Turkey – Triple Split over Syria.

‘Are you from the Baath Party of Syria or the Republican People’s Party [CHP] of Turkey? Which one are you?,’ PM Erdoğan says referring to Kılıçdaroğlu’s words.

After a period of surprising calm over Turkey´s active role in the covert war on Syria, the downing of a Turkish military over Syrian territory by a Syrian anti-aircraft machine gunner has finally ignited the domestic political powder keg.

The Erdogan led government continues its war of words and its covert military transgressions against Syria, using the incident as a pretext for a direct military confrontation with Syria under the guise of establishing a “buffer zone” or secure areas.

The secular Republican People´s Party of Turkey, CHP, has been opposed to Turkey´s ambitions of empire from the onset of the covert war but was not as outspoken about its opposition as it became after the downing of the F4 Phantom.

The onset of the covert war is dating back as far as 2010, when the Erdogan government was implicated in arranging the murder of nine Turkish citizens on the Gaza Freedom Flotilla vessel Mavi Marmara by Israeli troops. The incident was utilized to boost Erdogan´s waning domestic support by blasting Israel and disrupting diplomatic, economic and military ties to Israel – for three weeks. [1]

Today Hürriyet Daily describes the situation as “the Ankara government and the main opposition party trading barbs“.[2]

According to Hürriyet, Prime Minister Erdogan described the CHP as “nothing but the Baath Party“. To the complaints of opposition leader Kılıçdaroğlu about Turkish foreign and military policy, Erdogan replied ” Are you from the Baath Party of Syria or the Republican People´s Party of Turkey? Which one are you ?”

In subsequent meetings with the press, Erdogan continued his campaign, blaming the CHP for lack of patriotism as well as for supporting Israel when the Erdogan government broke diplomatic ties with Israel over the Gaza Flotilla killings of the nine Turks.

Earlier this year, nsnbc received information from a Palestinian Intelligence Source in Turkey who provided evidence for the fact that the Erdogan government was involved in the killings. The killings had several objectives. Ridding the Turkish Muslim Brotherhood of members who were opposed to military action against Syria, bolstering Erdogan´s domestic support sufficiently so he would be in a position where he could fire secular Turkish generals who were opposed to a military transgression against Syria.[ibid.]

It is not unlikely that some of the CHP´s critique is based on leading CHP members knowledge about Erdogan´s double dealings.

Turkey is becoming increasingly polarized into a triple split. The fault-lines are opening between: The Erdogan government, which has aligned itself with NATO, the GCC member states, Israel, and their Muslim Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda proxies; the secular CHP, traditionally strong secular influences within the Turkish military plus other opposition parties, labor movements and secular organizations who know that ambitions of empire are costly for Turkey and that the fall of the Syrian government could backfire; The population in predominantly ethnically Kurdish regions of Turkey as well as the PKK and other Kurdish fractions, who together with the Syrian Kurdish National Council, the PYD, and other Kurdish players oppose the instability which the fall of the Syrian government would bring to the region.[3]

It is unlikely that the domestic opposition to the Erdogan governments NATO/GCC/Israeli war coalition will be able to prevent the outbreak of a war that invariably will have regional, and probably global consequences. The domestic split is definitely not a signal that indicates that Turkey retracts its terror brigades and it´s military which is poised for war. It is even questionable if the risk of engaging Iran, Russia, and potentially Iraq against NATO and Turkey is sufficient to stop the roller-coaster ride towards a war. After more than one year of fighting the situation has developed its own, unpredictable dynamics.

The internal split is, however, a sombre indicator for the possible consequences of a blow-back from Turkeys adventurous coalitions with armed brigades of the Muslim Brotherhood, Libya, Saudi, and Qatari sponsored Al Qaeda Brigades, Syrian Salafist Extremists, and their NATO,GCC,Israeli puppeteers. That blow-back will most likely also hit Western Europe, and some of it may be manufactured with a helping hand of Western Intelligence Services. Much more acute for Turkey are the following questions. Will there be a Turkish Spring in 2013 ? And who will eventually be behind it ? Or is there still a way towards a peaceful resolution to the war on Syria ?

Christof Lehmann

30.06.2012

Related Article:

Leader of Turkish Labour Party: Government of Justice and Development Party Responsible for Killing Hundreds of Syrians

NOTES:

1) Was the Gaza Flotilla Massacre a Turkish-Israeli False Flag and Precursor to the War on Syria? https://nsnbc.wordpress.com/2012/02/04/was-the-gaza-flotilla-massacre-a-turkish-israeli-false-flag-and-precursor-to-the-war-on-syria/

2) Syria standoff triggers domestic political row. http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/syria-standoff-triggers-domestic-political-row.aspx?pageID=238&nID=24433&NewsCatID=338

3) Kurdish Fractions fight NATO-led Free Syrian Army. https://nsnbc.wordpress.com/2012/06/29/kurdish-fractions-fights-nato-led-free-syrian-army/