Erdoğan says UAE's slanders about Turks, Ottomans stems from its own dirty business

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BY Unknown Wednesday, December 20, 2017 0

Erdoğan says UAE's slanders about Turks, Ottomans stems from its own dirty business

A recent retweet by United Arab Emirates' (UAE) Foreign Minister Abdullah bin Zayed Al Nahyan bearing accusations against Ottomans during World War I and linking it to President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has once again strained ties with Ankara.

The post retweeted by Nahyan was accusing Fahreddin Pasha, an Ottoman military governor of Medina who served from 1916 to 1919, of committing crimes against the local population, including stealing their property and the sacred relics of Prophet Muhammad's (pbuh) tomb. "These are Erdoğan's ancestors and their past with the Arabs," the post said at the end.

Addressing local mukhtars Wednesday in the Presidential Palace Complex in Ankara, Erdoğan harshly criticized the UAE and Nahyan, asking "While Fahreddin Pasha was conducting the defense of Medina, you, the miserable one slandering us, where were your ancestors?"

In May 1916, as the World War I was ongoing with the Ottoman Empire siding with Central Powers, several Arab tribes which were led by Sharif Hussein ibn Ali of Mecca and backed by the British revolted against the Ottoman rule, in which British spy Thomas Edward Lawrence played a major role. However, a significant number of Arab tribes did not join this revolt and continued supporting the Ottomans against the British-led Allied troops advancing in Palestine and Iraq. In addition, there were thousands of Arabs conscripted by Ottomans fighting in the ranks of Ottoman troops.

In order to avoid the destruction of holy relics, Fahreddin Pasha organized a train guarded by 2,000 of his men and transferred the items to Istanbul, which are currently being displayed in the Sacred Relics section of the Topkapı Palace Museum.

Despite hit-and-run attacks by poorly organized Arab troops which caused heavy casualties from both sides and disrupted transport, Ottoman troops largely managed to hold their positions in Hejaz. However, the situation became hopeless when the front in Gaza collapsed under British attacks from Egypt's Sinai in late 1917, while Arab forces managed to cut Ottoman territories two months earlier in July through their raid on Aqaba. Yet, the garrison in Medina led by Fahreddin Pasha withstood the attacks and dire siege conditions until Jan. 10, 1919, continuing their resistance even after the Armistice of Mudros was signed between the Ottomans and Allied powers on Oct. 30, 1918. For his role, Fahreddin Pasha is generally regarded highly in Turkey, honored with nicknames such as "Hero of Medina" or "Defender of Medina."

"The works carried out by Fahreddin Pasha during his defense in Medina which lasted two years and seven months, his determined stance and resistance until the very last moment is really praiseworthy. You unfortunates who are in a state of delirium so much that you shamelessly claim my [Erdoğan's] ancestors had stolen sacred relics from there and brought them to Istanbul. This is not stealing, in fact, this is protecting them from those who came there to invade, to occupy," Erdoğan said, noting that those who accuse Turks and Ottomans in this regard show no efforts for the return of sacred relics that were brought to Western countries.

Erdoğan said that the animosity of some rulers in some Arab countries stems from efforts to cover their own incapability, incompetence or betrayal. "Rulers of some countries who don't know their place, history or diplomatic courtesy, cannot cast their shadow with our brotherhood with Arab peoples. We will not leave the scene to those who denigrate unity of Muslims for the sake of their own personal gains," he noted.

"We know very well what [plans] those who talk against this distinguished figure in our history and his glorious resistance in Medina are plotting today, and with whom, where and how. A time will come when we will explain all of this," he stated.

Presidential Spokesperson Ibrahim Kalın on Tuesday also slammed the post, describing it as "a propaganda lie that seeks to turn Turks [and] Arabs against one another," while calling it a "shame."

"It was Fahreddin Pasha who bravely defended Madina [sic] against the British plans then. Is attacking President Erdoğan at all costs the new fashion now?" Kalın added.

The UAE has been accused of supporting plots in Turkey against the Turkish government, as well as Ankara's role in the broader region.

FBI gave $50.000 'assistance' to Gülenist who confessed role in op to overthrow Turkey's gov't: court hearing

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BY Unknown Wednesday, December 13, 2017 0

FBI gave $50.000 'assistance' to Gülenist who confessed role in op to overthrow Turkey's gov't: court hearing

Fugitive Hüseyin Korkmaz (L) and his wife after being released in Turkey

Adam Klasfeld, a reporter for Courthouse News said late Tuesday that Gülenist Hüseyin Korkmaz testified in a trial in New York that the Federal Bureau of Investigation gave him $50.000 of "financial assistance" which he said he didn't ask for.

Korkmaz has been an important name in the trial and has stood out with his contradictory statements, namely for completely denying while he was in Turkey that "he had anything to do with" the December 17-25 judicial coup attempt perpetrated by Gülenist terror group (FETÖ) to overthrow Turkey's democratically elected government, but later confessing after coming to the U.S. that he was actually the investigator of the case with eight officers working under his command.

Korkmaz, who said he has not been employed in the U.S., also received "help with his rent" from the prosecutor's office, according to his testimony.

"I took my wife and my daughter and I left the country that I dearly love," Korkmaz testified. He said he eventually came to the United States with the help of U.S. law enforcement authorities, bringing audio recordings and other evidence he snuck out from Turkey.

Korkmaz was testifying in Manhattan federal court for U.S. prosecutors in the trial of Mehmet Hakan Atilla, an executive at the majority state-owned Halkbank , who is accused of taking part in a scheme with gold trader Reza Zarrab to help Iran evade U.S. sanctions. Halkbank has denied involvement with any illegal transactions.

Zarrab, a Turkish and Iranian national, has pleaded guilty and testified against Atilla, saying he used fraudulent food and gold transactions to launder money for Iran with the help of Atilla and others. Atilla has pleaded not guilty.

U.S. prosecutors have charged a total of nine people in the case. Only Zarrab, 34, and Atilla, 47, have been arrested by U.S. authorities.

Korkmaz testified on Monday that he began investigating Zarrab in 2012 for smuggling gold and money laundering. He told the jury that he never saw evidence that Atilla had taken bribes. He testified that soon after the searches, he was reassigned to another unit. He told the jury that he decided to leave Turkey in 2016 because another prosecutor had requested an order for his arrest and he did not feel safe.

Minibus smuggling people into Turkey crashes, kills 11

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BY Unknown Sunday, December 03, 2017 0

Minibus smuggling people into Turkey crashes, kills 11

Minibus smuggling people into Turkey crashes, kills 11

A minibus smuggling people from Syria into Turkey hit a truck on the Turkish side of the border on Sunday, killing 11 people on board and injuring nine others, local authorities said.
The head-on collision happened in Hatay province in the afternoon after a team of Turkish police tried to stop the minibus from evading a checkpoint near the Syrian frontier, officials said.
Among the dead were six children and the driver of the minibus, the authorities said, adding that the victims were “foreigners” without specifying their nationality.
According to the Anadolu news agency, the ten dead passengers were Syrian.
“At the checkpoint, the minibus ignored an order to stop and fled. Unfortunately it collided with a truck on a curve,” Hatay governor Erdal Ata told Anadolu.
Photographs published by local media showed rescue teams around the crushed remains of the minibus, which had been sealed off by white tape on the edge of a country road.
Turkey hosts more than three million refugees, mostly from Syria.