Turkish Forum

Month: July 2010

  • ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ DOCUMENTARY SHOWN IN US CONGRESS

    ARMENIAN ‘GENOCIDE’ DOCUMENTARY SHOWN IN US CONGRESS

    Today’s Zaman
    July 23 2010
    Turkey

    A US congressman has hosted the Capitol Hill premiere of a documentary
    on the alleged genocide of Armenians at the hands of the late Ottoman
    Empire in the beginning of the 20th century.

    The premiere of “Aghet: A genocide” took place on Wednesday in a room
    of the Rayburn House Office Building, close to the US Capitol. “I
    am honored to host the screening of ‘Aghet: A genocide’ in order to
    help educate my colleagues and their staff about the first genocide
    of the 20th Century,” Rep. Adam Schiff, an active supporter of efforts
    for US recognition of genocide claims, said.

    The Armenian claims of genocide affect Turkish-US ties as well.

    Several US congressmen have pushed for recognition of the alleged
    genocide but such efforts have failed in the past after US
    administrations intervened for the sake of protecting ties with Turkey.

    Turkey denies genocide claims and says Armenians and Muslim Turks were
    both killed when the Ottoman Empire quelled an Armenian revolt for
    independence, backed by Russian forces then invading eastern Anatolia.

    Analysts say Jewish groups in the US, which traditionally worked to
    block Congress resolutions on the alleged genocide, are likely to
    refuse to do so anymore amid a severe deterioration in Turkish-Israeli
    ties following an Israeli raid on an aid ship that killed eight Turks
    and one American on May 31. This, coupled with US disappointment over
    a Turkish vote at the UN Security Council against sanctions on Iran,
    may pave the way for the passage of a “genocide” resolution if it is
    brought to the US Congress again.

    A pre-screening reception and the actual screening were followed by
    a panel discussion, featuring, among others, the documentary’s German
    director, Eric Friedler and former US Ambassador to Armenia John Evans.

  • Israel-Turkey Relations and Prophecy

    Israel-Turkey Relations and Prophecy


    by Michael G. Mickey
    (1-14-09)

    We know it has to happen. In fact I’ve been writing that it’s going to happen for a long time. What am I referring to? A couple of things involving one end times player actually, but today I’m going to focus my attention on a side of the issue I really haven’t dwelt on much before and that is how the nation of Turkey, presently a member of NATO seeking to gain European Union membership, is going to go from being friendly with Israel to an enemy of Israel and ally of the Russian and Iranian-led confederacy of nations predicted to attack Israel as prophesied in Ezekiel 38-39 – the battle of Gog-Magog as we commonly refer to it.

    The nations to participate in that attack are believed to be as follows:

    • Magog – Most agree this is a reference to Russia.
    • Meshech – Most associate this with modern day Turkey, ancient Anatolia, but some say it refers to the Moscow area.
    • Tubal – Most associate this with modern day Turkey, ancient Anatolia.
    • Persia – modern Iran
    • Ethiopia
    • Libya
    • Gomer – eastern Europe or Turkey
    • Togarmah – southeastern Europe or Turkey

    Readers, this detail of prophecy is really coming into view right now and dramatically. Check it out.

    On 1-12-09, a WorldNetDaily.com report stated the following (emphasis added mine):

    “Israel’s offensive in the Gaza Strip could affect its relationships with Turkey, impact U.S. Middle East policy and even push Turkey closer to Iran, which supports Hamas in Gaza..”

    How about that?

    And then the Jerusalem Post, on January 13th, reported that Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been very critical of Israel in recent days, at one point stating that “media outlets supported by Jews are disseminating false reports on what happens in Gaza, finding unfounded excuses to justify targeting of schools, mosques and hospitals.”

    These allegations on the part of Erdogan are both absurd and incendiary, depicting Israel to be little different than the terrorists Israeli Defense Forces are targeting, all of which are well-known to store command and control elements as well as weapons and munitions inside mosques, civilian neighborhoods, and the like. This is old hat for these hoodlums! They fire rockets from civilian rooftops, schoolyards and the like in an effort to draw fire to those areas so they can accuse Israel of war crimes if someone innocent is hurt, something few from the liberal media and halls of government around the globe are willing to take Hamas to task for even verbally. This is true in spite of the fact that Israel is putting video up on YouTube daily to document the shenanigans of Hamas and, presumably, other militant factions aiding them in Gaza.

    Are innocent casualties occurring in the Gaza Strip as we’re hearing? Undoubtedly, but there is more – much more – to the story of how those casualties are occurring than meets the eye if we are getting our information from mainstream media sources only. Israel is between a rock and a hard place in this struggle as designed by Israel’s enemies! Throughout Gaza, underneath civilian neighborhoods, markets and public buildings, tunnels have been dug within which Hamas has rockets and other armaments and munitions stored, not to mention terrorists in hiding. This, way before the recent Gaza conflict started, could’ve been investigated by the media, not to mention the thousands upon thousands of rocket and mortar attacks that have been launched into civilian areas of Israel leading up to this event, none of which, apparently, were deemed worthy of coverage by the media or global outcry. I’ll leave it to my readers to do the math on that one.

