ANTAKYA, Turkiye: Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan stares down from a campaign poster at the earthquake ruins of Antakya, inspiring confidence in Ahmet Gulyildizoglu ahead of Sunday’s election runoff.
Millions across the ravaged region defied expectation and voted for the man who has ruled Turkiye for two decades and fell just short of securing another five-year term on May 14.
Erdogan’s secular rival, Kemal Kilicdaroglu, “does not fill you with hope,” Gulyildizoglu said in front of a debris-strewn expanse once occupied by his six-floor apartment building.
“On the other hand, you have an alliance that keeps their promises,” the pensioner added, referring to Erdogan’s Islamic-rooted party and its far-right allies.
Erdogan’s ability to maintain support across Turkiye’s southeastern disaster zone contributed to Kilicdaroglu’s disappointing showing in the first round, which he ended trailing by nearly five points.
The Turkish leader is now the strong favorite, capping a remarkable turnaround.
Seething anger at the government’s stuttering response to the February disaster, in which more than 50,000 died, put Erdogan in the unfamiliar position of issuing public apologies.
But Berk Esen, an associate professor at Istanbul’s Sabanci University, called Erdogan’s election rebound “not very surprising.”
Esen argued that the region is filled with pious voters who trusted Erdogan’s explanation that the massive toll resulted from an unavoidable act of nature — not state negligence over lax building standards.
In addition, “the opposition did not campaign heavily in the area and could not offer an alternative, credible message,” Esen said.
Instead of giving up, Kilicdaroglu is radically changing course.
Ditching his embracing vows to heal Turkiye’s social divisions, Kilicdaroglu has struck a stridently nationalist tone, pledging to expel millions of Syrians and other migrants.
The message resonates in Syria-border cities such as Antakya, a mountain-rimmed cradle of civilizations once known as Antioch.
Kilicdaroglu has plastered Antakya with posters declaring: “The Syrians will go.”
“We will not turn Turkiye into a depot for migrants,” the 74-year-old said on a visit to Antakya on Tuesday.
The tough talk pleased Mehmet Aynaci, 20, who blames Syrians for local housing problems.
“Before the earthquake, if you looked for a flat, there were a lot of Syrians,” Aynaci said.
“Of course they must go,” added Atilla Celtik, who like Aynaci is one of the few who has not left the almost completely deserted city.
“They will be asking for our land in the future,” he said. “We are worried.”
The historically liberal lean of Antakya’s Hatay province gave Kilicdaroglu a slight edge here over Erdogan in the first round.
It was one of just three of the 11 quake-hit provinces to vote against the incumbent.
Kilicdaroglu’s future success will depend in part on how many people who left the disaster zone are willing to make a second trip back for the runoff.
Nearly 1.7 million of the displaced failed to change their registration address by an April 2 deadline, meaning they must come back to vote.
Sema Sicek, whose anger at Erdogan is just as strong as the days when thousands slowly died under the debris while the government unwound its response, thinks they simply must.
“Walk if you have to but don’t give up on your land,” the 65-year-old said, accusing Erdogan of “burying us alive.”
Some of that fury has spilled over onto social media, where survivors were targeted for backing Erdogan.
The Turkish leader mentions these messages often on the campaign trail, trying to blame them on Kilicdaroglu.
Gulyildizoglu’s daughter Hatice said the attacks stung.
“This really offended us,” she said. “Our grief is immense. You have to live it to understand.”
Erdogan has won votes with pledges to build victims new homes by early next year — “maybe a little later” for those in Antakya.
Kilicdaroglu is trying to do the same, telling Tuesday’s rally that “nobody should ever doubt” his ability to rebuild the region.
But Hakan Tiryaki, the provincial head of Kilicdaroglu’s leftist party, is sensitive to complaints that the opposition did not make its voice heard enough before the first round.
Campaigning any harder might have given the impression that the opposition was trying to profit from people’s grief, Tiryaki said.
It might also have failed to change the mind of voters such as Omer Edip Aslantas, 51, who remembers chatting with other leftists about developing Turkiye in the 1970s.
“The Turkish left is no longer the same,” he said in Kirikhan, a northern Hatay district that backed Erdogan.
“They have become anti-Turk, anti-Muslim.”
