Die FAS schreibt heute, daß die CDU in ihrem Programm zum Europa-Wahlkampf einen Beitritt der Türkei zur Europäischen Union ablehnt. Mal sehen, wie lange dies vorhält. Ist aber immerhin bemerkenswert! Und die CSU, der das Wasser bis zum Hals steht und die vielleicht gar nicht ins EU-Parlament reinkommt, setzt noch ein paar drauf: Referendum und so! Plötzlich!
Erdogan umgarnt deutsch-türkische Politiker
Von Anna Reimann und Katrin Elger
AFP
Premier Erdogan: Türkischstämmige Politiker werfen Erdogan Lobbyismus vor
Saadet Party's (Virtue Party) Samsun Candidate: "Milli Görüº (National Vision) is the only political entity that can represent our civilization"
Saadet Party's Samsun candidate Nuri Baºar said during an interview with the Milli Gazete newspaper that socialist and liberalist parties in Turkey were imitations of the West and so Milli Görüº is the only political entity that represents the Turkish civilization.
He also stated, "Everyone who comes to this school (National Vision) earns an identity and finds character. When you observe the past 25 years of Turkish politics, you will realize that those who registered at this school and earned respect, became important people. Those who left the nest went through identity erosion. Milli Görüº is the voice of the conscience of this nation."
He continued by saying, "The reason for Milli Görüº's success in general and local administrations is its faith. The ones from Milli Görüº serve (the nation) like worshipping (God). Since they have fear that they will be judged by Allah, they cannot stand injustice done to them or others. He does not allow anyone to be victimized."
The newspaper also reported that the AKP municipalities took down the flags and banners of the Saadet Party at midnight.
Source: Milli Gazete (Turkey), March 5, 2009
Baykal criticizes fine on Dogan Group
In an interview with news channel NTV yesterday, main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) leader Deniz Baykal responded to allegations of corruption regarding CHP official Mehmet Sevigen, saying that no action will be taken until and unless the allegations are proved.
Baykal also criticized a tax evasion fine imposed on the Dogan Group this week, saying it was meant to muzzle the opposition. In related news, opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday criticized the campaign rhetoric of Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan ahead of elections late next month.
Source: Milliyet-Hurriyet (Turkey), February 20, 2009
42 Prozent der Türkinnen leiden unter Gewalt
Erschreckendes Ergebnis einer Untersuchung der türkischen Regierung: fast die Hälfte der Frauen werden in der Türkei Opfer häuslicher Gewalt. Zum Vergleich: In den Niederlanden berichtet „nur” jede fünfte Frau von Misshandlungen. In der Türkei schweigen die meisten Opfer, viele finden es sogar normal, von ihrem Mann geschlagen zu werden.
„Ich war 23 Jahre verheiratet, und all die Zeit über habe ich physische und sexuelle Gewalt erdulden müssen. Mein Mann kam frustriert nach Hause, weil er beim Glücksspiel verloren hatte, und schlug mich. Dann wollte er Sex, und wenn ich mich zu weigern versuchte, gab es weitere Schläge.” Dieses Zitat stammt von einer 44-jährigen Türkin, zweifache Mutter, die nach 23 Ehejahren inzwischen geschieden ist.
Former Supreme Court of Appeal Chief Prosecutor said that former officers were being detained based on groundless claim under Ergenekon probe
Commenting yesterday on the Ergenekon probe, former Supreme Court of Appeal Chief Prosecutor Sabih Kanadoğlu, whose house was searched under the probe, said that distinguished civilians and former officers who had served the state for many years in high-level positions were being detained based on groundless claims.
Kanadoglu said that he was concerned that basing the probe on such shaky grounds undermined it. Saying that there is in fact an illegal organization within the state, Kanadoğlu added that a better, non-politically motivated investigation is needed to expose it. Citing the Susurluk case of the late 1990s, before he retired, Kanadoglu said had been unable to expose illegal organizations within the state due to obstruction by politicians, their immunity from prosecution, and their protection for suspected bureaucrats.
He also urged the government not to interfere in the ongoing Ergenekon probe, criticizing what he claimed was illegal phone taps under the probe. In related news, foreign media reports on the probe are focusing on rising political tension due to the recent detentions, expressing concern that this tension could harm Turkey's political stability.
Source: Milliyet (Turkey), January 15, 2009
MHP: "I'm ashamed of the people behind the apology initiative"
Opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) leader Devlet Bahceli yesterday he was ashamed of the scholars who started an initiative to apologize for the 1915 killings of Armenians at the hands of the Ottomans. Speaking with reporters, Bahceli said that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's statement that he wouldn't let Turkey be divided shows that even after his 2005 visit to Diyarbakir, Erdogan sees the plots threatening Turkey.
He said the premier's statement also shows his agreement with the MHP's ideas, calling this an "important step." These issues should be solved in Parliament, not on the streets, he added. Bahceli also criticized an initiative by the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) to welcome members who wear chadors, saying that Baykal should clarify his stance on the issue.
Source: Milliyet (Turkey), December 19, 2008
Report reveals horrors of violence against Turkish women
As part of its activities to mark today’s International Day for the Elimination of Violence against Women, the Konya-based Compassion Association (ªefkat-Der) has prepared a report titled “Excuses for Domestic Violence in Turkey and Recommendations from Women Victims on How to Avoid Violence.”
The report is the result of the association’s findings after speaking with the 9,000 women and girls who have fallen victim to domestic violence and sought shelter with ªefkat-Der, which runs women’s and refugees’ shelters and works on behalf of oppressed peoples, since 1995.
The report details the excuses Turkish men use for beating their wives: “The woman’s not wanting to engage in sexual activity, the woman’s gaining weight, her inability to bear children or her not bearing a male child, the food she’s cooked being too salty, burnt, cold or not according to the man’s tastes, not doing a good job ironing his clothing, being late in answering the door when he’s come home and knocked, the woman’s getting ill or not getting better after getting ill, leaving the home without permission, a couple’s child being unsuccessful, the home’s heater not being turned on, a child not looking like its father, the woman’s wanting a divorce, the woman’s interference in the man’s relationship with another woman, the working woman’s not giving her husband her entire salary, the refusal of ‘berdel’ [a type of arranged marriage], the woman’s wanting to work, the man’s being unemployed, family financial difficulty, the man’s soccer team losing a match, being warned by his wife about his alcoholism or gambling addiction, an argument between men about ‘machismo.’”
Source: Zaman (Turkey), November 25, 2008
Turkey at an Energy Crossroads
| Author: |
Greg Bruno, Staff Writer
|
|---|
November 20, 2008
Introduction
Turkey is an energy-transit nation that links Caspian and Central Asian suppliers with European consumers. But threatened interruptions to oil and gas transmission lines running through Turkey's Anatolian heartland have raised new questions about the country's place in the global energy market. In August 2008, Kurdish militants in Turkey bombed the Baku-Tbilisi-Ceyhan (BTC) pipeline, forcing the world's second-longest conduit of crude to briefly halt shipments. Fighting between Russia and Georgia days later cast further doubt on the security of the pipeline; Turkey stands to lose millions of dollars in transit fees if crude flows stop. But Turkey's energy issues are not limited to pipeline politics. Inadequate domestic energy supplies, spiking electricity costs in 2008, and an overreliance on Russian gas raise questions about Ankara's own energy future and viability as a critical crossroads for fuel, experts say.
9th Grade Religion and Ethical Culture textbooks
On page 16 of the 9th Grade Religion and Ethical Culture textbooks, prepared in 2006 by the Ministry of Education, everything must be done to prevent harmful movements from emerging that believe in reincarnation and Satanism that damage society.
The text associates Satanism with Christianity. It doesn’t specifically mention any religions that believe in reincarnation.
The text goes on to list the harmful effects of these beliefs on society — emotional depression, moral collapse, degeneration of the basic values of their society, battering of the social and cultural tissue, alienation from national and moral values.
It is a reflection, the text goes on, of types of beliefs in our social life that are not revealed by God, and the text quotes from the Quran in warning.
Source: Taraf (Turkey), November 20, 2008; Kamilpasha.
Türkische Triebe kann niemand kontrollieren
In der Türkei hat ein 76-jähriger Muslim ein 14-jähriges Mädchen vergewaltigt. Das Opfer hat den Täter angezeigt, doch dieser bleibt straflos, denn Hüseyin Üzmez (Foto), Kolumnist bei der antisemitischen türkischen Zeitung Vakit, hält seine männlichen Triebe für unkontrollierbar. Vermutlich traf das auch schon zu, als er zu Beginn seiner Karriere einen Mordanschlag auf einen liberalen Journalisten verübte.
Erdogan urged those who opposed a single nation to leave the country
Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan was in Hakkari, and urged those who opposed to single flag and single nation to leave the country.
Erdogan - referring to the PKK and the DTP's demonstrators - said, "we are talking about single nation and single flag, single homeland and single state. Who can oppose to this? Those who are opposing it have no place in this country, they can go anywhere they want."
Source: Radikal (Turkey), November 3, 2008
EU to criticize Turkish PM's media boycott
The European Union Commission will add a last minute amendment to its annual progress report to include criticisms of Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan's call for a boycott against Dogan Media Group publications.
The original report, a draft of which was obtained by HDN last week, was a blow to the expectations of opposition parties and civil rights organizations, after it was silent on the prime minister's boycott calls on the Dogan group.
Prime Minister Erdogan's boycott call against the Dogan Group over its coverage of the Deniz Feneri e.V. case, as well as Chief of Staff Gen. Ilker Basbug's harsh criticism of the daily, Taraf, on reports of military negligence prior to the Aktutun terrorist attack last month, will only be referred to but not directly addressed in the final document.
Lees verder...The second day of hearings in Turkey's controversial Ergenekon case, which began on Oct 23, 2008
Suspect İbrahim Benli, who has been released though he still faces charges... attempted to enter the courtroom, saying,
"I want to hear who testifies in what way." Benli was detained in the Ergenekon investigation on March 21 of this year along with Cumhuriyet daily chief columnist İlhan Selçuk (later released due to poor health), former İstanbul University Rector Kemal Alemdaroğlu and Workers' Party (İP) Chairman Doğu Perinçek, who remain in custody.
Benli told reporters: "My house, my office and my daughter's house were searched by the police. So many things have happened, and now the court is telling me not to come. This is unacceptable. I am being accused of hosting a dinner on Dec. 9, 2007 in my house in Çatalca attended by Doğu Perinçek, Güler Kömürcü and Kemal Alemdaroğlu. In that meeting, Perinçek sang folk songs. Tolga Yarman played the piano. They called this a 'clandestine meeting.' They said I was providing 'armed training.' The only thing I did was cook kebabs. I was turned into a gang member. Now I want to listen to the hearing, even if they tell me not to come. I want to hear who says what in their testimonies."
