Responding to criticisms that the government was taking a warmongering stance on Syria, the prime minister lashed out at the CHP. “Where were you when 110,000 people were killed in Syria? Where were you at when 7 million people were displaced? Historical artifacts, mosques, sanctuaries, tombs have been destroyed, where were you? Kids, women, mothers, fathers have been massacred, where were you?” Erdoğan asked emotionally.
“The ones who did not speak against one of the biggest tragedies of humanity, and even slapping al-Assad’s back, now accuse us of warmongering, without shame. The main opposition sides with the regime and we stand by the opposition, the oppressed and suffering. This is our difference,” Erdoğan told a meeting of the All Industrialist and Businessmen Association (TÜMSİAD) yesterday in Istanbul.
‘Death is death’
The prime minister said the number of deaths in the war-torn country had reached 110,000. “Death is death. It is not important which weapon – chemical or not – was used. We should put all the weapons used in Syria in the same category. The Syrian regime should pay the cost of these atrocities to humanity,” Erdoğan said, adding that the open door policy of Turkey would continue.
The prime minister also said he doubted whether President Bashar al-Assad would fulfill his pledge to put Syria’s chemical weapons under international control, accusing him of buying time for new “massacres.”
“The al-Assad regime has not lived up to any of its pledges, it has won time for new massacres and continues to do so,” Erdoğan said. “We are doubtful whether the promises regarding chemical weapons will be met.”
Deputy Prime Minister Bülent Arınç also voiced his skepticism. “Unfortunately U.S. Secretary of State Kerry’s remarks on surrendering chemical weapons removed the possibility of an intervention,” Arınç told private broadcaster NTV.
- “We are not banging the drums of war. But something had to be done against a tyrannical administration that is responsible for the deaths of more than 100,000 people, that has used ballistic missiles and now chemical weapons,” he said. “Kerry’s remarks served Russia and al-Assad. The United States couldn’t back out of it, and to me, it was a big gaffe.”
12/9/13
--
-
Related:
- VIDEO RT: Some residents, who claim rebels have resorted to looting, executions and forcing residents to convert to Islam, chose to join the Army to defend their village. Among them, Saba Ubeid, a store owner, said when filmed by RT in 2012 that he was sure the rebels would never come to the village. This time he was armed with a gun and fought alongside Syrian soldiers.
GR
FR
DE
ES
IT
RU
EU
Syria's CWC letter reaches UN...
ReplyDeleteSyria's letter on its demand to be a party to Chemical Weapons Convention (CWC) reaches UN Secretariat-General, says UN.
12/9/13
Υπό όρους θα παραδώσει το χημικό οπλοστάσιο η Συρία...
DeleteΗ Συρία θα εκπληρώσει την υπόσχεσή της να παραδώσει το χημικό της οπλοστάσιο στη διεθνή κοινότητα, με βάση την πρόταση που είχε κάνει η Ρωσία, υπό τον όρο ότι η Ουάσινγκτον θα σταματήσει να βοηθά τους Σύρους αντάρτες και να απειλεί τη Δαμασκό, δήλωσε σήμερα ο Σύρος πρόεδρος Μπασάρ αλ Άσαντ σε συνέντευξη που παραχώρησε στη ρωσική τηλεόραση.
"Πρόκειται για μια διμερή διαδικασία", είπε ο Σύρος πρόεδρος, σύμφωνα με τη ρωσική μετάφραση των δηλώσεών του. "Όταν θα δούμε ότι οι ΗΠΑ θέλουν πράγματι τη σταθερότητα στην περιοχή, όταν θα σταματήσουν να απειλούν και να επιδιώκουν μια επίθεση και να παραδίδουν όπλα στους τρομοκράτες, τότε θα θεωρήσουμε ότι μπορούμε να ακολουθήσουμε τη διαδικασία μέχρι τέλους", τόνισε μιλώντας στο κανάλι της δημόσιας τηλεόρασης Ρωσία 24. "Θέλω να είναι σαφές σε όλους ότι οι δεσμεύσεις (που αναλαμβάνει η Συρία) δεν θα εκπληρωθούν μονομερώς", συνέχισε.
