Leave football players in peace

Problems in the European Union are increasing daily. The economies of many member states are in bad condition. Unemployment and problems around the youth’s future require immediate solutions. Additional problems will become more apparent after Brexit.

EU member states have not been able to come to an agreement on common policies on a domestic and foreign level. In addition, President Donald Trump’s pressure on the EU is affecting the EU’s relations with countries like Russia, China and Iran. These are just some of the problems. If we were to make a list it could easily fit a page of our newspaper.

While the situation is as such, the EU has forgotten its helplessness when it comes to refugees and is instead fixated on Turkey’s justified Operation Peace Spring. The EU is free of terror thanks to Turkey’s previous operations in Syria and not suffering from a refugee crisis thanks to Turkey as well.

However, right now the EU is putting every form of pressure on Turkey in a bid to stop Operation Peace Spring.

But Turkey has made a clear statement. It has stated that if the People’s Protection Units (YPG) terrorist group, which is an extension of the PKK terrorist group in Syria, is to take all of its weapons and terrorists out of the zone near the border, Turkey will stop the operation and leave the zone to a democratic government that will be formed in Syria. Turkey has no interest in staying in Syrian lands and conducting operations unless it is necessary.

If the EU really wants peace and quiet in the area it has to make the U.S. and the YPG leave the area at the Turkey-Syria border. For Turkey, it is very important to have a 30-kilometer zone within Syria cleansed of terrorists. Because otherwise rocket attacks by the YPG are causing great life and property damage in Turkey. It is that simple. If the EU is unable to understand this, what is its problem?

For example what kind of attitude did the EU’s most powerful and effective member, Germany, take in the 1970s when the RAF (Rote Arme Fraktion, more widely known as the Red Army Faction in English) terrorist group was drenching the country in blood? The RAF was kidnapping businessman and murdering them, assassinating prosecutors and hijacking airplanes. They spilled a lot of blood. All of Germany was living in a state of emergency. Germany refused to bargain with the terrorists for the people kidnapped or airplanes hijacked by RAF saying that “we will not sit down with terrorists” and “subdued” the terrorists. Now Turkey is doing the exact same thing. On the other hand, what is done to the citizens of the Republic of Turkey who are supporting the justified operation is a complete scandal.

We have seen countless photographs of French President Macron with the French national team’s footballers. Neither UEFA nor the French Football Federation has opened an investigation around the French footballers who saluted Macron with a “military salute” after the French matches were over.

Then for what reason is Macron messing with Turkish Football players for?

What is the real intention of those who are raising hell after the military salute given by Turkish players following the matches where they won against Albania 1-0 and drew against France 1-1?

In Turkey, almost every citizen of the Republic of Turkey has lost a relative or had one wounded due to terrorist attacks. What were you expecting? Aren’t the citizens of a country that has given many victims to terror going to support their soldiers and police officers that are fighting against terror?

Thanks to Operation Peace Spring, Turkey will be free of terror. Since the PKK is unable to conduct terrorist acts within Turkey it is using Syria with the YPG. They are attacking from there, aiming weapons into Turkey’s border villages and towns. Many people have died or been wounded due to this. Many houses were demolished. People have left their villages because of this.

The players of the Turkish national team and citizens of the Republic of Turkey are rightfully supporting this operation. What were you expecting? Turkish football players can motivate their brothers that are fighting against terror with a symbolic “military salute.” Aren’t the EU member states and UEFA who are making this into a problem against terrorism? Since when did condemning terrorism become “mixing politics with sports?”

It is also very sad to see a similar thing happen in Germany. It is a scandal for the 2nd league football team St. Pauli to drop a Turkish citizen football player it had transferred from Turkey out of the team and put on sale due to a supportive message he shared on social media. Aren’t the St. Pauli football team and its supporters, which in the past we have seen in activities in support of the PKK terrorist group, against terror? It is out in the open what has been done to the two football players of Turkish descent that were playing in the German national team due to provocations by the German Bild newspaper. What has happened didn’t stop with that either. Some Turkish teams playing in the amateur league in Germany were threatened with being forced to pay large financial penalties for the same reasons.

Now I am asking: who is mixing politics with sports? Leave football players in peace!