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TURKEY'S NEW DIPLOMACY IN MIDEAST-I
Kashmir Watch
http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showarticles.php ?subaction=showfull&id=1256689200&archive= &start_from=&ucat=3&var0news=value0 new s
Oct 27 2009
By Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal [Specialist on State Terrorism]
[Turkey has recently sought to secure a special role as Middle East
mediator. And rightly so; Turkey is qualified to play that role
since it is a Muslim state that maintains ties with Islamic world
and western nations. Since the Israeli war on Gaza last January,
Turkey's role in Middle Eastern politics has become significantly more
prominent. Turkish premier Erdogan is in Pakistan on 26 -27 October and
Iran on 28th. Officials said he would discuss a wide range of issues,
including energy deals and Iran's nuclear program. The Fascist Israeli
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wondered after Turkey's decision
was made public about the direction Turkish policy is taking]
The only Muslim nation in European continent (Spain, another Muslim
nation that was forcefully converted into Christianity), Turkey is
facing tremendous problems in becoming a legitimate member of EU,
comprising European nation, on account of opposition from some rude
European countries whose democratic terror forces kill Muslims in
Islamic world, especially in Afghanistan. Since all other members
are Chrestian states, they have ganged up against Turkey, blocking
its EU ambitions.
Whether or not due to the continued EU arrogance, a deep change to
play a proactive role in Mideast is underway in Turkey's foreign
policy under the ruling Justice and Development Party. After his
visit to Pakistan, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
due in Tehran for talks with both President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
and the country's Supreme Leader, has accused the West of treating
Iran unfairly over its nuclear program. His comments come as world
powers await Iran's response to a new proposed deal over its uranium
enrichment program and a team from the UN nuclear watchdog continues
its inspection of a previously secret uranium plant near the city of
Qom. Under the new arrangement, Iran would send some enriched uranium
to Russia to be turned into fuel. The proposed deal is seen as a way
for Tehran to get the fuel it needs for an existing reactor, while
giving guarantees to the West that its enriched uranium will not be
used for nuclear weapons. But opposition inside Iran to the agreement
is said to be growing. The government has promised a response soon.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Iran adds to concerns
that Ankara may be slowly turning its back on its Western allies and
seeking to regain its status as a regional power in the Middle East.
A new Turkish Mideast and Muslim policy, aimed at placing Ankara at the
centre of the Middle East's geopolitics and regaining Turkey's former
power and influence over the region, makes conscious reference to
the country's imperial past. The trend is even known as Neo-Ottoman,
a term coined by Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister
and architect of the policy. Premier Erdogan has steadily expanded
Turkey's influence in the Middle East since his Islamist-rooted AK
Party took power in 2002. He went to Iran at a time of worsening ties
between Turkey and its regional ally Israel and as Ankara hails recent
bilateral deals with Syria and Iraq as signalling a "new era". But
some analysts warn an erosion of Ankara's Western oriented foreign
policy could have long-term consequences for NATO and for U.S. efforts
from Afghanistan to Iraq.
Recent policy decisions have signaled a positive and a Muslim-friendly
approach of Turkey. As preliminary exercise in its new diplomacy,
Turkey condemned fascist Israel for its holocaust in Palestine. In
efforts to reach out to its neighbours and other Muslim nations,
Ankara has obtained preliminary peace with Iraq. The war of words came
after a Kurdish "peace group" of militants and supporters crossed the
Habur border gate from Iraq carrying a list of proposals to end the
violence and Turkish authorities questioned them. The "peace group"
included eight PKK rebels and 26 Turkish Kurds from the UN-run Makhmour
refugee camp in northern Iraq which houses some 12,000 people who fled
Turkey in the 1990s at the peak of the conflict. More than 45,000
people have been killed since 1984 when the PKK picked up arms for
self-rule in Turkey's southeast.
Turkey also played a pivotal role in brokering a strategic deal
between al-Sadr, the Iraqi government, the UK and the US. Al-Mahdi
Army militias laid down their arms and released US and British
hostages they had been holding since 2007. In June 2008, and
after years of diplomatic effort, Turkey succeeded in kick-starting
indirect Syrian�Israeli talks. In Iraq, Turkey maintained balanced
relationships with almost all Iraqi factions. In return, the Iraqi
government stopped the arrest campaign against the al-Mahdi Army and
released some of its jailed leaders such as Abd al-Hadi al-Darraji,
in 2009. The culmination of that successful policy was the visit of
Muqtada al-Sadr, the Iraqi Shia leader of the al-Mahdi Army, in May
2009. Turkey hailed the "surrender" of Kurdish rebels in support of
plans to end the 25-year conflict, although rebel commanders insisted
they would fight on. Erdogan talked to his counterparts Vladimir Putin
of Russia and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy during a video link in Ankara,
October 22, 2009 about his new policy orientations.
