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Provincial Universities: The AK Party’s Backyard Campus

Tuğba Tekerek on the crisis in Turkish academia

William Armstrong

January 30

Turkey Book Talk #211 – Tuğba Tekerek, journalist and author, on “Taşra Üniversiteleri – AK Parti’nin Arka Kampüsü” (Provincial Universities: The AK Party’s Backyard Campus), published by İletişim.

The book examines the impact of the government’s push to open over 100 universities across Turkey over the last two decades. It paints a picture of falling academic standards but increased outlets for the ruling party’s religious nationalist ideology.

January 30, 2024
Parliamentary Assembly of Council of Europe Voted 76-10 to Kick Azerbaijan Out

With each passing day, the noose is tightening around Pres. Ilham Aliyev’s neck. The European Union’s Chief of Foreign Policy Josep Borrell warned Azerbaijan on January 22 that there would be ‘severe consequences’ if Armenia’s territory were to be violated. The French Senate adopted a resolution by a vote of 336 to 1 on January 17 supporting Armenia’s territorial integrity and calling for sanctions against Azerbaijan. On January 18, Russia’s Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov publicly contradicted Aliyev’s repeated demands that Armenia provide Azerbaijan a ‘Corridor’ through ‘Zangezur.’ Lavrov said that there is no mention of ‘Zangezur Corridor’ in the Nov. 10, 2020 agreement signed by the leaders of Armenia, Azerbaijan and Russia.

The latest blow to Azerbaijan was delivered last week by the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) which voted overwhelmingly to reject the credentials of Azerbaijan’s delegates, thus ejecting Baku’s participation in its meetings for at least one year. By a vote of 76 to 10, with four abstentions, PACE delegates decided to expel Azerbaijan on January 24, 2024.

The resolution adopted by PACE stated: “Very serious concerns remain as to [Azerbaijan’s] ability to conduct free and fair elections, the separation of powers, the weakness of its legislature vis-à-vis the executive, the independence of the judiciary and respect for human rights, as illustrated by numerous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and opinions of the European Commission for Democracy through Law (Venice Commission).” PACE recalled its previous resolutions which had referred to multiple problems with Azerbaijan, including the functioning of democratic institutions, organized crime, corruption, and money laundering, political prisoners, restrictions on NGO activities, violations of the rights of LGBTI people, non-implementation of judgments of the European Court of Human Rights, transnational repression as a growing threat to the rule of law and human rights, Pegasus and similar spyware and secret state surveillance, and the cases of at least 18 Azeri journalists and media actors who are currently in detention. PACE concluded that “more than 20 years after joining the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan has not fulfilled [its] major commitments.”

Referring to Artsakh, PACE mentioned its 2023 report which had specified that Azerbaijan “did not acknowledge the very serious humanitarian and human rights consequences stemming from … the absence of free and safe access through the Lachin Corridor … which lasted for nearly 10 months.” PACE also condemned “the Azerbaijan army’s military operations of September 2023, which led to the flight of the entire Armenian population of Nagorno-Karabakh to Armenia and to allegations of ‘ethnic cleansing.’”

PACE expressed its concern about Azerbaijan’s lack of cooperation with the “rapporteurs of the Monitoring Committee [who] were not allowed to meet with persons detained allegedly on politically motivated charges.” PACE was also not invited “to observe the forthcoming presidential election despite Azerbaijan’s obligation to send such an invitation as the country is under monitoring procedure.” Furthermore, Azerbaijan had refused three times the visit of a PACE rapporteur.

Ignoring Azerbaijan’s multiple violations of its commitments to the Council of Europe, Azerbaijan’s Foreign Minister Jeyhun Bayramov condemned PACE’s decision. However, he acknowledged that Azerbaijan was ejected because of its invasion of Artsakh, which he described as “restoration by Azerbaijan of its sovereignty.”

Even though Azerbaijan had dismissed all of its violations of international law, including the numerous judgments of the European Court of Human Rights and rulings of the International Court of Justice, this time around, Baku reacted extremely negatively. The Azeri delegation in PACE announced that their country has decided to “cease its engagement with and presence at PACE until further notice.” Some have compared Azerbaijan’s withdrawal from PACE after its ejection to Nazi Germany leaving the League of Nations in 1933.

PACE’s vote was overwhelmingly against Azerbaijan because only nine Turkish delegates and one Albanian delegate voted in favor of Azerbaijan. One of the Turkish delegates even voted against Azerbaijan. Meanwhile, 76 delegates from 28 countries, including all four Armenian delegates, voted to eject Azerbaijan.