    In closing, what does all of this show us, once again? Nothing that should surprise us certainly!

    The Bible, God’s Word, makes it clear that Turkey is going to go from being in alliance with the West and into alliance with its Gog-Magog allies. And what byproduct will come with that? A rupture in relations between Turkey and Israel, which is wording we find in the WorldNetDaily headline linked above.

    The end times drama continues.

    UPDATE: Russia’s northern fleet has just completed training exercises with the Turkish Navy in the Mediterranean, further evidence of Turkey aligning with its Gog-Magog allies. See this article below.

    ==============================

    Northern fleet complete exercise with Turkish navy

    Published 12 January, 2009, 08:41 For the first time, a part of Russia's northern fleet is conducting training exercises with their Turkish colleagues in the Mediterranean Sea.
    The naval pilots and ground crew will be put through rigorous tests where mistakes are simply not an option. “Every time we double check everything, because if anything happens at sea there's no chance of making an emergency landing like on the ground,” said Major Sergey Nagaichenko, a technician taking part in the drill. Only after everything has been cleared, are pilots given the green light to fly the 11-tonne helicopters. They work hand in hand with their Turkish counterparts conducting simulated search and rescue operations at sea. In another exercise, a Turkish vessel is out of fuel and water. The Russian warship Admiral Levchenko's job is to respond and assist its stricken colleague. Although the exercise does not involve flying at high speeds, the close proximity of the two ships and the need for them to travel at exactly the same speed on parallel courses makes any mistake unacceptable. In the end everything goes smoothly. The connection is established, the supplies are transferred and even the sailors get a chance to exchange small souvenirs. “The Turkish navy is very strong and has deep traditions. We’ve sharpened our inter-operational ability with them. And now we are ready to tackle almost any task together,” said ship commander Sergey Okhrenchuk. After the manoeuvres the Turkish ships head home and the group from Russia's northern fleet continues its voyage, doing its duty in the waters of the Mediterranean.
    ==================================================================

    Breaking The Israel Turkey Alliance. Follow Up

    Table of contents for Israel Turkey Alliance

    1. Breaking The Israel-Turkey Alliance
    2. Breaking The Israel Turkey Alliance. Follow Up
    Commentary by Jack Kelley The two kings, with their hearts bent on evil, will sit at the same table and lie to each other, but to no avail, because an end will still come at the appointed time. (The Bible’s definition of diplomacy, from Daniel 11:27) Today we’re returning to an area of special interest to me. I think watching prophecy being fulfilled in current events really brings the Bible to life. It energizes our faith and demonstrates the nearness of End Times events. Few if any recent generations could sit with a Bible in one hand and their newspapers in the other and see the fulfillment of prophecy, but for us it’s almost routine. Beginning the day after I posted part 1 of this commentary, several developing stories revealed there’s much more to the story. First the world learned of joint training exercises Turkey has agreed to hold with Syria. On Monday April 27, Israeli defense minister Ehud Barak commented that Turkey’s decision to hold three days of military maneuvers with Syria is “disturbing.” Never before has an important NATO power staged a joint exercise with any Arab army. And that’s not all. Turkish defense minister Vecdi Gonul and his Syrian counterpart Hassan Turkmani have agreed to sign a letter of intent for cooperation between their defense industries as well. According to DEBKAfile’s military sources, the signing and the exercise are major signposts on the shrinking road of military and commercial ties between Turkey and Israel. Furthermore Ankara has begun defaulting on payments for military purchases and other contracts with Israel, and is currently several million dollars behind on defense contracts worth a total of $5 billion. For its part, Israel has halted construction on a new tank factory in Turkey and is working to quickly shut down other exchanges to prevent the leakage of military secrets to an avowed Arab enemy. Conventional wisdom has long held that Turkey’s west-leaning secular army was the real power behind the government and only tolerated the installation of Islamic leaders as long as they didn’t try to rock the boat. In the past they’ve shut down political parties whose goals were perceived to be at odds with their political strategy. (Turkey is a NATO member and has undertaken extreme measures to be seen as a European Country, trying for years to qualify for membership in the EU.) Therefore Israel’s defense and foreign ministries have maintained the view that the presence of a pro-Islamic government in Ankara would not detract from the long-held ties of cooperation and trust between Turkey and Israel. DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources report they’ve misread the signals. The Turkish military is no longer the body it once was. The generals of today are in harmony with Prime Minister Erdogan’s decision to turn Turkey’s back on Israel and its face toward the Moslem world. Washington’s approval of all this underscores its new policy of building a strong a military coalition between Syria, Turkey and Lebanon. In part 1 I mentioned President Obama’s OK for Turkey to provide arms and training for the Lebanese army, a force which is already largely subservient to Hizbullah and may come under its complete control in the upcoming Lebanese elections. According to Syrian sources, Turkey has tightened its relations with Syria partly as a result of Israel’s offensive on the Gaza Strip. They claim that Turkey changed its attitude toward Israel following the three-week war and thus decided to strengthen its military cooperation with Syria. And now, Russian state arms export firm Rosoboronexport has revealed that Russia is in talks with Turkey about selling Ankara state-of-the-art S-400 air defense systems. Turkey is a traditional rival of Russia, and has long bought many of its weapons from the United States. One more sign of change. Also, an article in the Jewish World Review claims that having been buoyed by President Obama’s warm embrace of Turkey, PM Erdogan has moved to consolidate his place as a central pillar in a new regional axis spearheaded by Iran, which also includes Syria, Lebanon and the Palestinian Authority. To that end, Turkey recently signed a trade agreement with Iran aimed at doubling trade between the two countries within five years and, again with US approval, agreed to allow Iranian gas exports into Europe through the Nabucco gas pipeline which runs from Turkey to Austria. Iran’s access to the pipeline will earn it billions of dollars in annual income and increase its political power as Europe becomes more dependent on Iranian gas. (And less dependent on Russia.) A report by the Washington Institute indicates that Turkey is expected to break with NATO on such issues as Iran’s nuclear weapons program as well as its proxies Hamas and Hizbullah. It said Ankara has moved steadily away from its NATO allies and toward Iran, Russia and Syria, and that Turkey’s new foreign policy has come at the expense of Ankara’s relations with Israel, the European Union and the United States. “Ankara will likely opt out of a NATO consensus on Iran, clash with the United States on how to handle Hamas and Hizbullah, and disagree with the EU and the U.S. on Russia,” the report concluded. For the most part, this all fits very well with Ezekiel’s prophecy of a sneak attack on an unsuspecting Israel by Russia and a coalition of Moslem countries. Most commentators agree that Turkey has to be with the Moslem attackers against Israel and not on the sidelines (like NATO for example). Therefore it’s been said that strategically, Turkey is the most important country in the Middle East.