Ο Άσαντ είπε πάντως ότι η χώρα του εντός των επόμενων ημερών θα στείλει στον ΟΗΕ και στον Οργανισμό για την Απαγόρευση των Χημικών Όπλων (ΟΑΧΟ) τα έγγραφα που απαιτούνται ώστε να ενταχθεί στον δεύτερο.....http://www.enet.gr/?i=news-room.el&id=385608
12/8/13
Ο ΟΗΕ ανακοίνωσε πως παρέλαβε έγγραφο της Συρίας για την αποδοχή εκ μέρους της της Σύμβασης κατά των Χημικών Όπλων...
DeleteΤα Ηνωμένα Έθνη ανακοίνωσαν σήμερα πως έχουν παραλάβει έγγραφο από τη Συρία, με το οποίο η χώρα δηλώνει ότι επιθυμεί να ενταχθεί στη Σύμβαση κατά των Χημικών Όπλων, υλοποιώντας την υπόσχεση που είχε δώσει ο Σύρος πρόεδρος Μπασάρ αλ Άσαντ.
«Τις προηγούμενες ώρες παραλάβαμε ένα έγγραφο από τη συριακή κυβέρνηση, το οποίο μεταφράζεται τώρα, και το οποίο αποτελεί ένα έγγραφο που αφορά την αποδοχή της Σύμβασης για τα Χημικά Όπλα», δήλωσε ο εκπρόσωπος του ΟΗΕ Φαρχάν Χακ.
Ο ίδιος επεσήμανε πως η ένταξη σε μία συνθήκη, την οποία έχουν υπογράψει και άλλες χώρες, απαιτεί «συγκεκριμένες διαδικασίες», οι οποίες θα απαιτήσουν «κάποιες ημέρες».
«Απαιτείται ένα χρονικό διάστημα κάποιων ημερών προτού μία χώρα μπορέσει να ενταχθεί επισήμως» σε μία συνθήκη, υπογράμμισε, προσθέτοντας πως η ένταξη «είναι ένα πρώτο βήμα».
Σύμφωνα με τις εφαρμοζόμενες διαδικασίες από τον ΟΗΕ, η ένταξη έχει την ίδια νομική ισχύ με την επικύρωση και γίνεται αποδεκτή εν γένει όταν η συνθήκη αυτή ήδη έχει τεθεί σε εφαρμογή. Η Συρία δεν έχει υπογράψει τη σχετική Σύμβαση του 1993, όμως έχει υπογράψει το πρωτόκολλο της Γενεύης του 1925, που απαγορεύει την όποια χρήση των χημικών όπλων.
http://www.agelioforos.gr/default.asp?pid=7&ct=1&artid=187504
12/9/13
La Syrie prête à appliquer la Convention sur les armes chimiques...
ReplyDeleteLa Syrie est prête à respecter la Convention internationale sur l'interdiction des armes chimiques (CIAC), indique une lettre adressée jeudi par le gouvernement syrien au secrétaire général de l'ONU Ban Ki-moon.
Aux termes de ce message dont RIA Novosti a obtenu copie, Damas accepte d'appliquer intégralement la CIAC avant d'y avoir adhéré.
A l'heure actuelle, la Syrie n'est pas signataire de la Convention sur l'interdiction des armes chimiques.
Le ministre russe des Affaires étrangères Sergueï Lavrov a appelé lundi Damas à placer les arsenaux chimiques syriens sous contrôle international pour ensuite les détruire. Il a également invité la Syrie à rejoindre intégralement l'Organisation pour l'interdiction des armes chimiques (OIAC).
http://fr.rian.ru/world/20130912/199290068.html
12/9/13
Syrian opposition to choose Prime Minister in push for credibility...
ReplyDeleteThe Syrian opposition coalition will appoint a provisional prime minister on Sept. 14 to raise its international credibility as high-stakes diplomacy plays out between Washington and Moscow to resolve Syria's two and a half year civil war, National Coalition officials said.
After a week of intense international negotiations that threatened to sideline the Western and Arab backed coalition in the wake of a nerve gas attack on Damascus that killed hundreds of people, coalition officials said they reached consensus that Ahmad Tumeh, an independent Islamist, will be appointed to run rebel-held areas where a decline into chaos threatens to undermine the opposition to President Bashar al-Assad.
