Tag: Tayyip Erdogan

Turkey: Bolton’s New Book is ‘Reprehensible’

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Fakhruddin Alton, head of the Turkish Republic’s Communications Department, has hit back at the claims made by former US National Security Adviser John Bolton in his new book. The book includes references to discussions between Turkey and the United States.

Alton explained that, according to Bolton’s account of the meetings, it is clear that the talks held by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his US counterpart Donald Trump were “one-sided” and “manipulative”

“We find it reprehensible that former high-level officials attempt to use serious diplomatic conversations and efforts to resolve outstanding issues between allies like the U.S. and Turkey for their domestic political agendas,” Alton continued.

Alton also stated that “President Erdogan and Trump are keen on repairing and maintaining stable Turkish-American relations, despite deep differences, and despite the votes targeting Turkey in Washington.”

Bolton’s book alleges that in 2018 Trump offered to step and help Erdogan with a Justice Ministry investigation. Erdogan was suspected of breaching US sanctions on Iran through links to a Turkish bank. Bolton wrote that Trump told Erdogan: “I will take care of things.” 

Bolton alleged that Trump said “they are not his [Trump’s] people (close to him) but they are Obama’s people” and that the problem will be solved when they are replaced by his [Trump’s] people.

“Erdoğan provided a memo by the law firm representing Halkbank, which Trump did nothing more than flip through before declaring he believed Halkbank was totally innocent of violating U.S. Iran sanctions. Trump asked whether we could reach Acting U.S. Attorney General Matt Whitaker, which I sidestepped. Trump then told Erdoğan he would take care of things, explaining that the Southern District prosecutors were not his people, but were Obama people, a problem that would be fixed when they were replaced by his people.” Bolton wrote in his tell-all book.

The Turkish statement came a day after South Korea slammed Bolton’s new book. South Korea clarified that the account of discussions between US President Donald Trump and the leaders of the two Koreas were inaccurate and distorted.

“It does not reflect accurate facts and substantially distorts facts,” South Korea’s National Security Adviser Chung Yue Young said.

While Chung did not elaborate on specific points that South Korea considers inaccurate, he said the book sets a “dangerous precedent.”

“Unilaterally publishing consultations made based on mutual trust violates the basic principles of diplomacy and could severely damage future negotiations,” he added.

A book that annoys Trump

Bolton became Trump’s national security adviser in April 2018 but left his post in September 2019 due to differences between him and Trump over dealing with countries that pose major challenges for the United States, including Iran, North Korea, and Afghanistan.

In his book, “The Chamber that Happened the Events ” Bolton presents President Trump as a reckless leader.

Bolton’s book was published on June 23, after a federal judge in the United States ruled on Saturday, June 20, that former National Security Adviser John Bolton could go on publishing his book. The ruling came despite the efforts made by President Donald Trump’s administration to prevent the book from being released due to concerns that classified information could be revealed.

Fears Mount as Sahel Conflict Moves North

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A man protesting the Algerian government was shot to death in the country’s South as poverty and marginalization are escalating tensions. The village of Tin Zaouatine is home to roughly 4,100 and situated near the border with Mali and Niger in Algeria’s most southern province.

In the sweltering desert heat, protests had erupted when Algerian troops blocked access to the only local water source in the Saharan town, according to the North Africa Post. Why authorities took the drastic act is yet unknown but what is certain is the protests’ bloody aftermath.

The Algerian Defense Ministry denied that forces from the Algerian Army had shot the protester, instead blaming the tragic event on “unknown people targeting border guards.” ObservAlgerie reported that the Algerian government even disputes the location of the shooting, saying the death happened in the nearby Malian town of Ikhraben that borders Tin Zaouatine.

“These events relate to an attempt, carried out by smugglers and organized crime, aimed at deteriorating border security, by fueling violence among local inhabitants,” the Algerian defense ministry stated in a press release. From the language used, it appears the Algerian army is not necessarily denying it shot the man, but lies the blame at the feet of those organizing the protests.

Unrest at Algeria’s borders

The fact that local military forces used live ammunition against Algerian citizens protesting highlights the precarious state of Algeria’s southern border. Algeria’s southern neighbors, Niger and Mali, have both suffered tremendously from conflict in the Sahel that has pitched Berber tribes against government troops.

The borders between Algeria, Mali, and Niger are a remnant of colonialism and fail to take into account the shared culture of the local Berbers who have inhabited the region since antiquity. The wide variety of local Berber tribes are often classified as Tuareg, a definition that has helped awaken a sense of a national culture that supersedes national identity.