Turkiye quake victims rally around Erdogan ahead of runoff
https://arab.news/zh5q5
Turkiye quake victims rally around Erdogan ahead of runoff
- Millions across the ravaged Antakya region defy expectation and vote for the man who has ruled Turkiye for two decades
- The Turkish leader is now the strong favorite, capping a remarkable turnaround
Joint Palestinian security force deployed to hot spots at refugee camp in Lebanon
- It marks implementation of ceasefire agreement following weeks of violence; so far it has gone smoothly and cooperation has been excellent, the force’s commander said
- The next phases involve the withdrawal of armed factions occupying a UN schools complex, and the handover of suspects accused of killing a senior Fatah leader in July
BEIRUT: A Palestinian joint security force was deployed on Monday to two hot spots in Ain Al-Hilweh refugee camp. It marked the beginning of the implementation of the terms of a ceasefire agreement reached 12 days ago in an effort to end bloody clashes between Fatah and extremist groups in the camp.
The force includes military representatives of all Palestinian groups involved in the camp, including Hamas, Osbat Al-Ansar, and Al-Haraka Al-Islamiyya Al-Mujahida.
Maj. Gen. Ahmed Al-Ajouri, commander of the joint force, told Arab News that 45 soldiers and officers took part in the deployment. It went smoothly and without obstacles, he added, and there was excellent cooperation between all of those involved.
They were posted at Al-Buraq point, which separates Al-Safsaf neighborhood, which is controlled by extremist groups, from the Baraksat area, controlled by Fatah, and at the border between Al-Tiri and extremist-controlled Al-Ras Al-Ahmar.
Al-Ajouri said there is “an atmosphere of relief among people in the camp” following the deployment. He added that “things are positive” and the next step will be the withdrawal of armed militants barricaded inside a schools complex run by the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East. The Palestinian Joint Action Committee will hold a meeting this week with both sides involved in the conflict to arrange the simultaneous withdrawal of their forces from the schools, he said.
The playground of the educational compound was turned into a battleground between members of extremists groups occupying four schools and Fatah gunmen holed up in four other schools.
Regarding the damage caused to the camp as a result of clashes in recent weeks, Al-Ajouri said: “There is varying destruction. It is not possible to calculate the damage before evacuating the places affected by the militants.
“When the second phase of the terms of the ceasefire agreement is realized, the implementation of the clause of handing over those wanted for the assassination of the Fatah leader Mohammed Al-Armushi to the Lebanese security authorities will become less complicated. This clause is the most important in the agreement and this file will not be closed until the wanted persons are handed over.”
Fatah accuses eight members of extremist groups of killing Al-Armushi in an attack at the camp in late July. The suspects are believed to be hiding in parts of the camp controlled by extremists, including Al-Taamir neighborhood, which is an extension of the camp on Lebanese land.
The assassination of Al-Armushi led to the outbreak of bloody fighting in the camp, during which dozens of Palestinians and Lebanese were killed or injured, including Lebanese soldiers, and thousands of refugees were displaced. Four previous ceasefire attempts failed to calm the situation.
Ghassan Ayoub, a Palestinian official responsible for the issue of wanted persons in the camp, told Arab News: “There are six points that are considered contact lines in the camp and the security force is supposed to deploy there to serve as separation forces.”
Efforts are now focused on restoring stability in the camp, he added, and this will be accomplished by apprehending wanted individuals under the terms of the truce.
“The essence of the understanding that occurred is a ceasefire and the handover of wanted persons hiding in Al-Taamir neighborhood, which is a Lebanese neighborhood open to the camp,” said Ayoub. “Palestinian forces do not enter Al-Taamir and it is the responsibility of the Lebanese state.”
The UNRWA said it is monitoring the security situation on the ground before deciding on its next step. A source close to the agency told Arab News: “Restoring work in the UNRWA schools complex is a complex issue.
“Upon completion of evacuating the complex of militants, these schools must be cleared of the remnants of the battles that took place, especially from possible bombs and, perhaps, mines.
“When clearance is announced, we will form engineering teams to find out the extent of the damage. Security assurances are required so that we can begin restoration.”
The source added that reports received so far suggest “the damage to the complex is significant and it is too early to investigate the possibility of allowing these schools to start the new academic year.”
The number of registered Palestinian students in UNRWA schools in the camp is 5,900. Transferring those students to nearby UN-run schools is not currently possible because those schools are already at maximum capacity catering to children whose families fled the camp during the recent fighting. Reports suggest about 1,000 young people displaced from the camp have been studying in other UNRWA schools, although the number fell to 700 after the ceasefire was announced, as some displaced families whose houses were not damaged have returned home.
According to the UNRWA source, the agency is considering a “double shift” mechanism in schools outside the camp to cope with the increased number of students who have nowhere else to study.
US Central Command forces capture Daesh official in Syria after helicopter raid
- No civilians were killed or injured during the operation, the statement said
DAMASCUS: The United States Central Command on Monday said its forces had captured a Daesh official after conducting a helicopter raid in northern Syria on Saturday.
