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KESSAB ON THE CHESSBOARD OF INTERNATIONAL POLITICS
EDITORIAL | APRIL 7, 2014 10:11 AM
By Edmond Y. Azadian
On March 21, the occupation of the Armenian town of Kessab in Syria,
by Al Nusra terrorists was simply another episode for the world media
watchers. But for the 2,000 Armenian residents of the town who were
evacuated to Latakia, 50 kilometers south of Kessab, it was a repeat
performance of the Armenian Genocide, which had started 99 years ago.
Turkish leaders are frustrated that the first genocide could not
fully accomplish its goal, allowing survivors to scatter around the
world and tell their stories and thus give a black eye to Turkey,
which is striving to prove to the world its democratic and human
rights credentials.
One expression of the Turkish frustration is the two-decade-long
blockade of Armenia, aiming for the latter's extinction.
To complement its genocidal policy, Turkey has been using the war
in neighboring Syria to settle scores with the Armenians, within its
broader policy of serving Israel's regional ambitions.
The attack on Kessab is nothing less than genocidal. The mercenaries
hired, trained and fed by Turkey are modern-day barbarians whose
atrocities equal those perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks and Nazis
against Armenians and Jews.
Of all the American media personalities, the most conservative,
Glen Beck, was so outraged that he shouted, "We are backing cannibals!"
The Armenian news media provided the detailed coverage of Kessab
aggression, but except some sparse information provided by the BBC in
London, Liberation in France and Russian TV RT, there was a unanimous
blockade of news about Kessab; an organized silence which is tantamount
to a blatant collusion with the criminals.
No one needs to be a high government official or a news analyst to
figure out that the occupation of Kessab by terrorists was organized
by Turkey, despite Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's denial
that the news was manufactured by "evil-minded" media people.
Consider this: without Turkey's cooperation and direct involvement,
a group of mercenaries, perched on American tanks and armed with
anti-aircraft rockets could not freely cross the border to invade
the town of Kessab while a Turkish air force plane shot down a Syrian
Mig-34, which had been trying to block the invasion.
"It looks like Turkey has deliberately brought down that Mig-34,"
said a NATO source to Al-Monitor. "We doubt that there was any threat
to Turkey. It looks like Turkey took down this Syrian jet to help
the radical groups."
While Turkish leaders were in blanket denial mode, a leak uncovered the
entire plot. On March 27, 2014, Information Clearinghouse reported that
access to YouTube had been cut off in Turkey after an explosive leak
of audiotapes that appeared to show ministers talking about provoking
military intervention in Syria, using the protection of the Tomb of
Soleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, as
a pretext. This is very much in line with the modus operandi of the
Turkish state, which created similar incidents in 1955 by dispatching
a terrorist to Salonika, Greece, to plant a bomb at Ataturk House,
to provoke the September 6 atrocities against Armenians, Greeks and
Jews in Istanbul.
Of course, no one can match Turkish cynicism, when the Turkish Foreign
Ministry is offering to provide loving care to 2,000 Armenians, whom
it had dislodged from their homes dating back 500 years. Indeed,
Turkey's Foreign Ministry has released a communique which says, in
part, "The Turkish Foreign Ministry had notified the relevant UN
bodies that 'Syrian Armenians residing in Kessab region could be
admitted in Turkey too and protection could be provided to them.'
Also, the representatives of the Armenian community were informed of
the matter through official channels."
The Kessab attack was a disaster waiting to happen and certain
factors coincided and conspired in its making; the corruption-riddled
Erdogan's image needed a revamp, especially during the municipal
elections in Turkey -- to make or break the Islamic party's future --
that domestic bravado certainly paid off handsomely when the Turkish
raid on Kessab was accompanied by the shooting down of the Syrian jet,
under trumped-up charges that it had violated Turkish airspace.
Another factor was that for Davutoglu, this attack served as a reminder
that Turkey was still capable of committing genocide with impunity,
thus blunting the impact of the centennial.
Turkey's relations have been improving with Israel after Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's apology to Erdogan and a package deal
worked out between Turkey and Israel to compensate the victims of the
Mavi Marmara incident. Thus, the ground has been paved for reviving
hegemonic prospects in the Middle East through a three-way cooperation
between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
On the international scene, the US had two main reasons to prod Turkey
into action. The first was driven by domestic considerations to placate
the hawks at home who were clamoring for Washington to set up a no-fly
zone in Syria to help the advance of terrorists against the Damascus
regime. For a reluctant Obama administration, the Turkish incursion
into Syrian airspace was an effective substitute to a no-fly zone,
which could involve putting US personnel in harm's way.
The second reason was of a more global nature. Despite all the
rhetoric, the Crimean crisis has been a diplomatic defeat for
Washington, requiring a powerful response to Russian advances in the
world's troubled regions. Therefore, Syria's main ally, Moscow, had
to sustain a defeat to compensate for its gain in Crimea. Western and
Turkish surrogates succeeded in their drive to occupy Kessab on the
Mediterranean, despite the presence of the Russian fleet next door
in Tartous.