Azerbaijan’s loss at PACE is Armenia’s gain:

1) Azerbaijan’s reputation was further tarnished after its ejection from PACE, exposing its numerous human rights violations and flagrant disregard for European values.

2) Baku is now deprived of the opportunity to raise its issues in Europe through PACE.

3) Azerbaijan will no longer be able to criticize Armenia during PACE meetings.

4) Azerbaijan will be unable to vote in favor of its interests and against those of Armenia at PACE meetings.

For far too long, Azerbaijan has been spoiled by the international community, particularly Western countries, blinded by Baku’s vast oil and gas supplies. After its ejection from PACE, Azerbaijan should now be expelled from the Council of Europe.

January 29, 2024
During 2.5-Hour-Interview, Pres. Aliyev Made Existential Threats to Armenia

Pres. Ilham Aliyev, the dictator of Baku, gave a 2.5-hour-long press conference to Azeri journalists on January 10, 2024, during which he spewed not only his usual lies, but also made threats to Armenia’s very existence. Here are the highlights of Aliyev’s extremely arrogant and alarming words, emboldened by his military victories in the 2020 and 2023 Artsakh wars.

To begin with, Aliyev claimed that “Today’s Azerbaijan is among the strongest countries of the world in the truest sense of the word.” This is not true. According to the globalfirepower.com website, as of 2024, Azerbaijan’s military is ranked 59th in the world. This is far from being one of the strongest countries in the world. Had it not been for the direct control of the Azeri military by Turkish Generals and bringing terrorist mercenaries from Syria during the 2020 Artsakh war, Azerbaijan would not have been able to defeat Artsakh. Aliyev admitted during his press conference that Azerbaijan enjoyed the full backing of Turkey during the 2020 war.

Pres. Aliyev justified Azerbaijan’s serious violations of human rights, even genocide against Artsakh Armenians, by stating: “I have repeatedly said that international law does not work. These mechanisms are deployed only for the weaker countries. Bigger states ignore them. For them, it is as if law is not law, international law is not law. Under such circumstances, countries that demand justice, and rightly so, must secure this justice themselves.”

Aliyev admitted the difficulties that Azerbaijan’s military faced during the 2020 war: “Had the war continued [after Nov. 10, 2020], it would have been very difficult to liberate the Kalbadjar and Lachin districts, especially in the winter season. However, we would have done that too. But our losses could have been extremely high, even higher than in the 44-day war. We all knew that well, because even now anyone visiting those regions can see how challenging the terrain is. However, if Armenia had not signed the act of capitulation, we would have continued the war until the end.”

Aliyev’s next lie is that after the 2020 war, Armenia was “illegally transporting weapons, ammunition, mines and manpower to Karabakh.” This never happened. Aliyev used it as a pretext to attack Artsakh.

The President of Azerbaijan revealed that before the Sept. 19, 2023 Azeri attack on Artsakh, “some of the local Armenians contacted our representatives and made suggestions about contacts, and we did not reject that.” Any Armenian who made secret contacts with the enemy should be considered a traitor.

Aliyev then made another important admission. He said that, during the Sept. 19, 2023 attack on Artsakh, “had they [Artsakh Armenians] not surrendered, they would have been eliminated. There was no other option.” Aliyev is thus confirming that Artsakh leaders had no choice but to surrender in order to save the lives of 120,000 Artsakh Armenians.

Aliyev confirmed that he had planned the arrest of Artsakh leaders who are now held in a Baku jail: “our position regarding the leaders of the separatists was unequivocal — their capture. Some of them tried to escape from there through the Lachin road, others were found in Khankendi [Stepanakert], and elsewhere. We knew their whereabouts.” He added that “only two people are missing from that group — they are in Yerevan.” Aliyev meant Robert Kocharyan and Serzh Sargsyan.

Pres. Aliyev disclosed that he had personally warned Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan about the impending Azeri attack on Artsakh on Sept. 19, 2023: “I told both the Armenian leadership and international actors that I could press the button and carry out this operation in a minute and they would not be able to do anything.”

Aliyev also vented his anger at France’s support for Armenia, condemned that country’s colonial past and alleged that Paris had committed genocide against 1.5 million Algerians. He also ridiculed Armenia’s recent purchase of French armored personnel carriers, by calling them “tin cans” which are not “a real threat to us.”

