A first substantial convoy of about 30 military vehicles, including trucks loaded with anti-aircraft missile batteries dispatched from Turkey's coastal town of Iskenderun, was moving slowly towards the Syrian border 50 km (30 miles) away.
Early on Thursday, another convoy left a base at Gaziantep and headed for Kilis province, the site of a large camp for Syrian refugees.
Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan, who has given shelter in the border area to rebels fighting Syrian President Bashar al-Assad, announced after Syrian air defenses shot down a Turkish warplane last Friday he would step up security there.
The convoy was first seen Wednesday, escorted by police cars, as it head along a narrow highway leading out of the main port of Turkey's Hatay province. It included rocket launchers on transporters, anti-aircraft artillery and military ambulances.
The deployment began just two days following Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan's announcement that Turkey had revised its military rules of engagement against Syria. Erdoğan also said any military element moving towards the Turkish border and deemed threatening would be declared a military target. The preponderance of air defense weapons in the convoy suggested Turkey was preparing for any possible approach by Syrian helicopters or warplanes.
According to the information obtained, the military vehicles will be dispersed amongst locations at the Cilvegözü Border, and the Reyhanlı, Yayladağı and Altınözü districts of Hatay as well as to military installations in Sanliurfa.
While England is rattled by the censorship scandal in the national press, AK Party Spokesman and Deputy Chairman Hüseyin Çelik has announced that there will be no censorship on social media or classic media as Turkey, which now has a mature democracy, has left such issues long in the past.
AK Party Istanbul Deputy Bülent Turan has filed a criminal complaint with the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor against CHP Tunceli Deputy Hüseyin Aygün for “insults in the virtual realm and for inspiring public hatred, enmity and degradation.”
The ‘innocent’ protest which began at the start of the month in Brazil, as it did as well in Turkey, has since transitioned into a point of interest for its dark demonstrations. Both nations, as they suffer from simultaneous protests, stand out for having bright and promising economies.
Prime Minister Erdoğan stated on Tuesday that the Gezi protests are part of a professionally organized operation and vowed to hold those behind the events accountable by law. The Prime Minister also said that the police in Turkey have passed the test of democracy.
Responding to the European Parliament resolution condemning the police crackdown on protests sparked by redevelopment plans for Gezi Park, Prime Minister Erdoğan stated “They are confused. They have no fidelity,” and added that European politicians and institutions instantly laid down their masks in order to provoke events.
One man’s passive defiance by way of standing in place in Taksim Square and looking straight at the Atatürk Culture Center, quickly turned into a social media phenomenon last night.
Infuriating Germans, Green Party Co-Chair Roth was subjected to pepper spray in Istanbul. Commenting on the incident, German nationals say, “It turns out Erdoğan was right in saying that there are foreign forces triggering Taksim, and Roth’s presence is now proof.” Other comments include, “If Abdullah Gül showed up at Occupy Frankfurt of if Erdoğan was involved in the Stuttgart 21 demonstrations, the ground would shake!”
The Istanbul Metropolitan Municipality has been working continuously since last night on clearing and landscaping Taksim Square and Gezi Park.
Explaining that the Gezi Park protests were planned six months ago, EU Minister Bağış states, “These protests are an attempt to trigger a move which will end in regime change in Turkey.” Bağış also discussed Prime Minister Erdoğan’s style with the Wall Street Journal.
They came by land, they came by sea, and they came to hear their Prime Minister speak. Yesterday’s Kazlıçeşme rally in support of Prime Minister Erdoğan saw over a million supporters come out to the square with AK Party and Turkish flags in hand, giving true sentiment to the figures of Erdoğan’s support rate.
Istanbul Governor Mutlu is calling on protesters to refrain from responding to calls on social media to gather in Taksim because he says; peace has been established once again in Istanbul.
Nearly a million Istanbul residents flocked out to see Prime Minister Erdoğan speak at an AK Party rally in Kazlıçeşme on Sunday. Istanbul residents want the vandalism of protesters destroying and setting the city on fire to come to an end as soon as possible. Meanwhile, they also support Erdoğan’s referendum proposal.
On the first presidential visit to Ardahan in 18 years, President Gül had the chance to comment on the European Parliament’s resolution vote on Thursday by stating, “When reacting they need to have enough information to realize what is what.”
The number one suspect accused of planning and staging the twin bombings in the Hatay town of Reyhanlı, which killed 52 people, Nasır Eskiocak as well as three other perpetrators were arrested on Friday.