Following Turkish efforts to bring Afghanistan and Pakistan together
in their fight against Taliban insurgencies, Erdogan also tries
to mediate between Pakistan and Iran whose ties were strained over
bombing in Iran that killed 42 people. Iran says the USA and UK are
behind the blasts and also blames their ally Pakistan saying the
bombers are based in Pakistan. The current visits to Pakistan and
Iran is expected to cement the historic ties between Pak and Iran.
Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark peace accord earlier this month,
pledging to restore ties and open their shared border after a century
of hostility stemming from what Armenians said was the mass killing
of their people by Ottoman forces during the First World War.
The Turkish leader Erdogan cautioned that there was a dual standard in
the West's approach towards Iran. He said any military strike against
Iran would be "crazy". Erdogan also said many of the states which
objected to any move by Iran to build a nuclear arsenal - including
all the permanent members of the UN Security Council - possessed one
themselves. Iran says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful
purposes, but agreed to open the site to monitoring at talks with
the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany in
Geneva on 1 October. Turkey, which earlier dreaded the thought of a
possible nuclear Iran, has said it is willing to mediate between Iran
and the West over Tehran's controversial nuclear enrichment program.
Bilateral trade reached $7 billion in 2008. Turkey's Energy Minister
Taner Yildiz said this week he hoped the two countries could finalise
a $3.5 billion deal to develop part of the world's largest gas field
in Iran.
The immediate reaction to Turkey's assertive diplomacy from the western
powers is yet to come, but meanwhile the EU stalwarts like UK have
made an assertion about a possible bold foreign policy. UK foreign
minister David Miliband has called for a "strong" foreign policy to
avert a Britain failure internationally. It is very strongly in the
British national interest for the European Union to develop a strong
foreign policy. He cautioned if it tried to oppose the European policy
on the grounds of "hubris, nostalgia or xenophobia" and warned that
without an effective European foreign policy Britain and the EU would
increasingly become an irrelevance in a world dominated by Washington
and Beijing. "The choice for Europe is simple - get our act together
and make the EU a leader on the world stage or become spectators in a
G2 world shaped by the United States and China," he said. Probably,
England is upset that EU could no longer bully Turkey about human
rights and other reforms in Turkey by denying EU membership. Turkey's
move towards Iran and bulldozing of the Zionist fascist reigme for its
cirmes against humnity are not good music to western anti-Islamic ears.
Kashmir Watch
http://www.kashmirwatch.com/showarticles.php ?subaction=showfull&id=1256689200&archive= &start_from=&ucat=3&var0news=value0 new s
Oct 27 2009
By Dr. Abdul Ruff Colachal [Specialist on State Terrorism]
[Turkey has recently sought to secure a special role as Middle East
mediator. And rightly so; Turkey is qualified to play that role
since it is a Muslim state that maintains ties with Islamic world
and western nations. Since the Israeli war on Gaza last January,
Turkey's role in Middle Eastern politics has become significantly more
prominent. Turkish premier Erdogan is in Pakistan on 26 -27 October and
Iran on 28th. Officials said he would discuss a wide range of issues,
including energy deals and Iran's nuclear program. The Fascist Israeli
Prime Minister Binyamin Netanyahu wondered after Turkey's decision
was made public about the direction Turkish policy is taking]
The only Muslim nation in European continent (Spain, another Muslim
nation that was forcefully converted into Christianity), Turkey is
facing tremendous problems in becoming a legitimate member of EU,
comprising European nation, on account of opposition from some rude
European countries whose democratic terror forces kill Muslims in
Islamic world, especially in Afghanistan. Since all other members
are Chrestian states, they have ganged up against Turkey, blocking
its EU ambitions.
Whether or not due to the continued EU arrogance, a deep change to
play a proactive role in Mideast is underway in Turkey's foreign
policy under the ruling Justice and Development Party. After his
visit to Pakistan, Turkey's Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan,
due in Tehran for talks with both President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
and the country's Supreme Leader, has accused the West of treating
Iran unfairly over its nuclear program. His comments come as world
powers await Iran's response to a new proposed deal over its uranium
enrichment program and a team from the UN nuclear watchdog continues
its inspection of a previously secret uranium plant near the city of
Qom. Under the new arrangement, Iran would send some enriched uranium
to Russia to be turned into fuel. The proposed deal is seen as a way
for Tehran to get the fuel it needs for an existing reactor, while
giving guarantees to the West that its enriched uranium will not be
used for nuclear weapons. But opposition inside Iran to the agreement
is said to be growing. The government has promised a response soon.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's visit to Iran adds to concerns
that Ankara may be slowly turning its back on its Western allies and
seeking to regain its status as a regional power in the Middle East.
