World silent on Israeli, Indian war crimes: Speaker Turkish Parliament

ISLAMABAD: The Speaker of the Grand National Assembly of Turkey (GNAT) Prof Dr Mustafa Sentop spoke to The News on different issues during his visit to Pakistan for the 2nd General Conference of the Parliamentary Assembly of ECO countries. Important points are shared below.

To the question on the recent atrocities against Palestinians and on the role of Security Council and OIC in stopping these atrocities, and the role of Pakistan-Turkey cooperation in implementing the ceasefire, Dr Sentop said: "It is impossible not to worry when we see the unacceptable oppression and violence against Palestine, the attacks on our brothers and sisters worshiping in Masjid al-Aqsa, and the Israeli cruelty that escalated to the point of massacre of dozens of civilians in Gaza, regardless of infants or children. We follow with sadness that Israel is using state terrorism, committing crimes against humanity, shedding the blood of innocent Muslims and the world’s silence. Now it is necessary to say ‘stop’ to Israel, to take decisions and measures."

He said that Turkey will continue to stand firmly by Palestinian brothers in their struggle for freedom and justice as we have always done. "Under the leadership of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, we are making every diplomatic effort to end Israel's brutality. As parliamentarians, we have taken some initiatives in multilateral assemblies of which we are members, such as PAECO, PUIC and APA. Thus, we supported Palestine in its just cause by running parliamentary diplomacy channels. We have also welcomed Pakistan’s sincere and effective involvement in this issue just like Turkey. We are extremely pleased that our excellent bilateral relations with friendly and brotherly Pakistan have been confirmed by the demonstration of solidarity in international affairs."

When asked how the Organization of Islamic Cooperation and major Muslim countries best cooperate to resolve longstanding disputes such as Palestine and Kashmir and have the wars between Muslim countries weakened the fight against oppression in Palestine and Kashmir, Dr Sentop said: "Israel and India are killing innocents, getting involved in war crimes, crimes against humanity and committing war crimes in Palestine and Kashmir, but the world is still silent. War crimes are being committed against innocent children, women and people of all ages in Kashmir. They are detained, deprived of health facilities and everything. As the Organization of Islamic Cooperation, we cannot end the persecution here if we do not maintain unity on Kashmir and Palestine. As Turkey, our stance on Kashmir and Palestine is clear. We do not accept that other Islamic countries show an indecisive attitude on this issue or ignore it. For this reason, it is our greatest wish for Islamic countries to come together by putting aside the discord."

When asked what his assessment was of the state of democracy and political systems in the Muslim world, and how can the best political process be developed to give greater voice to the masses, Dr Sentop said: "Whether the forms of government in Muslim countries are democracy or monarchy, what is important here is the problems of the Islamic world and the solutions to be brought to them. In fact, political systems, whether monarchy or representative democracy, primarily affect the process of determining the ruling elite. It is up to the discretion of the political elite to reflect the attitude of the large masses towards short-term developments to the administration. Therefore, it would be beneficial for the rulers of the Muslim world to show a stronger will to take into account the demands and needs of the society. As a matter of fact, in many parts of the Islamic world, we have witnessed the devastating effects of the conflicts that have arisen between the ruling elite and society in the past. Both our great religion and our historical experience point to the Muslim rulers importance of the state’s service to society and individuals. We have a maxim in Turkish as well. Let the people live so that the state can live. With this understanding, I believe that the observance of this principle by the governments of Muslim countries will lead to the prosperity and peace for the entire Islamic world."