TURKISH CYPRIOT AND TURKISH MEDIA REVIEW
C O N T E N T S
No.165/13 31/08-2/9/2013
1. Eroglu refers again to a five-party meeting on the Cyprus problem
and the “existing realities” on the island
2. Denktas wants Ankara
to respect the will of the “TRNC people”; He says the economic program should
be reexamined
3. The lack of women in the new “cabinet” is
criticized; Siber to become the new “speaker of the assembly”
4. A Turkish settler participates in the regime’s new
“cabinet”
5. Ozgurgun was elected chairman of the National Unity
Party- he called on the persons who joined DP to
return to the party
6. Erdogan on Syria crisis; He is expected to
meet with Obama and Putin in the
sidelines of the G-20 meeting
7. Opposition parties in Turkey have concerns over military
engagement in Syria
8. February 28 postmodern coup trial starts today in Turkey
9. How Turkish immigrants in Germany will
vote on the forthcoming September 22 elections
10. The Turkish columnists on the Syria crisis
1. Eroglu refers again to a five-party meeting on
the Cyprus
problem and the “existing realities” on the island
Under the title
“Eroglu referred to a five-party meeting”, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris
newspaper (01.09.13) reported that the Turkish Cypriot leader, Dervis Eroglu
has alleged that the Turkish Cypriot side was ready for intensified
negotiations, reaching a result through mutual give and take, and afterwards
meeting at the table with Turkey, Greece, Britain and the Greek Cypriot side.
In a written
statement issued on the occasion of the 1st of September World Peace
Day, Eroglu said that time has come to find a solution to the Cyprus problem
and reiterated the allegation that the Turkish Cypriot side was ready to do its
bit.
He argued: “As
Turkish Cypriot side we believe that time has come now for making an agreement
in Cyprus
and we are conveying our views on this issue to both our Greek Cypriot friends
and the United Nations... We as Turkish Cypriot side are ready to intensify the
negotiations, head towards a result with mutual give and take, afterwards meet
at the table with motherland Turkey, Greece, Britain and the Greek Cypriot
side, and do our bit. It is not difficult to take a result, as long as the existing
realities are not ignored and a viable agreement is targeted with
sincerity…”
Eroglu
reiterated the allegation that every aspect of the Cyprus problem has been discussed
and that all sides know the positions and the views of the other side. He went
on and claimed: “What should be done is to return to the table, continue the
negotiations from the point they were left and try to reach a result with good
will”.
(I/Ts.)
2. Denktas
wants Ankara to
respect the will of the “TRNC people”; He says the economic program should be
reexamined
Under the title “’If Turkey is dissatisfied with us,
we will overcome this’”, Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper (01.09.13)
reported that Serdar Denktas, leader of the Democratic Party – National Forces
(DP-UG) has expressed the belief that Ankara will show respect to the “will of
the TRNC people”, as he described the inhabitants in the occupied area of the
Republic of Cyprus.
In statements to Kibris TV, Denktas, who is also the
“deputy prime minister” and “minister of economy, tourism, culture and sports”
in the newly established “coalition government”, replied to allegations that
the participation of his party in the “government” has created dissatisfaction
in Ankara and that the Turkish Deputy Prime Minister responsible for Cyprus,
Besir Atalay had called Ozkan Yorgancioglu, chairman of the Republican Turkish
Party – United Forces (CTP-BG) last Thursday night to express Ankara’s
dissatisfaction with the fact that the CTP-BG would establish a “coalition
government” with the DP-UG.
“If this had happened, I think that Yorgancioglu would
have told me”, said Denktas and added: “If there is dissatisfaction against us,
the reason of the existence of this dissatisfaction will be announced. And we
will see whether or not this is based on reality”. He said that dissatisfaction
might have been created for some reasons which he does not know, because some
politicians within the Turkish Cypriot community misinformed Ankara for the sake of their remaining at
their posts. “Our duty is to overcome, to eliminate this and go our way, and
this is what we are going to do”, he added.
Asked why the Justice and Development Party (AKP)
government had such a perception for DP-UG, Denktas said he did not think that
such a perception existed and that this was only an allegation. He added, inter
alia, the following: “Let’s say that it is true. The will of the people here
produced a result… Mathematically another model was possible, but what was
reflected by the will of the people was our coalition under the CTP-BG. Other
coalition unions would be tantamount to ignoring the will of the people. Of
course, Ankara
will also see this will and I have absolutely no doubt about this”.