"We will be appointing a new prime minister tomorrow. It will be the first item on the agenda," coalition spokesman Khaled Saleh told reporters after the first day of a meeting of the 115-member coalition.
The coalition has struggled to form a coherent response to a Russian initiative that proposes al-Assad hands over the country's massive chemical weapons arsenal in return for averting a threatened U.S.-led punitive strike.
"The Russian initiative is silent on the very first issue on ensuring accountability. Providing and reaching political solutions does not absolve the regime from the fact that it killed 1,466 innocent civilians," Saleh said.
Al-Assad denies responsibility for the gas attacks, which hit rebel-held districts.
Russia and the United States agreed on a new push to negotiate an end to Syria's civil war on Sept. 13 by reviving an international plan for a "Geneva 2" conference.....http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syrian-opposition-to-choose-prime-minister-in-push-for-credibility.aspx?pageID=238&nID=54437&NewsCatID=352
13/9/13
Syrian opposition elects moderate Islamist Ahmad Tumeh as PM...
Delete(Reuters) - The opposition Syrian National Coalition elected moderate Islamist Ahmad Tumeh as provisional prime minister on Saturday, entrusting him with the difficult task of restoring order to areas no longer controlled by President Bashar al-Assad, coalition members told Reuters.
The coalition hopes that 48-year-old Tumeh will boost the opposition's credibility as Russia and the United States negotiated a deal over Assad's chemical weapons arsenal that could lead to efforts towards a wider settlement of the two-and-a-half year conflict.
Tumeh, a former political prisoner from the eastern province of Deir al-Zor, got 75 votes out of 97 cast in a coalition ballot in Istanbul, the sources said.
He is expected to choose a cabinet of 13 ministers in a deal reached after two days of talks between power brokers in the Arab and Western-backed coalition.
"The priority of my government will be to restore stability in the liberated areas, improve their living conditions and provide security," Tumeh told Reuters after he was elected.
(Reporting by Khaled Yacoub Oweis, Amman newsroom; editing by Mike Collett-White)
http://www.reuters.com/article/2013/09/14/us-syria-crisis-pm-idUSBRE98D08Z20130914?feedType=RSS&feedName=worldNews
US Set to Bring Syrian Opposition to Geneva Conference - Lavrov...
ReplyDeleteMOSCOW, September 15 (RIA Novosti) – Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Saturday that the United States would continue its diplomatic efforts to bring Syrian opposition forces to a planned international peace conference in Geneva.
The Russian foreign minister said in an interview aired by Rossiya 1 TV channel that US Secretary of State John Kerry confirmed the intention to work “with the [Syrian Opposition] Coalition, which the UN, Europe and most countries in the region consider the sole representative of the Syrian people, so that it stopped rejecting the idea of the conference and arrived [to Geneva].”
Lavrov said the conference would also be attended by “other opposition forces, including those who have never left Syria and expressed their protest in the country, not from abroad.”
He said the US would also seek to persuade its allies “who have a cautious attitude towards the international conference” to take part.
Speaking about Russian-US dialog on Syria, Lavrov said presidents of the two states have agreed to regularly exchange information and estimates of Syria’s chemical stockpiles.
He assured that Damascus gave written guarantees that even before officially joining the treaty, it would observe provisions of the Chemical Weapons Convention without preconditions.
“The main step that allowed us to prepare all documents for the Organization for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons (OPCW) so promptly was made by Damascus… Americans say it was done only under the threat of the use of force. This is non-essential to us. What is important is that Damascus announced joining the convention for the prohibition of chemical weapons, unambiguously and without any preconditions,” the Russian diplomat said.
Russia is “absolutely certain” that last month’s chemical weapons attack, which allegedly killed more than 1,400, was fabricated to provoke a foreign military strike, he said....http://en.rian.ru/politics/20130915/183454370/US-Set-to-Bring-Syrian-Opposition-to-Geneva-Conference---Lavrov.html
15/9/13
Turkish FM Davutoğlu to visit Paris over Syria talks...
ReplyDeleteTurkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu will visit Paris on Sept. 16 for a meeting on Syria upon an invitation by his U.S. counterpart, John Kerry.
Speaking on the phone for the second time in less than 24 hours, Davutoğlu and Kerry discussed steps towards setting out a framework for the dismantling of Syria’s chemical weapons arsenal, as agreed on Sept. 14 by the United States and Russia, diplomatic sources said.
Davutoğlu will join his U.S., French and British counterparts in France.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-fm-davutoglu-to-visit-paris-over-syria-talks.aspx?pageID=238&nID=54472&NewsCatID=338
15/9/13
Britain, France, U.S. agree to boost support for Syrian opposition...
ReplyDeleteBritain, France and the United States on Monday agreed to increase their backing for rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad.
The three powers also agreed at talks in Paris that Assad would face consequences if he fails to comply with a U.N. resolution setting out a timetable for the handover of Syria’s chemical weapons to international control.
In a statement on Monday, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry stressed that the allies were “committed to the opposition” and said Assad had “lost all legitimacy to be possible to govern his country.”
“Each of us here today are here to emphasize the same thing, that what we achieved in this agreement has to be translated into a U.N. resolution, it has to be strong, it has to forceful it has to be real, it has to be transparent, it has to be timely, all of those things are critical, and it has to be enforced.
“If the Assad regime believes that this is not enforceable and we are not serious, they will play games.”
Meanwhile, French Foreign Minister Laurent Fabius announced there would be a major international meeting with leaders of the Syrian National Coalition in New York next week.
“We know that in order to negotiate a political solution, there has to be a strong opposition,” Fabius said.
(With AFP)
http://english.alarabiya.net/en/News/middle-east/2013/09/16/Britain-France-U-S-agree-to-boost-support-for-Syrian-opposition.html
16/9/13
ΟΗΕ: Εντείνουν τις επιθέσεις τους οι τζιχαντιστές
ReplyDeleteΟι οργανώσεις ενόπλων της αντιπολίτευσης στην Συρία, στις οποίες περιλαμβάνονται ξένοι μαχητές που κάνουν τζιχάντ (ιερό πόλεμο), έχουν εντείνει τους φόνους και άλλου είδους εγκλήματα στη βόρεια Συρία, δήλωσαν ερευνητές του ΟΗΕ για τα ανθρώπινα δικαιώματα.
«Στην βόρεια Συρία, υπάρχει μια αύξηση των εγκλημάτων και των παραβιάσεων (των ανθρωπίνων δικαιωμάτων) από εξτρεμιστικές αντικυβερνητικές ένοπλες οργανώσεις όπως και μια συρροή ξένων μαχητών που συντάσσονται στο πλευρό των ανταρτών. Ολόκληρες ταξιαρχίες αποτελούνται τώρα από μαχητές που έχουν περάσει στην Συρία, με την Αλ Μουχατζιρίν να είναι η πιο ενεργή», δήλωσε ο Πάουλο Πινέιρο, πρόεδρος της ανεξάρτητης επιτροπής έρευνας του ΟΗΕ για την Συρία, στο Συμβούλιο Ανθρωπίνων Δικαιωμάτων του διεθνούς οργανισμού....
Οι ερευνητές του ΟΗΕ είχαν δηλώσει και στο παρελθόν ότι ξένοι μαχητές από περισσότερες από 10 χώρες, συμπεριλαμβανομένου του Αφγανιστάν και της περιοχής της Τσετσενίας, στην Ρωσία, όπως και οι δυνάμεις του Μετώπου αλ Νόσρα, που συνδέεται με την Αλ Κάιντα, υποστηρίζουν τους Σύρους αντάρτες. Η λιβανέζικη Χεζμπολάχ μάχεται αντιθέτως στο πλευρό των κυβερνητικών δυνάμεων.....http://www.efsyn.gr/?p=113256
16/9/13
Syria: nearly half rebel fighters are jihadists or hardline Islamists, says IHS Jane's report...Nearly half the rebel fighters in Syria are now aligned to jihadist or hardline Islamist groups according to a new analysis of factions in the country's civil war....
