A court in capital Ankara on Friday sentenced a former senior official of the opposition Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) to 10 years in jail on terrorism-related charges, according to a judicial source.

Aysel Tugluk, former HDP deputy co-chairwoman, had been detained in Ankara in 2016 December and later remanded in custody as part of an anti-terror investigation.

She was accused of managing a terror organization, the source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, said.

At her court hearing, Tugluk rejected the accusation of being a manager of a terror organization and said the Democratic Society Congress (DTK) is not an extension of a terror organization.

“DTK is not an illegal organization, it also never made a call to violence. The main goal [of it] is the democratic resolution of the Kurdish issue,” she had said.

The government accuses the HDP of being linked to the PKK, which is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the U.S., and the EU.

Source: AA

Turkey’s deputy prime minister said Thursday that during Turkey’s current counter-terrorist Operation Olive Branch in Syria, there have been no civilian casualties or injuries.

Speaking at Anadolu Agency Editors’ Desk, Bekir Bozdag said: “To date, no civilians have died or even been hurt in Turkish Armed Forces operations.”

Bozdag also said Turkey’s fight against the terrorist PYD/PKK in Afrin, northwestern Syria, near Turkey’s border, is providing tremendous support for Syria’s territorial integrity and sovereignty.

Anyone who backs or patronizes the terror group PYD/PKK, including the U.S., will face a response by Turkey, Bozdag said.

The U.S. has called the PYD/PKK a “reliable ally” in its fight against Daesh, against strong objections by Turkey, which has documented that the group is an offshoot of the terrorist PKK.

In its 30-year terrorist campaign against Turkey, the PKK — recognized as a terrorist group by the U.S., EU, and Turkey — has taken some 40,000 lives.

Addressing reports of Syrian regime forces or regime-backed forces seeking to intervene, Bozdag added that if the Bashar Al-Assad regime enters Afrin posing as the YPG/PYD/PKK they will be targeted, and if militias enter, they will be targeted too.

On Jan. 20, Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch to clear PYD/PKK and Daesh terrorists from Afrin, northwestern Syria.

According to the Turkish General Staff, the operation aims to establish security and stability along Turkey’s borders and the region as well as to protect Syrians from terrorist oppression and cruelty.

The operation is being carried out under the framework of Turkey’s rights based on international law, UN Security Council resolutions, its self-defense rights under the UN charter, and respect for Syria’s territorial integrity, it said.

The military also said only terror targets are being destroyed and the “utmost care” is being taken to avoid harming civilians.

Source: AA

President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the U.S. Secretary of State, Rex Tillerson, met for over three hours in capital Ankara on Thursday during which they discussed several issues, including bilateral ties and regional developments, particularly Syria and Iraq.

According to a Turkish presidential source, who spoke on condition of anonymity due to restrictions on talking to the media, Erdogan and Tillerson also exchanged views on the fight against terrorism.

During their meeting at the presidential complex, Erdogan “explicitly” told Tillerson Turkey’s priorities and expectations from the U.S. on bilateral ties and regional developments, the source added.

The meeting, which was closed to the media, started at 7.40 p.m. local time (1640GMT) and lasted for three hours and 15 minutes.

Tillerson is on a two-day working visit to Turkey.

He is expected to meet his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Friday to discuss bilateral relations, particularly the U.S. support for the PYD/PKK terrorist group, and international developments. The meeting is expected to be followed by a joint news conference.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Speaking at the Turkey-Africa 2nd Ministerial Review Conference in Istanbul on February 12, 2018, Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu warned that the U.S. must restore the trust it lost with Turkey.

Cavusoglu warned that, strained due to American support for the YPG in Syria, Turkish relations with the U.S. are close to breaking.

“Ties with the U.S. are at a very critical point. We will either fix these relations or they will break completely,” Cavusoglu told reporters.

“We want concrete steps [from the U.S.]. The missing trust needs to be restored. The reason for that missing is the U.S.”

Criticizing U.S. ties with the YPG/PKK terror group in Syria – the armed wing of the PYD/PKK – the FM said: “The U.S. is not touching Daesh members in Syria as an excuse to continue working with the YPG/PKK terrorist group.”

Ignoring strong objections from Ankara, the U.S. continues to support the PYD/PKK as a “reliable ally” in its fight against Daesh.

According to the World Council of Arameans (WCA), Christians in Syria are facing more and more oppression from the YPG and the so-called security forces “Asayesh.”

On 19 January, 7 Christians, 4 Armenians and 3 Arameans (also known as Syriacs), were abducted by the terrorist group and forced to the front lines in Afrin, Syria, where the Turkish Armed Forces are currently conducting Operation Olive Branch.

The WCA informed that while following intense negotiations, all of them were released, 20-year-old Aramean Saliba A., who was kidnapped in broad daylight, still remains in the hands of the group.

Saliba was first held near Qamishli – a northeastern Syrian city near the border with Turkey – where the PYD/PKK has a base, but his current condition and location is unknown.

