Turkish Forum

Category: Regions

  • How Israel wants to restart the war in the Levant

    How Israel wants to restart the war in the Levant

    How Israel wants to restart the war in the Levant

    by Thierry Meyssan

    Far from admitting defeat, Benjamin Netanyahu is planning to sabotage the agreement between Washington and Teheran which is to be signed the 30th June 2015. In order to do so, he could restart the war in Syria. His idea is to continue the work already accomplished by the Islamic Emirate in Iraq, Syria, Libya and Yemen, by applying the Wright plan and creating an independent pseudo-Kurdistan straddling Iraq and Syria.

    The Wright plan, published in September 2013, modifies the projects for the remodelling of an enlarged Middle East. As concerns Syria and Iraq, it plans for the creation of a ’Sunnistan’ and a ’Kurdistan’. The former sate was created in 2014 by the Isalmic Emirate (Daesh), while the latter still has to be realised. However, the Kurds are in the minority in Northern Syria. The Wright plan also mentions Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It seems to be in progress in the two former states, also thanks to the Islamic Emirate.
    The Wright plan, published in September 2013, modifies the projects for the remodelling of an enlarged Middle East. As concerns Syria and Iraq, it plans for the creation of a ’Sunnistan’ and a ’Kurdistan’. The former sate was created in 2014 by the Islamic Emirate (Daesh), while the latter still has to be realised. However, the Kurds are in the minority in Northern Syria. The Wright plan also mentions Libya, Yemen and Saudi Arabia. It seems to be in progress in the two former states, also thanks to the Islamic Emirate.
    In order to sabotage the agreement which should be signed by Washington and Teheran on the 30th June, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has prepared a new episode of the war against Syria.After the tentatives by the United States, France and the United Kingdom to hand over power to the Muslim Brotherhood (from February 2011 to the first Geneva Conference in June 2012), the mercenary war (from the Paris Conference of the Friends of Syria in July 2012 to the second Geneva Conference in January 2014), and the attempt to create chaos by the Islamic Emirate (from June 2014 to today), Israël now proposes to launch a fourth installment of the war.

    The aim is to pursue the application of the plan elaborated by Robin Wright for the Pentagon – published in September 2013 by the New York Times – by creating an independent Kurdistan straddling Iraq and Syria [1].

    General David Petraeus (ex-head of CentCom and director of the CIA) participated in March 2015 at a seminar in Erbil. He declared that the crimes committed by the Islamic Emirate were no threat either to the United States or Israël, and called for a struggle by any means possible against Iranian influence and the proposed agreement between Washington and Teheran.
    General David Petraeus (ex-head of CentCom and director of the CIA) participated in March 2015 at a seminar in Erbil. He declared that the crimes committed by the Islamic Emirate were no threat either to the United States or Israël, and called for a struggle by any means possible against Iranian influence and the proposed agreement between Washington and Teheran.

    Who are the Kurds ?

    The Kurdish people are present in Turkey, Iran, Iraq and Syria, but no longer have a state since the failures of the Republic of Ararat (1927-30) and the Republic of Mahabad (1946-47). The Kurds are today spread out primarily across Turkey (13 to 20 million), Iran (5 to 6 million), Iraq (4 to 5 million) and finally Syria (3 million).

     After some of them participated in the genocide of the Christians and the Yezidis, the Turkish Kurds were persecuted in their turn for a century in the name of « pan-Turkism ». During the period 1984-2000, the repression of the insurrection by the PKK caused at leaast 40,000 deaths.
     The Iranian Kurds enjoy a certain autonomy, but are abandoned economically by Teheran.
     The Iraqi Kurds have been linked to NATO since the beginning of the Cold War, first of all by assisting Saddam Hussein and fighting the Khomeinist revolution, then by working against Saddam when NATO decided to get rid of him. Today they enjoy regional autonomy and maintain embassies abroad.
     The Kurds arrived in Syria when they fled the Turkish persecutions, first of all during the reign of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, and then thirty years ago during the PKK insurrection. Those among them who had not yet been naturalised were awarded Syrian nationality by President Bachar el-Assad at the beginning of the war, and concluded an agreement with Damascus which provided them with weapons for the defence of their region.

