 |
PM urges Syrian president to avoid authoritarian path
Erdoğan has a friendly relationship with Assad and has urged him since the early days of the unrest to show restraint and make the reforms the Syrian people demand, or risk the fate suffered by other Arab leaders who have been toppled by uprisings this year. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights on Wednesday said it had collected the names of at least 453 civilians killed during the almost six weeks of pro-democracy protests in Syria. Erdoğan phoned Assad to push for "restraint," while Turkey's ambassador to Damascus met Syrian PM Adel Safar to express Turkey's "deep concern and sorrow over the loss of many lives," the prime minister's office said.
Turkish Ambassador to Syria Ömer Önhon was expected to arrive in Ankara on Wednesday and present his briefing today at the meeting of the National Security Council (MGK), which brings together the president, the top military commanders and the government leaders, diplomatic sources told Today’s Zaman.
Erdoğan’s call to Assad came a day after US President Barack Obama talked to the Turkish prime minister over the phone and the leaders agreed that the Syrian government’s “unacceptable use of violence against its own people” must stop. Gunfire and sporadic explosions were heard in a tense southern city on Wednesday, after the Syrian army sent in more tanks and reinforcements as part of the widening crackdown on the uprising against Assad’s authoritarian regime.
In addition to the unrest in the city of Daraa -- where the uprising began more than five weeks ago -- security forces were conducting sweeping arrests and raids elsewhere in the country, witnesses said.
Turkey shares a long land border with Syria and fears the turmoil could trigger an influx of refugees. However, most of the 877-kilometer border is heavily mined and a mass influx is not expected.
“I told Assad clearly our worries and anxiety because of current developments,” Erdoğan said. “The current process is a disturbing process.” He said the Syrian leader’s decision to lift the hated 48-year-old emergency laws last Thursday was a good start, but he needed to do more.
Assad last week offered some reforms that included granting citizenship to hundreds of thousands of ethnic Kurds, firing local officials embroiled in corruption and announcing a new government headed by Safar. Safar also informed the Turkish ambassador that a series of reforms on political parties, information and local governments will be prepared and presented for approval in the coming days. Many Syrians regard the reforms announced last week as an empty gesture, as the security clampdown increased since the reforms. “There are more steps to be taken in Syria,” Erdoğan told a joint news conference with the visiting prime minister of Kyrgyzstan. “We absolutely do not expect or want an undemocratic implementation and certainly not an authoritarian, totalitarian, patronizing structure. Our desire is that ... a rapid democratization process takes place. Our representatives will present to him (Assad) some of our preparations,” he said.
He said the envoy may go to Damascus as soon as Thursday. European governments on Tuesday urged Syria to end the violence, while Washington on Monday said it was studying sanctions and Dutch Foreign Minister Uri Rosenthal proposed on Tuesday that the European Union suspend aid to Damascus and impose an arms embargo and sanctions against its leaders.
Turkey, a predominantly Muslim member of NATO with growing influence in the Middle East, has built good relations with Muslim neighbors such as Syria in the last few years as part of regional outreach that includes nations with a history of enmity with the West. It has also been touted as a role-model for post-revolution Arab countries with its vibrant economy and growing diplomatic leverage.
|
||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| BÜLENT KENEŞ |  |
||
| What befell Niyazi-i Misri in the past is happening to Fethullah Gülen now | |||
| EKREM DUMANLI |  |
||
| When a call for fairness and reason finds acceptance | |||
| ŞAHİN ALPAY |  |
||
| Uludere, test case for democracy in Turkey | |||
| EMRE USLU |  |
||
| Are the Kurds mentally divorced from Turkey? | |||
| GÖKHAN BACIK |  |
||
| Erdoğan, Gül and Davutoğlu: the inner bargain on Turkish foreign policy | |||
| MARKAR ESAYAN |  |
||
| Taking lessons from previous experiences with the military | |||
| YAVUZ BAYDAR |  |
||
| Qualm | |||
| ÖMER TAŞPINAR |  |
||
| A new phase in Syria? | |||
| İHSAN DAĞI |  |
||
| Turkish foreign policy: Time for a re-evaluation | |||
| SEYFETTİN GÜRSEL |  |
||
| Poor-friendly economic growth and the AK Party | |||
| CHARLOTTE MCPHERSON |  |
||
| Missing women, missing opportunities | |||
| BERK ÇEKTİR |  |
||
| Changes to incentives for investment in Turkey | |||
| MERVE BÜŞRA ÖZTÜRK |  |
||
| The 1960 coup: a final test for democracy | |||
| AMANDA PAUL |  |
||
| Ukraine: a lost country | |||
| MÜMTAZER TÜRKÖNE |  |
||
| The 52nd anniversary of May 27 | |||
|
|
|
|||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
