Tag Archives: Islamic

Editor’s Pick, Featured, International, Politics

Turkish Journalists Detained for Reporting on Weapons Allegedly Supplied to ISIS

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Two Turkish journalists, being held for publishing controversial reports, are calling on the European Union not to compromise on human rights as it works toward making an agreement with Turkey regarding the flow of refugees.

Turkey’s President Tayyip Erdogan’s rule has become authoritarian, but Western governments appear weary of creating conflict while remaining dependent on Turkey for refugee help. Turkey is well known for human rights violations and suppressing freedom of speech. Several journalists have been held and possibly murdered for reporting on the crimes of the Turkish government.

Can Dundar, editor-in-chief of the Cumhuriyet newspaper, and senior editor Erdem Gul are both being held in Silivri prison near Istanbul for publishing photos which purportedly show Turkish intelligence sending weapons into Syria. Last week, both men wrote to EU leaders asking them to consider Turkey’s human rights record before making a deal with the nation.

[pull_quote_center]We would also like to hope that your desire to end the crisis will not stand in the way of your sensitivity towards human rights, freedom of press and expression as fundamental values of the Western world.[/pull_quote_center]

U.S. State Dept. spokesperson Mark Toner released a statement on Thursday concerning the arrests of Dünbar and Gül:

“We are troubled by the pre-trial arrest yesterday of senior editors of the respected Turkish newspaper Cumhuriyet.

“The investigation, criminal charges, and arrest raise serious concerns about the Turkish government’s commitment to the fundamental principle of media freedom. These events are only the latest in a series of judicial and law enforcement actions taken under questionable circumstances against Turkish media outlets critical of the government.

“We call on Turkish authorities to ensure that all individuals and organizations — including but not limited to the media — are free to voice a full range of opinions and criticism, in accordance with Turkey’s constitutional guarantees of media freedom and freedom of expression.”

Although the State Department, the U.S. embassy in Turkey and the Council of Europe have criticized the arrests, the European Union and Turkey signed an agreement on Sunday to help with the overwhelming flow of people across Europe.

Jean Claude Juncker, president of the European Commission, said the deal “would not lead to a situation where we forget about the main differences and divergences we have with Turkey – human rights and freedom of the press.”

Is Turkey arming ISIS?

But what about the claims made by the reporters at Cumhuriyet? Is there any truth to the claims that the Turkish intelligence agency is shipping weapons into Syria?

RT visited the newspaper’s office in Istanbul, and spoke with reporters to find out more about the claims. The reporters told RT about a convoy carrying weapons. RT writes:

“Those who sent the convoy from Turkey knew that the weapons were ‘heading to end [up] in ISIS hands,’ one of the Cumhuriyet bosses told RT’s Ilya Petrenko. ‘There was that flag that belongs to ISIS… [it could be seen] very clearly [from] Turkish border line,’ the journalist said.

Turkish officials made contradictory statements after the paper blew the whistle, first saying that the arms ‘were going to the Free Syrian Army,’ then denying the delivery altogether, and then saying the ‘aid was destined for the Turkmen.'”

Journalist Serena Shim had previously reported similar claims about Turkish intelligence. Shim, a journalist with Iranian Press TV, was threatened by Turkish officials after reporting that ISIS supporters were being smuggled across the Syrian-Turkish border. Shim was killed in a car accident in 2014, just days after she said she was accused of being a spy.

“I believe my daughter gave her life for the truth,” Judy Poe, Shim’s mother, told Fox News. “I absolutely suspect foul play.”

The idea that Turkey is supporting the Islamic State through arms is not necessarily a new claim. In May, Reuters reported:

“Turkey’s state intelligence agency helped deliver arms to parts of Syria under Islamist rebel control during late 2013 and early 2014, according to a prosecutor and court testimony from gendarmerie officers seen by Reuters.

The witness testimony contradicts Turkey’s denials that it sent arms to Syrian rebels and, by extension, contributed to the rise of Islamic State, now a major concern for the NATO member.”

These reports are largely absent from mainstream journalism and television pundits. When discussing ISIS and the danger they pose the corporate media is quick to point to human rights violations and why we must stop the terror group. What they are less likely to tell you is that allies of the United States, including Turkey, Israel, and Saudi Arabia, are responsible for atrocious acts of violence and supporting the rebels which led to the current Islamic State.

With the recent escalation between Turkey and Russia, it seems as if the proxy-war between the NATO nations and Russia/Syria/Iran is coming to head. As Ben Swann explains below, it seems the U.S. government and its allies were aware that ISIS would rise to power, and used the event as a pretext for bombing Syria and attempting to remove Syrian president Bashar al-Assad.

https://youtu.be/Z1aDciHCejA

International, Politics

Report: Military action in Iraq would hurt, not help

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A new report from the Crisis Group on the ISIS crisis in Iraq claims any military intervention from outside of the country would not stop further actions, but runs the risk of “stoking the conflict.”