Asked to comment on the debates as regards the
“economic program” during the “pre-election campaign”, Denktas said that this
program should be reexamined in order to be “clearly shown” whether the results
from the implementation of this package are positive or negative, “because the
information given until today was that ‘everything is going well’”.
He went on and said: “According to what place
[everything] is going well? When you turn and see is there a state which is
shrinking? No! Is there development in the real economy? No! They say there is
improvement in the budget income. According to what? How this was reflected
onto the market? We have to show all this… The action plans should be prepared
here and go before Turkey
after being prepared here. If this package will be reexamined and a mutual
financial protocol will be prepared, this new government should put forward how
the expenditure will be made”.
Asked whether their first job would be to hold a
contact with Ankara,
Denktas said that their priority is to overcome the problems in the field of
education, the appointment of teachers and to deal with other urgent problems.
He noted that they will hold a contact with Ankara after solving these urgent
issues.
(I/Ts.)
3. The lack of women in the new “cabinet” is criticized; Siber to
become the new “speaker of the assembly”
Turkish Cypriot daily Afrika
newspaper (31.08.13) reported that the former Turkish Cypriot leader, Mehmet
Ali Talat and the Republican Turkish Party- United Forces (CTP-BG) “MP” in
occupied Nicosia, Dogus Derya have criticized the fact that no women exists in
the “cabinet” of the newly established CTP-BG – Democratic Party – National
Forces (DP-UG) “coalition”.
The paper writes that Talat
insists on a CTP-National Unity Party (UBP)
“coalition” and criticized the CTP-BG due to his plans for being “elected” to
the “presidency” of the breakaway regime. In his tweeter account Talat said the
following: “Good luck to the new government. I wish they found a woman doctor
and made her a minister so that the first men’s government after a long time
was not established!...”
Dogus Derya, who had come onto
the agenda with reading her own oath at the “assembly”, expressed, inter alia,
the following views on the social media: “…Democracy does not come by saying
beautiful words regarding social sexual equality. The important thing is to
secure consistency of words and deeds. Of course, I wish success to the newly
established government, but we saw with sorrow that both the CTP and the DP
ignored women while establishing the cabinet…”
CTP-BG’s general secretary, Asim
Akansoy supported Derya’s views on the lack of women in the “cabinet”, noting
that her evaluation was “realistic” and that he agreed with her. “The
sensitivity on the issue of social sexual equality remains deficient in a place
where women are ignored’, he noted.
Meanwhile, according to Turkish
Cypriot daily Yeni Duzen newspaper (01.09.13), CTP’s women organization stated
that they feel sorrow and responsibility for the fact women are not represented
in the “cabinet”.
Moreover, Yeni Duzen (31.08.13)
reported that the post of the “speaker of the assembly” was suggested to Sibel
Siber, woman “prime minister” of the temporary “government”, who replied
positively to the suggestion.
(I/Ts.)
4. A Turkish settler participates in the regime’s
new “cabinet”
A settler from Turkey is
participating in the newly established “cabinet” of the Republican Turkish
Party- United Forces (CTP-BG) - Democratic Party – National Forces (DP-UG)
“coalition government”. According to Turkish Cypriot daily Kibris newspaper
(31.08.13), DP-UG’s Hamit Bakirci, “minister” of environment and natural
resources, was born in 1972 in the Turkish city of Trabzon, in the area of Black
Sea.
Bakirci
graduated from Firat
University’s Medical School in 1996 and started working at
occupied Yialousa village’s health center in 1997. He has been working as a
doctor in occupied Karpasia area since 2001.
Turkish Cypriot
daily Afrika newspaper (31.08.13) reported that after Mustafa Gokmen, this is
the second “minister” of the breakaway regime form the area of Black Sea.
(I/Ts)
5. Ozgurgun was elected chairman of the National
Unity Party- he called on the persons who joined DP to
return to the party
Turkish Cypriot
daily Halkin Sesi newspaper (01.09.13) reports that Huseyin Ozgurgun was
elected chairman of the National Unity Party (UBP)
on the party’s extraordinary congress held on Sunday. He was the only candidate
for the position.
