Pile ou face. ... a vous de choisir...
Heads or tails... it's up to you to choose...
In a world of universal deceit, telling the truth is a revolutionary act, George Orwell
Indignez-vous ! Stéphane Hessel
“Le courage c’est de chercher la vérité et de la dire ; c’est de ne pas subir la loi du mensonge triomphant qui passe, et de ne pas faire écho, de notre âme, de notre bouche et de nos mains aux applaudissements imbéciles et aux huées fanatiques ”.” – Djordje Kuzmanovic
Vicaire d'Alep: Le front "modérés" ne sont pas mieux que les djihadistes, bombardent les civils et de ne cherche pas la paix.
Mgr Georges Abou Khazen dit que les civils dans la ville sont "sous un bombardement continu". Dans les quartiers chrétiens, il y a au moins quatre morts et plus de 15 blessés avec des maisons et bâtiments endommagés. L'origine de la violence est les soi-disant "opposition modérée". Ankara bombarde de positions Kurdes en Syrie et réclame (avec Riyad) des troupes au sol.
Alep (AsiaNews) - "Nous avons subi un bombardement continu au cours de ces derniers jours dans la ville d'Alep avec des morts, des blessés et destruction." Dans la soirée précédente " nous avons eu quatre morts et plus de 15 blessés dans nos quartiers, en plus des maisons et des bâtiments endommagés. Et ces attaques sont menées par la soi-disant "opposition modérée".
Ceci est le désespéré appel lancé par le Vicaire Apostolique d'Alep, des Latins, Mons. Georges Abou Khazen, qui, dans un message envoyé à AsiaNews pointe du doigt au front défendu et soutenu par l'Occident, avec la Turquie et l'Arabie Saoudite.
"Ces bombardements, dit le prélat – proviennent du front du soi-disant "modérés", et en tant que tel défendu, protégé et renforcé. En réalité, ils ne sont pas différents des autres djihadistes [État Islamique (EI) et le Front Nusra], sauf que (les noms) sur le papier.
Pendant ce temps, les combats se sont intensifiés autour de la deuxième ville la plus importante de la Syrie, dans le nord du pays. La ville a été divisée en deux depuis 2012, ou la partie ouest est sous le contrôle de Damas et le secteur est sous le contrôle des rebelles. Le gouvernement a condamné les activités militaires menées par la Turquie ce week-end contre la guérilla Kurde; qui, disent-ils, est une violation de la souveraineté nationale.
Damas a demandé d'action contre la Turquie dans une lettre officielle envoyée au Secrétaire Général de l’ONU et le Président du Conseil de Sécurité, dans laquelle Damans accuse la Turquie de soutenir les "terroristes liés à al-Qaïda." Ankara hier a également lancé des bombardements massifs contre les positions Kurdes dans le nord de la province et aurait permis l'entrée par le biais de ses frontières des centaines de combattants considérés comme des "soldats turcs" ou des "mercenaires".
Le gouvernement turc considère que les milices Kurdes Syriennes YPG (l'Unité de Sécurité du Peuple ) les alliés du PKK, mouvement illégale (Parti des Travailleurs du Kurdistan), qui visent à créer un état indépendant, qui 'occuperait également une partie du territoire turc, dans le sud-est du pays. C'est pourquoi la Turquie a commencé à bombarder des bases en Syrie mais aussi en Irak, comme signalé récemment par un évêque Chaldéen à AsiaNews.
Le Vicaire Apostolique d'Alep, qui ces derniers jours avait déjà signalé que des "terroristes étrangers" et pas des Syriens voulaient que le conflit continue, il a déclaré que "les étrangers djihadistes ont reçu le feu vert de intensifier le bombardement de civils.
Le prélat estime que cette escalade masque le désir de « faire dérailler les négociations de paix » par les « forces régionales », L'Arabie Saoudite et la Turquie ont fait pression pour l'envoi de troupes terrestres " pendant des semaines. "
Le prélat s’interroge - « derrière cette stratégie, il y a t-il le désir d'empêcher l'armée régulière d’'avancer et de libérer la région du terrorisme et les djihadistes? ».
Mgr Georges Abou Khazen fait un appel "pour un fin de ces attentats" et encourage les deux parties à "s'asseoir à la table de négociation", de sorte que les syriens "peuvent résoudre ces problèmes à travers le dialogue entre eux".
La guerre en Syrie a éclaté en mars 2011, comme une manifestation populaire contre le Président Bachar al-Assad et fut transformé en un conflit généralisé avec des tendances extrémistes et un djihad Islamique, qui revendique plus de 260 mille vies, jusqu'à présent. Le conflit a déclenché l'une des plus graves crises humanitaires dans l'histoire, forçant à 4,6 millions de syriens à chercher refuge à l'étranger, en particulier en Jordanie, au Liban, en Turquie, en Irak et en Egypte. Des centaines de milliers de personnes ont tenté de rejoindre l'Europe, parfois au prix de leur vie en traversant la Méditerranée. Le nombre total de personnes déplacées est d'environ 13,5 millions. (DS) EN PLUS
"Le patriarche russe orthodoxe Cyrille, interrogé par le présentateur de
RT America Ed Schultz sur le Moyen-Orient, a appelé à unir les efforts
russes et occidentaux pour combattre le terrorisme, ajoutant que c’est
la force qu’il faut employer."
