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Top eurocrats delivered a withering assessment of those attacking the pact, accusing them of being keyboard warriors who had no serious solutions to Europes refugee crisis.

The unusually pointed rebuke came amid speculation that the deal could be close to collapse, with the increasingly authoritarian and erratic Turkish president Recep Erdogan having repeatedly threatened to ditch it.

Ankaras actions have alarmed senior EU officials in recent weeks and months, especially in terms of its crackdowns on free speech and human rights, but they are still determined to keep the agreement in place.

That is because it has been a resounding success in terms of reducing the numbers of new arrivals entering struggling Greece by a whopping 98 per cent in the space of a year.

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Statistics from the UNCHR show that in the first three months of 2016 a massive 151,452 people made it to Greece on rafts from Turkey, but by the same period this year that number had dropped to just 2,813.

And today, despite all its trials and tribulations, top eurocrats continued to hail the pact as a game-changer and said it had saved countless lives by dissuading millions from making the dangerous sea crossing.

EU Commission chief spokesman Margaritis Chinas told a briefing in Brussels: The EU-Turkey statement was a game-changer which allowed us to break the cruel business model of smugglers exploiting human misery and putting peoples lives in danger.

We hear many voices criticising the agreement, but we hear none providing viable alternatives that would have saved as many lives.

EU Commission chief spokesman Margaritis Schinas

He added: We hear many voices criticising the agreement, but we hear none providing viable alternatives that would have saved as many lives.

Yes, implementation continues to be challenging. But whilst others are running social media campaigns, we together with our member states are busy working day in and day out improving the situation on the ground.

Senior EU figures have become increasingly defensive of the accord in recent weeks in light of a series of ever more provocative statements from Turkey over its future.

Last week Ankaras interior minister threatened to scrap the deal and allow 15,000 refugees through to Europe every month if European countries did not back down over a ban on pro-Erdogan rallies.

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A young boy cries at a makeshift camp for migrants and refugees at the Greek-Macedonian border near the village of Idomeni

Under the terms of the agreement, all economic migrants arriving in Greece are sent back across the Aegean, with the EU taking one Syrian refugee from a camp in Turkey for every person returned.

And EU Commission chief Jean-Claude Juncker warned: It is not in Turkeys interests to have smuggling rings and bandits in charge along its coast.

Operating in cahoots with bandits is not in the travel guide of a candidate country.

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Put up or shut up! Brussels blasts 'keyboard warrior critics' of EU-Turkey migrant deal - Express.co.uk

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan attended the thirteenth summit of the Economic Cooperation Organization (ECO), held in Islamabad, Pakistan on the first of March. One of the topics Erdogan spoke about in his speech was the Republic of Nagorno-Karabakh, which he called the mountainous Karabakh problem.

Nagorno-Karabakh, historically known as Artsakh, is a small, diplomatically unrecognized Armenian republic in the southeastern part of Caucasus Minor. Following the constitutional referendum in the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic on February 20, the country was renamed Artsakh Republic.

Artsakh has for millennia been an integral part of historic Armenia. Even when Artsakh fell under the rule of foreign conquerors at different periods in history, the population and culture of the land remained predominantly Armenian. However, the Soviet regime established the Nagorno-Karabakh Autonomous Oblast in 1923 within the borders of the Azerbaijan Soviet Socialist Republic although the area was mostly inhabited by ethnic Armenians.

The 1988 Karabakh File by the Zoryan Institute states that Karabakh, the historic Artsakh province, is central to Armenian cultural and historical identify and statehood...

[It is also] one of the few remaining districts of historic Armenia still inhabited by a majority Armenian population.

For Azerbaijan, the fact that the majority of the Mountainous Karabakh population is Armenian is incidental and secondary to facts: Karabakh is theirs now and it has been part of the development of Azerbaijani national consciousness, largely a post-Sovietization phenomenon... Any change in the status of the territory would be considered at the present time an unacceptable blow to Azerbaijani national pride.

Azerbaijan, which Turkey calls the real owner of mountainous Karabakh, has conducted several violent attacks against the Armenian population, such as the racially motivated pogroms in the cities of Sumgait (February 27-29, 1988), Kirovabad (November 21-27, 1988) and Baku (January 13-19, 1990).

In the face of continued persecution, Nagorno-Karabakh finally declared independence in 1991, to which Azerbaijan, supported by Turkey, responded with military aggression that continued until the 1994 cease-fire. The war had a devastating effect on Nagorno-Karabakh. According to the official website of the Office of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic (NKR) in the US, the countrys health care system, entire road system, water supply systems as well as many social, economic and educational facilities, private homes and residential buildings were completely or partially destroyed.

In his speech in Islamabad, Erdogan announced: Azerbaijan has been suffering from problems for years... We especially cannot ignore the Nagorno-Karabakh problem.

