Turkey’s defensive offensive: Operation Olive Branch




Turkey’s EU minister rejects any option other than full membership


Regardless of his popularity, hopeful rhetoric, and show of strength, Erdogan is not Turkey and Turkey is not Erdogan. His significance in Vision 2023 and his farsightedness in planning it, however, cannot be overlooked. A century after the fall of the Ottoman Empire, these next five years will prove crucial for Turkey’s future and its place in the world.

[b]THE ROCK SOLID PARTNERSHIP
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http://europe.mediamonitors.net/content/view/full/38081



Nasim Zehra

November 25 2006



"The Pakistan-China relationship has been a dynamic relationship whose compulsions and contents have changed with changing geo-political context. Its dynamism enables it to survive major realignments globally and in Asia specifically."



It is truly a model relationship. Ever since the two Asian neighbors established diplomatic ties in 1962, the utility of the relationship for each has only multiplied over the years. The Pakistan-China bilateral relationship is an uninterrupted, trust-bound and genuinely all-weather relationship. In fact it is a relationship in which a high level of political will has been invested to make it into a relationship that is capable of proactively responding to the changing demands of a changing context. Hence it has survived geo-strategic changes in face of tectonic scales including wars, uprisings, invasions, breakups of nations and rapprochements. Improving Sino-Indo Relations from 1989 onward, end of the Soviet Union, Post 9/11, Pakistan as a lead country in the war-on-terror, the emergence of a uni-polar world and finally the US and Indian strategic convergence. These changes have led to a changed national agenda of the Chinese and by extension impacting on the relationship.



President Hu Jintao's recent visit to Pakistan, the first in a decade by a Chinese President, has further cemented these model ties; almost as if pouring concrete into the structure of this relationship. Like his predecessors Hu Jintao carried forward the torch of this strengthening strategic relationship. He framed it in traditional terminology; "it is higher than the Himalayas, deeper than the Indian Ocean and sweeter than honey."



The sentiments were further reinforced when President Musharraf conferred the Nishan-i-Pakistan award on President Hu in recognition of his visionary leadership and contribution for strengthening Pakistan-China relations, Hu addressed the Pakistani nation on television, the Chinese philosopher Confucius's work was translated into Urdu by the National Urdu Language Institute. At the banquet the Chinese president urged his Pakistani hosts to " build on past achievement and strengthen traditional friendship, advanced with the time, expand and enrich China-Pakistan strategic partnership so that our friendship will pass on from generation to generation."



The outcome of the Hu visit has been a free trade agreement, which promises to triple bilateral trade to 15billion dollars in 5 years, enhance Chinese investment in Pakistan, set up joint production of the AWACs warning systems and continue with energy cooperation. Pakistan and China have also signed MOUs and agreed to immediately set up a Joint Investment Company. Eighteen bilateral agreements in the area of economic cooperation, new defense and energy deals have been signed and nuclear co-operation will be continued.



The Pakistan-China relationship has been a dynamic relationship whose compulsions and contents have changed with changing geo-political context. Its dynamism enables it to survive major realignments globally and in Asia specifically.



It is a relationship that was born out of the single necessity of security. Faced with abiding hostility from a bigger neighbor that initially questioned the country's existence, Pakistan sought security, first, through external military alliances and later, through an indigenously developed nuclear deterrent. It was in its journey towards seeking security in a hostile neighborhood and its experience with an undependable ally that Pakistan opted for what was first a security relationship which subsequently would become the anchor of its defense and foreign policy.



Specifically for Pakistan the 1962 US-India military deal resulted in Pakistan's opening up to China in a historic switching from its earlier policy of total dependence on Washington. For China the relationship was a means for breaking out of international isolation and for check-mating Indian power. Grateful to Pakistan for opening up when China was isolated, PIA flew the first international flight to Shanghai. Chou En Lai himself was there to receive that flight.



China has been adept at strategically and non-aggressively managing relationships- an advice it has passed on to its friend as well. Pakistan has consistently pursued its foreign policies with security as its major element. Its relations with the US have grown but not at the cost of its relationship with China. China itself has relations with the US. Meanwhile the China-India engagement, which began in 1989 under Rajiv, did not see any down turn in Pakistan-Chinese relations.



China believes the era of alliances and block formations is over. It seeks improved ties in its neighborhood and much beyond. Advocating a free-trade agreement in India the Chinese president said "If India and China take the necessary steps to strengthen trade and business, the 21st century will be Asia's." As China has pursued its own self-interest it has by extension also encouraged Pakistan to pursue pragmatic policies. For example China Pakistan from taking on ill-advised battles with India.