    The Kurds are a diverse people with powerful internal tensions. They do not speak the same language, have different religions, even though they are principally sunnites, and ally themselves with opposing political movements. Since the Cold War, they are divided between pro-US factions (the Barzani family which today controls part of Iraq) and pro-Soviet factions (Öcallan, who was kidnapped by the Israelis in 1999 on behalf of Turkey and has been emprisoned since then).

    From left to right : Meir Amit (director of Mossad), Moshe Dayan (Israeli Minister of Defence) and their agent Molla Mustafa Barzani (father of the current President Masoud Barzani).
    From left to right : Meir Amit (director of Mossad), Moshe Dayan (Israeli Minister of Defence) and their agent Molla Mustafa Barzani (father of the current President Masoud Barzani).

    Iraqi Kurdistan : Mafia and the Mossad

    Taking into account the role of Israël in Anglo-Saxon imperialism, the Barzani family – which was originally socialist – joined Mossad in the 1960’s which set them against the Iraqi Baath party [2]. Very poorly considered by the Kurds of Turkey, Iran and Syria, the current President Massoud Barzani is probably also a member of Mossad. He has managed to establish a certain prosperity in Iraqi Kurdistan, thanks to Israeli investments, and also to install a clanish régime.

    President Barzani is holding onto his power despite the fact that his mandate ended almost two years ago – a non-democratic situation which does not seem to trouble Washington any more than that of Mahmoud Abbas (Palestine) or Abd Rabbuh Mansur Hadi (Yemen). His government wallows in nepotism and corruption. His clan occupies the main posts of importance, beginning with that of Prime Minister, which is reserved for his nephew Nechervan Barzani, and comprises 15 billionaires (in dollars) and thousands of millionnaires, without being able to explain the origins of their fortunes. Lawyers were the first to be repressed, with the condemnation of Me Kamal Qadir to 30 years in prison for having criticised President Barzani. Freedom of the Press has been no more than theoretical since 2010, after the kidnapping and assassination of the Kurdish journalist Sardasht Osman, guilty of having caricatured the President. The regional government is bankrupt, and has not paid many of its officials for several months.

    Son of the current President Barzani, Masrour « Jomaa » Barzani continued his studies in Iran, the United Kingdom and the United States. He returned to Iraq in 1998, under Anglo-Saxon protection, settled in the « no-fly area », and took up responsibilities in the family party, the PDK. He quickly became the connection between his family and the CIA. In October 2010, he acquired the Château Noble, a few kilometres distant from the Agency’s headquarters in Langley, for 10 million dollars. He created and directed « Bas News », the main Iraqi Kurdish newspaper, and supervised all activities of the Iraqi Kurdish secret services. It is as such that he participated in the secret meetings in Amman (May 2014) and co-organised the joint offensive of the Islamic Emirate and the Peshmergas against Baghdad.
    Son of the current President Barzani, Masrour « Jomaa » Barzani continued his studies in Iran, the United Kingdom and the United States. He returned to Iraq in 1998, under Anglo-Saxon protection, settled in the « no-fly area », and took up responsibilities in the family party, the PDK. He quickly became the connection between his family and the CIA. In October 2010, he acquired the Château Noble, a few kilometres distant from the Agency’s headquarters in Langley, for 10 million dollars. He created and directed « Bas News », the main Iraqi Kurdish newspaper, and supervised all activities of the Iraqi Kurdish secret services. It is as such that he participated in the secret meetings in Amman (May 2014) and co-organised the joint offensive of the Islamic Emirate and the Peshmergas against Baghdad.

    Iraqi Kurdistan and the project for the annexation of Northern Syria

    In 2014, the Regional Government of Kurdistan participated in the conspiracy aiming to reconfigure Iraq and Syria, as described in the Wright plan. It participated in several meetings in Amman with the Jordanian secret services, the leaders of the Islamic Emirate, the leaders of armed groups in Syria and the Iraqi Naqchbandis [3]. It was agreed that, under the authority of Washington and Tel-Aviv, the Islamic Emirat and the Regional Government of Kurdistan would launch a coordinated attack to take control of a large part of Iraq. While the international Presse denounced the exactions of the Islamic Emirate in Iraq, Barzami’s Kurds would grab the oil fields of Kirkuk and expand their territory by 40 %.

    Following that, while many states, who were secretly supporting the operation, publicly denounced the crimes against humanity and the pillages committed by the Islamic Emirate, the Regional Government of Kurdistan offered the service of the pipe-line they had just stolen to the jihadists so that they could sell the petrol they had just pillaged to the Europeans.

