Turkey leader tells Assad he must go
Source: Agencies |
November 23, 2011, Wednesday
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TURKEY'S prime minister said yesterday that Syria's president must step down over the country's crackdown on dissent, ratcheting up the pressure on Bashar Assad.
"For the welfare of your own people and the region, just leave that seat," Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said in a televised speech.
He reminded Assad of the bloody end of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and those of past dictators, including Adolf Hitler.
"If you want to see someone who has fought until death against his own people, just look at Nazi Germany, just look at Hitler, at Mussolini, at Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania," he said. "If you cannot draw any lessons from these, then look at the Libyan leader who was killed just 32 days ago."
World leaders are turning on Assad in quick succession. The military crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising against Assad's regime has killed nearly 4,000 people.
Erdogan's warning came the day after Syrian soldiers opened fire on at least two buses carrying Turkish citizens, witnesses said, apparent retaliation for Turkey's criticism of Assad.
"To protect travelers, especially those returning from the hajj, is a country's honor," Erdogan said, referring to the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Erdogan's call signals a definitive end to Turkey's once-close ties to the Assad government. Turkey was an important trade partner for Syria, and Erdogan had cultivated a close friendship with Assad. But Turkish leaders have grown increasingly frustrated with Damascus over its refusal to halt the crackdown.
Erdogan said last week that the world must urgently "hear the screams" from Syria.
Turkey has allowed Syrian refugees and military defectors to take refuge on its soil, and Syria's political opposition has used Turkey as a place to meet and organize.
Saudi Arabia, which has also criticized the crackdown, announced yesterday that one of its citizens, Hussein bin Bandar bin Khalaf al-Anzi, was killed in Homs while visiting relatives on Monday. A government statement on the Saudi Press Agency demanded an explanation from Syria on the circumstances.
Syria's state-run SANA news agency said security forces on Monday carried out a "qualitative" operation in Homs in which they killed four terrorists. It said a "top terrorist" nicknamed Bandar was among them.
It was not clear if the man referred to by SANA was the Saudi man. But Syria's Al-Watan newspaper said a Saudi was among gunmen killed by security agents in Homs.
Relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia are already tense. Last week, angry pro-Assad protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Damascus after the Arab League suspended Syria's membership in the bloc.
"For the welfare of your own people and the region, just leave that seat," Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey said in a televised speech.
He reminded Assad of the bloody end of Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi and those of past dictators, including Adolf Hitler.
"If you want to see someone who has fought until death against his own people, just look at Nazi Germany, just look at Hitler, at Mussolini, at Nicolae Ceausescu in Romania," he said. "If you cannot draw any lessons from these, then look at the Libyan leader who was killed just 32 days ago."
World leaders are turning on Assad in quick succession. The military crackdown on an 8-month-old uprising against Assad's regime has killed nearly 4,000 people.
Erdogan's warning came the day after Syrian soldiers opened fire on at least two buses carrying Turkish citizens, witnesses said, apparent retaliation for Turkey's criticism of Assad.
"To protect travelers, especially those returning from the hajj, is a country's honor," Erdogan said, referring to the annual Muslim pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia.
Erdogan's call signals a definitive end to Turkey's once-close ties to the Assad government. Turkey was an important trade partner for Syria, and Erdogan had cultivated a close friendship with Assad. But Turkish leaders have grown increasingly frustrated with Damascus over its refusal to halt the crackdown.
Erdogan said last week that the world must urgently "hear the screams" from Syria.
Turkey has allowed Syrian refugees and military defectors to take refuge on its soil, and Syria's political opposition has used Turkey as a place to meet and organize.
Saudi Arabia, which has also criticized the crackdown, announced yesterday that one of its citizens, Hussein bin Bandar bin Khalaf al-Anzi, was killed in Homs while visiting relatives on Monday. A government statement on the Saudi Press Agency demanded an explanation from Syria on the circumstances.
Syria's state-run SANA news agency said security forces on Monday carried out a "qualitative" operation in Homs in which they killed four terrorists. It said a "top terrorist" nicknamed Bandar was among them.
It was not clear if the man referred to by SANA was the Saudi man. But Syria's Al-Watan newspaper said a Saudi was among gunmen killed by security agents in Homs.
Relations between Syria and Saudi Arabia are already tense. Last week, angry pro-Assad protesters attacked the Saudi embassy in Damascus after the Arab League suspended Syria's membership in the bloc.
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