Today, The Guardian reported that Syrian regime was condemned by William Hague and Hillary Clinton. According to the article, GB foreign secretary pushes for further action in addition to sanctions, but China and Russia shun talks on UN resolution. Britain attempted to step up international pressure on the Syrian regime on Sunday, denouncing tank and helicopter gunship attacks on civilians in the northern town of Jisr al-Shughour and demanding that the Red Cross be granted immediate access to conflict areas. Syrian state television reported heavy clashes in the town and said troops had retaken the town, where the military onslaught has already caused thousands of refugees to flee into neighbouring Turkey. William Hague, the foreign secretary, again ruled out military intervention to protect Syrian civilians of the kind recently undertaken in Libya. He also admitted that British-backed efforts to agree a UN security council resolution condemning the repression in Syria have run into difficulties and were poised "on a knife edge".
The same news agency reports that Iranian security forces attacked silent rally in Tehran on Sunday. Iranian security officials have used baton charges and tear gas to disperse hundreds of protesters at a silent rally in central Tehran marking the second anniversary of the country's disputed presidential election. Riot police and plainclothes basij militia were deployed in various locations in the capital, arresting at least tens of protesters.
The Washington Post published an article headlined ‘Islamist extremists exploiting Yemeni crisis’. According to the author, Islamist extremists, many suspected of links to al-Qaeda, are engaged in an intensifying struggle against government forces for control of southern Yemen, taking advantage of a growing power vacuum to create a stronghold near vital oil-shipping lanes, said residents and Yemeni and U.S. officials. Over the past few weeks, the militants have swiftly taken over two towns, including Zinjibar, the capital of Abyan province, and surrounding areas and appear to be pushing farther south, said Yemeni security officials and residents. Increasingly, it appears as if al-Qaeda’s regional affiliate is seeking for the first time to grab and hold large swaths of territory, adding a dangerous dimension to Yemen’s crisis.
The same news agency offers its readers and analytical article on Turkish elections. Turkey’s ruling party has been held up as a religiously conservative but democratic role model for political parties in the Middle East. But the true test for the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) will come after the elections, when it hopes to start rewriting the country’s constitution. Polls show that Turks are generally satisfied with AKP’s economic successes, but many are wondering if as the region shakes off one dictator after the other, the tide in Turkey is turning the other way. Although the AKP and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan have managed to largely allay fears that they may be taking Turkey toward governance under Islamic law, the lingering question of the party’s commitment to democracy weighs heavily on the electorate.
Accordind to Hurriyet, Four party groups will take their place in Turkey’s new Parliament as electoral officials had opened more than 90 percent of the nation’s ballot boxes by late Sunday. The ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, will form a majority government after winning over 50 percent of the popular vote; the incumbents will be joined again by the opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP, the Nationalist Movement Party, or MHP, and the Peace and Democracy Parliament, or BDP, in the legislature. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan addressed the people after winning Sunday's elections with a great majority of votes. "We will embrace everyone, whether they voted for the AKP or not," Erdoğan said in a speech at his party's headquarters late Sunday. "The people have won," Erdoğan said, adding that unlawfulness and the rule of the "privileged ones" lost once more. "A Turkey with gangs has become a thing of the past with the decision of the Turkish people."
Meanwhile, Republican People's Party, leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu made a speech late Sunday, saying the CHP has came out stronger from the election. He said the CHP gained 3.5 million new voters in six months and became stronger, receiving the most percentage of votes since the Sept. 12, 1980 coup. Kılıçdaroğlu noted that the CHP was the only party to increase its seats in Parliament, while all other parties won less seats than before. The CHP would continue to work with the same excitement as during election time, Kılıçdaroğlu said. Kılıçdaroğlu congratulated the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP. "They should bear in mind that they face a stronger CHP now," he said.