Speaking after
his election, Ozgurgun said: “Our road is the people’s road. Our road is the
road of love, brotherhood, embracement, and union”, he stated. Criticizing the new “government” of the
breakaway regime, Ozgurgun said the following: “The life of this government is
defective. It was born dead”.
In addition, in
an interview in Turkish daily Havadis (02.09.13) Ozgurgun called on the persons
who left UBP and joined Democratic
Party (DP) to return to the party. He said that UBP’s
doors are opened for those who want to
return and noted that they can join the party without any conditions.
He strongly
criticized DP’s chairman Serdar Denktas saying that he is trying to become a
right wing leader but he will not succeed on doing this. He also said that
during the last 30 years that he is a politician, Serdar Denktas failed to
prove that he is a right wing leader.
6. Erdogan on Syria crisis; He is expected to
meet with Obama and Putin in the
sidelines of the G-20 meeting
Turkish daily
Hurriyet Daily news (02.09.13) reports that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip
Erdogan intensified his rhetoric against the United Nations on September 1,
saying that the current system had given strength to the Bashar al-Assad regime
in Syria.
“The U.N.’s
incapacity, far from stopping the deaths, has given strength to the [Syrian]
regime and recompensed it for its massacre. As the whole world has shut its
eyes to the ongoing human tragedy in Syria, unfortunately the U.N. has
kept silent and watched this tragedy,” Erdogan was quoted as saying by private
broadcaster NTV during an event in Istanbul.
“The fact that
the U.N. showed its incapacity after the use of chemical weapons [in Syria] without
taking any steps has left a black stain on the history of humanity,” Erdogan
added.
The Turkish Prime
Minister, however, stopped short of commenting on U.S. President Barack Obama’s
decision on Aug. 31 to engage the Congress for a limited military action
against Syria.
Erdogan said the
chemical attack on Aug. 21, which might be a turning point the conflict, should
not be the only reason to intervene, stressing that the death toll had passed
the 100,000 mark. “Hasn’t 100,000 deaths any importance for us? […] The U.N.
has made us question its own existence during the whole conflict,” he said.
Erdogan also
gave his full support to a campaign named “the world is bigger than five,” launched
against the U.N. Security Council system where five permanent members – the
United States, Russia, Britain, China and France – have veto powers for any
decision.
“Imprisoning the
U.N. to what the five permanent members are going to say is anti-democratic. A
decision taken under the conditions of the Second World War does not have to
remain as such. Youth have started a campaign named the world is bigger than
five. I support it,” he said.
Ahead of Obama’s
statements, Erdogan had called for an intervention against Syria similar
to the one against Kosovo in 1999. “It should be more than a hit-and-run but
push the regime to the brink of collapsing,” Erdogan had said during the
Victory Day reception in Ankara
on Aug. 30.
In addition,
Turkish daily Today’s Zaman (02.09.13) reports that Erdogan, due to arrive in
St. Petersburg to attend the G-20 summit this week, is expected to extend
Turkey's position on what should be done about the Syria crisis in talks with
the US and Russian leaders as a probable US-led operation in the neighboring
country looms.
An official with
the Prime Ministry has confirmed that one of the main items on Erdogan's agenda
for the St. Petersburg
visit, is the Syrian crisis and that Turkey will discuss with world
leaders the need to take concrete steps on the Syrian civil war.
Erdogan is
expected to meet with the US
President Barack Obama and Russian President Vladimir Putin, but the official
stated that the slots for the bilateral talks during the summit have not yet
been fixed.
7. Opposition parties in Turkey have concerns over military
engagement in Syria
Turkish daily
Today’s Zaman newspaper (01.09.13) reports that the opposition parties in
Turkey have deep apprehension over any involvement of Turkish forces in a
potential military intervention in Syria, although they have different reasons
to justify their positions.
If there is one
thing they have in common, it is their sharpened criticism of the ruling
Justice and Development Party's (AK Party) foreign policy.
The main opposition
Republican People's Party (CHP)
claimed that the AK Party's plans went all wrong after the West geared up
towards a military intervention in Syria.
Highlighting
that Turkey's stance towards Syria has found no support on the international
stage, Erdogan Toprak, the CHP's
deputy chairman, told Today's Zaman that "the result of the vote that took
place in the British parliament showed that Turkey is left alone in its foreign
policy. All of the AK Party's assumptions about the region have proved flawed."