Source: Zaman (Turkey), October 23, 2008
Ethnic Turk Party ‘Stoking Bulgaria Conflict’
24 October 2008 Sofia _ The only way Bulgaria’s main ethnic Turk party can retain power is to stoke terrorism and inter-ethnic conflict, the Mayor of Sofia and opposition leader, Boyko Borisov claims.In a statement set to ratchet up the tensions ahead of next year’s parliamentary elections, the mayor of the Bulgarian capital and the informal leader of the GERB party took a direct swipe at the ethnic Turkish party, The Movement for Rights and Freedoms, which is one of the three parties in the current ruling coalition.
The party has been a junior partner in Bulgaria's governing coalitions since 2001.
But Borisov argued that the Movement for Rights and Freedoms leader, Ahmed Dogan had finally understood his party would not retain power when GERB heads the next government of the country.
Lees verder...
Head Of Turkish Judges And Prosecutors Union: “Europeans Must Talk To Representatives Of Other Turkish Institutions, Not Only With Anti-Secular AKP Government”
The Chairman of the Judges and Prosecutors Union [YARSAV] Omer Faruk Eminagaoglu claimed that the ruling AKP is in search for a shari’a system and the elimination of the country’s secular regime. Speaking to The Guardian of U.K. he said that AKP’s focus was on producing halal food, on signing bilateral agreements with Islamic countries they are friendly with, on increasing Islamic education in public schools and covering the heads of girls in universities.
Eminagaoglu said that intolerance was the basis for the court case filed against AKP and added, “Shari'a system, by its nature, is intolerant to all other thoughts, beliefs and traditions. Shari'a is a sensitive issue for Turkey, just like fascism is for Italy, and Nazism for Germany. We had a shari'a-based system during the Ottoman era, the signs of which still exist in Turkey. We do not want to go back to it”.
Lees verder...Turkey Crisis Over, For Now
Interviewee:
Steven A. Cook, Senior Fellow for Middle Eastern Studies
Interviewer:
Bernard Gwertzman, Consulting Editor
July 30, 2008
On July 30, Turkey's Constitutional Court decided not to ban the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP). Critics of the party had claimed that a move to abolish a ban on headscarves at Turkish universities violated the country's secularist constitution. Steven A. Cook, CFR's leading expert on Turkey, says that the narrow decision marks a reprieve for Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan's government. Cook adds, however, that the case sends a clear warning to the party. If the party regards the Court's decision as a victory, Cook says, Turkey may find itself "back in the same place sometime in the not so distant future."
Turkey's ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) was under threat of being banned for anti-secular activities, but the Constitutional Court has just ruled narrowly not to ban the party, but only to deprive it of state financing. Can you explain what happened?
AKP survives as high court splits
The ruling AKP government survives in a cliffhanger the threat to its existence after only six instead of seven top judges rule in favor of closure. The court decides to impose a fine amounting to half of the AKP's Treasury grants this year. Only a year after it won a parliamentary majority in the national elections, the government is allowed to carry on
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
ANKARA – Turkish Daily News
Turkey's top court yesterday issued its verdict over the fate of the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and dismissed the chief prosecutor's demand to disband it with six to five votes on the third day of deliberations. The party closure requires at least seven votes in favor.
The court also decided, however, to cut in half last year's Treasury aid to the AKP, as six votes demanded closure while four sought financial punishment and one, court President Haşim Kılıç, voted against the closure. The court's verdict is seen as a “warning” to the AKP regarding alleged moves to undermine the country's secularism principle.
Turkish Radio and TV Council Issues Warning to Turkish Radio Stations for Broadcasting Islamist Messages and Calling for Jihad
Turkey's Radio-Television Supreme Council (RTUK) has determined that some Istanbul and Ankara radio stations have been broadcasting programs with Islamist content, and has issued warnings to three of them. The broadcasts stated that the burqa is the most suitable garb for women, stated that men upset with their wives should do more than just say three times "I divorce you," encouraged and invited listeners to wage jihad, and suggested that there is no other religion but Islam.
The following are excerpts from a report on the matter by the secular Turkish daily Sabah: [1]
"The Burqa is the Most Suitable Outfit"; "Do Something Different" to Punish Your Wife
Court convenes on AKP ban case
 |
| The court can bar Erdogan and other AKP members from politics for five years [AFP] |
Turkey's highest court has convened to decide whether the country's ruling party should be banned on charges that it is steering the secular nation towards Islamic rule.
The constitutional court began deliberating on Monday on charges facing the Justice and Development Party (AKP) for violating the principle of secularism enshrined in the country's constitution.
Lees verder...Chief Prosecutor Accused AK Party For Trying To Establish Theocracy
Supreme Court Chief Prosecutor made his oral presentation on July 1 regarding the AKP closure case and claimed that the AKP was trying to establish an Islamic state. Chief Prosecutor Yalcınkaya said in his oral presentation that AKP’s goal was a system based on Shari’a law and that there was a clear and present danger in this respect.
In his one and a half hour presentation at the Constitutional Court, Yalcinkaya said that the Venice Criteria did not apply in this case and that the acquittal of Fethullah Gulen would not affect the outcome of this case, since this acquittal case did not change the fact that Gulen is an Islamist leader. Yalçınkaya also added that the annulment of the amendment about allowing the Islamic headscarf in the universities did not change the nature of the allegations, only strengthened them.
He also mentioned that the U.N. Security Council list of people who give financial support to terrorism included the Saudi businessman Yassin Al Qadı, who is associated with the PM and AKP circles.
Source: Bianet.org, Turkey, July 2, 2008
"Operations, Like Those In Hitler Era"
Legal professionals and law professors in Turkey are reacting to the manner in which the Ergenekon operation is being carried out. Professor Aydın Aybay criticized the raids carried out under the operation, saying, “These are the kind of operations seen in the Hitler and Stalin periods. Those responsible will pay for them one day.”
Referring to the fact that the indictment is said to be between 2,000 and 2,500 pages, Aybay said an indictment of 2,500 pages was unprecedented. He added, “An indictment only includes facts pertaining to the felony that is established through the investigation. A prosecutor that does such a thing is an inexperienced prosecutor. He does not know what being a prosecutor is.” Aybay also said that an indictment should not be kept waiting for 13 months in order to ensure justice. He said, “The fact that an indictment could not have been prepared in such a long time is not a good sign. This is a form of abusing rights.” He added that the raids carried out under the operation are also against the law.
Professor Burhan Senatalar, spokesperson for the December 10 Movement reminded that the closure case against the AKP and the Ergenekon probe coincided with one another. He said, “The AKP is trying to solidify its rule under the pretext of fighting for democracy”.
Source: Cumhuriyet, Turkey, July 7, 2008
Lees verder...Founder of AKP, Former Deputy PM Resigned His Party
Former deputy PM Abdullatif Sener officially resigned from AKP today, during the party’s central executive board meeting. Sener, a former member of the banned Islamist Welfare Party [RP] of Necmettin Erbakan was one of the four founders of AKP along with PM Erdogan, President Gul, and former parliamentary speaker Bulent Arinc, all of whom belonged to the Islamist Milli Gorus movement.
Lees verder...PM Erdogan’s Advisor Resigns For Discrimination Against Alevis
AKP MP Reha Camuroglu, the architect of AKP’s post-election policy towards Turkey’s 15-million-strong Alevi community confirmed today his resignation from his position as PM’s advisor, saying that AKP did not keep any of its promises to Alevis.
Alevis are the second largest religious community in Turkey and their liberal and tolerant interpretation of Islam differs from Sunnis’. Their places of worship are ‘cemevi’ and not mosques. Long discriminated by the Sunni establishment, they demand to be recognized as a distinct faith, to be granted equal treatment with the Sunnis, and to have freedom of religion.
In his resignation letter to PM Erdogan, Reha Camuroglu wrote, “We wanted discrimination against Alevis to end. Did it? How many Alevis have high level positions in the bureaucracy or are among the governors? Is there just one Alevi governor? What about any police commissioners? During the AKP’s six-year rule, how many Alevi investors have won tenders? Probably none!"
Lees verder...Campaign Against General Ilker Basbug
Campaign Against General Ilker Basbug
During the period preceding the August Supreme Military Council [YAS] meetings, when top military commanders are assigned to their new duties (or retire), Islamist circles intensify their efforts to discredit top ranking military officers, especially the one expected to become the new Chief of General Staff. Two years ago Gen. Yasar Buyukanit was the target of long smearing campaigns and now it is Commander of the Land Forces Ilker Basbug. Following the publication of photos of Gen. Basbug at the Wailing Wall in Jerusalem that aimed to portray him as “Jewish”, or “close to Jews”, by the Islamist and virulently antisemitic daily Vakit, the pro-AKP, liberal daily Taraf’s editor Ahmet Altan accused General Basbug and Osman Paksut, the Deputy Chairman of the Constitutional Court, of having a meeting in March at Basbug’s office in the military headquarters and characterized the meeting as “secret” and “mysterious”.
Lees verder...High Court Condemns Attacks On Judiciary
In another episode of the ongoing AKP government and judiciary quarrel, the country's top court harshly responded to attacks by government circles and the AKP-media, describing the denigrations as "inhuman and unethical". The High Constitutional Court issued a written statement on Friday calling the prosecutors to duty and said, “Despite the fact that any action or statement made about an ongoing case is recognized as committing of a crime according to our penal code, it is worrisome to witness the inaction of the responsible authorities”.
Since the 11-judge court annulled the constitutional amendments lifting the ban on the wearing of Islamic headscarf in universities, it has been the target of attacks from government officials, politicians and pro-government media. PM Tayyip Erdogan accused the judges of taking the national will hostage while other AKP officials proposed to scrap the court's authority. The court is also hearing a closure case against the ruling AKP, on the grounds that the party has become the focal point of anti-secular activities.
Lees verder...Turkey’s “Watergate”: CHP Offices Tapped, Details Of Conversations Published In Islamist Press
News that the office of Onder Sav, Secretary General of Republican People’s Party [CHP] was bugged sent shock waves across Turkey. The CHP and the nationalist MHP have raised their concerns over the tapping incident that local media termed, "Turkish Watergate".
