There may be a decline in demand for gold exports. This is nothing to do with sanctions. We are not subject to these sanctions until July anyway, but there may be a decline in demand from Iran,” he said.

Caglayan declined to say why he anticipated Iranian demand might fall.

Turkey, Iran’s biggest natural gas customer, has been paying the Islamic Republic for oil and gas imports with Turkish liras, because sanctions prevent it from paying in dollars or euros.

Iranians then buy gold in Turkey, and couriers carry bullion worth millions of dollars in hand luggage to Dubai, where it can be sold for foreign currency or shipped to Iran.

Caglayan, who has repeatedly said that Turkey’s gold trade with Iran is carried out by private firms and is not subject to US sanctions, said other firms, including US and European companies, were continuing their exports to Tehran.

“Turkey is doing whatever is required by international obligations. The companies of those imposing an embargo on Iran today, forbidding product exports to Iran, are exporting to Iran under different guises,” he said.

The US State Department said in December that diplomats were in talks with Ankara over the flow of gold to Iran after the Senate approved expanded sanctions on trade with Iran’s energy and shipping sectors, which would also restrict trade in precious metals.

That increasing US pressure has already started to create troublesome repercussions for exporters of Turkish gold.

The spotlight on the gold-for-gas exchange contributed to a cut in Turkey’s gold exports to the UAE to some $400 million in December from nearly $2 billion in August, according to the latest official trade data.

Separately, Caglayan said Turkish state-owned Halkbank will continue its existing transactions with Iran but some other banks, with activities in the United States, had pulled back in response to US pressure.

Asked about a decision by India no longer to use Halkbank to pay for its Iranian oil imports, he said: “This is India’s decision not Halkbank’s.”

A Turkish official told Reuters that trade with Iran through a third party was no longer allowed under tighter US sanctions which went into effect on Wednesday.

“For example, Halkbank would not be able to be an intermediary in India’s oil purchases from Iran,” he said.

via Turkey says won’t halt gold flow to Iran – Trend.Az.

February 10, 2013
Opposition Leader Says ‘Turkey Wants to Harm the Kurdish Cause’ in Syria

Abdulhakim Bashar, the first president of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the secretary of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (Al Party) Photo: Rudaw

ERBIL, Kurdistan Region – Abdulhakim Bashar, the first president of the Kurdish National Council (KNC) and the secretary of the Kurdish Democratic Party in Syria (Al Party), who directs his party from Erbil, accuses Turkey of supporting Arab fighters against the Kurds in Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain).

He told Rudaw that by doing so Turkish intelligence wants to harm the Kurdish cause, but that by backing radical Islamists on its border Turkey is threatening its own future security.

Rudaw: Why have the Arab fighters directed their heavy weapons towards Serekaniye? Does capturing Remelan have something to do with attaching Serekaniye (Ras al-Ain)?

Abdulhakeem Bashar: Serekaniye is an alarm that shows the existence of groups that are hostile toward the Kurds and want to eliminate their cause. Some terrorist groups have come to Serekaniye after the withdrawal of the Syrian regime from that town. They are easing the pressure on the Syrian regime. If these groups really care about fighting the Syrian regime, then they should go and fight in Damascus and Aleppo where the real fight is. These fighters are making a big mistake by fighting in Serekaniye, because by doing so they help the Syrian regime and create a Kurdish-Arab war. This will change the path of the Syrian revolution dramatically. There is an Alawite-Sunni conflict in Syria, and if a Kurdish-Arab conflict is created, then the Syrian regime will never collapse. For these reasons, I believe that these groups are either very narrow-minded or they are working for the Assad regime. I hope this issue will be solved politically; otherwise, as the AI party, we will have a different reaction.

Rudaw: Will you send your armed forces to Serekaniye?

Abdulhakeem Bashar: We will send our forces to Serekaniye if deemed necessary. This is a sacred duty, for which we will have to sacrifice.

Rudaw: Do you believe in the existence of external influence in this issue?

Abdulhakeem Bashar: We treat Turkey as a friendly country, but unfortunately it facilitates the movement of the Arabs into Serekaniye. This means that Turkey wants to harm the Kurdish cause. But, this will only increase the problems for Turkey, because it will complicate the Kurdish issue inside Turkey, and the radical Islamists will settle on the Turkish border. The Turkish government might not be involved in this, but according to the information we obtained, there are signs of involvement of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) in this issue.

Rudaw: But isn’t the MIT under the control of the Turkish government?

Abdulhakeem Bashar: A group inside the Turkish government is involved. But this does not mean that there is a political decision behind it. I can’t say for sure which group it is, but this action surely does not serve the interests of Turkey, nor ours. If Turkey were truly a friend of the Syrian revolution, then supporting these groups would be a mistake. If it were a friend of the Syrian Kurds, then supporting these radical Islamists would again be a mistake, as well as a threat to the border security of Turkey.

Rudaw: Have you tried to contact the Turkish consulate in Erbil to convey your grievances to the Turkish government?

Abdulhakim Bashar: No. But a woman from the Turkish consulate contacted me and asked me questions about this issue. I told them that the situation was very bad and that we might change our way of thinking about Turkey if things continue in this manner.

Rudaw: Do these groups seek to control only Serekaniye, or do they have other goals?

Abdulhakim Bashar: I believe that these forces cannot control Serekaniye, unless it is done over the dead bodies of the Kurds. This will become a national war for the Kurds and all Kurds shall support it.

Rudaw: What kinds of affiliations do these radical groups have?

Abdulhakim Bashar: These armed groups are connected to Jabhat al-Nusra and Ghuraba al-Sham. The United States branded the former as a terrorist group. Ghuraba al-Sham was previously called Jund al-Sham, which was a terrorist group and created by the Syrian intelligence agency. This group carried out 80 percent of the terrorist attacks in Iraq. The leader of this group was called al-Qaaqaa and was killed in Aleppo three years ago. They later changed their name to Ghuraba al-Sham, but they are still controlled by the Syrian regime.

Rudaw: How long will the conflict in Serekaniye last?

Abdulhakim Bashar: If the Syrian National Coalition (SNC) intervenes, then the conflict in Serekaniye will stop. But, if things continue in this way, this conflict will worsen and become a war between Kurds and Arabs.

Rudaw: How is the situation in west Kurdistan after receiving humanitarian aid?

Abdulhakim Bashar: It has become better. We thank the Kurdistan Region very much. But, the distribution of the humanitarian aid was not very organized. Some groups claimed to the people that the aid was their own in certain regions. We also hoped that the aid would somehow reach Ifrin and Kobani, as these two regions have suffered a lot. We ask the Kurdistan Region to help these two regions as well.

Rudaw: But geographically it is not possible.

Abdulhakim Bashar: We can do this through Turkey’s help. The Kurdistan Region must ask for assistance from the Turkish government.

via Rudaw.net – English – Opposition Leader Says ‘Turkey Wants to Harm the Kurdish Cause’ in Syria.

February 9, 2013