The talks, which have gone on for more than 20 years, have reached no conclusion. The Minsk Group has not been able to resolve this matter. Therefore, we have to take care of ourselves. We have to take these steps in solidarity with the ECO and the OIC [Organization of Islamic Cooperation] in a determined manner. We must express Armenias occupation at all kinds of international meetings together. I believe if we do this together, it will be easier to get results.

Erdogan has often expressed Turkeys desire to give mountainous Karabakh to Azerbaijan. For example, during a meeting of the Turkish Red Crescent General Assembly in Ankara last year, Erdogan recited a poem about Karabakh written by the Turkish poet Abdurrahim Karakoc, and added, The persecution will not continue forever.

Karabakh will certainly return to its real owner and belong to Azerbaijan one day.

What would happen if Artsakh Republic were given to Azerbaijan? The answer lies in what happened during the April 2016 Four Day War Azerbaijans Islamic Statelike treatment of the people of Artsakh that included but was not limited to the murder of elderly civilians in their home, who had their ears cut off, and the mutilation or torture of Armenian soldiers from April 2 to April 5 which was well-documented with photographs, video and testimony surrounding several news reports and human rights reports.

During the same war, uniformed Azerbaijani soldiers even posed with the severed head of Yezidi-Armenian soldier Kyaram Sloyan in photos and videos. The soldier who held Sloyans head up by the ears in one of the photos was later reportedly decorated with a medal by the president of Azerbaijan.

Erdogan also mentioned the Cyprus issue in his speech in Islamabad, saying that solidarity with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is unfairly subjected to isolation, should be enhanced.

Erdogan continued: In this sense, it will be beneficial to make the Turkish Republic of Northern Cypruss temporary observer status in the Economic Cooperation Organization permanent and encourage holding activities of the Economic Cooperation Organization in the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus.

The northern part of the Republic of Cyprus has been under the occupation of Turkish military since 1974. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey.

Cyprus has been a part of the Greek world as far back as can be attested by recorded history, wrote the author Constantine Tzanos.

After the collapse of the Byzantine Empire and the defeat of the Venetians it fell to Ottoman rule from 1571 to 1878. In 1878 it was placed under British administration, was annexed by Britain in 1914, and in 1925 became a British colony.

On 20 July 1974, Turkey, a UN member state, in violation of the UN charter, claiming a right (which is also questionable) under the Treaty of Guarantee to intervene, invaded Cyprus and defying the UN Security Council quickly occupied 37% of the island, and forced the separation of Greek and Turkish Cypriots into two communities.

Never until the Turkish invasion in 1974 was the northern part of the island majority- Turkish. Turkey has forcibly changed the demographic character of the northern part of Cyprus by driving out Greek Cypriots to the southern part and bringing in thousands of settlers from Turkey as well as some 40,000 Turkish soldiers. Turkey continues to Turkify and Islamize northern Cyprus and wipe out its historic Hellenic and Christian identity through destruction of cultural heritage.

Turkeys extremely different stance toward the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and mountainous Karabakh speaks volumes about Turkeys worldview, hostile to its non-Turkish neighbors. Turkey may try to convince the world that as a NATO member it has largely adopted democratic values and is ready to enter the European Union. But its foreign policy demonstrates that Turkey still carries Islams flag of conquest.

Unfortunately, this world view shaped by Turkish-Islamic supremacism prevents Turkish governments from respecting the sovereignty of non-Turkish and non-Islamic nations, which causes a continued lack of justice, security and stability in the region.

The author is a Turkish journalist based in Washington DC.

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Erdogan condemns Armenian 'occupation,' but says Northern Cyprus 'unfairly isolated - Jerusalem Post Israel News

ANKARA, Turkey Opposition figures in Turkey say they have faced threats, violence, arbitrary detentions, a lack of TV airtime and even sabotage in the campaign for a referendum on expanding the president's powers.

The complaints come even as Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan himself has slammed European countries for not letting his ministers campaign on their soil for the April 16 vote on giving his office more power.

Politicians campaigning against the constitutional changes proposed by Erdogan also say the state of emergency in Turkey since a failed coup attempt in July prevents them from getting their message out ahead of the vote.

"Those who advocate for a 'no' vote are faced with a series of obstructions," said Utku Cakirozer, a former journalist who is now a lawmaker for the opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP.

While he, too, criticized moves by Germany and the Netherlands to stop Turkish ministers from campaigning to Turkish citizens abroad, Cakirozer said "our democracy bar has been lowered a great deal and needs to be raised rapidly."

At stake are changes that would usher in an executive presidential system, merging the powers of the prime minister and the president. Erdogan argues that a strong presidency will make Turkey better equipped to deal with economic and security challenges.