    It Isn’t Over Till It’s Over

    Baseball great Yogi Berra’s popular saying certainly is applicable here. Preparations for Ezekiel 38 are still a long way from being complete. As an example of how complicated these things are becoming, less than a week after announcing their big break through in Turkey-Syria relations, Syria left its new found friend to team up with Saudi Arabia and Egypt against the ongoing Turkish effort to hammer out a peace agreement between Syria and Israel. Iranian President Ahmadinejad abruptly canceled a scheduled trip to South America, hurrying to Damascus instead. According to DEBKAfile’s intelligence sources, one reason for his urgent visit was to thwart the Saudi-Egyptian move to snatch the Syrian-Israeli peace talks backed by Washington away from Turkey and relocate it in the Jordanian capital, Amman. But he was too late. Syrian President Assad had already appointed one of his most trusted intelligence officers, Gen. Bahjat Suleiman (the Syrian ambassador in Amman) to the position of heading his government’s side in prospective peace talks there. Egypt and Saudi Arabia are solidly backed by the Persian Gulf emirates as well as Jordan in the move to cut Turkish PM Erdogan out and “Arabize” Middle East peacemaking. So Erdogan was left holding an empty bag after he turned against Israel and lined up with Syria and Iran. (The combined Arab step also dealt a reverse to President Obama’s Middle East plans. Observers say he planned to use a substantially more forceful approach toward Israel as a bargaining chip in his Middle East strategy. Strengthening Syria, Turkey and Lebanon was part of the plan to force Israel’s compliance. He also hoped he could entice Iran into helping with the mess in Pakistan and Afghanistan by showing he was being tough on Israel while opening a dialog with Tehran. At the same time he warned Israel that unless they get back in line behind the 2 state solution with the Palestinians, they couldn’t expect any help curtailing Iran’s nuclear aspirations.) You see, Egypt, Saudi Arabia, Syria, the Persian Gulf Emirates and Jordan are all members of the Arab League. Turkey and Iran, although Moslem, are not members and are not considered Arabic countries. The Arabic countries of the Middle East are deathly afraid of Iran. They also suspect that Turkey’s Erdogan has visions of re-creating the Ottoman Empire (of which several of their countries were once part) with him at its head. President Obama’s recently begun dialog with these two non-Arab countries has left them feeling very insecure, so much so that two high ranking US diplomatic missions, the first headed by Asst. Sec’y of State Dennis Ross and the second by Sec’y of Defense Robert Gates, were hastily dispatched to the region to reassure them. Apparently they weren’t successful because Arab leaders were still upset when a 3rd US delegation showed up unannounced to suggest that they should invest several hundred billion dollars in the US economic recovery plan. The delegation came away empty handed and the Arabs are still angry, warning that any further US gestures towards those two radical regimes would place US ties with Saudi Arabia, Egypt and the Gulf in grave jeopardy. In response to all this President Obama, in a sharp reversal, has decided to punish Syria for abandoning Turkey by asking the Congress to re-impose sanctions. He’s also backed away from his flirtation with Tehran and Damascus, and has scheduled a second major speech to the Arab/Moslem world, this time from Cairo. (This may be due in part to the fact that he really needs the Arab money. The delegation was instructed to tell the Arabs that Fed chairman Bernanke’s recent optimistic report on the US economy’s impending recovery was “premature”.) In summary, anyone who thinks he or she sees a straight line from here to Ezekiel 38 simply doesn’t understand the dynamics. Since the 1970’s otherwise competent observers have been saying that Ezekiel 38 is right around the corner and indeed the world has come close several times. But always at the last moment someone or something has intervened to cause a delay because all the pieces are not yet in place. For example, the disposition of Israel’s next door neighbors, Syria, Lebanon, Hezbollah, Hamas, and the PLO must still be determined, because all are missing from Ezekiel’s list of attackers. And Israel has to come up with the treasure sufficient to motivate Russia’s participation while being lulled by a perception of peace into thinking they’re safe from attack. (Ezek 38:11) Even so, breaking the Israel-Turkey alliance is a major step in bring the moslem coalition of Ezekiel 38 together. You can almost hear the footsteps of the Messiah. 05-09-09 Tags: Current Events, Prophecy

