The opposition could only claim Turkey lost land in Syria

The opposition in Turkey is up in arms over Saturday's operation to vacate the Tomb of Süleyman Shah in Syria and safely evacuate its military contingency. As we predicted yesterday, they are not sharing Turkey's pride of having successfully vacated the complex and bringing back our soldiers safely as well as transporting the remains of Süleyman Shah – the great grandfather of the founder of the Ottoman Empire – and two of his companions.

The tomb complex was declared Turkish land inside Syria and has been protected by Turkish soldiers according to a treaty signed between Turkey and France. The complex was moved in 1975 to a new location after it became apparent that it would be flooded with dam waters once the famous Tabqa Dam was completed. Now with the growing security threat posed by the extremists from the Islamic State of Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS) Turkey decided not to take any more risks, and after a surgical military operation, extracted its military unit from the area and took the remains of our ancestors back to Turkey to be reburied inside Syria in the village of Ashme just across from the Turkish border. Another Turkish military unit secured the village and a land equivalent to the one abandoned was prepared for the new tomb complex where the remains of Süleyman Shah and his companions will be reburied and a Turkish military unit will guard them.

The main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) is really off the mark on this one. CHP Chairman Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu is overdramatizing the affair claiming that this is the first time in Republican history that Turkey is losing land. You would think Turkey lost a war and that a chunk of our sacred land had been handed over to another country.

We had a tiny bit of land in Syria where the tomb complex of Süleyman Shah and his companions were. That land had been moved to another location in 1975, so the remains had already been disturbed long ago and laid at another location. Now the remains have been moved for a third time to be placed on land in Syria close to our border that is equal in area to the land vacated. The government has also said when and if the security situation in Syria returns to normal the remains of Süleyman Shah and his companions can be returned to the land vacated on Saturday.

Turkey has not lost anything. Yet Turkey has gained prestige in the international arena as everyone has seen its military and political potential and capabilities and will from now on be more careful not to get on the wrong side of Ankara.

Other opposition parties were no better than the CHP. It seems they simply could not digest the success that has been achieved.

This incident also shows the sorrowful state of affairs of the CHP. The main opposition party is performing poorly and is doomed to remain as the opposition for the foreseeable future.

The CHP could well have questioned the timing of the military operation asking why the tomb complex was not vacated months ago and that our soldiers guarding it were left under the risk of becoming captives of bloodthirsty ISIS extremists who until now have shown how brutal they can be with captives like the Jordanian pilot, American and Japanese hostages and the 21 Egyptian Christians in Libya.

They could have even claimed the government was hijacking the military success for its own election gains. Instead they came up with this incredible thesis that Turkey has "lost" land. The CHP and the other opposition parties are simply failing badly even in opposition. What a sad picture for Turkish democracy.