Turkish Forum

Tag: Bashar al-Assad

President of Syria
  • Assad ‘eyes sectarian, ethnic fight’ in Turkey

    Assad ‘eyes sectarian, ethnic fight’ in Turkey

    over new constitution BDP leader Selahattin Demirtaş (L) speaks to Serkan Demirtaş (C) and Göksal Bozkurt of the Hürriyet Daily News. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ
    over new constitution BDP leader Selahattin Demirtaş (L) speaks to Serkan Demirtaş (C) and Göksal Bozkurt of the Hürriyet Daily News. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin SÖNMEZ

    GÖKSEL BOZKURT / SERKAN DERMİRTAŞ

    ANKARA – Hürriyet Daily News

    Selahattin Demirtaş, BDP co-chair, says he warned President Gül and Foreign Minister Davutoğlu against a spillover from Syria

    Syria is looking to stir up ethnic and sectarian unrest in Turkey, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirtaş has warned, urging Ankara to reconcile with Turkey’s Kurdish population or face the risk of plunging deeper into conflict.

    “Syria is about to explode. The unrest is continuing. The threats of [President Bashar] al-Assad’s regime to Turkey should not be underestimated. He has given a message: ‘We have religious and ethnic differences, so does Turkey. If we have domestic disturbances, then so will Turkey,’” Demirtaş said in an interview with the Hürriyet Daily News on Oct. 13.

    To prevent a spill-over effect in Turkey from turmoil in the Middle East, the government and the Kurds must immediately reconcile, said Demirtaş, whose party is mainly focused on the Kurdish issue.

    The BDP leader said he had shared his concerns with both President Abdullah Gül and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu. “I told them they have no time to lose, but they are making the problem worse with their complacency and lethargy. Ground operations, KCK operations, the isolation of [outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) leader Abdullah Öcalan at] İmrali is an eclipse of reason. This is the time for dialogue and negotiations. I don’t think the upcoming days will be this comfortable.”

    Police have launched a number of raids to detain people accused of membership in the Kurdistan Communities’ Union (KCK), which is accused of being the urban wing of the PKK. The latter is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

    “If someone ignites a clash between Arabs and Kurds in Syria, the powers behind it will want to spread the unrest to Turkey. I don’t know if it will be an ethnic or sectarian conflict. I cannot say how it will happen, but they will try. We already have wounds, and they will try to rub salt in them,” the BDP leader said.

    Ratcheting up tensions

    Commenting on the recent assassination of Syrian Kurdish leader Meshaal Tamo, Demirtaş said the Kurds had not been involved in domestic insurrection, or revolted against al-Assad, and were balanced in their politics. He added that he was not directly in contact with Syrian Kurds and received information indirectly.

    “They might be trying to incite the Kurdish people with such assassinations. This could turn into a Kurdish-Arab, Sunni-Shiite conflict. Maybe that’s what they’re planning,” Demirtaş said. “The whole thing is heading toward a dangerous point.”

    The Turkish government has overstretched itself to the point of interfering with Syria, said Demirtaş, urging the ruling party to provide an explanation as to what the Turkish and Kurdish people should expect for the future of the region.

    “In such a period, the Justice and Development Party [AKP] and the Republican People’s Party [CHP] need to think about the next 100 years of the country,” Demirtaş said, also noting the threat posed by Iran to Turkey’s domestic stability.

    New constitution

    The BDP places great importance on the new constitution and will actively participate in its preparation, said Demirtaş.

    “The constitution cannot be made only by 12 deputies from four parties,” said Demirtaş, proposing the establishment of another commission that will bring together representatives of women’s, environmental and human rights organizations and minority communities. The new constitution must be approved by the public in a referendum no matter how many deputies approve it in Parliament, he added.

    “The constitutional commission must also solve the issue of jailed deputies,” the BDP leader said. “They can’t say it is not their job. If you’re making a new constitution, you also need to clear the path of mines. Eight deputies are behind bars, and Parliament cannot vote on the Constitution without them.”

    Demirtaş said Ankara was looking to South Africa and the dissolution of the Apartheid regime for inspiration to solve problems, adding that for this to work, the government had to end clashes with the PKK because “the new constitution cannot be prepared without peace. The commission can’t work while funerals take place every day.”

