The Grand Turk |
Turkish Opposition Slams Erdogan after Cenbank Governor Ousted |
2021-03-24 |
[ENGLISH.AAWSAT] Opposition parties say ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire... is paying a steep price for President His Enormity, Sultan Recep Tayyip Erdogan the First ![]() ’s wayward economic policies after his shock firing of the central bank governor sent Erdogan dismissed Naci Agbal on Saturday, two days after the governor raised rates to curb inflation. Erdogan then appointed a critic of tight policy who is expected to reverse recent rate hikes, fueling fears of political meddling in monetary policy. The lira slumped as much as 15% after the move, stocks dived and government yields jumped, piling pressure on the credit-fueled emerging economy, which has been prone to booms and busts during Erdogan’s 18 years in power. Sahap Kavcioglu, a former politician from Erdogan’s ruling AK Party (AKP) who shares the president’s unorthodox view that high interest rates cause inflation, is Turkey’s third central bank chief since mid-2019. "Turkey is paying the price for Mr. Erdogan’s thoughtless and reckless decisions with high interest rates, unemployment and high inflation," Iyi Party chairwoman Meral Aksener told her party’s politicians in a speech in parliament. Erdogan recently announced an economic reform package but Aksener said it lacked credibility. She said Turkey’s economic woes - with inflation above 15%, high unemployment and a gaping current account deficit - left no alternative to high rates. "High interest rates have become necessary. High interest rates are a fever medicine, not a permanent cure. As the treatment is delayed, it is inevitable for the patient to die," said Aksener, head of the fifth largest party in parliament. ’Unprecedented incompetence’ Faik Oztrak, deputy head of the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), slammed what he called the AKP’s "ideological blindness". "It is truly unprecedented incompetence to cause the Erdogan has not commented on the move but a deputy head of the AKP, Nurettin Canikli, said Agbal had been dismissed because he did not use monetary policy instruments rationally. Aksener said her party supported Agbal prioritizing price stability and faulted Erdogan’s economic management, under a presidential system which came into force after a 2018 election. "Turkey has no macroeconomic problems. Turkey has macro-Erdoganic problems... What is the solution? To immediately get rid of this failed system and return to a parliamentary democracy," she said. |
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India-Pakistan |
Turkey to sell 30 ATAK helicopters to Pakistan in major military export deal |
2018-07-14 |
[PRESSTV] ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire.... and Pakistain have finalized a deal for the sale of 30 multi-role and all-weather TAI/AgustaWestland T129 ATAK attack helicopters in an agreement that has been billed as one of Ankara’s largest single defense industry exports. "Contract negotiations on T129 ATAK helicopters between Military sources, requesting anonymity, said the helicopters will be delivered gradually over five years, and that the TAI has also agreed to provide logistics, spare parts, training, and ammunition services. Speaking in an exclusive interview with Anadolu in November 2017, former Pak Minister for Defense Production and Minister for Science and Technology Rana Tanveer Hussain said his country planned to procure 30 attack helicopters and four naval ships from Turkey. On July 5, |
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The Grand Turk | |
US 'blackmails' Turkey into scrapping S-400 deal with Russia: Minister | |
2018-06-15 | |
[PRESSTV] Turkish Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli has slammed as "blackmail" Washington's pressure on Ankara to scrap its finalized deal to with Russia to purchase the S-400 air defense missile systems. "Such a demand goes beyond any permissible norms of diplomacy and trade relations. The fulfillment of this demand is unacceptable. The situation can be characterized as blackmail," Turkey's Anadolu news agency quoted Canikli (pictured below) as saying on Thursday.