Critics say it would give Erdogan too much control and further erode the democratic separation of powers in the country.

With opinion polls suggesting the outcome of the tight race could be determined by yet-undecided voters, "no" campaigners say they face an uphill battle because Turkey's TV channels are either pro-government or refrain from broadcasts critical of the government for fear of reprisals.

Erdogan and members of the government have dominated the airwaves, holding twice-daily campaign speeches that are televised live in their entirety on all channels. Inauguration ceremonies and state-funded official trips also frequently turn into "yes" campaign events.

Meanwhile, the pro-government media largely ignore campaign rallies by the "no" camp. Even state-owned media, which is obliged to be neutral, cuts away early from speeches delivered by CHP leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu.

Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan's spokesman, disputed claims of an uneven playing field, saying the opposition was allowed to campaign freely.

"Just because the president and the prime minister's rallies attract more numbers and it looks like only 'yes' campaigning, that's not true. It's a misperception," he told journalists last week.

The CHP says it has counted more than 100 incidents of obstructions to the "no" camp, ranging from physical assaults and death threats to detentions by police.

Sinan Ogan, a "no" campaigner who broke away from a nationalist party that backs Erdogan, was interrupted in mid-speech this month at a university in Istanbul by a man who ran on the stage and knocked down the podium, sparking scuffles in the hall.

"It's either our electricity cut (during rallies) or leaflets torn apart, or (the rally venue) is being restored at the last moment, or the podium is attacked, or there is an interruption attempt so that we cannot speak," he told The Associated Press. "And even if you do speak, no TV station will air it."

His political ally, Meral Aksener, was forced to hold a campaign event in the dark after the electricity at her venue in the city of Canakkale was cut off.

Erdogan, who called the Dutch and German governments Nazis and fascists for barring Turkish ministers from campaigning in those countries, has said those who oppose the constitutional changes include terrorists and coup-plotters.

"That is why I believe my citizens, my brothers, will vote 'yes,'" he said.

Turkey's state of emergency allows the government to rule by decree and to suppress demonstrations and gatherings. Some 41,000 people have been arrested and tens of thousands of others dismissed from public sector jobs for alleged links to the coup attempt or alleged ties to terror groups.

Those in jail include some 150 journalists and a dozen legislators from Turkey's pro-Kurdish party, which also opposes the constitutional changes.

A decree issued under the emergency powers has eliminated the High Electoral Board's ability to slap fines on TV stations that don't devote equal campaign time to opposing sides.

During a visit to Ankara last month, German Chancellor Angela Merkel called for election observers to be allowed to monitor the vote. European institutions have also expressed concerns over the campaign process, including the restrictions on the freedom of expression and the right to assembly.

"If a constitutional referendum must absolutely be held during a state of emergency, restrictions on political freedoms have to be lifted," the Venice Commission, a legal advisory body of the Strasbourg, France-based Council of Europe, said in a recent report. "If the restrictions may not be repealed, the constitutional referendum should be postponed until after the state of emergency."

The Sozcu newspaper, one of the few remaining outlets critical of the government, said in a front-page article Wednesday that what the Netherlands did was "wrong," but questioned what was going on at home.

"The country's system of governance is changing but those who say 'no' are given no space to breathe," it wrote.

___

Associated Press writer Mehmet Guzel contributed from Istanbul.

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Turkey's referendum campaign unfair, Erdogan opponents say ...

He fills an outsized global role these days and any hint of humiliation at not getting his way in the Netherlands will not sit well at home -- where he generally does get his own way.

His incendiary words brought sharp rebuke from both countries, the Dutch reminding him of the 200,000 people killed by Nazi forces.

This weekend his ministers were due to address expat Turks in the Netherlands to get their support for a Turkish referendum that will transfer and consolidate Turkey's powers in Erdogan's hands alone.

Dutch Prime Minister Mark Rutte said he doesn't think Erdogan was intent on upsetting the Dutch elections but that his ministers tried to force their way in to his country against the direct wishes of the Dutch government.

According to Rutte, his government was in negotiation with Foreign Minister Mevlet Cavusoglu to speak at a small gathering in Rotterdam. During the negotiations Cavusolglu threatened unspecified action if he didn't get his way.

For Rutte that was a red line: "we stopped talks ... when the Turkish Foreign Secretary started threatening us with sanctions." That's when Cavusolglu was denied permission to land at Rotterdam airport.

Hours later, undaunted, another of Erdogan's ministers tried to make it to Rotterdam to give a speech. Families Minister Fatma Betul Sayan Kaya drove in from Germany but was later escorted back to the border by Dutch police.

If he could, Wilders would take the Netherlands out of the EU and close down its open borders that allowed Erdogan's minister to drive unhindered in to Holland from Germany.

