, for his recent remarks praising the Bashar al-Assad regime and referring to the Syrian National Army (SNA) as “terrorists,” the ANKA news agency reported over the weekend.){kind=link}
Turkish prosecutors have launched an investigation into Doğu Perinçek, the founder and chairman of the neo-nationalist Homeland Party (VP), for his recent remarks praising the Bashar al-Assad regime and referring to the Syrian National Army (SNA) as “terrorists,” the ANKA news agency reported over the weekend.
The investigation, launched by the İstanbul Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office, concerns remarks made by the VP leader during a program on the pro-government station TV100 on December 7.
The prosecutor’s office said Perinçek’s remarks “contradicted the Turkish government’s general national security policy,” according to ANKA.
“The darkness of the Middle Ages is descending upon Syria. … Syria is being pushed into ethnic and sectarian conflicts. … The threat of the US and Israel dividing Turkey is intensifying,” Perinçek said.
The VP leader added that the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) should act swiftly to enter areas in Syria controlled by Kurdish militant groups, including the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) and the Democratic Union Party (PYD), the political arm of the main Syrian Kurdish militia, and the People’s Protection Units (YPG), to prevent the threat from escalating further and to dismantle what he described as “the puppet state initiative.”
The YPG and the PYD are seen as terrorist groups by Turkey and offshoots of the PKK, classified as a terrorist organization by Turkey and several of its Western allies. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accuses them of threatening Syria’s territorial integrity.
The recent remarks of Perinçek, who is known for his support for Erdoğan, particularly after a controversial military coup attempt took place in Turkey on the night of July 15, 2016, came a day before Islamist-led rebels declared they had taken Damascus in a lightning offensive, sending President Bashar al-Assad fleeing and ending five decades of Baath rule in Syria.
The Syrian president’s resignation and departure took place less than two weeks after the Islamist Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS) group, rooted in the Syrian branch of al-Qaeda, launched its campaign challenging more than five decades of rule by the Assad family.
A Kremlin source told Russian news agencies on Sunday that Assad and his family were in Moscow, hours after he fled the country as rebels entered Damascus.
Russia and Iran for years propped up Assad, while Turkey has historically backed the opposition.
Perinçek has long advocated breaking off ties with NATO and the transatlantic alliance and replacing them with enhanced cooperation with Russia and Iran.