Lees verder...Unconvinced By AKP’s Defense, Turkey’s Top Prosecutor Submits His Argument To Shut Down The Ruling Party
Following his examination of AKP’s written response to the initial indictment, Chief Prosecutor Abdurrahman Yalcinkaya submitted today his evaluation report to the president of the Constitutional Court in which he reiterated his demand to shut down the AKP.
The president of the high court subsequently sent a copy of the prosecutor’s report to AKP which will have one month to prepare for appearance in court. At that time both the AKP and the prosecutor will make their oral presentations to the 11 justices who will decide the case.
Source: Milliyet, Turkey, May 30, 2008
Posted at: 2008-05-30
Turkey’s Top Business Leader Criticizes Western Officials, Reporters: “An Important Segment Of Turks Have Genuine Concerns For Secularism”
Turkey's leading business leader criticizied foreign critics and commentators who see the current political impasse in Turkey as the "secular establishment's resistance", saying that an important number of Turks have genuine concerns over secularism.
Speaking last week at a symposium in Switzerland, Turkish Industrialists’ and Businessmen's Association's (TUSIAD) chairwoman Arzuhan Dogan Yalcindag said, "There are those who see the current impasse solely in terms of an entrenched establishment’s resistance to and fight with the forces of democratization. This would be a grave oversimplification of the present situation. Turkish public's view on Islamist-rooted AKP is divided, as some decisions of the ruling party create question marks and doubts over secularism. While foreign reporters and officials define the conflict in Turkey as a ‘power struggle between secular establishment, including the military and judiciary, and the newly emerging conservatives’, the concerns of a significant segment of our population over the issue of secularism or about the infringement on their lifestyles cannot be dismissed out of hand".
Source: Hurriyet, Turkey, May 20, 2008
Islamist Books Make Target Of Modern Turkish Women:
“Uncovered Women Lack Virtue”, “Uncovering Is Answer To Satan’s Call”, “Uncovered Women Do Prostitution”
As the judicial process continues on AKP's initiative to lift the turban [Islamic headscarf] ban in Turkish universities, new books on covering women - which are sold for less than a dollar - attack modern Turkish women and demonstrate the dimensions of Turkey’s Islamization.
The book titled “Invitation to Cover”, authored by retired mufti Mehmet Goktas, says “Girls who do not cover themselves are answering satan's call” and asks, “Don’t you have anything other than your femininity, sexuality and your bodies that you can offer to people?”.
Lees verder...Turkish Parliament Passes Amendment To Article 301
The Turkish Parliament passed a bill early today amending the controversial Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK) which limited freedom of speech and criminalized insulting "Turkishness". The bill was adopted with 250 in favor to 65 votes against.
In the new bill, which made cosmetic changes only, the term "Turkishness" is replaced by the "Turkish nation," and the term "Republic" with "State of the Republic of Turkey". The amended article gives Turkish justice minister the authority to approve any investigation and/or prosecution under 301.
The European Union has been urging Turkey to eliminate – or amend – the Article 301, which has been the basis for charges against many Turkish writers and journalists.
Source: Hurriyet, Turkey, April 30, 2008
Directorate Of Religious Affairs [Diyanet] Shuts The Door To Alevi Cemevis
PM Erdogan: "I had said I would embrace everybody!"
Lees verder...MHP Leader Bahceli: “PM Erdogan Has Declared Jihad Against Judiciary”
Speaking at his party’s parliamentary group meeting, MHP Leader Devlet Bahceli accused PM Erdogan of bringing the judiciary and the will of the people against one another and of declaring jihad against the judiciary, using the [pro-AKP] media. He said that the PM and the AKP government ministers, are using the EU stick as a tool in their intimidation campaign against the judiciary. Bahceli said, “The judiciary is being blackmailed by EU statements threatening to suspend Turkey’s membership talks, if the lawsuit against AKP is pursued”. Source: Milliyet, Vakit, Turkey, April 1, 2008
Turkish Military Chief: Anti-Secular Activities Continue
Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit said that religion [Islam] and religious sentiments have always been exploited by certain circles and formations since the foundation of the modern Turkish Republic, and warned that these circles are continuing with their anti-secular activities.
In an interview for the April issue of the Turkish Defense and Aviation Magazine Gen. Buyukanit said, "Reactionary [Islamist] elements carry out their anti-secular activities through legal associations such as foundations, associations etc. both in Turkey and abroad".
Talking about the PKK terrorism Buyukanit said that the aim of the secessionist terrorist movement was the destruction of the nation-state and its unitary structure, and added that the ethnic and religious plurality of the country was also being exploited by some circles supported by foreign elements.
Asked about how a permanent solution could be achieved, Buyukanit said, "Terrorism has economic, social and political dimensions as well as the security dimension. Terrorism can only be eliminated with a fight comprising all those dimensions."
Source: Anatolia News Agency, Hurriyet, April 4, 2008
Islamist Columnist Echoes PM Erdogan: Population Control Is Genocide
Following PM Erdogan’s repeated calls for Turkish women to give birth to more children, columnist Mevlut Ozcan of the Islamist Turkish daily Milli Gazete wrote that Muslim population is targeted by Christians and Jews who organize various conferences in Islamic countries to weaken the Muslims.
He wrote, “The U.S. Russia, Israel, Britain and India have united in their hostility towards the Islamic world. One of their methods is promoting population planning, which means genocide, which means an undeclared war.
"Muslims’ strongest response is to make more children. If 15 million Turkish families decide to have a child now, the first cries of 15 million new babies next year will be the ‘victory march’ sung against Islam’s enemies.
Lees verder...Turkey’s risk, Europe’s role
openDemocracy
A court hearing over the legality of Turkey's ruling party could imperil the country's progress towards European Union membership, says a group of leading European observers.
2 - 04 - 2008
This statement follows the founding document of a group of European citizens published in openDemocracy:
"Turkey and a new vision for Europe" (12 December 2007):
"We are a group of European citizens who are disturbed both by the strength of prejudice in the European Union debate on Turkey's accession, and by setbacks to the reform process in Turkey. We are committed to the success of the European Union as a political project. We also see the urgency of dismantling the remnants of authoritarianism in Turkey. We believe that these two goals are interconnected and that the credible prospect of Turkish membership of the European Union is the best way to achieve them. This, however, requires a different public debate...
Kizilkaya: Mohammed ist Vorbild für jeden Muslim
Ali Kizilkaya, Vorsitzender des Islamrats der Bundesrepublik Deutschland und seit April für sechs Monate Sprecher des Koordinierungsrats der Muslime, ist als Milli Görüs-Mitglied und eifriger Verfechter des islamischen Kopftuchs prädestiniert für Fragen der Integration. Deshalb ist er auch Dialogpartner von Innenminister Schäuble auf der Islamkonferenz. Im Interview auf Cicero führt er aus, warum Islamkritiker nicht in die Islamkonferenz gehören, das Deutschland gerade einen Rechtsruck erlebt und dass der Prophet sein großes Vorbild ist.
European ignorance of Islam
Turkey’s Islamist Media Boasts West’s Alliance With PM Erdogan, AKP
Statements made by Western officials in defense of PM Erdogan and the AKP, and against Turkey’s judiciary that allegedly stem from their concern for “democracy” are being reported daily in the front pages of Turkey’s pro-AKP, Islamist dailies under thick headlines such as “EU lashes out at AK Party ban bid”.
Following are some of the statements that adorn the front pages of Islamist dailies such as Zaman, Yeni Safak, Vakit, Sabah, Star, Bugun:
Olli Rehn, EU Commissioner of Enlargement: "In a normal European democracy, political issues are debated in parliament and decided in the ballot box, not in the courtroom. It is difficult to see that this lawsuit respects the democratic principles of a normal European society."
Lees verder...Islam Based Gender Discrimination In Turkish Hospitals
Cumhuriyet reported that medical attendants, most of whom wear Islamic headscarves, that were trained for eight months refused to shake hands with the men who handed them their certificates. Questions are raised about how those female medical attendants,who don’t shake hands with men, will take care of male patients. Health organizations said that sexual discrimination related to religious beliefs is becoming more common. There are reports on covered female doctors, nurses and medical attendants who have refused to take care of male patients, causing serious health problems.
Increasing number of private hospitals advertise “Birth Services By Women Doctors”. The increasing number of covered women in public workplaces, such as hospitals, creates concerns about how such gender discrimination will affect daily life.
Source: Cumhuriyet, Turkey, March 17, 2008
Detentions Draw Fierce Reactions; Protesters Gather At Cumhuriyet’s Headquarters
Following the detention of 11 opponents of AKP government - among them the prominent writer Ilhan Selcuk of Cumhuriyet, Workers’ Party chairman Dogu Perincek and former Istanbul University president Prof. Kemal Alemdaroglu - media organizations, Turkish NGO’s and politicians of opposition parties are slamming the move which they describe as an attempt by AKP government to silence and intimidate the voices of opposition, and an effort to divert the attention from the indictment filed for closing down of AKP.
Crowds of protesters are gathering in front of Cumhuriyet’s and Workers’ Party’s headquarters.
Source: Vatan, Milliyet, Hurriyet, March 21, 2008
CHP Leader Baykal: “Turkey Dragged Into Dangerous Clashes; AKP Is Building Its State Within The State”
Leader of the main opposition [CHP] Deniz Baykal reacted to the detentions of Turkey’s prominent, senior journalist/writer Ilhan Selcuk, former Istanbul University president and one of the country’s best known surgeons Prof. Kemal Alemdaroglu, and Dogu Perincek the leader of a political party, among other media personalities.
In a televised speech, Baykal said, “The AKP has already completed the process of partisan appointments and it is reaping the benefits of having its people in all the ranks of the state. Now it is building its own state within the state. This process is not consistent with democracy and the rule of law. It is not acceptable in democracies for the ruling party to abuse the power of being in government in order to intimidate respectable intellectuals. Turkey is being dragged into very dangerous clashes. This cannot go on like this. There are, there must be, limits not to be crossed”. Baykal also said that the country’s Constitution has turned into an ordinary document that gets amended according to the daily changing needs of the AKP.
Source: CNNTurk TV, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Vatan, Aksam, March 21-22, 2008
Gewalt gegen Frauen – Legitimiert durch den Begriff der Ehre
von Perihan Ügeöz
In Sachen Gewalt gegen Frauen ist die Türkei Spitzenreiterin im Nahen Osten! Mit dieser Feststellung wurde in der letzten Ausgabe der amerikanischen Zeitschrift “Violence against Women” der aktuelle Bericht des Worldwatch Institute zusammengefasst. Nach Forschungsangaben des Instituts sind 58 % aller türkischen Frauen Opfer von Gewalt. Selbst Bangladesch mit 47 % und Äthiopien mit 45% schneiden besser ab als die Türkei. Der Bericht des Instituts stellt ferner fest, dass in der Türkei 51 % aller verheirateten Frauen über 19 Jahre innerhalb der Familie Gewalt ausgesetzt sind.