At any other time this might have been a small diplomatic skirmish, but this is not a normal time.

Post Brexit, post Trump, Europe faces a round of elections where populist nationalists like Wilders thrive on immigration issues and pose an existential threat to the EU.

Erdogan has emerged as an increasingly influential leader, a key global partner on counter-terrorism, a necessary ally for the US in Syria as well as new partner for Russia in the same conflict, not to mention a vital floodgate holding back refugees from pouring in to Europe.

All this against a backdrop of increasing European unease at Erdogan's political reforms in Turkey that appear to many European diplomats to benefit only him and his cronies, taking him farther from his stated goal of EU membership.

Since the coup attempt last July, Turkey has shut down nearly 140 media organizations, arrested 41,000 people and thrown about 100,000 others out of their jobs.

Now the stage has slowly been set, Erdogan has his hands on levers that are already triggering tremors across the continent; however uncomfortably that sits with European governments.

Brexit was won on the issue of immigration, fueled by images of refugees streaming into Europe and compounded by fears of radical Islamist terror attacks.

Today the same fears fuel the populist narrative all across northern Europe. Not just by Wilders in the Netherlands but French Presidential candidate Marine Le Pen, whose country goes to the polls next month, and where she too has vowed to lead the country out of the EU if she wins.

Across Europe in the coming months more countries go to the polls and in most established parties face an erosion of support to nationalist populists in one shape or another.

To a degree, Erdogan holds the key to Europe's status quo: halting refugees crossing into Europe from Turkey (albeit as the result of a 6 billion euro deal with the EU) and cooperation around counter-terrorism stemming ISIS' insidious incursion into Europe to show the strength of his hand.

Yet in his handling of this recent diplomatic spat, Erdogan appears to show a brittle side to his personality. His actions reinforce European concerns that he is becoming increasingly autocratic.

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Why Erdogan's spat with Europe is significant - CNN.com

FRANKFURT Around 30,000 Kurdish supporters demonstrated in the German city of Frankfurt on Saturday against Turkish President Tayyip Erdogan and an April referendum that would give him sweeping new powers.

Protesters chanted "Erdogan terrorist" and "freedom for Ocalan", referring to Abdullah Ocalan, the jailed leader of the militant Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), with many waving flags featuring Ocalan's face.

The European Union and United States consider the PKK a terrorist group and it is banned in Germany.

"The Europeans should hear us, empathize with our suffering and help us. It would be best if they imposed economic sanctions on Turkey," demonstrator Sinan Anin said.

The protest brought swift condemnation from Turkey, which said Germany was allowing open support for terrorism.

"We strongly condemn the German authorities for allowing the demonstrations by PKK terrorist supporters," Ibrahim Kalin, Erdogan's spokesman, said in a statement.

He said Germany was treating terrorists as legitimate actors while calling meetings between Turkish politicians and citizens in Germany "dangerous", a reference to the recent ban in German cities on referendum rallies by Turkish politicians.

Police in Frankfurt, where hundreds of officers were deployed to the event, described the protest as peaceful and said on Twitter that most of the demonstrators had complied with German laws, adding: "We want to guarantee they can exercise their fundamental rights."

On Wednesday Martin Schaefer, spokesman for the Foreign Ministry, said the German government had approved voting by the estimated 1.4 million Turks living in Germany who are eligible to cast ballots in the April 16 referendum.

Erdogan is seeking support among Turks abroad for the referendum. German Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel has said Erdogan is taking advantage of a sentiment many people of Turkish origin have in Germany that they are neither accepted nor welcomed.

Demonstrator Mustafa Bostan said if Erdogan won the referendum, things would worsen: "It could be that he'll say: 'I've won again' and then he'll start fighting again and destroying Kurdish towns or killing Kurds."

Relations between Ankara and Berlin have been burdened by the arrest of a Turkish-German journalist in Turkey and by Erdogan's description of the bans on planned rallies by Turkish ministers as "fascist".

(Reporting by Reuters Television; Additional reporting by Tulay Karadeniz in Ankara; Writing by Michelle Martin; Editing by Dale Hudson and Julia Glover)

BERLIN German Defense Minister Ursula von der Leyen on Sunday rejected U.S. President Donald Trump's claim that Germany owes NATO and the United States "vast sums" of money for defense.

MANILA Philippine President Rodrigo Duterte on Sunday welcomed the prospect of the International Criminal Court (ICC) putting him on trial over his bloody war on drugs, saying he would not be intimidated and his campaign would be unrelenting and "brutal".

LASHKAR GAH, Afghanistan Three U.S. troops were wounded on Sunday after an Afghan soldier opened fire on them at a base in the southern province of Helmand, the NATO-led Resolute Support mission said.

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Kurdish supporters in Frankfurt protest against Erdogan