Turkey Inside Line: Israel's Unmanned Planes, Iran's Uranium, Trouble with the EU, and More

Turkish-Made Drones to Take Over from Israeli Herons?: Turkish sources stated that the design, detail production, and assembly of the Turkish MALE (Medium Altitude Long Endurance) Unmanned Aerial Vehicle have been completed and first test flights will be carried out done in the second half of 2010.

[youtube]http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FRQtM6xzRDI[/youtube]

Turkey Video Special: Prime Minister Erdogan’s 50 Minutes on US Television (29 June)

Director-General Muharrem Dortkasli said, "We can sell this vehicle for use by many friends and allies. That is our project."

Turkey's Call for Implementation of Iran's Nuclear Swap Deal: Turkey has called on Iran and Western powers to implement the nuclear fuel swap agreement, starting talks as soon as possible.

On Monday, responding to Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad’s remarks that Iran would not join discussions until late August, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesman Burak Özügergin said:

If they do not sit down and talk, we will be in a worse-off situation this time next year. Time is working against a solution.

We would like this swap deal to be implemented and for negotiations to be held to resolve outstanding issues to secure a peaceful settlement to the dispute over Tehran's nuclear program.

Visa Requirements Lifted with Indonesia: On Tuesday, following a meeting between Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Indonesian President Susilo Bambangu Yudhoyono, agreement was reached to lift mutual visa requirements.

The approach on visas has been a major foreign policy strategy for the Erdogan Government. Requirements have been lifted with Syria, Pakistan, Albania, Jordan, Lebanon, Qatar, Russia, Iran, and other countries.

Turkey and Indonesia also signed eight agreements including cooperation between defense industries, cultural exchange programmes, and sea transportation . The two presidents agreed to increase the trade volume from the current $1.5 billion to $10 billion in the medium-term.

Turkey-EU Relations: Diplomatic sources expect the next chapter of European Union negotiations, focusing on food safety, veterinary safety, and phytosanitation, to be opened at an intergovernmental conference in Brussels on Wednesday.

There are 35 chapters that Turkey needs to fulfill to attain EU membership. Twelve have been opened, but 18 of the other 23 have been blocked, including eight relating to Ankara'ss failure to open its borders to EU member Cyprus.

Turkish Foreign Minister Spokesman Burak Özügergin said:

We expect consistency from the EU. You don’t open negotiation chapters but then say, [The] axis is shifted." The EU should be coherent.

There are 18 chapters which are blocked and we expect Belgium's rotating EU presidency to remove defects caused by the EU in the following period. The EU should consider where it wants to go with Turkey. Turkey recognizes EU membership as a strategic target.

Turkey-Russia Competition: Following the G20 summit in Toronto over the weekend, Turkey and Russia have opened a competition to host the bloc’s 2013 meeting.

Arkady Dvorkovich, a consultant to Russian President Dmitry Medvedev, said :

As all we know, the next summit in 2011 will be held in South Korea. The 2012 summit will be held in Mexico. Russia wants to host the 2013 gathering. On Sunday, the Russian government made its application. We know that Turkey has also already applied.

Turkey: Kurdish Insurgents Kill 11 Soldiers

On Saturday, the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) killed 11 and wounded 14 Turkish soldiers in an attack on a military post and a mine explosion near the border with Iraq. The first reaction of the Turkish daily Hurriyet was noteworthy: "250 PKK Members Attacked! Not a Clash but a Real War! It Lasted 5 Hours!"

The Turkish military responded by killing Kurdish separatists. Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) stated that F-16s have been bombarding northern Iraq alongside operations by commandos and the elite force, the "Maroon Berets".

Turkey Inside Line: Ankara’s Attack in Iraq; Relations with Israel

Turkish President Abdullah Gul condemned the PKK's attack and said that operations are going to continue without pause. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said that PKK, once again, proved that it is a "pawn". He continued:

The terrorist organisation --- today once again --- is going towards bloody actions ...to sabotage the economic, social, and democratic development process recently initiated by Turkey which gained international importance .