    Both the PKK and the government have the will to restart negotiations, said Demirtaş. For this to happen, Öcalan’s “terms must be met. The government must give this man, who has the power to bring the PKK militants down from the mountains, his freedom. Only Öcalan has the power to do this.”

    Demirtaş also called on the government to reveal the content of the protocols drafted between the National Intelligence Organization (MİT) and the PKK. “Those protocols contain the PKK’s disarmament. From what we understand, it is reasonable. Turkey could get rid of this problem for good. But the government’s approach has not been serious.”

    via Assad ‘eyes sectarian, ethnic fight’ in Turkey – Hurriyet Daily News.

  • Turkey Moves to Directly Support Syrian Opposition

    Turkey Moves to Directly Support Syrian Opposition

    The Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is increasingly taking the lead in supporting the Syrian opposition. Erdoğan condemned the vetoing of a United Nations resolution against Damascus and has announced it will impose its own sanctions. This week saw the start of military exercises on the Syrian border.

    APErdoganThe Turkish military is currently holding a five-day military exercise on the Syrian border. The last time such a major exercise occurred was 13 years ago when Ankara threatened to invade Syria unless it expelled the Turkish Kurdish rebel leader, Abdullah Ocalan. The diplomatic correspondent for the Turkish newspaper Milliyet, Semih Idiz, says the exercises are aimed at sending a message to the Syrians.

    “This will represent a kind of muscle flexing on Turkey’s part,” said Idiz. “But I think we’ve got a long way for this to translate into a some kind of military confrontation. But I don’t think we are at that stage. But its a clear indication the government has given up on Damascus. and its now concerned about protecting its 850-kilometer border with this country.”

    Protecting that border is important Idiz says, with the expectation in Ankara that an uprising against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad will continue to grow along with a risk of more refugees crossing the border. Already thousands have fled to Turkey.

    Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan is expected to visit the refugee camps in the near future. Following that visit sanctions are expected to be announced. Mr. Erdogan, during a visit this week to South Africa, condemned the vetoing of a United Nations motion against Syria.

    Erdoğan promised that Turkey and the European Union will move to tighten sanctions against Syria.

    Details of the moves remain unclear. Turkey already is imposing an arms embargo.

    Last month the Turkish navy intercepted a Syrian bound ship from Iran carrying arms.

    But chief economist Emre Yigit of the Istanbul financial trading house Global Securities, says any new measures will have a limited effect.

    “We don’t know the amount held by the Syrian leaders in Turkish bank, if any. It could hurt them that way,” said Yigit. “I dont think the Syrian economy would collapse as a result of Turkish sanctions. It would have an impact, it would make life a little difficult. But it would not stop the Syrian government from having the ability to rule the country as it wished.”

    Ankara is closely coordinating its sanctions’ plan with Washington, says Sinan Ulgen, a former Turkish diplomat and visiting scholar of the Carnegie Institute in Europe, says:

    “There have been a number very high level phones calls, conversations between the Turkish leaders and the U.S. leadership,” said Ulgen. “And now the two sides are really on the same page and Turkish policy regards to Syria does seem to have the full support of the U.S. administration.”

    Ankara is also allowing the Syrian opposition to meet and organize in Turkey. The leader of a self styled “Syrian Free Army,” made up of defectors from Syria’s armed forces, is allowed to organize in Turkey.

    Soli Ozel, columnist for the daily newspaper Haberturk, says that Ankara wants to avoid intervening in Syria.

    “Despite all the bravado in the talk, I think Turkey is fundamentally conservative country, it will not want to go beyond certain limits,” said Ozel. “But the real problem whether or not you will be able to control every step of the way, in this unfolding problem. We now hear, and I guess its reasonable to expect the opposition to begin arming and I am sure there are plenty of sources that would like to arm the opposition. Once that starts you are in shifting sands so whatever is your position today, may not hold ground in the future.”

    With Ankara severing nearly all its ties with Damascus, it seems fully committed to the opposition, whatever consequences that will bring.

    via Turkey Moves to Directly Support Syrian Opposition | Europe | English.

