In These New Times

PressTV

19th April, 2012

A Turkish political analyst says Ankara, by aligning itself with the US interests in Syria, is falling prey to Washington’s modus operandi in sowing the seeds of discord among the Shia and Sunni Muslims in the region.

In an article appearing on the Turkish Yeni Mesaj website, Sabahattin Onkibar expressed bewilderment and anger at the fact that the Turkish officials are actually fanning the flames in Syria instead of dousing the tension in their neighboring Muslim country.

“Do not the Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and the ruling Justice and Development Party understand that the flames of the Syrian tensions will eventually engulf Turkey and turn it to ashes?” he asked.

Onkibar said one has to be blind not to see through the diabolical CIA plots for the region, adding that Turkey is teaming up with other Sunni Muslims who are standing up against the Shia communities in Syria.

One should not forget that division among the Shia and Sunni Muslims is the greatest threat to the Islamic unity and if we do not stand up to these threats, our own national unity will also be compromised, he added.

Syria has been experiencing unrest since mid-March 2011 and many people, including security forces, have lost their lives in the violence.

The West and the Syrian opposition accuse the government of killing the protesters. But Damascus blamesoutlaws, saboteurs and armed terrorist groups for the unrest, stating that it is being orchestrated from abroad.

Turkey, which shares a 900-kilometer border with Syria, has allowed thousands of Syrian gunmen to take shelter and regroup on its soil. Turkey also hosted the second so-called Friends of Syria meeting last month which reportedly sought to unite the divided Syrian opposition

Onkibar concluded by asking how the Turkish officials would feel if Damascus hosted a summit called “Friends of the Turkish People,” and funded and armed the Turkish opposition.