Headlines

• Erdogan woos Iranian business while resisting Tehran's ambitions

• Turkish court acquits 63 defendants in "Sledgehammer" (Balyoz) military coup plot case

• Turkey anger at Pope Francis Armenian 'genocide' claim

Details

Erdogan woos Iranian business while resisting Tehran's ambitions

Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey's president, signed several trade agreements with Iran on Tuesday, during a controversial visit that came after Ankara backed a Sunni-led anti Iranian coalition in Yemen.

Mr Erdogan made the trip at a time of heightened political tension - but also growing commercial opportunities - between the two neighbours as sectarian divisions deepen across the Middle East.

Closer economic ties could become particularly lucrative for Turkey if, as planned, last week's framework deal on Iran's nuclear programme leads to the lifting of international sanctions on Tehran. Mr Erdogan told a press conference with Iranian president Hassan Rouhani that the two countries' bilateral trade volume of $14bn was far below their $30bn target. "We want to take very different steps together," the Turkish president added. "There is will for this on both sides, but there are delays; we need to overcome this."

Aaron Stein at the Royal United Services Institute, a UK think-tank, said Turkey, a country with few energy resources, would not want to let these diplomatic issues get in the way of trade with oil and gas-rich Iran.

"Given their geographical position and their long-term interest in investing in Iran they are the country that stands to benefit the most from the end of sanctions."

Mr Erdogan also suggested that Turkey and Iran should mediate between fighters in Syria, where Ankara and Tehran back different sides, and Iraq, where he recently accused the Iranians of seeking to drive out the jihadis of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant, known as ISIS, purely to increase Shia influence in the country.

Mr Rouhani thanked Turkey, which in 2010 sought to broker an accord on Iran's nuclear programme, for supporting last week's deal, which he said would be beneficial for the two countries' economic relations.

Nevertheless, Ankara's move to reposition itself closer to the Saudi-led Sunni Arab bloc battling Iranian-backed Houthis in Yemen has led to a backlash among Iranian legislators.

More than 60 Iranian MPs wrote to Mr Rouhani on the eve of Mr Erdogan's trip asking him to complain about comments last month in which the Turkish leader accused Tehran of "trying to dominate the region".

Mr Erdogan's remarks came as Ankara's relations have noticeably warmed with Saudi Arabia, one of Iran's principal adversaries. Turkey has also been quick to take on board mounting Saudi worries that Iran's regional position may be bolstered by a final nuclear deal.

"The Gulf countries . . . are more concerned about Iran's political manoeuvres and proxy policies in Iraq, Syria, Lebanon and Yemen than its nuclear programme," wrote Ibrahim Kalin, Mr Erdogan's spokesman and chief foreign policy adviser, in a newspaper column that described regional perception of Iran's policies "as sectarian, divisive and expansionist".

As Turkey has stepped up its critical language on Iran, Ankara's ties with the Muslim Brotherhood, the Islamist organisation that many Gulf states see as a threat, have become less of an irritant to Saudi-Turkish relations, particularly after King Salman succeeded the late King Abdullah this year.

But Turkey is also left seeking to exploit the commercial opportunities that an end to sanctions on Iran may foretell. Mr Erdogan and Mr Rouhani signed some eight agreements on Tuesday. Soaring Turkish gold exports to Switzerland - often an entrepot rather than a final destination - may also signify that Ankara has resumed controversial non-cash transfers to Iran. [Source: Financial Times]
After a diversion as there were a disagreement between USA allies Turkey and Iran, finally they met and restarted good relations.

Turkish court acquits 63 defendants in "Sledgehammer" (Balyoz) military coup plot case

A high court in Turkey has decided to acquit 63 defendants out of 64 in the country's long-running "Sledgehammer" military coup plot case.
The Anadolu 4th High Criminal Court in Istanbul made the decision on Tuesday after 236 people had already been acquitted at the end of March
Retired Brigadier General Levent Ersöz is among the 63 suspects acquitted.

One of the suspects in Ali Göznek's file has been separated from the others' case because he had not been detained.
Earlier in the day, public prosecutor Ramazan Öksüz had demanded the acquittal of the defendants in the high-profile case.
"Sledgehammer" ("Balyoz" in Turkish) is the name of a plot allegedly thought up by a junta in the Turkish Armed Forces to overthrow the government.

The plan is said to date back to 2003, one year after the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) came to power. It allegedly aimed at undermining the government to lay the groundwork for a military takeover.

In September 2012, the Turkish Supreme Court had sentenced the defendants to six to 20 years imprisonment.
However, Turkey's Constitutional Court unanimously overruled that verdict in June 2014 on the grounds that the rights of the defendants had been violated, especially from digital data collection and wiretapping.

On March 31, the Anadolu 4th High Criminal Court cancelled convictions against 236 defendants in the case.
Retired generals Çetin Doğan, Halil İbrahim Fırtına, retired admiral Özden Örnek, Turkey's Nationalist Movement Party lawmaker Engin Alan have all appeared in court.

According to the public prosecutor, sound recording documents, which were accepted as evidence for this case, were not connected to the coup plot. . [Source: Daily Sabah]
This week two members of Hizb ut Tahrir have been imprisoned in Turkey, while coup plot suspects acquitted.

