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DAVUTOGLU DEFENDS SYRIA POLICY
AL Monitor
March 27 2014
Author: Tulin Daloglu
These two incidents show just how dark the situation has become along
the Turkey-Syria border. Since March 16, Turkish government authorities
have expressed concern that the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham
(ISIS) threatens to lower Turkey's flag at the Tomb of Suleiman
Shah in Syria -- the only sovereign Turkish territory outside its
borders. They say the Turkish military is fully authorized to defend
the tomb. Then, Turkey shot down a Syrian fighter jet on March 23,
claiming it violated Turkish airspace.
While Turkish political commentators raised doubts over whether there
is any link between these two events and the local elections on March
30, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on March 25 that
the event cannot be seen as an "election maneuver." Davutoglu blamed
the media for "being a spokesperson for [Syrian President Bashar al-]
Assad's regime," calling them "evil-minded."
Davutoglu could be using these fear-mongering tactics to rally
people behind his Syria policy. A December 2013 public opinion
poll conducted by Kadir Has University found that almost 50% of the
Turkish people believe Turkey's Syria policy has been a failure. If
this figure is applied to the constituency of the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP), it may also show that the country is direly
divided along political leanings, even on key foreign policy issues
that could drag the country into conflict. Furthermore, Davutoglu's
description of all those dissenting as "evil-minded" is no different
than Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing people who
have different views on Syria of "treason."
This kind of overblown and unsubstantiated narrative unfortunately
kills the opportunity to rethink the country's Syria policy.
Meanwhile, the AKP government fails to admit its failed policy to
topple the Assad regime.
There certainly is an ambiguity surrounding the Turkish government's
decision to shoot down the Syrian jet fighter. "It looks like Turkey
has deliberately brought down that [MiG-23]," a NATO source, who
did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, told
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."
The Syrian MiG-23 was shot down near the Syrian border town of Kassab
when it violated Turkish airspace by 1 kilometer (0.6 miles). "It
is highly likely that those radical Islamic groups, like Jabhat
al-Nusra and others, entered Syria through Turkey to take control
of Kassab, very close to the Turkish border," Yasin Atlioglu, an
assistant professor at Nigde University who specializes in Syrian
affairs, told Al-Monitor. "The Syrian army and the local militia
fired back at these radical groups. The Syrian regime and Armenian
publications directly blamed Turkey for these radical groups' attack
on Kassab. While Turkey may become the target of the Islamic State
of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), it is also, on the other hand, helping
facilitate the attacks of these radical groups at the border."
On March 25, the Armenian Bar Association sent a letter to US President
Barack Obama urging him to take concrete steps for the safety of the
Armenian people in Syria. "The fate of Armenians and other Christians
in Syria should never be deemed or accepted as collateral damage
of the rebels, who have and continue to receive the support of our
government," they wrote. "The incursion from Turkey into the town and
villages of Kassab in Syria, and the ensuing carnage, the reported
killings and the taking of Armenians as hostages, should be met
with your condemnation and strategic plan of recovery, restitution
and return."
There certainly is a real debate outside Turkey's borders about its
Syria policy. "Turkey has done [its] best to encourage this chaotic
situation," one European source, who asked not to be identified,
told Al-Monitor. "Turkey picked up the strategy of helping these
radicals [because they considered it a helpful tool to bring about
Assad's end.] This cannot be reversed now. It's been a stupid move
by the Turkish side, as that prevented the United States from acting
in Syria."
The same European source added, "The United States was clear on Jabhat
al-Nusra from the beginning; it labeled it as a terrorist group from
early on. That, however, did not prevent the Turkish side from doing
what they're doing. The bombing of the Syrian [MiG-23] was for helping
these radicals."
