313 replies to this topic

[Yervant1]

The Armenian Weekly

May 30 2017

 

Turkey: Kurdish Activist Arrested for Social Media Posts on Armenian Genocide

By Uzay Bulut on May 30, 2017 in Headline, Special Reports // 0 Comments //  // 

 

 

 

 

Special for the Armenian Weekly

Mukaddes Alataş, a Kurdish human rights activist from Diyarbakir, was recently arrested for “being a member of a terror organization.” Her crime? She posted about the Armenian Genocide on social media and engaged in women’s rights activism.

Mukaddes Alataş

Alataş was detained in her home on May 11 after a police raid and was jailed after eight days in police custody.

“The reason for her detention is her activities regarding human rights, women’s rights, and her social media posts about the Armenian Genocide,” said Eren Keskin, a leading human rights lawyer and co-head of the Human Rights Association (IHD). “Mukaddes worked as an official at the Istanbul branch of the IHD between 1996 and 2002. Then she moved to Diyarbakir… She was helping women exposed to violence at the Kardelen Women’s Center of the Diyarbakir municipality. After a trustee was appointed by the government to the municipality, she was fired from her job,” Keskin added. “The judge told her: ‘I understand everything but what is it with those [social media] posts about the Armenian Genocide?’”

According to Keskin, there is nothing that could constitute evidence for Mukaddes’s arrest. “But they arrested her for being a member of a terror organization,” Keskin says.

Although the Armenians are an indigenous people and were once the rulers of the region, the Armenian population in Diyarbakir (Dikranagerd/Tigranakert in Armenian) has disappeared. There are only hidden and “no-longer hidden” Armenians who are subjected to much pressure and hostility.

Homeless Armenian orphans wandering in the streets of Diyarbakir and Austrian soldiers giving them bread. (Photo: The Armenian Genocide Museum Institute)

The 2006 book entitled Armenian Tigranakert/Diarbekir and Edessa/Urfa, edited by Professor Richard G. Hovannisian, details the Armenian roots of the city. According to the book, “Tigranakert holds special significance in Armenian history. It was in the vicinity of Tigranakert that Tigran the Great built an opulent new capital city in the heart of his expansive empire in the first century B.C.”

Tigranakert and the surrounding region were, for centuries, a scene to a contest for dominance between several empires. Even under foreign rule, Armenians remained a sizable community in the city until the 1915 genocide, when Ottoman soldiers as well as local Kurds and Turks—upon the order of the Ottoman Young Turk Government—exterminated the Armenian and other Christian communities in the city through methods such as murder, rape, forced deportation, and forced conversion to Islam. The perpetrators then seized Christian properties and lands.

Unlike the relentless denial of the Turkish government, the Kurdish political movement in Turkey recognizes the Armenian Genocide and commemorates it.

On April 23, 2013, for example, an event was organized by the Diyarbakir Bar Association, then led by Kurdish lawyer Tahir Elçi, and the Diyarbakir Municipality, to commemorate the 98th anniversary of the destruction of the Armenian community in the city.

“Today, we commemorate the genocide in Diyarbakir for the first time. This is a very important day for us. We bow respectfully before the memory of our Armenian brothers who were murdered in 1915, and condemn the genocide,” Elçi said in his speech.

A scene from Tahir Elci’s funeral

Two years later, on Nov. 28, 2015, Elçi was murdered in broad daylight while he was holding a press conference, in which he spoke about the destruction caused by the military attacks carried out during the curfew imposed by the Turkish government in the Sur district of Diyarbakir. In his last public speech, he called for an end to violence between the Turkish state and the Kurdish PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party).

Though almost two years have passed, his murderers have still not been brought to account.

Mahsuni Karaman, Elçi’s family’s lawyer and a member of the “Tahir Elçi Murder Investigation Commission said: “Our connection with Elçi’s file has been cut. We are not given the copies; we do not know at what stage it [the file] is… But there are things we know. There is not a single suspect in the file. The gun with which Elçi was shot has not been identified because the cartridge bullet has not been found. As there is no certain evidence, no progress has been made to shed light on this murder. We have made more than 100 requests from the Diyarbakir prosecutor’s office, but we do not know what has been done about these requests. For the prosecutor does not give information either to the public or to us.”

Similarly, lawyer Neşet Girasun, a board member of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, told the Armenian Weekly: “An effective investigation that would reveal the perpetrators as well as the forces behind them has not been launched.”

Many Kurds were victims of kidnappings, torture, and murders at the hands of Turkish state forces in the 1990s. Elçi worked vigorously to shed light on what has come to be known as “murders by unknown assailants” in Turkey. Ironically, he became a victim of one himself.

In the meanwhile, Sedat Peker, a gang leader, who has been convicted of several crimes and is a staunch supporter of President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, was given the “most benevolent businessman” award by the Turkish 2K Media Company on May 24.

Peker had threatened academics who signed a petition calling for peace between the Turkish government and the Kurds in early 2016. He said that he wanted to take a bath in “the blood of the academics.” Peker has not yet been brought to account for his statements openly calling for mass slaughter.

Turkey not only denies the Armenian Genocide but also violently crushes any voice that dares tell the truth about it. Meanwhile, those who incite mass murder against dissident academics and peace activists are protected, promoted, and awarded.

http://armenianweekl...latas-arrested/

[Yervant1]

The Globe Post

May 26 2017

 

 

US Congress: Erdogan No Longer Wanted In America

By

Abdullah Ayasun

 

 

 

The House of Representatives Foreign Affairs Committee has adopted a harsh language against Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, revealing the depth of angst over the brutal crackdown on protesters during President Erdogan’s visit last week.

 

In a unanimous vote, the Committee also separately condemned Turkey for the violent attack on peaceful protesters outside Turkish Ambassador’s residence in Washington, D.C., during President Erdogan’s entrance to the building.

The congressmen at the subcommittee hearing even went on to say that President Erdogan should never be allowed to visit the United States again, and pressed for the expulsion of the Turkish ambassador, echoing the earlier call of Senator John McCain.

The sharpness of discourse and recriminations against the Turkish president was a testimony of the state of bewilderment among American politicians.

“To have the president of another country who watched his bully boys beat Americans into the ground and bloody them and for him to protest our people, that is the supreme insult,” Dana Rohrabacher, chairman of the Subcommittee on Europe, Eurasia, and Emerging Threats, said during his opening remarks. “We don’t need people like you visiting the United States any more.”

