Skip to content
  • Image
  • Facebook
  • Twitter
  • Youtube
  • Podcasts
  • Email
  • Contact
  • Home
  • Opinion
  • News
  • Features
  • Comment
  • Store
The Arab Daily News

The Arab Daily News

Original news, features, opinions from Chicago to Jerusalem

  • About
    • About
    • Our Writers
    • Subscribe to Ray’s Columns
    • Book Store
    • Contact
    • Submit Book Reviews, Press Releases
    • Advertise
    • Privacy Corrections Policy
    • Profile on Ray Hanania
  • Features
    • Food
    • Book Review
    • Humor
    • Movies
    • Travel
  • Arab Stores Targeted
  • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Community Network Page
    • Arab Heritage America resources
    • Directory
      • Groups & Organizations
      • Mosques, Churches
      • Restaurants
      • 2008 & 2014 Arab Media Directories
    • National Arab Heritage Month
    • Video: Chicago Arab History
    • Video: Photo Array of Chicago Arabs
    • Overview of Arabs in America
    • Hanania standup comedy
    • Arabs on the Titanic
    • Obituaries
  • Podcasts
    • Arab News Ray Hanania Radio
    • Ray Hanania on Politics Podcast
    • Podcast Info
    • Hanania Podcast intro
    • Live Arab Radio
  • Your Views
  • Submit Press Release
  • Toggle search form
  • The American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (American FRRME) helping Christians in Iraq
    New report on Christians in Iraq shows desperate situation and needs Arab World
  • Winter in Bekaa Lebanon January 2015 Photo courtesy of NRC Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
    AHRC Observes World Refugee Day American Arabs
  • Endorsements: Democrats in the Illinois June 28, 2022 Primary election Activism
  • The Arab Daily News candidate endorsements: Cook County, Illinois American Arabs
  • Endorsements: Republicans in the Illinois Republican Primary Election June 28, 2022 Election
  • Joseph Gutman was appointed by Gov. Pritzker to serve as a Member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Gutman was a Partner at BDT & Company from 2017 until retiring in January 2020 where he remains a consultant today.
    Gov Pritzker makes more appointments to state commissions, boards but no Arabs American Arabs
  • World Jewish Congress Chairman Ronald S. Lauder
    WJC President Ronald S. Lauder Receives France’s Top Distinction  Activism
  • Project DYNAMO rescues more than 600 people from Mariupol, Ukraine over the last week Major Mariupol rescue operation conducted by Project DYNAMO, more than 480 people from Mariupol as city under violent siege falling to Russian forces. 
    Project DYNAMO rescues more than 600 people from Mariupol, Ukraine over the last week Human Rights
  • US Congressman Sean Casten, 6th District, Illinois
    Congressman Sean Casten joins Ray Hanania Radio Show American Arabs
  • The U.S.S. Liberty photo courtesy of the USS Liberty Veterans.
    Survivors of Israel’s strike on USS Liberty commemorate 55th year June 6 – 8 American Arabs
  • Imad Hamad Director American Human Rights Council
    AHRC Calls for Moral Consistency on Human Rights, Urges President Biden to Pause His Trip to Israel: American Arabs
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    AHRC hosts an open meeting with TSA & community Activism
  • Former City Hall reporter Ray Hanania, ShawnTe Raines-Welch and Nick Kantas, candidates for Judge in the 4th SubCircuit, and Cook County Commissioner Frank Aguilar.
    Nearly 100 candidates, officials address Arab Democratic Club forum Sunday American Arabs
  • Citgo Gas Station and Quik Mart at 3759 W. Chicago Ave in Chicago ordered closed by Mayor Lori Lightfoot because a street gang member with an AK-47 killed someone in front of the store. Only Arab and Muslim stores are being closed by the Mayor
    Arabs and Muslim blast Mayor lightfoot for racist store closings American Arabs
  • Closure notice posted on the doors and windows of Arab American businesses during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closure of Arab owned stores in June - Sept. 2021. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Chicago aldermen to host “forum” to explore Mayor Lightfoot’s racist crackdown on Arab stores Activism

Turkey: Chess or Backgammon, Stalemate

Posted on April 27, 2015April 29, 2015 By Abdennour Toumi No Comments on Turkey: Chess or Backgammon, Stalemate
SHARE ...
          
