Category Archives: Turkey

Turkey’s prime minister to meet with Egyptian leaders in effort to strengthen ties

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Jewish World Review

 By Jeffrey Fleishman

JewishWorldReview.com |

mAIRO— (MCT) Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan is expected to meet with Egyptian leaders today to strengthen strategic ties at a time both nations are experiencing deepening rifts with Israel over military actions and the fate of the Palestinians.

Relations between Turkey and Egypt have been cool for years. But since the fall of Egyptian President Hosni Mubarak, Cairo has embarked on a foreign policy more tuned to regional public sentiment and less beholden to Israel and the United States.

Turkey and Egypt have been Israel’s closest Muslim allies, but recent tensions are altering those dynamics just as the Arab world is in the throes of revolution and political change. Animosities have been further heightened by the Palestinians’ plans to call on the United Nations this month to recognize Palestinian statehood.

Erdogan’s visit comes as Turkey is moving “to convert Egypt’s popular anger with Israel to favor Turkish regional interests,” said Nabil Abdel Fattah, an analyst with Al Ahram Center for Political and Strategic Studies in Cairo. “It’s a Turkish attempt build an isolating barrier to Israel’s arrogant policies in the Middle East.”

The Turkish leader, who supports swift recognition of Palestinian independence, was scheduled to meet Palestinian Authority President Mahmoud Abbas on Monday night in Cairo. On Tuesday, Erdogan is expected to hold talks with Field Marshal Mohamed Hussein Tantawi, the head of Egypt’s ruling military council, before traveling to Libya and Tunisia.

The rest of this article is available by clicking the link at the top. H/T Richard for the story

 


Looking for video on the storming of the Israeli embassy in Cairo today.

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News is rough for Israel. Add this to the open and irrational hostility from Turkey.

I suppose Obama did promise hope and change. I guess we should have asked for who.

I will add videos as I find them below:

Tearing the Israeli flag down at the embassy in Cairo Sept 9 2011

Thanks for the YNET news tip. Lots there, I have a long video from Al Jazeera but it will take me a bit of time to process.

The burning of the Israeli flag to chants of ‘Allahu Ackbar’

Turkish warships will escort aid vessels to Gaza: Erdogan

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Reuters:

By Sami Aboudi

CAIRO (Reuters) – Turkey said on Thursday it would escort aid ships to Gaza and would not allow a repetition of last year’s Israeli raid that killed nine Turks, setting the stage for a potential naval confrontation with its former ally.

Raising the stakes in Turkey’s row with Israel over its refusal to apologize for the killings, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan told Al Jazeera television that Turkey had taken steps to stop Israel from unilaterally exploiting natural resources in the Mediterranean.

“Turkish warships, in the first place, are authorized to protect our ships that carry humanitarian aid to Gaza,” Erdogan said in the interview, broadcast by Al Jazeera with an Arabic translation.

“From now on, we will not let these ships to be attacked by Israel, as what happened with the Freedom Flotilla,” Erdogan said.

Referring to Erdogan’s comments, Israeli Foreign Ministry spokesman Yigal Palmor said: “This is a statement well-worth not commenting on.”

Relations between Turkey and Israel, two close U.S. allies in the region, have soured since Israeli forces boarded the Gaza-bound Mavi Marmara aid ship in May 2010.

Ankara downgraded ties and vowed to boost naval patrols in the eastern Mediterranean in the escalating row. Israel says it acted legally against ships that tried to breach its blockade on the Palestinian enclave which is ruled by the Islamist Hamas group.

Israel has said it will enforce the blockade, which it says is needed to prevent arms smuggling to Hamas.

Click here for the rest of this rather serious story

Israeli-Turkish Cyberwar Begins

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Israel National News

Turkish hackers launched a DNS attack on 350 Israeli websites in what experts believe was a test run for attacks on Israeli domains.
By Gavriel Queenann

First Publish: 9/6/2011, 7:04 PM

 

Cyberwarfare

Cyberwarfare
Wikicommons

Amid the current diplomatic impasse between Ankara and Jerusalem, Turkish hackers hijacked some 350 Israeli websites on Sunday evening, launching a Domain Name System (DNS) attack on dozens of other websites as well.

Israeli IT analysts said Tuesday the DNS hijacking is likely to be, in fact, a “test-run” ahead of a major attack on Israeli domains.

Visitors to some of the sites were diverted to a page declaring it was “World Hackers Day.”

At least seven high-profile websites outside Israel were also hijacked, including those of The Telegraph, Acer, National Geographic, UPS and Vodafone.

Hackers calling themselves the “TurkGuvenligi group” claimed they had done the cyber-attack. TurkGuvenligi translates as “Turkish security.”

“The hack represents a 10%-15% spike compared to the average number of daily hacks of Israeli websites,” Shai Blitzblau, head of Maglan-Computer Warfare and Network Intelligence Labs, explained.

The operation was very sophisticated and probably entailed a significant financial investment, Blitzblau added.

An inquiry into the hack attack discovered a clear link to “TurkGuvenligi,” as well as several failed attempts to hack other websites.

