Ahead of Sunday’s runoff, Erdogan gets ‘kingmaker’ Sinan Ogan’s support

Ahead of Sunday’s runoff, Erdogan gets ‘kingmaker’ Sinan Ogan’s support
Women sit at a stall in front of a campaign truck bearing a portrait of Turkish President and candidate for his reelection Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul on May 22, 2023, ahead of on May 28 Turkiye’s presidential run-off. (AFP)
Short Url
Updated 23 May 2023
Follow

Ahead of Sunday’s runoff, Erdogan gets ‘kingmaker’ Sinan Ogan’s support

Ahead of Sunday’s runoff, Erdogan gets ‘kingmaker’ Sinan Ogan’s support
  • Ultranationalist, anti-refugee Ogan won 5.2 percent in May 14 vote
  • ‘Opposition in disarray, but uncertainty remains over outcome’

ANKARA: With neither presidential candidate passing the 50 percent threshold needed for an outright win, Turkiye’s voters head for a second round on Sunday to decide who will be their next leader.
In the first round, incumbent 69-year-old President Recep Tayyip Erdogan gained around 2.5 million more votes than his 74-year-old rival Kemal Kilicdaroglu. However, Erdogan’s 49.5 percent of the votes was not enough for an outright victory against Kilicdaroglu’s 44.9 percent.
In the first round, 54 million people cast their votes, among them 5 million first-time voters. The turnout for the presidential elections in the first round was the highest in the country’s history, at 87 percent.
The ruling government coalition, the Justice and Development Party and its nationalist and Islamist allies, secured a majority in parliament.
After failing to grasp a parliamentary majority, the center-left, pro-secular opposition, with a new campaign slogan “Decide for Turkiye,” now face a serious challenge in delivering on their pledge to gain the presidency.
After his first-round loss, the opposition’s joint presidential candidate Kilicdaroglu repeated his earlier promises to repatriate all refugees within two years and to reduce Turkiye’s dependence on Russia.
Kilicdaroglu also adopted a more aggressive and nationalistic tone, claiming Erdogan had purposely allowed the entry of 10 million refugees into the country and that millions more may come if Erdogan wins another term.
Kilicdaroglu also accused Russia of meddling in Turkiye’s elections with deepfake content, montages and conspiracies.
Meanwhile, both candidates tried to lure voters from Sinan Ogan, 55, the ultranationalist and anti-refugee third candidate, who won 5.2 percent in the May 14 vote although being a little-known fringe politician. But now potential kingmaker Ogan has announced his support for the Erdogan-led ruling coalition for the runoff.
During an interview with the state-run TRT channel on Monday, Erdogan thanked Ogan for his support. He said Ogan “knows very well our stance on fighting terrorism, relations with the Turkic world and the survival of our country.”
Kilicdaroglu’s candidacy was supported by the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, or the HDP, particularly in the country’s southeast. Therefore any alliance with Ogan, a vocal Turkish nationalist, could bear the risk of alienating the Kurdish voters who voted for Kilicdaroglu because Ogan explicitly made clear his objection to giving any concessions to the HDP.
The big question now is how Ogan’s presence in the ruling government coalition will influence the voting of about 167,000 eligible Syrian nationals. This is because Ogan insists on a timetable for the repatriation of some 3.7 million Syrian refugees.
Speaking to TRT, Erdogan announced that 450,000 Syrian refugees had returned home after the provision of houses by Turkiye in Syria, and added that the government was planning to send back another 1 million.
Still, nothing is cast in stone and the current political picture is full of uncertainties, particularly with the potential impact of young voters and 8.3 million undecided Turks who abstained from voting in the first round.