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The Grand Turk | |
Turkey detains 150 soldiers over alleged coup links: Report | |
2018-05-12 | |
[AlAhram] The Istanbul prosecutor had issued arrest warrants for 300 soldiers, including 211 on active duty, state news agency Anadolu said. Since the July 2016 attempted putsch more than 50,000 people have been placed in durance vile Don't shoot, coppers! I'm comin' out! and 140,000 public workers, including military personnel, have been sacked or suspended over alleged links to the US-based preacher Fethullah Gülen ![]() or Kurdish krazed killers. Istanbul police took 150 soldiers into custody during the latest operation, Anadolu reported said, as part of an investigation into the Gulen movement inside the armed forces. Some 8,500
Five days after the coup bid, ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... introduced a state of emergency which was renewed for a seventh time last month despite Ankara's Western allies calling for it to end. | |
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The Grand Turk |
Turkey to continue measures in Syria's Afrin until threats eliminated: Defence minister |
2018-04-11 |
[AlAhram] ...the decaying remnant of the Ottoman Empire.... will continue to take measures in Syria's Afrin region, from which it drove the Kurdish YPG militia in an offensive this year, until all terror risks there are eliminated, Defence Minister Nurettin Canikli said on Tuesday. Speaking to news hounds in parliament, Canikli said Afrin would be handed over to a central government in Syria when a new administration has been formed following elections, once terror threats in the region have been eliminated. |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
UN adds uncertainty to Turkey’s Afrin operation |
2018-03-05 |
[ARABNEWS] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s military operation in the Syrian district of Afrin has now progressed unabated for more than 40 days. The military authorities have announced that the border is clear of Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) fighters, while the According to figures disclosed by Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli, Turkey has so far lost 157 soldiers in the Afrin operation: 116 being members of the Turkey-trained Free Syrian Army |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Turkish military and FSA ‘advances in Afrin, claiming third town center’ |
2018-03-05 |
[Hurriyet Daily News] The ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) have advanced on the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG) forces of Evil in Syria’s Afrin district, claiming several strategic points, including a town center and at least five villages. "Shaykh al-Hadid, located in the west of Afrin, is the third town center to be liberated since the launch of the operation. Bulbul and Rajo town centers have also been liberated... Four more villages and a mountain were liberated. They include: Bafliun village and its mountain in the Sharan district, Hulilu village in Rajo, Souuldjouk and Araendi villages in Shaykh al-Hadid district," state-run Anadolu Agency reported on March 4. "The village of Haji Khalil in Rajo, located northwest of Afrin, has been cleared of terrorists," it added. Ankara sees the YPG as a terrorist group for its links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party, which is listed as a terror organization by ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... , the U.S, and the European Union ![]() ’134 strategic points captured so far' Turkey launched "Operation Olive Branch" on Jan. 20 along with elements of the FSA to remove YPG forces of Evil from Afrin. According to state-run Anadolu Agency, the number of strategic points, including 102 villages and 22 mountains and hills, Some 2,612 YPG forces of Evil have been "neutralized" in Turkey’s ongoing cross-border operation, the The authorities use the word "neutralized" in statements to imply that the forces of Evil in question either surrendered or were killed or captured. Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli stated on March 2 that 41 Many of the areas over Turkey’s southeastern border, including the town of Rajo in northern Syria, have been cleared of "terrorists," Prime Minister Binali Yildirim said on March 3, referring to YPG myrmidons. "Afrin is surrounded. We have cleared all nearby border areas of terror nests," Yildirim said during the ruling Justice and Development’s (AKP) congress in the Central Anatolian province of Konya. Yildirim said "Our |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Afrin Activities: Turks advance slightly into kill box, explain sensitive and gentle shelling of aid convoy |
2018-02-24 |
![]() Turkish-backed rebels score small advance in Afrin -- map [ALMASDARNEWS] The According to pro-opposition activists, the In addition to their advance at the Rajou District, the ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) seized the town of Balfour near the imperative Jandaris axis in southern Afrin. YPG activists claimed that at least ten FSA rebels were killed during their attack, while the overall corpse count for the Kurdish forces is unknown. As a result of this advance, the Turkish forces yesterday shelling convoy headed to Syria's Afrin region [AlAhram] The In a statement on Friday, the The YPG said the convoy, which arrived in Afrin late on Thursday, had transported civilians from the Jazeera region further east and other towns under the control of Kurdish forces. Birusk Hasaka, the YPG front man in Afrin, said the convoy included hundreds of people. The shelling set some cars ablaze, wounding at least ten people and killing one passenger. "The convoy was headed to stand in solidarity with the people of Afrin, carrying food aid and medical supplies," he told Rooters. "As always all attention and sensitivity was shown so that civilians were not harmed," the President Tayyip Erdogan said on Friday the Human Rights Watch said on Friday it had investigated three attacks in Afrin last month in which "It appears that vulnerable civilians are facing displacement and death because of the way ...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... 's latest offensive is being conducted," said Lama Fakih, deputy Middle East director at the U.S.-based group. Since the onset of Syria's conflict in 2011, the YPG and its allies have carved out three autonomous cantons in the north. Their territory expanded as they defeated Islamic State ...formerly ISIS or ISIL, depending on your preference. Before that al-Qaeda in Iraq, as shaped by Abu Musab Zarqawi. They're very devout, committing every atrocity they can find in the Koran and inventing a few more. They fling Allaharound with every other sentence, but to hear the pols talk they're not reallyMoslems.... with U.S. help, although Washington opposes their autonomy plans, as does the Syrian government. This week, militias allied to Damascus deployed to Afrin to help fight the |
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran | ||
Russia says hundreds killed in Turkish operation in Syria’s Afrin | ||
2018-02-01 | ||
[ENGLISH.ALARABIYA.NET] Several hundred people, including civilians, have been killed during ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s military operation in Syria’s Afrin, Interfax news agency cited Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova as saying on Wednesday. Rockets fired from northern Syria into a ...and if you can't believe the state-run news agency who can you believe?... reported amid Ankara’s intensifying offensive on a Syrian Kurdish-controlled enclave. It was the latest in a string of rocket attacks on the border towns of Reyhanli and Kilis since Jan. 20, when Turkey’s military launched a cross-border operation to drive out the Syrian Kurdish militia from the northern enclave of Afrin. Ankara considers the Syrian Kurdish People’s Protection Units, or YPG, an extension of the outlawed Kurdish rebels fighting an insurgency inside Turkey. Rockets fired in Afrin Earlier today, Turkey’s Anadolu Agency said Syrian Kurdish fighters in Afrin fired two rockets Wednesday, hitting a house and a garden wall in Reyhanli. Two people were hospitalized after the attack and one, 17-year-old Fatma Avlar, died from her wounds, the agency said. The attacks inside Turkey have so far killed four people, including Avlar. Two of the victims were Syrian refugees. The Kurdish militia, meanwhile, accused Turkey of firing Katyusha rockets into Afrin, and reported that at least 12 people were maimed from the shelling that targeted the neighborhood of Ashrafieh. The maimed were brought to Afrin hospital. As Turkey’s military operation in Syria continues, officials in the US-led international coalition against ISIS have warned the offensive could destabilize recent gains against ISIS along the Iraq-Syria border in the Euphrates River valley. The top US general in Iraq said Tuesday, after a visit to a coalition outpost near the Iraq-Syrian border town of Qaim, that he is "very much concerned" the fight in Afrin could remove pressure on pockets of ISIS fighters in other parts of Syria.
