WWW.TEHRANTIMES.COM I N T E R N A T I O N A L D A I L Y 16 Pages Price 10,000 Rials 38th year No.12908 Wednesday AUGUST 23, 2017 Shahrivar 1, 1396 Dhul Hijjah 1, 1438 IRGC denies military Iran’s daily gas exports Sweden Saman Ghoddos Iran’s “Colorful Dream operation with Turkey hit 42mcm interested in wearing of Silk Road” realized as against PKK 2 4 Iran jersey 15 Beijing book fair opens 16 Referendum in Iraqi Kurdistan Enrichment to 20% purity will not be helpful: AKP By Payman Yazdani key was “useful” in terms of border security and campaign against ter- TEHRAN — M. Mehdi Aker, the dep- rorism. possible in 5 days uty chief of the ruling Turkish Justice Following is the text of the inter- and Development Party (AKP), is of view: the opinion that a decision by the Ira- What is the importance of the qi Kurdistan Region to hold an inde- recent visit by the chairman of the pendence referendum will not solve Iranian armed forces to Turkey? any problems. A: The visit of Iranian Chief of See page 2 “The IKBY’s decision to set up an General Staff Mohammad Bagheri to independence referendum will not our country has been a useful visit to solve any of the problems that the develop cooperation between Turkey IKBY and Iraq face, but will deepen and Iran, especially in areas of com- these problems,” Aker tells the Tehran bating terrorism and border security. Times. This visit also provided an important Aker also said the recent visit by opportunity for our region to assess the Iranian Armed Forces Chief of Staff contributions of the two countries for Mohammad Hossein Bagheri to Tur- security and stability. 2 Trump vows U.S. will keep fighting in Afghanistan INTERNATIONAL The United States But since taking office, Trump said, deskPresident Donald he had determined that withdrawing Trump said the United States must could create a vacuum that groups continue fighting in Afghanistan to such as al-Qaeda and the Islamic State avoid the “predictable and unaccept- in Iraq and the Levant (ISIL/Daesh) able” results of a rapid withdrawal could “instantly fill”. from the country where the U.S. has “I concluded that the security threats been at war for 16 years. we face in Afghanistan and the broader In a prime-time address to the na- region are immense,” Trump said. tion on Monday evening - his first as Trump warned that the approach commander-in-chief, Trump said his would now be more pragmatic than ideal- “original instinct was to pull out”, allud- istic. Security assistance to Afghanistan was ing to his long-expressed view before “not a blank cheque” he said, warning he becoming president that Afghanistan would not send the military to “construct was an unsolvable quagmire requiring democracies in faraway lands or create U.S. withdrawal. democracies in our own image”. 3 IATA: Global Economic theories detrimental to humanities in the West: Stuart Sim Erdogan vows to passenger By Jalal Heirannia society, although they would be more suited to thwart any ‘Kurdish a pluralist religious society, with several religions TEHRAN — Stuart Sim, a professor of critical state’ in Syria demand reached co-existing on equal terms. Theocracies tend to theory from Northumbria University, says be hostile to humanities subjects which start to 12-year high in H1 “the humanities help to create a climate of Recep Tayyip Erdogan Tuesday vowed explore too much into the prevailing religious liberalism and pluralism, and this has many Turkey would thwart any attempt by a belief, and it is in the nature of the humanities to Growth in the global air passenger benefits in terms of a country’s political Kurdish militia it deems “terrorists” to do exactly that. traffic market attained a 12-year high development.” carve out a Kurdish state in northern Syria. Why are some countries advanced in in the 2017 first half, as passenger traf- However,) Sim tells the Tehran times Ankara views the Kurdish Peoples’ terms of science and technology but not fic grew 7.9% compared to H1 2016 that the “domination of economic theories Protection Units (YPG) and the Kurd- in the humanities? and the load factor hit a record 80.7%, like neoliberalism is proving to be very ish Democratic Party (PYD) as a terror A: It is the advance of scientific knowledge according to IATA’s June Air Passenger detrimental to the humanities in Western group. But the United States is closely that drives technological development, and Market Analysis. countries.” allied with the groups’ fighters in the every country in the world is dependent IATA attributed the year’s robust Following is the full text of the interview: battle against jihadists in Syria. “The humanities on that process to at least some extent. It is start to an improving global eco- What is the relationship between the “We do not and will never allow a easier