    All condemnations of the alliance between the Regional Government of Kurdistan and the Islamic Emirate is severely repressed. So Hayder Shesho, the Yezidi leader who had spoken against it was arrested on the 7th April, although he has a double nationality with Germany.

    In the years after 2000, the Israeli Chief of Staff was planning to neutralise the missile capacities of Egypt and Syria by placing Israel’s own missiles in South Sudan and the Iraqi Kurdistan. While the former region has achieved independence, the latter still has not. The Wright plan offers both the occasion to realise this strategic objective and to spread bloody confusion. In order to sabotage the agreement that Washington and Teheran are scheduled to sign on the 30th June, Benjamin Netanyahu has plans to force the Peshmergas (in other words, Barzani’s soldiers) into an assault on Northern Syria. And yet the Syrian Kurds are hostile to the Barzani mafia and have always been in the minority in this region.

    For several months now, a campaign of Press lies has been blaming the Pershmergas for the actions of the Turkish Kurds of the PKK against the Islamic Emirate, for example during the battle of Kobane. The Western states, with France in the lead, have been sending arms directly to Erbil without going through Baghdad, in violation of Iraqi sovereignty. These weapons are not being used, but stored for the planned attack on Northern Syria.

    In the United States Congress, Edward Royce and Eliot Engel, two representatives who traditionally channel the interests of the Israeli Likud, presented a proposition for law in November 2014 [4] which would authorise the delivery of arms directly to the Regional Government of Iraqi Kurdistan. Since the text was not adopted, these dispositions were included in the law concerning the Defence budget by the President of the Armed Forces Commission, Mac Thornberry, along with others who aim to simultaneously reinforce military aid to groups fighting against the Syrian Arab Republic. If this text were to be adopted by both houses, the proposition would deprive Baghdad of any power outside the the shiite area of Iraq, and would open the way for both the dismatling of the country and a fourth war in Syria. Most Iraqi politicians who speak publicly have warned of the dangers of such a policy. As for the chiite leader Moqtada el-Sadr (ex-commander of the Mahdi Army) he has declared that if the law was to be adopted, he would once again consider the United States as enemies of the Nation, and would make war on the 3,000 military advisors in Iraq as well as US iuterests abroad.

    President Obama and Vice-President Biden strongly indicated to President Barzani, on the 5th May at the White House, that they would not allow Israel to pursue their plans, and demanded that the Iraqi Kurds stand down. However,in Iraqi Kurdistan, the Press is pretending on the contrary that President Obama warmly welcomed the delegation, and had promised to support an independent « Kurdistan ».

    The new Israeli government, formed on the 7th May by Benjamin Netanyahu, is attempting to unify the jihadists of Northern Syria – the aim is to coordinate their withdrawal to Damascus when the Iraqi Kurds enter Syria to massacre the Kurds of the PYG (the local branch locale of the Turkish PKK, which supports the Syrian Arab Republic) and annex their territory.

    President Erdoğan considers that the creation of an independent « Kurdistan » straddling Iraq and Syria would revive the Kurdish conflict in his country, and denounced the project as a step towards the destruction of Turkey. In the event of a Kurdo-Iraqi offensive in Syria, he could instantly take sides with Damascus.

    There is no doubt that the Israeli project will be debated (together with the creation of an Arab NATO under Israeli control) during the next session of the Gulf Cooperation Council that President Obama – who is not a member – has called at Camp David.

    Thierry Meyssan

    [Translation: Pete Kimberley]

    [1] “Imagining a Remapped Middle East”, Robin Wright, The New York Times Sunday Review, September 28, 2013.

    [2] “”Kurdistan” Israeli Style”, by Thierry Meyssan, Translation Roger Lagassé, Al-Watan (Syria), Voltaire Network, 14 July 2014.

    [3] “PKK revelations on ISIL attack and creation of “Kurdistan””, Voltaire Network, 8 July 2014.

    [4] H. R. 5747, “Bill to authorize the direct provision of defense articles, defense services, and related training to the Kurdistan Regional Government, and for other purposes”, House of Representatives, November 20, 2014.