Gewalt ist in der Tat ein verbreitetes Phänomen wie auch Problem innerhalb der türkischen Gesellschaft. Ob Kind, Mann oder Frau, breite Bevölkerungskreise leben Seite an Seite mit Gewalt. Tritt jedoch der Geschlechtsfaktor in den Vordergrund, so steigt die Zahl vor allem der Mädchen und Frauen, die verschiedene Formen von Gewalt wie insbesondere auch physische erdulden müssen oder ihr schlicht tödlich zum Opfer fallen. Ob durch Ehemann, Bruder oder Eltern, ein Großteil der Gewalt an Frauen wird in den Familien verübt.
Lees verder...'Merkel Discriminates Against the Turks'
The Turkish media has been criticized by German politicians for its reporting of the fire tragedy in Ludwigshafen. Turkish journalist Kerem Caliskan, the European editor of the Hürriyet newspaper, spoke to SPIEGEL ONLINE about these charges and attacked Germany's treatment of its Turkish minority.
SPIEGEL ONLINE: Mr. Caliskan, you graduated from the German School in Istanbul and have translated Brecht poems into Turkish. What did you think when you first heard about the fire in Ludwigshafen?
Kerem Caliskan: I thought: "Oh my God, have they started another fire?" I wasn’t able to sleep the whole night. Of course, the fire could have been caused by a short circuit, a gas canister explosion or an accident. But then there is the statement by the two girls who say they saw someone lighting the fire. If it was arson, then we assume that the German police will investigate it.
Lees verder...Turkish PM Under Fire For Urging Women To Have More Children
Controversy erupted last weekend when PM Tayyip Erdogan told women to give birth to at least three children, at a gathering to mark Women’s Day. The opposition and especially the women’s organizations strongly criticized the PM for his remarks which they said jeopardize Turkey’s membership in EU, which already is weary of Turkey’s large [71 million] and poorer population.
PM Erdogan’s Islamist rhetoric that children are blessing of Allah, that Allah gives every child his bread, and his rejection of birth control angered many Turks. Turkan Saylan, the chairwoman of an NGO that sponsors education for young girls said that the population figures are already catastrophic and added that presently rural area schools have 60-70 students per class and that about one million girls are not sent to school. Turkey’s working age [age 15-64] group was 66.5 percent in 2007, and 26.4 percent was younger than 15.
The head of the Foundation for Family Planning Yasar Yaser also criticized Erdogan for his remarks and said that rather than calling on women to have more children, he should take care of mothers and children who die of preventable reasons.
Source: Hurriyet, Turkey, March 13, 2008
PM Erdogan Continues To Target Turkey’s Top Prosecutor
PM Erdogan Continues To Target Turkey’s Top Prosecutor, Puts Judiciary And The People Against One Another
AKP leadership is on a campaign against Turkey's Chief Prosecutor, presenting the judiciary as the enemy of the people and of democracy. PM Erdogan spoke to crowds in AKP conventions in Sanliurfa and Mardin today and continued to say that the judiciary’s initiative [to close down AKP] was in fact not against his party, but against the Turkish people that elected it.
Lees verder...Website Targets Minorities In Turkey
A written inquiry has been submitted to Parliament concerning a website that targets non-Muslim minority groups in Turkey by publishing telephone numbers and full addresses of many Armenian, Jewish and Greek schools, places of worship and publishing houses.
Lees verder...I want freedom for my religion that limits my freedom!.."
Source: Milliyet, Turkey, February 29, 2008
Turkey cartoon
"President Gul approved the constitutional changes to free Islamic headscarf, at the same time as the military land operation into northern Iraq"
DEBKAfile: 10,000 Turkish troops cross into N. Iraq to hunt down PKK rebels
The land offensive early Friday, Feb. 22, was backed by with large armored forces, fighter jets and helicopters. The Turkish military said its troops would return home as soon as its goals of destroying rebel bases inside Iraqi Kurdistan were achieved. DEBKAfile’s military sources add: The question now is: Will the Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga put up resistance to the Turkish incursion? Late Thursday, the first Turkish units to enter the territory were cornered by local militiamen who threatened to shoot. In the past, Iraqi Kurdistan leaders have declared in the past that if Turkish troops set foot in their territory, there would be war between the autonomous Iraqi region and Turkey.Deputy President Of Higher Education Board [YOK] Resigns From His Position
Professor Isa Esme, deputy president of the Higher Education Board (YOK), resigned yesterday from his post, which he has held since 2005. Esme had been on leave since Dec. 28 when he was told by [then] newly appointed YOK President Yusuf Ziya Ozcan, not to exercise his authority as deputy president of the Council.
In his announcement Esme said, “During the YOK general council meeting [yesterday] I realized that the majority of the members of the council - the composition of which changed as a result of the this week's appointments by President Abdullah Gul - would not give the necessary support for me to fulfill my duties, and that Ozcan is likely to work with new deputy presidents in a more coherent way”. Professor Esme said that he had resigned his post as deputy president but would try to make his contributions as a council member.
Another YOK deputy president, Professor Aybar Ertepinar had resigned from his post in December, when President Gul appointed Ozcan as YOK president.
Source: AA, Anatolia News Agency, February 7-8, 2008
Erdogans koloniale Eroberungspolitik
Der türkische Ministerpräsident Recep Tayyip Erdogan hat bei seiner heutigen Rede in der Köln-Arena Klartext gesprochen. Er will nicht Assimilierung, sondern die in Deutschland lebenden Türken kulturell separiert als isolierte türkisch-islamische Kolonien sehen. Unter Integration versteht Erdogan die institutionelle Unterwanderung Deutschlands mit seinen radikal-islamischen Gefolgsleuten. Erdogan will zuerst die Türkei re-islamisieren, und dann Deutschland und Europa islamisieren. Seine Sprache ist die eines Eroberers, der im eigenen Unrecht Tugenden sieht, und in der Hinwendung zum Grundgesetz das „Verbrechen der Assimilierung“.
Lees verder...
'Inburgering is een misdaad'
De Turkse premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan heeft de 1,7 miljoen Turken in Duitsland vandaag opgeroepen niet te veel te integreren in de Duitse maatschappij. Tijdens zijn bezoek aan de bondsrepubliek hield hij een toespraak in een stadion in Keulen, gevuld met 16.000 Duitse Turken. ''Inburgering is een misdaad tegen de menselijkheid'', zei Erdogan.
Lees verder...Turkey Again Bans YouTube
Turkey last week banned access to the YouTube website because it offered a video allegedly "insulting Mustafa Kemal Atatürk – Turkey's founder – and the founders of the state."
The last time Turkey imposed a YouTube ban it was lifted two days later, after YouTube removed the videos in question.
On January 18, Ankara's 12th Court of Peace decided to ban access to the site because of a clip created and posted by a user called "Turkomaymun" [i.e.Turkishmonkey].
Lees verder...PM Erdogan: “We Got The Immorality From The West”
In his speech to Turkish graduate students going to study abroad, Erdogan made some controversial remarks that met with strong reactions in Turkey’s mainstream media. Erdogan said, “The poet who penned Turkish national anthem [the Islamist Mehmet Akif Ersoy] said that we should compete with art and science of the West; but unfortunately we adopted the West’s immoralities that are contrary to our values”.
He added that Turkey would continue sending students abroad for graduate studies for them to [learn and] compete in order to reach beyond the art and science of the West and asked the students to come back after their studies and work in Turkey.
The PM’s remarks were questioned by the media that asked what he meant by “the West’s immoralities”, whether or not he was talking about Western women not being covered, and how Turkey could become a EU member when the PM thought the West was “immoral”.
Source: Sabah, Cumhuriyet, Turkey, January 25, 2008
Posted at: 2008-01-28
Courts Take Action To Protect Turkey's Secular Democracy: Second Warning On Turban Comes From Another High Court
Following yesterday’s warning issued by the Chief Prosecutor of the Supreme Court of Appeals (Yargitay), another statement of warning was released today by the presidency of the Council of State (Danistay) on the issue of turban. The statement of the highest administrative court said that if the current changes that are being contemplated [by the government] are not in line with the core and unchangeable principles of the Constitution, such behavior will jeopardize all the gains of the Republic. It also expressed concern that the said initiatives [to lift turban ban] will end up being not limited only to some educational institutions, but will harm the national peace and harmony. The statement emphasized the four characteristics of Turkish Republic as “secular, democratic, social, and governed by rule of law” and said that these are the core constitutional principles of Turkey that cannot be altered and no suggestion can be made for them to be altered.
Lees verder...Die DITIB - eine türkische Kolonialverwaltung
Deutschland wird planvoll islamisiertvon Wolfgang Philipp
In der Diskussion über die Ausbreitung des Islam in Deutschland fällt häufig der Name einer Organisation namens Ditib, die als machtvolle Vertretung türkisch-islamischer Interessen in Erscheinung tritt. - Ditib - ist eine Abkürzung für Diyanet Isleri Türk Islam Birgili und bedeutet soviel wie Türkisch-islamische Union des Amtes für religiöse Angelegenheiten. Der Etat dieses Amtes ist nach dem Militärhaushalt der größte Posten im türkischen Haushalt (Necla Kelek in einem Interview mit der Zeitschrift Cicero). Die unauflösliche Verbindung zwischen Religion und Staat in der Türkei wird dadurch sehr deutlich.
Lees verder...Turkey Must Protect Priests
An artist, former politician and columnist Zulfu Livaneli of the mainstream daily Vatan wrote that from the killing of the Italian Priest Andrea Santoro in Trabzon to the Malatya massacre of three missionaries, and the stabbing of another priest in İzmir last month, the perpetrators have said that they wanted to be famous by killing a priest.
Livaneli wrote that many youngsters have these cheap heroic dreams and despite the fact that there is no criminal organization or secret group behind these incidents a dangerous environment exists. The columnist says that youth are brainwashed through media publications and are taught that killing priests is an act of 'nationalism', therefore 'dignified'.
Livaneli asks, “Have you ever heard that an imam was killed or that a German or Italian teenager who wanted to be famous stabbed a Muslim cleric?” and adds that the state has the obligation to protect non-Muslim clerics by placing them under police protection, as new education programs are launched to cleanse the young brains and to teach them what is right and wrong. Livaneli says that the media has a contribution to make to the process by proper and responsible broadcasts and publications.