 
  

  • Tweet

Three-day International Symposium held in Ankara, Turkey explores the challenges facing Syria, its history, politics, and foreign policy, hosted by the SDE Institute of Strategic Thinking in collaboration with Yildirim Beyazit University. Also explored, the Armenian Massacre, the Western divisions of the Arab World, and the Kurdish movement for statehood

By Abdennour Toumi

nourtoumi2
Abdennour Toumi

Ankara, Turkey — Without any doubt, Turkey has become the hyper-center of the Middle East turmoil whether weighed against the situation in Yemen, the Iranian nuclear program, the so-called Israeli-Palestinian peace process, or even the on-going Syrian civil war. It’s not only random Turkish people living in the border provinces of Hatay, Antep, Urfa and Mardin who feel the pressure.

The Syrian question is haunting politicians like the Kemelist, social-democratic party (CHP wants to send the Syrians back home) and academicians, who might not yet get  the “miracle” solution, but all agree, none will be the winner or the loser.

This weekend the SDE Institute of Strategic Thinking, in collaboration with  Yildirim Beyazit University, held a three-day International Symposium in Ankara on Syria, its history, politics, and foreign policy.

three-day International Symposium in Ankara on Syria, its history, politics, and foreign policy
three-day International Symposium in Ankara on Syria, its history, politics, and foreign policy

National and International panelists from Turkey, the U.S., the U.K., Israel and Syria spoke regarding the complex relations that exist between Syria and Turkey, despite the fact that they share more than 800 km border. More than seven million Syrians have been displaced and moved within the country and nearly three million have fled to neighboring countries. Around two million have entered Turkey and are living either in the twenty-three camps run by AFAD (Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency) or in the urban and suburban areas of neighboring cities. Turkey has spent five billion dollars on humanitarian programs and is running out of cash.

Since the Arab uprising in November, 2010, Turkey has engaged directly in the political and societal changes taking place in the Arab World(s). As a result the country has been seen as a “trouble maker,” not a “peace maker,” in the eyes of the Arab establishments and the radical secularists.

photo(72)The Symposium talks were exclusively academic and as such offered less credible prospect solutions for the near future. All the speakers were prudent in their predications and analysis because of the sensitivity and the complexity of the topics.

At the end of the Conference, I had an opportunity to meet with Professor James L. Gelvin, Professor of Modern Middle Eastern History at UCL, USA in a cordial exchange regarding the situation in Syria, the potential outcome of this crisis, and the prospect of the Arab revolts in general.

I asked him about the Sykes-Picot Accord of 1916, which is considered the birth certificate of the Arab states and the source of the current boundaries of the region. In Professor Gelvin’s opinion the two foreign Ministers were either poorly quoted historically or misjudged by future generations. The French and the British were joined by the Russians to draw up the boundaries. As an expert on the Middle East, he sees this historical landmark playing well into the hands of el-Qa’aeda and ISO in their dystopian vision to establish the Caliphate.

In reviewing the Sykes-Picot map of the region he noted that Jerusalem is not on the map, the British are not in Iraq, the French are not in Anatolia and the Russians don’t control the Strait. “There were problems after World War I with all those treaties, some of them were ambiguous,” Prof. Gelvin stated.

photo(71)Even in Lord Balfour’s declaration of 1919, Prof. Gelvin continued, there is no “international law” that calls for a home for the Jewish people, only states and colonies  recognized it. Further, I asked him about the possibility of a State for the Kurdish people, who seem to be gaining some leverage from the crisis in Syria and Iraq.

In his view, Ankara will never allow (a Kurdish State) to happen in their own backyard.

He was frank in his answer, “…it won’t be a Kurdish State….there is too much at stake, Washington has already taken Ankara’s side. In mentioning the Armenian question, “President Obama did not use the term ‘genocide’ which is disgraceful according to Prof. Gelvin.