    Related Posts:

    • Let’s Talk Turkey, Revisited
    • More On The Turkey-Israel Alliance
    • Gog-Magog Next Or Isaiah 17?
    • Sequence Of Mid East Events
    • Wars And Rumors Of War

  • AMERICA CAN RELY ON TURKEY, BUT NOT ON ANTI-TURKISH LOBBIES IN AMERICA

    AMERICA CAN RELY ON TURKEY, BUT NOT ON ANTI-TURKISH LOBBIES IN AMERICA

    What follows below is a yet another typical, toxic and vituperative anti-Turkish propaganda, this time from the notorious Turk-hater Congressman Sarbanes, the son of equally notorious Turk-hater Greek-American Senator Sarbanes—of originator of US-arms-embargo-on Turkey- in-1970s fame. Sarbanes spewed this disinformation and falsifications to mark the 36th anniversary of the Turkish rescue and peace operation on Cyprus on July 20, 1974 to protect the lives and liberty of the island’s Turkish Cypriots. First Sarbanes’ words, then my rebuttal. Enjoy!

    ***

    CAN AMERICA RELY ON TURKEY ?

    by Rep. John Sarbanes, Huffington Post, July 20, 2010

    https://www.huffpost.com/entry/can-america-rely-on-turke_b_652739

    Turkey has been getting a lot of attention recently. American foreign policymakers, among others, are beginning to realize that the United States cannot count on its ally Turkey in a pinch. But American surprise and dismay at Turkey ‘s increasing petulance on the world stage and among its NATO peers reflects just how naive the U.S. has been in its interpretation of Turkish behavior over many decades. Turkey ‘s unreliability as a NATO ally and its incompatibility with Western democratic values is well understood by those who have long suffered Turkish aggression in the Eastern Mediterranean .

    Turkey ‘s failure to genuinely uphold the shared values of NATO makes it a weak link in the alliance. By design, NATO originated as a defensive political and military alliance for those countries engaged in the hostilities of WWII. Turkey , the largest NATO member not to have fought in WWII, was enlisted to reinforce defenses against the Soviet Union . Yet, in the summer of 1974, NATO member Turkey invaded and occupied more than one third of the island Republic of Cyprus . Coming at the height of the Cold War, and at a time of delicate relations between Greece, Cyprus, Turkey, and the NATO alliance, Turkey’s invasion of Cyprus risked war with NATO member Greece and a resultant rupturing of the NATO alliance.

    Adding insult to injury, the weapons used by the Turkish military to invade Cyprus were those of its NATO benefactors, principally the United States . In 1975, the Congress imposed an arms embargo on Turkey for its offensive use of American weapons. Rather than fulfill its NATO obligations, or follow its legal obligations as demanded by Congress , Turkey retaliated by closing all American military installations on Turkish soil, and by severely restricting American access at two NATO bases. At that time, military installations in Turkey were deemed essential surveillance posts in the Cold War fight against the Soviet Union . Turkey refused to reopen these facilities until the U.S. lifted the arms embargo, signaling that its relationship with the United States was never more than a transactional one, rather than one rooted in a shared commitment to the rule of law, individual liberties, democracy, and collective Western security.

    July 20th marks 36 years that the Turkish military has occupied Cyprus . In that time, neither the Republic of Cyprus nor its people have directed any aggression towards Turkey . In stark contrast, Turkey maintains an active colonization program where it is illegally resettling some 180,000 Anatolian Turks into the homes and possessions of the 200,000 Greek Cypriots it evicted from the occupied territories. The Turkish military is also systematically eradicating the Hellenic and Christian heritage from the occupied territories. All but five of the 500 Greek Orthodox Churches in the occupied territories have been looted, desecrated, or destroyed. To no avail, the international community, including the United States , the European Union, the United Nations, the European Court of Human Rights and the European Court of Justice have all called on Turkey to honor its international obligations and cease and desist from these hostilities against the people of Cyprus .