The US antics & the West's joke of a media circus is wearing thin in the Russian MOD. La tolérance des russes vis-a-vis les les médias occidentaux la Pentagone US arrive à ses limites, trop c'est trop.
Une petite sélection en français en bas: ( a partir de 4m15)
Le porte-parole du ministère russe de la Défense, Igor
Konachenkov:
"Les terroristes effrayent les civils etles poussent vers la frontière turque. Ayant
laissé leurs armes, les militants font des efforts pour “fondre” dans la foule
parce qu'ils savent que l'aviation russe et les forces gouvernementales
Syriennes ne mènent pas de frappes contre des civils."
“Toutefois, les photos de ceux-ci avec les accusations
portées contre les aéronefs russes prétendument bombardement voyous de la ville
d'Alep, ont été répartis sur les écrans
de télévision de l’Ouest, depuis la semaine dernière. »
….
« Ce n’est donc
pas une tendance de commencer de rabâcher
sur la même chanson, de portée des accusations à l'encontre de la Russie, de
commettre tous les péchés mortels. »
…..
« Un exemple récent »
« Hier, le colonel Steven Warren, le porte-parole du Pentagone, en Irak, avait déclaré que dans
la journée des avions russes auraient bombardé les deux hôpitaux de la ville
d'Alep. »
«Selon ses propos, le
résultat fut que quelques 50 000 Syriens auraient été privés de services
vitaux»
« Le porte-parole officiel avait omis de fournir qu’autre chose. »
« de mentionner les coordonnées de l’hôpital et le
moment des raids aériens ou ses sources. »
« Simplement « rien »
« Le groupe russe ont pris une nuit (afin) d’examiner les
informations »
« Les absurdités des militant des droits humains londoniens
est une chose, maisune telle
déclaration d’un représentant du Pentagone qui se fait passer pour un militaire
de carrière, c'est tout autre chose. »
« Le ministère russe de la Défense a analysé en détail
les données relatives aux engagements de hier des cibles dans la région d’Alep. »
….
Le colonel Warren sera déçu….
«Aucun avion russe n'a effectué de frappes aériennes à Alep
hier. »
« La cible visée la plus proche se trouvait à plus de
20 kilomètres de la ville»,
« Il y avait que des appareils de la coalition encadrée
par les Etats-Unis – aéronefs et drones – se trouvaient au-dessus de la ville. »
…..
« Hier, à 13h55 [heure de Moscou], des avions
américains A-10 sont entrés dans l’espace aérien de la Syrie depuis la Turquie,
par l'itinéraire le plus court, et ont
bombardé des cibles»
« Le colonel Warren, pour une raison quelconque, n'a rendu publique cette mission, au sens
propre comme au figuré. »
….
«Je serai honnête avec vous : nous n’avons pas eu assez de
temps pour identifier avec exactitude les 9 cibles qui ont été bombardées en Alep. Peut-être
il avait 2 hôpitaux entre eux.
« Le ministère russe de la Défense vaétudier cela de près»
« Une attention
particulière est accordée à une situation est semblable à celle de la frappe
américaine sur un l’hôpital à Kunduz en Afghanistan et aussi le bombardement des
positions de l’armée irakienne à Falloujah. »
« Les premières étapes sont des accusations infondées
contre nous pour dévier les accusations contre eux. »
7m37 «Si cela continue comme ça, nous aurons à faire deux
points de presse : un pour nous et un pour la coalition, ceux qui se
considèrent comme des professionnels»
Cerise sur le gâteau:
Le ministère russe de la Défense entend constamment le même
vieux refrain que l'aviation russe est en train d'effectuer des frappes SEULEMENT
contre les terroristes ISIS.
Les experts occidentaux cultivés doivent savoir que PAS TOUS
les terroristes en Syrie sont sur le terrain avec des drapeaux noirs et de l’écriture
sur leur dos, d'appartenance à un groupe terroriste.
Les Forces Armées russes en coopération avec les partenaires
ont déployé un système d'intelligence de multi-niveau fournissant la détection des
cibles crédible.Les frappes de l’aviation
sont menées contre des cibles assignées uniquement après des vérifications
supplémentaires des données reçues et l'élimination des risques pour les vies
des civils.
En outre, tout le monde sait déjà que les détachements de
l'opposition Syrienne partagent des données de reconnaissance avec nous d’une manière assez
efficace. Aujourd'hui, la plupart d'entre eux sont en train de coopérer avec le
gouvernement Syrien.
Ainsi, le 8 février, à l'issue des négociations, le drapeau
de l'état la République Arabe Syrienne a été hissé dans le village d’Etbaa (province de Daraa).
Des militants ont mis fin à larésistance dans la ville, et volontairement déposé les armes.
Rappelons que le Ministère russe de la Défense a abordé de manière ouverteles Etats-Unis et les représentants Européens
et a suggéré d'échanger des informations sur les coordonnées terroristes en
Syrie.
Ils ont pris les cartes russes avecgratitude. Sans un mot de réponse.
Mais aujourd'hui, ils critiquent le groupe russe en disant
que l'aviation russe vole dans les mauvais secteurs et de frapper sur les
mauvais objets.
Peut-être faut-il
envoyer des cartes actualisées ?
Le Ministère russe de la Défense a mentionné il y a
plusieurs mois, une tendance que mieux la Russie réussi des frappes sur des
terroristes, plus les russes sont accusé
des frappes aériennes aveugles.
