The statement of the Alliance of Syrian Organizations in America (ACS) about a meeting between “a delegation of its representatives” with Turkish President Recep Tabb Erdogan and with Foreign Minister Hakan Fidan sparked controversy among Syrian organizations, as it is not the custom of the president or foreign minister to hold such bilateral meetings.
Global Justice wrote an editorial on its news website that considered the statement of the coalition of organizations and the photos published by its political advisor, Mohamed Alaa Ghanem, with the Turkish President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, as political adolescence and political business.
To find out the opinion of the Turkish side, we contacted a knowledgeable source at the Turkish Embassy in Washington, and his answer was surprising as he said: “There was no bilateral meeting, whether official or personal, between Mr. President or Mr. Foreign Minister with a delegation or individual from the coalition of American organizations for Syria.” What happened was the following: “After the earthquake disaster that struck our country, American Islamic organizations collected in-kind and cash aid that was sent to those affected by the earthquake, amounting to $100 million. A few months ago, a letter of thanks was sent to them for their efforts, and the Secretary General of the Council of Islamic Organizations, Mr. Osama Jamal, asked The embassy arranged a visit to Turkey for a delegation headed by the organizations affiliated with the Council, led by CAIR, to present its point of view regarding combating the phenomenon of Islamophobia, and this is all that happened.”
When asked about the statement and photos published by the coalition of organizations, in which he claimed that a delegation representing him met bilaterally with the Turkish President and the Minister of Foreign Affairs, he presented to them many points related to the Syrian file, and they were discussed with them. The source repeated his answer: “There is no bilateral meeting and there is no delegation that officially represents the coalition of organizations, and the photos taken were not scheduled. The photo with His Excellency the President took place directly after the end of the meeting at the presidential complex, as the member of the delegation, Muhammad Alaa Ghanem, who is not from the leadership of the delegation, took place. His chair was arranged according to Protocol No. 12 to the left of the President. He ran immediately before the President left the hall and asked to take a picture with him, even though that was not planned because it is difficult to take individual photos with the entire delegation, which numbered more than thirty people. Therefore, as an expression of this, he looked The president is away from the camera, and as for the second photo, it happened that the delegation left with the Minister of Foreign Affairs, who was present at the meeting, so the delegation member, Muhammad Alaa Ghanem, was photographed with him in front of the entrance to the presidential palace.
Between the statement of the coalition of organizations and the source, the verdict remains for the images below:
-A picture shows Mr. Muhammad Alaa Ghanem sitting on chair 12 far to the left of President Erdogan.
The photos showing a handshake between a member of the delegation of Islamic organizations and Turkish officials are clearly in the meeting hall of the delegation of Islamic organizations and the second in front of the presidential complex and not in bilateral meetings.
-A picture showing President Erdogan and ten members of the delegation to his left. It does not show the picture of Muhammad Alaa Ghanem, whose seating arrangement is No. 12.
-A picture shows a member of the American Islamic Organizations delegation, Muhammad Alaa Ghanem, sitting away from President Erdogan.
Muawiyah Bakir Agha-all4syria.info