    Thierry Meyssan

    French intellectual, founder and chairman of Voltaire Network and the Axis for Peace Conference. His columns specializing in international relations feature in daily newspapers and weekly magazines in Arabic, Spanish and Russian. His last two books published in English : 9/11 the Big Lie and Pentagate.

    VOLTAIRE NETWORK | DAMASCUS (SYRIA) | 15 MAY 2015

  • Greek Cypriot Socialist Party EDEK rejects bi-zonal, bi-communal federation MAY 11TH, 2015

    Greek Cypriot Socialist Party EDEK rejects bi-zonal, bi-communal federation MAY 11TH, 2015

    Just as the peace negotiations are about to begin (15.05.2015) bad news coming out of South Cyprus. This rejection of the Federal Solution (BBF) which has been on the table for the past 35 years is an indication of further Greek Cypriot resistance to the peace process. The support of the second central party AKEL is also expected.

    Hardliner new EDEK leader Marinos Sizopoulos

     Social EDEK’s central committee has decided the party cannot accept bi-zonal bi-communal federation, either as the name or the content of a solution in Cyprus, saying that “federation cannot co-exist with bi-zonality or even more with bi-communality.”

    The committee decision will be tabled before a party congress to be held on June 14. Members of the congress may approve, reject or amend the decision.
    In its decision on Sunday, the Committee outlined the reasons for which the party did not accept this form of solution, noting that “it is racist, it promotes ethnic and communal partition, it is undemocratic because it equates the minority with the majority, it deprives citizens of their right to be elected at their place of residence.”

    Moreover, “it introduces restrictions to the establishment and the purchase of property, it makes Cypriot citizens second-class EU citizens, it legalises and reinforces illegal settling and the distortion of the demographic character, it establishes a state under guarantee, it is defined by a complex decision-making process and by complicated international representation, which leads to deadlock and intractable problems and provides for the presence of foreign troops.”
    EDEK maintains that the proposed bi-zonality provides for borders and that bi-communality includes guaranteed majorities of people and property. It provides for political and human rights restrictions, elements which do are not consistent with a federation but with a confederation.

    At the same time, the central committee said the party would struggle for the continuation of the Republic of Cyprus, noting that the state that will come out of a solution must be really democratic, must safeguard political and human rights for all its citizens all over the island, exclude foreign troops and illegal settlers and ensure that all refugees have the right to return to their ancestral homes.

    Furthermore it noted that it must make sure that third counties are not entitled to exercise guarantees over the Republic of Cyprus in any way, and called on all Greek Cypriot parties and that Turkish Cypriot leadership to express clearly their positions on these principles for a Cyprus settlement.
    EDEK Central Committee said that cooperation and co-existence with Turkish Cypriots, with no racist or other limitations, must be developed.

    Opposition forces have been gathering momentum since the Turkish Cypriots elected a new leader last month, and since obstacles to the resumption of talks have been removed.

    UN Special Envoy bringing leaders of both sides together at dinner in Nicosia (10.05.2015)

     

     

  • An Interview on “The Water Diviner”

    An Interview on “The Water Diviner”

    imgresTATV’s Özge Övün-Sert spoke with Russell Crowe, director of The Water Diviner and Turkish film star Yılmaz Erdoğan, whose portrayal of a Turkish soldier won an award in Australia.

    The two talked about the Battle of Gallipoli and the story of Joshua Connor, an Australian farmer (portrayed by Crowe), who goes to Turkey four years after the battle to search for his three sons who were presumed to have died during the conflict.

    As Joshua travels through a country that was at war with his a few year earlier, “he never finds the footsteps of the enemy.”. As Crowe comments. “Instead, he finds more than he could ever have hoped for. One of the things that comes out of this film is that there are two sides to every conflict…I think after 100 years there has been enough time that we can open our hearts and our understanding of what the situation was from both sides.”

  • CYPRUS: US Secretary of State expresses hope for real progress in Cyprus in 2015

    CYPRUS: US Secretary of State expresses hope for real progress in Cyprus in 2015

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry holds a news conference with Turkey’s Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu

    U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry said on Tuesday that the division of Cyprus was begging for an international solution and progress in peace talks was possible this year.

    Speaking before a meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu at the State Department, Kerry said the dispute over Cyprus had gone on for too long.

    He added that the problem “just goes on for far too long and it is begging for international efforts to try to help bring about a resolution, a lasting settlement”.