Malgré, après l’examen des matériaux des médias Occidentaux,
il semble que les villes et les villages non contrôlée par le gouvernement
Syrien sont occupées que par des représentants temporels de l'opposition et leurs
défenseurs des droits de l’homme.
Quelle que soit la
manière de « former et nourrir un terroriste » – il ne
deviendra pas un membre de l'opposition.
Une attention particulière soit apportée au fait que le
Pentagone a récemment conseillé de changer la stratégie russe en Syrie afin d’“l'aider”
les États-Unis pour faciliter la transition politique du pouvoir.
Les conseillers sont
priés de noter que l'objectif de
l'opération russe en Syrie est l'élimination du terrorisme, qui représente une menace
bien réelle et également perceptible pour
la sécurité de la Russie et du monde.
Toutes les questions politiques doivent être résolues
uniquement par les Syriens eux-mêmes, avec la médiation internationale. Pas
dans les tranchées, mais à la table de négociation.
il n'y a jamais eu et n'y aura jamais d'autres “stratégies”.
Au cours des cinq dernières années, le groupe russe observe
les résultats des stratégies Washingtonien de “transition politique” au
Moyen-Orient et à proximité des frontières russes. Au lieu du “triomphe de la
démocratie” – (il y a) la dévastation, du sang, des réfugiés.
Est-ce que ce n'est pas la raison derrière le fait que les “stratèges”
transatlantique ont commencé à parler de la nécessité de “les opérations au
sol” en Syrie et en Libye?
Peut-être, les
conseillers devraient arrêter d’êtretoujours sur le fil du rasoir ?
Drip, drip, drip, the heavy rain outside my window seems to be never-ending. So is the news coming in from the Syrian border with Turkey. Take for example this latest batch:
• 35,000 #Syrian refugees arrived at southern #Turkish border in last 48 hours, more to come http://xhne.ws/OH9ug
• Photos from BBC website show thousands of refugees from Aleppo gather at the Turkey border http://bbc.in/1SPCG3O
• EU says Turkey must keep border open to Syrian refugees http://dailym.ai/1QjuOCX
• Governor of Turkey's Kilis province: "our doors are not closed but at the moment there is no need to take in Syrians along border" from Sky News.
Yet at the same time, the Turkish forces are still carrying deadly heavy-handed ‘policing’ operations against the Kurds in places such as Diyarbakir & Cizre . It would be unwise to allow loads of refugees into areas that are conflict zones themselves. What is happening to the people displaced by the intense fighting in the Kurdish areas of Turkey? The likes of the BBC or Sky News are being really cagey about it all and will not venture into this news ‘territory’, maybe because it is not part of the usual Western MSM narrative to point out inconsistencies in ‘allied’ countries, especially Turkey as a NATO member. “Don’t dig up the dirt on friends.”
The West’s MSM is ratcheting up the “Assad must go”, “pity the poor rebels” and “Russia is bad because it supports the Assad regime” statements. This has been visibly noticeable before and during the Geneva talks on Syria. The accusations haven’t stopped and have morphed into a strange blend along the lines of “Russia is seriously bad, it is causing a refugee crisis and it is responsible for the Syrian conflict.” Blatantly ignoring the fact that the refugee crisis started in 2011.
The US, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar & others such as the UK & France have helpfully fanned the flames of a brutal conflict since 2011, initially as part of the “Arab Spring” programme, aiding and abetting the destabilization of Syria & consequently provoking a huge refugee crisis. http://journal-neo.org/2016/02/06/syria-natos-last-desperate-options-in-lost-proxy-war/ This was long before any Russian combat aircraft landed at Hmeymim . There were even calls for Syrians to leave and go to Turkey to justify foreign intervention. Take the example of a "rebel" Sheikh Al-Arour ordering Syrians to leave back in 2011. https://twitter.com/theLemniscat/status/696318849902313472 All of this is a huge inconvenience for the MSM, who seem to be more than OK that Al Qaeda in Syria is simply a group of ‘moderate rebels’ to them. Al Nusra & other ‘rebels’ follow a rigid Sharia-based Islamist agenda, but again that doesn’t bother the MSM, being loyal slaves to their political masters. 9-11 in the US is lost to them. More so, how times have changed since 2011 & horribly so.
The tune created by the US, the Gulf countries & Turkey hasn’t changed one iota over these last years, it is spelt out as” regime change” in Damascus. Nothing else matters but to unseat Assad, unhinge Iran & now upset Russia, hence the continued logistical & military support to proxy jihadi rabble armies to wage a viscous conflict with Syrian government troops & their allies.
