TURKISH PM CALLS FOR RAPID WITHDRAWAL OF ISRAELI TROOPS FROM GAZA STRIP

Anatolia news agency
Jan 18 2009
Ankara

Brussels (A.A) – Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said, "Israeli
troops must rapidly withdraw from the Gaza Strip."

In a meeting he held with a group of Turks during his visit to Hasselt,
Belgium, Erdogan emphasized that Turkey would continue to provide
aid and support to victims in the Gaza Strip.

In the first part of his address, Erdogan said that they were proud
of accomplishments of Turks living in European countries in the fields
of politics, fine arts, and sports.

He went on to say: "We are the members of a very old civilization. We
contributed to culture, fine arts, and the world civilization on a
vast area extending from the Central Asia to Europe and Africa. We
proudly upheld and continue to uphold values such as affection,
respect, compassion, and tolerance which form a part of our character."

Reminding appeals made and messages given by Mevlana, Yunus, Haci
Bektas Veli, and Pir Sultan Abdal [medieval dervishes] for affection,
Erdogan noted: "We frequently heard those messages and appeals from
our grandparents and parents. We tried to advocate affection, peace,
and justice against hatred and fighting."

Erdogan went on to say: "We lived in peace in the Balkans and the
Middle East for centuries. Unfortunately, those regions turned into
a scene of bloodbath in the past century. We do not even want to
remember the events that took place in Bosnia-Hercegovina. We have
been witnessing a similar situation in the Gaza Strip for three
weeks. People suffer while the rest of the world remains silent
again. There is no respect for human rights and law. None of them could
secure a place on the agenda of the international community in the past
three weeks. The UN Security Council adopts a resolution and Israel
does not recognize it. Israel has refused to comply with more than
100 resolutions adopted by the UN Security Council and no sanction was
imposed on Israel. They say that resolutions of the UN Security Council
are binding. If that is the case, why was no sanction applied? A school
run by the United Nations was hit during bombardment. The UN Secretary
made a statement but to no avail. We need a concrete result. Why do
they apply a double standard? Why is the reason for this indifference
and carelessness? Israel declared ceasefire tonight. It said that it
had achieved its objectives. What did it actually achieve? Children
and defenceless civilians were killed. Is that what it accomplished?"

Erdogan also told the tragic story of a wounded Palestinian receiving
treatment in Turkey and his family, adding that he observed great
determination on the part of the Palestinians to maintain their
struggle until their last breath.

Pointing out that it was not possible to remain indifferent to cries
of anguish being heard in the Gaza Strip and reminding that he was
criticized for making emotional comments, Erdogan said: "They are
right. I am taking an emotional approach to those children, not
to events."

He stated: "This is not only because I am a Muslim, but also
because I am a human being. Turkey was the first country which sent
humanitarian aid to Georgia when it was attacked. This is a part
of our character. We love human beings because they were created by
God. I called the leaders of many countries and we applied telephone
diplomacy. Unfortunately, neither the United States nor the West was
as much concerned about the Gaza Strip as they were about Georgia. We
wish that the West had intervened in that area to help innocent people
at a time when we established an alliance of civilizations. There
is an unrestricted and disproportionate use of force. I hope that
Israel will observe the ceasefire. The Hamas agreed to observe the
ceasefire by adding two conditions. The ceasefire is consistent with
the project that we have put forward. We said that existing embargoes
should be lifted and border crossings should be reopened in order
to send humanitarian aid. We are not able to send relief materials
now. Israeli troops must rapidly withdraw from the Gaza Strip. Efforts
to achieve national reconciliation must begin immediately."

Erdogan emphasized that Turkey would continue to provide all kinds of
assistance to the Gaza Strip. He went on to say: "Turkey has always
stood for peace, justice, order, security, stability. We have done
our best for achieving regional and global peace. We are not watching
any issue like spectators sitting on a stand. We do not and cannot
remain indifferent to any tragedy."

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan also emphasized that everybody
should show respect for judicial authorities conducting an operation
against criminal activities in Turkey.

In the speech he made during a meeting he held with a group of Turks
in Hasselt, Belgium, Erdogan went on to say: "Some people are bothered
because we stirred up a hornet’s nest. Everything will be carried
out in accordance with the law. But, people who argued that Operation
Clean Hands conducted in Italy should set an example to Turkey must
now show respect for those who are now conducting a similar operation
in Turkey."

