NOW Lebanon caught up with four of the Turkish volunteers who were on board the Mavi Marmara, which was carrying aid to the blockaded Gaza Strip when it was attacked by Israeli soldiers last week. Here they tell their version of the events.
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Western analysts have been quite vocal against the fuel swap deal hammered out between Turkey, Brazil and Iran earlier this month, though little has been said about the Turkish perspective. Was it a move away from the West, or Ankara making a smooth diplomatic coup?
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Thousands of ethnic Turkmens have been living in North Lebanon for centuries and still speak Turkish as their first language. When the government in Ankara found out about them in the late 1980s, it began supporting them generously and offering them tickets to their ancestral home.
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Despite the relative calm Beirut has been enjoying over the past two years, in the southern Beirut neighbourhood of Tariq al-Jedideh, the remains of the devastating wars that have rocked the area are still plainly visible and set the perfect backdrop for the local children’s war games.
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Turkey’s newly-reactivated involvement in Middle Eastern politics is being generally well received by regional actors. However, some Turkish and regional analysts are concerned about the change in direction of Turkey’s foreign policy, as it appears to be leaning more toward the East than the West.
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