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| Mihraç Ural in Syria |
The man I called five days ago “the ethnic cleanser of Banias” is
emerging as the suspected mastermind of Saturday’s twin bombings in the Turkish
town of Reyhanli, a main hub for Syrian refugees and
opposition activity in Turkey's Hatay province, just across the border with
Syria.
“A fugitive Turkish Alevi
with Syrian citizenship and a checkered past has emerged as the chief
instigator and overseer of last week’s massacres in Bayda and Banias. A native
of Hatay Province in southern Turkey, his real name is Mihraç Ural,” I wrote in
my May 8 post, “Syria:
Enter the ethnic cleanser of Banias.”
Turkish
authorities are holding nine Turkish citizens believed to have links to Syrian
intelligence in connection with the two car bombs in Reyhanli that left 46
people dead and 100 injured.
Today,
Turkish political analyst Murat Yetkin essentially writes about Ural’s role in his column for Hurriyet English-language
daily:
Foreign
Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said during a live TV show yesterday, “Those who
committed the Banias massacre are also responsible for these (Reyhanli) attacks.”
He
was talking about a Syrian army operation supported by “المقاومة السورية” -- the “Syrian Resistance”
-- against the Sunni population of the historical coastal town of Banias,
killing hundreds of civilians, including children.
Davutoglu
had denounced the operation as an “ethnic cleansing” campaign against Sunnis by
Assad, as a contingency plan to set up a rump Alawite state…
The
point is there was somebody, technically still a Turkish citizen, Mihraç Ural,
who was shown as the responsible party… There are videos of him available on
YouTube as he speaks in Arabic and tries to incite militiamen
around him to cleanse Banias of Sunnis as soon as possible.
The
name is not alien to Turkish security circles.
Ural
was among the founders of an armed leftist group dubbed “Acilciler” – the “hasty
ones” – in the late 1970s and is responsible of a number of political murders,
bank robberies and similar acts of terror.
The
group had been denounced by other leftists as a tool of Syrian
intelligence, and even mocked as the “Hatay liberation army” since some of its
members were from Hatay and of Nusayri (Alawite) origin…
Ural’s
name and organization were mentioned by Turkish security and media right after
a similar car bomb attack at Cilvegözü border gate with Syria on Feb. 11,
killing 13 people...
In Syria, where he
commands “المقاومة السورية” (the “Syrian Resistance”) militia, a shabiha subdivision, Mihraç
Ural goes by his Arabic nom de guerre: Ali at-Kayyali.
Ural
left Turkey for Syria after the 12 September 1980 Turkish coup d'état, headed by Gen. Kenan Evren.
He
is said to have introduced PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan to
Hafez Assad, Bashar’s father, in Damascus.
In
his leader comment this morning, Ghassan Charbel, editor-in-chief of pan-Arab
daily al-Hayat, also alludes to the Reyhanli-Banias connection.
Writing in Arabic about
what he describes as “post-honeymoon bitterness,” Charbel says:
It
is not child’s play for Ankara officials to say perpetrators of the deadly
bombings in Reyhanli are Turkish citizens associated with Syrian intelligence.
It
is not child’s play either to say some of the suspects were involved in the
latest Banias massacre.
True,
the fallout between the two countries is not new. Equally true, the wrangle has
now acquired grave dimensions.
When
a government accuses a neighboring state of being behind bombings on its territory,
it commits itself to a response.
The
response could have been a classical recourse to the UN Security Council, but
Ankara is aware that Council’s door is firmly locked and strictly guarded by
Russia.
Ankara
is thus expected to seek a response surpassing a salvo of cross-border shells or
a reminder underscoring its NATO credentials.
Recent
months were replete with signs of the mushrooming estrangement between Ankara
and Damascus.
Recep
Tayyip Erdogan has not tired of asking Assad to step down. He has used tough
words to describe his former friend. Ankara did not suffice with hosting
hundreds of thousands of Syrian refugees. It went further and assumed the mantle
of the safe haven and stronghold of Assad’s enemies, including the Free Syrian
Army.
Assad
did not grin and bear his former friend either. He hosted Turkish opposition
leaders and held Erdogan fully responsible for the rot. He addressed the
Turkish public via the Turkish media to increase the pressure on Erdogan, denying
him the chance to do the same. Syria’s state-run media unearthed old wordbooks
to warn of the Ottomans
getting astride Muslim Brotherhood horses to ride back and revive the
caliphate. Syrian state media also revitalized the Iskenderun
(Alexandretta) file, which has been dormant for decades.
The
Reyhanli bombings’ timing elicited much scrutiny and a series of scripts.
The
outrage came a few days after the U.S.-Russian agreement to hold an
international conference for a political solution in Syria based on the June
2012 Geneva Declaration.
It
also came after fighters of the Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK) started withdrawing from Turkey in keeping with the Erdogan-Ocalan
agreement.
Incidentally,
Erdogan’s deal with Abdullah
Ocalan was a game-changer for Syria’s Kurds, turning them from a card up
Damascus’ sleeve into an ace of trumps in Ankara’s hand.
The
Reyhanli bombings also came in the week of Erdogan’s talks with President
Barack Obama at the White House next Thursday.
Turkey-watchers
believe the Reyhanli bombings will spur Erdogan to urge Obama to stop fudging
and dithering and be more decisive on Syria. They believe Erdogan “considers
Assad’s lingering in any part of Syria would seriously undermine Turkey’s stability
and territorial integrity. And Ankara is prepared to bear the burden of
safeguarding its stability and engaging further in the battle to remove Assad.”
The
Turkish-Syrian honeymoon was drawn out.
Turkey
hoped an “exemplary rapport” with Syria was its gateway to the Arab world and
key to building bridges to the region.
Syria
too was elated to reach out to a Sunni member of NATO. Damascus felt relations
with Turkey compensated for its tiff with Saudi Arabia and Egypt and imagined
Ankara becoming both its passageway and password.
The
post-honeymoon bitterness followed.
Syria
accuses Turkey of spewing out arms and rebels. Ankara accuses Damascus of
trying to destabilize Turkey and undermine the unity of its social fabric.
Ankara yearns for Syria without Assad while Assad dreams of Turkey without
Erdogan. The Syrian information minister did not omit calling on Erdogan lately
to step down.
But
the game is more intricate.
Russia
insists it is the door and latchkey to a solution. Iran does not lack the
appetite to assume such a role despite its deep involvement.
Solving
the Syria crisis is so difficult. The door is stuck shut and the small key is
lost.
Erdogan
will surely ask Obama to open the door and find the key, arguing that the once
widespread treatment of wounds by cauterization is long overdue.