Israel’s military and security establishment has invested significantly in cyber-warfare programs in recent years and is considered one of the most advanced cyber-warfare forces in the world, both in attack and defense modes.

The Stuxnet virus that downed systems at Iran’s Bushehr nuclear reactor to a halt for over six months is widely believed to have been the result of an Israeli cyber-attack, although Israel has not admitted it.

Protests Against Turkish Violence Met with Turkish Violence

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H/T Shabnam.

I wonder if the CBC will cover this. Lets all hold our breath.

September 2, 2011

Protests Against Turkish Violence Met with Turkish Violence

Turkey’s annual Peace Day is celebrated on September 1st rather than the UN’s international September 21st. But Turkey’s Peace Day did not grant anything of the sort to the 3,000 protesters who filled the streets of Istanbul in support of Kurdish rights and against the Turkish bombings and air strikes that have terrorized northern Iraqi Kurdistan  since early August.

The Turkish assault has led to the death of at least eight civilians. 389 people have been arrested. People have had to completely abandon seven Kurdish villages. And the Turkish government claims that 160 Kurdish rebels have been killed in the strike.

As if that wasn’t enough, Prime Minister Erdogan has promised that the supposed “restraint” Turkish forces have shown thus far because of the month of Ramadan will come to an end. As Ramadan has come to an end, Kurds around the world are watching Turkey with mistrust as they wait to see what the coming weeks will bring. Continue Reading →

Turkey may expel Israeli ambassador in wake of Gaza flotilla report

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From Haaretz:

Warning comes as probe into deadly flotilla raid is leaked to New York Times.

107 comments Turkey PM Erdogan November 24, 2010 (Reuters)

Published 01:52 02.09.11
Latest update 01:52 02.09.11

By Amos Harel, Shlomo Shamir and Barak Ravid Tags: Israel Turkey Gaza flotilla Recep Tayyip Erdogan

The findings of a UN probe into Israel’s deadly raid on a 2010 flotilla to Gaza, which were leaked to The New York Times Thursday, have further raised tensions between Israel and Turkey, and senior Foreign Ministry officials warned that Turkey could respond to the report’s publication by expelling the Israeli ambassador and scaling back diplomatic relations.

Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said Thursday that Friday’s official release of the Palmer Report constitutes Israel’s last chance to apologize for its raid on the Turkish-sponsored flotilla and warned of consequences, including sanctions, should Israel continue to refuse to apologize.
Turkey PM Erdogan November 24, 2010 (Reuters)

Unless there is an Israeli apology, “we will put Plan B into play,” Davutoglu said in a joint interview to the Thursday’s Zaman and Hurriyet dailies. He said Turkey intended to impose sanctions, “which both Israel and other international parties are aware of.”

Referring to Israel’s request for another delay in the report’s publication, he said that Ankara “cannot accept another six-month extension.” Continue Reading →

Turkish Teflon

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An article written by ‘J-Practical’ for Vladtepes blog

According to Reuters, Turkey’s armed forces said on Monday that some 145-160 Kurdish guerrillas were killed in Turkish air and artillery strikes in northern Iraq this month. (http://uk.reuters.com/article/2011/08/29/uk-turkey-iraq-idUKTRE77S31620110829)

 

So why is Turkey bombing Kurds in Northern Iraq? After all, like the Turks, most Kurds are Sunni Muslims, fellow members of the Religion of Peace, and they’re neighbours of Turkey, living in a semi-autonomous region under limited self rule – so you’d think Turkey would make an effort to live in peace with them.

 

Actually, the peace is being broken by the Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan Workers Party), a terrorist organization recognized by Turkey, the United States and the European Union. Recently PKK assaults in Turkey have killed more than 40 Turkish security force personnel.

 

Turkey is simply defending itself from terrorists, which is why the Turkish airforce sent warplanes to bomb Kurdish towns which the Turkish intelligence say contain PKK bases and arms depots. As it happens regularly in such bombings, seven civilians were killed a week ago, though the Turkish General Staff said more than 100 PKK militants were also wounded.

 

Now, let’s see if this makes sense to you, because I’m scratching my head: Continue Reading →

Why Golda Meir was right

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This is part of the article. Please click the link below for the rest.

From Hurriyet Daily News

Tuesday, August 23, 2011
Burak Bekdil – bu**********@*********om.tr

BURAK BEKD?L

It has been more than two and a half years since Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an told to Israeli President Shimon Peres’s face, “You (Jews) know well how to kill.” Prime Minister Erdo?an has also declared more than a few times that the main obstacle to peace in this part of the world is Israel, once calling the Jewish state “a festering boil in the Middle East that spreads hate and enmity.” In this holy month of Ramadan full of blood on Muslim territories, let’s try to identify who are the ones who know well how to kill.

As the Syrian death count clicks every day to come close to 2,000, the Turkish-Kurdish death count does not stop, already over 40,000 since 1984, both adding to the big pool of blood called the Middle East. Only during this Ramadan, the Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK’s, death toll has reached 50 in this Muslim Kurds vs. Muslim Turks war. This excludes the PKK casualties in Turkey and in northern Iraq due to Turkish military retaliation since they are seldom accurately reported.