    The Republic of Cyprus is a full-fledged member of the European Union. Turkey seeks that status as well, but as a NATO member illegally occupying European Union soil, Turkey puts NATO and the EU at loggerheads. The result is that the EU and NATO are unable to cooperate in the consolidation of their economic and strategic interests in the Eastern Mediterranean .

    Turkey ‘s ongoing occupation of Cyprus is compelling evidence that it has little interest in meeting the standards of individual liberties, human rights and religious tolerance shared by America and other democratic nations. Lacking the ties that bind, Turkey is apparently quite willing to jeopardize relations with its long-time allies. Witness its 2003 denial of the deployment of US forces along the Northern Iraq border and its recent vote in the U.N. against Iran sanctions.

    The United States and its allies must call upon Turkey to abide by international law and meet its responsibilities as a dependable NATO partner. And on this, the 36th anniversary of the invasion and occupation of Cyprus , the United States should demand an immediate withdrawal of the 45,000 Turkish soldiers now occupying northern Cyprus . Until that occurs, policymakers in the White House and in the Congress must press the issue in every conversation with their Turkish counterparts. In this way, the United States can work towards establishing a strong, enduring, and values-based alliance with Turkey that will serve to bring justice to the people of Cyprus , strengthen NATO, and reinforce collective Western security.

    ***

    TURKISH INTERVENTION BROUGHT PEACE TO THE ISLAND – Part 1 of 8

    The Cyprus question is one of the longest-running ethnic conflicts in the world dating back to the mid-1950’s. It is the result of the Greek Cypriot armed campaign to annex the island to mainland Greece – an irredentist ambition known by the Greek term enosis –against the will of Turkish Cypriots, one of the two ethnic peoples of Cyprus for over four centuries, and against the internationally established legal status of the state of Cyprus.

    CYPRUS WAS BORN OUT OF A COMPROMISE, THEN RENEGGED ON IT – Part 2 of 8

    The independent Republic of Cyprus was born as a compromise solution in 1960. The Republic of Cyprus was a partnership state based on the political equality of the co-founding Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot peoples. It had a Greek Cypriot president and a Turkish Cypriot vice-president, each with veto powers to ensure political equality at the executive level. The legislature reflected the demographic balance between the two communities, on the one hand (with a 70/30 per cent ratio), and their political equality and effective participation in the legislative process, on the other. The judiciary was composed of one judge from each side, with a “neutral” judge from a third country as its president. This partnership Republic was guaranteed by the three “Guarantor” powers – Turkey, Greece and the United Kingdom – under a special international treaty, the Treaty of Guarantee.

    DELICATE INTERNAL BALANCE WAS DESTROYED BY GREEK ULTR-NATIONALISTS, NOT TURKS – Part 3 of 8

    The “state of affairs” thus created by the Zurich and London Agreements of 1960 was based on an internal balance between the Turkish Cypriot and Greek Cypriot communities, as well as an external balance between Turkey and Greece as the respective “motherlands” of the two ethnic peoples of the
    island. This seemingly perfect system of checks and balances, however, faced a serious challenge within three years of its inception, when the Greek Cypriot side attempted to amend the Constitution by removing all provisions that gave the Turkish Cypriots a meaningful say in the affairs of the State. Failing that, they launched an all-out armed attack on the Turkish Cypriots throughout the island, killing and wounding thousands, driving one-quarter of the Turkish Cypriot population out of their homes and properties in 103 villages and causing widespread destruction.

    GREEKS TURNED CYPRUS INTO A SLAUGHTERHOUSE VICTIMIZING TURKISH CYPRIOTS – Part 4 of 8

    The ferocity of this onslaught was described by former Undersecretary of the US State Department, George Ball, in his memories titled “The Past Has Another Pattern” by observing that Makarios, the then Greek Cypriot leader, had “turn(ed) this beautiful island into his private abattoir.” He further stated that “Makarios’ central interest was to block off any Turkish intervention so that he and his Greek Cypriotes could go on happily massacring the Turkish Cypriots.”

    THE TURKISH RESCUE OPERATION SAVED THE TURKISH CYPRIOTS FROM ANNIHILATION – Part 5 of 8

    The Turkish rescue operation undoubtedly saved the Turkish Cypriot community from mass-extermination; prevented the annexation of Cyprus to Greece, and thus saved the independence of the island. Turkey’s legitimate and timely action has kept the peace on the island since 1974. Today, the Constitution of the Republic is dead and the “Cyprus” government has been completely usurped and monopolized by the Greek Cypriots. Turkish Cypriots and successive Turkish Governments have worked for the achievement of a settlement and have either initiated or accepted all major United Nations documents aimed at such just and lasting solution.