The unrest in the region has turned the Sahel into a haven for drug trafficking. Criminal networks are often better organized than the government forces intended to counter trafficking operations. The UN Office for Drugs and Crime (UNODC) estimates that illegal trade in the Sahel amounts to $3.8 billion every year.

External influence

The UN has made significant efforts to stabilize the region through peacekeeping missions and a UNODC agreement between Algeria, Burkina Faso, Chad, Mali, Morocco, Niger, which all have a significant Berber population and border the Sahel region. The World Bank has urged investment in local irrigation to increase agricultural output, but few concrete measures have materialized to improve local living conditions.

Other foreign actors have attempted to benefit from the local sense of insecurity. The UK-based Institute for Global Threats and Democracies Studies (IGTDS) in December, 2019 accused Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of interfering in the region following Turkey’s intervention in the Libyan conflict. Turkey is now courting the Libyan Tuaregs, who often featured in Muamar Ghaddafi’s internal power struggles, as part of Turkish “ambitions of dominating the MENA-region,” according to the IGTDS.

The Stockholm-based Nordic Research and Monitoring Network went one step further. The NGO called a meeting between Turkish officials and ten prominent Libyan Tuareg leaders an effort to “enlist” Tuareg forces. According to the organization’s website, the efforts intended to extend Turkish influence over vast swaths of the Sahara desert by aligning Turkey with local leaders.

With opposing interests and political differences between many countries in the Sahel region, the question remains whether neighboring countries can prioritize the well-being of their citizens in border regions. Halting drug trafficking in the region depends on government troops that are ill-equipped for the diplomatic conundrum of winning hearts and minds while combating trafficking-networks, one of the few remaining sources of income for the local population.

Turkish Navy Ships Menace French Frigate in the Mediterranean

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France alleged Wednesday that on June 10, the French frigate “Courbet” was subject to hostile maneuvers by Turkish naval ships off the coast of Libya. 

In a move that French Defence Minister Florence Parly described as “very serious,” Turkish warships targeted the “Courbet” after it requested to search the Turkish cargo ship “Circkin,” believed to be carrying illegal weapons.

France claims three Turkish naval ships were escorting the “Circkin.” In response to French requests to check the ship’s cargo, the Turkish ships engaged their naval targeting radar three times, a move Minister Parly described as “extremely aggressive.” 

The French “Courbet’s” NATO mandate does not include the pursuit of ships and it was forced to abandon attempts to check the cargo of the Turkish “Circkin,” reported French daily Le Figaro.

“This is an extremely aggressive act that is unacceptable by an ally against a NATO ship,” the French Defence Ministry stressed on June 17. “We consider this an extremely grave matter… (and) we cannot accept that an ally behaves this way, that it does this against a NATO ship, under NATO command, carrying out a NATO mission.”

France is present off the coast of Libya as part of its engagement with NATO’s Sea Guardian operation. NATO describes Sea Guardian as a maritime security operation “aimed at working with Mediterranean stakeholders to maintain maritime situational awareness, deter and counter-terrorism and enhance capacity building.”

Turkey has rejected France’s allegations, with a senior Turkish military official stating that the French frigate failed to establish communications with the Turkish ships during the incident and reiterating that “Turkey is fulfilling its obligations as an ally today as always.”

“If one takes into account that the French warship was refueled by our side before the alleged incident, it is clear how inappropriate and intentional the allegation is,” they said.

NATO has since announced it will launch an investigation into the matter. On June 18, NATO Secretary-General Jans Stoltenberg explained the investigation aims “to bring full clarity into what happened.”

The incident comes in a time of tension between Ankara and Paris, whose relationship has deteriorated since 2016 over issues regarding refugees and human trafficking, as well as arrests of French journalists. 

France and Turkey’s rising tensions

Tensions have run high between Turkey and its EU NATO partners for months as President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has embraced a more aggressive strategic posture. 

In October 2019, Turkish-backed militants launched an offensive to secure a 30 kilometer “safe zone” along the border for Syrian refugees in Turkey to return. The offensive led to the death and displacement of thousands of Syrian Kurds, a key ally of NATO in the fight against Islamic State. 

Within the Mediterranean, France has previously accused Turkey of using the NATO flag on its warships outside of official operations, including to escort cargo. The use of NATO insignia outside of operations is forbidden. 