“When we want to talk to the Turks, we want to talk to Turks who want to have a democratic society, and not to their oppressor, a man who is trying to create Islamofascism in his own country with him as the head fascist … Erdogan should never again be invited to the United States.”

“He is an enemy of everything we stand for, and more importantly, he is the enemy of his own people,” he said, reflecting a widely-shared sentiment among the American public.

The incident prompted swift condemnations from infuriated members of the both chambers of the U.S. Congress.

On Thursday, a bipartisan group of senators called on Secretary of State Rex Tillerson to waive any claims to immunity for security detail of foreign delegations. They also pressed for holding bodyguards accountable for their actions, making them available for interviews with the U.S. authorities.

If Turkey overturns the American demands, the senators argued, that Mr. Tillerson should revoke diplomatic credentials of Turkish Ambassador to the U.S. Serdar Kilic and reconsider visas for other government officials.

On the same day, U.S. House Speaker Paul Ryan assailed Turkey and portrayed the violent acts by bodyguards against protesters as “completely indefensible.”

“The violent crackdown on peaceful protesters by Turkish security forces was completely indefensible, and the [Recep Tayyip] Erdogan government’s response was wholly inadequate,” he said in a statement.

“Turkey is an important NATO ally, but its leaders must fully condemn and apologize for this brutal behavior against innocent civilians exercising their First Amendment rights. In the meantime, we stand fully committed to helping bring all those responsible to justice,” he added.

During the hearing, the chairman underlined that the incident fits a pattern of broader political violence and suppression in Turkey. Nor was it an isolated case, as the chairman recalled the altercation last year between journalists and Mr. Erdogan’s bodyguards during a speech at Brookings Institute.

“The repressive and authoritarian nature of the Erdogan government has been developing … right in front of our eyes,” he said.

Aram Hamparian of Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA) testified at the subcommittee hearing. After praising Mr. Ryan and other Congress members for their robust posture, Mr. Hamparian called for swift action, “expulsion of the Turkish ambassador and the lifting the diplomatic immunity and action on each of the points in H.Res. 354”

The congressmen who were usually reserved and prefer adopting a diplomatic language when criticizing foreign leaders dropped any reservation, unleashing a scathing criticism of the Turkish president.

This was equally true for Rhode Island Rep. David Cicilline. “One has to wonder why President Erdogan felt so emboldened that in the bright D.C. sunshine, in front of cameras and hundreds of people, he sent his attack dogs out.” The Donald Trump administration was among the targets of his castigating remarks for removing emphasis in human rights matters.

Moral issues in foreign policy have been cast adrift as President Trump has no qualms over moral concerns when he forges relations with authoritarian leaders.

His administration’s displayed indifference to human rights violations, crackdown on opponents in domestic politics of U.S. allies or other countries is regarded by the congressmen as an unsavory policy, giving leeway to leaders with authoritarian tendencies.

It was manifestly evident during President Erdogan’s visit. Both Mr. Trump and other officials conspicuously steered clear of any mention of mass arrests and the sweeping purge in Turkey.

In a gesture of comity to Mr. Erdogan, President Trump lavishly praised his guest and Turkey for being a stalwart ally against terrorism in the region. The warm embrace was the seal of approval the Turkish president desperately craved amid mounting international criticism over his crackdown on domestic opponents.

But it was all about style, not anything of substance, as the trip fell short of meeting its lofty goals for a reset in relations tested by a number of unresolved thorny issues.

As the hearing advanced, Representative Brad Sherman of California excoriated Turkey, portraying the incident “as an attack on American sovereignty.”

He was less reserved when depicting the bodyguards as thugs. “The actions of those thugs have been compounded by the lies of the Turkish ambassador … and he should be asked to leave our country immediately.”

The Chairman also went ballistic when he offered a portrait of the Turkish president unheard before from a U.S. congressman.

“Obviously you have a fascistic megalomaniac in charge of the government of Turkey who is so consumed with his own power that he thinks he can call people together and tell us we were wrong when we see our citizens being beaten into the dirt, American dirt,” Mr. Rohrabacher said.

If President Erdogan came to the U.S. to persuade the Trump administration over the extradition of U.S.-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, his arch-foe, he appeared to be less convincing for his argument. The violent episode presented a setback for his demand as the American Congress increasingly appears more skeptical and cautious over the matter.

The incident had a profound impact and a fallout over the extradition issue, a source of enduring friction between the two allies. President Erdogan holds Mr. Gulen as responsible for the attempted coup last summer and presses the U.S. to extradite him.

But despite the U.S. demand from Turks to provide convincing evidence that links Mr. Gulen to the abortive putsch, the Turkish side has so far failed to do that. The congressmen touched upon the matter, urging caution against Mr. Erdogan’s repeated calls to the Trump White House.

Befuddled by Turkey’s summoning of the U.S. ambassador to castigate the U.S. security personnel over the treatment of the Turkish bodyguards, the chairman said Turkey is no longer a friend.

“They are no longer our friends because the head of their country now can watch this [violence in Washington, D.C.] and then call our ambassador in to castigate us after seeing this firsthand,” Mr. Rohrabacher said. “He saw this firsthand. One wonder when he talks about Gulen, we have to take into consideration what he did here.”

U.S. Congressman Brad Sherman was blunter in his response to the Turkish government over its claims against Mr. Gulen.

“I think we have to declare very firmly: They’ve got no credibility,” he said in candid terms.

In a reflection of a growing consensus among the U.S. Congress members, Mr. Rohrabacher summarized the mood. After noting that President Erdogan “wants to close down” all Gulen-linked schools, the chairman said: “We should probably note that the Gulen movement is a very positive thing … this should cement what we think of them.”

http://theglobepost....-wanted-in-u-s/

[MosJan]

should we change the topic name to islamofascist ???

[MosJan]

no no ; let it stay like that. it's Arpas topic, let it stay the way he opened

[Yervant1]

Poynter

May 31 2017

 

 

These fake ‘fact-checkers’ are peddling lies about genocide and censorship in Turkey

By Efe Kerem Sözeri • May 31, 2017            

The Turkish government’s dominance over TV and print media — and its intimidation of critical journalists with arbitrary detentions and trials — is well known.

Less known is a sweeping campaign of misinformation orchestrated by bogus fact-checking groups with ties to the government that propagate explosive claims: The Armenian genocide is a lie; the government didn’t try to censor Wikipedia; thousands of government employees who were fired for political reasons have an effective appeals procedure.