The parliamentary majority of the ruling government, however, increases Erdogan’s likelihood of reelection for the presidency as voters are likely to vote for him to avoid a split government, analysts say. This is because a Kilicdaroglu win in the runoff would see him have trouble getting his policies passed through parliament.
Bidding for a third five-year term, Erdogan’s control of state institutions and much of the news media, where he labeled the opposition as a supporter of “terror groups” with alleged fabricated videos, has made Kilicdaroglu’s efforts to convince voters much more difficult while retaining his current electoral base.
Meanwhile, there are already worrying signs that the economic crisis might worsen after the elections with a rise in the selloff of Turkish assets. The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development recently reduced its 2023 growth forecast for Turkiye from 3 percent to 2.5 percent.
Daron Acemoglu, a well-known Turkish economic professor at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology, has warned that Turkiye could only address the current crisis by either returning to orthodox policies or imposing tight capital controls.
For Ozgur Unluhisarcikli, Ankara office director of the German Marshall Fund, Ogan’s potential to persuade those who voted for him in the first round of the presidential election to vote either for Erdogan or Kilicdaroglu is exaggerated.
“His voters were not uniform. Some were secular nationalists who did not want to vote for Erdogan. Others were opposition supporters who did not want to vote for Kilicdaroglu. In either case, Ogan was a ‘placeholder’ and not the primary factor driving voter behavior,” he told Arab News.
Despite Ogan’s support, it is still uncertain whether all of his supporters would vote for Erdogan because Ogan’s “Ancestral Alliance,” a grouping of the Victory Party, Justice Party and two other small nationalist parties, has already splintered.
Victory Party chairman Umit Ozdag, known for his harsh anti-refugee discourse, will announce his position soon, while another coalition partner of Ogan, Justice Party Chairman Vecdet Oz, has already announced his support for Kilicdaroglu.
For Unluhisarcikli, it is likely that the fringe political parties that supported Ogan will endorse Kilicdaroglu, which would do more than counterbalance Ogan’s decision.
“Finally, Ogan’s first-round voters still have an easy third choice besides voting for either of the presidential candidates. They could just stay home,” he said.
As Ogan’s supporters are mostly known for their dislike of both presidential candidates, many of these protest voters could decide simply not to vote in the second round.
Atila Kaya, a former nationalist lawmaker who backed Ogan’s candidacy in the first round, condemned his decision to support the ruling coalition, in a tweet: “If you expect that you can design the future you desire from the will of ‘one man,’ it means you have never been familiar with the tradition you are trying to articulate with!”
On Wednesday night, Kilicdaroglu’s interview on Babala TV, a YouTube talk show channel featuring impassioned interviews with political leaders and attracting millions of views, will be broadcast.
His performance, where he will be asked questions by a young and critical audience mostly picked from the ruling government’s voters, is expected to influence the deep-rooted prejudices against him on a range of issues and to convince undecided voters to a certain extent.
 


UN has ‘moral duty’ to solve Palestine question: Omani FM

UN has ‘moral duty’ to solve Palestine question: Omani FM
Updated 24 September 2023
Follow

UN has ‘moral duty’ to solve Palestine question: Omani FM

UN has ‘moral duty’ to solve Palestine question: Omani FM
  • ‘Like all peaceful nations,’ Gulf country believes in two-state solution, Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi tells UN
  • Minister says incitement of violence, hatred poses national security risk and requires criminalization

NEW YORK CITY: The UN has a “moral duty” to resolve the Palestine question through a two-state solution, Oman’s foreign minister has told the UN.

Sayyid Badr Al-Busaidi was speaking at the 78th UN General Assembly in New York City on Saturday.

The minister described the Palestinian issue as “an injustice which has lasted more than 70 years.”

He added: “The Palestinian people, however, stand firm in their conviction and determination vis-a-vis the brutal Israeli occupation, the embargo and abuses and violation of international law, and Security Council resolutions.”

Oman’s belief in justice, equity and respect of the UN Charter means that “like all peaceful nations,” the country sees no other solution to the Palestine question than the two-state solution, Al-Busaidi said.

He appealed to all countries to “stay attached” to the UN system in settling disputes and resolving conflict, adding that the UN has a duty “to put an end to the painful suffering of the Palestinian people.”

This can only happen through Israel’s withdrawal to the June 1967 borders and the creation of an independent Palestinian state with East Jerusalem as its capital, Al-Busaidi said.

The Russia-Ukraine conflict has also caused “painful humanitarian consequences,” the Omani minister said.

The war has presented a “significant challenge to international peace and challenge to the proper functioning of supply systems worldwide,” Al-Busaidi said.

He appealed for dialogue and peace negotiations between the two sides “on the basis of the principle of harming no one” as well as state sovereignty and good neighborliness.

The foreign minister outlined the sultanate’s green targets that are part of the Oman 2040 Vision.

The country is aiming for net-zero by 2050, and will take part in the UAE-hosted COP28 later this year as part of a “national approach to promote sustainable development.”

Oman’s Vision 2040 also views modernization of education systems as “key,” Al-Busaidi said.