There are several persistent problems regarding the Kurdish question. First of all, they have an autonomic zone and secondly, there is no single national Kurdish movement. I asked Prof. Gelvin about the Kurdish Syrians who are looking at the KRG model but his answer was clear. It brings up the question of natural gas resources in the  Rojava region, there is no oil as in North Iraq. 

photo(70)The Kurds in Syria might achieve some form of autonomy, but not full autonomy. The arabization of the Kurdish territory by the Ba’ath regime disfigured the provincial borders and they are split; the Kurdish society is not a monist one. I found in Prof. Gelvin’s analysis an astonishing analogy between the Kurdish and the Palestinian nationalist movement, cronyism and clannish topping the organization.

The question is, what of the Turkmen, who live in Iraq and Syria, what will be their fate?  It is impossible to predict a clear future, ethnic cleansing is not avoidable so the situation may become even messier. The region experienced such cleansing since the Nekba, according to Prof. Gelvin.

Therefore a clear political discussion needs to take place regarding these issues. So far the Kurds have played a successful role in holding territory for which they as a people are justly proud.

Later I asked Prof. Gelvin about the concept of the modern state in the Arab World(s).  In his view the Arab states won’t melt, though I tried to counter his view giving him examples, for instance, in Sudan, Somalia, Libya and eventually Yemen.

Prof. Gelvin’s argument is more geo-political. In particular he emphasized the peripheral states from the Gulf of Aden to the Mediterranean shores. For him, there is no alternative to the concept of the nation-state — at this point, el-Qae’eda and ISO are calling for Caliphate, but the people of the Arab World(s) are not looking for that model!

We ended our discussion on the so-called Arab Spring, a media selling point. Prof. Gelvin doesn’t care for this phrase as it was used by the neo-cons in D.C. when they were cheering for their “happy ending” story in Iraq in 2003. In 2005 Kuwait and Saudi Arabia held general elections…he prefers the “Arab Uprisings,” which is also the title of his book.

In Prof. Gelvin’s opinion, there won’t be a winner in the Syrian tragedy. This is the conclusion agreed upon by all the panelists at the Conference on Syria. In his view, the dynamic of the on-going conflict will end in stalemate because of the many stakes that the regional and international players have in the country.

Subsequently, Prof. Gelvin offered a ray of hope to all the people in MENA, who are fighting for human rights and democracy by referencing the French revolution. It took Europe a century to gain a paradigm of nationalism and liberalism. The Arab revolts only go back to the ’80’s starting with the Berber Spring, in 1980 in Algeria, the first Palestinian Entifedha in 1987, October 5 in 1988 in Algeria, to the Kefaya movement in Egypt in 2008.

The Arab uprisings are at the same stage of revolt as the French in 1848. As a result the second French Republic emerged, but MENA is still in 1790, so the fight goes, the cause endures and hope still lives.

  • Author
  • Recent Posts
Abdennour Toumi
Follow me:
Abdennour Toumi
Abdennour Toumi:
- France correspondent for The Arab Daily News.
- www.bareed-areej.com Editor-in-Chief
رئيس تحرير مجلة بريد الأريج
- Political consultant at IMPR a Think-Tank based in Ankara, Turkey.
- Member at the European Observatory for Arabic Language Teaching based in Paris, France.
- Affiliated with Sociology of Islam Journal and contributor at Middle East Studies / International Studies, Sociology of Islam and Muslim Societies Center, Portland State University in Portland, OR.

EDUCATION: Diplôme des Études Approfondies (DEA) in Political Science from Toulouse University I, France. Master’s degree in Law from Algiers University, Algeria.

Email im at: nourhty@gmail.com
Abdennour Toumi
Follow me:
Latest posts by Abdennour Toumi (see all)
  • The Israeli-Palestinian Conflict: Is the Neither-Peace-nor-Security As-sumption Dominating Again? - June 7, 2021
  • Algeria: “I Can See Clearly Now” - August 5, 2019
  • Majesty Mohammed VI and General Gaïd Salah Tear Down This Wall! - July 29, 2019

  • Tweet

SHARE ...
          