Turkey anger at Pope Francis Armenian 'genocide' claim

Pope Francis on Sunday marked the 100th anniversary of the slaughter of Armenians by calling the massacre by Ottoman Turks "the first genocide of the 20th century" and urging the international community to recognize it as such. Turkey immediately responded by recalling its ambassador and accusing Francis of spreading hatred and "unfounded claims."
Francis issued the pronouncement during a Mass in St. Peter's Basilica commemorating the centenary that was attended by Armenian church leaders and President Serge Sarkisian, who praised the pope for calling a spade a spade and "delivering a powerful message to the international community."

"The words of the leader of a church with 1 billion followers cannot but have a strong impact," he told The Associated Press.
Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks around the time of World War I, an event widely viewed by scholars as the first genocide of the 20th century.
Turkey, however, denies a genocide took place. It has insisted that the toll has been inflated and that those killed were victims of civil war and unrest.

Francis defended his words by saying it was his duty to honor the memory of the innocent men, women and children who were "senselessly" murdered by Ottoman Turks.

"Concealing or denying evil is like allowing a wound to keep bleeding without bandaging it," he said.
He said similar massacres are under way today against Christians who because of their faith are "publicly and ruthlessly put to death - decapitated, crucified, burned alive - or forced to leave their homeland," a reference to the Islamic State group's assault against Christians in Iraq and Syria.

Francis called on the world community, heads of state and international organizations to recognize the truth of what transpired to prevent such "horrors" from repeating themselves, and to oppose all such crimes "without ceding to ambiguity or compromise."
Turkey has fiercely lobbied to prevent countries, including the Holy See, from officially recognizing the Armenian massacre as genocide and reacted strongly to Francis' declaration.

"The pope's statement, which is far from historic and legal truths, is unacceptable," Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu tweeted. "Religious positions are not places where unfounded claims are made and hatred is stirred."
The Foreign Ministry summoned the Vatican's envoy in Ankara, and then announced it was recalling its own ambassador to the Vatican for consultations.

In a statement, the ministry said the Turkish people would not recognize the pope's statement "which is controversial in every aspect, which is based on prejudice, which distorts history and reduces the pains suffered in Anatolia under the conditions of the First World War to members of just one religion."

It accused Francis of deviating from his message of peace and reconciliation during his November visit to Turkey.
Several European countries recognize the massacres as genocide, though Italy and the United States, for example, have avoided using the term officially given the importance they place on Turkey as an ally.

The Holy See, too, places great importance in its relationship with the moderate Muslim nation, especially as it demands that Muslim leaders condemn the Islamic State group slaughter of Christians.
But Francis' willingness to rile Ankara with his words showed once again that he has few qualms about taking diplomatic risks for issues close to his heart. And the massacre of Armenians is indeed close to the Vatican's heart given that Armenia is held up as the first Christian nation, dating from 301.

That said, Francis is not the first pope to call the massacre a genocide. St. John Paul II wrote in a 2001 joint declaration with the Armenian church leader, Karenkin II, that the deaths were considered "the first genocide of the 20th century."

But the context of Francis' pronunciation was different and significant: in St. Peter's during an Armenian rite service with the Armenian church and state leadership in attendance on the 100th anniversary of the slaughter. And his call for international acknowledgement of what happened went beyond what John Paul had written.

Francis' words had a deeply moving effect among Armenians in the basilica, many of whom wept. At the end of the service, the Armenian Apostolic Church's Aram I thanked Francis for his clear condemnation and recalled that "genocide" is a crime against humanity that requires reparation.

The Armenian president, Sarkisian, praised Francis for "calling things by their names."
In the interview, he acknowledged the reparation issue, but said "for our people, the primary issue is universal recognition of the Armenian genocide, including recognition by Turkey."

He dismissed Turkish calls for joint research into what transpired, saying researchers and commissions have already come to the conclusion and there is "no doubt at all that what happened was a genocide."
The lead sponsor of a new U.S. congressional resolution recognizing the genocide, Rep. Adam Schiff (D-Calif.), said he hoped the pope's words would "inspire our president and Congress to demonstrate a like commitment to speaking the truth about the Armenian genocide and to renounce Turkey's campaign of concealment and denial."

The definition of genocide has long been contentious. The United Nations in 1948 defined genocide as killing and other acts intended to destroy a national, ethnic, racial or religious group, but many dispute which mass killings should be called genocide and whether the terms of the U.N. convention on genocide can be applied retroactively.

Reaction to the pope's declaration on the streets in Istanbul was mixed.
"I'm glad he said it," said Aysun Vahic Olger. "When you look at history, there's proof of it."
However, Mucahit Yucedal, 25, said he felt genocide is a "serious allegation."

"I don't support the word genocide being used by a great religious figure who has many followers," he said. [Source: foxnews]
Last week Erdogan had celebrated the Jewish Passover and Christian Paschal. This week Pope has named Armenian deportation as Genocide.

((وَلَن تَرْضَىٰ عَنكَ الْيَهُودُ وَلَا النَّصَارَىٰ حَتَّىٰ تَتَّبِعَ مِلَّتَهُمْ))

"And the Jews will not be pleased with thee, nor will the Christians, till thou follow their creed." [TMQ: 2:120]