Erdogan hails "glorious resistence" in Syria

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has hailed ongoing anti-regime protests in neighboring Syria as a "glorious resistance" and promised that Turkey will continue to display the necessary "attitude" against Damascus' crackdown. "I believe the Syrian people will reap the results of this glorious resistance. Sooner or later, a genuine democracy will come and the Syrian people will win genuine freedoms," Erdogan said yesterday in a speech at his party's parliamentary group meeting. He described the ongoing unrest in Syria as "a very bad process of brutality" and said he considered those killed in the demonstrations to be "martyrs." It is high time for President Bashar al-Assad to "answer questions on when change is going to come after 40 years of emergency rule," Erdogan said. Erdogan expressed regret that the Syrian government had not appreciated Turkey's friendship and disregarded its calls for reform. "Naturally, it is impossible for us to remain silent. We have to display the necessary attitude on this process and we will do so," he said.  In further comments yesterday, Erdogan hailed the vote at UNESCO that granted membership to the Palestinians at a time when they are also seeking a U.N. seat as a member state. "Hopefully, other votes will follow with the same acceptance and we will see a stronger Palestine in the place where it deserves to be," Erdogan said. The prime minister also welcomed last week's elections in Tunisia and expressed hope that the North African country's would-be coalition government would usher the country into a "new era of democracy, rights and freedoms." He voiced similar optimism for the transition process in Egypt and Libya.