Source: Vatan, Turkey, January 2, 2007
Posted at: 2008-01-04
Islamist Vakit Continues To Attack “Christian” New Year
Radical Islamist Vakit continues to attack new year celebrations for being Christian. Under today’s front-page headliner that read “Rebellion, treason, waste”, Vakit wrote, “Celebrating new year which is a Christian custom is rebellion to Allah, betrayal of our martyrs, and a consumption craze and waste”.
Lees verder...Turks Enter Iraq
Hundreds of Turkish troops entered Iraq last night, Iraqi officials said, in pursuit of separatist Kurdish rebels. It marks the first land invasion since the Turkish parliament approved such measures last month and involves as many as seven-hundred troops (Bloomberg). http://m1e.net/c?71202134-qIP1lCqat7w5Q%402984138-1jC/cbqHTG4KI At last report Tuesday, officials in Turkey had not confirmed the reports but a Turkish diplomat in Washington told the Associated Press that "It was a Turkish operation, it was a Turkish decision. We were informed." http://m1e.net/c?71202134-JDv6rhsCXxi1E%402984139-C/UcWIIYKhN0AThe reported incursion threatens to resurface tensions that had partly subsided since Turkey's vote last month to enable cross-border operations. Reuters reports Turkish troops engaged in minor skirmishes with fighters from the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), a separatist group based both in Turkey and Iraq. http://m1e.net/c?71202134-3qXXvXWwxj/9Q%402984140-kgkcD1hLMettU The reported attacks come on the heels of weekend air strikes and coincide with a surprise visit by U.S. Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Iraqi Kurdistan (CBS/AP). http://m1e.net/c?71202134-AqdvhZenM2BNU%402984141-SGE7.uXE3unrw The Washington Post reports this morning on a new program in which the U.S. government aims to help the Turkish military by providing intelligence on PKK targets in Iraq. http://m1e.net/c?71202134-BAY1B.JZyzcVE%402984142-QSuuPTWg4N.Sg
Oil prices edged higher on the news of the operation (Thomson Financial). http://m1e.net/c?71202134-kLk8zCThUVMRM%402984143-UREdJvhBLKQbQ
A recent Daily Analysis examines what the political and economic fallout might be if Turkey launches an all-out invasion into northern Iraq. http://m1e.net/c?71202134-OF5iUTz0dZNlE%402984144-Srf3Onvv1.NrM A Backgrounder profiles the PKK. http://m1e.net/c?71202134-JRBm.R9X1ekZI%402984145-z6.IlqO30ZYjo
CHP Leader Deniz Baykal: AKP Steering Turkey Towards Islamism
Opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal said that AKP has changed the direction of the secular republic and is steering Turkey towards religionism [Islamism]. Speaking yesterday at a meeting of high level CHP officials, Baykal criticized the ruling AKP for "taking critical institutions of the government under siege," noting that recent top level appointments are very worrisome.
Baykal said that changing the Turkish Constitution will be the final stage of the AKP plans.
Source: Cumhuriyet, Hurriyet, Turkey, December 14, 2007
Turkish President Signed Controversial Law On Selection Of Judges And Prosecutors
In a speedy fashion President Abdullah Gul signed into law the controversial changes to the selection of judges and prosecutors that AKP legislated in a rushed late night session of the parliament on Saturday, strengthening the opposition's claims that the president rubberstamps AKP legislations without taking time to evaluate them.
The new law is published in today’s Official Gazette and took effect as of today. According to the new law the final selection of judges and prosecutors will be determined at an interview held by ministry of justice appointed bureaucrats, after all the candidates are given a written examination.Physical appearance is among the criteria that the interviewing board will take into consideration.
The changes will also allow attorneys with five years experience to take the bench, as well as candidates who have not studied law. Candidates that hold a doctorate degree from law will be exempt from the written examination and they will be selected only on the basis of the interview by AKP bureaucrats.
Lees verder...
AKP Govenment Sells Turkey’s Second Largest Media Group To Calik Holding Whose General Manager Is PM Erdogan’s Son In Law
Turkey's second-biggest media group, Sabah/ATV, was sold yesterday to Calik Holding, the single bidder after all others pulled out. Initially there were about ten groups competing; the last consortiums to withdraw were İpek-Sancak with their European partner RTL, and Nurol Holding and its U.S. partner Carlyle Group, leaving Calik the sole bidder to buy Sabah/ATV for %1.1 billion. There were rumors in the media that the prime minister was involved and had had discussions with other contenders, in the weeks prior to the sale. Mainstream media has been accusing AKP for creating a large pro-AKP/Islamist media through acquisitions, while putting pressure on the mainstream media by intimidation. Previously two other large media groups were also seized and sold to parties known to be close to the AKP.
On April 1, 2007, the Savings Deposit Insurance Fund (TMSF), a governmental organization, had confiscated Sabah/ATV group which consists of three newspapers, two TV channels, group of magazines and a distribution company, and organized its sale.
Lees verder...New Law In Turkey Censors Internet
A new law went into effect in Turkey on November 23, 2007 to fight and prevent internet crimes such as child pornography, prostitution, encouragement to commit suicide, facilitation of obtaining illegal drugs, and facilitating gambling. Columnist Oktay Eksi of Hurriyet wrote that while prevention of obscenity was deemed important, websites that incite to terrorism, violence or other crimes were not included in the scope of the new law.
Eksi notes that the new law leaves the decision to turn off the access to websites to one person, rather than to the courts. One bureaucrat, the Head of Telecommunications Department within the Ministry of Communications, will have the authority to close down access to any website for content that he thinks is obscene. Eksi says that this law puts Turkey in the category of undemocratic, despotic countries.
Source: Hurriyet, Turkey, November 30, 2007
Turkish Court: Marital Rape Not A Crime; Turkish Columnist: Decision Turns Women Into Sex Slaves
In response to a ruling by Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals that marital rape is not a crime, İsmet Berkan wrote in his column in Radikal that because of the ruling, if a woman "resists and is killed by her husband in the end, his penalty even could be reduced due to 'grievous provocation!' We learned [about] this during the ‘Stop Violence Against Women’ week..."
He continued, "Unfortunately, the court's decision has the effect of turning women into sex slaves in marriages... Forcing someone into sexual intercourse is called 'rape.' In Turkey, which is making efforts to end violence against women, the Court of Appeals decision must have been a really bad coincidence..."
Source: Turkish Daily News, Turkey, November 30, 2007
Islamist Turkish Daily Vakit: Israel, A Cancerous Cell
Vakit wrote that its stand at the ‘Al-Quds International Forum Exhibition' draws much attention and reported on their interview with Ali Akbar Muhteshami, the President of the International Committee for Supporting Palestinian People, participating in the ‘Jerusalem Meeting’.
Lees verder...Turkey vazal of Wahhabism
The King claps his hands: "Let the negotiations begin!.."
The title: "A first, in the history of Turkish Republic and the presidential protocol"
"President Gul, at the request of King Abdullah of Saudi Arabia, went to his feet at his hotel"
Source: Leman weekly political magazine, Turkey, November 14, 2007
Thousands Of Radical Islamists In Istanbul, Call For Jihad And Destruction Of Israel
International Quds (Jerusalem) Meeting convened in Istanbul yesterday and called for armed struggle until Jerusalem is ‘liberated’. Representatives of all Islamic countries, as well as organizations such as Hamas, Hizbullah, Islamic Jihad and Jamaat-i Islamia are attending the giant meeting.
Speeches of condemnation of Israel and determination to continue the armed struggle until Israel is eliminated were interrupted by loud calls of “Allah-u Akbar”.
Source: Milliyet, Cumhuriyet, Turkey, November 16, 2007
Deep Gender Gap In Turkey
According to the newly released World Economic Forum’s 2007 Global Gender Gap index, Turkey is ranked at 121 out of 128 countries. The report aimed at capturing the magnitude of the gap between women and men in the areas of economic participation and opportunity, educational attainment, health and survival and political empowerment.
“Turkey continues to rank well below the lowest ranking European countries and displays below average performance on all four sub indexes. The lowest score was in the area of economic participation and opportunity that measures participation in leadership professions such as legislators, senior officials and managers. Turkish women fill only 7 percent of top tier management positions while men hold the remaining 93 percent of the pie. Turkey scored an extremely low 0.08 in inequality when compared to the world average of 0.26. This means that there are 8 Turkish women leaders for every 100 Turkish male leaders.
Lees verder...Viele Türken schlagen ihre erfolgreichen Ehefrauen
Türkische Frauen, die mehr Geld verdienen als ihre Männer, werden häufiger von ihren Ehepartnern geschlagen als andere. Zu diesem Ergebnis kommt eine breit angelegte Studie.
Foto: dpa
Die türkische Schauspielerin Sibel Kekilli ("Gegen die Wand") engagiert sich für die Menschenrechtsorganisation "terre des femmes" und damit gegen Gewalt gegen Frauen. In ihrer türkischen Heimat ist häusliche Gewalt jedoch an der Tagesordnung
AKP MP’s Comparison Of Turkey’s Alevis With Satanists Creates Controversy
During yesterday’s discussions in Turkish parliamentary Committee on Planning and Appropriations about the budget for Diyanet (the Directorate of Religious Affairs), Alevi demands to receive religious services from Diyanet budget were evaluated. Speaking at the committee meeting the AKP MP Mustafa Ozbayrak opposed the idea and said that there were attempts being made to portray Alevism as a separate religion. He said, “Alevism is a branch of Shia. If we appropriate funds to them, tomorrow other groups such as the Satanists will come with similar demands”.
CHP MP Gurol Ergin who spoke later said that equating over 10 million Alevis with Satanists was a grave mistake. He said, “If Diyanet has a state budget to provide religious services, Alevis should also have a right to their share in that budget.”
CHP’s Mustafa Ozyurek said that Diyanet is providing services for Sunni alone. He said, “The financial assistance it gives to Sunni houses of warship, must be accorded to the Alevi’s cemevi (Alevi house of worship) as well”.
Source: All mainstream Turkish media outlets, November 1, 2007
Read full entry
Turkish Government Imposes News Blackout of Military Movements
By Andrew Cochran
The Turkish government has embargoed Turkish radio and television from reporting much of what is happening on the Iraqi border. The Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTÜK) announced the news blackout on Tuesday (read a confirmation article from Turkish Daily News about the embargo). The print media, while technically protected by the Turkish constitution, is also cautious in its reporting.