    THE “ANNAN PEACE PLAN”: ACCEPTED BY TURKS, REJECTED BY GREEKS – Part 6 of 8

    The latest and most elaborate document in this respect was the “Annan Plan” named after former United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan, who was the architect of the plan. The Annan Plan was put to separate and simultaneous referenda of Turkish Cypriots and Greek Cypriots on April 24, 2004. It was overwhelmingly accepted by the Turkish Cypriot people by a 65% majority; but was rejected by the Greek Cypriot people, at the behest of their leadership, by even a greater margin of 76%.

    EU AND USA FAILED TO KEEP THEIR PROMISES TO TURKISH CYPRIOTS – Part 7 of 8

    Although the United States, the European Union and other members of the international community have joined in the call for the lifting of the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots, little has been done to put words into action in this regard. What is at stake is not only the long-overdue and well deserved restoration of the human rights of the Turkish Cypriots through their integration with the international community, but also the credibility of those who have made promises and took decisions to end this
    isolation. Concrete and meaningful steps in that direction will not only put an end to this untenable situation but will also help the unification efforts on the island by motivating the Greek Cypriot side to come to a just and lasting settlement.

    NO BLOOD SPILLED FOR 36 YEARS, THANKS TO TURKISH INTERVENTION – Part 8 of 8

    Despite the absence of an international solution to unify the island of Cyprus, Turkish Cypriots have been enjoying peace and tranquility and have developed strong democratic institutions, world class universities, tourism facilities and able entrepreneurs. In fact, Turkish Cyprus can be a model for other nations in that region on how to cope with hardship within the framework of democracy and respect for human rights. A beautiful country with its unspoiled nature and famous for its warm Turkish hospitality, the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is a place worth visiting year around. For more information on travel and other issues related to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, please visit www.trncinfo.com.

    ***
    For more information please visit: www.tc-america.org. and www.ataa.org

  • Key PKK member arrested in Italy

    Key PKK member arrested in Italy

    MILAN – Doğan News Agency

    Nizamettin Toğuç, the chairman of the Confederation of Kurdish Associations in Europe, or Kon Kurd, is among the European leaders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, arrested in Venice as a result of a joint operation by the Italian Secret Intelligence Service and the Podova gendarmerie

    Nizamettin Toğuç, the chairman of the Confederation of Kurdish Associations in Europe, or Kon Kurd, and four other alleged leaders of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party, or PKK, have been arrested in Venice, wires reported Wednesday.

    The arrests were the result of a joint operation between the Italian Secret Intelligence Service and the Podova Gendemarie.

    The prosecutor’s office in Venice verified that Toğuç were arrested in accordance with the international warrant issued by an Ankara court on suspicion that he was a member of the PKK. Italian police had already located and shut down PKK camps near the Italian city of Pisa not long ago.

    Toğuç, alleged to be a European leader of the outlawed group, is thought to have fled Turkey after the Democracy Party was banned in 1994, and was granted political asylum by the Netherlands in 1995. Turkey could request Toğuç’s extradition, while it would also be possible for the Netherlands to request he be repatriated there.

    Reports said Toğuç arrived in Venice with his wife under the cover of a vacation and is alleged to have been planning to attend a secret meeting thought to have been organized by the PKK.

    The Italian office of self-declared “Kurdistan” announced that PKK supporters would stage a demonstration July 24 to protest the arrests of Toğuç and the other four alleged leaders.

    The PKK is listed as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

    Hürriyet Daily

  • Against all odds – Republic of Turkey

    Against all odds – Republic of Turkey


    “Today, the Turkish nation faces the biggest threat in its history. Even though some people still struggle to understand this, the solidarity of the Turkish Republic has never been as endangered as it is now. Even when the death toll from the PKK was at its peak in the mid-1990s, society never seemed to be as polarized as it is today.” Yurter Ozcan discusses Kurdish problem and the founding principles of the republic.