A new Turkish Mideast and Muslim policy, aimed at placing Ankara at the
centre of the Middle East's geopolitics and regaining Turkey's former
power and influence over the region, makes conscious reference to
the country's imperial past. The trend is even known as Neo-Ottoman,
a term coined by Ahmet Davutoglu, the Turkish foreign minister
and architect of the policy. Premier Erdogan has steadily expanded
Turkey's influence in the Middle East since his Islamist-rooted AK
Party took power in 2002. He went to Iran at a time of worsening ties
between Turkey and its regional ally Israel and as Ankara hails recent
bilateral deals with Syria and Iraq as signalling a "new era". But
some analysts warn an erosion of Ankara's Western oriented foreign
policy could have long-term consequences for NATO and for U.S. efforts
from Afghanistan to Iraq.
Recent policy decisions have signaled a positive and a Muslim-friendly
approach of Turkey. As preliminary exercise in its new diplomacy,
Turkey condemned fascist Israel for its holocaust in Palestine. In
efforts to reach out to its neighbours and other Muslim nations,
Ankara has obtained preliminary peace with Iraq. The war of words came
after a Kurdish "peace group" of militants and supporters crossed the
Habur border gate from Iraq carrying a list of proposals to end the
violence and Turkish authorities questioned them. The "peace group"
included eight PKK rebels and 26 Turkish Kurds from the UN-run Makhmour
refugee camp in northern Iraq which houses some 12,000 people who fled
Turkey in the 1990s at the peak of the conflict. More than 45,000
people have been killed since 1984 when the PKK picked up arms for
self-rule in Turkey's southeast.
Turkey also played a pivotal role in brokering a strategic deal
between al-Sadr, the Iraqi government, the UK and the US. Al-Mahdi
Army militias laid down their arms and released US and British
hostages they had been holding since 2007. In June 2008, and
after years of diplomatic effort, Turkey succeeded in kick-starting
indirect Syrian�Israeli talks. In Iraq, Turkey maintained balanced
relationships with almost all Iraqi factions. In return, the Iraqi
government stopped the arrest campaign against the al-Mahdi Army and
released some of its jailed leaders such as Abd al-Hadi al-Darraji,
in 2009. The culmination of that successful policy was the visit of
Muqtada al-Sadr, the Iraqi Shia leader of the al-Mahdi Army, in May
2009. Turkey hailed the "surrender" of Kurdish rebels in support of
plans to end the 25-year conflict, although rebel commanders insisted
they would fight on. Erdogan talked to his counterparts Vladimir Putin
of Russia and Silvio Berlusconi of Italy during a video link in Ankara,
October 22, 2009 about his new policy orientations.
Following Turkish efforts to bring Afghanistan and Pakistan together
in their fight against Taliban insurgencies, Erdogan also tries
to mediate between Pakistan and Iran whose ties were strained over
bombing in Iran that killed 42 people. Iran says the USA and UK are
behind the blasts and also blames their ally Pakistan saying the
bombers are based in Pakistan. The current visits to Pakistan and
Iran is expected to cement the historic ties between Pak and Iran.
Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark peace accord earlier this month,
pledging to restore ties and open their shared border after a century
of hostility stemming from what Armenians said was the mass killing
of their people by Ottoman forces during the First World War.
The Turkish leader Erdogan cautioned that there was a dual standard in
the West's approach towards Iran. He said any military strike against
Iran would be "crazy". Erdogan also said many of the states which
objected to any move by Iran to build a nuclear arsenal - including
all the permanent members of the UN Security Council - possessed one
themselves. Iran says its nuclear program is for purely peaceful
purposes, but agreed to open the site to monitoring at talks with
the five permanent members of the UN Security Council plus Germany in
Geneva on 1 October. Turkey, which earlier dreaded the thought of a
possible nuclear Iran, has said it is willing to mediate between Iran
and the West over Tehran's controversial nuclear enrichment program.
Bilateral trade reached $7 billion in 2008. Turkey's Energy Minister
Taner Yildiz said this week he hoped the two countries could finalise
a $3.5 billion deal to develop part of the world's largest gas field
in Iran.
The immediate reaction to Turkey's assertive diplomacy from the western
powers is yet to come, but meanwhile the EU stalwarts like UK have
made an assertion about a possible bold foreign policy. UK foreign
minister David Miliband has called for a "strong" foreign policy to
avert a Britain failure internationally. It is very strongly in the
British national interest for the European Union to develop a strong
foreign policy. He cautioned if it tried to oppose the European policy
on the grounds of "hubris, nostalgia or xenophobia" and warned that
without an effective European foreign policy Britain and the EU would
increasingly become an irrelevance in a world dominated by Washington
and Beijing. "The choice for Europe is simple - get our act together
and make the EU a leader on the world stage or become spectators in a
G2 world shaped by the United States and China," he said. Probably,
England is upset that EU could no longer bully Turkey about human
rights and other reforms in Turkey by denying EU membership. Turkey's
move towards Iran and bulldozing of the Zionist fascist reigme for its
cirmes against humnity are not good music to western anti-Islamic ears.