The Aleppo region was hailed as one of the birthplace of the “Syrian revolution” and at the moment the ‘rebels’ are losing people & ground, thus provoking a series of remarkable bellicose statements by the US, Saudi Arabia, Bahrain & the UAE. Recently, the US secretary of State, John Kerry asked that the bombing of Aleppo be lifted & in the process managed to send out a rather confusing message on the UN resolution related to IS & Al Qaeda. The latest talks at Geneva were practically stillborn, since the Kurds weren't invited and the Islamists not wanted at all at the table. Then we get this, the message of doom & horror because the Russians are attacking the 'rebels' is reverberating around, and now waiting to see who picks it up and repeat the information like a parrot to the masses of the clueless West:
It is getting painful for these countries to see the ‘rebels’ losing so badly and as such Russia is getting singled out by political leaders and the media alike. In a recent stopover in Dakar, the president of Turkey, Erdogan stated that: “the bombings that the Russian lead in Syria have caused the death of 400,000 civilians” and then further added "400 000 civilians have been killed because of the bombing in Russia. Russia is an occupying force. It has an air and naval base in Syria. It does not have a common border with Syria. What is Russia doing in Syria? Turkey has a very long border with Syria. This is not the case for Russia". Moreover, he also said that "In Syria, terrorism is perpetuated by the regime and its supporters.” and "Bashar Al Assad is finished. His actions have made the terrorists divide up the Syrian territory. "
The 'rebels' in the Aleppo & Idlib region are allied with Al-Nusra (Al-Qaeda) & so under UN resolution 2249 can be attacked by the Russian & other air forces. Yet the West's keep talking about the 'rebels' without making that essential connection. It is therefore not really surprising that all of the sudden, several thousands refugees turn up at the Turkish border. How does the gullible & pathetic BBC know that these are all refugees and not 'rebels' fleeing with their family PR stunt. There are literally thousands of foreign fighters in the pay of 'rebel' forces, some with their families, having previously displaced the original inhabitants. No one is really asking the relevant questions.
The 'rebels' are losing ground and fighters, so it is also logical that they are either pressing for more media attention and thus political leverage by pushing out 'people', who are them labelled as 'refugees' to the border region to be filmed & photographed, similarly to how the KLA operated in Kosovo in 1999. On a side note, add in the fact that it isn’t just the Russian bombing Syria these
days, since there is also a whole coalition led by the US, purportedly bombing IS positions. So how can the Western press be so sure of
themselves and solely blame just the Russian air raids? On whose say so? It just so happens to be 'Russia' so the US & EU media has simply fallen lock-step by branding Russia as bad.
At the Dakar press conference, Erdogan spoke about a forthcoming summit of the Organization of Islamic cooperation (Oic), being held in Istanbul. He said that he was "confident that the summit will make the necessary decisions in the fight against Daesh, the PKK, and Boko Haram ". Erdogan is more than irked at the Kurds, since they are effective anti- ISIS fighters and through military action have threatened to cut off IS from the Turkish border. He doesn’t flinch away from putting the PKK after Boko Haram but before IS. A bit like Obama’s ranking of threats back in 2014 mentioning Ebola Russia & IS in the same speech. It shows the muddled Washington & Ankara mindsets at work here. Yet the PKK has steadfastdly fought against IS over the border in both Syria & Iraq.
As I write this the MSM are trying to garner public support for the refugees on the Turkish border, even the EU elite is asking Turkey to let them in, while barriers are being built to stop migrants in Europe. But as it stands, the 'refugees' are trapped, where their plight might be an excuse for Turkey to step in and intervene militarily by establishing a buffer zone. Even the German foreign minister Steinmeier spoke about the need for humanitarian corridors again. This has been already attempted back in 2014, with safe zones & no-fly zones being yet again mooted. The UN-declared safe zones in Bosnia-Herzegovina turned into areas where fighters rested & operated out with impunity.
This time, there is the addition of refugees as useful pawns to provide the necessary justification for a military ground force incursion Here is a map as outlined in the Italian newspaper, 'La Repubblica':
Is it really part of the propaganda campaign, in readiness for the preparation for Turkish or US-lead ground incursion into Syria? We'll find out soon, no doubt, given the rapid advances being made by Damascus & Moscow forces. A dangerous geopolitical "Call my bluff " is taking place with a possible military trip wire being put into place by a panicky US & agitated Turkey & Saudi Arabia, done under the guise of 'humanitarian help' to 'refugees'. So far, Turkey has set up 8 refugee camps on the Syrian side of the border,
and is giving tents, food and other supplies to the refugee camps.
NB: According to a NATO spokesperson, the NATO SG Jens Stoltenberg said that 'Increased Russian air activity in Syria is leading to unacceptable violations of NATO airspace'. Neither NATO or Turkey have given any concrete evidence to the Russian government on the alleged incident where Turkey claimed that a Su-34 fighter jet violated its air space. https://twitter.com/NATODepSpox/status/697022801132331008
Update on Turkey’s intransigence and duplicitous understanding of sovereignty over this weekend: this time, Turkish troops have gone into Northern Iraq.
“Turkey will have a permanent military base in the Bashiqa region of Mosul as the Turkish forces in the region training the Peshmerga forces have been reinforced, Hürriyet reported. The deal regarding the base was signed between Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) President Massoud Barzani and Turkish Foreign Minister Feridun Sinirlioğlu, during the latter’s visit to northern Iraq on Nov. 4.” http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-military-to-have-a-base-in-iraqs-mosul.aspx?pageID=238&nID=92113&NewsCatID=352
Although it appears that the Iraqi Prime Minister Haider Al Abadi isn’t in the loop on this deployment:“We did not ask any country to send foreign ground troops, and we will treat any sent as a hostile act.” The Iraqi authorities called on Turkey to withdraw immediately from Iraqi territory:
“For more than two years, Turkey has had a group of soldiers in Bashiqa, located 32 kilometers north of Mosul, which is under Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) control. The soldiers have been training the Peshmerga forces and other anti-ISIL groups.”
In other reports, the Turkish are said to be training a Sunni volunteer group called Hashd al-Wataniya. A figure of 2200 Turkish troops, along with tanks have been quoted in the media. The Fars news agency also reports that Turkey is building an airfield in Northen Irak, named 'Bamerne', in Dahuk.
