President Recep Tayyip Erdogan – Figment by figment of my imagination

A comprehensive strategy to promote long-term peace and stability in Syria can be achieved through Turkey’s leadership, the president of Turkey writes.

By Recep Tayyip Erdogan

Mr. Erdogan is the president of Turkey.

President Trump made the right call to withdraw from Syria. The United States withdrawal, however, must be planned carefully and performed in cooperation with the right partners to protect the interests of the United States, the international community and the Syrian people. Turkey, which has NATO’s second largest standing army, is the only country with the power and commitment to perform that task.

In 2016, Turkey became the first country to deploy ground combat troops to fight the so-called Islamic State in Syria. Our military incursion severed the group’s access to NATO’s borders and impeded their ability to carry out terror attacks in Turkey and Europe. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey delivering a speech in Ankara, Turkey, last month.CreditAdem Altan/Agence France-Presse — Getty Images

Unlike coalition operations in Raqqa and Mosul, which relied heavily on airstrikes that were carried out with little or no regard for civilian casualties, Turkish troops and fighters of the Free Syrian Army went door to door to root out insurgents in Al Bab, a former stronghold of the so-called Islamic State.

Our approach left the city’s core infrastructure largely intact and made it possible for life to return to normal within days. Today, children are back at school, a Turkish-funded hospital treats the sick, and new business projects create jobs and bolster the local economy. This stable environment is the only cure for terrorism.

Turkey is committed to defeating the so-called Islamic State and other terrorist groups in Syria, because the Turkish people are all too familiar with the threat of violent extremism. In 2003, when I became prime minister, coordinated attacks by Al Qaeda claimed dozens of lives in Turkey.

More recently, the so-called Islamic State terrorists targeted our citizens, our way of life and the inclusive, moderate worldview that our civilization represents. A few years back, the terrorist group called me “treacherous Satan.” We saw the horror in the faces of thousands of Christians and Yazidis, who sought refuge in Turkey when these terrorists came for them in Syria and Iraq.

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I say this again: There will be no victory for the terrorists. Turkey will continue to do what it must to ensure its own safety and the well-being of the international community.

Militarily speaking, the so-called Islamic State has been defeated in Syria. Yet we are deeply concerned that some outside powers may use the organization’s remnants as an excuse to meddle in Syria’s internal affairs.

A military victory against the terrorist group is a mere first step. The lesson of Iraq, where this terrorist group was born, is that premature declarations of victory and the reckless actions they tend to spur create more problems than they solve. The international community cannot afford to make the same mistake again today.

Turkey proposes a comprehensive strategy to eliminate the root causes of radicalization. We want to ensure that citizens do not feel disconnected from government, terrorist groups do not get to prey on the grievances of local communities and ordinary people can count on a stable future.

The first step is to create a stabilization force featuring fighters from all parts of Syrian society. Only a diverse body can serve all Syrian citizens and bring law and order to various parts of the country. In this sense, I would like to point out that we have no argument with the Syrian Kurds.

Under wartime conditions, many young Syrians had no choice but to join the P.Y.D./Y.P.G., the Syrian branch of the P.K.K., that Turkey and the United States consider a terrorist organization. According to Human Rights Watch, the Y.P.G. militants have violated international law by recruiting children.

Following the United States withdrawal from Syria, we will complete an intensive vetting process to reunite child soldiers with their families and include all fighters with no links to terrorist organizations in the new stabilization force.

Ensuring adequate political representation for all communities is another priority. Under Turkey’s watch, the Syrian territories that are under the control of the Y.P.G. or the so-called Islamic State will be governed by popularly elected councils. Individuals with no links to terrorist groups will be eligible to represent their communities in local governments.

Local councils in predominantly Kurdish parts of northern Syria will largely consist of the Kurdish community’s representatives whilst ensuring that all other groups enjoy fair political representation. Turkish officials with relevant experience will advise them on municipal affairs, education, health care and emergency services.

Turkey intends to cooperate and coordinate our actions with our friends and allies. We have been closely involved in the Geneva and Astana processes, and are the sole stakeholder that can work simultaneously with the United States and Russia. We will build on those partnerships to get the job done in Syria.