  • Turkey Plans Military Exercise on Syrian Border

    By AYLA ALBAYRAK

    ISTANBUL—Turkey said on Tuesday that it would hold military exercises close to the Syrian border and that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan would disclose steps to be taken against Damascus when he visits refugee camps in the area in the coming days.

    The moves came as Col. Riad al As’ad, a former Syrian military officer, reported to have been detained by Turkey and handed over to Damascus, surfaced in Turkey and denied the reports.

    The Turkish armed forces said on its website Tuesday that it would conduct military exercises in Hatay province, close to the Syrian border, from Wednesday through Oct. 13. The exercise, which the website called routine, would involve a mechanized brigade and some 700 reservists.

    “We cannot remain spectators to developments in Syria any longer. There are serious deaths and (attacks) against innocent, oppressed people,” Mr. Erdogan told reporters during a visit to South Africa on Tuesday, Turkey’s state news agency, Anadolu Ajansi, reported.

    Mr. Erdogan expressed Turkey’s support for a draft resolution on Syria at the United Nations Security Council. He also said he would visit camps in Hatay where some 7,500 Syrians have taken refuge from turmoil across the border, either this weekend or next week.

    “Then we will make our assessment as Turkey and make a statement,” Mr. Erdogan said, Anadolu reported. A Turkish official said it remained uncertain whether that would involve sanctions.

    Turkish officials feel under pressure to act, given the lack of further options available to governments in the U.S. and Europe. Ankara is enforcing an arms embargo, but has been reluctant to impose economic sanctions that might harm primarily Turkish and Syrian businessmen, rather than the regime of President Bashar al-Assad. Turkey exported $1 billion of goods to Syria in the first six months of the year, slightly up from the year-earlier period despite the turmoil, according to figures from the Turkish Exporters’ Assembly.

    Turkey’s government had exceptionally warm relations with the Assad regime—the Erdogan and Assad families even went on vacation together in 2008—but relations turned sour this year when Mr. Assad ignored Turkish pressure to end the crackdown on opponents and institute changes.

    Col. As’ad, who defected and fled to Turkey about three months ago, leads Syria’s main military defectors group, the Free Syrian Army, after merging it with another dissident army group last month, said Omar Idlibi, a spokesperson for the Local Coordination Committees, an activist network.

    Col. As’ad combined his group with the Free Officers Movement, led by Col. Hussein Harmoush and based in Turkey along the Syrian border. That group was dealt a serious setback in September when Col. Harmoush appeared on Syrian state television, appearing to confess that his movement didn’t actually exist.

    Activists say they believe he was either tricked back into Syria by covert intelligence officers, where he was captured by forces there, or handed over by Turkish authorities.

    “We did not hand over anyone,” said a spokesman for the Turkish foreign ministry. He said the rumors had begun in the Syrian press when Col. As’ad became ill and was taken by ambulance from his refugee camp to a hospital, accompanied by Turkish health officials.

    Col. As’ad said Tuesday that he was living unmolested in Turkey, Anadolu reported. “Turkish authorities have not applied any pressure or violence on us,” he said.

    Army defectors have multiplied in recent weeks and are increasingly claiming responsibility for attacks on security forces. Last week, activists said defectors in al-Rastan, a town north of Homs, destroyed about a dozen tanks. Dissident soldiers, mostly low-ranking Sunni conscripts, say they are keeping their light weapons with them and urging other soldiers to defect to protect civilians. There haven’t yet been any announced defections from higher-ranking Alawite soldiers, who form the military’s backbone and are Assad loyalists.

    —Nour Malas in Dubai and Marc Champion in Istanbul contributed to this article.

    via Turkey Plans Military Exercise on Syrian Border – WSJ.com.

  • The Istanbul Statement

    Ghassan Charbel

    With the announcement of the founding statement establishing the Opposition National Council, the Syrian crisis has entered a new phase that is both more difficult and more dangerous. This conclusion can be reached by examining the factions that have come under the broadest umbrella declared by the opposition since the outbreak of the protests. It is also significant that the announcement was made in Istanbul, or in other words, in a country that neighbors Syria, and a country that until recently, was a close ally of the Syrian regime to an extent at which it was thought that a permanent coalition between the two countries had existed.