The New Anatolian webservers have been down for four days following publication of certain operational details. See http://ns1.thenewanatolian.com and http://ns2.thenewanatolian.com. Both are returning SERVFAIL messages, and you can see a confirmation message that the New Anatolian is unreachable. The Zaman news organization is walking on thin ice, with its publication of information about 11 Turkish combat battalions on the Iraqi border.
As an incursion proceeds, expect less reporting on operational details and more coverage of Turkish government statements and diplomatic efforts.
Questions Rise In Turkish Media As To How PKK Succeeded To Kill 12, Wound 16 And Kidnap 8 Turkish Soldiers; Did U.S. Provide Intelligence To PKK?
Some Turkish columnists are asking questions about how over 200 PKK terrorists could have infiltrated into Turkey at midnight last Sunday without being noticed by the many thermal cameras along the border, and whether or not PKK was given intelligence information either by the U.S. or moles inside the military.
Serdar Akinan of Aksam who complains about the government’s silence about the circumstances under which the tragedy befell the soldiers, asks, “Do we know how many
Source:
Turkish warplanes and helicopter gun-ships attack Kurdish rebels along Iraqi border Wednesday, order troops to cross over in pursuit
October 24, 2007, 8:48 PM (GMT+02:00)
A Turkish lawmaker disclosed that the Turkish attack began Sunday, Oct. 21, after more than 12 Turkish troops were killed in an ambush by rebel Kurdish PKK guerrillas. He said F-16 jets and artillery pounded at least 63 rebel positions inside the Kurdish-controlled region and 300 Turkish commandoes were dropped by helicopter into Iraq to hunt down PKK fighters.
There were other reports of Cobra and Super Cobra attack helicopters chasing Kurdish rebels three miles into Iraqi territory after Sunday’s deadly PKK ambush. According to earlier reports, the Turkish counter-attack left 32 Kurdish rebels dead and eight soldiers fell into PKK hands and are still missing.
Lees verder...How the truth is removed from history
Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan Calls President Bush On Genocide Bill
In a phone call to the U.S. President, PM Erdogan told him that the strategic partnership between the two countries will be harmed if the U.S. Congress passes the bill on Armenian “genocide”. Erdogan said that this bill will not serve the interests of
It is unclear how much influence the Bush administration will have in the Congress now dominated by Democrats who are more submissive to the demands of the Armenian Diaspora.
Source: All Turkish dailies and TV channels, October 6, 2007
Turks at Europe’s Gates
October 5, 2007| Prepared by: |
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There were no hidden messages in Turkish President Abdullah Gul’s first major trip abroad since taking office in late August 2007. Gul traveled not to Iraq, where tensions with Turkey are running high; not to Germany, a major center of the Turkish diaspora; not to the United States, Turkey’s primary security partner. Instead, he traveled to Council of Europe meetings in Strasbourg, France (Turkish Daily News). “We specifically chose Strasbourg,” Gul explained. “The Council of Europe is an institution that Turkey has been in since 1948. It is a school for Europe. Democracy, human rights, and supremacy of the law are pillars here.” Gul’s point was clear: he hopes to reaffirm Turkey’s fervent desire for European Union (EU) accession and reiterate the country’s efforts to reform on issues like democracy and human rights, where it meets rebuke from EU ministers (CNN).
Islamist Demands On THY Flights: Turn The Plane Towards Mecca So We Can Pray
It is reported that some Islamist passengers on Turkish Airlines flights mostly from
Cagatay Uysal of the Dispatchers Association said that recently the flight crews are confronted with some passenger requests that cannot be fulfilled. Uysal said that especially close to namaz (Islamic prayer) time, some passengers ask that the plane turns towards
Source:
Read full entry
PM Erdogan To Professors: Mind Your Own Business
Turkish PM was angered by the criticism voiced by the university presidents regarding the new constitution being written by AKP. In a press conference today he responded by saying that the professors had no authority and they should mind their own business. He added that everybody should know their places.
Erdogan said that they were not preparing an AKP constitution but the Turkish constitution, and that they would take it to the ultimate authority – the people – when it was ready. He accused those who criticize their work for trying to drown the baby (i.e. the constitution) before it is born.
When asked about his decision on lifting the turban ban in universities, he said, “They say that turban is a political symbol. When you say that, it means it should be the symbol of a political party. Today again, they (the professors) said that turban is a political symbol. This is a very wrong thing”.
When journalists reminded the prime minister of the recent statements by some sociologists that women should be concerned about their future due to social pressures, PM Erdogan said, “Nobody should be concerned. One can look at the matter from the opposite side. Seeing those who cover their heads as source of pressure is disrespecting religious freedoms”.
Source:
Turkish President Abdullah Gul Appoints Bureaucrats Vetoed By His Predecessor
President Gul began confirming appointments of bureaucrats that had previously been vetoed by former President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. These AKP appointees had been rejected mostly due to their past activities and affiliations with Islamist sects. Those bureaucrats are now being officially appointed to the positions they have held in ‘acting’ status during the term of the previous AKP government.
Source:
Alevism Omitted Again In Turkish School Books of Religious Studies
Despite promises made by Turkish Minister of Education, new school books for religious education in Turkey are again void of any reference to Alevism which is regarded as the most tolerant, moderate and inclusive version of Islam, with a following of about 25% of Turkey’s population. Alevis oppose compulsory religious education in schools that teaches only Sunni Islam.The Sunni establishment, represented by the Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), refuses to recognize Alevism as a religion, denies Alevis the right to build their own houses of worship (cemevi) and imposes upon them to pray in mosques.
The Alevi leaders have expressed their disappointment and stressed that a secular state cannot have an official religion and it must stand at equal distance to all religions. Izzettin Dogan, the President of the Cem Foundation said that the ruling AKP government is a Sunni government, as it openly demonstrates. He added that they have filed 2000 lawsuits, also in European Court of Human Rights, against the AKP government, and once they are finalized the Alevis will be better heard.
Source:
Turkish Columnist: Mini - Mosques Pop Up In Restaurants, Metro, Cafes, Street Corners, Everywhere
Columnist Yalcin Dogan of the mainstream, top-selling Turkish daily Hurriyet complains in his column about the changing life-style in 
owner of a famous kabab restaurant in
Dogan writes that on a major shopping street in
"What is happening”, the columnist says, “is that the daily lives of Turks are being changed by the imposition of Islamist symbols everywhere.”
Source:
Algerian Cartoon: "Islamists Head Secular Turkey"
Turkish President-Elect Abdullah Gul: "We're back, Ataturk!"
Source: El-Khaber, Algeria, August 30, 2007
Antisemitism and the Turkish Islamist 'Milli Gorus' Movement: Zionists/Jews 'Bacteria,' 'Disease'
A Turkish Flash TV interview (http://www.milligorusarsiv.com/videolar/file.php?f=5 ) with former Turkish prime minister Prof. Necmettin Erbakan, who is the founder and leader of the Islamist movement Milli Gorus, was aired July 1, 2007 as part of a pre-election program.
Erbakan is the leader and mentor of the ruling AKP leadership, including both Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan and presidential candidate Abdullah Gul - both of whom have in the past been active members of Erbakan's political parties, filling mayoral, ministerial, and parliamentary posts. All of Erbakan's parties have been banned by Turkish court orders.
In his campaign to promote his Islamist Happiness Party (SP) prior to the July 22, 2007 general elections, Erbakan reiterated antisemitic statements in this interview, as well as in interviews with other TV channels. In his public speeches, he expanded on these views, frequently referring to "Zionists" (meaning, in fact, the Jews) as "bacteria" and "disease," to crowds of tens of thousands, at every stop on his campaign trail, including Ankara and Istanbul, and especially in Anatolian cities such as Konya, Elazig and Trabzon.
The following are excerpts from the Flash TV interview:
Lees verder...Turkish Armed Forces Issued a Stern Statement to Mark Victory Day - One Day Before Gul Becomes President
Turkish Chief of General Staff General Yasar Buyukanit’s written statement came three days before the 85th anniversary of August 30 ‘Victory and Armed Forces Day’ in Turkey.
In his strongly worded message General Buyukanit said, “Sinister plans to destroy the unity of our people and the democratic, secular nature of our country are emerging every day in different shapes and forms. Turkish Armed Forces as it has in the past will continue to guard and protect
Gen.Buyukanit remembered the importance of the day that marked the victory at the end of the independence war out of which the
Gen. Buyukanit added, “None of these threats and offenses can deter or tire the Turkish Armed Forces from its disciplined determination to follow the modern and dynamic Ataturk Doctrine that is based on science and knowledge – and which is far from being an ideology. This strength to resist exists in the very genes of the Turkish Armed Forces.”
This statement comes one day before the controversial election of Abdullah Gul, an Islamist, as president.
Source: All Turkish dailies, August 27, 2007
PM Erdogan: The Term “Moderate Islam” Is Ugly And Offensive; There Is No Moderate Islam; Islam Is Islam
Speaking at Kanal D TV’s Arena program, PM Erdogan commented on the term “moderate Islam”, often used in the West to describe AKP and said, ‘These descriptions are very ugly, it is offensive and an insult to our religion. There is no moderate or immoderate Islam. Islam is Islam and that’s it.”
Source:
Posted at: 2007-08-21
Ukrainian Security Service detained Turkish citizen with 174.5 kg of heroine
24.07.200715:05 (GMT)
Officers of the Security Service of Ukraine (SBU), together with the Intelligence Service with cooperation with the US Drug Enforcement Agency and Turkish law enforcement bodies seized 174.5 kg of heroine of a Turkish citizen at the Ilichivsk Marine Port (Odesa), Ukrainian Public Radio reported today.
According to First Deputy Chief of the Security Service's main agency for combating corruption and organized crime Yevgeny Skulysh, officers arrested a 39-year-old Turkish citizen, driving Scania car. According to the Security Service, the auto was heading from Turkey to Ukraine and the drug parcel was transferred from Iran to Western Europe. This April the Security Service of Ukraine seized 114 kg of heroine of a Turk in Kiev, radio
Turkije pakt Hollandse vrouwen op wegens drugs
De Turkse antinarcoticabrigade heeft zes Nederlandse vrouwen gearresteerd op de luchthaven van Istanbul op verdenking van drugssmokkel.
Majou A. had elf kilo heroïne in haar bagage
De verdachten komen onder meer uit Den Haag en Utrecht. Dat bevestigt woordvoerder Rob Dekker van het ministerie van Buitenlandse Zaken tegenover elsevier.nl. Twee van de vrouwen, die van Turkse en Marokkaanse afkomst zijn, zitten al ruim twee weken in voorlopige hechtenis.
