Syrian refugee crisis. This is a solution proposal.

Well, I will try to be really brief and clear.

I will start pointing out four facts.

These people try to escape war and ISIS. So they choose routes towards the West, with the majority of them aiming to reach some particular countries of the European Union. This includes a long, hard road, with ruthless traffickers, dangerous weather conditions, etc. So this is Fact One: The long, dangerous road to the West.

Of course, widely known as it is, terrorists "blend" into the groups of Syrian migrants, falsely stating themselves as war refugees during the substandard checks taking place after they have entered European Union, posing an already “certified” danger to the European countries. This is Fact Two: The terrorists infiltrating easily in target countries through the groups of real refugees.

The groups of “real” refugees, and their rights for political asylum, are being abused by other ethnicities too, that are not supposed to enter European Union and other countries without particular papers, certain checks and officials approval, illegal immigrants from the wider Middle East that also falsely state themselves as Syrians. This is Fact Three: Illegal immigrants abusing the international institution of political asylum for war refugees.

Fact Four does not need any further details: The proportional/equal distribution of the refugees seeking asylum in European/Western countries.

The solution, according to my naive way of thinking is this:

Organized UN/EU checkpoint facilities (ASCC-Asylum Seekers Confirmation Centres) close to the already known routes of the refugees, inside Turkish territory, right next to the borders with Syria (the vast majority of the Syrians trying to get to the West through Turkey). These -and only these-will be official paper-issuing spots for Syrians seeking asylum in a European/Western country, which will be clear to everyone, especially the asylum seekers.

The solution regarding the aforementioned Facts:

Fact One: The trafficking and weather conditions dangers elimination. No Syrians will choose this way into the EU because they will not be validated to enter.

Fact Two: The detailed checks at the official and staffed with specialized and equipped personnel facilities will be more in-depth and effective.

Fact Three: Same as Fact Two.

Fact Four: Easier for the checkpoint personnel to manage the final destinationof each family in consultation with the statistics given by the headquarters.

It is important to be clear that all confirmed asylum seekers will be taken care and given dignified alternatives and support in order to get to the desired and suggested destination.

New Energy Roads: Trans Adriatic Pipeline Pt.3

(image copyrights: www.jsg.utexas.edu)

During the past months, Security Affairs have indicated the importance of the Trans Adriatic Pipeline as the route of transport of the Azeri Shah Deniz II gas to Europe.

Although the competition was hard, in 28th of June the Shah Deniz Consortium confirmed the choice of TAP, introducing Greece, Italy and Albania to the new energy era of Europe. With this agreement and after the initiation of transport, the European countries will no more depend only on Russia and Algeria for their natural gas needs, considering Azerbaijan as their new powerful energy partner.

The Consortium also pointed out that this particular choice was made because of the project's advanced economic and technical characteristics. Thanks to these characteristics, Trans Adriatic Pipeline prevailed over NABUCCO West, the until recently predominant pipeline whose route was including Hungary, Bulgaria, Romania and Austria.

For the three countries that will host TAP, the implementation of the project will offer an economic and geopolitical boost, including new job positions, raise of investments and a higher energy profile towards the European Union. Italy is going to gain a wider energy independence from Algeria and its natural gas supplies. Regarding Greece, it is an important move against the economic crisis and the hyperbolic voices about "Grexit", prompting international investors to approach the market in wider scale. And of course, for Albania, the pipeline agreement is synchronized with a major political change, the victory of the Alliance for a European Albania and its leader Edi Rama; the  important energy project and the defeat of Sali Berisha which was widely considered as a sign of growing democratic maturity of Albania, is a promising combination for its future.

Trans Adriatic Pipeline will be approximately 870 km long, connecting with Trans Anatolian Pipeline (TANAP) near Greek-Turkish borders. It is designed to expand the capacity from 10 to 20 bcm per year and will open up the so-called Southern Gas Corridor, strengthening Europe's energy security by providing a new natural gas source.

Erdogan's intransigence, a step back for Turkey.

Protesters holding banners reading on "Tayyip (Turkish PM) must resign".
(Photo by EPA/The Telegraph)

True facts about governance in Turkey comes to light through the unrest that started in Taksim Square and expanded in other major cities. No matter how much Ankara may want to enter the European Union or belong to the "West", the way this situation was managed by the government revealed the inability of using democratic methods to solve interior crises.

Regarding the huge amounts of tear gas and the brutality used to suppress the protesters, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan does not seem willing to show any compunction about the violence towards the gathered people. Expressing his prospects and decisions about this situation can confuse and might be considered by the listener as an authoritarian leader. He sounds like a politician and a man who does not accept an opinion different than his. Due to these characteristics, his profile is similar to some dictators (without implying that he is one), rather than to European leaders.

Number one in imprisoned journalists, manipulation of media, a considerable number of unsolved issues with neighbors and minorities, refusal to recognize many genocides, four coups d'etat since 1960 (including the 1997 military memorandum, characterized also as a "postmodern coup"), and now, a hardcore suppression of the people protesting against a pertinacious Prime Minister who is planning on tightening alcohol rules and forbidding public display of affection, the political system and governance in Turkey tries to find a way into the European Union.