Judging by the flurry of diplomatic activity, clearly Baghdad didn’t approve the operation in the first place . It was just signed by the KRG President Massoud Barzani, who just happens to be in bed with the Turkish elites, & actively participating in the Kurdish oil trade & smuggling routes into southern Turkey. So are the Turkish troops there covering Barzani’s back?
But what the heck is going on here? There seems to more to it than at first glance. There is this snippet of news on the RT website:
"While Russia is a major supplier of oil and gas for Turkey, Ankara may find another seller, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan said in a televised speech. Turkey seeks to secure deliveries from Qatar and Azerbaijan amid escalated tensions with Russia over its downing of a Russian warplane over Syria. Russia slapped economic sanctions against Turkey in retaliation, but continues to supply fuel according to existing contracts with Turkey.”
Notice the words: “Turkey seeks to secure deliveries from Qatar…” Join this up with Erdogan's shot across Russia’s bow back in October, he said “Turkey may replace Russia as fuel supplier". Add in the potential gas pipeline project, which reveals an extra layer in Turkey's latest activities:
“- A pipeline that will start from Qatar and reach the European Union through Iraq and Turkey will truly ensure the diversification of sources and routes and thus contribute to the supply security.”
Predictably it is linked to the ongoing spat with Russia that’s deepening by the week. Russia is probably wondering what to do, if it is possible to help in the region. Assistance may be potentially provided to the Marxist Kurdistan Workers' Party, (PKK), who are competing for power currently held by the KRG. This would be the equivalent of stepping into quicksand, since it could possibly trigger a serious armed struggle, which would only benefit ISIS and Turkey. It is truly complex. The PKK is loathed by the Turkish government and in the summer it attacked the vital pipeline that runs from Iraq to Ceyhan, causing some major financial losses to both the Turks & KRG.
Predictably there is another twist to this tale: oil extraction. It is very convenient for the Turkish military group in Northern Iraq to be located right within the oil triangle. In 2012, Turkey joined in with the KRG to sign an agreement on oil exploratory work. Even Exxon did some preliminary seismic work in the area then, including the Bashiqa area. This is what Erdogan had to say about the partnership a year later: "Our oil company already has an agreement with Exxon Mobil
in place ... This is a step with the KRG on exploration work,"
So effectively, Turkey had said to Baghdad, "move over,here in the north, we'll take charge from now on". Surprisingly, this fits in with the date of the first deployment of Turkish in Northern Irak.
To recap on the present state of madness: head chopping brutal ISIS steal oil from Damascus & Baghdad’s territory; sell it off through middlemen that include some Kurds, who then sell it to Turkey. The Kurds & the Turks are supposedly fighting ISIS. The Western media image of the valiant Kurdish fighter has been sorely abused by the political elites running their off-the-books oil business with the enemy. It is very convoluted & extremely messy.
Another intriguing gem, is the fact that the Turkish elites have regularly brandished neo-Ottoman rhetoric. It is no secret that the Turkish government would like to get back places such as Aleppo and Mosul. Straight from the horse’s mouth:
“The border is wrong. The Mosul Province was within the Ottoman Empire's territory. Had that place been a part of Turkey, none of the problems we are confronted with at the present time would have existed.”
Giora Eiland in an Guardian article mentioned meeting a senior Turkish official some years ago and the official said , “but do not make the mistake of thinking that the borders that were dictated to us at the end of the first world war by the victorious countries – mainly the UK and France – are acceptable to us. Turkey will find a way to return to its natural borders in the south – the line between Mosul in Iraq and Homs in Syria. That is our natural aspiration and it is justified because of the large Turkmen presence in that region.”
This week's revelations made by Moscow concerning the illegal oil trade between Turkey and the Islamic State overshadows another shady aspect of the Syrian conflict, namely pillage of industrial machinery and parts on a massive scale in the Aleppo region.
More information on the Turkish connection with the
military style pillaging & asset-stripping of Syria:
“According
to French geopolitical analyst, Thierry Meyssan, Recep Erdoğan “organised the
pillage of Syria, dismantled all the factories in Aleppo, the economic capital,
and stole the machine-tools.”
“Half of the non-operational facilities were dismantled and taken to
Turkey. We don’t know who plundered it, but Turkey is the responsible party.
This is why the Aleppo Chamber of Industry and Commerce is taking the issue to
international courts."
The article briefly mentions the issue of electricity and water supplies in Aleppo. It should be noted that the US
previously bombed an Aleppo power station, and more recently bombed a water
pumping station. In the ongoing war of words, where the US often criticises the Russians for not bombing IS, the fact the the US-led air coalition sees fits to bomb civilian infrastructure is telling. Even UNICEF could not stay quiet over the latest bombing.
“In Syria,
the rules of war, including those meant to protect vital civilian
infrastructure, continue to be broken on a daily basis.”
"The
air-strike which reportedly hit al-Khafseh water treatment plant in the
northern city of Aleppo last Thursday is a particularly alarming example.”
This
in the genetic make up of the US & NATO air forces since it is not
new, Iraqi, Libya and Serbian were heavily bombed in order to create
unsafe and unhygienic conditions.