Let’s speak of facts.

Sudan is not in the conventional Middle East, so let’s ignore the genocide there. Let’s ignore, also, the West Pakistani massacres in East Pakistan (Bangladesh) totaling 1.25 million in 1971. Or 200,000 deaths in Algeria in war between Islamists and the government in 1991-2006.

But a simple, strictly Middle East research will give you one million deaths in the all-Muslim Iran-Iraq war; 300,000 Muslim minorities killed by Saddam Hussein; 80,000 Iranians killed during the Islamic revolution; 25,000 deaths in 1970-71, the days of Black September, by the Jordanian government in its fight against the Palestinians; and 20,000 Islamists killed in 1982 by the elder al-Assad in Hama. The World Health Organization’s estimate of Osama bin Laden’s carnage in Iraq was already 150,000 a few years earlier.

In a 2007 research, Gunnar Heinsohn from the University of Bremen and Daniel Pipes, director of the Middle East Forum, found out that some 11 million Muslims have been violently killed since 1948, of which 35,000, (0.3 percent) died during the six years of Arab war against Israel, or one out of every 315 fatalities. In contrast, over 90 percent who perished were killed by fellow Muslims.

Turkey seeing the end of ‘muscular secularism’?

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Here is a screen cap of a machine translation from a German article here (from Der Spiegel). If anyone speaks German, it is probably well worth reading this in the original, doubly so as the immediate consequences to Germany are likely more severe than to most other nations.

The full machine translation in English is here. It does seem a great deal that Turkey’s flirtation with secular and liberal democracy, even if forced by the military, has come to an end and Erdogan’s much more Islamic minded rule wins out. Many in Egypt’s Muslim Brotherhood who may well take power soon there, are attempting to forge a new Egypt-Iran-Turkey alliance. This would make maps wrinkle for some time. I am working on editing an Al Jazeera video of a Coffee house show where this idea is batted around. Hope to have it done soon.

Here is a good Reuters English article:

Cyprus: The long decline of international law

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• Cyprus: The long decline of international law

EuropeNews July 20 2011
By Henrik R. Clausen

Today, July 20th 2011, marks the 37th anniversary of the Turkish invasion of Cyprus. While invading countries is generally held to be illegal (and rightly so), Turkey has gotten away with the invasion and the ensuing occupation with remarkable few consequences. This is in great extent due to the non-application of international law and fundamental principles in the matter. Conversely, a just and lasting solution to the Cyprus problem can be found in classical international law, common sense that is actually not too hard to understand.

Prehistory

Cyprus has a traceable archaeological history dating back more than 10,000 years, and while having been under a variety of rules over the last millennia, was never divided until the 20th century.


The St. Nicholas’ Cathedral in Famagusta

The Ottomans invaded Cyprus in 1570, finally beat the Venetian stronghold of Famagusta in 1571, and ruled over Cyprus for over three centuries. This took place in a relatively civilized manner as compared to the Ottoman rule in the Balkans and elsewhere, but they did introduce a Turkish minority later to be the seed of trouble.

In 1878, Cyprus was leased to Great Britain in return for Britain helping the Ottoman Empire hold back Russian influence.
In the 1923 Lausanne Treaty, which established the modern Republic of Turkey, all Turkish interests in Cyprus were written off, a fact that Turkey faithfully upheld until 1954. In 1925, Cyprus became a British crown colony, one of the last additions to the British Empire.

This frustrated many Cypriots hoping for the independence granted to other countries freed from Ottoman rule. In 1931 Cypriots (of all ethnicities, notably) rioted against the colonial rule, which unfortunately descended into violence and arson, led to the suspension of normal colonial rule. Allegedly, this also made the British decide to construct more mosques in order to strengthen the Turkish identity of the Muslim Cypriots, in order that Britain could maintain colonial rule there. Continue Reading →

Iran Threatens Turkey, Reveals Missile Silos

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From Pajamas Media

Please click over to see the rest:

Iranian regime-run site Entekhab reports:

According to sources close to the Iranian regime, who were interviewed by Al-Manar [Hezbollah affiliated TV run out of Lebanon], Iran’s resolve is as strong as a rock and defending Damascus is as much of a priority as defending Beirut and Tehran. … Tehran does not meddle in any of the events taking place in Syria.

Quoting the Iraqi daily newspaper Al-Akhbar, Entekhab wrote:

Tehran has threatened Turkey by announcing that Iran will bomb every single NATO and U.S. base in Turkey, should they allow any attacks on Syria to be launched from within Turkish soil. The Iranian regime believes protecting Syria to be as important as protecting both Lebanon and Iran.

Though Iranian regime officials have claimed that this threat has not affected Turkish-Iranian relations, there are reports that privately a number of Turkish officials are extremely incensed by the Iranian regime’s belligerence. So far, neither Iran nor Turkey has publicly commented on this matter.