for governments to control scientific nomic backdrop and stimulus from prosperity of the humanities and political continually question so-called state to be established by research than the work going on in the lower airfares. The industry’s annu- development in a society? beliefs, and this has an the PYD, YPG in northern Syria,” Erdo- humanities, however, because the latter often alized growth pace remains ahead of A: The humanities help to create a climate gan said in a speech in Ankara. obvious beneficial effect challenges the prevailing ideology. It is also the average growth rate of both the of liberalism and pluralism, and this has “They want to establish a terror in keeping a country easier to demonstrate the economic benefits past five (6.4%) and 10 years (5.5%), many benefits in terms of a country’s political corridor in northern Syria reaching the of science and technology than it is with the IATA said. development. Respect for other opinions is open-minded.” Mediterranean,” the president said. humanities. The humanities have traditionally IATA observed, nevertheless, that critical if a society is not to dissolve into feuding The Syrian Kurdish groups have two In which society the humanities been strong in the West, but governments the upward trend in passenger traffic factions, and the humanities promotes that “cantons” in Syria’s northeast as well as grow better? are beginning to cut funding for humanities’ is slowing from its robust movement outlook. The humanities are also open to the Afrin region to the west. A: The humanities tend to develop more study in the university system, claiming that (about 12%) at the end of 2016 to change, to continually questioning beliefs and Erdogan added that Turkey would successfully in secular societies, as can be they do not contribute significantly enough around 7% since February. Business conventions, and this has an obvious beneficial continue to fight against terror organ- seen in the way that they have grown to to their country’s economic life. confidence, as measured in the ser- effect in keeping a country open-minded izations “wherever we find them”, re- prominence in the West from the Renaissance The domination of economic theories vices purchasing managers’ index and receptive to new ideas. Societies which ferring to the YPG which Turkey says onwards – and even more particularly, since the like neoliberalism is proving to be very (PMI), has flattened since January and refuse to change their beliefs and conventions is the Syrian affiliate of the outlawed Enlightenment period in the 18th century, when detrimental to the humanities in Western airlines have cut back on discounted – in response to intellectual, scientific, and Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). the process of secularization speeded up very countries, which are failing to recognize the air fares (aka “demand stimulation”) technological advances, for example – tend to The PKK is proscribed as a terror considerably. In principle, there is nothing to political and sociological benefits that the to about half of what they were in H1 fall behind in terms of their neighbors. group by Turkey, the U.S. and the Eu- 2016, a trend likely to continue into prevent the humanities developing in a religious humanities can provide. ropean Union. the second half of 2017. It has waged an insurgency against IATA’s analysis showed that the the Turkish state since 1984 during which Middle Eastern-North America inter- North Khorasan over 40,000 people have been killed. national passenger market is showing In August last year, Turkey launched a the adverse effects of a “combination the land of cross-border operation in northern Syr- of factors including the recently lifted ia, aimed at clearing the border zone of ban on personal electronic devices, as treasures of tribes both YPG fighters and extremists. well as the wider negative stimulation There has been speculation Ankara from the travel ban that has now been Following the separation of Khoras- may be planning to extend an opera- implemented for certain countries.” an province in the spring of 2014 tion against the YPG to clear it from the During the first half of 2017, inter- into three provinces, the North town of Afrin, where Erdogan has said its national traffic for Middle East carriers Khorasan province was added to presence is a “threat” for Turkey. grew 7.3% (in contrast to 11% growth the country’s administrative divi- The president indicated on Aug. 5 in H1 2016). sions with Boroujerd as its capital that Turkey was planning to expand Through June 30, the greatest in- city. Despite suffering from depriva- the operation with “new and important creases in international traffic demand tion and drought, the locals live in steps” but did not give further details.