NATO sources told Al-Monitor that, in an unofficial setting, NATO
member countries expressed concern over the Turkish action at the
Turkey-Syria border to Fatih Ceylan, Turkey's permanent representative
to NATO ambassador. "In next week's NATO foreign ministers meeting
[April 1-2] ..., I assume that people will directly share their concern
with Minister Davutoglu over Turkish behavior. They will probably
give the message that they do not want to be dragged into the Syrian
quagmire while the Ukraine issue is keeping them busy at this stage,"
a NATO source told Al-Monitor. "Unless Turkey brings this issue to
the agenda, these issues will not be discussed in an official setting."
European sources told Al-Monitor that when Turkey called NATO for
an emergency session in October 2012, after a cross-border incident
with Syrian mortar fire left five dead in the Turkish border village
of Akcakale, Turkey briefed NATO member countries about the Tomb
of Suleiman Shah. Turkish authorities said that beginning March 16,
the tomb has received threats from ISIS. Turkish media reports even
claim that special forces are positioned at the border in case of an
attack on the tomb.
A YouTube clip, uploaded on March 21, shows four men in front of the
ISIS flag giving Turkey three days to lower its flag at the tomb, or
else they will raze it. "We don't know who these people are, exactly,"
the European source told Al-Monitor. "All I can tell is that Turkey
does not need to brief us each time about the Suleiman Shah Tomb. They
did it in October 2012. But if there is a direct threat, they should
tell NATO members. In the absence of it, we really do not believe
that this threat is a serious one." This supposed deadline extended
by ISIS ended on March 24, and the tomb has not been attacked.
NATO has deployed Patriot missiles to Turkey to help strengthen its
security in case of a potential Syrian attack on its territory. NATO
sources say that Turkey is acting as if it does not appreciate the
support. It is, however, clear that NATO and EU member countries
are doubtful of Turkey's Syria approach, and they don't find Turkey
innocent with regard to allowing these radical groups to exploit its
borders and turn the situation in Syria to carnage.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/turkey-syria-defend-foreign-policy-davutoglu.html
From: Baghdasarian
AL Monitor
March 27 2014
Author: Tulin Daloglu
These two incidents show just how dark the situation has become along
the Turkey-Syria border. Since March 16, Turkish government authorities
have expressed concern that the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham
(ISIS) threatens to lower Turkey's flag at the Tomb of Suleiman
Shah in Syria -- the only sovereign Turkish territory outside its
borders. They say the Turkish military is fully authorized to defend
the tomb. Then, Turkey shot down a Syrian fighter jet on March 23,
claiming it violated Turkish airspace.
While Turkish political commentators raised doubts over whether there
is any link between these two events and the local elections on March
30, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said on March 25 that
the event cannot be seen as an "election maneuver." Davutoglu blamed
the media for "being a spokesperson for [Syrian President Bashar al-]
Assad's regime," calling them "evil-minded."
Davutoglu could be using these fear-mongering tactics to rally
people behind his Syria policy. A December 2013 public opinion
poll conducted by Kadir Has University found that almost 50% of the
Turkish people believe Turkey's Syria policy has been a failure. If
this figure is applied to the constituency of the ruling Justice and
Development Party (AKP), it may also show that the country is direly
divided along political leanings, even on key foreign policy issues
that could drag the country into conflict. Furthermore, Davutoglu's
description of all those dissenting as "evil-minded" is no different
than Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan accusing people who
have different views on Syria of "treason."
This kind of overblown and unsubstantiated narrative unfortunately
kills the opportunity to rethink the country's Syria policy.
Meanwhile, the AKP government fails to admit its failed policy to
topple the Assad regime.
There certainly is an ambiguity surrounding the Turkish government's
decision to shoot down the Syrian jet fighter. "It looks like Turkey
has deliberately brought down that [MiG-23]," a NATO source, who
did not want to be named due to the sensitivity of the issue, told
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."