Paris has also escalated its opposition towards Turkish interventions in Libya, angering the Turkish regime. Tensions between Turkey and France over the conflict in Libya are driven by their support for rival leadership groups. 

Turkey, with Qatar and Italy, supports the UN-recognized Government of National Accord (GNA) whilst France, along with Russia, Jordan, and the United Arab Emirates (UAE), supports the rival forces led by Khalifa Hifter. 

Turkey is facing criticism due to its involvement in transporting weapons and mercenaries to fight in the ranks of the Saraj government. France has slammed Turkey’s supply of arms to the GNA and hostile actions in the Mediterranean as undermining NATO’s work and attempts to negotiate and uphold a ceasefire. 

BBC issued an investigation revealing further proof that a Turkish ship delivered weapons to the Libyan Government of National Accord fighting within the capital, Tripoli. This move violates international resolutions and undermines the agreement from January’s Libya peace summit in Berlin, in which countries pledge to better enforce the arms embargo. Many parties allege Turkish military intervention has further fueled the already critical Libyan conflict.

Ankara continues to violate all international conventions and the Libyan arms embargo, France claims. The European country says Turkey was exporting heavy weapons across the Mediterranean to Tripoli. This exposed it to the direct clash with the EU’s Irini operation, set to monitor the commitment of the various parties to the UN arms embargo.

NATO members are divided over how to approach Turkey’s operations in Libya, with some member states believing that Turkey’s engagement will lessen Russia’s influence. Paris has been firm in its message to fellow members that “more Turkey does not mean less Russia.” 

Meanwhile, France is accused of being one of the many Arab and Western countries supporting the opposing Libyan National Army, led by Field Marshal Khalifa Haftar.

France denies supporting Haftar, but Turkish state media claims France has previously given him aid to fight Islamist militants. France did not publicly criticize the countries that support Haftar, the outlet claims, although France continues to criticize Turkey’s position.

 

Read also: France Repatriates 10 Children of ISIS Fighters From Syrian Camp

France Deems Turkish Ambitions in Libya ‘Unacceptable’

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On June 10, a Greek navy ship approached a Turkish cargo vessel in the high seas off the coast of Libya. The European ship, tasked with upholding the Libyan arms embargo, approached the vessel and sent a message requesting to board and inspect the suspicious cargo ship. This is a standard procedure that regulatory ships have repeated 75 times in recent months, but this time it yielded unprecedented results.

The cargo freighter did not respond; instead a Turkish warship appeared that told the Greeks to back off. With no mandate to forcibly board the freight ship, the Greek naval ship was forced to retreat without any inspection. French President Emmanuel Macron called the act “unacceptable” as the event adds fuel to an escalating diplomatic row between France and Turkey.

UN mandate

An EU spokesman on June 11 was reluctant to give details about the events, instead referring to the head of “Operation Irini” in Rome, which hosts the task force monitoring the Libyan arms embargo.

The renewed focus on the repeated breaches of the UN embargo on the supply of arms to Libya had earlier resulted in UN Resolution 2526, which mandates a naval force with daily inspections of vessels approaching and departing the Libyan coast.

The task force aims to stop the flow of arms in exchange for Libyan oil by inspecting naval trade, with the results of these inspections going to a UN panel of experts tasked with evaluating the situation. While the arms embargo faces no opposition in diplomatic circles, in practice most foreign actors involved in the chaotic conflict breach it daily.

French response

With a fresh round of peace negotiations approaching, military operations on the ground are accelerating as both sides hope to make “gains” which they can then use in negotiations. Macron had earlier highlighted Turkish “broken promises” as the new GNA gains appear to be the result of a large-scale Turkish intervention that has introduced new aerial capabilities for the Tripoli government through the use of drones.

News confirmed the horror of the Libyan conflict yet again on June 12, when UN Secretary General Antonio Guterres expressed deep shock over the discovery of mass graves in the country. But the Turkish intervention last week that prevented UN inspection of one of its vessels presents a new escalation according to the French.

“The Turks are behaving in an unacceptable manner and are exploiting NATO. France cannot just stand by,” a French official stated, while another added that France had concerns over the “even more aggressive and insistent stance from Turkey, with seven Turkish ships deployed off the Libyan coast and violations of the arms embargo.”

