Headlines

• EU Minister says Turkey's EU bid on pause due to Cyprus issue

• Turkey, US to start train-and-equip program for Syrian opposition next week

• Everybody is focusing on Taksim Square

Details

EU Minister says Turkey's EU bid on pause due to Cyprus issue

EU Minister and Chief Negotiator Volkan Bozkir said on Thursday that Turkey's EU membership bid has been at a standstill because of the Cyprus issue. Accession talks began in 2005 but negotiations hit a stalemate in 2007 because of Turkey's position on the Cyprus issue and German and French opposition at the time.

"If we had a mentality of sacrificing the Turkish Cypriots, we would now probably have become an EU member," Bozkir said in a live TV interview on Turkey's state broadcaster TRT on Thursday evening.
Turkey is the only nation to recognize Turkish Cyprus while the majority of the international community recognizes Greek Cyprus, which is an EU member.

Bozkir said Turkey had to slow down its EU membership bid in order to preserve Turkish Cypriots and their rights.
He took the opportunity to say he had congratulated the new president of Turkish Cyprus, Mustafa Akinci, on his win Sunday.
Relations between Akinci and President Recep Tayyip Erdogan had gotten off to a rocky start when the latter criticized the former's remarks on the relationship between their two countries.

Akinci, who won with more than 60 percent of the vote, said that rather than viewing Turkey as the "motherland," his country wanted "brotherly" ties with Ankara. This drew a swift rebuke from Erdogan who told Akinci that he had to "watch his words."
Erdogan said that Turkey had made investments worth over $1 billion in Turkish Cyprus and pointed out that Turkish soldiers had died to secure the region.

Bozkir said Akinci's remarks were "unfortunate," adding that he wished Akinci would come to Turkey.
"Here we can develop a common strategy," he said. "He can sit at the negotiation table [with the Greek part of the island] with powerful backing from Turkey. Hopefully, the Cyprus problem can be solved."

Cyprus has been divided since a Greek Cypriot coup to unite the island with Greece was thwarted by a Turkish military intervention in 1974.
Negotiations between Turkish and Greek Cyprus resumed after a two-year pause in February 2013, but Greek Cyprus suspended negotiations after Turkey sent a hydrocarbon exploration vessel off Greek Cyprus' southern coast October last year. Turkey later called back the ship.
Turkey applied for EU membership in 1987. To gain membership, Turkey must successfully conclude negotiations with the EU in 35 policy areas, or chapters, which include reforms and the adoption of European standards. So far 14 chapters have been opened while 17 remain blocked and another four have yet to be discussed. [Source: Daily Sabah]

Turkish rulers will never give up trying to ingratiate themselves to European countries. Turkey's place is not near a Christian unity. Its place is the top of an Islamıc unity that the Prophet (saw) called al-Khilafah "Caliphate".

Turkey, US to start train-and-equip program for Syrian opposition next week

The train-and-equip program for moderate Syrian opposition forces will begin on May 9, Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu told Daily Sabah. On Feb. 19, Turkey and the U.S. inked a deal to train and equip moderate Syrian opposition forces with the aim of achieving a political transformation in war-torn Syria on the basis of the Geneva Communique. However, due to the transportation of weaponry and forming fighting units taking time, the program will start three months after the signing of the agreement. "There isn't any political or other issue. At first, 300 people will be trained, followed by the next 300 and, at the end of the year, the number of trained and equipped fighters will reach 2,000," Cavusoglu said. He further added that the U.S. and Turkey share the view of a Syria without President Bashar Assad.
"But for now, the fight against ISIS [Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham] is a priority for the U.S.," Cavusoglu said, adding that the trained and equipped Syrian opposition groups will fight both the Assad regime and ISIS.

Turkey had already trained and equipped 1,600 Peshmerga fighters from the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) of northern Iraq. He added that since the formation of a new government in Iraq, relations have strengthened with Baghdad.

About 2,200 individuals have been identified to be vetted for the train-equip program to help Syrian opposition fighters, the U.S. said in March. "We've begun the pre-screening process of compiling biographical data on more than 400 of these potential recruits," Pentagon Spokeswoman Elissa Smith said. The Pentagon said in February that it had identified 1,200 opposition fighters to be vetted. Commander of the American Special Operations Forces in the Middle East, Major General Michael Nagata, and his team, have been working to select and screen members of moderate Syrian opposition groups for the program.

Saudi Arabia, Qatar and Turkey agreed to help opposition groups not only fight ISIS, but also battle the forces loyal to the regime. The agreement with Saudi Arabia and Qatar is still being worked out, but the U.S. and Turkey already signed a deal in February to train and equip moderate Syrian opposition forces.

Cavusoglu had said in February: "The aim of the program is to ensure a political transition and strengthen the opposition in their fight against threats such as extremism, terrorism and all elements that pose a threat to the opposition, including from the [Syrian] regime."
In line with the agreement, the Syrian opposition forces will be trained in the central Anatolian province of Kirikkale, National Defense Minister Ismet Yilmaz said in early March.

The Free Syrian Army has long been asking for more assistance in its fight against the Assad regime. There has been heavy fighting recently in northern Syria. The FSA still control parts of Aleppo, though government and its allied forces have been closing in. Turkey has continuously expressed that a comprehensive strategy that includes safe and no-fly zones in Syria along with training opposition groups, is necessary for a permanent solution in the war in the neighboring country. [Source: Daily Sabah]

Time has come for Turkish rulers to choose their side. Are you with secular American supported so called "moderate opposition" or the opposition that wants al-Khilafah "Caliphate" Rashidah ala Minhajin Nubuwwah (on the method of the Prophethood).

Everybody is focusing on Taksim Square

Turkish police have clashed with protesters defying a ban and attempting to march on Istanbul's Taksim Square.
Tear gas filled the air and water cannon was used to chase off protesters as thousands of police manned barricades and closed streets to prevent the May Day demonstrators from reaching the square, which was the scene of widespread protests in 2013.
Istanbul's governor said that around 203 people had been arrested.

It comes two months after parliament passed a controversial bill giving police more powers to crack down on demos.
Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan condemned the protesters actions saying:
"Everybody is focusing on Taksim square. If you insist on going there with 10,000 people and hold a rally, this is not a commemoration. This is creating chaos and we don't see good intentions here."

Critics say that President Tayyip Erdogan's government has become more authoritarian ahead of June elections. [Source: Euronews]
Muslims have only two Eids: Eid Al Fitr and Eid al Adha. No other holiday were being celebrated until the destruction of the Khilafah "Caliphate". But now we have too much holydays imported from other cultures / hadara. Like Mayday or suchlike.