    YURTER OZCAN*

    WASHINGTON
    – Two weeks ago, my family and I had lunch with some friends at our home in Washington. One of them, a Turkish-American citizen of Armenian descent who has been living in the U.S. for 40 years said: “Mustafa Kemal Ataturk was a great man. In 1923, he made everybody [in Turkey] equal.”
    With that one short sentence, he was able to encapsulate the philosophy upon which the Republic of Turkey was founded: the creation of a modern state where being a Turk was based on citizenship instead of religion, race, class or ethnicity. Common denominators for citizenship were shared history, culture and language.
    Has Turkey been perfect in its 87 year history? No.
    Has it accomplished all of the goals that the founding fathers set for future generations? No.
    Is the creation of the Republic of Turkey one of the best political achievements in the 20th century? Absolutely yes.
    Despite all of its challenges, short-comings and mistakes, this Republic was born as a miracle. This miracle resulted not only from the Revolutionary Independence War that many at the time, including the Sultan, deemed impossible to win, but because it sought to create a country so far ahead of its time. A gift that at times served as a curse when people could not adjust to the speed of the revolution, or when successive administrations could not fill the shoes of the founding fathers.
    In one speech, Ataturk emphasized that he was not leaving any taboos or dogmas behind. He said the world was changing so fast that even people’s definition of happiness constantly changed. He asked his nation to follow logic and science, and adapt to changes as needed. This is what people need to remember most: The revolution that was born in 1923 is an ongoing revolution. In other words, it is a revolution based on constant change, adaptation and improvement. This is why I find it so difficult to understand when people criticize Kemalism by claiming it is outdated. How can an ideology that demands ‘constant change’ be outdated? Since when following logic and science become a taboo or an outdated inspiration? Admittedly, the application of some policies may have been ineffective at times and not succeeded in solving some of the problems the country still faces.
    However, such short-comings, including the Kurdish problem that I will further discuss, should not be used as a basis to attack the very birth of this nation.
    ***
    Today, the Turkish nation faces the biggest threat in its history. Even though some people still struggle to understand this, the solidarity of the Turkish Republic has never been as endangered as it is now. Even when the death toll from the PKK was at its peak in the mid-1990s, society never seemed to be as polarized as it is today. We have come to a point where ethnicity is now factored into everyday decisions—while doing business, renting an apartment or even friendship. This horrifying trend is more dangerous to Turkey than any terrorist organization. Turkey is becoming a place where people cannot tolerate living with each other. During these challenging times, I understand the founding principles of Turkey even better— building a country free of any dogma and solely focused on constant change where different people could live under the umbrella of Turkish citizenship.
    The Kurdish Opening announced by the AKP in the summer of 2009, a project understood by nobody, including the AKP officials, imposed a situation on the Turkish nation that is quite grave and in many ways underestimates the patriotism that runs so deep in this country’s veins. The debate became so absurd that the Turkish people are expected to tolerate terrorists and even discuss the territorial integrity of their country. This constant threat is usually mixed with debates on linguistic, cultural and traditional issues faced by Kurds in Turkey. I agree that Turkish citizens of different ethnicities should be entitled to their own language, culture and traditions. They should also be able to broadcast and receive education in their own language (as it is the case now in private institutions). The question that must really be answered is: what does the PKK want?
    The terrorist organization has at times changed strategies and even altered its rhetoric depending on the situation. We should not be bogged down in jargon and forget the sight of the PKK’s true end-goal, which is dividing Turkey. The latest slogan they have is ‘democratic autonomy.’ What is that even supposed to mean? Kurds need to sincerely question what the PKK has ever done to improve their lives. What social, educational or economic initiatives has the PKK created? None. It is a rogue, corrupt terrorist organization financed through the drug trade, arms dealing and embezzlement. Several weeks ago, Sirri Sakik, a Kurdish Member of Parliament with the BDP, said that over 3 million Kurds signed a statement declaring Ocalan as their leader. This is the same person who refused to call on the PKK to give up their arms. So what about the remaining 70 million people who live in this country? Shall they be sidelined in this debate and accept everything the PKK seeks to impose?
    The Kurdish problem will never be solved until peaceful Kurds who have no affiliation with PKK take the initiative. Unless they stand up and declare that the Republic of Turkey is where they want to live, establish political organizations that denounce PKK and stop referring to Southeastern Turkey as ‘Kurdistan,’ it will be impossible to solve this problem. The government should continue to enhance the rights of all ethnic groups in Turkey (not only the Kurds) and make Turkey a more democratic country. However, the following must be well-understood by everybody: The Turkish nation will continue to defend its territorial integrity despite all threats, will live up to the expectations set by its forefathers and protect its Republic at all costs. This country was created against all odds and its light will continue to shine for many generations to come.
    * Yurter Ozcan was a researcher at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy between 2009 and 2010. In the fall, he will pursue an MSc in Middle East Politics at SOAS London as a British Government Chevening Scholar and HSBC Fellow.
    20 July 2010
  • Slow Progress in Turkish-Armenian Normalization

    Slow Progress in Turkish-Armenian Normalization

    Slow Progress in Turkish-Armenian Normalization

    Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 7 Issue: 139

    July 20, 2010

    By Saban Kardas

    Turkey’s prospective participation in a six-day NATO exercise in Armenia in September, and the informal Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE) meeting in Astana, reignited the debate on the stalled Turkish-Armenian normalization process. The Armenia 2010 exercise will focus on post-earthquake civil emergency drills.

    A senior columnist in the daily newspaper, Radikal, Murat Yetkin, first publicized Turkey’s agreement to participate in the exercise and, if the need arose, the Turkish border would be opened to vehicles in order to supply the disaster-hit areas in the scenario. Local administrative sources were examining the condition of the transportation infrastructure, which corresponded with the US Secretary of State, Hillary Clinton, visiting the region, promoted speculation that it might lead to the “border opening” (Radikal, July 14).

