Turkey's PM stands by criticism of Israeli offensive

[bemildred]

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"There are people who are disturbed by me speaking of my discomfort over the killing of civilians, (including) children ... If we do not state what is just and lawful, then we will lose our self-respect," he said.

"I am (also) a leader who has said that anti-Semitism is a crime against humanity," he said in a speech to his ruling AK Party in parliament broadcast live on television. Erdogan's criticism, coming as his government seeks to help negotiate a ceasefire between Israel and Hamas, are sure to anger Israel but are unlikely to hurt strategic ties between the two countries.

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"Excuses are found for mass killings of children at schools, hospitals and mosques, especially by Jewish-backed media," Erdogan said.

"News stories saying that terrorists hide among children or (describing bombings) as technical errors or accidents are aimed at making fun of the world (public opinion)," he said. (Editing by Giles Elgood)

http://www.reuters.com/article/newsMaps/idUSTRE50C38U20090113

[bdamomma]

1. Turkey will isolate Israel, I hope more countries do.

[bunnies]

2. Good for him.

Now is not the time for blind allegiance.

[Scurrilous]

3. Turkish PM: Israel should be barred from UN

'How can a country that does not implement Security Council resolutions be allowed to enter through the gates of the UN headquarters,' Recep Tayyip Erdogan says

http://www.ynetnews.com/articles/0,7340,L-3657237,00.html

<snip>

"Turkey's prime minister on Friday said Israel should be barred from the United Nations while it ignores the body's calls to stop fighting in Gaza.

"How is such a country, which does not implement resolutions of the UN Security Council, allowed to enter through the gates of the UN (headquarters)?" Recep Tayyip Erdogan said.

Erdogan spoke before UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon arrives in Ankara to discuss the conflict.

His comments reflected a growing anger in Turkey, Israel's best friend in the Muslim world, over Israel's Gaza operation.

Erdogan accused Israel of attacking civilians under the pretext of targeting Islamic militant group of Hamas."

[Behind the Aegis]

4. "especially by Jewish-backed media,"

Totally understandable. :eyes:

[shira]

5. good catch

yes, let's back the Turkish leader. Let's help him deny his own country's genocide against Armenians so that we can focus only on Jews. It's not like Turkey is in NATO and joined in on bombing raids just recently in other foreign countries that posed no threat to his own citizens.

He's a hypocritical, hating toad.

[bdamomma]

7. very true comment. Israel can always say Turkey has not

recognized the Armenian genocide. Very hypocritical is right.

[High Plains]

12. Ooh, he said "Jewish." He must be an anti-semite.

This schtick is getting very tired. But I understand: You must do anything possible to divert attention from the massacre in which Israel is engaging right now.

[Behind the Aegis]

16. It is not that he said "Jewish."

Your lack of understanding is a prime example of why anti-Semitism can flourish.

[azurnoir]

6. Quite a statement considering that Turkey

formally recognized Israel in 1949 and was the Muslim majority country to do so and has had close enough relations with Israel to preform joint military exercises

[bemildred]

8. Turkey wants Israel barred from UN

Sounds very annoyed.

(RTTNews) - Enraged by Israel's attack on United Nations' installations in Gaza and its defiance to UN calls to end fighting in Gaza, Turkey's Prime Minister called for barring the Jewish state from the organization.

"How is such a country, which totally ignores and does not implement resolutions of the U.N. Security Council, allowed to enter through the gates of the UN (headquarters)?" Erdogan said during a meeting at the ruling AK Party's headquarters in Ankara Friday.

U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon is scheduled to arrive in the Turkish capital to discuss the crisis.

He said Israel's attack of the U.N. building in Gaza during Ban's visit of Israel "is an open challenge to the world, teasing the world."

http://www.nasdaq.com/aspxcontent/NewsStory.aspx?cpath=20090116/ACQRTT200901161035RTTRADERUSEQUITY_0618.htm

[azurnoir]

10. Yup this has just been a brilliant move

on the part of the Israeli government, I read yesterday even the Kurds are claiming solidarity with the Palestinians

[bemildred]

11. Well, we do seem to be starting to look past the "war" now.

Starting to maneuver over what the post-"war" situation is going to look like. It looks sort of like Livni might be getting her way too, she's been opposing an agreement, but perhaps that is because Hamas continues to refuse to make any deals. So there is a need for a fig-leaf to cover the withdrawal without any concessions gained. And it does sound like Gaza is going to be opened, although I expect we have a good deal of blather about that to wade through yet. And it does sound like Hamas will retain control of Gaza, such as it is. Efforts seem to be under way to "secure" the West Bank for Fatah too. Considering all the aid and stuff pledged, we could see a lot of activity in Gaza soon, once everyone thinks it's safe.

[azurnoir]

15. Sounds like Livni got her way in DC too

her last minute visit to George, it sounds like American troops might be maintaining security in Rafah

[bemildred]

14. Of course, I could be being too optimistic.

The Israeli elections are still a few weeks off, we have to maintain the warm glow of military success until after that. I do look forward to seeing what the new US administration has to say too, once in place. All we have now is an agreement not to agree about much of anything.

[GoesTo11]

9. Why?

Turkey has long been a secular state, but the new PM is openly trying to make it Islamic. This is a momentous change going on there over the last few years. A lot of Turkey, including the army, isn't so keen on this.

As has long been the case in Muslim countries, cheap but extreme rhetoric about Israel (it won't cost him anything anywhere since Israel is getting criticized from many directions) builds support for religious extremists to distract people from local politics. As a boost, he is hoping to raise Turkey's prominence in the middle east and credibility with Arab countries.

[Name removed]

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