    This same conclusion can be reached by evoking a key paragraph in the statement that said, “The Syrian National Council is a frame for the Syrian revolution both inside and outside the country. It provides the necessary support for the realization of the aspirations of our people for the overthrow of the regime, including its head, and establishing a civil state without discrimination on the basis of ethnicity, gender, religion or political beliefs…The Council is open to all Syrians who adhere to the principles and goals of the peaceful revolution”.

    It is clear from the statement that the declared framework is not interested in negotiating with the regime nor does it anticipate any steps for reforms to be taken by the latter. The goal it has set forth is clear, namely, to topple the regime, all its symbols included. This means that any wager on a third way through negotiation that would entail coexisting with the regime has been abandoned, even if the latter should agree to sacrifice the domination of the Baath Party and the security services over the state and society. In this sense, this part of the statement represents a favorable response to the slogans raised by the protesters, slogans that have become ever more radical and belligerent since the authorities resorted to the excessive use of force in their crackdown on the demonstrations.

    A close look at what the Syrian authorities have achieved in the past six months reveals the significance of the move that Istanbul witnessed yesterday.

    Immediately after the protests first broke out, the authorities sought to apply the lessons learnt from other arenas in the Arab Spring. The regime thus barred the opposition from holding any permanent and safe sit-ins, i.e. a kind of a Tahrir Square that could attract young people and the media. The regime also prevented the protesters from controlling any city that would play the role of the Syrian protests’ equivalent of Benghazi, i.e. hosting a transitional national council. The Syrian authorities also thwarted any deterioration in border regions through which aid of all kinds could have been smuggled to the protesters. In another respect, the regime, through its relations with Russia, China and other countries, has managed to preclude a resolution in the Security Council condemning its actions, a resolution that could possibly facilitate any Western or international sanctions against the regime. By contrast, the opposition was confused and nonplussed, and this was clear through the series of the conferences it has held. Over six months, a certain equation emerged on the ground that indicates a protracted conflict is afoot: Neither are the protests capable of overthrowing the key symbols of the regime, nor is the regime able to put an end to the protests.

    The move in Istanbul may not have important or rapid repercussions on the outcome of the ongoing confrontation on the streets of Syrian cities and towns, but its foreign implications should not take long to emerge. It is no secret that some countries that wanted to go further in their condemnation of the Syrian authorities, had spoken of the opposition’s lack of a recognized rallying frame. Here, the Istanbul statement may represent an opportunity for these countries to go further and endorse comprehensive change in Syria. This applies to some Arab and Islamic countries, and also to countries outside the region.

    If it received broad international recognition, the Syrian National Council would be better equipped to address the Arab League, the United Nations and the world. Similarly, it would be better able to demand protection for the protesters by ‘putting into effect certain articles in international law”. Here, it is worth keeping a close lid on Turkish steps in the upcoming period of time. What is certain is that the confrontation in Syria is heading towards a more crucial and foreboding chapter than what we have seen in recent months.

    via Dar Al Hayat – The Istanbul Statement.

  • Syria Opposition launched a National Council in Istanbul

    Syria Opposition launched a National Council in Istanbul

    Syria Opposition launched a National Council in Istanbul

    (Dp-news)

    Syria Opission 77aISTANBUL- Syrian dissidents meeting in Turkey have formally announced the creation of the final Syrian National Council. The structure and aims of this council were announced Sunday at a news conference in Istanbul.

    Opposition figure and Paris-based Burhan Ghalioun, one of the main opposition figures abroad, read out the founding statement of the council, which was signed by major Syrian opposition figures.

    “The Syrian Council is open to all Syrians. It is an independent group personifying the sovereignty of the Syrian people in their struggle for liberty,” Ghalioun said.

    SNC aims “to unify all groups at Syria opposition and looks at pushing forward on ground protests inside the country to topple the regime and establish the new democratic Syrian civil state.” according to its statement.

    Ghalioun said that peaceful means are the only solutions to the conflict in Syria.

    Ghalioun assured that the aims of the council were to present a united opposition front and overthrow Syria’s regime. The newly formed council rejected foreign intervention but asked for U.N. articles that would protect civilians in the country.

    It has also vowed to push for the creation of a democratically elected civilian state and to fulfill the aspiration and goals of the Syrian revolution that started six months ago.