Meanwhile China is a major trading partner with Pakistan accounting for nearly 11 percent of Islamabad's imports. In 2005 the trade between the two countries was 4.25 billion dollars- a 40% increase. Pakistan is also diversifying its security portfolio. Going beyond conventional and non-conventional means of deterrence, Pakistan is now seeking security through economic development and trade. Its trade figures with China, Afghanistan and India have all shot up. New entrants Afghanistan and China into SAARC and Pakistan and India into the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), point towards the realization that regional economic cooperation and integration is imperative for regional progress and political moderation.



There is a shared logic that guides the mutual interests of this relationship. This shared logic shapes the national security policies of the two; one an emerging global power the other a rising Asian power. This relationship is effectively adapting to the changing regional and global scenarios. Obviously improvements in Sino-Indian relations are not adversely impacting on the substance of Sino-Pakistan ties. The most concrete manifestation of the deepening of Sino-Pakistan ties are being deepened and broadened is the joint Gwador project.



During his recent visit, the Chinese President has declared Pakistan as an `indispensable partner' for cooperation in the international arena. In his televised address to the Pakistani nation from the Convention Centre, President Hu said: "China will continue to work with Pakistan to uphold the purposes and principles of the UN Charter and the collective interests of the developing countries and promote democracy in international relations."



Advocating a role in global affairs for Pakistan he said "As a true friend of Pakistan, China hopes that Pakistan will play a greater role in regional and international affairs and (China) will strengthen coordination and cooperation with Pakistan in the Asean Regional Forum, Shanghai Cooperation Organisation, South Asian Association for Regional Cooperation, Asian Cooperation Dialogue, Asia Europe Meeting and other regional organization." President Hu said. "We are truly good neighbors, close friends, trusted partners and dear brothers and sisters," he declared.



Bridging the cultural, religious and civilizational fault-lines that the US-led war on terrorism has created he said: "One should not make irresponsible remarks about internal affairs of other countries simply because of differences any countries have and it is equally wrong to blame a particular civilization, nation or religion for some problem or conflict in the world."



The Sino-Pakistan relationship is also one through which multiple, and potentially explosive fault-lines - religious, economic, political and geographical-cross. Undoubtedly it is key to determining the future of the Asian continent.

The Tel Aviv regime has been trying to change the demographic makeup of Jerusalem al-Quds by constructing settlements, destroying historical sites and expelling the local Palestinian population. More than 300 Palestinians have lost their lives at the hands of Israeli forces since October 2015, when the tensions intensified. Tel Aviv has come under fire for using

violence against Palestinians and adopting a policy of shoot-to-kill.

PALESTINIANS REJECT ISRAEL SECURITY MEASURES IN AL AQSA
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/is...48094.html

Dozens of worshippers gathered to pray at an entrance to the compound after new measures introduced at holy site. 
Worshippers say the new security measures are an imposition of Israeli sovereignty over Al-Aqsa [Reuters]

Al-Aqsa mosque officials have rejected new security measures put in place by Israel as it reopened the holy site following a deadly gun battle that prompted a two-day closure.
Muslim religious authorities, who administer the compound, are refusing to pray there on Sunday after Israeli authorities installed metal detectors and additional close-circuit television cameras.

"The closure of al-Aqsa Mosque compound, the occupation in itself and the prevention of the call for prayers are all unfair and unjust and constitute a violation to the United Nations resolutions and the international agreements," Omar Kiswani, director of al-Aqsa mosque, told reporters outside the site.

"We hold the Israeli government responsible for the changes they have made in the al-Aqsa Mosque and taking its control away from us. We will stay outside the mosque until we get back the way it was taken from us." 

Israel shuts down Al-Aqsa Mosque after gun attack 

Dozens of worshippers gathered to pray at an entrance to the compound next to the Lions' Gate entry to the Old City, as Israeli security officials look on. Some women wailed and cried, calling on worshippers not to enter. The site was shut down during Friday prayers when five people were killed in a shootout - the first time the compound had been closed for prayers in 48 years.

"What happened does not justify this," Abu Mohammed, who works at a small medical clinic inside the compound, told Al Jazeera. "This is our mosque and we refuse to enter through any electronic gate, this can never be imposed on us." Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu announced the additional security measures on Saturday, saying they gave Israel "almost complete control over what goes on" in the compound, to prevent future attacks. 