 
  
 
          
 
 Tweet 
Abdennour Toumi, Arab World, Arab World Politics, Bloggers, Commentary, Editors Picks, Syria Tags:Arab Spring, Armenia, Armenian Genocide, Balfour Declaration, James L. Gelvin, Kurdish people, Middle East, Muslim world, Ottoman Turks, SYkes Picot Agreement, Turkey

Post navigation

Previous Post: Using American Tax Dollars to Undermine Civil Rights
Next Post: US Census will “test” using Middle East in count

Related Posts

  • The Balfour Declaration and Brother Harold American Arabs
  • Free Pollard, Free Vanunu and Reevaluate Allies Bloggers
  • “Blood in the Water” by Joan Mellen Ends the USS LIBERTY Cover-Up Arab World
  • Signed by USS LIBERTY Vets at 50th Reunion in Norfolk, VA. June 2017
    USS Liberty Veterans Association to End 50 year Cover-up and Obstruction of Justice case against USS Liberty Crew Arab World
  • Trump, Sanders sweep Arab votes in Dearborn region American Arabs
  • Palestinian Arab American Alex Odeh, with his children, was murdered in 1985. The killing has never been solved.
    Syrian refugees, Alex Odeh focus of Detroit Radio Show American Arabs

More Related Articles

LOVE, Valentines Day, Ash Wednesday, Fools and Stages of the Soul Arab World
Chris Hodges, the Deputy Assistant Secretary for Assistance Coordination and Press and Public Diplomacy at the State Department’s Bureau for Near Eastern Affairs State Department leads discussion on live Arab Radio American Arabs
Sharon Brannigan Facebook Post June 20, 2017 A letter from a reader on the Brannigan controversy American Arabs
le President Francais Emmanuel Macron et le-roi du-Maroc Mohammed vi-a Rabat le 14 Juin 2017 President Macron’s Pragmatic Maghreb Foreign Policy Abdennour Toumi
Turkey President Erdogan. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia A Turkish Democracy with a sour K’nafah taste Abdennour Toumi
Behind the scenes: Middle East poetry Arab World

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.

  • OPINION COLUMNS
  • Illinois Gov. J.B. Pritzker. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia
    Nearly four years in office, Pritzker fails to deliver on promises to Arab Americans
    June 12, 2022
  • Palestinian refugees forced to flee their homes at gunpoint by Jewish terrorist groups operating in Palestine in the 1930s, 1940s and after Israel was created on May 14, 1948. Photo courtesy of the United Nations
    Unresolved status of Palestinian rights makes UNRWA essential
    May 7, 2022
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • Hollywood Sign
    Will Smith violence takes Oscar protests to dangerous level
    March 31, 2022
  • NEWS
  • The American Foundation for Relief and Reconciliation in the Middle East (American FRRME) helping Christians in Iraq
    New report on Christians in Iraq shows desperate situation and needs
    June 20, 2022
  • Winter in Bekaa Lebanon January 2015 Photo courtesy of NRC Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon. January 7, 2015 in Bekaa valley Lebanon. Heavy snowfall in Lebanon January 7, 2015. Yesterday staff from NRC Lebanon’s Bekaa office were working with refugees to put in place flood mitigation measures in advance of the forecast harsh storm which hit overnight. Field teams distributed 1,205 plywood sheets and 885 bricks as floor-raising kits for tents in two settlements in the town of Sarain, and 250 wooden pallets to ensure a clear pathway in five settlements in the town at risk of flooding. Niamh Murnaghan, NRC’s Country Director in Lebanon said, “This morning residents of these informal settlements awoke to a knee-deep blanket of snow. With roads impassable in Bekaa, our staff have not been able to reach refugee settlements, but refugees have sent photos of themselves clearing the snow from their tents.” Photo credit: NRC Lebanon/Syrian refugees in Lebanon.
    AHRC Observes World Refugee Day
    June 20, 2022
  • Joseph Gutman was appointed by Gov. Pritzker to serve as a Member of the University of Illinois Board of Trustees. Gutman was a Partner at BDT & Company from 2017 until retiring in January 2020 where he remains a consultant today.
    Gov Pritzker makes more appointments to state commissions, boards but no Arabs
    June 17, 2022
  • Endorsements: Republicans in the Illinois Republican Primary Election June 28, 2022
    June 16, 2022
  • NEWSWIRE
  • Imad Hamad Director American Human Rights Council
    AHRC Calls for Moral Consistency on Human Rights, Urges President Biden to Pause His Trip to Israel:
    May 24, 2022
  • The U.S.S. Liberty photo courtesy of the USS Liberty Veterans.
    Survivors of Israel’s strike on USS Liberty commemorate 55th year June 6 – 8
    May 23, 2022
  • AHRC Logo new Feb 2021
    AHRC hosts an open meeting with TSA & community
    May 19, 2022
  • Closure notice posted on the doors and windows of Arab American businesses during Mayor Lori Lightfoot's closure of Arab owned stores in June - Sept. 2021. Photo courtesy of Ray Hanania
    Chicago aldermen to host forum on Arab businesses closed by Mayor Lightfoot
    April 15, 2022