These fake “fact-checkers” aim to “refute” critical stories about Turkey’s government — even when they contain verified facts.

Sarphan Uzunoğlu, a media studies lecturer at Istanbul’s Kadir Has University, says Turkey established a “post-truth regime” before it became the word of the year in 2016. The regime has provided unique contributions to the field, he adds, such as propagandists’ use of the “fact-checking” title for political purposes.

Bengi Ruken Cengiz, a doctoral researcher and an editor at Turkey’s first —and genuine— fact-checking service, DogrulukPayi.com, concurs that the popularity of fact-checking made it an appealing format for partisans trying to gain the moral high ground.

Enter “Fact Check Armenia.”

Screenshot from “FactCheckArmenia.com”, displaying “FALSE” stamp on a real photo taken in 1915 from Şeyxmalan village near the Tigris River, later re-named into Turkish as Tepebaşı.

Fact Check Armenia

Turkey officially denies the Armenian Genocide, conducting campaigns and lobbying efforts against recognition of the genocide worldwide, especially in the United States.

It is aided in this goal by FactCheckArmenia.com, a site with ties to government-affiliated organizations that peddles misinformation about the death of more than a million Armenians.

Last year an aerial stunt spelled out “101 YEARS OF GENO-LIE,” and promoted the website “FACT CHECK ARMENIA.COM” in the skies of Manhattan. The website was also advertised on Google results for search queries on Armenian Genocide.

FactCheckArmenia.com does not reveal who actually owns or runs the website. The whois records, which show ownership of registered websites, are hidden via a company in Bahamas. But their Facebook page say they are funded by the “Turkic Platform.” That platform, with similarly undeclared owners, is “an NGO based in Istanbul” according to the Turkish pro-government media, but many activities seem to take place in the United States.

The “fact sheets” provided on the FactCheckArmenia.com take a firmly pro-Turkish stance. This is most visible in the use of the word “relocation”, that mirrors Turkey’s official narrative, instead of acknowledging orders for the forced deportation of Armenians that caused hundreds of thousands of deaths.

Many other claims, such as “No Armenians were harmed” of the April 24, 1915 arrests, are simply untrue given that 79 of the first group of 235 intellectuals were reportedly killed.

Detail from FactCheckArmenia’s infographic on “Events before relocation” claiming “No Armenians were harmed”.

The individuals who promoted the genocide-denying campaign in the U.S. left trails that connect the Fact Check Armenia project directly to the Ankara government.

Ayhan Özmekik, the spokesperson for the Fact Check Armenia, and also for the Turkic Platform, is the founder of the Turkish American Youth and Education Foundation. The organization has good access to government officials, as Özmekik later took a role in the AK Party’s U.S. outreach activities. In 2015, Özmekik produced an interview with President Erdogan’s son Bilal Erdogan for Fact Check Armenia’s sister project, “LetHistoryDecide.” The site was promoted by Turkey’s Minister for Foreign Affairs Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu, the Turkish embassy in D.C. and ambassador Serdar Kılıç, Turkish consulates, and also by the ruling AK Party.

Derya Taskin, who organized the Manhattan stunt, was then the president of Turkish Institute for Progress (TIP), one of the prime Turkish lobbying organizations in the U.S. She also sits on the executive board of the Turkish-American Steering Committee (TASC) which organized the “LetHistoryDecide” rallies. Back in Turkey, Taskin was considered to run for a parliamentary seat from Turkey’s ruling AK Party in the province of Afyon.

Ms. Taskin initially denied being involved with the project, but when provided with her own quote from an article on Turkey’s state-run news agency that TIP organized the aerial stunt, she declined to reply further. Mr. Özmekik, and the organizations he is affiliated with, did not respond to our requests for comment.

Fact Check Armenia also uses paid campaigns on other news organizations to spread its misinformation. Using the PR Newswire service, Fact Check Armenia managed to publish a paid story on Reuters in April 2015 that claimed Russia was behind the Armenian Genocide commemoration efforts —that article was later deleted without correction. On the same day, TASC published an open letter, again paid as an ad on The Washington Post, that disputes the genocide and promotes the other denial website, “LetHistoryDecide.org”.

Turkey’s English-language media outlets, such as public broadcaster TRT World TV and the pro-government newspaper Daily Sabah pursue the same objective — improving Turkey’s image abroad— said Koray Kaplıca, also an editor at DogrulukPayi. But in the name of “national interest” these outlets can turn into pure propaganda tools for the ruling party.

Case in point, “Fact-Checking Turkey.”

Screenshot from “FactCheckingTurkey.com” featuring a misleading story on Wikipedia

Fact-Checking Turkey

Just like Fact Check Armenia, “FactCheckingTurkey.com,” launched in 2016, is not a fact-checking service. Instead, it is a project to counter articles critical of Turkey’s government.

Unlike nonpartisan fact-checkers, FactCheckingTurkey does not use a transparent methodology to adjudicate claims. Conclusions are usually reached by making reference to government statements.

Officials’ statements are often the only source and are treated as the ultimate truth, Kaplıca said.

The recent article, “Story behind Wikipedia ban in Turkey,” is a case in point: An unnamed Turkish state official is the only source used to completely ‘debunk’ nine global media outlets’news reports about Turkey’s censorship of the online encyclopaedia. The article even contends that a representative of Wikipedia privately confirmed the same unnamed state official’s story — saying the exact opposite of what the executive director of Wikimedia Foundation, Katherine Maher, stated publicly.

Yet, some counterclaims are more dangerous than others. On Twitter, the group recently targeted Amnesty’s report on Turkey’s post-coup purge.

Based on 61 interviews, Amnesty concluded that “in spite of the clear arbitrariness of the dismissal decisions, there is no effective appeal procedure for public sector workers against their expulsions. A commission proposed in January to assess the cases lacks both the independence and the capacity to make it effective. It is yet to start operating.”

FactCheckingTurkey countered this with a month-old speech by a presidential advisor, Mehmet Uçum, on a TV show, saying that an appeal commission is “expected to start out soon”.

In fact, the members of the commission have already been appointed. The seven-member commission, chaired by Justice Ministry’s deputy undersecretary, is expected to face a barrage of 200,000 appeals in its two-year term. Yet, none of these developments addresses Amnesty’s warnings about its independence or effectiveness.

There are two main reasons these propaganda projects aren’t real fact-checkers, Cengiz said.

First, the claims that are chosen for analysis should be verifiable. Second, the fact checks should rely on more than one publicly available, preferably unbiased, source of information.