De andere vier, van wie drie vrouwen Nederlands zijn en één de Nederlandse verblijfstatus heeft, mogen Turkije niet verlaten en worden continu in de gaten gehouden. 'Het is ons niet bekend waarom ze niet weg mogen,' zegt Dekker. Volgens de woordvoerder is het onduidelijk of er een verband is tussen de twee vrouwen die vastzitten en de vier andere vrouwen.
Elf kilo heroïne
De twee vrouwen die nog vastzitten, Majou A. en Siyam O., werden op het vliegveld aangehouden toen zij wilden terugkeren naar Nederland. A. bleek elf kilo heroïne in haar bagage te hebben en O. had tien kilo bij zich, meldt het AD. De straatwaarde van de drugs wordt geschat op vele miljoenen euro’s.
De vrouwen zouden de drugs uit Afghanistan hebben gekregen van de Turkse Derya U., een vrouw die ook de Nederlandse nationaliteit heeft. Volgens de Turkse krant Zaman zeggen de vrouwen niet te weten hoe de drugs in hun bagage is terechtgekomen.
Zitting
Dekker vertelt dat het nog niet bekend is wanneer de zitting zal plaatshebben. 'Het Nederlandse consulaat houdt contact met de vrouwen en volgt de zaak.'
Het AD schrijft dat de vrouwen modellenwerk doen in Nederland en op 30 juni op een toeristenvisum zijn aangekomen in Ankara. Mogelijk zijn ze drie keer eerder naar Turkije gereisd om drugs te smokkelen. De politie in Turkije onderzoekt of de vrouwen zijn aangesloten bij een internationale drugsbende.
Turkey’s Existential Election
July 18, 2007| Prepared by: |
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The results of Turkey’s July 22 general elections don’t seem much in doubt, with polls strongly favoring (Angus Reid) the governing Justice and Development Party (AKP) to retain an edge over its main competitors. But in a Muslim country pointedly questioning the foundations of its secular constitution and considering an invasion of northern Iraq, the vote assumes a greater meaning.
The election stands as a verdict on the direction of Turkey’s leadership. AKP officials called for the early vote this spring, following massive protests (IHT) challenging the party’s push to install a moderate Islamist, Abdullah Gul, as Turkey’s president. For the better part of a century, Turkey’s government followed a strict secularist code imposed in 1923 by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, who eschewed traditional Islamic dress and called for societal “modernity” (FT). But some 60 percent of Turkish women still wear headscarves (Reuters), and the AKP’s efforts to loosen bans on covering up in government buildings and universities proved popular among many Turks. Yet they also provoked this spring’s protests, which were led by the country’s secularist military elite.
DEBKAfile Exclusive: Fierce battles rage Thursday between the Turkish army and Kurdish PKK rebels on both sides of Turkish-Iraqi border. A Turkish Black Hawk shot down over Iraq
Heavy casualties are reported on both sides. Turkish tanks have also been hit. The PKK Kurdish Workers Party turns out to have been ready for the major Turkish operation, well-armed with anti-tank and shoulder-borne missiles for shooting down Turkish warplanes and helicopters. Despite Ankara’s blackout on the scale of operation against the Kurdish rebels on both sides of the border and the scope of the Turkish incursion of Iraq, DEBKAfile’s military sources report the situation as of Thursday, June 7:
PKK bands, who stole earlier into southeastern Turkey from Iraq and locally, are hitting Turkish concentrations behind the lines and impeding their thrust into Iraqi Kurdistan to destroy rebel hideouts. The Turkish army is therefore fighting on two fronts: in the southeastern Turkish Gabar, Cudi and Bakok mountains and River Cehennem, as well as in northern Iraq.
Lees verder...DEBKAfile Exclusive: US forces transfer Iraqi Kurdistan’s security responsibility to local peshmerga to sidestep threatened Turkish invasion
Defense Secretary Robert Gates Sunday cautioned Turkey against sending troops into northern Iraq.
The heavy Turkish military buildup on the border of Iraqi Kurdistan last week prompted the autonomous region’s president, Massoud Barzani, to send a personal emissary, Safin Dizai, to Ankara with an urgent message.
Turkish tanks would not be allowed to cross into northern Iraq, he said. The Kurdish army known as peshmerga would repel them. “The people of Kurdistan,“ said the messenger, “would not stand by as spectators if Turkish tanks and panzers entered Kirkuk.” And finally, “Turkey also knows that a military incursion is out of the question. The world will not allow this. The US is here and does not want it.”
The Kurdish leader had his answer Thursday, May 31, when Turkish chief of staff Gen. Yasar Büyükanıt declared his army was ready for incursion into northern Iraq. "There is not only the PKK in northern Iraq,” he said. “There is Massoud Barzani as well"
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Lees verder...Turkish military buildup on Iraq border fuels unease in Washington
May 30, 2007, 5:29 PM (GMT+02:00)
JUSTITIE-SG JORIS DEMMINK GECHANTEERD MET KINDERSEX
De secretaris-generaal van het Ministerie van Justitie Joris Demmink is jarenlang door een criminele Turkse overheid gechanteerd. De chantage bestond eruit dat Turkije beschikte over bewijsmateriaal dat Demmink, na de minister de hoogste man op het ministerie, sexparty's in Turkije organiseerde waarbij minderjarigen werden misbruikt. Deze sexparty's werden georganiseerd samen met drugscriminelen met vertakkingen in de hele Turkse overheid totaan toenmalig premier Tansu Ciller aan toe. In 1995 is op zo'n party ook geschoten. De kringen rond Ciller die zich bezighielden met drugshandel hebben de Nederlandse staat vervolgens onder druk gezet met het bewijsmateriaal tegen Demmink om een Koerdische klokkenluider die de verwevenheid van de Turkse overheid met de internationale drugshandel aan de kaak wilde stellen het zwijgen op te leggen via een reeks 'schijnprocessen'. Deze Koerd verbleef op dat moment in Nederland. Zou ons land deze klokkenluider niet 'kaltstellen' dan zou Turkije vervolging instellen tegen Demmink wegens pedofilie. De genoemde schijnporcessen resulteerden uiteindelijk op 30 juli 2002 in een vonnis tot levenslange gevangenisstraf voor deze man, H. Baybasin. Baybasin heeft op 2 april aangifte gedaan tegen ondermeer Demmink wegens pedofilie, opzettelijke en wederrechtelijke vrijheidsberoving en deelneming aan een criminele organisatie. De feiten zoals hier beschreven komen uit deze aangifte die is ingediend door de Amsterdamse strafadvocaten A. van der Plas en P. Bakker Schut.
Lees verder...
'Sovereignty Belongs Unconditionally and Always To Allah'
Turkish PM Erdogan in Speech During Term As Istanbul Mayor Attacks Turkey’s Constitution, Describing it As ‘A Huge Lie’: 'Sovereignty Belongs Unconditionally and Always To Allah'; 'One Cannot Be a Muslim, and Secular'
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan whose political origins are with the Milli Gorus -the radical and political Islamist movement founded by the former Islamist PM Erbakan - often attacked Turkey’s secular regime and it's Constitution.
A video clip of one of PM Erdogan’s speeches delivered during his term as Istanbul’s Mayor, (1994-1998) can be watched at youtube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eg3hkWCnA8c
The following is the translated transcript of the speech:
Turkish PM Tayyip Erdogan calls for ntional unity Monday amid clash over presidency between government and secularists
Foreign minister Abdullah Gul refuses to withdraw his candidacy despite massive opposition including a demonstration of hundreds of thousands in Istanbul Sunday shouting Turkey is secular and will remain secular. The European Union has said the pro-secular army’s threat to intervene in the presidential election could damage the country’s prospects of joining the EU. Monday, the Turkish stock market plunged 8% over the crisis and the lira fell.
Friday, an opposition boycott denied Gul the two-thirds parliamentary majority he needs for election, accusing him of pro-Islamist proclivities. The constitutional court must deliver a verdict ahead of the second round of voting Wednesday.
The army has staged four coups in the past 50 years against Islamist-leading governments in defense of the secularist values established by Kemal Ataturk in modern Turkey. The opposition wants an early election to oust the ruling Justice and Development party
Turkish forces drive into northern Iraq to destroy Kurdish PKK rebel bases in Iraqi Kurdistan
They crossed at several points – 20 km deep to target PKK camps east of Zaho and 30-40 kms up to the rural areas of Haftanin, Sinaht and Pirbela provinces. The Turkish army is also clearing landmines that could impede its cross-border offensive against rebel Kurdish camps. DEBKAfile adds: Ankara accuses Iraqi Kurdistan of harboring the PKK terrorists, allowing them to stage cross-border raids into Turkey and run back for cover.
Earlier this week, Ankara and Iraqi Kurdish leaders swapped threats over the oil-rich city of Kirkuk.
Officials in the Turkish capital said Iraqi Kurdish leader Massoud Barzani’s persistent claim to Kirkuk will lead to the loss of the last trace of stability in Iraq. Barzani retorted: “Turkey is not allowed to intervene in the Kirkuk issue; if it does, we will interfere over Diyarbakir and other cities in Turkey.”
Ankara replied: “Turkey will not hesitate to take necessary precautions so that Barzani can’t even spell the “D” of Diyarkabir (the biggest city in Turkey’s southeastern Kurdish region). Barzani should know his place.”
Secret Dealing in Hostage Crisis
| Tehran | ||
Tensions Rise in Turkey in Advance of Presidential Election
As the countdown proceeds towards the May 16 presidential election in Turkey, a sense of panic pervades Turkey's secular circles, which fear for the secular and democratic nature of the Turkish republic. The possibility that Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan will bid for and win the presidency heads the national agenda, with daily polls, wagers, and guessing games.
According to the Turkish constitution, the president is elected by parliament; at present, the AKP party, whose roots are Islamist, holds the majority in parliament.
To date, Erdogan has been secretive about his candidacy, saying that the AKP will disclose its presidential candidate on April 16, a month before the election.
The thought of an Islamist occupying the highest position in the land has thrown the country into turmoil, and has deepened the rift between Islamists and secularists - and this is reflected in Turkey's divided media.
Business circles, NGOs, and the general public have been expressing their wish for nominating a candidate by national consensus, so as to prevent chaos and instability.
Many of the AKP government's Islamization attempts during the past four years have met with rejection and vetoes by the current president, the staunchly secular Ahmet Necdet Sezer, who has acted as a force for checks and balances. This will be lost if he is replaced by Erdogan.