The Chairman of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), Mehmet Ali Sahin, responded to media in an unusual manner: "I am still waiting a satisfactory statement from the General Staff regarding our martyrs."

Opposition parties all targeted Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. The Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu said that the Erdogan government is weaking the anti-terrorism struggle and called on the government to show the "required" resolution.

The leader of the National Movement Party (MHP), Devlet Bahceli, said:

The architect of this dark picture is Erdogan. The government is responsible! The National Security Council (comprised of the Chief of Staff, select members of the Council of Ministers, and the President of the Republic) must convene and the government must take an early election decision. State of emergency must be declared in the region! They must give up the Kurdish initiative!

The Deputy Chairman of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Bengi Yildiz, criticized the government harshly but, unsurprisingly, from a very different position:

Even if you kill more 10-20-100 thousand people, even if you put 10,000 people in prisons, even if you kill not just one but 20 MPs of BDP, even if you kill all mayors and put them in prisons, you cannot solve this problem with violence, oppression and tyranny!

We Kurds have a famous statement for this: "We hit the full pot with an empty one", so  we have nothing to lose. Let those who have full pots think!

Yildiz's public statement was interpreted as a "threat" by most Turkish newspapers.

Gaza Flotilla LiveBlog (7 June): Moving Beyond the Attack

2045 GMT: Back from an academic break to find that Israel has tried to set out the lines of an internal enquiry into last Monday's attack. Gregg Carlstrom reports, "IDF [Israel Defense Forces announces internal 'team of experts' to review flotilla operation, led by reserve general; other three members are high-ranking officers."

Gaza Flotilla: Israel “Passengers Linked to Hamas, Al Qa’eda, Terrorist Organisations”
Gaza Flotilla LiveBlog (6 June): Israel Blames “Islamist Mercenaries”

1330 GMT: More on the Turkish Line. The Conference on Interaction and Confidence-Building Measures in Asia (CICA) gathered in Istanbul today; Israel, one of the 20 members, was absent. In his public briefing, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said: "Israel has the responsibility of accountability in front of international law. We have nothing to hide. It is Israel that has to give response to the international commission. If some countries are privileged and out of international law, let us know so."

Then Davutoglu made Ankara's next move in the chess game both over the Flotilla and over regional politics, "If Israel gives the green light to the formation of an international committee and is ready to answer questions of the committee, Turkish-Israeli relations will have a different course. Otherwise, Turkish-Israeli relations cannot be normalized."

Davutoglu reiterated, "If Israel thinks it has protected its national interests and rights, it should declare that it accepts formation of an international committee. Otherwise, it means that they are hiding some facts."

Pretty strong stuff, but gentle compared to the opinion of Israel's former Deputy Chief of General Staff, Uzi Dayan: "If the Turkish Prime Minister [Recep Tayyip Erdogan joins such a flotilla, we should make clear beforehand this would be an act of war, and we would not try to take over the ship he was on, but would sink it.”

1325 GMT: Sorry (Sort Of) for the Satire. The Israeli Government has apologised for a spoof video e-mailed by its press office to international media.

To the tune of US LiveAid's 1985 "We Are the World", the video shows "peace activists" singing, "We Con the World".

Mark Regev, the main spokesman for the Israeli Government, clarified, "I thought it was funny. It is what Israelis feel, but the government has nothing to do with it."

1230 GMT: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Syrian President Bashar Al-Assad came together for a public briefing in Istanbul. Erdogan said:

Thank you for accepting our invitation. We talked about the provocative attack against the humanitarian aid ship in which our people were there. And we cursed it once more.

The attack's targeting unarmed peace attendants increases the importance of the situation.

This shame of humanity against innocent civilians is violating international laws.

If one is to talk about terror in Mediterranean, it is Israel's state terrorism.

1200 GMT: Turkish President Abdullah Gul talked to Mahmoud Abbas, the leader of the Palestinian Authority for 45 minutes. Meanwhile, a joint committee agreement was signed between Palestinian leader on foreign affairs, Riad El Maliki and Ahmet Davutoglu. According to Turkish daily Hurriyet, this agreement consolidates Turkey's political support and organizes the operational structure of Turkish aid to Palestine indefinitely.