L’Orient le
Jour Interview Translated from the French
My factory was the IS HQ in Aleppo
Farès
el-Chehabi, businessman from Aleppo & Sunni, the president of the Chamber
of commerce and industry of Syria, relates the devastation caused by four years
of war on his city and its surroundings. Since September 2011, he is registered
on the list of individuals sanctioned by the European Union, accused of
providing economic support to the regime.
What were the consequences of the war on the
industrial area of Aleppo ?
Aleppo was
the economic capital of Syria. We had over 80 000 factories. More than any city
in the Middle East. In 2011, as early as the second month of the war, the
destruction and looting began. From the first months, the rebels distributed
leaflets demanding the closure of our businesses; otherwise they would be
burned down. They sent these threats to all the shops and businesses. Immediately,
the people became very afraid. About twenty of my friends, manufacturers,
members of the Chamber of commerce, were murdered because they refused to close
down their factories. In 2011, the rebels reduced to ashes more than 100
factories.
One of my factories
was in Sheikh Najjar, the largest industrial area. The rebels seized in 2011. I
was told that it didn’t belong to me anymore and that I didn't have the right to
claim it back under threat of reprisals. My factory, which produced olive oil, I
thought was in the hands of the Syrian Free Army (FSA), was in fact the headquarters of the Islamic
State (IS). Once retaken back in July 2014, I noted the damage. The walls were
painted with the IS flag, there were jihadists clothing, their leaflets… I noticed that there were almost 500 children in
the area who had been deprived of education for two years. So I decided to turn
this factory into a free school.
You have accused the Turkish government of
being behind the looting of the factories in Aleppo...
Yes. And I
have serious proof. I have filed two complaints against the Turkish government,
with the courts of Strasbourg and The Hague. I have gathered solid evidence,
videos, confessions and witnesses. Many manufacturers called me in a panic
telling me that the rebels were in their factory and that there were Turkish
experts with them. The armed men do not know the difference between the
different production lines of a factory. They do not know how to disassemble
the machines without damaging them. This is why the Turkish experts were
present, to choose their loot and send it to Gaziantep, Adana... I've received
more than 5,000 manufacturers'’ complaints, victims of theft. The loot went to
Turkey with the complicity of the Turkish police. It is impossible to move the
plant equipment so easily. Some of the machines are 20, 30 meters long. They
used trucks, moved over the border crossings, not through olive tree fields. It
is organized smuggling. They have gutted the industrial areas of Aleppo. It is
a field of ruins.
Today, how is Aleppo organizing its survival?
Over the
past nine months, we no longer have the Internet. Since the road Hama-Aleppo
has been liberated, everyday life products arrive easily. The water is
controlled by al-Nusra (a branch of the Syrian el-Qaeda). The UN declared it a
terrorist organization in 2014. The National Syrian Coalition tries to make
al-Nusra acceptable, encouraging them to cut theirs ties with el-Qaeda, so that
they can join the moderate forces. The Front controls much of the electricity.
And the large power plant is under IS control. So we have very, very little
electricity in Aleppo. The government negotiates with them. "The
terrorists" tell us : "We give Aleppo 5 % of the electricity and take the rest. "Which is the equivalent to
5 megawatts for 3 million people. This is not negotiation; it is blackmail for
electricity as water (supply). We are waiting for the retaking of the largest
power station near to the Kweires airport. Nobody can attack it, because there
is a risk of contamination, radiation... We have another power station in
Zorba, which should be freed in the next few days.
Did the people of Aleppo living in the government
controlled area fear that the regime was going to let them fall?
A lot of
people were frustrated in the beginning and furious too, as they felt
abandoned. We were not able to defend ourselves against the rebels. We were
faced with two choices:either destroy what
remains of Aleppo ourselves and fight, or lay siege to it without destroying
the city. And this is the second option that is in progress.
People sell
off their old Aleppo houses just to leave. And the most targeted are the Christians
and Armenians. Only 10 000 Armenians remain in Aleppo, while they were more
than 200 000 before the war. I've visited the patriarchs and priests of all the
communities, and all say the same speech: those who attack them are Islamists
who want to force them to leave the country. But the Islamists seem to forget
that the Christian community in Aleppo is not a visitor. They are the original
inhabitants of the city. They were there before the Muslims. And there is hope
that one day, Christians will come back.
You criticize the rebels but at the same time,
the Syrian government buys the oil from IS...
Already,
this oil is not IS’s. It belongs to the Syrians. Therefore, if a group controls
my production of wheat, cotton or oil, it is my job to free my factory or to
buy the production by all means possible. It belongs to me. Therefore, it is
hypocritical to point the finger at the Syrian government's efforts that buys
up the oil from IS to give it to its citizens. And furthermore the regime bombs
some oil fields.
What do you think of the upcoming elections,
decided on in Vienna, which will take place in 18 months ?
We decide who
should govern through free elections. We have no problem if these elections are
organized by an international organization as long as it is not corrupt.If you want a president to leave, organize
elections. But we do not accept the rebel groups as Jaesh al-islam or others.
Let the so
called "moderate" groups participate in the elections. If they win,
we will be forced to accept it. It is the law of the ballot.But no one really wants elections and demanding
that the president resigns. Because they know that if Bashar al-Assad participates
in them, he will win. It will not be a majority, maybe not 90 %, but 45 % would
be enough for him to win. And, for the moment, no one on the opposition side can
rally as many votes.
