Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

[gegev]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

ANKARA — Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan slammed Israel as a "persecutor" on Saturday in the latest verbal volley since the Gaza offensive raised tensions between the regional allies.

"Turkey has never, in its history, been on the side of persecutors, it has always defended the oppressed," Erdogan said without directly naming Israel in a speech in the central city of Kirsehir.

"Turkey has not hostility against any country, but ... we are against injustice," he said in the televised remarks.

Ties between the strategic allies began to sour in January when Turkey strongly condemned Israel's 22-day assault on the Gaza Strip, which was launched to counter rocket attacks by Palestinian militants.

Relations took another sharp downturn last week when Ankara excluded the xxxish state from annual joint military exercises, prompting a rebuke from the United States.

And in recent days, Israel criticised a Turkish state television series that depicts Israeli soldiers deliberately killing Palestinian children.
....

All these disagreements/quarrel between the two are staged in USA; White House and Pentagon.

The reason is to enhance Turkey's image, as a good guy in the Arab world and diminish Iran's reputation, the same goal serves letting Turkey "cooperating" with Iran.

Good artists, bad performance.

[Persopolis]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

I do not stand behind Israeli actions via the Palestinians but the latest statement and actions coming from Ankara are completely saturated in hypocrisy. Erdogan and his ilk are living in fantasyland.

I agree with you.

Israel also just killed Italian singer and Palestinian rights activist Vittorio

[Haykakan]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

TURKEY, ANGRY AT U.S., PLEDGES SUPPORT FOR IRAN
By Patrick Goodenough

CNSNews.com

http://www.cnsnews.com/news/article/62473

March 9 2010

Leftist Turks protest against the United States in Istanbul, Turkey,
on Friday, March 5, 2010, a day after a U.S. congressional committee
approved a resolution branding the World War I-era killing of Armenians
a genocide. The banner says Turkey should boot the U.S.

military from the Incirlik military base in southern Turkey. (AP
Photo/Ibrahim Usta)(CNSNews.com) - As the Obama administration
scrambles to contain the diplomatic fallout with Turkey over the
"Armenian genocide" resolution in the U.S. Congress, Turkey's tilt
towards Iran continues largely unnoticed.

Turkey's "formerly Islamist" president, Abdullah Gul, in a weekend
telephone conversation with his Iranian counterpart called for a
deepening of bilateral relations and voiced support for Iran in
international forums. Turkey is non-permanent member of the U.N.

Security Council, the most important international body to have Iran
on its current agenda.

The encounter was virtually ignored by media outside of Turkey
and Iran.

Iran's Fars news agency said Gul told President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad
"that the two countries would defend each other's positions at
international forums, and emphasized the importance of tightening
the relations between them and of consulting on regional and security
matters."

Ahmadinejad praised Ankara's policies and "strong and progressive"
bilateral ties. He said that "regional and global developments
are changing in favor of Iran and Turkey," Turkey's Dunya Gazetesi
newspaper reported.

President Barack Obama holds a town hall meeting in Istanbul, Turkey,
on Tuesday, April 7, 2009. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)The phone
call came three days after Gul and President Obama spoke on the phone,
on the eve of a vote in the U.S. House Foreign Affairs Committee on
a resolution condemning as "genocide" the mass killings of Armenians
in the Ottoman Empire early last century.

The resolution passed by a single vote, Turkey withdrew its ambassador
in protest, and the administration has vowed to prevent it from going
to the House floor.

Obama has been at pains to strengthen ties with Turkey, a longstanding
NATO ally, including it on the itinerary for his first presidential
trip outside North America last April, and welcoming Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdogan as a personal friend when meeting with the Turk
at the Oval Office in December.

Yet under Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) ally,
Gul, Turkey's policies regarding Iran are increasingly at odds with
those of Washington. Turkish and Iranian leaders have paid reciprocal
visits and Erdogan has referred to Ahmadinejad as his "friend."

