Turkey’s opposition criticizes Syria policy

ANKARA - Hürriyet Daily News

Turkey creates the perception that it could launch a military action into Syria, says Korutürk. AA photo

Osman Korutürk, deputy chairman of Republican People’s Party (CHP), criticized the government’s withdrawal itof the Turkish ambassador to Damascus at such a “critical time,” speaking in Parliament following Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu’s Parliament briefing on Syria yesterday.

Through its policy toward Syria, Turkey has created the perception that Turkey could launch a military operation into that country, and Ankara has become a party to the Syrian crisis by supporting the opposition there, Korutürk said. Turkey is not a member of the region’s “Arab family,” the CHP deputy said, criticizing the government for becoming too involved in Arab disputes. Turkey is creating the appearance of a policy of “neo-Ottomanism,” which is disturbing Arab countries, he said.

MHP blames Syria policy as ‘hostile to neighbors’

Mehmet Şandır, deputy chairman of the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP), also slammed Turkey’s foreign policy for being hostile toward its neighbors. Turkey has become the “enemy” of Israel, Russia and Iraq, Şandır said. “What if others were to enact the same policies [the Turkish government has implemented toward Syria] toward Turkey?,” Şandır asked.

Sırrı Sakık, a deputy from the Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), also criticized the government, saying it had sided with Bashar al-Assad for years. The people of Syria have been oppressed since the reign of his father Hafez al-Assad, but the current government sided with that regime despite the Syrian people’s suffering, he said, asking “Have the Syrian people only been suffering for these last few months?”