Toprak stressed that in order to reach a resolution in Syria, foreign
states should not intervene in Syrian internal affairs in the first place.
The Nationalist
Movement Party (MHP) wants to wait
until the United Nations releases the official reports the findings of a
chemical attack investigation. Celal Adnan, the MHP's
deputy chairman, underlined that the mandate which passed in Parliament in
October of last year is still in effect, and it gives Turkey the
right to react to any possible threat coming from Syria.
He maintained
that the UN investigative reports should be released before taking a step,
saying: "We want the mandate that we have supported before in Parliament
to stay in effect at the moment without any change. It is a wrong action for Turkey to start
a call for war before the UN investigation is done," said Adnan.
Gultan Kisanak,
co-chairperson of the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) -- the political wing of
the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party, whose Syrian affiliate has aligned
itself with the Bashar al-Assad regime -- emphasized that a military
intervention in Syria
would only deepen the country's conflicts. "There has already been a
terrifying civil war going on in Syria for two years. An
international military intervention would not cause anything but the expansion
of the ongoing war," said Kisanak. He believes that a military
intervention will not help solve the existing conflicts of the country.
Remzi Cayir,
Grand Unity Party (BBP) deputy chairman, maintained that a military intervention
led by the US
would not contribute any good to a solution for Syria. "The Syrian deadlock
pulls on the heartstrings. It is obvious that a US-led military intervention
would only serve as window-dressing for the world. Showing the world that it
has developed a humane reaction in the case of a chemical attack, the US wants to
clear its image on the international level. Although Assad is the root of all
the problems in Syria,
the main objective of the military intervention is not to change the existing
regime," he stated.
8. February 28 postmodern coup trial starts today
in Turkey
Turkish daily
Today’s Zaman newspaper (02.09.13) reports that the trial against the suspected
players of the February 28, 1997 unarmed coup, will start on Monday at the
Ankara 13th Criminal Court, which accepted a 1,300-page indictment in early
June filed by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office.
A coalition
government led by a now-defunct conservative party was forced by the military
to step down on February 28,
1997. “Not only were fatal blows dealt to fundamental rights and
freedoms after the coup, but democracy and the rule of law were also suspended”
writes the paper adding that the coup introduced a series of harsh restrictions
on religious life, with an unofficial but widely practiced ban on the use of
the Islamic headscarf at public institutions and universities.
In 2012, the
Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor's Office launched an investigation into the
military. There are currently 38 suspects in jail pending trial, accused of
plotting a coup. The indictment demands aggravated life imprisonment for 103
military officers of the time.
Former Chief of
General Staff retired Gen. İsmail Hakki Karadayi is referred to as the prime
suspect in the indictment. Among other top suspects in the document are former
Deputy Chief of General Staff retired Gen. Cevik Bir, former 1st Army Commander
retired Gen. Yalcin Ataman and former Secretary-General of the General Staff
retired Maj. Gen. Erol Ozkasnak. The suspects are accused of overthrowing the
government and preventing it from performing its duties.
Among the other
major suspects in the case are retired generals Fevzi Turkeri, Cetin Dogan and
Teoman Koman, retired major generals Cetin Saner and Kenan Deniz, and retired
Lt. Gen. Engin Alan. The only jailed civilian in the investigation is
then-President of the Higher Education Board (YOK) Kemal Guruz.
9. How Turkish immigrants in Germany will
vote on the forthcoming September 22 elections
Turkish daily
Zaman newspaper (01.09.13) reports that hundreds of thousands of German
citizens of Turkish origin, will be voting in Germany's approaching elections,
scheduled for September 22, and a recent poll shows the patterns of voting are
changing among Turkish immigrants.
Turkish voters
form a significant constituency as there are more than 700,000 eligible voters
of Turkish origin in the country, where sometimes a narrow margin can decide
the winner of an election.