ReplyDeleteOpposition forces battling Bashar al-Assad's regime in Syria now number around 100,000 fighters, but after more than two years of fighting they are fragmented into as many as 1,000 bands.
The new study by IHS Jane's, a defence consultancy, estimates there are around 10,000 jihadists - who would include foreign fighters - fighting for powerful factions linked to al-Qaeda..
Another 30,000 to 35,000 are hardline Islamists who share much of the outlook of the jihadists, but are focused purely on the Syrian war rather than a wider international struggle.
There are also at least a further 30,000 moderates belonging to groups that have an Islamic character, meaning only a small minority of the rebels are linked to secular or purely nationalist groups.
The stark assessment, to be published later this week, accords with the view of Western diplomats estimate that less than one third of the opposition forces are "palatable" to Britain, while American envoys put the figure even lower.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/worldnews/middleeast/syria/10311007/Syria-nearly-half-rebel-fighters-are-jihadists-or-hardline-Islamists-says-IHS-Janes-report.html
16/9/13
UN Security Council should listen to Turkey: President Gül...
ReplyDeletePresident Abdullah Gül has called on the United Nations Security Council to give an ear to the concerns of Turkey as the country most affected by the ongoing civil war in neighboring Syria as he welcomed the U.S.-Russia deal on the elimination of chemical weapons in the country.
“While, on the one hand, serious and determined works should be carried out to ultimately cleanse Syria of chemical weapons; there is, on the other hand, a need for strong political determination for resolving the larger problem in Syria,” President Gül told reporters today.
Gül said Turkey, as a neighbor of Syria, welcomed the deal brokered by the U.S. and Russia in order to destroy the country’s nearly 1,000-ton stockpile of chemical weapons. “It will be Turkey who will be happiest at the removal of these weapons from Syria. That’s why this deal should be supported and we are in fact supporting it,” Gül stressed, but added that the issue of chemical weapons was just one aspect of the problem in Syria.
“There is a second phase of the issue: If chemical weapons had not been wielded, then would there be no problem in Syria?” he asked, arguing that the world should not adopt such a position regarding Syria. Upon a question about whether the U.N. Security Council could agree on a resolution in light of the chemical weapons’ deal, Gül said it was not possible to from today as resolutions could only be produced following though negotiations and discussions by the permanent members of the Security Council. Recalling that Turkey was not a member of the U.N. Security Council, Gül called on the permanent and temporary members to listen to Turkey as a neighboring country who has been most affected of the civil war in Syria.
President Gül will represent Turkey at the U.N. General Assembly next week where he will address member countries and hold bilateral talks with his counterparts from various countries. The U.N. General Assembly will witness important meetings on Syria where a number of countries will hold a specific reunion to discuss the developments in this country following the chemical deal. John Kerry and Sergei Lavrov, foreign ministers of the U.S. and Russia, will meet on Sept. 28 in New York to move forward with the agreement they brokered in Geneva.
http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/un-security-council-should-listen-to-turkey-president-gul.aspx?pageID=238&nID=54551&NewsCatID=338
16/9/13
Syrie: les rebelles multiplient les crimes (Onu)...
ReplyDeleteLes experts des Nations unies constatent depuis juillet dernier sur le territoire syrien une hausse des crimes de guerre perpétrés par les rebelles et des mercenaires étrangers combattant à leurs côtés, rapportent lundi les médias internationaux se référant au rapport des enquêteurs de l'Onu.
"Dans le nord de la Syrie, il y a eu une brusque augmentation des crimes et des violations des droits de l'homme commis par des groupes extrémistes armés antigouvernementaux qui opèrent aux côtés de djihadistes venus de l'étranger", a déclaré devant le Conseil des droits de l'homme (CDH) de l'Onu à Genève Paulo Pinheiro, chef de l'équipe onusienne chargée de faire un rapport sur les crimes de guerre en Syrie.
Depuis mars 2011, la Syrie est en proie à un conflit sanglant entre les autorités et l'opposition qui aurait déjà fait environ 100.000 morts. Damas déclare faire face à la résistance de commandos bien armés et entraînés, soutenus depuis l'étranger.
http://fr.rian.ru/world/20130916/199316173.html
16/9/13