On December 29, 2019, İbrahim Karagül, editor in chief of the Turkish daily Yeni Şafak, which is a mouthpiece of Turkey's ruling AKP, published an article titled: "The Emir's Terrorists Are Attacking Turkey. UAE's Mohammed Bin Zayed Ordered The Attack That Killed 90 In Somalia... The [Turkish] CHP, Good Party Are Using Same Discourse As The Emiratis, Saudis. Turkey Will Foil This Game In Libya. Barbaros Is Back!" Karagül wrote that "the voting of the parliamentary resolution regarding Libya on Jan. 8-9 was rescheduled for an earlier date."[1]
İbrahim Karagül, standing second from left, on President Erdoğan's plane (source: Sendika.org).
Following is Yeni Şafak's translation of Karagül's column:
"A major terrorist attack hit Somalia yesterday, right at a time when Turkey is preparing for a military operation in Libya, [pushing] forward Parliament's legislation meetings to deploy troops to the country and calling for an extraordinary assembly. Close to a hundred people, two of them Turkish engineers, mostly students and security personnel lost their lives in the attack.
"Such attacks, rather than portray the utter atrocity of terrorism, often reveal what is happening below the surface. They leave a mark, give information about relations. They show how the global power struggle reflects on that country and, most importantly, what sort of messages are being sent and to whom.
"'What Are We Doing In Libya, Why Should We Care About Somalia?' Who's Establishing An 'Inside Front' In Turkey?
"The countries that go beyond condemning terrorism and evaluate events as a whole are nobody's fool. Those who fail to see this will say, 'Why should we care about the terror attacks in Somalia?', just as they say: 'What are we doing in Libya?', 'What good is Turkey in the Mediterranean?', 'Why is it intervening in the terror corridor?' and 'Why is it building Canal Istanbul?' This is not something that can be grasped or accepted by those who say 'nay' to everything.
"Let them strive to corner Turkey in every field, let them be busy with building fronts for those who attack Turkey in every area of the region. Meanwhile, Turkey is putting up an extraordinary fight in all areas, in the most expansive chain of the region, and will continue to do so.
"'Cut Your Ties With Turkey Or See How We'll Attack!'
"The most influential country in Somalia is Turkey. This applies to the military, economy and politics. Hospitals and other humanitarian investments aside, our biggest embassy building and military base in the world are in this country.
"Hence, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), Saudi Arabia and Egypt are applying intense pressure on Somalia to 'sever its ties with Turkey.' Of course, the real pressure has, all along, been applied through the U.K.
"UAE-based pressure exacerbated recently and, when it failed to yield results, turned into threats. Political warnings turned into blackmail and a terrorist attack.
"UAE's Mohammed Bin Zayed Ordered The Attack That Killed 90 In Somalia
"The UAE is behind yesterday's bombing in Mogadishu. This is now clear. The person who conducted this task on behalf of the UAE, the one who is in control over the terror traffic is Crown Prince Mohammed bin Zayed Al Nahyan. His fingerprints are all over the region's terror map, from Syria to Iraq, Libya to Somalia, as well as the region's dirty relations and civil war scenarios.
"Evidence left behind from the bomb vehicle that exploded in Mogadishu leads us to the UAE. A massacre was conducted and the traces lead us to Mohammed bin Zayed. They both attacked the Somalian administration and tried to strike Turkey-Somalia relations.
"The UAE, Saudi Arabia and Egypt applied similar pressure on Sudan. The staged a coup in Sudan to spoil Turkey-Sudan relations. The deal concerning the historical Suakin Island between the two countries had them in a frenzy. They greenlighted the project, poured money into soldiers and certain organizations, and paved the way for a coup. Therefore, none of it is as simple as saying, 'Why do we care about Somalia?'
"The Emir's Terrorists Are Assembling In Libya! Resolution Set For An Earlier Date
"The timing of the attack leads us to other conclusions as well.
"Upon the request of the Libyan government, Turkey is preparing to deploy troops to this country. The voting of the parliamentary resolution regarding Libya on Jan. 8-9 was rescheduled for an earlier date. The upcoming week is going to be quite active with respect to Libya. We are going to witness a series of military actions.
