Germany, Turkey : Deep differences between the two NATO allies over the war in Gaza.

 

Turkey President Recep Tayyip Erdogan is welcomed by German President Frank-Walter Steinmeier at Bellevue Castle in Berlin, Germany, November 17, 2023. REUTERS/Liesa Johannssen

Erdogan in tense talks in Germany as divisions over Gaza war deepen

Turkey’s president stresses need for ceasefire, 

while Germany’s Scholz backs Israel’s right to defend itself.

AJ 17 Nov 2023

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan was on a brief and tense visit to Germany amid deep differences between the two NATO allies over the war in Gaza.

Erdogan has called Israel a “terror state” and pointed to its Western allies, including Germany, for supporting the military’s “massacres” in Gaza.

On Friday, German Chancellor Olaf Scholz underlined Israel’s right to defend itself.

“Our solidarity with Israel is not up for discussion,” he said at a joint news conference with Erdogan.

“We don’t owe anything to Israel, so we can speak freely,” Erdogan said, referring to Germany’s responsibilities in the Holocaust and how Berlin can influence its relationship with Israel. “If we were in debt, we could not talk so freely. But those who are in debt cannot talk freely,” he said.

The Turkish leader also lashed out at Israel over its relentless air and ground offensive in Gaza, saying that attacks on children and hospitals had no place in the Jewish holy book.

“Shooting hospitals or killing children does not exist in the Torah, you can’t do it,” Erdogan told reporters.

Ismail Thawabta, the director general of the government media office in Gaza, told reporters on Friday that the total number of Palestinians killed since the war broke out on October 7 has exceeded 12,000, including 5,000 children.

Before the visit, the Turkish leader stepped up his condemnation of the Israeli assault on the besieged Gaza Strip, saying it had “unlimited support” from the West.

He had previously called for Israeli leaders to be tried for war crimes at the International Court of Justice in The Hague and repeated his view – and Turkey’s longstanding position – that Hamas is not a “terrorist organisation” but a political party that won the last Palestinian legislative elections held in 2006.

Since October 7, when Hamas fighters stormed southern Israel killing around 1,200 people, and prompting the Israeli government to retaliate with a devastating air and ground assault on Gaza, the Turkish president has hardened his criticism of Israel.

After the Hamas attack, Scholz travelled to Israel to offer Germany’s support.

This month, Germany announced a complete ban of Hamas activities, as well as those of the German branch of Samidoun, known as the Palestinian Prisoner Solidarity Network, claiming it “supports and glorifies” groups including Hamas.

“In our country, anti-Semitism is not permitted in any way,” said Scholz at the news conference.

“I would like to emphasise there are five million Muslims living in Germany and they have a place here,” he added.

Erdogan rebuked suggestions that his attacks on Israel had anti-Semitic undertones.

“For us, there should be no discrimination between Jews, Christians and Muslims in the region. I have fought against anti-Semitism. I am a leader who is leading this fight,” he said.

German authorities have prohibited many pro-Palestinian demonstrations in what they said are efforts to prevent public anti-Semitism and curb disorder.

Uncomfortable partners

“We don’t owe anything to Israel, so we can speak freely,” Erdogan said, referring to Germany’s responsibilities in the Holocaust and how Berlin can influence its relationship with Israel. “If we were in debt, we could not talk so freely. But those who are in debt cannot talk freely,” he said. 

The two countries have always been, as characterised by Scholz’s spokesman, “uncomfortable partners”.

Berlin has been a loud critic of Erdogan’s clampdown on domestic dissent while recognising that getting regional power Turkey onside was necessary to tackle thorny issues.

Despite their differences, economic cooperation between the two countries has continued, with bilateral trade reaching a record 51.6 billion euros ($56.2bn) in 2022.

Germany is home to the largest Turkish diaspora abroad. A majority of the Turkish community of three million are supporters of Erdogan.

Erdogan’s stance sparked questions in Germany about the wisdom of hosting the Turkish leader at this time, with the opposition conservatives and even the liberal Free Democratic Party (FDP), a member of Scholz’s coalition, urging the chancellor to scrap the invitation.

While much of the news conference was dominated by the Israel-Hamas conflict, the two leaders also spoke about the Russia-Ukraine grain deal, which Turkey helped broker before Russia withdrew from it.

They were set to attempt to find common ground on a migration pact struck in 2016 between the European Union and Turkey to stem arrivals in Europe.

Erdogan linked continuing discussions on that deal, which some European countries would like to revive and amend, to Turkey’s EU accession process, which was been on ice.

He also hoped to win Scholz’s backing to revive talks on modernising Turkey’s customs union with the EU, and liberalise visas for Turkish citizens ahead of upcoming municipal elections where he hopes to win back the country’s largest cities including its capital Ankara and Istanbul.

Turkey has wanted to buy 40 Eurofighter Typhoon jets, which, according to Turkey’s Ministry of Defence, co-manufacturer Germany has opposed.

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Sumanthiran: Rajapaksas have enough money to compensate 22 million Sri Lankans

We must now start a recovery process from those who have been held responsible by the Supreme Court.

TNA Jaffna District MP M.A. Sumanthiran told Parliament on Wednesday that Rajapaksa brothers had enough money to compensate 22 million people in the country.

 Participating in the second reading debate on Budget 2023, MP Sumanthiran said that his party welcomed the Supreme Court determination that ex-President Gotabaya Rajapaksa, along with former Finance Ministers Mahinda Rajapaksa and Basil Rajapaksa, successive governors of the Central Bank, Secretary to the Treasury and the monetary board of the Central bank bear responsibility for Sri Lanka’s severe economic crisis and had thereby violated the fundamental rights of the people by mismanaging the economy.

Sumanthiran: Rajapaksas have enough money to compensate 22 million Sri Lankans

PB Jayasundara, former Advisor to the President had been found guilty in a earlier case Vasudeva Nanayakkara Vs KN Choksy. He was found guilty and fined Rs 500,000 at that time by the Supreme Court. He paid the fine. The Supreme Court ruled that he should not be allowed to hold public office thereafter. He undertook not to take any public office by submitting an affidavit to the court. Later there was a change in the post of Chief Justice. That chief justice allowed the withdrawal of the affidavit to enable P.B. Jayasundara to hold public office again. Now the Supreme Court has given another ruling holding P.B. Jayasundara and others responsible for the collapse of the economy. When it comes to compensation, the court has not considered compensation because the petitioners have not asked the court to do so. The court could have given that order.

We must now start a recovery process from those who have been held responsible by the Supreme Court. 

Surely the Rajapaksa brothers have enough money to pay compensation to all people in this country. All their money parked outside the country can be brought here for that purpose. The minister of justice has stated that there are people who have parked their monies outside this country. This money should be brought and be used to revive the country’s collapsed economy. These are monies stolen from people. What the Supreme Court should have done was to order them to pay compensation to all the citizens of this country, to bring the money to the Treasury and that could have been used to revive the economy. This is not the end. We must now start a recovery process from those who have been held responsible by the Supreme Court. Every citizen in this country is now entitled to recover the money that had been stolen from them. These monies now abroad must be brought back to revive the collapsed economy,” Sumanthiran said.

The Island  2023/11/17 By Saman Indrajith

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