To “debunk” Amnesty’s report, Fact Checking Turkey offers a political argument instead of scrutinizing the effectiveness of the commission. And in the Wikipedia case, they rely entirely on an unnamed official while publicly available sources, such as Wikipedia’s page history, do not support their counterclaims.

With such sloppy research and no advertisements, how do Turkey’s fake fact-checkers operate? A recently leaked cache of government emails provided a behind-the-scenes glimpse at their methods.

Last October, a Marxist hacker collective, The Red Hack, leaked the personal email archive of Turkey’s Energy Minister Berat Albayrak, who is also Erdogan’s son-in-law. The email archive featured the budget for a think-tank, Bosphorus Global, to be run by a pro-Erdogan columnist Hilal Kaplan and her spouse. However, the biggest part of the costs were servers, firewalls, network infrastructure and the salaries of web designers and software developers.

Kaplan, Bosphorus Global and Fact-Checking Turkey did not respond to our requests for comment.

To date, Bosphorus Global has set up at least 20 projects in six languages, including a TV programme on the public broadcaster, TRT, dedicated to refuting criticism about the Turkish government. However, most of these projects initially appeared anonymous. The group’s first project, “GununYalanlari.com” (“Lies of the day”) acknowledged its connection with the Bosphorus Global only to ‘debunk’ news stories about an expensive waterside mansion alleged to be used as their headquarters. The leaked emails not only confirmed the existence of said mansion, but also that money came from Berat Albayrak.

Uzunoğlu credits this type of political propaganda for consolidating the governing AK party’s support base and claiming the high ground against challengers.

Yet these “fact-checkers” are not a match for their global counterparts, he says.

“The way they define themselves, with such partisanship and by picking sides, damage the truth the most.”

https://www.poynter....-turkey/461446/

[Yervant1]

Panorama, Armenia

May 31 2017

 

 

NATO members reject Turkey’s offer to host next summit

NATO member states have rejected Turkey’s offer for the second time in a row. The offer by Turkey to host 2018 NATO summit did not receive approval by the crucial members of the alliance.

As Panorama.am was informed from Turkish media, during the NATO summit in Brussels, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan proposed to hold the next summit in Istanbul; however Germany and France opposed the offer.

Several other NATO member states, namely Canada, the Netherlands and Denmark also did not approve this proposal. Turkey made such an offer during the 2016 NATO summit in Warsaw as well, which also received opposition.

http://www.panorama....-Turkey/1786149

[MosJan]

ErGyotveran for you

 

"BREAKING NEWS: The California State Assembly just passed AB1597 by Assemblymember Adrin Nazarian for divestment of California's public pension funds from Turkish Government investment vehicles! If adopted by the State Senate and signed into law by Governor Jerry Brown, California would begin the process of divesting $500 million currently invested in the Turkish Government, sending a strong message that it will no longer contribute resources to a government which uses California funds to deny the Armenian Genocide and so flagrantly violates human and civil rights. Stay tuned for details.
#DivestTurkey
#TurkeyFailed
#goANCA
#AYF
#GrassrootsMakeTheDifference"

 

 

[Yervant1]

At that time, Turks didn't even know where Anatolia was let alone live there. Lazy and ignorant reporting at best, I feel sorry for these so called journalists who knows nothing about research even if it slaps them in their faces so sad case of informing the masses.

Armenian Weekly

June 1 2017

 

 

A Case of Turkish Genetic Appropriation

By Contributor on June 1, 2017

 

 

 

 

By Aris Govjian

Special for the Armenian Weekly

On May 30, major news and entertainment outlets across the internet began sharing a revelation in the scientific community—the genetic material of ancient Egyptians being found to belong to the original peoples of Asia Minor and Europe.

Nearly every source which shared these research findings performed a bizarre sleight-of-hand.  While it accurately reported the newly identified DNA as belonging to the native populations of Asia Minor; they then went onto erroneously and sloppily describing it as Turkish ancestry.

On May 30, major news and entertainment outlets across the internet began sharing a revelation in the scientific community—the genetic material of ancient Egyptians being found to belong to the original peoples of Asia Minor and Europe.

By eliding the fact the region was populated by civilizations with a direct line to modern day Greeks and Armenians of Asia Minor, these reports erase thousands of years of history in the cradle of civilization by way of convoluted, racist appropriation of the core of any human being: DNA.

Rather than simply referring to the native populations of modern day Anatolia in their articles, the careless reporting unwittingly supports an agenda by a corrupt Turkish political majority who openly deny—and at times glorify—the disturbing violent actions perpetrated against the natives of Turkey.

The disturbing act of blatantly appropriating the ancestral DNA of peoples belonging to a region and attributing it to their colonizers is beyond insulting—it is inhumane.  Doing so obscures history and pollutes scientific inquiry.

When publications such as the Washington Post employ lazy or politically circumspect journalism, more sensationalist sources perpetuate overt misuse of scientific data. When journalists allow themselves to play crooked reporters, they aid criminals robbing the land, culture, and now the DNA of a victim.

http://armenianweekl...-appropriation/

 

 

[Yervant1]

Blackmail!!!!!

news.am, Armenia

June 5 2017

 

 

Turkish FM tells his German counterpart Incirlik is close for German

19:30, 05.06.2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

After the meeting with German FM Sigmar Gabriel, who is on an official visit to Ankara, his Turkish counterpart Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu stated that Turkey doesn’t consider it appropriate to allow the German deputies to visit the troops stationed at German Incirlik military base.

In particular, Çavuşoğlu stated that currently the German deputies can only visit the servicemen of Konya air base.

“If Germany takes friendly steps in the future, the German deputies will be allowed to visit Incirlik base,” he noted. 

https://news.am/eng/news/393859.html

 

 

[Yervant1]

Response!!!

news.am, Armenia

June 5 2017

 

 

Germany to withdraw Bundeswehr deployment from Turkish Incirlik airbase

17:55, 05.06.2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The last attempt to settle the conflict between Berlin and Ankara around the right of the lawmakers to visit the strategic Incirlik air base failed, DW reported.

Berlin has no choice but to withdraw the Bundeswehr deployment from the strategic base, said Germany's foreign minister, Sigmar Gabriel.

Authorities have considered several countries for the relocation of the troops, including Jordan. 

