Kurdish leader backs Turkish spy chief

[Aslan]

http://media.worldbulletin.net/250x190/2013/10/22/zozani.jpg

The deputy leader of the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP), Adil Zozani, defended the Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan after a widespread campaign of negative propaganda about him.

"Hakan Fidan was targeted by the international powers because of his contribution to the peace process. The criticims about him should not be considered because of this process," Zozani told the Turkish daily Radikal.

Washington Post columnist David Ignatius cited “knowledgeable sources” in saying the Turkish government had disclosed the identities of up to 10 Iranians who had been meeting with Mossad case officers inside Turkey to Iranian intelligence.

Before the report, a US intelligence official told the Wall Street Journal that Turkey and the US look at the world ‘through different lenses’, as the two nations differ on Syria.

Ignatius's report ruffled a few feathers in Israeli circles. In his column, Jewish Press journalist Yori Yanover suggested that the Turkish intelligence chief Hakan Fidan should be assassinated.

US State Department spokesperson Jen Psaki declined to comment directly on The Washington Post story, saying the US has not changed its position on its relationship with Turkey.

OSLO TALKS

Zozani said that individuals and groups who are working in the peace process should be secured. The Kurdish deputy also reminded that the intelligience chief had been targeted in leaked Oslo talks.

An almost 50-minute voice recording from the secret talks were revealed to the media in September 2011, which sparked debates across Turkey at the time. The Oslo talks were held some time in 2010, after Hakan Fidan was appointed the new undersecretary of the National Intelligence Organization (MIT), replacing Emre Taner. The existence and content of the secret talks were revealed by anonymous sources, which temporarily ended the talks.

"BLACK PROPAGANDA"

Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu has rejected claims about Turkey's intelligence chief as being “untrue” and a bad example of “black propaganda.”

Davutoglu said the recent claims about Fidan do not reflect the truth and that the first duty of a spy chief is to take the necessary measures for the security of the country. The foreign minister added that the claims about Fidan also indicated how perfectly he executed his duties.

The foreign minister also noted that the National Intelligence Organization (MIT) has significantly increased its capabilities with respect to gathering intelligence to confront possible risks and threats against Turkey, praising Fidan for developing the intelligence agency's institutional infrastructure with “extraordinary efforts.”

[Anthea]

I have never totally trusted the motives of some of the BDP representatives - I trust them even less now