    Syrian NC statement also rejected any foreign interference in Syria and urged the international community to recognize the legitimacy of the group.

    The council “is a frame for the opposition and the peaceful revolution and represents the revolution inside and outside,” Burhan Ghalioun, the chairman of almost 230-member council, told reporters in Istanbul.

    Ghalioun said he had no worries about gaining the support of the international community and that the council expected to have a busy schedule of meetings with friendly countries.

    In turn, Basma Kadhmani said that Syrian NC consists of three main bodies, a General Assembly, a Secretariat and Executive Committee.

    Kadhmani said “Committee consists of 5 Muslim Brotherhood, 4 Damascus Announcement, 9 Independents, 4 Kurds, 6 local Activists and 1 Assyrian.”

    Many Syrian opposition groups, committees and parties have already signed the announcement; Damascus Announcement, Muslim Brotherhood, Local Coordination Committees, General Council of Syrian Revolution in addition to many independent activists inside and outside Syria.

    The Syrian National Council was first founded in the Turkish city in late August, when a group of Syrian opposition and activists had announced the creation of the primary Syrian National Council.

    The Syrian government has banned most foreign journalists from entering the country and placed heavy restrictions on local media coverage, making it difficult to independently verify events and death toll on the ground.

    The UN estimates that about 2,700 people have been killed in a violent government crackdown on pro-reform protests that began mid-March.

    The government says that the movement against President al-Assad`s regime does not have popular support and blames violence on “armed terrorist groups”. It says that more than 700 soldiers and police have been killed in the uprising.

    via Syria Opposition launched a National Council in Istanbul | English | NEWS | DayPress.

  • Turkey May Freeze Assad’s Assets; Libya’s Qaddafi Still at Large

    Turkey May Freeze Assad’s Assets; Libya’s Qaddafi Still at Large

    By Miles Weiss

    Oct. 2 (Bloomberg) — Syria is facing mounting pressure for political reform as Turkey signaled it might freeze some $500 million in assets belonging to President Bashar al-Assad.

    Turkey, which has imposed an air, land and sea blockade on its neighbor, would freeze all of Assad’s assets, including his bank accounts, if the United Nations enacts an embargo on Syria, Milliyet reported. The Turkish Finance Ministry’s criminal investigation unit is following Syrian banking activities in the country, the Istanbul-based newspaper reported.

    White House National Security Advisor Tom Donilon issued a statement yesterday thanking Saudi Arabia’s King Abdullah, along with the Gulf Cooperation Council, for opposing the violence in Syria. More than 3,600 Syrian civilians have been killed since political protests began in March, according to figures compiled by Ammar Qurabi of the National Organization for Human Rights in Syria.

    The country’s death toll rose by 14 yesterday, Al Jazeera reported, citing local activists. According to the Al Jazeera news agency, Syrian police shot dead 7 protesters across the country yesterday after killing 32 on Friday.

    The Syrian army took control of the town of Rastan and detained 3,000 people yesterday as soldiers who had defected to join the activists withdrew from the town to Hama, Al Arabiya said. The former soldiers left in an attempt to spare civilians from random shelling by government troops, Walid Abdel Qader, a Syrian opposition figure, told the news service.

    In Libya, the North Atlantic Treaty Organization’s military mission is nearing completion and its involvement there could begin winding down as soon as this coming week, the Associated Press reported. Army General Carter Ham, the top U.S. commander for Africa, told the AP that U.S. military chiefs will likely provide NATO officials in Brussels with their assessments on Libya late in the week.

    Muammar Qaddafi, the deposed Libyan leader, remains at large. The National Transitional Council, Libya’s interim government, plans to seek a two-day truce to allow civilians to depart from Gaddafi’s hometown of Sirte, Reuters reported, citing the council’s chairman. Civilians have been leaving Sirte as interim government forces and NATO warplanes shell Gaddafi loyalists.

    –Editors: Ann Hughey, Christian Thompson.

    To contact the reporter on this story: Miles Weiss in Washington at mweiss@bloomberg.net

    To contact the editor responsible for this story: Mark Silva at msilva34@bloomberg.net

    via Turkey May Freeze Assad’s Assets; Libya’s Qaddafi Still at Large – Businessweek.