As far as Al-Nusra and Ahrar Al-Sham Al-Qaeda terrorists are concerned,
they needed a victory after a series of defeats at the hands of
the Syrian Army and Hezballah volunteers. Kessab being the closest
region to Assad's power base on the Mediterranean was considered a
strategic prize.
The looting, beheadings and burning down of churches are continuing in
the area, therefore no one with a straight face can claim that these
Turkish surrogates are there to bring peace and democracy to Syria.
The reaction of Armenians has been weak and inadequate, primarily
because a miniscule country in the Caucasus and a dispersed and
disorganized diaspora are no match for the powers behind the war in
Syria and the consequent attack on Kessab.
In the first place, the Armenian government has reacted very cautiously
by sending a parliamentary delegation in an unofficial capacity. The
news media in Armenia was caught off guard because of its endemic
introverted nature and because of its general ignorance about basic
facts on Diaspora Armenians. Many journalists there just found out
where Kessab was and why it was important to Armenians.
The relief effort is underway to help the refugees huddled in Latakia,
and Catholicos Aram I of the Great See of Cilicia has been able to
mobilize all segments of the Armenian community in the region.
No similar coordination seems to be in the works in the western
countries, where challenges and opportunities are great in rallying
support for Kessab Armenians. It is just and proper to decry Turkey's
sinister actions but those alone do not help the victims nor do they
steer the West into a different course in Syria. Appeals and letters of
protest are necessary elements to sensitize the world public opinion,
but they would be more effective if the entire community mobilized
as one when approaching this outrageous tragedy.
Armenians have been demonstrating in front of the Turkish embassy and
consular offices in Paris and Los Angeles, respectively, but that
movement has to be amplified to drown out the unified message from
all Turkish legations around the world.
All of a sudden, a historic Armenian region has appeared on the
chessboard of world politics and we have yet to wake up and get
organized for a proper response. With the flux of political tides,
all Armenians the world over need to coordinate for contingency plans
with the government of Armenia to be able to face similar calamities
which are bound to happen again in that volatile region.
- See more at:
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2014/04/07/kessab-on-the-chessboard-of-international-politics/#sthash.Y7IMpMAz.dpuf
From: A. Papazian
EDITORIAL | APRIL 7, 2014 10:11 AM
By Edmond Y. Azadian
On March 21, the occupation of the Armenian town of Kessab in Syria,
by Al Nusra terrorists was simply another episode for the world media
watchers. But for the 2,000 Armenian residents of the town who were
evacuated to Latakia, 50 kilometers south of Kessab, it was a repeat
performance of the Armenian Genocide, which had started 99 years ago.
Turkish leaders are frustrated that the first genocide could not
fully accomplish its goal, allowing survivors to scatter around the
world and tell their stories and thus give a black eye to Turkey,
which is striving to prove to the world its democratic and human
rights credentials.
One expression of the Turkish frustration is the two-decade-long
blockade of Armenia, aiming for the latter's extinction.
To complement its genocidal policy, Turkey has been using the war
in neighboring Syria to settle scores with the Armenians, within its
broader policy of serving Israel's regional ambitions.
The attack on Kessab is nothing less than genocidal. The mercenaries
hired, trained and fed by Turkey are modern-day barbarians whose
atrocities equal those perpetrated by the Ottoman Turks and Nazis
against Armenians and Jews.
Of all the American media personalities, the most conservative,
Glen Beck, was so outraged that he shouted, "We are backing cannibals!"
The Armenian news media provided the detailed coverage of Kessab
aggression, but except some sparse information provided by the BBC in
London, Liberation in France and Russian TV RT, there was a unanimous
blockade of news about Kessab; an organized silence which is tantamount
to a blatant collusion with the criminals.
No one needs to be a high government official or a news analyst to
figure out that the occupation of Kessab by terrorists was organized
by Turkey, despite Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu's denial
that the news was manufactured by "evil-minded" media people.
Consider this: without Turkey's cooperation and direct involvement,
a group of mercenaries, perched on American tanks and armed with
anti-aircraft rockets could not freely cross the border to invade
the town of Kessab while a Turkish air force plane shot down a Syrian
Mig-34, which had been trying to block the invasion.
"It looks like Turkey has deliberately brought down that Mig-34,"
said a NATO source to Al-Monitor. "We doubt that there was any threat
to Turkey. It looks like Turkey took down this Syrian jet to help
the radical groups."
