Czech President Milos Zeman. ©PetrJosek / Reuters
Czech President Milos Zeman said Turkey should not be in the EU, adding that Ankara sometimes behaves like an Islamic State ally, even though Turkey is part of NATO.
Russia Today reported:
“I think Turkey is indeed a member of NATO, but sometimes behaves as if it’s more an ally of Islamic State. It removes oil from Syria which finances Islamic State,” Zeman said, as quoted by Czech newspaper Parlamentni Listy.
The president’s remarks came on Tuesday while addressing voters at the end of a three-day visit to the Czech town of Kadan, North Bohemia, local media reported.
Zeman suggested Turkish policy stems from the principle “the enemy of my enemy is my friend,” referring to Turkey’s suppression of the Kurds, “who are the only ones who have fought effectively with IS,” the newspaper reported.
The president maintained this is the reason why Turkey should be approached with caution and has no reason to be an EU member.
The Kurdish media documented several instances of Turkey’s support for ISIS in pictures.
Turkish soldiers snapping a souvenir photo with elements of the ISIS.
#Turkish soldiers snapping souvenir photo with elements of the #ISIS•
#Turkey is a #NATO member.
-
#Kurds
#SaveKobani pic.twitter.com/Np45sy8O8a
— KURDISTAN ARMY (@KURDISTAN_ARMY) October 10, 2014
Supporters of ISIS with the Turkish army and police.
Supporters of the #ISIS with the police&Turkish army.To kill Kurdish protesters.have been killed 30 Kurdish civilians pic.twitter.com/RooNKFTUkd
— KURDISTAN ARMY (@KURDISTAN_ARMY) October 10, 2014
Ultra-nationalists in Gaziantep, Turkey attack Kurds while flashing the ISIS hand sign.
This is Gaziantep,#Turkey where ISIS bases are located-ultra nationalists-racists mobs attacking #Kurds with Pro ISIS pic.twitter.com/cL8zA0GHJU
— KURDISTAN ARMY (@KURDISTAN_ARMY) October 9, 2014
Turkish soldiers make the ISIS sign while attacking Kurdish protesters this week.
#Turkish police make #ISIS signs whilst attacking #Kurdish protestors in anti-ISIS #Kobane demo.
#TwittterKurds
#YPG pic.twitter.com/HUBsemvHlm
— KURDISTAN ARMY (@KURDISTAN_ARMY) October 9, 2014
Turkey treating wounded ISIS fighters in Turkish hospitals.
Charles Krauthammer wrote about Erdogan’s Double Game this week.
Via National Review:
For almost a month, Kobani Kurds have been trying to hold off Islamic State fighters. Outgunned, outmanned, and surrounded on three sides, the defending Kurds have begged Turkey to allow weapons and reinforcements through the border. Erdogan has refused even that, let alone intervening directly. Infuriated Kurds have launched demonstrations throughout Turkey protesting Erdogan’s deadly callousness. At least 21 demonstrators have been killed.
Because Turkey has its own Kurdish problem — battling a Kurdish insurgency on and off for decades — Erdogan appears to prefer letting the Islamic State destroy the Kurdish enclave on the Syrian side of the border rather than lift a finger to save it. Perhaps later he will move in to occupy the rubble.Moreover, Erdogan entertains a larger vision: making Turkey the hegemonic power over the Sunni Arabs, as in Ottoman times. The Islamic State is too radical and uncontrollable to be an ally in that mission. But it is Sunni. And it fights Shiites, Alawites, and Kurds. Erdogan’s main regional adversary is the Shiite-dominated rule of Syria’s Bashar Assad. Erdogan demands that the U.S. take the fight to Assad before Turkey will join the fight against the Islamic State.
It took Vice President Biden to accidentally blurt out the truth when he accused our alleged allies in the region of playing a double game — supporting the jihadists in Syria and Iraq, then joining the U.S.-led coalition against them.
A photo surfaced on Twitter reportedly showing ISIL commander Abu Muhammad taking medical treatment in Turkey’s Hatay State Hospital.
This photograph shows ISIL commander Abu Muhammad, April 16, 2014, allegedly receiving free treatment in Hatay State Hospital after being injured during fighting in Idlib, Syria.