⦁ The EU migrant crisis: unfolding drama ⦁ The EU and Turkey: a pandora's box ⦁ Turkey, Syria & IS: keeping not so mum
Some key players in their own words: The leader of the Liberals group, Guy Verhofstadt from Belgium: “Europe is trying to outsource this refugee crisis, without taking its responsibility to protect those in need. It is positive that the EU will work more closely together with Turkey, but we should not make ourselves dependent on a country which is becoming increasingly authoritarian”. The leader of the group of the far left, Gabriele Zimmer (Germany), made no exception. "We cannot accept a dirty deal with Turkey. Through our negotiations and our actions we must protect the rights of refugees and call for an immediate end to Erdoğan's war on the Kurdish people." Hungarian President Viktor Orbán: "We do not want the EU to sit down to negotiate with Turkey, while giving the impression that it is Turkey which will save the EU. One cannot negotiate if the other party thinks that they are their negotiating partner’s last hope”. Turkish Prime Minister Davutoglu's message at NATO headquarter: "No Turkish President, Premier or any other authority will apologise for doing our duty."
The EU is holding on dearly to a strange version of European Values, similar to what we have seen with the unwavering support for post- Maidan Ukraine. It is continuing to turn a blind eye to some pretty nasty events taking place both in Ukraine and also Turkey. Take some examples of the much vaunted & glorified "European Values": media freedoms, minority rights & human rights both for Ukraine & Turkey:
⦁ Journalists are being killed, prosecuted & jailed for presenting a different viewpoint; (Serena Shim & Oles Buzina); ⦁ Civilians have been being targeted and killed, based solely on where they live and what language they speak; (Russian speakers, Donbass & Kurds who make up 18% of the population); ⦁ Established links & support to some unsavoury extremely nasty groups; (Aidar, Azov, IS, Al Nusra). ⦁ Vicious repression of public protest, (Odessa, Mariupol & Gezi Park)
Never mind, just another fact to add into the equation is regarding Cyprus. The illegal Turkish occupation of North Cyprus continues to this day, without the EU even being a bit concerned about it. Erdogan said back in 2011 "There is no country called Cyprus", http://www.todayszaman.com/diplomacy_erdogan-there-is-no-country-called-cyprus_251037.html Human tidal flow The EU is totally impotent in dealing with the ongoing migrant crisis, originating from Turkey. Some 800,000 people have reached Greece from Turkey this year alone. Instead it adopted a series of 'sweeteners' to Turkey, in the hope that would offset the migrant crisis back closer to their homelands. ⦁ The EU commits to match the funds that Turkey is spending on the over 2.5 million refugees that are in its territory; so it has offered 3bn Euros. ⦁ If Turkey implements successfully the EU action plan, it would lead to a speeding-up of the process of visa-liberalisation with Turkey. ⦁ Implementation of the EU action plan would “re-energise" the negotiation process for Turkish EU Accession. http://ec.europa.eu/news/2015/11/20151129_en.htm
Given that Turkey has claimed that it has spent over 7bn € on migrants, it is becoming apparent that the EU action plan package is just bribery to hold on 'migrants'. When the money runs out or there a spat with the EU over something, what will happen next? The migrants are being used as pawns in a dark and dangerous geopolitical game. There are literally tens of thousands participating in the migrant trafficking route between Turkey & Greece, right under the noses of the Turkish authorities. They see both the migrants & the EU leadership as easy pickings, weak and feeble, which is the case, judging by a tweet made by Burhan Kuzu, a Presidental advisor to Erdoğan, as reported on 2nd Dec 2015 in the Today's Zaman:
“The EU finally got Turkey's message and opened its purse strings. What
did we say? ‘We'll open our borders and unleash all the Syrian refugees
on you,'” Kuzu stated in his controversial tweet. Not much in the way of a charm offensive, was it? Indeed it is a case of blackmail, pure & simple. Turkey is quite capable of stopping the migrants flow, it has done so in the past, when it suited it to do so. But since summer 2015, the spigot has been turned on full and a steady stream of migrants have made the journey across the Aegean and up through the Balkan to reach the EU. Thousands of businesses along the Turkish coastline thrive on the back the smuggling routes by supplying boats & lifejackets & other sundries. Other criminal groups make money on producing fake Syrian ID documents, as highlighted by a Dutch journalist. The EU isn't willing at all to play hardball with Erdogan, because he holds all of the 'migrant' cards in his hand, along with the cross border support for a range of terrorists groups in Syria. The Turks understand this clearly and twist the EU elite around their little finger. To back the EU into a corner they can quote " European Values" to the nth degree and the EU elites act like doomed sailors enchanted by mermaids. The hapless EU has not even tried to confront him, to get the Turkish government to stop the boats, dismantle the smuggling gangs. Surely, "European Values" are a stake here, so the first step would be for Brussels to send a clear message to Ankara, one of" first sort out the rampant criminality at the root of this and then we can start to talk about 're-energising' EU Accession talks". But no, the Turks say "cough up and pay what we deserve". So it wasn't surprising to hear that hours after the EU
Turkish talks, lip-service is being provided by Turkey as it rounded up