The minister highlighted the sultanate’s hosting of a global ministerial meeting on health preparedness as part of a post-pandemic strategy.

“One of the most important lessons drawn (from the pandemic) was that which relates to early preparation,” he said.

“The goal is to reduce increasing danger to public health,” Al-Busaidi added, inviting other states to take part in joint research to develop anti-pandemic measures.

Oman has “serious aspirations” to bolster and “promote the instruments” of human rights in order to promote an international community that respects human dignity, the minister said.

He condemned the incitement of violence and hatred as a breach of that principle and called for the adoption of “clear and categorical legislation” that criminalizes such behavior.

Discrimination based on religion, creed or race poses a threat to social peace and security, and even the “national security of states and societies,” Al-Busaidi said.

The Omani foreign minister ended his address by calling on the “family of nations” to “uphold peace and justice.”

He said: “We are grappling with complex challenges worldwide. These global challenges include climate change, the spread of epidemics, and trafficking of drugs and human beings. And to that list, we should add conflicts of various types.

“As a result, we would invite the family of nations to uphold the principles of peace and justice, and to implement the principles of international law without any double standards, so that confidence can prevail, and build trust between states and so that there will be prosperous partnerships between peoples.”


Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank raid: Ministry

Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank raid: Ministry
Updated 24 September 2023
Follow

Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank raid: Ministry

Israeli forces kill two Palestinians in West Bank raid: Ministry
  • Palestinian health ministry identifies the two killed as Osaid Abu Ali and Abd Al-Rahman Abu Daghas

RAMALLAH, Palestinian Territories: Israeli forces shot dead two Palestinians in a pre-dawn raid in the West Bank Sunday, the Palestinian health ministry said, as the army confirmed it carried out “counter-terrorism” activity in the occupied territory.

Violence linked to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict has surged since early last year, particularly in the West Bank, where the latest deaths bring to eight the number of Palestinians killed in Israeli incursions since Tuesday.

“Two Palestinians were killed by live Israeli bullets to the head” in the town of Tulkarem, the ministry said, while the army confirmed a soldier had been “moderately injured by gunshot fragments” during clashes in Nur Shams refugee camp near the town.

The Palestinian health ministry identified the two killed as Osaid Abu Ali, 22, and Abd Al-Rahman Abu Daghash, 32.

Ibrahim Al-Nimer, a resident and representative of the Palestinian Prisoners’ Club advocacy group in the camp said the “two were civilians.”

“The army entered the camp after 2:00 am... and demolished streets and some houses in the camp,” Nimer said.

Troops dismantled an “operational command center” inside a building in the camp and also uncovered a large number of explosive devices including gas-based explosive devices, the army said in a statement.

“During the activity, suspects opened fire and hurled explosive devices at the forces who responded with live fire,” the army said.

In recent months, there has been a surge in such military raids and a rise in Palestinian attacks on Israelis, as well as an increase in West Bank settler attacks against Palestinians.

Israel has occupied the West Bank since the Six-Day War of 1967.

Excluding annexed east Jerusalem, the territory is now home to around 490,000 Israelis who live in settlements considered illegal under international law.

The Palestinians, who seek their own independent state, want Israel to withdraw from all land it occupied in the Six-Day War and to dismantle all Jewish settlements.

However, the hard-right coalition government of Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu has pushed forward settlement expansion. Among the government members are settlers, including extreme-right National Security Minister Itamar Ben-Gvir.

At least 241 Palestinians have been killed in the Israeli-Palestinian conflict so far this year.

The bloodshed has also seen 32 Israelis, a Ukrainian and an Italian killed over the same period, according to an AFP tally based on official sources on both sides.

They include, on the Palestinian side, combatants as well as civilians and, on the Israeli side, mainly civilians including minors and three members of the Arab minority.

In recent days, unrest has also surged in the Israeli-blockaded Gaza Strip, with Palestinians holding daily protests that have turned violent along the border with Israel.

On Saturday, the Israeli army carried out a drone strike after violent protests in which three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire.

The strike was one of a series that have come amid protests at the border by Palestinians after Israeli closed the Erez crossing, the only one into Israel from Gaza.

Saturday’s strike targeted “a military post belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization,” the army said, referring to the Palestinian militant group that controls the Gaza Strip.