“Abu Halil Al-Fad’ani, an Daesh Syria Operational and Facilitation official, was captured during the raid. Al-Fad’ani was assessed to have relationships throughout the Daesh network in the region,” the US Central Command said in a statement.
Troy Garlock, a spokesperson for the US Central Command, said: “The capture of Daesh officials like Al-Fad’ani increases our ability to locate, target, and remove terrorists from the battlefield.”
No civilians were killed or injured during the operation, the statement said.
Japan is committed to supporting COP28, Kishida tells UAE Special Envoy
- Japanese PM asks Al-Jaber for UAE’s help in stabilizing the crude oil market and increasing production
TOKYO: Sultan Al-Jaber, Minister of Industry and Advanced Technology and Special Envoy of the United Arab Emirates to Japan, met with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida in Tokyo on Monday and expressed his expectations for Japan’s contributions to the COP28 conference on the environment.
Al-Jaber is also the President-Designate of COP28, which will take place in the United Arab Emirates from November 30 to December 12.
The prime minister stated that Japan is fully committed to making efforts to contribute to the success of COP28. Both sides confirmed that they will work closely towards making COP28 a success, according to a statement by the foreign ministry.
Kishida expressed his appreciation for the UAE’s stable supply of crude oil to Japan and working with Japanese companies in the same field. He asked Al-Jaber for UAE’s help in stabilizing the crude oil market and increasing production.
Both sides exchanged views on cooperation between Japan and the UAE towards overall stabilization of the international oil market. They also discussed the “Japan-UAE Innovation Partnership” and the “Global Green Energy Hub” concept covered during Kishida’s July visit to the UAE.
Kishida welcomed the convening of the First Ministerial Level Meeting of the “Comprehensive Strategic Partnership Initiative (CSPI)” held between Foreign Minister Yoko Kamikawa and Al-Jaber and stated that Japan attaches great importance to the strategic partnership with the UAE.
Kishida said he looks forward to further cooperation with the UAE in various fields, and Al-Jaber expressed his renewed hopes for strengthening bilateral relations with Japan.
One dead, four injured in incident at Iran’s Bandar Abbas refinery -state news
- The incident did not impact production at the refinery, which is one of Iran’s largest
DUBAI: One person has died and four others were injured in an incident at Iran’s southern refinery of Bandar Abbas last week, Iranian state media reported on Monday.
The Iranian Oil Ministry’s Shana news agency said the incident occurred late on Sept. 22 during emergency repairs, adding that five maintenance workers were hurt, with one worker since dying of their injuries.
“During the emergency repair operation in one of the process units of this refinery, five people were injured, and one of the injured died on Monday,” an official from Bandar Abbas refinery told state media.
The incident did not impact production at the refinery, which is one of Iran’s largest, Shana added.
Egypt to hold presidential election Dec 10-12
- President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi widely expected to win reelection
CAIRO: Egypt will hold a presidential vote on December 10-12, election officials said Monday, at a time the Arab world’s most populous country is mired in a painful economic crisis.
President Abdel Fattah El-Sisi, a former army chief in power for nearly a decade, has yet to formally announce his candidacy, but state-aligned media has already published messages of support from pro-government entities.
El-Sisi, 68, was first elected in 2014 and then won a 2018 vote.
Only two other candidates have so far declared their intention to run this time, including opposition politician Ahmed Al-Tantawi.
Farid Zahran, president of the Egyptian Social Democratic Party, has also announced his intention to run.
The election had initially been expected in the spring of 2024.
The vote will be held “on December 10, 11 and 12,” said National Election Authority chairman Judge Walid Hassan Hamza.
Hopefuls can apply from October, with the candidate list to be finalized by November 9. The campaign period runs until November 29 and the winner will be announced on December 18.
Egypt has battled its worst-ever economic crisis since early last year.
The currency has lost half its value since March 2022 in a series of devaluations that have sent up consumer prices in the import-dependent economy.
Last year, the International Monetary Fund approved a $3 billion loan for Egypt conditioned on “a permanent shift to a flexible exchange rate regime.”
The government has kept the exchange rate pegged at around 31 Egyptian pounds to the dollar since January.
But prices have continued to skyrocket as a parallel currency market surged amid a severe foreign exchange shortage.
Annual inflation reached an all-time high for the third month in a row in August, hitting 39.7 percent.
El-Sisi’s government has announced a series of social protection measures and raises to the minimum wage in attempts to cushion the economic blow.