some 1,300 migrants on Monday. http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/us-europe-migrants-turkey-idUSKBN0TJ1WX20151130 Not sure how long this action on the part of the Turkish authorities will last though. The genie is out of the bottle Brussels is stymied by a complete lack of forceful 'front' on this huge issue. This is mostly due to one person, Angela Merkel, who unilaterally sent out the 'invites' via the mass media, on behalf of the EU, without any prior or prepared policy or program in place. Not surprisingly a group of EU countries have recoiled in horror at the way this had been handled and said no to being asked to share Merkel's folly. http://www.esiweb.org/pdf/Post-Summit%20paper%20-%20The%20devil%20in%20the%20detail%20-%2029%20Nov%202015.pdf Is the EU unwittingly helping the Turkish authorities with a potential land grab of Northern Syria, as well as facilitating ethnic cleansing of Syrians? This article featuring a headline from a Turkish newspaper should send shivers down the spine of any self-respecting person. It describes how Aleppo should become part of Turkey. Invariably, both ISIS & the FSA have displaced tens of thousands of Syrians in the region and as a result, many fled into Turkey as refugees. Many of them have been lured by migrant 'touts' to leave Turkey for the EU. The EU is now saddled with a huge influx of Syrians, all due to a very convoluted machinations & political skulduggery. IS and the oil angle
Turkey exerts its influence overboth ISIS & the 'Turkmen rebels', mostly through the oil smuggling business, as well as military strikes. It is a huge money spinner for Turkey and ISIS, barely untouched by the US -led airstrikes for well over a year. Revelations on the extent and scope of the oil trade is only now being published in the mainstream press. See here & here for examples. Turkey' backing of terror attacks The EU cannot say that it wasn't aware of the Turkish double standards in combating IS terrorism since credible doubts did surface a while back, especially so, if we take one snapshot: the attacks on Kobane in June 2015, where the Kurds accused Turkey of letting IS fighters move into Kobane via Turkey. Take for example this headline: "Turkey's President Erdogan Denies Helping Islamic State Massacre Civilians in Kobane." https://news.vice.com/article/turkeys-president-erdogan-denies-helping-islamic-state-massacre-civilians-in-kobane http://www.dw.com/en/is-supply-channels-through-turkey/av-18091048 Likewise the well-planned attack on Kessab, in April 2014 on the Syrian-Turkish, bears the hallmarks of Turkish complicity in the take-over and massacre of Christian inhabitants. Moderate & IS terrorists, supported by Turkish gunships & artillery launched an attack from within Turkey. None of this rang alarm bells in the corridors of power of Brussels. What does it say about the whole concept of the EU power base? Flawed, warped & perverted are words that spring to mind. Once more Turkey took advantage of the EU's ineptitude, to carry on if as nothing bad had happened. The problem is that Russia through Vladimir Putin has shone a bright spotlight on this cosy relationship between IS and Turkey. Yet the EU bimbles along, disregarding the nastiness and illegal activities taking place. Stunned, shocked, well you should be. Another huge dose of "European Values" dumped by the wayside. No one within the Brussels corridors of power has shown any concern. The real victims of the Syrian conflict are to be in found in their millions, as IDPs in Syria, or in refugee camps in Lebanon, Jordan & Turkey. Many of the ethnic minorities have been unable to get visas to go the West. A Polish journalist, Witold Gadowski,asks this question: “The real victims of the war are in the camps,”
“Why are the camp survivors pleading unsuccessfully to obtain visas for
various European nations and being denied, while the young men are
immediately taken in with open arms and presented as refugees?”
- Because the EU is a ship of fools, lured & trapped into a self-absorbed mindset, unwilling to tackle the core issues at stake. http://canadafreepress.com/article/77282 Link to the SU-24 shooting-down The Turkish authorities have visibly cast their lot with Sunni
terrorists, Mafia & smugglers for some time now, although everyone
in the European media & political circles seemed to have hushed it
all down. Now this is being laid bare by Russia, as a result of a
reckless and audacious Turkish action of shooting down a Russian military jet. In an apparent decision-making time frame of 5 minutes and
with an airspace infringement of only 17 seconds. This
latest event on the Syrian-Turkish border has not deterred the EU
leadership in the least from continuing with a "business as usual"
philosophy with Turkey. The latest news is that the EU is giving Turkey
3bn Euros. You might well say, "but isn't the timing just a little
wrong?" Heck, no the EU, like the Titanic carries on in the foggy night,
despite the warnings. Bear in mind, the AKP party of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan only won snap parliamentary elections on November 1st, so it is in a confident position domestically & politically. This week alone the ever defiant tone continues to set by Turkey's leadership, in the wake of the SU-24 ambush: "The protection of our land borders, our airspace, is not only a right, it is a duty," he said. "We apologize for committing mistakes, not for doing our duty." http://www.reuters.com/article/2015/11/30/us-syria-crisis-turkey-nato-idUSKBN0TJ14F20151130 "No country should ask us to apologize," Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu told reporters following a meeting with NATO's secretary general in Brussels. Interesting comments made in an interesting meeting, was it scheduled before the SU-24 shoot-down? I'd loved to have been a fly on that wall. The timing is intriguing to say the least. France jumped on the "let's bomb Syria" bandwagon following the Paris attacks, then the UK & Germany decided to join in the illegal military campaign against Syria. NATO is currently building up air assets in southern Turkey. [See blogpost:http://lepontduhadu.blogspot.fr/2015/11/turkish-back-stabbing-nato-part-2.html] The big problem is that the Turkish government is losing its nerves & will continue to do while the Russians remain active in Syria. The Russian air operations have radically changed the balance on the ground, to the detriment of Turkish backed rebel/terrorist groups. It is a matter of time before some other 'incident' takes place that will impact not on the region, but might badly affect the EU as well.
