GULEN-ERDOGAN RIFT DEEPENS
The Ergenekon trial in Turkey, which convicted over 250 people of conspiring to depose the government of Prime Minister Erdogan, was believed at the time to be a scheme by Erdogan to undermine the secular military. But one of Erdogan’s main advisers claims that many of the officers sentenced in the case were actually framed and that the party responsible was instead the Gulen movement. The Justice and Development Party is willing to re-try the Ergenekon and Sledgehammer cases, and Erdogan has stated he would be “favorably disposed” to this decision. The recent talk of re-trials marks a deepening rift between the Gulenists and Erdogan, who had previously been ideological allies and were though to be united in their desire to bring the army under stricter government control. An imending corruption scandal has been dominating the Turkish headlines since December 17, and Erdogan has responded by purging the bureaucracy and police of suspected Gulen supporters. (Foreign Policy January 15, 2014)
AL QAEDA-LINKED GROUP WILL TARGET IRAN AND HEZBOLLAH
The Abdullah Azzam Brigades, an al Qaeda –linked group responsible for numerous attacks throughout the Middle East, has promised to target Iran and Hezbollah after the death of its leader in Lebanon. The Lebanese army arrested Majid al-Majid last month and authorities said he later died from chronic illness in Beirut. The Abdullah Azzam Brigades has accused Hezbollah of killing al-Majid, claiming his condition deteriorated in custody, and vows that attacks will continue after his death. Extremist Sunnis in Lebanon claim the army is complicit with the Iranian-backed Shiite Muslim group. (CBS News January 14, 2014)
MALIKI THREATENS TO CUT FUNDS TO KURDS
Iraqi Kurdistan’s plans for oil exports to Turkey, independent of the central government, are in danger as Prime Minister al-Maliki threatened to cut Kurdistan’s share of the federal budget if the regional government uses a new pipeline to export oil to Turkey without federal permission. A Baghdad-controlled pipeline formerly used to export crude to Turkey has been dormant for a year over a pricing row between the regional and central government. Crude has been flowing to Turkey from Iraqi Kurdistan by truck ever since, and now the Kurds are planning to export crude to Turkey via a new oil pipeline, which Baghdad opposes. Maliki claims the actions of the Kurds are a “constitutional violation,” and that “Turkey must not interfere in an issue that harms Iraqi sovereignty.” A delegation from Iraqi Kurdistan will be in Baghdad this week to discuss the issue and Turkey’s consul in Baghdad was summoned on Sunday. (Reuters
January 12, 2014)
TUNISIANS TO VOTE ON BALANCED CONSTITUTION
The National Constituent Assembly in Tunisia is close to passing a new Constitution that is the compromise of legislators across the political spectrum and has been praised by human rights organizations and constitutional experts as one of the most liberal in the Arab world. Both the ruling Ennahda party and the secular opposition contributed to the document, which took a year longer to draft and approve than originally planned. It is said to strike a balance between the religious and the secular, and provides for a separation of powers, women’s rights, and Islam as the state religion. The assembly is likely to ratify the full charter with a two-thirds majority when the final vote is taken soon. (The New York Times January 14, 2014)
IRAQ'S BORDER WITH SYRIA REMAINS POROUS
In an effort to cut down al Qaeda forces’ presence and cross-border supply lines across its border with Syria, Iraq is trying to tighten control of its border with Syria. The government has sent troops and new U.S.-and Russian-made weaponry to the border, but they face an uphill task: the desolate border area favors smugglers and geurillas and is characterized by tribal ties that transverse the border. The government’s power there is further eroded by the political and sectarian animosities of the Sunni population of the western province of Anbar toward the Shi’ite-led government in Baghdad. Al Qaeda-linked militants entered the Anbar cities of Falluja and Ramadi on January 1, but Ramadi is now back under government control. (Reuters January 14, 2013)