"I regret that, but Turkey must understand that for domestic political reasons, we must transfer German soldiers out of Incirlik ... In this situation, the Bundestag will ask the government to find another location for the German soldiers in Incirlik," German FM said following the meeting with his Turkish counterpart Mevlut Cavusoglu on Monday.

https://news.am/eng/news/393816.html

 

 

[Yervant1]

Armenian Weekly

June 6 2017

 

 

Turkish Prime Minister’s Family Owns $140 Million in Foreign Assets

By Harut Sassounian on June 6, 2017 in Harut Sassounian,

 

Last week, we disclosed the improper enrichment of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan of Turkey by receiving a $25 million oil tanker as a gift from an Azerbaijani billionaire. This week, we expose the Prime Minister of Turkey, Binali Yildirim, who turns out to be just as corrupt as his boss.

Prime Minister of Turkey Binali Yildirim (Photo: kremlin.ru)

Craig Shaw and Zeynep Sentek revealed in their article posted on the website theblacksea.eu, based on a report by the European Investigative Collaborations’ (EIC) Malta Files, that the Yildirim family owns shipping and other foreign assets worth $140 million.

In 2009, when Yildirim was Minister of Transport and Maritime, he told a gathering of large ship owners in Istanbul: “From now on any Turkish businesses owning ships, yachts or sea vessels that flew foreign flags would be ‘treated with suspicion’ by the government.” Yildirim gave the ship owners three months to change the registration of their vessels. Yildirim added, “Now they have no excuse. If they insist on not changing to the Turkish flag, we don’t see that [they have any] good intentions.” The Minister was apparently promoting the creation of a strong, national shipping fleet which would pay taxes to Turkey.

Ironically, sitting just a few feet away from Yildirim during the speech was his 30-year-old son Erkam who was “the registered owner of at least one general cargo ship called the ‘City,’ through the family’s offshore company in the Netherlands Antilles. This freighter flew not the Turkish flag, but that of the Dutch Caribbean Islands,” according to EIC investigators.

Since then, EIC reported the Yildirim family owned 11 foreign-flagged ships registered “in a network of secretive companies in Malta, the Netherlands, and the Netherlands Antilles — specifically now Curacao, with more suspected in the Marshall Islands and Panama.”

In addition, theblacksea.eu revealed that “Yildirim’s son, daughter, uncle and nephews have purchased seven properties in the Netherlands, worth over $2.5 million — all of which were paid in cash.”

Yildirim started his career in shipping in 1994 when he managed Istanbul’s Fast Ferries Company (IDO), owned by the city. However, he was fired in 2000 over revelations he awarded a contract to manage the ferries’ canteens to his uncle, Yilmaz Erence,” according to Shaw and Sentek.

Yilmaz is the same uncle who registered the Turkish company, Tulip Maritime Limited, in Malta in 1998. Yilamz’s partners were: “Salih Zeki Cakir, a known ship-owner who briefly employed Yildirim, Ahmet Ergun, President Erdogan’s advisor from his days as Istanbul Mayor, as well as a former MP [Member of Parliament] and high court judge, Abbas Gokce,” according to Shaw and Sentek.

The Black Sea and EIC reported that six of the 11 ships owned by the Yildirim family—“worth between 1.9 million and 33 million Euro — appear to have been bought without any bank loans. If so, this suggests an enormous cache of funds exists in the Dutch operation, despite on paper being a money-losing business.”

On June 9, 2016, two weeks after President Erdogan appointed Yildirim as Prime Minister, he acquired four new shipping companies registered in Malta. The director of these companies is Suleyman Vural, Yildirim’s nephew. Two of these companies, linked to a business in Istanbul, were set up in 2015 by uncle Yilmaz and his son, Rifat Emrah Erence.

Yildirim’s son, Erkam, also owns extensive businesses in the Netherlands, including “modest properties and expensive ships,” according to Shaw and Sentek. EIC reported that the Yildirim family owns a company called Castillo Real Estate BV, based in Almere, the Netherlands, where houses a dental clinic in a building owned by the son of the Prime Minister. Next door to the dentist are the offices of Castillo Real Estate and Zealand Shipping — two of the family’s major companies.

In addition to these two buildings, Castillo owns four properties in the Netherlands: an apartment building in Schoonhoven, two houses in Utrecht, and a shoemaker’s shop in The Hague. These six properties, valued over 2.16 million euros, were all paid in cash. A seventh property in Almere was purchased personally by Erkam for Zealand Shipping’s manager.

The Yildirim family’s biggest assets in the Netherlands—worth $129.8 million—were established in 2007 by Erkam under the name of Zealand Shipping until 2014, when it was bought by Holland Investments Cooperatif UA, also owned by Erkam. In addition, the Yildirim family “owns 30% of Q-Shipping BV based in Barendrecht. The partner in this venture is Abdulvahit Simsek, a Turkish businessman who shares an office with the Yildirims in Istanbul…. Q-shipping BV and its subsidiaries manage 20 ships—none of which sail under a Turkish flag,” according to Shaw and Sentek.

Until a year ago, New Zealand Shipping owned 10 ships flying the Dutch flag, two of which were sold to “a Turkish conglomerate close to the Erdogan government, Kolin Group,” according to Shaw and Sentek. They summarize the “Foreign Wealth of the Turkish Prime Minister’s Family” as follows:

• 18 ships (Dutch conglomerates, fully or partly owned)
• 1 ship (Netherlands Antilles company)
• 4 Malta companies
• 7 properties in the Netherlands
• 8 ships in the Netherlands
• 3 ships in Malta
  • Total estimated assets: $140 million.

Shaw and Sentek conclude their article by noting that “after Turkey’s constitutional referendum which granted President Erdogan the power to destroy the Prime Ministry in two years, Yildirim’s tenure at the top is coming to an end. But in the nearly 20 years since he ‘transferred his businesses’ to his children, they have created a soft cushion for him to land upon when he leaves politics for good!”

http://armenianweekl...foreign-assets/

[Yervant1]

   

Islamization of Europe: Erdogan's New Muslim Political Network

by Yves Mamou

June 11, 2017 at 1:00 am

https://www.gateston...e-islamic-party

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• What is notable is that France's new Muslim party, the Equality and Justice Party (PEJ), is an element of a network of political parties built by Turkey's President Erdogan and AKP to influence each country of Europe, and to influence Europe through its Muslim population.

• What is their program? The classic one for an Islamic party: abolishing the founding secularist law of 1905, which established the separation of church and state; mandatory veils for schoolgirls; and community solidarity (as opposed to individual rights) as a priority. All that is wrapped in the not-so-innocent flag of the necessity to "fight against Islamophobia", a concept invented to shut down the push-back of all people who might criticize Islam before they can even start.

