Government denies claims Turkish officers held in Syria
Foreign Minister Ahmet DavutoÄŸlu has dismissed claims Turkish military officials and National Intelligence Organization (MÄ°T) members are being held in Syria, saying they were aimed at manipulating the domestic and international public.
"There is not a single Turkish officer being held in Syria," DavutoÄŸlu said at a news conference after talks with his Singaporean counterpart, Kasiviswanathan Shanmugam, in Ankara.
The reports that Turkish military and intelligence officials were captured in Syria have appeared in Syrian media on more than one occasion in the past. Most recently, there were reports that at least four Turkish pilots were captured while trying to infiltrate a Syrian military air base.
The claims came to the fore once again on Friday, when it emerged that a lawmaker from the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) had submitted a formal question in Parliament about the claims that that two generals and up to 10 military officers and MÄ°T officials are being held in Syria.
CHP Aydın deputy Lütfi Baydar submitted the question and asked Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu to clarify whether the claims are true.
Baydar identified 10 names in his official parliamentary question and asked whether or not there are any Turkish officials who have been killed or captured in Syria.
Baydar told Today's Zaman on Friday that the CHP was very much discomforted over the claims, adding that the government should clarify these claims as soon as possible.
"The CHP has submitted this question because we want to know whether these officers, who are members of the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) were in Syria in order to train the Free Syrian army (FSA) or not. We want these claims to be clarified," said Baydar.
Baydar stated that the 10 names were given to the CHP by a member of the Syrian Parliament, identified as Sharef Marsan. "Mr. Marsan told us that two generals, six officers and four MÄ°T officials were captured in Syria. This information was provided by a very reliable source. The CHP is still in contact with Marsan, who provided us with this important information. Now, we want the government to provide clarification. We will pursue this issue until the end," said Baydar.
Baydar said that he will share with the public the full names of the 10 Turkish military officers and MİT officials soon. The names as presented in Baydar's question motion are as follows: Captain Yasin K., lieutenant Sinan T., Lieutenant Fuat Y., lieutenant Mustafa H., third lieutenants Hasan G., Tarık T., İbrahim M., Yusuf C., Murat Y., and Harun M.
Baydar questioned whether these 10 officials were arrested while training FSA members.
Baydar also added that there were serious claims regarding the connection between the FSA, a prominent armed group in Syria seeking to overthrow the Syrian regime, and MÄ°T. "There are claims that there are MÄ°T officials in Syria in order to train FSA members. These claims are discomforting to the CHP. Why are MÄ°T officials interfering in Syrian internal affairs? This is the Syrians' war," said Baydar.
Iran's Press TV quoted a report by Syrian newspaper Al-Watan on Monday alleging that the Syrian army had arrested four Turkish fighter jet pilots near a military airport in the northwestern Syrian province of Aleppo.
On Dec. 31, 2012, diplomatic sources as well as the General Staff denied reports that claimed that four Turkish pilots were arrested in Aleppo, deeming it "disinformation" orchestrated by the Syrian regime as it teeters on the brink of collapse. The General staff stated that the report was "entirely untrue."
"We do not accept the statement of the staff because it is certainly not convincing. There should be an explanation. What are these four pilots doing there?" said Baydar.
Meanwhile, Gürcan Balık, special advisor to the foreign minister, denied the claims mentioned in the CHP's formal question on his Twitter account on Friday. "This is all fabricated news aimed at manipulation," he said.
Government denies claims Turkish officers held in Syria
