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Erdoğan Hosts High-Level Security Meeting To Discuss ISIL Threat

17.09.2014 19:20

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has held a high-level security meeting in Ankara with the attendance of top government, military and intelligence officials to discuss the growing threat of the radical Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against a backdrop of international pressure on Turkey to join a multi-national campaign against ISIL, with Turkey deliberating over the possible establishment of a buffer zone to contain the ISIL advance.The first national security meeting after Erdoğan being elected president on Aug. 10 elections was attended by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, National Intelligence Organization (MİT) head Hakan Fidan and other bureaucrats. The official agenda of the meeting on Wednesday was said to be the international security problems and extraordinary conditions in Turkey'

President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has held a high-level security meeting in Ankara with the attendance of top government, military and intelligence officials to discuss the growing threat of the radical Islamic State in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) against a backdrop of international pressure on Turkey to join a multi-national campaign against ISIL, with Turkey deliberating over the possible establishment of a buffer zone to contain the ISIL advance.

The first national security meeting after Erdoğan being elected president on Aug. 10 elections was attended by Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu, Chief of General Staff Gen. Necdet Özel, Foreign Minister Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu, Interior Minister Efkan Ala, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz, National Intelligence Organization (MİT) head Hakan Fidan and other bureaucrats.

The official agenda of the meeting on Wednesday was said to be the international security problems and extraordinary conditions in Turkey's region.

A similar meeting was previously hosted by Davutoğlu on Sept. 10 to discuss Turkey's role in a possible multi-nation coalition against ISIL.

Erdoğan's top security meeting in Ankara has come amid discussions of Turkey proposing the establishment of a buffer zone against the ISIL threat in the region.

US President Barack Obama's administration has been working on forming a coalition to defeat ISIL militarily and financially for some time and the US sees NATO ally Turkey -- a Sunni Muslim nation -- as a vital partner. Turkey is reluctant to provide comprehensive support due to the 46 Turkish citizens who were kidnapped by ISIL militants from Turkey's Mosul Consulate General about three months ago.

Erdoğan said that the Turkish military is working on plans to establish a buffer zone on Turkey's borders with Iraq and Syria, according to local media reports on Tuesday.

The Cumhuriyet daily reported on Wednesday that according to a plan which the Turkish military has been working on, a multi-national coalition force will serve in the proposed buffer zone which would cover parts of Iraq and Syria and all the coalition forces will contribute to the military budget. The tomb of Süleyman Şah -- the burial place of the grandfather of Osman I, the founder of the Ottoman Empire, the sole Turkish territory outside Turkey's borders -- may remain in the buffer zone, according to the report.

Cumhuriyet reported that according to the Turkish military's draft plan on a buffer zone, in case of coalition forces hitting ISIL targets inside Iraq and Syria, 2 million refugees may converge on Turkey's borders. Turkey is expected to propose a resolution on establishing a “no-fly zone” over parts of Iraq and Syria during the United Nations summit in New York on Sept. 21, unnamed sources told Cumhuriyet.

According to the Turkish military plan, Turkey will prepare for a large wave of refugees fleeing from war-torn areas and will focus on providing humanitarian aid to the refugees inside the buffer zone. The Turkish military is also working on drawing up possible areas for tent cities and hospitals, according to the report.

Cumhuriyet reported that the Turkish military is working on a draft plan but all the coalition countries will participate in terms of providing military force and humanitarian aid and contributing to the budget, according to Turkish military sources. Cumhuriyet also said that the Turkish military is working on the draft plans due to their knowledge of the region and that everything is being done in coordination with US officials.

--- 50,000 border police

Another Turkish daily, Habertürk, reported on Wednesday that Turkey will step up its efforts for border protection with an additional 50,000 border police officers to guard against the ISIL threat. According to the daily, the National Police Department, the Gendarmerie General Command (JGK) and the Ministry of Customs have prepared a common action plan. According to this plan, there will be many security checkpoints protected with heavy weaponry and anyone appearing at these security checkpoints will have to go through a detailed background check via an online system. There will also be mobile checkpoints along Turkey's borders with Syria and Iraq.

A data bank of refugees will be established as well, according to Habertürk.

In the meantime, Deputy Prime Minister Numan Kurtulmuş has said that the threat of ISIL is a result of the unsuccessful policies of the former Iraqi government. During an interview with the Turkish NTV news station on Wednesday, Kurtulmuş said that in order to get rid of ISIL permanently, the conditions which caused the emergence of ISIL must first be eliminated. The government of former Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki has been accused of favoring Shiites over Kurds and Sunnis, leading to disgruntled Sunnis forming ISIL.

Kurtulmuş said that the US-led invasions of Afghanistan and then Iraq caused the fragmentation of these countries and the ongoing war in Syria -- along with “Syrian state terror” -- has paved the way for terrorist and radical elements in the region.

The deputy prime minister also said that no terrorist organization would be able to survive without the support of major states and drew attention to the heavy weaponry that ISIL militants employ. He added that it is impossible to achieve lasting peace in the region without changing the current situation in Syria and Iraq.

Kurtulmuş stressed that the situation is extremely difficult for Turkey due to its hostage crisis, adding that none of the countries participating in the coalition is bordering the ISIL threat, like Turkey. When asked about the buffer zone, Kurtulmuş said that Turkey's priority is to maintain its security, but chose not to elaborate further.

--- Çiçek: Put yourselves in Turkey's shoes

Parliament Speaker Cemil Çiçek on Wednesday also said that despite the high expectations of Turkey, the country's position and the threat that it faces makes for a very difficult situation. “It is a very complicated issue. Those who tell Turkey to do this or that should put themselves in Turkey's shoes before voicing such high expectations,” said Çiçek, while hosting a Danish delegation visiting the Turkish Parliament.

Recalling that Turkey is hosting an estimated 1.5 million people who have fled from war-torn areas, Çiçek criticized the articles in the Western press which are strongly critical of Turkey's reluctance to provide support to the campaign against ISIL, calling the treatment of Turkey by critics unfair.

Çiçek also criticized the efforts of the terrorist Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) to boost its standing in the eyes of Western societies due to its fight against ISIL. “I hope Western societies will not believe such an illusion,” Çiçek said, adding that the PKK continues to be a terrorist organization. “We are against all kinds of terror in Turkey, whether ethnic, ideological or radical terror,” he added.

While Washington last week won backing for a military coalition from 10 Arab nations
-- Egypt, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon and six Gulf states including oil-rich Saudi Arabia and Qatar -- Turkey attended the talks in Jeddah, but did not agree to participate.

SHOTLIST
TURKEY, ANKARA, 17 SEP 2014

VAR of the images from the meeting

DURATION: 00:35



 
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