The Middle East Needs Love and Unity More Than Ever

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Harun Yahya: Nothing can remain hidden any more. By means of rapid advances in technology, countries and people are closer to one another than ever before. Political developments, disasters, wars and people's suffering immediately appear before the global public. This terrible picture witnessed by all pricks the conscience. Ruthlessness, injustice, anger and hatred have literally paralyzed some societies. People hunger for love. They long for peace, compassion, love and affection as never before. All mankind’s endeavors are in that direction. The easy thing is to bring about the reign of policies of “peace and love”; the difficult thing is to live with hatred, cruelty and war.

The Middle East has been full of wars, invasions, terror and violence for the last 100 years. The imperialist power divided up the Middle East and created artifical borders with ruler and compass under the Sykes-Picot Agreement in 1916. Brothers and communities that had lived together for centuries were split apart. As if that were not enough, the region’s underground and material resources were intensively exploited by the European powers. The dictators that followed ruined people’s lives and took away their freedoms. The pride of the people of the Middle East had been shattered.

This fine territory, one of the richest in both material and spiritual terms, containing the holy lands where the true prophets once lived, was made into a hell on earth. Self-interest, selfishness and lovelessness paralyzed the people of the region, took away their joy and ruined their peace of mind. A language of violence and hatred inflicted pain on communities, instead of joy. Some tribes, organizations and parties came to violate the most basic human rights in those regions where they were strong simply for the sake of their own interests; regimes came to think of their own rule, rather than their peoples. Investment was made in material things, not people. Money was spent on arms, not on education, health, social life or art. Imperialism, savage capitalism and other political movements emphasizing hatred brought neither peace nor happiness to the region. The countries that came to the region all embraced loveless policies and problems were resolved only through violence, not through love, compassion and mutual understanding.

Yet all the region needs is love. Policies of love must prevail in the Middle East, not condescending language, threats, harshness, immediate violence and policies of hatred. 

The world needs love. The Middle East needs love. Turkey needs love.

The Turkish nation loves the peoples of the Middle East. It wants peace in Syria, a powerful Iraq, a strong and peaceful Lebanon to enjoy better days than in the past and it seeks a free and independent Palestine. It wants peace and love in Egypt and Yemen and strength is of course essential to all these. 

Strength should not put one in mind of armies, rockets, guns, or vast bodies of manpower. The greatest power in the world is a high-quality society that insists on policies of love. Unity - and being able to respond as one to difficulties and aggression - is the secret to being strong. Quality, art, skill and unity are our greatest weapons. Love is our greatest strength and the source of our greatest wealth. 

Countries in the Middle East are headed toward ever-increasing and unending fragmentation. This must be stopped first. A spirit of unity must rule the region instead.

New and impenetrable borders and cruel walls go up following every new division. Mines are laid, barbed wire is strung out, walls go up and ditches are dug. Yet what the Middle East needs is for the borders to be lifted, with bonds of love, and as much freedom as possible.

Unity brings many delights to people’s lives. A union like that found in Europe with freedom of movement, with no borders, a climate of freedom where anyone can easily go from Cairo to Damascus, to Istanbul or to Baku; it is that for which we must strive; it is that idea that we should seek to bring forth in the Middle East. We need a Middle East where someone can have breakfast in Beirut and dinner in Gaza, where after visiting Jerusalem he can proceed freely to Yemen. There is no reason this cannot be accomplished; we must put aside our differences and leave behind our squabbles and feuds, and recognize that only in unity can we achieve brotherhood and peace.

What does Turkey’s 2014 local elections tell us?

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Adnan Oktar - In 2014 a series of important elections are taking place in Turkey. First in late March there were local elections and in August the people of Turkey will elect their President with their own votes for the first time in the Republic’s history.

The local elections in Turkey in March proved the ruling AK Party’s strong position, especially after the party managed to score the highest vote of the past 46 years in any local election while the opposition parties failed to bolster their support. Meanwhile, the AK Party failed to win in the liberal coastal cities, which means both sides need to reconsider their stance.

Yet, none of those are as important as what happened in Southeastern Anatolia, which has been crippled by the actions of the PKK over the last 30 years. Designated as a terrorist group by many international organizations, including the UN and NATO and many other countries, the PKK has claimed the lives of more than 30,000 people over the course of its separatist campaign. The Turkish state decisively fought against the PKK, a group that used Stalinist guerrilla tactics. When ultimately the negotiations between the government and the PKK started under the rubric ‘The Solution Process’, terrorist attacks ceased.

However, the terrorist organization proved that it would continue its policy of fear and intimidation. Indeed, before the metropolitan municipality election held in Ağrı for a second time on June 1st and after the cancellation of the main election, PKK again resorted to violence. PKK members stoned the AK Party Provincial Directorate Building and an AKP election bus. As a result two people were wounded. PKK martyred the village rangers, raided the worksites in Ağrı and the entire region, abducted the workers and carried out attacks against the security forces. The message conveyed by these terror acts to the local people was: “If you don’t vote for us, violence will go on. Do not think this is over!” BDP repeated its win in Ağrı during elections under these types of circumstances.  

Under these anti-democratic conditions many locals were compelled to vote for the BDP, albeit reluctantly. The BDP uses racist rhetoric that clearly plays into the hand of the PKK, which seeks to build a Marxist autonomous regime by using Kurdish nationalism as leverage.