"The UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia are showering Khalifa Haftar's terrorist organization with weapons, and sending troops and air forces in order to overthrow the ruling government in Libya. Terrorist groups are transferring mercenaries from Sudan and other countries to Libya.
"Turkey, which has altered the map of the Mediterranean with the maritime deal it struck with Libya, rendering dysfunctional the deals over energy sources that aim to drown us in the Mediterranean, is giving support to Libya's legitimate government with all its might.
"Turkey Will Make Them Pay For This
"Turkey is also cooperating with countries such as Tunisia and Algeria, located west of Libya, which is being sieged and attacked from the east. It is working together with these countries to hinder the terrorist groups imported from countries like Niger and Mali.
"And just as Turkey was preparing to focus more intensely on the process of sending troops to Libya, a brutal attack took place in Somalia. A message was sent to both Somalia and Turkey.
"Those who detonated the bomb in Somalia and those who staged the coup in Sudan are one and the same. Those who sabotaged Turkey's relations with Sudan and those trying to strike Turkey through Somalian terrorism are one and the same.
"Terrorists Moved To Libya: Instructions Are From The Same Source
"Those deploying terrorist gangs from Sudan to Libya, mercenaries working for $20, and those who ordered the terror attack in Mogadishu are one and the same.
"Those grooming Haftar's terrorist organization to overthrow the legitimate government in Libya, those who are striving to prevent Turkey from entering Libya, and those who conducted the latest attack are all one and the same.
"Its highly possible that instructions were also given to the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), the People's Protection Units (YPG) and Daesh. Mark my words.
"Those who gave these instructions, the bosses behind them, would have given instructions to a certain local group in Turkey as well to stop Ankara from sending troops to Libya. Take note of this too.
"CHP, Good Party Are Using The Same Discourse As The Emiratis, Saudis – It's Extremely Critical!
"It is not difficult to discern that the attitude of Turkey's main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) and the Good Party (IP), with respect to sending troops to Libya, and that of the UAE, Egypt and Saudi Arabia overlap.
"How can it possibly overlap so well? How is it that the CHP and Egypt's Abdel-Fattah El-Sisi, Saudi Arabia and the UAE are aligned on the same front? What unites them on this common ground?
"This is a critical situation. It is both extremely critical and in a way, enmity against Turkey. The CHP and the others are building a front within Turkey on behalf of the UAE and Saudi Arabia. This is unforgivable.
"Turkey's founding party has deviated from its national axis and, on the contrary, turned into a problem. Where they stand is much beyond their party line, and a very grave threat is in question.
"Turkey Set To Spoil This Game In Libya!
"The resolution will be passed in Parliament and Turkey will enter Libya. If it does not, they are going to drown us in the Mediterranean. They are going to corner us in the East Mediterranean and drown us in the Gulf of Alexandretta.
"The 'terror corridor' map they had drawn from the Iranian border to the Mediterranean was much like this. We intervened and negated it. Now they are doing the same thing across the Mediterranean and Aegean.
"What were we supposed to do? Surrender, kneel and put out our hands and beg? Turkey is an extremely powerful country. Those encouraging fear within and undermining Turkey, are acting in unison with those trying to siege the country from abroad.
"An Order Was Given To 'Paralyze Turkey From Within' But Barbaros Is Back!
"They have been tasked to 'paralyze Turkey from within.' Hence, they are working like bees. They do not stop to consider who is on their side, whom they have partnered up with. Everyone is going to pay for this sin in the eyes of history.
"It is not for nothing that we say, 'Barbaros Pasha is returning after 473 years.' They are going to bear witness to this as of next week. The whole world will."
[1] Yenisafak.com/en/columns/ibrahimkaragul/the-emirs-terrorists-are-attacking-turkey-uaes-mohammed-bin-zayed-ordered-the-attack-that-killed-90-in-somalia-the-chp-good-party-are-using-same-discourse-as-the-emiratis-saudis-turkey-will-foil-this-game-in-libya-barbaros-is-back-2047286, December 29, 2019.