...just another cheapjack Moslem dictatorship, brought to you by the Moslem Brüderbund.... and allied Syrian rebels have pressed on with Operation Olive Branch in the Kurdish-controlled Afrin enclave despite mounting international concern and reports of rising civilian casualties. An AFP correspondent in Afrin heard warplanes flying overhead, and Kurdish officials said rocket fire on the town maimed 12 civilians. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said heavy bombardment and The Britannia-based war monitor reported that " Turkey and its Syria rebel allies launched Operation Olive Branch against the Kurdish People's Protection Units (YPG), on January 20. On Wednesday, the Ankara has denied hitting civilians in its military operations, but hospitals in Afrin say they are receiving civilian casualties on a daily basis. The Observatory says the Since launching the assault, Turkey and rebel allies have captured 11 villages and the strategic Barsaya hill, according to the Observatory. Barsaya overlooks both the rebel-held Syrian town of Azaz, and Kilis across the border in Turkey. Advancing fighters were facing "fierce resistance from YPG fighters holed up in the mountains, in spite of Turkey's massive firepower," said Abdel Rahman. The Observatory said that 91 YPG fighters and 85 pro-Ankara rebels had been killed in the fighting so far. Turkey says seven of its soldiers have been killed.
Erdogan has vowed to "clean up" the YPG-held city of Manbij east of Afrin, where the US has troops as part of its operations against IS. | ||
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Syria-Lebanon-Iran |
Turkey says 5 soldiers killed in Syria's Afrin as offensive continues |
2018-01-31 |
[PRESSTV] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli says five ... the more palatable version of the Syrian insurgency, heavily influenced by the Moslem Brüderbund... (FSA) have bit the dust in the ongoing cross-border offensive in Syria’s northwestern region of Afrin against the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG). Addressing parliament on Tuesday, Canikli denied reports of civilian deaths in the offensive, saying, "No civilian has been harmed in Operation Olive Branch of He added that a total of 649 YPG gunnies had been killed since the beginning of the operation on January 20. |
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The Grand Turk |
Turkey hints at imminent Afrin operation |
2017-11-30 |
[ARABNEWS] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... ’s top security body, the National Security Council (MGK), on Tuesday recommended that the government deploy forces around Syria’s Kurdish-held Afrin canton and in western Aleppo. The MGK emphasized Turkey’s determination to secure its borders against terrorist groups. Afrin is controlled by the US-backed Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as the Syrian affiliate of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). On Monday, Last week, he said the PKK/YPG presence in Afrin poses a "serious danger and threat that should be removed in line with Turkey’s rights arising from international law." The Earlier this month, ![]() said his country needed to clear Afrin of the YPG after accomplishing its military operation in Idlib. But Serhat Erkmen, a Middle East expert at the Ankara-based 21st Century Turkey Institute, told Arab News: "Following the agreement reached in Sochi last week between Moscow, Tehran and Ankara, a comprehensive military operation that would escalate regional tension is unlikely." |
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The Grand Turk |
Turkey's S-400 purchase not a message to NATO |
2017-11-13 |
[Al Jazeera] ...the only place on the face of the earth that misses the Ottoman Empire.... 's decision to buy an advanced missile defence system from Russia is not aimed at sending any political messages, a ...the North Atlantic Treaty Organization. It's headquartered in Belgium. That sez it all.... Ahmet Berat Conkar, head of the "Turkey's picked S-400 over other options because the missile system possesses more advanced technical features than its rivals, with a better price and shorter delivery time," Conkar, who is a member of parliament for the ruling AK Party, told Al Jazeera. His comments came after Nurettin Canikli, Turkey's defence minister, said on Saturday that the S-400 deal with Russia was "done". "The S-400 missiles are purchased. Only small details are left to handle at this point," Canikli told news hounds in the northern city of Giresun. |
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