Further chaos

France nominally supports both sides in the conflict. As part of the UN, it recognizes the Tripoli GNA government, but France also supports Libya’s eastern LNA faction led by leader Khalifa Haftar. Macron hosted Haftar at the Elise Palace in March and has attempted to mediate a cease-fire, but with Haftar’s forces in retreat after several GNA victories, the conflict has changed.

As the GNA advances, it has brushed aside calls for a cease-fire, as the LNA did when they were at their strongest. The inconclusive back-and-forth between the two factions has led to a radical escalation of foreign troops, mercenaries, and weaponry, all in a clear breach of the embargo.

The chaotic conflict has turned Libya into a lawless state where already desperate refugees hoping to reach Europe face exploitation and die by the dozens in Libyan slave markets and refugee camps or drown in the Mediterranean Sea.

What was initially a civil war fought by Libyan militias using civilian cars and light arms has devolved into a proxy war featuring Naval frigates, fighter jets, anti-air batteries, and drones. What was once an internal conflict over the future of the country has become a sandbox for a proxy-war between foreign nations, where the Libyans themselves have little to do with an eventual resolution.

Turkey Takes Potential Step Towards Fascism by Empowering ‘Watchmen’

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“I want to hear the whistles of night watchmen while I am sleeping,” Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in 2016, following the failed coup attempt in Turkey. His wish will now come true, as Turkish parliament on Thursday, June 10, approved a government-led bill to empower a growing force of ‘night watchmen.’

The bill passed after a heated debate that dissolved into physical violence, with an opposition parliamentarian claiming to have been punched by a lawmaker from the governing coalition.

The new bill will allow the Erdogan-aligned auxiliary force to use firearms, stop vehicles, and perform stop-and-search procedures on citizens without cause. The new powers came into force following a recent tripling of the watchmen’s numbers, from 8,000 to 25,000.

What are the watchmen?

For months the Turkish government has been steadily increasing the size and powers of the ‘Bekci,’ an irregular force that traditionally patrolled neighborhoods and performed menial religious duties, such as announcing the breaking of the fast during Ramadan. The force was disbanded in 2008, with its members integrated into the country’s already sizable police force.

But, following the 2016 coup attempt, Erdogan decided to reinstate the Bekci, recruiting thousands into what the political opposition has called Erdogan’s “loyal militia” or a potential “morality police.” The night watchmen has since grown from 4,000 to 21,000 members, adding to an already heavy police presence in Turkey.

The Bekci, which operate at night, have become an intense topic of debate. Ankara shopkeepers in 2018 protested the growing force by closing their shops earlier to avoid their customers being harassed and interrogated by the loosely-regulated night watchmen. The Bekci are often seen as an extension of the ruling coalition’s conservative values and the government’s intent to enforce these values.

Echoes from the past

Erdogan’s ruling party appears to be using nostalgia over the Bekci’s former reputation as a benevolent and friendly neighborhood watch to build support for his irregular force. The pre-2008 Bekci were often referred to as “uncle watchmen” and featured as the heroes in books and movies.

Columnist Elif Cakir of the Islamist newspaper Karar expressed concern in January over the force’s potential future role, writing: “If the issue goes beyond nostalgia, then is there a need for the watchmen? And if so, what is it?”

Turkey already had 524 police officers for every 100,000 citizens in 2012, more than most Western countries, and commentators have asked what purpose the new auxiliary force will fulfill. With no discernible public order crisis, many fear the Bekci will comprise a parallel police force, loyal to Erdogan.

Historic similarities

The forming of an armed force that answers to the ruling party is bringing back echoes of a problematic chapter in history. The images of rows of uniformed recruits appear eerily similar to black-and-white photographs of Italy’s “voluntary national security militia,” dubbed the “blackshirts” after they became the paramilitary wing of Benito Mussolini’s fascist party.

Like Erdogan’s Bekci, the blackshirts similarly consisted of nationalists, conservatives, and right-wing supporters who slowly became a violent militia that cemented Mussolini’s power in the decades leading up to the Second World War.

Another problematically similar force was Adolf Hitler’s paramilitary force. Similar to the formation of the Bekci, these forces were intended to create a loyal force parallel to existing state forces, which eventually became part of the power on which a fascist state was built.

While much remains unclear about Erdogan’s intentions with the night watchmen, it can only be considered troubling to see their powers expanded in the absence of a public order crisis that could warrant such moves. With little practical opposition to the rise of the night watchmen, their role in Turkish politics could be an indicator that tumultuous times are ahead for the Turkish people.

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