A recent poll
conducted as part of the Dortmund-based EndaX initiative launched by an
institute named Futureorg recently conducted among 570 voters of Turkish origin,
found that these voters still overwhelmingly vote for left-wing parties. The
poll, conducted with the support of the World Media Group, found that 42.9
percent of those surveyed will vote for the Social Democratic Party of Germany
(SDP) and 21.6 percent for the
Greens. A total of 20.3 percent said they were planning to vote the Christian
Democratic Union (CDU) while the percentage of votes likely to be cast for the
Bundnis fur Innovation und Gerechtigkeit (BIG) -- which can loosely be called
an immigrant party -- was 6.9 percent. The poll found the votes of the Free
Democratic Party (FDP) at 3.1
percent and the Left Party at 1 percent.
Although the SDP and the Greens still remain the most favored
parties by Turkish voters according to the results, they also indicate a drop
in the percentage of votes of these two parties in comparison with the vote
distribution in the 2009 elections. The poll results point to a 7.3 decrease in
the votes of the SPD and a 9.4 percent drop in the votes cast for the Greens by
Turkish voters. The CDU has increased its votes among voters of Turkish
background by 8.9 percent and BIG by 4.7 percent, the survey finds. Some 45.6
percent of first-time voters said they will vote for the SPD, followed by 21.1
percent for the CDU as the second party of choice for first-timers.
Head of the
Futureorg Institute Kamuran Sezer said the fall in the percentage of votes for
the SPD can be explained by the anti-Muslim and anti-Turkish rhetoric of German
politician Thilo Sarrazin and the SPD's failure to display a determined stance
to expel Sarrazin from the party. Likewise, Green Party deputy Mehmet Kilic's
stance against the circumcision of male children and the party's co-chairs
Claudia Roth and Cem Ozdemir's stance against the Turkish government during the
Gezi protests in Turkey
can explain the loss of votes among this party. Although most Turkish
immigrants in Germany
usually vote SDP or Greens in
their country of residence, most are not liberals and the majority of those
with dual citizenship vote for the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in
Turkish elections.
According to
Sezer's evaluation, a significant increase in the percentage of votes of the BIG
party from Turkish voters is because the voter is protesting the other parties.
BIG is a party of protest votes, Sezer explained. He said the increase in CDU
votes can be attributed to the Turkish community's belief that the CDU is
sincere and convincing regarding its promises to Turks, although the CDU is
vehemently against Turkish entry into the EU.
Bekir Yilmaz, head
of the Berlin Turkish Community Association, said the poll results indicate a
Turkish immigrant profile that is increasingly acting as a citizen of Germany.
The Union of
European Turkish Democrats (UETD) has the slogan “To the Ballot Box” to invite
every Turkish citizen eligible to vote in the upcoming elections. “Germany, to
which we have dedicated our labor, efforts and lives is now our home and the
home of our children. To leave a Germany that is livable to our
children, we need to exercise our democratic right and fulfill our
responsibility as citizens in the Sept. 22 federal parliamentary elections,”
says Suleyman Celik, head of the UETD.
According to
figures from a different poll Celik cited, only 18 percent of Turkish voters
actually go to the voting booth on election day. “If we want attention from the
politicians, we should show the same attention. Instead of playing the victim,
we should vote on Sept. 22 and tell the politicians that we also have a say.”
10. The Turkish columnists on the Syria crisis
Various Turkish
columnists commented on the Syria
crisis and the role Turkey
could play on the possibility of a military intervention.
Under the title "Foreign
Intervention or Domestic Massacre", Yasin Aktan writes the following in Yeni
Safak ( 31.08.13).
“The crisis in Syria has
stopped being a domestic problem and has gradually become one that concerns the
whole world. […]
Even under those
circumstances, in order for the intervention of other countries to have a
legitimate basis, the issue must have an aspect that concerns those countries
directly. As a matter of fact, if a state choses a struggle method that can be
considered as a crime against humanity against the opposition that is treated
as the enemy in that country, that issue will stop being one of officiousness
or of arbitrary intervention for the whole international community, and will
become a matter of heavy responsibility. […]
The tragedy that
is taking place today in Syria
has already stopped being a national issue, and has reached a state that can no
longer be solved without an intervention from the outside.[…]
The ruler of a country is massacring his own
people every day using conventional or chemical methods. Nevertheless, there is
a strange indifference towards those massacres. In the face of the puzzle and
concern caused by the death of 100,000 people, Obama stipulated that, in order
to intervene, the "red line had to be crossed," red line meaning the
use of chemical weapons. When that line, which was probably drawn because Obama
was extremely confident that Al-Asad would not go that far, was crossed, it
first sparked a great reaction, and signals of intervention started to be
given.