Djibouti FM calls for international financial reform in UNGA speech

Djibouti FM calls for international financial reform in UNGA speech
Updated 24 September 2023
Follow

Djibouti FM calls for international financial reform in UNGA speech

Djibouti FM calls for international financial reform in UNGA speech
  • Mahmoud Ali Youssouf: High costs of loans, falling public revenues prevent developing nations from investing in SDGs
  • Djibouti is one of 22 African nations categorized as ‘in financial distress’ by World Bank

NEW YORK: The world must commit to reform of the international financial structure to enable developing nations to grow and reach development goals, Djibouti’s foreign minister told the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

Mahmoud Ali Youssouf criticized what analysts sometimes call “minilateralism” — the tendency of countries to group together in clubs — saying it erodes inclusive multilateralism.

He reaffirmed his country’s commitment to intergovernmental negotiations for the Summit of the Future, which aims to reinvigorate multilateralism, boost implementation of national commitments, and restore trust among UN member states. The summit will be held in late September next year in New York.

Youssouf called for reform of the international financial structure, saying high costs of loans and falling public revenues prevent developing nations from investing in the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals and increases the likelihood that they will default on their debt payments.

Djibouti is one of the 22 African nations that the World Bank has labeled as “in financial distress,” and the country suspended its payments on nearly $1.4 billion in debt to China early this year.

“Despite the deterioration of the world economic situation, Djibouti has worked unwaveringly to achieve the SDGs, and has made notable progress in a number of areas such as reducing malnutrition and undernutrition, and has effectively managed the pandemic,” Youssouf said.

“Djibouti integrated the SDGs in our national development plans and in our strategies, such as the 2035 Djibouti Vision.”

The country’s long-term strategic vision aims to strengthen peace and national unity, diversify the economy, consolidate human capital, and encourage regional integration and international cooperation.

Djibouti has also prioritized poverty reduction, access to potable water and sustainable economic growth, Youssouf said.

He referenced the Ghoubet Wind Power Station, the country’s first-ever grid-ready renewable energy power station, which was commissioned in mid-September.

The project, which will produce roughly 60 megawatts of electricity, will be the first international investment project in the energy sector in Djibouti, “and will serve as a model for future private investment,” Youssouf said.

He also urged countries to achieve the goals laid out by the Paris Climate Agreement, and called for the full operation of the Loss and Damage Fund, which was agreed upon in the COP27 conference in Egypt last year, and aims to provide financial assistance to countries impacted by the effects of climate change.

Youssouf stressed the importance of finding a peaceful solution to the conflict in Sudan, which he called “a sister nation with whom we share political, historical and cultural close ties.”

He also called for a peaceful resolution to his country’s dispute with Eritrea over the Doumeira Islands.

In 2008, clashes in the small border region on the Red Sea coast led to the deaths of dozens of Eritrean and Djiboutian soldiers.

Djibouti has accused Eritrea of occupying the region since the withdrawal of Qatari peacekeepers six years ago.


‘International monetary system has failed,’ Tunisian FM tells UN

‘International monetary system has failed,’ Tunisian FM tells UN
Updated 24 September 2023
Follow

‘International monetary system has failed,’ Tunisian FM tells UN

‘International monetary system has failed,’ Tunisian FM tells UN
  • Conflict, climate change, poverty fueling mass migration from Africa: Nabil Ammar
  • Global governance must be rebuilt to navigate ‘delicate page in history’

NEW YORK: “Substantive” reforms to the international financial system and global economic governance are necessary to bridge the gap between rich and poor countries, Tunisia’s foreign minister told the UN General Assembly on Saturday.

Nabil Ammar warned that the world is “experiencing a very delicate page in its history,” defined by growing crises and challenges, “wars and conflicts getting worse and geopolitical divisions being evident.”

He said: “Is this really the world to which we aspire after almost eight decades since the creation of the UN? This is an image that’s very distant from the goals and values that this organization is based on.”

Ammar called for universal acknowledgment that the international financial system has failed in its objectives.

Only then can the system, “which has increased the gap between advanced countries and developing countries,” be rebuilt, he said.

“The international monetary system has failed; the system which was created following the Second World War to provide a safety net for the world, to guarantee lasting financing for development and for the least-developed countries. This system, quite to the contrary, has disappointed and has abandoned these countries.”

Indebtedness among developing countries is worsening, he warned, with growing poverty and hunger fueling an “unprecedented increase in refugees and migrants.”