1100 GMT: When asked whether military agreements with Israel are to be suspended or canceled, Turkish Defense Minister Vecdi Gonul said, "All agreements, including the military ones, are still in place."

1045 GMT: The Israel Defense Forces’ Operations Directorate has issued an order forbidding all IDF personnel from traveling to Turkey “out of fear for Israelis being attacked”.

1015 GMT: So when does the Flotilla crisis stop being a crisis? Well, it could well be when “new” news intervenes.

This morning last week’s events have been overtaken by reports that Israeli forces have killed four Palestinians on a boat off the coast of Gaza. The Israelis claim the men were wearing diving gear. The al-Aqsa Martyrs' Brigades, the armed wing of Fatah [note: not Hamas], have told Al Jazeera the men were members of the group and were only conducting "training exercises".

Hamas security forces say a fifth man is missing and a sixth --- a senior member of the Brigades --- escaped.

Meanwhile, in an attempt to keep the Flotilla issue alive (and perhaps to make political capital from it?), Tehran is now saying that two aid ships of Iran’s Red Crescent will set sail with food, medicine, and appliances for Gaza in the near future. Iranian doctors and relief workers will be on board.

Iran’s Revolutionary Guard had announced earlier that it would provide naval escorts for any ships trying to reach Gaza, an offer rejected by Hamas.

Meanwhile….

An Israeli Parliamentary Committee has recommended, by a 7-1 vote, that Knesset member Haneen Zoabi should be stripped of special privileges to go abroad, the right to carry a diplomatic passport, and the right to have the state cover litigation fees incurred while serving in the Knesset.

A battle of words and videos continues over Ken O’Keefe, one of five passengers on the Mavi Marmara accused by Israel of having links to “terrorist organisations”.

An injured O’Keefe appeared in a video claiming that Israelis were aggressors during the Monday attack and that passengers seized weapons to stop the killing.  He has also been interviewed by Al Jazeera about his relationship with Palestinian groups.

UPDATED Turkey Inside Line: Parliament, President, and People Condemn Israel

UPDATE 1755 GMT: Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan joins in: "Erdogan has told U.S. President Barack Obama that Israel is on the verge of losing its best friend in the Middle East due to its deadly raid on a humanitarian aid headed to the Gaza Strip earlier this week, according to a statement from Erdogan's office."

UPDATE 1635 GMT: Turkish President Abdullah Gul has said in a televised speech, "From now on, Turkish-Israeli ties will never be the same. This incident has left an irreparable and deep scar....[The raid] is not an issue that can be forgotten...or be covered up....Turkey will never forgive this attack."

Gul spoke as thousands gathered in the streets of Istanbul to pay their respects to the eight Turks and one Turkish-American killed in the Israeli assault.

Gaza Flotilla LiveBlog (3 June): Pressure on Israel Grows

The Grand National Assembly of Turkey (TBMM), released a joint declaration on Wednesday condemning Israel and calling on the government to reconsider its relations with West Jerusalem:

TBMM condemns fiercely and vehemently Israeli Defense Forces’ inhumane assault, on 31 May 2010, on the flotilla carrying humanitarian aid with citizens of 32 nations many of whom were Turkish; which led to the death and wounding of many innocent people. It offers its condolences to relatives of the ones who lost their lives and quick recovery wishes to the wounded people.

This attack is an explicit violation of international law.

TBMM expects UNSC to accept a resolution condemning Israel and considering sanctions against it. An independent international investigation committee should be formed in order to ascertain the full dimensions of this reprehensible attack.

Israeli government should officially apologize, make sure that the ones who are responsible are judged and pay compensation to the victims of this attack.

Turkey should apply to national and international judicial remedies. TBMM expects from the Turkish government to reconsider our political, military and economic relations with Israel and to take the necessary measures.

TBMM welcomes the righteous reactions of our people with respect against this attack.

TBMM believes that these reactions will not turn into a violence that can hurt our Jewish citizens.

TBMM, as always, is in solidarity with the Palestinian people and expects the inhumane blockade against Gaza to be lifted.