The Tabboun Column

The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
  • Tabboun
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    The Political Grapevine/The Tabboun, Friday Dec. 16, 2021
    December 16, 2021
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    Tabboun: Chicago remains strongest Palestine voice
    September 7, 2016
  • The Tabboun: Israeli human rights violations hit
    June 30, 2016
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    Tabboun: Himes questions troop deployment to Syria
    November 3, 2015
  • The Political Grapevine Political Tabboun. Original photo by tim-mossholder-KX1BBNY69Ao-unsplash
    The Tabboun: Dearborn removes statue of racist former mayor
    September 29, 2015

Creative Commons License
All work on this website is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. Do not edit original work. Give credit to the original source.

  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Ad-Pantry-essentials.jpg
  • 08-09-21-Ziyad-Sices-Ad.jpg
  • ZiyadBrandLogo-2016BlackRedBackgrnd.jpg
  • HANANIA Arab News Op-Eds
  • Ukraine conflict gives Palestinians chance to redefine their conflict
    March 9, 2022
  • Mishmeshan PHC medical center destroyed in Syrian Government assaults. Photo courtesy of UOSSM Union of Medical Care and Relief Organizations
    President Biden’s dyslexic policy in Syria is a mess
    October 20, 2021
  • Annissa Essaibi George and family
    Annissa Essaibi George faces “race hypocrisy” in campaign to be Boston Mayor
    October 20, 2021
  • Jerusalem image of Jews and Arabs walking together. Shutterstock. Courtesy of Arab News Newspaper
    Jewish Michigan lawmaker leads push for Two State Solution
    October 7, 2021
  • BOOK REVIEWS
  • Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib, book cover. Photo courtesy of Cune Press
    Stories My Father Told Me by author and artist Helen Zughaib
    November 1, 2021
  • Girl Fighters, new book on Yemen Book Cune Press
    New Book: Girl Fighters: Break Tradition in Yemen 
    October 25, 2021
  • ENTERTAINMENT
  • The Ray Hanania Radio Show Live Wed 5 PM EST in Detroit, Washington DC, Ontario and on Thursday in Chicago. Watch the program live at Facebook.com/ArabNews
    Second Season of “The Ray Hanania Show” Arab American radio launches April 6
    April 4, 2022
  • American Arab CHamber President HassanNijem accepts the Proclamation from Chicago Ald. Roderick Sawyer at the Chamber dinner March 30, 2022
    Chicagoland celebrates Arab American Heritage Month
    March 31, 2022
  • Hollywood Sign
    Will Smith violence takes Oscar protests to dangerous level
    March 31, 2022
  • 03-30-22 Arab Chamber Heritage Month Flyer
    Arab Chamber to host Arab Heritage Month dinner March 30
    March 14, 2022
  • “Rupture”, the psychological thriller produced by MBC STUDIOS, has won Best Saudi Film at the 2021 Red Sea International Film Festival (RSIFF).
    MBC GROUP’s Rupture wins Best Saudi Film at the inaugural Red Sea International Film Festival
    December 15, 2021
  • New-iTunes-1400-x-1400-The-Ray-Hanania-Show-Podcast-Icon-300-x-300.jpg
  • powerpr300x300ad.jpg
  • terroristbookcover-300-x-300.jpg
  • Podcast-iTunes-Logo-Chi-City-Hall-1985.jpg
  • The-Kings-Pawn-Book-300-x-300.png
Arab News Newspaper Logo
Read the Arab News, the leading English language newspaper in the MIddle East

Follow Ray Hanania at Gab.com, MeWe.com and IDobbinate.com, the alternatives to Facebook and Twitter Censorship.

Click here to get information on The Ray Hanania Radio Show and its podcasts

Copyright © 2022 The Arab Daily News.

Powered by PressBook Premium theme