The region, mostly populated by our Kurdish citizens today, has been a peaceful abode of respectful co-existence to many different ethnicities for thousands of years that included Arabs, Turks, Armenians and Assyrians. However with the appearance of separatist movements following the Ottoman Empire’s weakening, the locals were subjected to some undesirable oppressive policies of the ruthless face of the state, rather than its fatherly and affectionate side. However, this policy of oppression targeted not only the Kurds, but all the minorities. Illegal organizations incited hatred and discrimination against different ethnical and religious groups. In terms of development and urbanization, Southeastern Anatolia had been neglected for far too long. The locals were simply prevented from  enjoying their basic rights such as speaking their own language, naming their own villages, singing their own songs, or publishing their own books. The region was ruled according to a state of emergency law for a very long time.

With the new outlook introduced in 2002,  the locals are free to learn Kurdish and enjoy a new state TV Channel broadcasting in Kurdish. Recent policies prove that everyone is treated and seen equal. The new airports, dams, highways and booming industries have already changed the landscape and a significant portion of $350 billion have been additionally allocated for more public works.

All these developments produced a surge of trust and love in the locals for the state. Meanwhile, reliable polls show that they didn’t approve the PKK or its separatist policy that could lead to a federal government or autonomous region. The changes in the region crushed the terrorist organization’s plans. At the moment, they pursue a new policy of hiding their anti-democratic and violent methods behind a false veil of demand for peace and democracy, and pushing the people toward separation.

The PKK wishes to build a social system where they can easily operate, one that is reminiscent of Pol Pot’s Cambodia and which is also a threat to entire Middle East and Europe. The Solution Process is building an atmosphere where people are being granted their rights, illegalities are being prevented and equality is being ensured through the utmost freedom.

It is high time for the Southeastern part of Turkey to get the peace it deserves. The best way to ensure that is by supporting moves aiming toward  peace and fighting all illegal organizations that resort to terror and violence in line with internationally recognized laws.

- The writer has authored more than 300 books translated in 73 languages on politics, religion and science. He tweets @harun_yahya

Turkey : A country at the center of energy corridors

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Turkey has little oil and no natural gas; nonetheless, these negativities have not prevented Turkey occupying a key position in the global energy sector. International developments and the country’s strategic position have led to Turkey assuming a place at the center of the world’s most important energy projects.

The turmoil in Ukraine is one of the factors that has brought Turkey to the foreground. Europe’s energy needs are met by Russian natural gas from pipelines passing through Ukraine. Russia and Ukraine coming almost to the brink of war has certainly endangered the security and continuity of the pipeline. Even if the risk of war is eliminated, the possibility of Ukraine being unable to pay for the natural gas it receives may lead to Russia turning off the taps at any moment. With its stability and infrastructure, and its proximity to both Europe and Russia, Turkey is an excellent alternative to Ukraine under these conditions.

The latest developments regarding the powers and budget sharing between the Northern Iraqi administration and the central authority in Baghdad are also progressing in Turkey’s favor. Northern Iraq wants to earn revenues by exporting the oil it obtains; the best way to do that is via pipelines to Turkey. Syria is embroiled in a catastrophic civil war. To the south, turning to the Gulf of Basra is more expensive and also more risky in terms of security, while Iran is risky because of its distance from the West and the current embargos. Turkey is therefore the best option for Northern Iraq, and even for the central Iraqi administration.

Another project that has raised Turkey’s profile concerns Cyprus. The south of the island has rich natural gas deposits in the 12th Parcel. If these can be extracted and marketed, the Greek Cypriots will easily be able to escape the current crisis. However, the transportation of that natural gas is a major problem: The gas could be carried by a pipeline to Crete and from there through Greece to Europe but that project would be expensive, and it is economically impossible for the Greek Cypriots to realize it. The most rational and best possible route is for natural gas to be carried to Turkey via a pipeline in the eastern Mediterranean, and from there to Europe.

There is another natural gas bed that makes a pipeline stretching to Turkey even more preferable: the Leviathan Parcel in the exclusive economic zone of Israel. Israel could sell its natural gas by tanker, without a pipeline, by liquefying it. Yet ensuring the safety of tankers carrying liquefied gas could cost Israel dearly because Hezbollah in Lebanon believes that Israel has ‘stolen’ Lebanon’s natural gas. The chances of an attack on tankers setting out from Israel are very high.

According to Captain Ilan Lavi, head of the Israeli Navy's planning division, Israel would need to invest $700 million in its navy to make the tanker option a reality; it would also have to spend an additional $100 million every year. That being the case, the most economical option for Southern Cyprus and Israel is a pipeline from Cyprus to Turkey. It is estimated that this pipeline would reduce costs by 25%. The only condition for the project to become a reality is achieving comprehensive peace in Cyprus.

Investment agreements for the Trans-Anatolian Natural Gas Pipeline Project (TANAP) for natural gas brought out of the Shah Deniz-2 field in Azerbaijan and the Trans-adriatic Pipeline (TAP) were signed at a ceremony late in 2013 . The construction process for the world’s greatest energy project, with a cost of $35 billion, has thus begun.

In addition to these developments, the existing Baku-Tbilisi Ceyhan (BTC), South Caucasus (SCP), Kirkuk-Yumurtalik and Blue Stream pipelines in Turkey are also of great strategic importance.

How will all these projects affect Turkey and the region? First and foremost, TAP and TANAP will be instrumental in regional countries achieving the security and stability needed for the other projects. As with the example of Ukraine, the countries through which the pipelines will pass need to live in peace much more than before; the Greek Cypriots will therefore have to work to resolve the disagreements between itself and Israel and Turkey.

Another dimension of these projects is that they will increase the importance and power of Turkey in international relations. A Turkey that maintains stability in the region, strengthens democracy and is close to the West will have a powerful impact on the Middle East.

Although they seem to be the reason for various conflicts now, pipelines running through Turkey may soon represent an important opportunity to bring peace and security to the Middle East.