Tunisia has taken on an outsized burden in that regard because of its geographical position as a gateway to Europe, and due to the effects of conflict and climate change in Africa, Ammar added.

“We reiterate the need to adopt a global approach to tackle this issue of illegal migration, by focusing on its root causes rather than simply its consequences.”

He added: “We once again would like to reiterate the need for all parties to assume their responsibility — origin countries, transit countries and destination countries, as well as regional and international organizations.”

As part of the effort to address the root causes of mass migration, Ammar welcomed a decision by UN Secretary-General Antonio Guterres to launch a response group for energy and food crises.

Ammar relayed an appeal by Tunisian President Kais Saied to establish a global emergency grain stockpile to safeguard against supply chain issues.

Ammar said confronting climate change is an “absolute priority” for Tunisia, adding: “What the world is experiencing today — the impact of climate change, deterioration of ecosystems, worsening of natural disasters — all of this forces all of us to confront these challenges urgently.”

He said: “Tunisia hasn’t been an exception to what the world has experienced and continues to experience in terms of challenges — economic challenges, social challenges and living conditions.

“And we, in spite of these difficulties, intend to overcome them, strengthen resilience and sustainability in cooperation with our friends and partners, while respecting the principles and the guiding principles of our national policies and national destiny.”

Ammar said Tunisia will continue “tirelessly” with reform, strengthening good governance and combating corruption in order to “strengthen and fine-tune our democracy.”

The country will also continue empowering women and young people to “strengthen their participation in public life and in decision-making,” he added.

Ammar called for “a new global order” and a new vision that promotes balance and equality between states, and which “takes into account the root causes of instability.”

The Palestinian question is part of that effort, he added, condemning the “silence of the international community” on Israel’s “disregard of international law.”

A just solution, overseen by the UN and based on the June 1967 borders, is necessary to achieve peace for Palestinians, Ammar said.

In Tunisia’s “immediate neighborhood,” he said his country is “providing all possible assistance” to Libya in order to achieve a political agreement there. Tunisia rejects any military solution or foreign incursions into Libya, Ammar added.

He ended his address by telling the UNGA: “We’re at a crossroads, given the scale of the risks and challenges that are unprecedented.”

The choices each country makes “should be based on long-term vision and our engagement to humanity,” he said.


Israel strikes Gaza again amid new violence at border

Israel strikes Gaza again amid new violence at border
Updated 24 September 2023
Follow

Israel strikes Gaza again amid new violence at border

Israel strikes Gaza again amid new violence at border
  • Israel has imposed an air, land and sea blockade on the impoverished Palestinian enclave ever since the Islamist group Hamas seized control in 2007

GAZA CITY: The Israeli army launched a drone strike on the Gaza Strip on Saturday after violent protests in which three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire, sources on both sides said.
The early evening strike is one of a series that have come amid near-daily protests at the border by Palestinians after Israel closed the Erez crossing from Gaza.
A drone “struck a military post belonging to the Hamas terrorist organization, adjacent to the area where a violent riot was taking place,” the army said.
It added that “shots were fired toward” Israeli soldiers near the border during the strike, without reporting any casualties.
A Palestinian security source told AFP that an “Israeli aircraft had targeted a Hamas surveillance site east of Gaza City,” without mentioning any casualties.
Earlier in the day, Palestinian demonstrators faced off against Israeli soldiers stationed along the border fence, an AFP journalist reported.
Demonstrators set fire to tires and threw stones at Israeli soldiers.
Three Palestinians were wounded by Israeli fire, according to the Gaza health ministry.
Israel has imposed an air, land and sea blockade on the impoverished Palestinian enclave ever since the Islamist group Hamas seized control in 2007.
Thousands of Palestinian workers from Gaza have been prevented from entering Israel by the closure of the Erez crossing, which an Israeli NGO, Gisha, condemned as “collective punishment.”
Israel has issued work permits to some 18,500 Gazans, COGAT, the Israeli defense ministry body responsible for Palestinian civil affairs, said on Tuesday.
Since September 13, six Palestinians have been killed and nearly 100 wounded during violence at the border, according to figures from the health ministry in Gaza.
Armed conflict sporadically erupts between Israel and militants in the Gaza Strip.
In May, an exchange of Israeli air strikes and Gaza rocket fire resulted in the deaths of 34 Palestinians and one Israeli.