While Turkish leaders were in blanket denial mode, a leak uncovered the
entire plot. On March 27, 2014, Information Clearinghouse reported that
access to YouTube had been cut off in Turkey after an explosive leak
of audiotapes that appeared to show ministers talking about provoking
military intervention in Syria, using the protection of the Tomb of
Soleyman Shah, grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire, as
a pretext. This is very much in line with the modus operandi of the
Turkish state, which created similar incidents in 1955 by dispatching
a terrorist to Salonika, Greece, to plant a bomb at Ataturk House,
to provoke the September 6 atrocities against Armenians, Greeks and
Jews in Istanbul.
Of course, no one can match Turkish cynicism, when the Turkish Foreign
Ministry is offering to provide loving care to 2,000 Armenians, whom
it had dislodged from their homes dating back 500 years. Indeed,
Turkey's Foreign Ministry has released a communique which says, in
part, "The Turkish Foreign Ministry had notified the relevant UN
bodies that 'Syrian Armenians residing in Kessab region could be
admitted in Turkey too and protection could be provided to them.'
Also, the representatives of the Armenian community were informed of
the matter through official channels."
The Kessab attack was a disaster waiting to happen and certain
factors coincided and conspired in its making; the corruption-riddled
Erdogan's image needed a revamp, especially during the municipal
elections in Turkey -- to make or break the Islamic party's future --
that domestic bravado certainly paid off handsomely when the Turkish
raid on Kessab was accompanied by the shooting down of the Syrian jet,
under trumped-up charges that it had violated Turkish airspace.
Another factor was that for Davutoglu, this attack served as a reminder
that Turkey was still capable of committing genocide with impunity,
thus blunting the impact of the centennial.
Turkey's relations have been improving with Israel after Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu's apology to Erdogan and a package deal
worked out between Turkey and Israel to compensate the victims of the
Mavi Marmara incident. Thus, the ground has been paved for reviving
hegemonic prospects in the Middle East through a three-way cooperation
between Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Israel.
On the international scene, the US had two main reasons to prod Turkey
into action. The first was driven by domestic considerations to placate
the hawks at home who were clamoring for Washington to set up a no-fly
zone in Syria to help the advance of terrorists against the Damascus
regime. For a reluctant Obama administration, the Turkish incursion
into Syrian airspace was an effective substitute to a no-fly zone,
which could involve putting US personnel in harm's way.
The second reason was of a more global nature. Despite all the
rhetoric, the Crimean crisis has been a diplomatic defeat for
Washington, requiring a powerful response to Russian advances in the
world's troubled regions. Therefore, Syria's main ally, Moscow, had
to sustain a defeat to compensate for its gain in Crimea. Western and
Turkish surrogates succeeded in their drive to occupy Kessab on the
Mediterranean, despite the presence of the Russian fleet next door
in Tartous.
As far as Al-Nusra and Ahrar Al-Sham Al-Qaeda terrorists are concerned,
they needed a victory after a series of defeats at the hands of
the Syrian Army and Hezballah volunteers. Kessab being the closest
region to Assad's power base on the Mediterranean was considered a
strategic prize.
The looting, beheadings and burning down of churches are continuing in
the area, therefore no one with a straight face can claim that these
Turkish surrogates are there to bring peace and democracy to Syria.
The reaction of Armenians has been weak and inadequate, primarily
because a miniscule country in the Caucasus and a dispersed and
disorganized diaspora are no match for the powers behind the war in
Syria and the consequent attack on Kessab.
In the first place, the Armenian government has reacted very cautiously
by sending a parliamentary delegation in an unofficial capacity. The
news media in Armenia was caught off guard because of its endemic
introverted nature and because of its general ignorance about basic
facts on Diaspora Armenians. Many journalists there just found out
where Kessab was and why it was important to Armenians.
The relief effort is underway to help the refugees huddled in Latakia,
and Catholicos Aram I of the Great See of Cilicia has been able to
mobilize all segments of the Armenian community in the region.
No similar coordination seems to be in the works in the western
countries, where challenges and opportunities are great in rallying
support for Kessab Armenians. It is just and proper to decry Turkey's
sinister actions but those alone do not help the victims nor do they
steer the West into a different course in Syria. Appeals and letters of
protest are necessary elements to sensitize the world public opinion,
but they would be more effective if the entire community mobilized
as one when approaching this outrageous tragedy.
Armenians have been demonstrating in front of the Turkish embassy and
consular offices in Paris and Los Angeles, respectively, but that
movement has to be amplified to drown out the unified message from
all Turkish legations around the world.
All of a sudden, a historic Armenian region has appeared on the
chessboard of world politics and we have yet to wake up and get
organized for a proper response. With the flux of political tides,
all Armenians the world over need to coordinate for contingency plans
with the government of Armenia to be able to face similar calamities
which are bound to happen again in that volatile region.
- See more at:
http://www.mirrorspectator.com/2014/04/07/kessab-on-the-chessboard-of-international-politics/#sthash.Y7IMpMAz.dpuf
From: A. Papazian