According to reports by the Anadolu Agency, a friend of Saliba stated that: “Everyday they kept telling us that he will be released soon. Then they said tonight, then they said tomorrow morning. After 10 days, we stopped believing their empty promises and are concerned about Saliba’s well-being.”

The Asayesh, a so-called security force operating in areas controlled by the YPG tell the local minority groups that those who have been kidnapped are handed over the to YPG. However, locals claim that the YPG tells them to contact the Asayesh.

“They’re playing games with us and trying to make us scared. They want us to abandon our homeland so that they can seize more of our properties and land.”

Kidnapped university students

In addition to the case of Saliba A., the WCA reported that two more Christians were recently kidnapped.

Isho Hanna and Elias Hanna, both aged 19, were on their way to university in Haskah when the Asayesh kidnapped them. Their whereabouts are still unknown.

Teens are continuously being forced to the front lines by the terrorist organization.

According to a local anonymous source, this happens because “these people [Asayesh] consider themselves the new rulers of our region.”

Johny Messo, head of the WCA, strongly condemned the on-going terror campaign by the PYD/PKK terrorists.

“Our people on the ground keep telling us about all sorts of human rights violations, including the confiscation of land, intimidations, threats and a rising wave of kidnappings. This must immediately end. We demand that the Kurdish YPG forces respect Syria’s native Arameans. We further call on the U.S. to make this critical message clear to the YPG.”

On 20 January the Turkish Armed Forces started Operation Olive Branch, which aims to clear terrorists in the Afrin region of Syria.

While numbers vary, there are between 8,000-10,000 terrorists in the region. Approximately 700 of them have been neutralized since TAF began the operation.

Unlike the U.S., which has justified its cooperation with the PYD/YPG on the basis of “fighting against DAESH,” Turkey is fighting against all terrorist groups in Syria.

Despite the fact that Turkey called for the Trump administration to stop arming and assisting the YPG, the U.S. have remained doing so. Only recently during a phone call between the presidents of the two countries it was stated that Trump promised to stop arming the terrorist group.

Although it will take a matter of time to see whether the U.S. will keep its promise, the fact that the PYD/PKK and DAESH have agreed on a deal to fight together re-emphasizes the ignorance of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East.

According to security sources as reported by the Anadolu Agency, in order to aid their fight against the Turkish Armed Forces and the Free Syrian Army, PYD/PKK released Daesh members from prisons in Afrin, Raqqa ad Deir ez-Zour on the basis that they fight against the Turkish forces.

Around 400 DAESH terrorists were taken to the town of Jinderes, south of Afrin.

The PYD/PKK convinced these Daesh terrorists by promising an end to their punishment, having their names struck off the terrorist list and ensuring that their home countries stop tracking them.

This not only re-iterates the argument made by the Turkish government that the U.S. ought to stop financing terrorism in order to fight against another form of terrorism, but also rebuts the absurd claims that Turkey was once apparently “helping ISIS [Daesh].”

The U.S. government continues to support the People’s Protection Units (YPG) in Syria under the pretext of destroying Daesh. The U.S. provides various military capabilities to the terrorist group that include heavy weapons.

Meanwhile, NATO-ally Turkey has strongly opposed the U.S. engagement with the YPG, the Syrian branch of the PKK, which is listed by Turkey, EU, and the US a terrorist organization.

President Erdoğan recently expressed discontent about providing weapon to the terrorist organization, claiming; “Who can guarantee that these heavy weapons will not be used against Turkey tomorrow?”

While these debates are ongoing, a Turkish newspaper reported on Monday that the U.S. set up PYD military quarters in Faysh Khabur.

According to the newspaper, the U.S. allowed the PYD to establish a new camp in Faysh Khabur – at the border gate between the regional government of northern Iraq and Syria, when the Iraqi army took action to provide control over all border territories in the country.

Faysh Khabur remains the only gate open to Syria for the regional administration in northern Iraq after Iraqi forces recently took control of the Rabia Border Gate between Iraq and Syria.

Amid all developments, it was announced that the Turkish Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım is to visit Vice President Mike Pence on Tuesday in the White House. It was stated that U.S. assistance to the PYD was one of the headlines on Yıldırım’s agenda, along with other critical issues including the refugee crisis and the current visa row. The two will be discussing bilateral political, economic and military ties and also regional issues in Syria and Iraq.

Russia postpones Sochi initiative

In addition to the U.S., already party to the Astana talks, the Russian administration has also brought the YPG to the political forefront.

Russia announced late last month that on November 18 a meeting will be held in the Black Sea resort of Sochi to discuss Syria’s future constitution with the participation of 33 Syrian groups and political parties, including Kurdish groups and anti-Assad rebel factions.

Turkey strongly objected to the invitation of the PYD and YPG, and Presidential Spokesman Ibrahim Kalin announced on Sunday that Russia has postponed the meeting they planned to organize under the name of Syrian Peoples Congress in Sochi as a result of Turkey’s objection and that YPG will not be invited to the upcoming congress.