Turkey bid to be ‘humanitarian power’ in region

Surrounded by countries at war and two “humanitarian catastrophe ” in Syria and Iraq, Turkey has become a country of refuge and humanitarian assistance origin for different populations in the region.

In recent days, Turkey has announced that it is building two fields for Yazidis and others displaced in northern Iraq near the Iraqi cities of Dohuk and Zakho, near the Turkish border, with capacity for 21,000 people. In addition, more than 2,300 members of the minority Yazidi have crossed the border into Turkey, according to reports from the field, and Ankara has sent large amounts of humanitarian aid to the thousands of Yezidis who had been trapped in the mountains, with little food or water, fleeing jihadist militia of the Islamic State (EI).

Moreover, Turkey has also sent humanitarian assistance and started building another camp near Dohuk to accommodate 20,000 Turkmen, another Iraqi minority also displaced by the advance of EI, whose militia is accused of massacring men of other religious groups and capture women to turn them into concubines.

Another Turkic people, the Crimean Tatars, the Ukrainian peninsula annexed by Russia, have also found support in Turkey, which began in late July to transport sick Tatars to offer medical treatment.

This assistance fits the ambitions neootomanas current Turkish government, which aims to become the powerhouse of the region formerly occupied by the Ottoman Empire.

“Not only Turkey but also Islamabad, Erbil [ the capital of the Kurdish region in Iraq], Beirut, Sarajevo, Skopje, Hama, Homs [ both Syrian cities ], Ramallah, Gaza [ both in Palestine ] Jerusalem, have won [ with my election victory ], ” an exultant Recep Tayyip Erdogan said a few days ago, during his speech as the newly elected president of the Republic in Turkey.

In that same speech, Erdogan, who is still technically the Prime Minister announced that Turkey would evacuate and treat wounded Palestinians during the last Israeli offensive in Gaza. The next day landed in Ankara the first four victims and so far, the Turkish government, which has complained about the lack of cooperation from Israel, has moved about 50 wounded Palestinians.

In addition, Turkey currently hosts over 1.2 million Syrian refugees, to whom Ankara has generally maintained an open-door policy since the start of the war in Syria in March 2011.

Not only humanitarian intervention But these data show only kind and caring face of Turkey, while other reports said other negative aspects of its regional ambitions.

Indeed, the Turkish government has been identified as the culprit of the rise in Syria and Iraq jihadi militias, who at first Ankara would have been helpful in the fight against Syrian President Bashar al-Assad. If no direct assistance, it seems that Turkey did not do enough to stop militants passing through their territory, who also used it as base for medical attention, according to reports the main opposition party. The Foundation for Humanitarian Assistance, a Turkish NGO close to the government, has also been accused of having links with the Al Qaeda.

In addition, humanitarian assistance has its limits. In recent days, Turkey has been criticized for not allowing Yazidis no passport to cross Turkish territory during their flight. Although the government of Erdogan is proud to welcome Syrian refugees, the fact is that technically are not even recognized as “refugees”, implying a range of obligations under international law, but as “guests.”

In addition, some 912,000 Syrians have settled in towns and cities, most near the border with Syria, where their presence has caused tensions, and which has come to be clashes between the local population and refugees, which have sometimes been transferred forcibly by authorities.

The international community “should begin to share the burden,” he said a few days ago at a press conference Fuat Oktay, director of the Turkish Authority for Disaster and Emergency Management, adding that Turkey takes Spent 2,600 million in refugee Syrians but has only received about 170 million from the international community.

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Posted by Khalil Khan on Aug 29 2014. Filed under World. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0. You can skip to the end and leave a response. Pinging is currently not allowed.