• "[The Islamist party's] purpose is to conquer the world, not just have a mandate. Its mechanics were already established.... Islamists took power in the name of democracy, then suspended democracy by using their power.... Convert the clothes, the body, the social links, the arts, nursing homes, schools, songs and culture, then, they just wait for the fruit to fall in the turban... An Islamist party is an open trap: you cannot let it in. If you refuse it, your country switches to a dictatorship, but if you accept it, you are at risk of submission...." — Kamel Daoud, Algerian writer, in Le Point, 2015.

In the legislative elections that will take place June 11 and 18 in France, political parties are finalizing preparations: choosing their candidates, and printing posters and stickers. Business as usual? Not really.

 

(Image source: Rama/Wikimedia Commons)

 

One newcomer arose in the political spectrum: a Muslim party, the Parti Egalité Justice ("Equality and Justice Party"; PEJ). What is notable is that PEJ is an element of a network of political parties built by Trukey's President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP), to influence each country of Europe, and to influence Europe through its Muslim population.

PEJ: A Pro-Erdogan Party in France

The PEJ was created in 2015 in Strasbourg, the de facto capital of eastern France, on the border with Germany. PEJ has already approved 68 candidates -- not enough to cover the whole territory but enough to compete efficiently in districts where Turkish and Muslim populations are strongly represented. French citizens of Turkish origin are estimated to represent 600,000 people in France, out of a Muslim population estimated at 5-15 million, but official statistics do not exist.

Another Muslim party, "Français et Musulmans" ("French and Muslim"), is also quietly preparing to erupt on the political scene of the French legislative elections. "Français et Musulmans" originates from L'Union des Organisations Islamiques de France (UOIF) which has been rebaptized "Muslims of France". "Français et Musulmans" is the French branch of Muslim Brotherhood.

The PEJ, is the first party in France established by Turks. PEJ already participated in elections of the Provincial General Assembly in March 2015, but was eliminated in the first round. According to the magazine Marianne: "PEJ is closely connected to Council for justice, equality and peace (Cojep), an international NGO which represents, everywhere it is based, an anchor for AKP", the party of Turkey's president, Recep Tayip Erdogan. According to L'Express "many managers of PEJ are also in charge in Cojep".

What is their program? The classic one for an Islamist party: abolishing the founding secularist law of 1905, which established the separation of church and state; veils mandatory for schoolgirls in public schools; halal food for all schools; support for Palestinians; and community solidarity (as opposed to individual rights) as a priority. All that is wrapped in the not-so-innocent flag of the necessity to "fight against Islamophobia", a concept invented to shut down the push-back of all people who might criticize Islam before they can even start.

According to the magazine Marianne, Mine Gunbay, responsible for women's rights in the city council of Strasbourg, fearlessly and tirelessly denounced the metamorphosis of Strasbourg into "political laboratory of the AKP". Strasbourg is the city where Erdogan was authorized by former president Hollande to hold an electoral rally in October 2015. Legally.

Another noteworthy Turkish move in France is the probable nomination of Ahmet Ogras, the representative of Turkish Islam in France, as next president of the Conseil français du culte musulman ("French Council of Muslim worship", CFCM). Ahmet Ogras is known for his good relationship with Erodgan's AKP party. CFCM is the legal structure built by French politicians to have a single Muslim talking-partner. Until now, all presidents of CFCM were of Algerian or Moroccan origin.

Austria

In Austria, in 2016, "Turkish citizens" founded the New Movement for the Future (NBZ) party. The goal of the party is to give Turks a voice in politics across Austria. The NBZ Chairman, Adnan Dinçer, explained that the rise of extremist right-wing parties have caused them to work faster. "Political actors are making decisions about the minorities working here, but we are not involved in this decision-making mechanism," he said. The NBZ makes it clear that they support controversial Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and condemn the "Gülen movement", which the Turkish government claims carried out a coup attempt in July 2016.

Netherlands

Denk, a party founded by Tunahan Kuzu and Selçuk Öztürk in March 2017, became the first-ever ethic minority party in the Dutch parliament. The party, apparently a mouthpiece for Turkish president Erdogan, won three seats in the recent election, which was focused on immigration.

Party leader Tunahan Kuzu said: "This is the beginning of a new chapter in our history. The new Netherlands has given a vote in the House."

Bulgaria

The Muslim population of Bulgaria is made up of Turks (Sunni), some Shi'ites, Bulgarians and Roma, who together represent 7-8% of the total population. In Bulgaria, there are three Muslim political parties, in which most of the members are Turkish and Muslim.

One of these parties is The Movement for Rights and Freedoms (HÖH), founded in 1990 by Ahmet Doğan. In 2014, HÖH was represented by 38 people in the 240-member parliament and had four MEPs in the European Parliament (EP).

HÖH, which made a coalition with the Bulgarian Socialist Party (BSP), thus has a say in the country's administration, even though leadership changed after a 2013 assassination attempt against Doğan.

Because Erdogan was not satisfied with HÖH, he has worked to create other pro-Turkish parties in Bulgaria.

Germany

Many Germans of Turkish descent have chosen to invest in German established political parties and influence them from within. Some, however, are trying to influence policy from without.

The Allianz Deutscher Demokraten ("Alliance of German Democrats", ADD) is a small party founded by Remzi Aru, evidently as a reaction to the German Parliament's recognition of the Armenian Genocide.

ADD is friendly toward Erdogan and has been trying to establish an electoral base within immigrant and Muslim communities. Its leaders nevertheless had difficulty collecting the 1,000 signatures necessary to participate in the May 2017 North Rhine-Westphalia state election.

Another Muslim-German party is the Bündnis für Innovation und Gerechtigkeit ("Alliance for Innovation and Justice", BIG), which has existed since 2010, but without much success.

German law prohibits foreign funding of political parties, and a party of Turks would have to fulfill a certain range of obligations to get its certification as an official political party.