    The United States and Turkey both support the UN lead negotiations to reunify the island as a bi-zonal bi-communal federation, Kerry noted.

    Kerry said that he has discussed the issue at length with Cavusloglu`s predecessor, Turkey’s  Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu.

    “We believe that the parties can make real and lasting progress in the year 2015. And that will be very positive for the region and obviously a terrific boost and opportunity for a better life for all Cypriots” the US Secretary of State said.

    Cavusoglu said Cyprus was included in the agenda of his talks with Kerry, along with a series of other international issues.

    He noted that his side aims at reaching a lasting solution in Cyprus this year and referred to comments made by UN SG Special Adviser on Cyprus, Espen Barth Eide on the possible resumption of settlement talks.

    The Turkish foreign minister said finally that the role of the US is very important in reaching a lasting and fair solution in Cyprus.

    Government spokesman Nicos Christodoulides said everything would be judged at the negotiating table.

    “We will see the real intentions there. We will see if (Turkey’s) public statements correspond to reality,” he told reporters.

    The Greek Cypriot side has already stated its intention to engage in a substantive and honest dialogue, Christodoulides said, and it was now awaiting the other side to reciprocate.

    The spokesman said those countries interested in helping to resolve the issue were welcome.

    “We are expecting for example, what I have told you: to see public statements about a desire for a solution of the Cyprus problem as soon as possible, through proposals submitted at the negotiating table,” he said.

    President Nicos Anastasiades had suspended his participation in the talks following a Navigational Telex or NAVTEX, issued by Turkey in October last year, as Turkish seismic research vessel Barbaros entered the Republic’s exclusive economic zone.

    Repeated calls for the withdrawal of Barbaros went unheeded by Ankara, which extended the NAVTEX in January until April 6, 2015.

    Earlier this month, Eide met with the leaders in Cyprus and said that the resumption of talks was possible, after the elections in the Turkish Cypriot community.

     

  • USCMO Statement on 1915 Turkish-Armenian Events

    USCMO Statement on 1915 Turkish-Armenian Events

    -—FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE—-(Washington, DC, April 19, 2015) — The US Council of Muslim Organizations (USCMO) the largest umbrella group of mainstream Muslim American organizations is aware of the painful history of over 30 nations fighting for over 4 years and the loss of over 37 million lives in World War I, including those of the Armenians.

    As April 24 comes near, we share the pain suffered by Armenians during this period. We also believe that any acknowledgment by religious or political leaders of the tragedy that befell Armenians should be balanced, constructive and must also recognize Turkish and Muslim suffering.

    In this respect, characterizing the events of 1915 as genocide without proper investigation of these events by independent historians will not only jeopardize the establishment of a just memory pertaining to these events, but will also damage the efforts aimed at achieving reconciliation between Turks and Armenians.

    As Americans, we are concerned about alienating a key ally, Turkey, through one-sided declarations that political and religious leaders have made on this subject. The events of 100 years ago should be based on a consensus among historians and academicians with access to archives and documents from that era.

    As the only Muslim-majority member of NATO and current President of the G-20 Summit, Turkey has taken on a unique regional and global leadership role in ensuring peace and prosperity for all. Our government has been closely cooperating with the Turkish government on defeating ISIS while also alleviating the suffering of Syrian refugees.

    While Muslim Americans sympathize deeply with the loss of Armenian lives in 1915, we also believe that reconciliation must take into honest account the broader human tragedy of World War I. Muslim Americans expect our leaders to act accordingly to ensure that American-Turkish strategic relations are not damaged by a one-sided interpretation of the 1915 events.

    ###

    Founding members of USCMO: American Muslims for Palestine (AMP), Council on American-Islamic Relations (CAIR), Islamic Circle of North America (ICNA), Muslim Alliance in North America (MANA), Muslim American Society (MAS), Muslim Legal Fund of America (MLFA), Muslim Ummah of North America (MUNA), The Mosque Cares (Ministry of Imam W. Deen Mohammed).

    Media Contact:
    Oussama Jammal
    Secretary General
    202-683-6557
    708-288-1914
    ojammal@uscmo.org

  • Armenian Revolt English Dubbing & French Subtitle ( Armenian Documentary banned in the U.S.)

    Armenian Revolt English Dubbing & French Subtitle ( Armenian Documentary banned in the U.S.)