Turkish Judiciary At War With AKP Government to Defend Its Independence
A deepening rift between Turkey's AKP government and Turkey's highest court of appeals (the Yargitay) and high administrative court (the Danistay) has recently become a focus of public debate in Turkey, and has received extensive media coverage. On March 20, the Supreme Board of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK) held a press conference to publicly protest against the government, for the first time in Turkey's history, because it obstructed the appointment of judges to the high courts for over 10 months so that it could fill vacant posts with its own Islamist-minded appointees.
This crisis comes amidst political tensions in the run-up to the presidential election in the AKP-majority parliament, which is set for May 16. It appears that the AKP government is seeking to postpone all important appointments until after the new president takes office, so as to avoid a probable veto of their nominees by the outgoing, staunchly secular President Ahmet Necdet Sezer. Secular circles fear the new president will be an Islamist - most probably the current prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, himself.
The following are excerpts from the Turkish press on the issue:
Het Turkije waarover Geert Mak zwijgt
vrijdag 16 maart 2007 11:06
Nee, ik heb het Boekenweekgeschenk nog niet gelezen en zal er niets over zeggen (en ook al zou ik het wel gelezen hebben, dan hou ik er mijn mond over – als ex-Boekenweekschrijver moet je niet over Boekenweekboeken van anderen oordelen), maar in de media heb ik wel het een en ander gezien van Geert Mak. Zijn Boekenweekgeschenk draait om een brug in Istanbul.
Mak moet heel wat schoenzolen versleten hebben op de Brug der Bruggen, de Galata. Hij heeft er met een tolk rondgelopen en er vrienden gemaakt, misschien niet voor het leven, maar toch.
Hij zei het volgende op televisie maar ook in een interview in Het Parool: ‘Als je heel arm bent is waardigheid vaak het enige wat je nog hebt.’
Turkish Foreign Minister Gül: "We cannot contain the public" if U.S. Congress acknowledges Armenian genocide
The bill in question can be found here, attached to a press release from the Armenian Assembly of America. "Gül’s serious mistake," by Cüneyt Ülsever for Turkish Daily News, with thanks to Andy Bostom:
One of the goals of Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül's visit to the United States was to prevent, to whatever extent possible, the seemingly inevitable passing of the Armenian genocide bill by Congress.
The minister's efforts in this cause, even if they prove to be in vain, are both a consequence of his rights and his responsibility. The passing of this bill in Congress will deal the biggest blow in history to U.S.-Turkey relations. It is the minister's responsibility to warn against such a situation.
However, I think that one of his remarks was unfortunate and very open to misinterpretation and use as provocation.Lees verder...
EU Undertakes Major Assault on PKK, Backed By US
By Jonathan Winer
Outside of Turkey, there has been remarkably little attention paid to the major European raids against the PKK, which began in early February in France and have now included operations in Belgium and by some accounts, possibly Germany as well, with arrests of some 40 people in all on charges relating to terrorism and terrorist finance.
According to wire reports and articles in the Turkish press, the operation is being conducted within the scope of an investigation into the financing of terrorism, organized crime, and money laundering, including trafficking in narcotics and extortion in order to finance the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) terrorist organization. In Paris, PKK Council members Riza Altun and Nedim Seven were reportedly being questioned, while the head of PKK Kongra-Gel, Zubeyir Aydar, was released after supplying police with required information.
Lees verder...Polizeispitzel soll zu Mord an Dink angestiftet haben
Ein früherer Spitzel der türkischen Polizei soll laut neuen Aussagen eines Hauptverdächtigen im Mordfall des armenisch-türkischen Journalisten Hrant Dink die treibende Kraft hinter dem Verbrechen gewesen sein.
jAN kEETMAN/ISTANBUL
Nach dem Mord an Hrant Dink möchte der türkische Premier Recep Tayyip Erdogan den Sicherheitsapparat «ausmisten», so weit es halt eben geht, wie er selbst einräumt. Das zu bekämpfende Phänomen wird in der Türkei unter dem Schlagwort «tiefer Staat» zusammengefasst.
Erdogan beschreibt den «tiefen Staat» so: «Eine Bandenbildung durch einen Teil der Angestellten des Staates, die sich von den Gesetzen gelöst haben und Werten dienen, die sie selbst als heilig erachten.» Diese heiligen Werte gehören zu zwei modernen türkischen Göttern, nämlich «Staat» und «Nation».
Lees verder...Turkey to U.S.: abet us in denying our crimes -- or else
"U.S. officials have said they will try to block the resolution." Shameful.
"Turkish Minister Warns Against U.S. Genocide Resolution," from Radio Free Europe/Radio Liberty, with thanks to Kemaste:
February 7, 2007 -- Turkey's foreign minister has warned the U.S. Congress that passing a resolution condemning as "genocide" the mass killing of Armenians early in the last century would harm relations.Lees verder...Abdullah Gul, speaking after meeting top U.S. officials in Washington on February 6, said the proposed resolution would be an irritant to otherwise close cooperation with the United States on issues such as Iraq.
In der Türkei herrscht nicht nur
Von unserem Korrespondenten Nico Sandfuchs, AnkaraAnkara. Dass die beeindruckende Beerdigung für Hrant Dink mit mehr als 100.000 Teilnehmern nur die Haltung eines Teils der stark polarisierten türkischen Gesellschaft wiederspiegelt, wurde von vielen Beobachtern von Anfang an betont. Dass aber gleich so viele Menschen unter dem Motto „Wir sind alle Armenier!“ ihre Solidarität mit dem ermordeten Journalisten zum Ausdruck brachten, hat dennoch vielfach für Überraschung gesorgt. In den Kolumnen zahlreicher türkischer Blätter wurde der Massenaufmarsch deshalb hoffnungsvoll als Aufbegehren der sonst häufig „schweigenden Mehrheit“ für eine offenere, tolerantere und demokratischere Türkei interpretiert.
Immer deutlicher wurde aber in den vergangenen Tagen, dass die Solidarität mit Hrant Dink, der für Demokraten wie für Ultranationalisten gleichermaßen längst zum Sinnbild einer fortschrittlichen und multikulturellen Türkei geworden ist, keinesfalls überall auf ungeteilte Zustimmung stößt. Bereits unmittelbar nach der Beerdigung hatten die einflussreichen rechtsradikalen Parteien MHP und BBP gegen die Verbrüderung mit den Armeniern Stimmung gemacht, indem sie die Gegenparole „Wir sind alle Türken!“ an ihre Anhänger ausgaben. Lees verder...
TURKEY'S SUICIDE
OUR OLD ALLY'S BENT ON SELF-DESTRUCTIONRalph Peters NY Post January 26, 2007
IT'S hard to watch an old pal hit the skids, making one disastrous decision after another, throwing away a brilliant future. That's the position we're in with Turkey - a former ally bent on self-destruction.
A NATO member ideally positioned to serve as a bridge between the West and the Middle East, Turkey's secular constitution and economic progress should have made it an example for other regional states to emulate. Instead, Turkey has been aping the blighted regimes of the Arab world:
* Exploiting the population's disgust with government corruption, Islamists gained power through the ballot box - and immediately started dismantling the secular legacy of Kemal Ataturk. Lees verder...
How they treat murderers in Turkey
(ISTANBUL) Video footage of Ogun Samast (the Turkish Islamist) who murdered Hrant Dink in cold blood has been aired in which he is seen posing with the police who arrested him while holding aloft the Turkish flag.So in Turkey the Muslim land brought out by the liberals in which to show that a moderate form of Islam can exist. The murderer of a journalist whose only crime was writing the truth about the Armenian genocide is feted as a hero. Makes you wonder if the outpouring of grief after Dinks murder wasn’t a publicity stunt.
TURKEY: SHIPS NOT SENT TO CYPRUS, MILITARY SAYS
Ankara, 1 Feb. (AKI) - Reports that Turkey has sent warships to waters controlled by Cyprus were not true, Ankara's military chief said Thursday. Earlier Turkish newsreports said that the military ships had been dispatched as a show of strength by Anakara in its dispute with the Greek Cypriot government in Nicosia over oil and gas exploration rights. But general Yasar Buyukanit, the military chief of staff, told reporters that Turkish warships routinely patrol the Aegean and the eastern Mediterranean and that no new force had been sent around Cyprus.
Earlier this week Turkey warned Lebanon and Egypt not to embark in oil and gas exploration deals signed with Cyprus, saying Turkey and Turkish Cypriots also had rights in the region - almost half of the island of Cyprus is controlled by Turkey which has set up the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an entity not recognised internationally.
Earlier this week Turkey warned Lebanon and Egypt not to embark in oil and gas exploration deals signed with Cyprus, saying Turkey and Turkish Cypriots also had rights in the region - almost half of the island of Cyprus is controlled by Turkey which has set up the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, an entity not recognised internationally.
Neue Befürchtungen vor türkischem EU-Beitritt
EU-Parlamentarier befürchten eine Schwächung der europäischen DemokratieVon Eric Ashar
Demokratie und EU passen nicht so richtig zusammen. Was brächte dann eigentlich der Beitritt der Türkei der EU? Wohl kaum etwas gutes. In einer repräsentativen Erhebung hat der Lehrstuhl für Soziologie und empirische Sozialforschung der Universität Hohenheim insgesamt 82 Europa-Abgeordnete aus 19 EU-Mitgliedsländern befragt. Demnach sehen fast zwei Drittel der Parlamentarier in einem Türkeibeitritt eine demokratische Schwächung der EU.
Lees verder...
De gedetailleerde invloed van Turkije op Nederland
Door Diyanet gewijzigde versie Intentieverklaring INHOLLAND en CMO De ondergetekenden:I. Hogeschool INHOLLAND, uitgaande van de stichting Hoger Onderwijs Nederland, kantoorhoudende te Den Haag, te dezen rechtsgeldig vertegenwoordigd door J.M.M. Elbers, voorzitter College van Bestuur, hierna te noemen: “INHOLLAND”
enII. Contactorgaan Moslims en Overheid, kantoorhoudende te Apeldoorn, te dezen rechtsgeldig vertegenwoordigd door A.Tonca, hierna te noemen CMO.
Lees verder...Turkish anti-West mood 'rising'
Turkish Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul has warned that moderate Turks are becoming anti-American and anti-EU.
Mr Gul said many Turks were embittered by the US' support for Israel's actions in Lebanon and by Turkey's problems in joining the EU.
He also said Ankara could be forced to act to stop cross-border raids by Kurdish rebels operating from Iraq.
Mr Gul's comments came in a wide-ranging interview with the UK's Financial Times newspaper.
"Moderate liberal people [in Turkey] are becoming anti-American and anti-EU," he said.
Lees verder...
Hesperophobia (fear or hatred of the West).