However, the most dangerous move of the Turkish PM is not his refusal to apologize for the excessive use of violence and the lack of any conversation with the protesters. What could make him look like a leader of previous centuries with a total ignorance of the term "diplomacy" is his indirect (at least until the moment this article was published) call of his supporters to react to the Taksim Square movement. "There is an end to our patience" Erdogan said, with rage in his voice, in front of a crowd that was chanting its will to die for him. Such words, to such an audience, are far from helpful for this social unrest and could lead to clashes between masses of the people, to an uprising and of course to situations beyond any control.

Prime Minister Erdogan should think twice. His intransigence and hence a socially and politically  unstable Turkey, will not be only a national issue, but also a major risk for Turkey's allies during this period of turmoil in the Middle East, and many steps back regarding the country's aims to come closer to the European Union.

Iraqi Kurdistan-Turkey Relations, At A Glance.

Iraqi Kurdistan Region President Masoud Barzani (L)
and Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan in Istanbul. (AP photo) 

   The conflict between Turkey and Kurdish groups who demand an independent or autonomous Kurdistan for their ethnic group, along with political and cultural rights within the Turkish Republic, seems like it is far from coming to an end. Insurgents of the Kurdistan Worker Party (PKK) and other rebel groups carry out attacks mainly in Southern-Eastern Turkey, and Turkish police and army, clashes with Kurdish protesters, both committing numerous human rights abuses.

   Of course, Iraqi Kurdistan could not be excluded from this vicious circle, since this Kurdish autonomous region within the Iraqi borders is a basic launchpad for the insurgents acting in Turkey. When Kurdistan Regional Government claimed insufficiency of military forces to prevent PKK and other groups from operating, despite the fact that this region is within Iraqi territory, Turkish Air and Ground Forces have repeatedly violated the airspace and borders of their neighbor state, striking possible targets in the region and causing reactions of both Iraqi government and the Kurdish Autonomous Region's leaders.

   The tension in the region, at both sides of the Iraq-Turkey borders, seemed to impede any form of cooperation between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan had once said Iraqi Kurdish regional President was a "bandit", and accused the latter's government for not doing enough to stop rebel groups. From the Turkish point of view, PKK was fighting against the Turkish State in favor of the rights of all Kurds.

   However, the deeper, great fear of Turkey, according to analysts, was not the current conflict, but the possibility of Iraqi Kurdistan's declaration of independence as a new state. Ankara was able to realize that this action would mean the stimulation of the feelings of the Kurdish population within the Turkish borders, and their desire to declare independence too, by any means. So, any kind of political, economic or diplomatic development of Iraqi Kurdistan, may have been against Turkey's interests.

   But lately, as the wider region's situation became unstable, the facts of this relationship started to change. The crisis in Iraq, with Sunni opposition groups and Kurds fighting against Shi'ite Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki, and the continuous conflicts in mutual neighbor, Syria, brought the leadership of Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan closer. Turkish officials have even made statements about the international role of the Iraqi Kurds, and said that they consider them as an important ally, while formal visits of Regional Government's President and Prime Minister took place in Turkey, strengthening the bonds between the two leaderships.

   An important fact which consists an addition to this relation's built-up, is the growing tension between Turkey and Iraq's central government. Although there are periods during which Iraq and Turkey cooperate, frictions in diplomatic and political level often take place. A recent one, happened when Iraq accused Turkey for violating its airspace and striking targets within the Iraqi borders. Ankara said that the strikes were on suspected PKK militant targets, and Iraq threatened to protest to the UN for the massive violations of its airspace by warplanes and helicopters.  Through these frictions, the relations of Iraqi Kurdistan with Turkey, sometimes find their ways to bloom.

    Lately, energy trade issues consists the new link between Ankara and Iraqi Kurds. Turkey officially stated that started importing five to ten road tankers of crude from the autonomous Kurdish region, after signing an agreement only with the Regional Government of Iraqi Kurdistan, without going through Iraq's central government, and added that according to plans, the volume may rise up to one or two hundred tankers per day. A more stable and organized energy alliance between Turkey and Kurdish region of Iraq could create stronger bonds between them. Of course, Baghdad strongly opposes to these plans, even at the current limited scale, since the Iraqi government considers the oil exports without official state permission, illegal and illegitimate. What Baghdad says is that oil is property of all Iraqi people and no export should take place without being organised and agreed by the central government, and warns Turkey that this action could seriously damage their trade relations.

   However, the reactions of Iraqi state towards both Ankara and the autonomous region, may lead to a tightening of the relations between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan, since their energy bonds, combined with the aforementioned reasons for the two leaderships to come closer, could consist a platform for a future stable alliance. Of course, what should always be kept in mind is the wider and longitudinal situation between Kurds and the Turkish state.