    According to a subsequent story in Hurriyet, Turkish diplomatic sources confirmed Ankara’s participation, involving three or four personnel, and added that they were also making the necessary preparations to temporarily re-open the Turkish-Armenian border. Such an opening of the border would involve the transfer of NATO equipment into Armenia, through the Dogukapi border crossing in the Turkish city of Kars, where the governor’s office concluded the roads and railways were in good condition, also adding that the crossing could stay open for a month (Hurriyet, July 15).

    Turkish media speculated that such cooperation might help to reduce political tension, and this incident may serve as a model to test the ground for the long-delayed opening of the Turkish-Armenian border. However, Armenian diplomatic sources, speaking on condition of anonymity, signaled that they were not planning to request Turkey’s assistance in this matter. They dismissed the Turkish statement as “a public relations stunt aimed at burnishing Turkey’s image” (Radio Free Europe, July 16).

    This harsh reaction underscored the extent of the divisions between Turkey and Armenia. After taking various groundbreaking steps in 2009, which culminated in the signing of the protocols in October, Turkey and Armenia failed to sustain the initial momentum. For its part, the Turkish government had to put the rapprochement process on the backburner, faced with resistance from the nationalist domestic opposition and the concerns raised by Azerbaijan. Nonetheless, Foreign Minister, Ahmet Davutoglu, maintained on many occasions that Turkey remained committed to the spirit of normalization and would seize every opportunity to continue with the process. For Davutoglu, relations with Armenia remain a major challenge to his “zero problems with neighbors” policy. He maintains that the normalization process, though slow, still continues and if Armenia takes constructive steps, it could prove successful.

    However, as Turkish leaders previously emphasized on various occasions, without any concrete progress in the Azeri-Armenian dispute, Turkey will not undertake further steps towards the normalization of its diplomatic relations with Armenia, including the re-opening of the border. Therefore, Turkey has urged the Minsk group to refocus on the Karabakh dispute on the one hand, and work to facilitate the resolution of this conflict on the other.

    Responding to a question submitted by a Member of Parliament from the Nationalist Action Party during a parliamentary debate, Davutoglu defended the government’s policy, arguing that the Turkish-Armenian process also stimulated efforts to resolve the Azeri-Armenian dispute.

    Davutoglu also noted that the negotiations between Armenia and Azerbaijan pertaining to the return of the occupied Azeri regions were underway. He indicated that negotiations have reached the level of discussing the details for the deployment of an international peacekeeping force in zones from which Armenian forces are withdrawn, though he denied rumors that Turkey also submitted a proposal to supply such peacekeeping units (Anadolu Ajansi, July 16).

    Moreover, addressing the Karabakh dispute has been of great concern internationally, especially considering the fluctuating tensions in the region due to deadly armed exchanges between Azeri and Armenian forces along the ceasefire line.

    Ahead of the informal meeting of the foreign ministers of the OSCE in Astana, expectations were raised that Azerbaijan and Armenia might achieve some progress. Prior to his departure for Astana, Azeri Foreign Minister, Elmar Mammadyarov, said that he was expecting that an Armenian withdrawal from the Kalbajar and Lachin regions, currently under Armenian occupation, would be tabled during the discussions in Astana. Since these issues were previously agreed upon through Russian mediation, he asked the Armenian side to abide by earlier promises. Nonetheless, he complained that Armenia was raising fresh issues, and deviating from the earlier consensus (www.azernews.az, July 16).

    Baku argues that only after its demand for the immediate return of occupied territories is met, can it reciprocate on other demands by Armenia, such as the status of the Lachin corridor connecting Karabakh to Armenia. This position has also been supported by Turkey for some time, so that it could reenergize its own normalization process with Armenia. The meeting between Mammadyarov and his Armenian counterpart, Edward Nalbandian, in Astana as well as the efforts by the Minsk group co-chairs, however, failed to meet such expectations. The Minsk group released a statement stressing that “the efforts made so far by the parties to the conflict, were insufficient to overcome existing differences” and expressed “regret over recent developments that have exacerbated tensions in the region (www.azernews.az, July 17).

    Following his meeting with Davutoglu, Mammadyarov held a press conference concerning his meeting with Nalbandian. He criticized his Armenian counterpart, arguing that the Armenian side made a last minute move and stepped back from a deal, despite the fact that they had come close to reaching an agreement. He expressed disappointment with the Armenian side, saying they were not interested in any progress (Dogan Haber Ajansi, July 17).

    Davutoglu also regretted the failure to reach an agreement. In an apparent show of solidarity with his Azeri counterpart, he referred to the speculation about re-opening the border. He ruled out this possibility for the time being, adding that no one should have such expectations (Cihan Haber Ajansi, July 17). Last week’s developments underscored, once again, the complicated manner in which Turkish-Armenian normalization is mired in the Azeri-Armenian dispute.

    https://jamestown.org/program/slow-progress-in-turkish-armenian-normalization/