Pointing out that Turkey which, he noted, is guided by Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk’s advice to achieve peace both at home and in the world was
playing an active role in all parts of the world as a member of the
peaceful civilization, Erdogan cited the Project for Stability and
Cooperation in the Caucasus, Turkey’s efforts to resolve the dispute
between Azerbaijan and Armenia, and its active role and contributions
in Georgia, Somalia, and Afghanistan as examples.

Erdogan made the following comments: "Six years ago, we said that we
had a major goal. Our citizens would not feel ashamed both at home and
abroad. We have brought Turkey to a very different level. National
income per capita reached $750 billion. We carried out and still
carrying out historic reforms in the political system, foreign policy,
economy, and social life. We are working night and day in order to
rebuild all parts of Turkey."

Focusing on education, health care, justice, and security which he
described as four cornerstones, Erdogan noted that universities
were opened in all provinces and far-reaching reforms had been
carried out in the health care system in addition to serious steps
in communications. He added that Turkey would use nuclear energy for
generating electricity seven or eight years later.

Pointing out that Turkey which, he said, is going through a
transformation is making rapid progress towards becoming a modern and
contemporary country, Erdogan stated that Turkey, the sixth largest
economy in Europe, would continue to grow in all fields. He went on
to say: "We will never stop fighting against groups with sinister
designs. Any group attempting to reverse Turkey’s progress and to
drag it into those dark pits will find us and our nation standing in
their way. They are trying to create obstacles at home or abroad as
Turkey continues to grow and carry out reforms. This is the ultimate
goal of terrorism. Some people are bothered because we invest in
our eastern and southeastern provinces and thus contribute to their
development. Some others feel anxious because of dams are being built
there. There are strenuous efforts to obstruct those projects. But,
we will stay the course. We will never follow policies focusing on
ethnic origin. We have three red lines. We are opposed to ethnic,
regional, and religious nationalism. There are citizens with different
ethnic origins. We cannot prefer people with a certain ethnic origin
to others. We will respect all of them. We have an umbrella identity
which is the citizenship of the Republic of Turkey and it stems from
our awareness of citizenship. This is the umbrella identity that
unites us. We should unite behind it. There should not be regional
nationalism. All parts of our homeland which has an area of 780,000
square kilometres are sacred as far as we are concerned. Every place
will be modernized and become livable. There are people following
different faiths in our country. We should not ostracize them. We must
provide guarantees for their rights to practice their faith. This is
the government’s duty and we are determined to achieve that."

Commenting on television programmes in Kurdish aired by the TRT
[Turkish Radio and Television Corporation], Erdogan went on to say:
"The TRT 6 has been launched. Some people have welcomed it while some
others were not pleased. I cannot understand whey they are anxious. It
filled a major gap. We are pleased that the majority of the public
is happy with those programmes. As regards our Alevi citizens, the
TRT broadcast programmes during the month of Muharram and it gave
rise to concerns in some circles. We responded and will continue to
respond to that demand. The TRT will also air programmes in Farsi
and Arabic. This is a vast area and we must take those steps too."

Erdogan stated that the TRT would launch new programmes in Turkish
targeting areas such as Europe, the Central Asia, and the Balkans
where Turkish citizens and people of Turkish origin live, adding that
the TRT-INT channel would be restructured.

Prime Minister Erdogan made the following appeal to the Turkish
community in Belgium: "You are our representatives. Many things have
changed in our homeland. I have only one request from you which I also
mentioned in Germany last year. I will repeat the same thing even if
some people may attempt to distort it. We are against assimilation,
but support integration. What I want from you is that you should
never create problems preventing your integration with the citizens
of Belgium or other countries where you live. You should also file an
application for citizenship. They offer double citizenship here. Why
do not you acquire a second citizenship? Nobody should expect us
to change our language or religion. My citizens living here should
speak French and Flemish fluently. We are conducting accession talks
as a candidate for EU membership. Turkey will join the EU sooner or
later. This is dictated by the alliance of civilizations."

Erdogan departed for Brussels after his address.