Aliyev also rejected the latest Pashinyan initiative — ‘Crossroads of Peace’– which is supposed to link Armenia, Azerbaijan, Turkey, Georgia and Iran. Aliyev said that this is just a PR campaign meant to replace his preferred ‘Zangezur Corridor.’ Ignoring Armenia’s sovereignty, Aliyev insisted that Armenia allow Azeri cargo to pass from Azerbaijan to its Nakhichevan exclave through Meghri, Armenia, without any inspection or customs clearance. If not, Aliyev warned, Azerbaijan will continue its blockade of Armenia.

The President of Azerbaijan bragged that there is no longer any mention of Karabagh in the ‘Peace Treaty’ being negotiated between Armenia and Azerbaijan.

Aliyev dismissed Pashinyan’s suggestion to demarcate the mutual border between Armenia and Azerbaijan on the basis of the 1975 Soviet maps, preferring older maps which he claimed gave Azerbaijan much more territory. He also mentioned the ridiculous notion that ‘Irevan’ (Yerevan) is an ancient Azeri city. Aliyev also claimed that there are eight Azeri villages which are located within Armenia. Importantly, Aliyev stated that Azerbaijan will not withdraw its military from parts of the territory of the Republic of Armenia it has occupied since May 2021 and September 2022. He suggested that Armenia and Azerbaijan sign a peace treaty now, leaving the demarcation of the border to a future date.

Facing such an arrogant and warmongering leader as Aliyev, Pashinyan should stop begging for peace which is a sign of weakness, giving Azerbaijan the opportunity to demand more concessions from Armenia. Armenia’s top two priorities should be having a competent leader and a powerful military to fend off threats from its two enemies: Azerbaijan and Turkey.

January 25, 2024
When Armenia Occupied Azerbaijani Lands Josep Borrell Was Very Silent…

By Azer HASRET

During his press remarks after the Foreign Affairs Council the High Representative on Foreign Affairs of the European Union Josep Borrell voiced baseless and unjustified claims regarding Azerbaijan. He noted that Azerbaijan has territorial claims against Armenia. He had even stressed that the President of Azerbaijan Ilham Aliyev voiced these claims.

To see the issue deeper let’s read through what was said by Mr. Borrell on Jan 22, 2024, during his press remarks.

“…we agreed that Azerbaijan needs to return to substantive peace and normalization talks with Armenia. The latest territorial claims by President [of Azerbaijan, Ilham] Aliyev are very concerning. And any violation of Armenia’s territorial integrity will be unacceptable and will have severe consequences for our relations with Azerbaijan.”

As is seen Mr. Borrell is talking about President Aliyev’s territorial claims against Armenia. But as a citizen of Azerbaijan, plus as a person closely following political developments not only within, but outside of Azerbaijan I can strongly oppose these claims by Mr. Borrell and assure that President Aliyev never voiced territorial claims against Armenia. What I know the President continuously states that Azerbaijan has no intention to occupy any piece of territory of any other country including Armenia.

This is obvious and even Mr. Borrell has an opportunity to contact Mr. Aliyev and ask him if he has territorial claims against Armenia. But as we see Mr. Borrell didn’t dare to do this and check the truthfulness of the claims spread by some propaganda centers. He made himself a tool of propaganda for those centers. Unfortunately…

Now we’ll see which country has the territorial claims against its neighbor. That is Armenia, not Azerbaijan having territorial claims. And we have quite enough evidence to prove this.

Let’s read through The Constitution of Armenia. Just in its Preamble, we can see that Armenia has territorial claims against Azerbaijan! And this is the major soul of that Constitution thus making this country an aggressor.

To see the details let’s read through the mentioned Preamble:

“The Armenian People, accepting as a basis the fundamental principles of Armenian statehood and pan-national aspirations enshrined in the Declaration on the Independence of Armenia, having fulfilled the sacred behest of its freedom-loving ancestors to restore the sovereign state, dedicated to the strengthening and prosperity of the fatherland, with the aim of ensuring the freedom, general well-being, and civic solidarity of the generations, and affirming its commitment to universal values, adopts the Constitution of the Republic of Armenia”.

One who doesn’t know the issue well would say that where is the territorial claim here? We’ll explain.

The Preamble is quoting The Declaration on the Independence of Armenia. And very this document openly expresses territorial claims against Azerbaijan!

Let’s see this time the mentioned Declaration:

“The Supreme Council of the Armenian Soviet Socialist Republic

Expressing the united will of the Armenian people;

…Based on the December 1, 1989, joint decision of the Armenian SSR Supreme Council and the Artsakh National Council on the “Reunification of the Armenian SSR and the Mountainous Region of Karabakh”;..