Earlier in the day, Kiswani told Voice of Palestine radio station the additional security measures were part of a "dangerous and unprecedented move" by Israeli authorities "to impose control over al-Aqsa Mosque".

Israel's decision also triggered anger from authorities in Jordan, the custodian of the holy site. The Jordanian goverment released a statement on Friday demanding Israel immediately open the mosque and warning against steps that could "change the historic status quo in Jerusalem and the mosque". 


Proposals to change security measures at the compound have sparked controversy in the past. Palestinians have long feared what they see as Israeli moves to change the status quo at the holy site.

Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from East Jerusalem, said as the standoff continues as of 1400 GMT, because of the installation of the new security measures. "As far as they [worshippers] are concerned, this is an imposition of Israeli sovereignty on an area, which there should be none, and they are opposing this very strongly," he said. After Israel occupied East Jerusalem in 1967, Israeli authorities have maintained an agreement with the Islamic Endowment that runs the mosque compound. Non-Muslims are allowed to visit the site, but are not allowed to pray. The mosque compound is known to Muslims as al-Haram al-Sharif while Jews call it Temple Mount.



PROTEST CALLS GROW AS ISRAEL TIGHTENS GRIP ON AL AQSA
http://www.aljazeera.com/news/2017/07/pr...29422.html

Fatah calls on Palestinians to boycott holy mosque as heightened security measures are feared to be signs of a takeover.

Clashes broke out on Tuesday evening outside Lion's Gate [Ammar Awad/Reuters]

President Mahmoud Abbas' Fatah party has called for a "Day of Rage" to protest against new security measures introduced by Israel at a Jerusalem site which is holy to both Muslims and Jews. The call follows implementation of metal detectors and turnstiles at the entrance of al-Aqsa compound after a deadly shootout there on Friday. In that incident, two Israeli security officers died after an alleged attack by three Palestinians - who were themselves killed by Israeli police following the violence.Tensions have soared since Friday.

READ MORE: Grand Mufti - Arrest of al-Aqsa guards 'unacceptable'

The Red Cross said on Tuesday that at least 50 Palestinians were wounded in overnight clashes with Israeli police remaining near the sacred site, known as the Temple Mount to Jews and the Noble Sanctuary to Muslims.  At least four paramedics were injured, and 15 others were hit by rubber bullets, the charity said. Clashes also broke out on Tuesday evening after Israeli security forces used sound bombs and rubber bullets to disperse a crowd of worshippers near Lion’s gate in occupied Jerusalem after evening prayers.
A number of Palestinians suffered rubber bullet injuries, including former Jerusalem mufti Sheikh Ikrima Sabri, said Al Jazeera Arabic's correspondent.

Metal detectors and turnstiles have been installed at the entrance of al-Aqsa Mosque [Ilia Yefimovich/Getty] The Hamas and Islamic Jihad movements have also called for protests in the West Bank and Gaza Strip over the new security measures.

The "Day of Rage" is set to take place on Wednesday. "For the third day now, the Islamic Waqf authority - which runs the al-Aqsa Mosque compound - is refusing to enter through the Israeli metal detectors," said Al Jazeera's Harry Fawcett, reporting from Jerusalem. "[The authority] and the many growing number of worshippers outside the mosque see [the security measures] as an imposition of Israeli sovereignty in a holy place, and more generally as an Israeli encroachment in occupied East Jerusalem. "The Israelis are saying that this is an important security measure after the deadly attack which took place on Friday."


READ MORE: What triggered the violence at al-Aqsa Mosque?

Fatah is calling for Friday prayers to be conducted in public squares in Palestinian cities to denounce what they described as "terrorist procedures" by Israel in occupied East Jerusalem. Palestinians have already been performing prayers outside the compound in protest, since it was reopened on Sunday after a two-day closure. Jerusalem Grand Mufti Mohammed Ahmed Hussein criticised the new measures as altering the status quo, which gives Muslims religious control over the site and permits Jews to visit but not pray there.

In a statement, Israeli police spokesman Micky Rosenfeld said that Israeli forces removed worshippers at Lions' Gate for allegedly blocking the street while performing prayers. The Palestinians fear Israel is trying to retake control of the site by stealth. Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu stressed on Friday that he did not want to alter the status quo. The site houses the al-Aqsa Mosque and the Dome of the Rock shrine, Islam's third holiest site after Mecca and Medina, but also the ruins of the Biblical Jewish Temple.

Questions about control of the site frequently lead to outbursts of fighting. After Friday's alleged attack, Israel closed off the area, preventing Friday prayers at the al-Aqsa Mosque for the first time in decades. Mahmoud Abbas, who was quick to condemn the shooting attacks in a telephone call to Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, is currently in Beijing on a three-day visit to meet Chinese President Xi Jinping.

UN DOCUMENTS SHOCKING CRIMES BY MYANMAR ARMY 
Top Myanmar generals led brutal campaign against Rohingya involving "gravest crimes under international law"
https://www.aljazeera.com/news/2018/08/r...44502.html

Speaking in Geneva on Monday, Marzuki Darusman, the mission's chairman, said his researchers amassed evidence based on 875 interviews with witnesses and victims, satellite imagery, and verified photos and videos. Marzuki said victim accounts were "amongst the most shocking human rights violations" he had come across and would "leave a mark on all of us for the rest of our lives".

WATCH:

He described Myanmar's military as having shown "flagrant disregard for lives" and displayed "extreme levels of brutality".  "The Rohingya are in a continuing situation of severe systemic and institutionalised oppression from birth to death," Marzuki said. The UN does not apply the word "genocide" lightly.  Its assessment suggests crimes against the Rohingya could meet the strict legal definition used in places such as Bosnia, Rwanda and Sudan's Darfur region.


'Burning entire villages'
The team cited a "conservative" estimate from aid group Reporters Without Borders that some 10,000 people had been killed in the violence, but outside investigators have had no access to the affected regions, making a precise accounting elusive, if not impossible.  The UN report said military generals, including Commander-in-Chief Min Aung Hlaing, must face investigation and prosecution for "genocidal intent" in Myanmar's northern Rakhine state, as well as crimes against humanity and other war crimes in the states of Kachin and Shan. The report singled out Myanmar's military, known as the Tatmadaw, but added that other Myanmar security agencies were also involved in abuses. "Military necessity would never justify killing indiscriminately, gang-raping women, assaulting children, and burning entire villages," the report said.  "The Tatmadaw's tactics are consistently and grossly disproportionate to actual security threats, especially in Rakhine state but also in northern Myanmar."

In Rakhine state, there was evidence of extermination and deportation, the report added.
"The crimes in Rakhine state, and the manner in which they were perpetrated, are similar in nature, gravity and scope to those that have allowed genocidal intent to be established in other contexts," the UN mission concluded, adding there was "sufficient information" to prosecute the military's chain of command. 


Christopher Sidoti, a member of the investigatory committee, urged the UN Security Council and General Assembly to act on the report's findings. "We are convinced the international community holds the key to dismantling the destructive veil of impunity in Myanmar," he said.


'This is extremely significant'

Mohammed Jamjoom, Al Jazeera's correspondent in Cox's Bazar   "What we've heard in the report really 

lines up with witness testimonies I've heard here. For most of the past year, when official bodies of governance spoke about the atrocities committed in Rakhine state, they called it ethnic cleansing.  Now there's a very extensive UN fact-finding mission recommending that top tier military officials in Myanmar be prosecuted and investigated for genocide.  When the members of the panel in Geneva laid out their investigation, they said that they conducted 875 interviews, they talked about the destructive veil of impunity in Myanmar and they said that until that is lifted, the cycle of violence in Myanmar will continue.   They said there needs to be a mechanism by which these crimes can be prosecuted and the cycle of violence in Myanmar can be ended.

That's going to be very difficult, we don't know exactly where this goes. At some point, it will be presented to the UN Human Rights Council and then potentially to the UN Security Council.
But we must remember that Myanmar is not a signatory to the Rome Statute, so the International Criminal Court does not have jurisdiction."

Criticism of Aung San Suu Kyi
Investigators compiled a list of suspects, which included Min Aung Hlaing and other military commanders. The mission said a full list of suspects will be made available to any credible body pursuing accountability, adding that the case should be referred to the International Criminal Court, or an ad hoc criminal tribunal.  Myanmar's civilian leadership also drew criticism for its failure to prevent the abuses.  "The State Counsellor, Daw Aung San Suu Kyi, has not used her de facto position as Head of Government, nor her moral authority, to stem or prevent the unfolding events in Rakhine State," the report said. 


The Government and the Tatmadaw have fostered a climate in which hate speech thrives, human rights violations are legitimized, and incitement to discrimination and violence facilitated.


UN REPORT
The Nobel Peace Prize laureate has been criticised internationally for her failure to speak out against abuses in Rakhine State and has had several human rights awards rescinded for her stance.

The Rohingya: Silent Abuse
In August 2017, Myanmar's armed forces launched a campaign ostensibly against Rohingya armed groups in Rakhine state.  Investigators documented mass killings, the destruction of Rohingya dwellings, and "large-scale" gang rape by Myanmar soldiers.  The UN's report drew praise from the ground in Cox's Bazar, Bangladesh, where refugee camps have taken in hundreds of thousands of Rohingya from across the border.  "We are happy for this. If these army people are punished the world will take note of it. They are killers. They must be punished," said Mohammed Hasan, 46, who lives in the Kutupalong refugee camp.  "They killed thousands, we have seen that. They torched our homes, that's a fact. They raped our women, that's not false." 


SUU KYI USES FIRST APPEARANCE SINCE UN DAMNING REPORT TO DISCUSS LITERATURE

Myanmar’s embattled leader Aung San Suu Kyi has resorted to literature instead of addressing the critical humanitarian issues regarding her country’s persecuted Rohingya Muslim minority in her first public appearance a day after a damning report by the United Nations confirmed that “genocide” had occurred in the country under her watch.  In her speech at the University of Yangon on Tuesday, Suu Kyi discussed poetry and literature instead of reviewing the scathing report compiled by a UN mission and published a day earlier, which concluded that Myanmar’s military had carried out a series of “shocking” rights violations against the Rohingya, including mass killings and gang rapes. 

According to the damning report, the military had carried out "genocide" of the Rohingya in Rakhine state, the home province of majority of the Muslims, and was responsible for war crimes and crimes against humanity in the states of Rakhine, Shan and Kachin. Myanmar generals directed murder, rape, and arson that sent 700,000 Rohingya Muslims fleeing for their lives, but Aung San Suu Kyi reassures us that the generals she knows are "all rather sweet." Not to worry. 

http://bit.ly/2BtBdAz 
2:52 PM - Aug 21, 2018


In its final report released on Monday, the UN Independent International Fact-Finding Mission on Myanmar said the country’s army, led by Commander-in-Chief Senior-General Min Aung Hlaing, had carried out the “gravest crimes” against the Rohingya with “genocidal intent.”  The UN investigators called for an international probe and prosecution of Myanmar’s army chief and five other top military commanders for their crimes.  However, the Myanmar leader, a former Nobel Peace Prize winner, chose instead to stay silent on all issues of politics and made no mention of the shocking report by the world body.

PressTV-Facebook removes Myanmar's military chief
Facebook removes accounts belonging to Myanmar's military chief and a number of other pages related to Myanmar after a UN fact-finding team calls for his prosecution,

Suu Kyi, whose government is now facing mounting calls to be investigated by the International Criminal Court (ICC) for war crimes, spent almost all the afternoon chatting with students about the merits of Gone With the Wind, a novel by American writer Margaret Mitchell, and the differences between fiction and non-fiction.


Kitty Holland
@KittyHollandIT

Aung San Suu Kyi should be arrested and brought before International War Crimes Tribunal...women and children burnt to death under her watch

10:08 PM - Aug 27, 2018


Last year, Myanmar’s armed forces, backed by Buddhist extremists, launched a state-sponsored crackdown against the Rohingya in Rakhine under the pretext of a number of attacks on military posts blamed on the minority group.


The crackdown, once described by the UN as the textbook example of "ethnic cleansing," forced some 700,000 Rohingya to flee to neighboring Bangladesh, where they are living in overcrowded refugee camps in dire humanitarian conditions.

PressTV-Rohingya rally to mark Myanmar 'genocide' anniversary
Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh rally to call for "justice" on the anniversary of Myanmar’s deadly crackdown on the minority group.

The new report further lashed out at Myanmar’s de facto leader for failing to give a proper response to the military’s brutalities, which have drawn widespread criticism from the UN and leading international organizations, including Amnesty International and Human Rights Watch.

Myanmar and Bangladesh agreed in January to complete the voluntary repatriation of Rohingya refugees by 2020, followed up by an agreement with the UN last month.  Experts and Rohingya Muslim refugees in Bangladesh say a recent deal falls short of guaranteeing the Muslims’ safe return to Myanmar.