As the Obama administration works with allies to win support for
a new U.N. Security Council Iran sanctions resolution, it faces
resistance not just from China, but also from Turkey and several
other non-permanent council members.

Last November, Turkey declined to support a resolution at the
International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA) censuring Iran for its
uranium enrichment activities, choosing instead to abstain.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan addresses lawmakers in
Ankara on Tuesday, Dec. 1, 2009. (AP Photo)Gul's conversation with
Ahmadinejad came on the eve of a visit to the region by Vice President
Joe Biden, with Iran high on the agenda.

While the U.S., Israel and others suspect that Iran's nuclear program
is a cover for attempts to develop an atomic weapons capability,
Turkey says it supports Tehran's position that the program is for
peaceful purposes only.

Amid a growing trading relationship, the two nations have also
signed agreements and protocols on energy investment, including joint
exploration and production of natural gas reserves in Iran. Erdogan
is pushing, against U.S. wishes, for Iran to be included in a key
pipeline project that aims to bringing Caspian natural gas to Western
markets via Turkey and bypassing Russia.

Iran and Turkey have long histories of animosity, underscored when
the Islamic revolution of 1979 widened the gap between fundamentalist
Iran and traditionally Muslim but secular Turkey.

The warming of tie over the past year or so has coincided with Ankara's
increasingly outspoken stance on the Israel-Arab conflict.

Under Erdogan, Turkey has shifted from being a key mediator between
Israel and its neighbors - notably Syria - to becoming one of Israel's
most ardent regional critics.

In a weekend interview with a Saudi newspaper Al Wattan, Erdogan
expressed his support for the Palestinians, whether they were
members of Mahmoud Abbas' West Bank-based Fatah faction or Hamas,
the Iranian-backed terrorist group ruling Gaza.

"I love my brothers in Fatah and my brothers in Hamas wherever they
are," the paper quoted the Turkish prime minister as saying, urging
the rival factions to unite because division was only in the interests
of their "enemies."

Despite their AKP having Islamist roots, both Erdogan and Gul insist
that it is committed to a secular state.

The government recently launched a crackdown on the fervently secular
military, accusing dozens of commanders of links to an alleged
coup plot.

[Catharsis]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

Report: Turkey PM says
Lieberman threatened to nuke Gaza

Mass Turkish protest for solidarity with the Palestinians in Istanbul.

Turkey's prime minister has further inflamed simmering Israel-Turkey tensions, claiming that Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman threatened to use nuclear weapons against Gaza, The Guardian reported Monday.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan was quoted as making the allegation in an interview published by the British newspaper. The comments came amid a crisis in ties between the two allies, which erupted earlier in the month after Turkey banned Israel from participating in a NATO air force drill.

The crisis was deepened two weeks ago, when Ankara refused to take off the air a television drama that depicts Israeli soldiers killing Palestinian children.

In the interview, Erdogan reportedly insisted that the Turkey-Israel strategic alliance remained alive, but chided Lieberman over the alleged nuclear threat regarding the Gaza Strip.

The Turkish leader also stressed that Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad, who has repeatedly called for Israel's destruction, was a "friend" of Turkey's.

"There is no doubt he is our friend," Erdogan was quoted as saying. "As a friend so far we have very good relations and have had no difficulty at all."

He reportedly rejected on Western accusations that Iran is seeking a nuclear weapon, saying: "Iran does not accept it is building a weapon. They are working on nuclear power for the purposes of energy only."

[retro]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

If Turkey cannot hold good relations with Israel, no Muslim country can. Just being Muslim, even if non-practicing, correlates very strongly with negative perceptions of Israel. Even most secular Turks were never pro-Israel, in fact some extremist Kemalists believe that the AKP was founded by Zionists whose misson is to weaken Turkey by planting political Islam within Turkish politics.

Iraqi Kurds said themselves they rather fall under the regional influence of Turkey rather than Iraq.

A third of the population Israel are Israeli-Arabs and a third of the population of Turkey is Kurdish. Which is why both Turkish and xxxish Religious/Nationalist yobs, seemingly believe that Kemalist and Zionist secularism has undermined the internal security of and territorial integrity of their respective nations.