Declares

The beginning of the process of establishing of independent statehood positioning the question of the creation of a democratic society based on the rule of law;..”

This Declaration was adopted on August 23, 1990, and is taken as a basis for The Constitution of Armenia. Mr. Borrell before accusing Azerbaijan of territorial claims against Armenia could look through this Constitution and see the real territorial claimers…

And this is not even the last evidence showing Armenia’s territorial claims against its neighbors. The Constitution of Armenia has one more piece of evidence, this time against Türkiye.

Let’s see again The Constitution:

Article 21. The Symbols of the Republic of Armenia

…The coat of arms of the Republic of Armenia shall depict, in the center on a shield, Mount Ararat with Noah’s ark and the coats of arms of the four kingdoms of historical Armenia…

Thus, once again a person with no imagination about the region would see nothing here. But if look deeper one can see that Armenia has territorial claims against Türkiye. As we know the mount which Armenia calls “Ararat” is a Mount Aghri based in the territory of Türkiye. Why would a country depict a natural object of another country on its national symbol? Where is the logic?

This is one more piece of evidence proving that Armenia has territorial claims against at least two of its neighbors: Azerbaijan and Türkiye. But Mr. Borrell is accusing Azerbaijan of “having territorial claims against Armenia”…

Going through this evidence we can once more see that the EU High Representative Josep Borrell is voluntarily acting as part of the Armenian propaganda machine. But we here in Azerbaijan and other countries of the region were seeing the European Union and its representatives as those who could guarantee more freedom, justice, and well-being for our people…

P.S. Armenia kept under its occupation about 20 percent of the territory of Azerbaijan for more than 28 years. This very Mr. Borrell never talked about Armenia’s obvious occupation while the evidence was very clear. But now he is accusing Azerbaijan for having territorial claims against Azerbaijan while he has no single evidence to prove this…

January 25, 2024
Sarbanes Letter to President Biden

Sarbanes, Hellenic Caucus Leaders Urge President Biden to Formally Invite the President of Cyprus to the White House to Mark 50th Anniversary of Turkish Invasion of Cyprus

January 18, 2024

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Today, Congressman John Sarbanes (D-MD) joined Congressional Hellenic Caucus co-chairs Chris Pappas (D-NH) and Gus Bilirakis (R-FL) and vice co-chairs Dina Titus (D-NV) and Nicole Malliotakis (R-NY) in sending a letter to President Biden requesting he observe the 50^th anniversary of Turkey’s invasion and ongoing occupation of the Republic of Cyprus by formally inviting Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides to the White House and taking other measures to strengthen the strategic partnership between the United States and Cyprus.

Read the full letter linked here and below:

Dear President Biden:

This year we mark the 50^th observance of Turkey’s brutal invasion and ongoing occupation of the Republic of Cyprus. From your earliest days in the Senate, few elected officials have matched your understanding of this unforgiving tragedy, and even fewer have equaled your level of unwavering support for reunification of the island as a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation.

As members of the Congressional Hellenic Caucus, we urge your administration to mark this sober year of remembrance with meaningful actions that will materially elevate the United States’ relationship with one of our most reliable strategic partners. We agree with your recent statement that American leadership is what holds the world together, that American alliances are what keep us, America, safe. Affirming our bond with key partners — in this case, the Republic of Cyprus — is critical to projecting American values and bolstering international collaboration on the world’s most pressing challenges.

On July 20, 1974, Turkish forces descended upon Cypriot towns and villages, sending their rightful inhabitants fleeing for their lives. Since that time, Cypriots have endured a massive Turkish occupation in an ongoing affront to their sovereignty and democratic liberties. Your observation that we know that our allies and, maybe most importantly, our adversaries and competitors, are watching could not be more applicable than to Turkey’s actions in Cyprus.