It is time for all stakeholders to join forces to end the terror unleashed by the Islamic State, an enemy of Islam and Muslims around the world, and to preserve Syria’s territorial integrity. Turkey is volunteering to shoulder this heavy burden at a critical time in history. We are counting on the international community to stand with us.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan is the president of Turkey.

Source: https://www.nytimes.com/2019/01/07/opinion/erdogan-turkey-syria.html

Don’t let major powers such as the United States undermine the liberal international order. Instead, reform it so it works better.

By Recep Tayyip Erdogan

| September 26, 2018, 7:07 AM

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan speaks at the U.N. General Assembly in New York City on Sept. 25. (John Moore/Getty Images)

This week, leaders from all over the world are gathering at the United Nations in New York to exchange their views on mankind’s most pressing problems. The main theme of this year’s meeting—“Making the United Nations relevant to all people”—is telling. It encapsulates the real challenges the organization is facing: Namely, despite the hard work of U.N. staff across many different agencies, the body is suffering from an unprecedented crisis of credibility.

The main reason for the U.N.’s current troubles is the Security Council’s failure to keep its promise of promoting peace and security around the world. From Bosnia and Rwanda to Syria, Yemen, and Palestine, the U.N.’s top decision-making body has neither prevented atrocities nor brought to justice those responsible for heinous crimes. On the U.N.’s watch, authoritarian regimes around the world have used conventional weapons and weapons of mass destruction against innocent civilians. Some regimes have even carried out genocide without facing consequences. The U.N. has also failed the millions of children who suffer from extreme poverty and malnutrition and, as Turkey knows all too well, has been unable to take necessary steps to ease the suffering of refugees.

The list goes on, but it is clear that the United Nations, which was intended to be the beating heart of humanity, has no pulse. Among the organization’s critics, two main camps are divided on what to do. In the first group are countries such as Turkey and Germany that would like to reform the U.N. to address its shortcomings. The second camp is smaller and includes the United States. This camp prefers to exploit the U.N.’s weaknesses to undermine the liberal international order. Take, for example, the recent decision by U.S. President Donald Trump to withdraw from the U.N. Human Rights Council; to pull out of UNESCO, the U.N. body for educational, scientific, and cultural collaboration; and to cut funding to UNRWA, the U.N. relief agency for Palestinians. On Tuesday, Trump described his stance as a “policy of principled realism” at the General Assembly.

At a time when global leadership is desperately needed, it is crucial to improve the United Nations rather than destroy it.

At a time when global leadership is desperately needed, it is crucial to improve the United Nations rather than destroy it.

If the great powers are unwilling to assume responsibility; if a handful of countries that reap the benefits of the existing international system do not want to commit to reform; and if some of the U.N.’s architects, including the United States, continue to damage multilateralism by taking increasingly unilateralist steps, it will be time to redefine global leadership. We must end the monopoly of a small number of nations and promote the collective leadership of countries that aim to resolve key global challenges. If the great powers prove unwilling or unable to act, the community of nations—under the umbrella of the United Nations or other organizations—must do what is necessary.One member of that community will be Turkey. Over the past two decades, the country has focused on raising the profile of neglected issues. In 2013, Turkey launched a campaign to stress that “the world is bigger than five”—a reference to the five permanent members of the U.N. Security Council. It warned that the United Nations was experiencing a serious crisis of credibility and urged all parties to take steps to make the organization more democratic, equal, and multilateral. I continue to urge the community of nations to abolish the practice of permanent membership in the U.N. Security Council, increase the number of its members to 20, and adopt new rules under which all nations will take turns sitting on the committee.

Although Turkey is no military or economic superpower, it has emerged as a global leader by becoming part of the solution in Iraq, Syria, and elsewhere. Today, it is home to 4 million refugees, including 3.5 million Syrians, and is among the world’s top donors of humanitarian assistance. Others in the international community should do their part, but the scale of the refugee crisis shows that it is impossible to solve pressing problems without working together through organizations such as the U.N., too.

If the global powers won’t help, the rest of the international community must take matters into its own hands and launch a comprehensive U.N. reform process. After all, we do not believe that to build a more relevant international system, we need to dismantle the current order. People from all around the world have an obligation to come together and take necessary steps to promote peace, stability, and security for all mankind. The U.N. General Assembly must be more than a venue for world leaders to make speeches and share complaints. This year has to be when we lay down the foundation of a new United Nations system.

Tag: President Recep Tayyip Erdogan

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