The Islamist Trap

An Islamist party in a democracy is, according the Algerian writer, Kamel Daoud, "a trap". Especially in France. In an op-ed published in Le Point in 2015, he writes:

"An Islamic party in France? What a fascinating political object: one cannot refuse it, but one cannot accept it. Nothing better summarizes the situation as a French trap... If France says Yes, she submits in the long term. An Islamic party is an Islamist party by a natural slope.... By definition. Its purpose is to conquer the world, not just to have a mandate. Its mechanics were already established.... Islamists took power in the name of democracy, then suspended democracy by using their power. At best. At worse, Islamists opted for the approach of the crab that keeps its claws behind his back: no political ambitions, but a millenary ambition in the mind: convert the clothes, the body, the social links, the arts, nursing homes, schools, songs and culture, then, they just wait for the fruit to fall in the turban... An Islamist party is an open trap: you cannot let it in. If you refuse it, your country switches to a dictatorship, but if you accept it, you are at risk of submission....

"As soon as it bursts onto the political scene, the same consequences appear as in Algeria, Egypt, Pakistan, the Sahel or Tunisia: it divides the country between Eradicators (those who want to eradicate the Islamists) and Reconcilers (those who advocate dialogue with Islamist monologue) and the Fatalists (those who are waiting for something good to happen)."

As a fine political analyst, Kamel Daoud knows -- and everybody knows with him -- that nobody in France has the solution to confront the Islamist problem. The only question is: who will win? Reconcilers or Eradicators? One thing is sure for now, Reconcilers are in power for the next five years.

Another thing is sure: the first veiled woman elected as a Member of Parliament will trigger a civilizational that which has no equivalent in French history.

Yves Mamou, based in France, worked for two decades as a journalist for Le Monde.

[Yervant1]

Armenian Weekly

June 13 2017

 

 

Turkey Hires More U.S. Lobbying Firms as its Reputation is Further Tarnished

By Harut Sassounian on June 13, 2017 in Harut Sassounian

 

 

 

 

As Turkey becomes the target of worldwide condemnation for its human rights violations, the Turkish government decides to spend a fortune on lobbying and public relations firms to try to cleanse its tarnished reputation.

Erdogan (Photo: R4BIA.com)

On the heels of the April 16 flawed referendum which Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan barely won to give himself a wide-ranging dictatorial powers, and his bodyguards’ brutal attack in front of the Turkish Embassy in Washington D.C., on innocent protesters has been universally criticized by the executive and legislative branches of the US government, including a resolution adopted by the U.S. House of Representatives 397-0.

Unfortunately, for Turkey and its autocratic president, the country’s reputation is so tainted that public relations firms, regardless of how powerful and competent they are, cannot whitewash its image. Turkish leaders are simply wasting millions of dollars of their taxpayers’ money attempting to accomplish an impossible task.

The Turkish government has already been paying five million dollars a year to 10 lobbying firms: The Gephardt Group $1,700,000; APCO $741,000; Amsterdam Partners $600,000; Greenberg Traurig $480,000; Capitol Counsel $384,000; Mercury $240,000; Madison Group $240,000; Mcbee Signal $240,000; Jim Arnold $240,000; and MediaFix $108,000! In addition, a business associate of President Erdogan paid President Trump’s disgraced former National Security Advisor Michael T. Flynn $540,000 in Sept. 2016 to lobby on behalf of the Turkish government.

In recent months, trying to get out of its P.R. quagmire, the Turkish government and groups affiliated with it have hired three new firms. This week we will present one of these lobbying firms, leaving the other two to a future column.

Monte Advisory Group was hired in Aug. 2016 for a fee of $400,000. According to the Daily Beast, the firm is run by Douglas Baker, the son of Republican James Baker [Chief of Staff and Secretary of State for President George H.W. Bush; and Chief of Staff and Secretary of the Treasury for President Ronald Reagan). The firm is supposed to improve public perceptions of Turkey! Douglas Baker is the “sole and managing member” of the Monte Advisory Group. The contract is signed by an Istanbul-based mysterious non-governmental organization known as Knowledge Economy Association (KEA). The Daily Beast reported that KEA’s “activities aligned sometimes with the interests of the Turkish government.” More ominously, the Daily Beast reported that “at least one member of the KEA leadership was a representative of the Turkish government.” Furthermore, the founder and former president of KEA, Davut Kavranoglu, is now a scientific advisor to Presi Erdogan, according to the Daily Beast. Kavranoglu had tweeted a photograph of himself with James Baker.

The Daily Beast reported that, according to its filing with the Department of Justice, Monte Advisory Group was “engaged in outreach to the Trump Presidential Campaign and Presidential Transition Team” on behalf of KEA “to improve the overall relationship and public perceptions between Turkey and the United States.” Monte also made contacts with “outgoing Obama administration officials, holding meetings with staff from the Department of Defense and emailing Colin Kahl, the National Security Advisor to then Vice-President Biden.”

Israfil Kahraman, an Istanbul lawyer, was listed in the Department of Justice filing as the legal representative of KEA, according to the Daily Beast. Israfil stated that the purpose of the contract was “to develop friendship and cooperation between Turkey and the United States in the fields of scientific and economic development.” Kahraman is quoted by the Daily Beast as stating that the KEA was founded “by a group of distinguished scientists with the aim of conducting civil society activities in order to raise awareness in Turkey about developing an economy with high added value.” This makes no sense. Why would a group whose aim is to raise awareness about the economy in Turkey hire a lobbying firm in Washington? This sounds more like a front for the Turkish government than an independent group of scientists. It would be interesting to find out who is funding the KEA.

Interestingly, when contacted by The Bureau of Investigative Journalism (BIJ), Douglas Baker stated that there had been some concerns the US-Turkey relationship “has soured a little” in the latter years of the Obama administration. “There could be opportunities to either strengthen that relationship or see it undergo further harm. And that’s the reason that [KEA] retained Monte — to help during that transitional phase.”

Douglas Baker added that his company’s work for KEA “was never designed to be broad brush public relations campaign. It was a bit more of an opportunity to present their point of view… they felt we were positioned to help them with the necessary introductions.”

Not surprisingly, after President Trump’s inauguration, and after “the necessary introductions” were made between the KEA and Trump administration officials, KEA did not renew the contract with Monte when its initial six-month term expired in February 2017. “Only $105,000 of the contracted $400,000 was paid by this point,” according to the BIJ.

http://armenianweekl...lobbying-firms/

[Yervant1]

Tert, Armenia

June 13 2017

 

 

Turkish-Armenian MP concerned over Armenophobia in Turkish press

19:17 • 14.06.17

 

 

 

 

 

 

An Armenian member of Turkey’s parliament has voiced concern over the anti-Armenian propaganda in the Turkish press.

Selina Dogan, who represents the opposition People’s Democratic Party in the Grand National Assembly, called the legislators’ attention to a recent statistics revealing an increased hatred towards the Armenians, sources from her press service told Tert.am.