Despite all
that, taking action against the state massacre in Syria is a responsibility towards
humanity, and that necessitates an international humane intervention. […]
Foreign
intervention is bad in principle, but that principle needs to be weighed
together with the principle that it is worse to watch from the sidelines
dictators who massacre their own people and commit crimes against humanity. The
discourse today against foreign intervention and war do nothing but encourage
the dictators who massacre their people in masses and with the use of chemical
weapons when necessary, and extend the life of their dictatorship. Is that not
strange?
As a matter of
fact, those who oppose a possible US intervention or any other
foreign intervention have to prove sincerely the kind of proposal they have for
a solution against the massacre of civilians by the regime as in the example of
Syria.
That is of course, if their opposition does not stem from any organic or
ideological affiliation with bloody-handed dictators”
---------------
Under the title
“What Will Turkey's
Role Be?" Sami Kohen writes in Miliiyet (31.08.13):
“What sort of
place will Turkey
have in a military intervention carried out against Syria? In what way will the affair impact Turkey?
In the face of
the latest developments pertaining to a possible operation, as well as the
ongoing uncertainties, it is difficult to answer these questions. […]
Turkey earlier announced that if a resolution for an
intervention came out of the UN Security Council, it would join the coalition
to be established. But there are still
important points in this regard that are not yet known: Would Turkey take a role in the "limited
operation" that would be mounted?
For instance, would Incirlik Air Base be utilized? Would Turkey provide protective or
logistic support to the allied forces?
In reports
coming out of Washington,
it is being stressed that the operation would truly be very limited, and of
short duration (and would not aim at toppling the regime in Damascus.)
This conveys the impression that not very much would be demanded of Turkey. […]
The stance of
the United States
has pleased Ankara. But it is clear that the government considers
a "limited" operation insufficient, and that it favors a
"comprehensive military operation" that goes beyond such a
"perfunctory" gesture. The
government continues to hold the belief that only an operation of this sort
would be able to change the regime in Damascus.
[…]The price for
our country that would result from a broad-scale military operation that also
included Turkey
would be heavy (in terms of refugees, border security, terrorism, the economy,
and relations with Russia
and Iran). Indeed, the government's
policy of taking a stance in the Syrian crisis has already created sufficient
problems…
If Ankara now engages in
some "fine tuning" for a more flexible strategy, it will be more
successful in the "regional role" that it wants to play.
-------------------
Under the title
“The Bashar Lobby or the Devil's Advocates", Mustafa Ozcan writes the following in Yeni
Akit (01.09.13):
“Obama did not
hesitate this much when he targeted and struck at Bin Ladin. So many objections
were not raised against striking at Saddam even though he did not have weapons
of mass destruction. Bashar al-Asad must be favored by the devil. […]
A great
deception is under way. They did not defend Iraq, even though it was in a
righteous position, as much as they have defended Al-Asad, even though he has
done wrong. Prior to 2003, Saddam told the Americans through the Saudis: "I
do not possess weapons of mass destruction. We are adversaries with Iran. They
must not realize that I am weak. This is why I am bluffing. Please
understand!" What did George W. Bush do instead? He fabricated evidence
and attacked Iraq with the surreptitious complicity of Iran. As one of Obama's
spokespersons has testified, evidence was fabricated over Iraq. Contrary to the
fabrication of evidence [in Iraq], we see cover-up of evidence [in Syria]. The
[Syrian] regime used chemical weapons 13 times but no one even noticed.
Clearly, those who oppose any strike against Al-Asad want this to continue.
If a chemical
attack was carried out, this was done by either the opposition or the regime.
Those who insist that the regime would not do this refuse to see its dirty
hands because they are partners with the regime. Why would a regime that
slaughters its own people with tanks, guns, airplanes, and missiles refrain
from using chemical weapons? What criterion would prevent it from doing that? […]
[…] Obama has
become the world's ethics police, despite his reluctant, belated, and inadequate
plans. They get no pangs of conscience when Syrian babies are killed by these
weapons. They do not even think about ethics. What world is this? Obama and
Westerners appear to be very eager to strike at Al-Asad. However, their aim is
to save their own honor rather to ask for a reckoning. No one should look for
absolute justice on this issue. […]”
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