In 2014, you became the highest-ranking U.S. official to visit Cyprus since then-Vice President Lyndon B. Johnson in 1962. During that visit, you recognized Cyprus’ important role as an ally, observing: “Cyprus can be a growing force for peace, prosperity and stability in the Eastern Mediterranean and that would benefit the world.” Almost a decade later, Cyprus has consistently proven to be the stabilizing and peaceful force in the region you rightly predicted, having aligned its policies with U.S. interests and collaborated with the larger Eastern Mediterranean region. Cyprus has worked to combat Russian money laundering, captured tons of Iranian explosives and shown itself to be a compassionate and reliable partner by treating wounded U.S. Marines prevented from receiving care at the U.S. Incirlik Base in Turkey. Most recently, in response to Hamas’ brutal attack on Israeli civilians, Cyprus rescued thousands of innocent Americans and others fleeing from Israel and is currently leading efforts to establish a humanitarian aid corridor to Gaza. Beyond this demonstrated vital partnership, our nations have found key areas of collaboration through the 3+1 Eastern Mediterranean Cooperation Framework, including its development of CYCLOPS, a facility that hosts joint training on maritime and border security, counterterrorism and cybersecurity between the U.S., Cyprus and other regional allies.

It is with this convincing record of collaboration in mind that we propose your consideration of several key actions that will signal America’s appreciation of Cyprus’ vital role and also act to further strengthen the U.S.-Cypriot strategic partnership. This partnership has already catalyzed greater cooperation, innovation and security amongst our friends and allies in the Eastern Mediterranean region.

First, we urge you to formally welcome Cypriot President Nikos Christodoulides to the White House. A formal state visit will shine a powerful light on the peace building that remains to be done in Cyprus and will demonstrate America’s broad interest in peaceful conflict resolution across the globe. It will be an important statement to allies under threat of authoritarian control that the United States is a resolute world leader committed to the preservation and promotion of democratic liberties. You have done more than any American President in recent memory to raise the alarm about the threats to democracy at home and abroad. Demonstrating solidarity with the Republic of Cyprus, a key partner in that continuing struggle, will reaffirm your unwavering commitment to strengthening democratic principles at this critical moment.

Second, we ask that you leverage the power of the 3+1 Framework to further the shared strategic interests of the United States and Cyprus in the Eastern Mediterranean region by expeditiously convening a 3+1 Foreign Ministerial meeting. During a time of rising global tensions, it is more important than ever to promote regional stability and enhance collaboration among key partner nations on mutual economic and political goals by facilitating these regional talks.

Third, we applaud initial steps to add Cyprus to the Visa Waiver Program alongside many of its European Union neighbors. This Program serves to strengthen people-to-people ties between nations and the inclusion of Cyprus is the right policy. We urge a smooth and efficient admission of Cyprus into the Program once the necessary security steps are completed by your administration.

Finally, we wish to thank you for fully lifting the arms embargo on Cyprus through 2024. This decision is a testament to the reforms Cyprus has implemented consistent with the Eastern Mediterranean Security and Energy Partnership Act of 2019, to thwart Russian influence and money laundering. While we believe this is an important first step in recognition of Cyprus’ ongoing commitment to these reforms, we urge you to extend this lifting of the arms embargo beyond a one-year time frame which will allow for advanced planning and ensure interoperability with allies.

Your long-standing record of support for the U.S.- Cyprus relationship is deeply appreciated by all who have worked over these last five decades to achieve justice for the Cypriot people. We know that you feel the gravity of this moment as acutely as we do and ask you to mark this sober occasion with concrete, meaningful actions that can advance a just solution in Cyprus.

Sincerely,

Chris Pappas, Co-Chair, Hellenic Caucus

Gus Bilirakis, Co-Chair, Hellenic Caucus

Dina Titus, Vice Co-Chair, Hellenic Caucus

Nicole Malliotakis, Vice Co-Chair, Hellenic Caucus

John P. Sarbanes, Member, Hellenic Caucus

January 24, 2024
Greetings to you all from India

Turkish Forum Advisory Board Member Ms. Unver has a letter from India.

Greetings to you all from India,

Today, as of January 19; I gave 2 lectures to different Secondary and High School students in Rajsamand, introduced The Light Millennium Global, Universal Declaration of Human Rights, J.U.C. Awards, Water Action Decade.

SDG-6, and Gandhi’s philosophy and vision on nonviolence, along with our collaboration with the Anuvrat (Anuvibha) Global Organization and UNDGC associations.

Tomr. morning, I will leave of the Children Peace Palace here to Ahmedabad, from there to Chennai. I would like to thank with full heartily to Dr. S.L. Gandhi, Arvind Vora and Sanchay Jain for the kindest invitation, which turned out one of the best experiences that I had have so far in India.

The visited schools are:

1. Bal Niketan Gandhi Seva Sadan (E.M) School (300 students);

2. Pragati Secondary School (approx 70 students).

I also thank to my translator; Monica, Tanisha (who took the photos) and Lehru and Jagdish; along with to the principles and teachers of the each school.

Bircan Unver

January 19, 2024