Turmoil in Mediterranean

There has been some real trouble across the Mediterranean Sea..

And this statement does not refer to its southern and eastern coasts, only. The northern coast line has been dealing with economic crises and related political problems.

Greece, for example, is troubled with a terrible economic crisis that caused a joint Franco-German-led European Union effort, but the rich countries with economic growth figures of close to zero are troubled by immigration and xenophobia problems. The possibility that crises in Italy and Spain could deepen is hovering over Europe like a nightmare.

To recap, the level of tension across the Mediterranean is worth drawing the attention of the whole world. Down below is and articel that will put you in the picture to have a better grasp of the situation in the region.

Business Turkey Today

Tension rises across the Mediterranean

MURAT YETKİN

It was interesting to see that the NATO messenger to give assurances to the rulers-to-be in Libya was Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu.

Davutoğlu had been the first foreign minister from the Western alliance to set foot in the Libyan opposition stronghold Benghazi last month; there, he staged a spontaneous open-air rally, addressing Libyans in their own language, Arabic.

Libya was not the first to explode. But the uprising in Tunisia was a short one and ended with the rather quick departure of its dictator, Zine El Abidine Ben Ali, to Saudi Arabia.

Then Libya exploded in an unprecedented way, then Yemen and Egypt and Syria…

Egypt was something big and the cries of the masses refusing to leave Tahrir Square of Cairo forced its dictator Hosni Mubarak to resign when the army remained idle; Mubarak is now in jail. Barely saving his life from an assassination attempt, Ali Abdulah Saleh of Yemen also escaped to Saudi Arabia in the meantime.

In Syria, Bashar al-Assad has demonstrated an escalating use of force against his fellow citizens, who are also demanding more rights for themselves. Despite warnings from all over the world, including neighboring Turkey, who tried a lot to buy some more time for him so that he would not face the same fate as Gadhafi at the hands of NATO, Assad has shown no intention of moderating his stance.

Israel is not easy at all. Prime Minister Benjamin Netenyahu warned his Cabinet members yesterday to calm down because his country did not feel comfortable in fighting another war in Gaza with Hamas, especially when there are signs of reconciliation between them and Palestinians and within Palestinian groups as well.

However, the Israeli Foreign Ministry keeps challenging Turkey on the Mavi Marmara flotilla tragedy last year in which Israeli soldiers killed nine Turkish citizens carrying aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip. Perhaps it knows that it will not cause an armed conflict but only the further cooling of relations with Turkey, as well as increase the concern of the United States…

Turkey, on the other hand, is busy with terrorism related to its Kurdish problem that is inspired by the Arab Spring.

The trouble across the Mediterranean Sea is not only along its southern and eastern coasts. The northern coast line is dealing with economic crises and related political problems. Greece, for example, is troubled with a terrible economic crisis that caused a joint Franco-German-led European Union effort, but the rich countries with economic growth figures of close to zero are troubled by immigration and xenophobia problems. The possibility that crises in Italy and Spain could deepen is hovering over Europe like a nightmare.

The level of tension across the Mediterranean is too much to be afforded for too long by everyone. Something has to be done to decrease this tension before the Arab Spring turns into a storm affecting everyone in the region.

August 23, 2011
MURAT YETKİN –
murat.yetkin@hurriyet.com.tr
SOURCE: HURRIYET DAILY NEWS