Whilst it's true that the war in a wider sense is a demographic/ethno-religious and socio-economic one. Extremist Israeli xxxish religious fanatics are intent upon the abandonment of Israel's secular constitution and the establishment of a theocratic, ethnocentric xxxish state. Which is no small part of the reason why. Sharon (who was a secular leader) tried to keep Netanyahu and his cronies away from positions of power and the Israeli states security apparatus.

The reason why Arab and Asian Muslims and xxxs are so readily radicalised and brainwashed by propaganda is that they are living in the past. In truth they are a primitive peoples who have not even evolved beyond a state of tribalism and feudalism. However the world is constantly changing and either we evolve and adapt to it then eventually we will be crushed by it.

[egeli]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

Agree. The current Turkish regime is injuring itself. The Israelis are certainly fuming. The political situation is changing, the common Israeli, never overtly pro-Turkish is now becoming hostile towards Turkey. Not that Turkish-Israeli relations are going to combust immediately. This will take time. Meanwhile the Israelis slowly help the Kurds in Northern Iraq/Kurdistan, as they should. Why not cultivate a new Muslim ally, and one with oil? On the flipside, Azeri-Israeli relations may remain strong. The Israelis and Turks could eventualy break ties but I don't necessarily see Armenia/Armenians benefitting from this. The Israelis in the diaspora/ outside of Israel are still clinging to Turkey and holding out hope.

If Turkey cannot hold good relations with Israel, no Muslim country can. Just being Muslim, even if non-practicing, correlates very strongly with negative perceptions of Israel. Even most secular Turks were never pro-Israel, in fact some extremist Kemalists believe that the AKP was founded by Zionists whose misson is to weaken Turkey by planting political Islam within Turkish politics.

Iraqi Kurds said themselves they rather fall under the regional influence of Turkey rather than Iraq.

[Joseph]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

But if they keep up with such statements, their hypocrisy will become so apparent it will have to be confronted. If Turkey wants the right (which it does) to criticise the actions of other nations, and have their criticism taken seriously rather than laughed at, they had better be sure their own actions (both now and in the past) are clean and above reproach.

Agree. The current Turkish regime is injuring itself. The Israelis are certainly fuming. The political situation is changing, the common Israeli, never overtly pro-Turkish is now becoming hostile towards Turkey. Not that Turkish-Israeli relations are going to combust immediately. This will take time. Meanwhile the Israelis slowly help the Kurds in Northern Iraq/Kurdistan, as they should. Why not cultivate a new Muslim ally, and one with oil? On the flipside, Azeri-Israeli relations may remain strong. The Israelis and Turks could eventualy break ties but I don't necessarily see Armenia/Armenians benefitting from this. The Israelis in the diaspora/ outside of Israel are still clinging to Turkey and holding out hope.

[bell-the-cat]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

I do not stand behind Israeli actions via the Palestinians but the latest statement and actions coming from Ankara are completely saturated in hypocrisy. Erdogan and his ilk are living in fantasyland.

But if they keep up with such statements, their hypocrisy will become so apparent it will have to be confronted. If Turkey wants the right (which it does) to criticise the actions of other nations, and have their criticism taken seriously rather than laughed at, they had better be sure their own actions (both now and in the past) are clean and above reproach.

[Joseph]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

I do not stand behind Israeli actions via the Palestinians but the latest statement and actions coming from Ankara are completely saturated in hypocrisy. Erdogan and his ilk are living in fantasyland.

[Anoush]

Re: Turkish PM slams Israel as a 'persecutor'

Հիմակ որ երկու վատ կառավարութիւնները աղւոր մը մեր Արեւմտեան Հայաստանի հողերուն վրայ նստան Պարոն դաւաճան Սերճ Սարգիսեանի շնորհիւ, հիմակ ալ շան շունի միս չուտեր կըսեն, ահա չեն ուտեր կոր իրար միս: