{"id":45315,"date":"2011-10-15T18:56:10","date_gmt":"2011-10-15T15:56:10","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/?p=45315"},"modified":"2014-01-06T16:20:15","modified_gmt":"2014-01-06T14:20:15","slug":"assad-eyes-sectarian-ethnic-fight-in-turkey","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/2011\/10\/15\/assad-eyes-sectarian-ethnic-fight-in-turkey\/","title":{"rendered":"Assad \u2018eyes sectarian, ethnic fight\u2019 in Turkey"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"over
over new constitution BDP leader Selahattin Demirta\u015f (L) speaks to Serkan Demirta\u015f (C) and G\u00f6ksal Bozkurt of the H\u00fcrriyet Daily News. DAILY NEWS photo, Selahattin S\u00d6NMEZ<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

G\u00d6KSEL BOZKURT \/ SERKAN DERM\u0130RTA\u015e<\/p>\n

ANKARA – H\u00fcrriyet Daily News<\/p>\n

Selahattin Demirta\u015f, BDP co-chair, says he warned President G\u00fcl and Foreign Minister Davuto\u011flu against a spillover from Syria<\/p>\n

Syria is looking to stir up ethnic and sectarian unrest in Turkey, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirta\u015f has warned, urging Ankara to reconcile with Turkey\u2019s Kurdish population or face the risk of plunging deeper into conflict.<\/p>\n

\u201cSyria is about to explode. The unrest is continuing. The threats of [President Bashar] al-Assad\u2019s regime to Turkey should not be underestimated. He has given a message: \u2018We have religious and ethnic differences, so does Turkey. If we have domestic disturbances, then so will Turkey,\u2019\u201d Demirta\u015f said in an interview with the H\u00fcrriyet Daily News on Oct. 13.<\/p>\n

To prevent a spill-over effect in Turkey from turmoil in the Middle East, the government and the Kurds must immediately reconcile, said Demirta\u015f, whose party is mainly focused on the Kurdish issue.<\/p>\n

The BDP leader said he had shared his concerns with both President Abdullah G\u00fcl and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davuto\u011flu. \u201cI told them they have no time to lose, but they are making the problem worse with their complacency and lethargy. Ground operations, KCK operations, the isolation of [outlawed Kurdistan Workers\u2019 Party (PKK) leader Abdullah \u00d6calan at] \u0130mrali is an eclipse of reason. This is the time for dialogue and negotiations. I don\u2019t think the upcoming days will be this comfortable.\u201d<\/p>\n

Police have launched a number of raids to detain people accused of membership in the Kurdistan Communities\u2019 Union (KCK), which is accused of being the urban wing of the PKK. The latter is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.<\/p>\n

\u201cIf someone ignites a clash between Arabs and Kurds in Syria, the powers behind it will want to spread the unrest to Turkey. I don\u2019t know if it will be an ethnic or sectarian conflict. I cannot say how it will happen, but they will try. We already have wounds, and they will try to rub salt in them,\u201d the BDP leader said.<\/p>\n

Ratcheting up tensions<\/p>\n

Commenting on the recent assassination of Syrian Kurdish leader Meshaal Tamo, Demirta\u015f said the Kurds had not been involved in domestic insurrection, or revolted against al-Assad, and were balanced in their politics. He added that he was not directly in contact with Syrian Kurds and received information indirectly.<\/p>\n

\u201cThey might be trying to incite the Kurdish people with such assassinations. This could turn into a Kurdish-Arab, Sunni-Shiite conflict. Maybe that\u2019s what they\u2019re planning,\u201d Demirta\u015f said. \u201cThe whole thing is heading toward a dangerous point.\u201d<\/p>\n

The Turkish government has overstretched itself to the point of interfering with Syria, said Demirta\u015f, urging the ruling party to provide an explanation as to what the Turkish and Kurdish people should expect for the future of the region.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn such a period, the Justice and Development Party [AKP] and the Republican People\u2019s Party [CHP] need to think about the next 100 years of the country,\u201d Demirta\u015f said, also noting the threat posed by Iran to Turkey\u2019s domestic stability.<\/p>\n

New constitution<\/p>\n

The BDP places great importance on the new constitution and will actively participate in its preparation, said Demirta\u015f.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe constitution cannot be made only by 12 deputies from four parties,\u201d said Demirta\u015f, proposing the establishment of another commission that will bring together representatives of women\u2019s, environmental and human rights organizations and minority communities. The new constitution must be approved by the public in a referendum no matter how many deputies approve it in Parliament, he added.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe constitutional commission must also solve the issue of jailed deputies,\u201d the BDP leader said. \u201cThey can\u2019t say it is not their job. If you\u2019re making a new constitution, you also need to clear the path of mines. Eight deputies are behind bars, and Parliament cannot vote on the Constitution without them.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demirta\u015f said Ankara was looking to South Africa and the dissolution of the Apartheid regime for inspiration to solve problems, adding that for this to work, the government had to end clashes with the PKK because \u201cthe new constitution cannot be prepared without peace. The commission can\u2019t work while funerals take place every day.\u201d<\/p>\n

Both the PKK and the government have the will to restart negotiations, said Demirta\u015f. For this to happen, \u00d6calan\u2019s \u201cterms must be met. The government must give this man, who has the power to bring the PKK militants down from the mountains, his freedom. Only \u00d6calan has the power to do this.\u201d<\/p>\n

Demirta\u015f also called on the government to reveal the content of the protocols drafted between the National Intelligence Organization (M\u0130T) and the PKK. \u201cThose protocols contain the PKK\u2019s disarmament. From what we understand, it is reasonable. Turkey could get rid of this problem for good. But the government\u2019s approach has not been serious.\u201d<\/p>\n

via Assad \u2018eyes sectarian, ethnic fight\u2019 in Turkey – Hurriyet Daily News.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

G\u00d6KSEL BOZKURT \/ SERKAN DERM\u0130RTA\u015e ANKARA – H\u00fcrriyet Daily News Selahattin Demirta\u015f, BDP co-chair, says he warned President G\u00fcl and Foreign Minister Davuto\u011flu against a spillover from Syria Syria is looking to stir up ethnic and sectarian unrest in Turkey, Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) co-chair Selahattin Demirta\u015f has warned, urging Ankara to reconcile with […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":83,"featured_media":179379,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[56],"tags":[3883,5172,5341,341],"class_list":["post-45315","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-syria","tag-bashar-al-assad","tag-bdp","tag-kurds","tag-mit"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45315","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/83"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=45315"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/45315\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/179379"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=45315"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=45315"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.turkishnews.com\/en\/content\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=45315"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}