This report comes in the wake of President Obama vowing to send up to 300 military advisers to the country to help contain and end the conflict.  There has been no word yet as to whether or not the U.S. government will use airstrikes in Iraq as requested by the Iraqi government.

Iran has already sent about 500 Revolutionary Guards into Iraq to aid the local government according to CNN.

The report claims the attacks, and method ISIS has captured towns and strongholds, is not a military achievement or great military feat by any means, but rather the string of events has been likened to a person simply leaning on a “house of cards.”

The crisis has further polarized the divide between Sunni and Shiite denominations as well as ethnic Kurds across the country. ISIS is made of Sunni followers, according to Iraqi News, while the majority of government forces are made of Shiite forces.

These two groups have been divided across the globe for many years, and the discord can be traced back to the schism which occurred across Islam after the death of the Prophet Muhammad.

Military intervention within the country, according to the report, would only bolster further support for ISIS as the military forces would be seen as fighting for the current, Shiite dominant, Iraqi government.

The report from the Crisis Group claims in order to stop further bloodshed and prevent a civil war across the country, the Iraqi government needs to form a “genuine government of national unity,” where all three major political and ethnic forces within the country are included and given equal political sway.

The Crisis Group’s senior adviser on the Middle East and Africa, Peter Harling, said in relation to the crisis, “A U.S. military response alone will achieve very little… Counter-insurgency cannot be successful without an effective Iraqi army to ‘clear’, an accepted Iraqi police to ‘hold’, and a legitimate Iraqi political leadership to build.”

International, Politics

Christians Suffer In The New Middle East

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In the wake of civil wars, regime changes and emboldened Islamic extremism, Christians are facing a new environment in the Middle East. Christianity has a rich history in the Middle East. Its roots dig deep into the soil. However, those roots are now drying up.

Syria has been home to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities, which dates back 2 millennia. There are even Christians in some villages of Syria that speak Aramaic, which was the language Jesus was said to have spoken. The apostle Paul is said to have been converted to Christianity while on the road to Damascus. At one point Christians composed 30% of Syria’s population. Today they compose only 10% of Syria’s 22 million. Christians in Syria have always been among the minority. However, they were long protected under Hafez al-Assad, who was president between 1971 and 2000, and by his son Bashar. Since the Syrian civil war began 2 years ago hundreds of thousands of Christians have been forced to exodus. It is estimated that more than 1,000 Christians have been slaughtered, entire Christian villages have been wiped out and more than 40 churches have been destroyed or damaged. Many fear that Christians will find no refuge in Syria if the rebels are successful in overthrowing Assad, who has long protected them.

Egypt is the home of many stories within the Christian bible. Coptic Christians compose approximately 10% of Egypt’s 90 million. They have come under vicious attack at the hand of the Muslim Brotherhood. After the ousting of President Morsi, the Muslim Brotherhood’s leader, extremists within the Brotherhood set fire to hundreds of Christian churches, businesses, schools and homes. Many Christians were beaten to death in the middle of the street. A mob even set fire to and destroyed a Seventh-day Adventist church in Assiut, which is a town 200 miles from Cairo.

Under former president Mubarak, Egypt’s Christians were protected. The former dictator would even pass laws, which favored them and their religion. Mubarak did at times face tensions with the Copts, but balance was most always achieved. Mubarak would even perform favors for the pope. In fear of their lives, Christians have been forced to exodus from Egypt, thus ending their 2,000 year presence in the country. 

Iraq is also home to one of the world’s oldest Christian communities. In fact, Christians had placed their roots in the area before Islam even became a religion. Former president Saddam Hussein never favored the Christians; however, he certainly never targeted them. Once Hussein was removed from power the target was drawn on Iraq’s Christians. Hundreds of thousands of Christians were forced to exodus to Syria. Now those same Christians in Syria are forced to exodus again. Before Hussein’s demise there were more than 800,000 Christians in Iraq. It is now estimated that there are less than 400,000. In 2010, 58 Christians were killed and 120 taken hostage during a siege on a Catholic church in Baghdad.

This pattern is repeated again and again in Libya, Tunisia and other countries where the “Arab Spring” has taken hold. It is interesting to note that pro-democracy is not always a good thing. In America our Founding Fathers set forth a representative democracy, which is also referred to as a Republic. In a Republic minority rights are protected against the majority. Direct democracy, as seen in the Middle East, destroys the rights and protections of the minority class. The old regimes of the Middle East took a play from the book of Darius The Great, the king of the Persian Empire at its peak. Darius’ success was rooted in religious freedom and tolerance of minorities. The relative stability the Middle East has known for years had roots in this tolerance. As those roots dry and burn, stability is no where in sight. As the Middle East continues its renaissance, which has roots in Islamic extremism those of minority faiths such as Judaism, Christianity and Baha’i see little hope of peace.