The Syrian MiG-23 was shot down near the Syrian border town of Kassab
when it violated Turkish airspace by 1 kilometer (0.6 miles). "It
is highly likely that those radical Islamic groups, like Jabhat
al-Nusra and others, entered Syria through Turkey to take control
of Kassab, very close to the Turkish border," Yasin Atlioglu, an
assistant professor at Nigde University who specializes in Syrian
affairs, told Al-Monitor. "The Syrian army and the local militia
fired back at these radical groups. The Syrian regime and Armenian
publications directly blamed Turkey for these radical groups' attack
on Kassab. While Turkey may become the target of the Islamic State
of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS), it is also, on the other hand, helping
facilitate the attacks of these radical groups at the border."
On March 25, the Armenian Bar Association sent a letter to US President
Barack Obama urging him to take concrete steps for the safety of the
Armenian people in Syria. "The fate of Armenians and other Christians
in Syria should never be deemed or accepted as collateral damage
of the rebels, who have and continue to receive the support of our
government," they wrote. "The incursion from Turkey into the town and
villages of Kassab in Syria, and the ensuing carnage, the reported
killings and the taking of Armenians as hostages, should be met
with your condemnation and strategic plan of recovery, restitution
and return."
There certainly is a real debate outside Turkey's borders about its
Syria policy. "Turkey has done [its] best to encourage this chaotic
situation," one European source, who asked not to be identified,
told Al-Monitor. "Turkey picked up the strategy of helping these
radicals [because they considered it a helpful tool to bring about
Assad's end.] This cannot be reversed now. It's been a stupid move
by the Turkish side, as that prevented the United States from acting
in Syria."
The same European source added, "The United States was clear on Jabhat
al-Nusra from the beginning; it labeled it as a terrorist group from
early on. That, however, did not prevent the Turkish side from doing
what they're doing. The bombing of the Syrian [MiG-23] was for helping
these radicals."
NATO sources told Al-Monitor that, in an unofficial setting, NATO
member countries expressed concern over the Turkish action at the
Turkey-Syria border to Fatih Ceylan, Turkey's permanent representative
to NATO ambassador. "In next week's NATO foreign ministers meeting
[April 1-2] ..., I assume that people will directly share their concern
with Minister Davutoglu over Turkish behavior. They will probably
give the message that they do not want to be dragged into the Syrian
quagmire while the Ukraine issue is keeping them busy at this stage,"
a NATO source told Al-Monitor. "Unless Turkey brings this issue to
the agenda, these issues will not be discussed in an official setting."
European sources told Al-Monitor that when Turkey called NATO for
an emergency session in October 2012, after a cross-border incident
with Syrian mortar fire left five dead in the Turkish border village
of Akcakale, Turkey briefed NATO member countries about the Tomb
of Suleiman Shah. Turkish authorities said that beginning March 16,
the tomb has received threats from ISIS. Turkish media reports even
claim that special forces are positioned at the border in case of an
attack on the tomb.
A YouTube clip, uploaded on March 21, shows four men in front of the
ISIS flag giving Turkey three days to lower its flag at the tomb, or
else they will raze it. "We don't know who these people are, exactly,"
the European source told Al-Monitor. "All I can tell is that Turkey
does not need to brief us each time about the Suleiman Shah Tomb. They
did it in October 2012. But if there is a direct threat, they should
tell NATO members. In the absence of it, we really do not believe
that this threat is a serious one." This supposed deadline extended
by ISIS ended on March 24, and the tomb has not been attacked.
NATO has deployed Patriot missiles to Turkey to help strengthen its
security in case of a potential Syrian attack on its territory. NATO
sources say that Turkey is acting as if it does not appreciate the
support. It is, however, clear that NATO and EU member countries
are doubtful of Turkey's Syria approach, and they don't find Turkey
innocent with regard to allowing these radical groups to exploit its
borders and turn the situation in Syria to carnage.
http://www.al-monitor.com/pulse/originals/2014/03/turkey-syria-defend-foreign-policy-davutoglu.html
From: Baghdasarian