It comes after the Hrant Dink Foundation published a report outlining cases of hatred against ethnic and religious minorities in Turkey. The document revealed that Armenians were the most frequently selected targets in the Turkish media.

 

Particularly, in the first four months of 2017, different Turkish media outlets published a total of 1,876 
nationalist articles or news items. of which 58 addressed different ethnic or religious groups. The study also found 2,335 racist wordings aired or published in the reporting period.

Of them, 439 concerned the Armenians, 433 – the Syrians and 228 – the Jews and 2010 – the Christians in general.

Dogan also called attention to politicians’ rhetoric which she said plays a big role in breeding social hatred. She urged lawmakers to be more attentive and delicate when choosing language in their public speeches.

http://www.tert.am/e...a-dogan/2402464

[Yervant1]

news.am, Armenia

June 14 2017

 

 

Armenians main targets of Turkey hate media articles

10:25, 14.06.2017

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

The January-April 2017 report was presented along the lines of the study of Turkish media publications that incite hatred.

Accordingly, 1,876 publications that target ethnic or religious groups were found in the Turkish press during this period, according to Agos Armenian bilingual weekly of Istanbul.

And Armenians were the most targeted, with 439 cases, in such publications.

By and large, the publications that incite hatred and enmity against Armenians reflected on the Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict, and they associated the Armenians with the PKK (Kurdistan Workers’ Party) and terrorism.

https://news.am/eng/news/395127.html

[Yervant1]

Armenian Weekly

June 29 2017

 

 

Germany to Prohibit Erdogan Rally in Hamburg

By Weekly Staff on June 29, 2017

 

 

 

BERLIN, Germany (A.W)— Germany says that it would be inappropriate for Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan to hold a rally in front of his supporters in Germany on the sidelines of the G20 summit.

Recep Tayyip Erdogan

In a June 29 statement released by the German Foreign Ministry, Foreign Minister Sigmar Gabriel confirmed that Erdogan’s request for the G20 summit next week would be rejected.

“I had already communicated to my Turkish colleague weeks ago that we do not believe this is a good idea,” said Gabriel in the statement. “I also openly stated that such a public appearance would neither be appropriate nor politically apposite, given the current tensions that exist with Turkey.

“I think we should now tell all countries that are not EU members—not only Turkey—that we will not permit campaign appearances here that are intended to import another country’s internal conflicts into Germany,” continued the statement.

The German Foreign Minister also said that the federal government agrees with him on the issue.

In response to the statement by Gabriel, Turkish Foreign Ministry spokesperson Hüseyin Müftüoğlu said that the Turkish Foreign Ministry condemns and refuses Gabriel’s “unacceptable remarks.”

“It is regretful that some German politicians make unacceptable political remarks ostensibly for domestic consumption while German authorities request for organizational purposes, the placing of a formal request as regards the venue for the meeting with the Turkish nationals within the context of the visit that President Erdogan will make to Hamburg for the G20 meeting,” said Ministry spokesperson Müftüoğlu in a statement.

Erdogan will attend the G20 summit in Hamburg next week where the summit will be taking place from July 7-8. This will be his first visit to Germany since he and several of his Ministers accused Germany and other European countries of “Nazi-like” practices for blocking campaigning for the most recent constitutional referendum in Turkey that granted him all-encompassing presidential powers in April.

In the last year, Turkish-German relations have greatly declined.  The leader of Germany’s Social Democrats (SPD) Martin Schulz told German daily “Bild” any Erdogan rally should be banned over concerns about the authoritarian nature of his government.

“Foreign politicians who trample on our values when at home must not be allowed a stage for speeches in Germany,” said Schulz, according to German based Deutsche Welle news. “I don’t want Mr. Erdogan, who jails opposition politicians and journalists in Turkey, to hold big rallies in Germany.”

On June 7, the German Defense Ministry announced that it would pull out its troops from Turkey’s Incirlik airbase. Approximately 270 troops stationed at Incirlik, as well as Tornado reconnaissance jets and a refueling plane, will be moved to Jordan over the next two months.

The decision to remove German troops sparked when a group of German Parliamentarians were refused to access the airbase. The German troops in Turkey have been responsible for operating reconnaissance and refueling flights as part of the international mission against ISIS/Daesh.

German politicians have also condemned Erdogan’s crackdown on those opposing the government since a coup attempt against him in July 2016.

http://armenianweekl...lly-in-hamburg/

[Yervant1]

news.am, Armenia

July 9 2017

 

 

Germany starts removing its military from İncirlik airbase of Turkey

20:38, 09.07.2017

 

 

Germany on Sunday begun removing its military equipment from İncirlik Air Base in Adana, Turkey, according to German news weekly Der Spiegel. 

German authorities had decided to remove their troops from this airbase when Ankara had not permitted German MPs to visit the base.

Nearly 260 German servicemen are stationed in the airbase, and within the framework of the international fight against Islamic State in Syria.

The German government had decided to relocate these military servicemen to the Al Azraq airbase of Jordan.

https://news.am/eng/news/399485.html

[Yervant1]

Democracy or is it hypocrisy?

ArmInfo, Armenia

July 10 2017

 

 

Turkish law makers to  be fined for "incorrect" statements about the  Armenian Genocide

ArmInfo.In case of making  statements about the events of 1915, which are contrary to the national interests of the country,  Turkish law makers will be fined in the amount of 12 thousand lire (about 3.5 thousand dollars) that is two thirds of the deputy salary.  According to the Turkish media, the corresponding decision was made in the framework of the new internal procedural rules.

Together with the _expression_ of the Armenian Genocide, the use of  "Iraqi Kurdistan" by parliamentarians is also prohibited.

Recall that the Turkish MP of Armenian origin from the Kurdish  Democratic Party of the Peoples of Turkey Karo Paylan was repeatedly  persecuted for his statements about the events of 1915, there were  even calls to deprive him of his parliamentary immunity. 

 

http://arminfo.info/...id=26521&lang=3

 

 

[Yervant1]

Tert, Armenia

July 19 2017

 

 

Turkish-Armenian MP slams measure banning use of ‘genocide’

15:30 • 19.07.17

A Turkish-Armenian opposition MP has voiced her criticism over a recently proposed legislative measure envisaging sanctions for the use of “genocide” in the country’s parliament.

Selina Dogan of the People’s Democratic Party described the 18-clause package (initiated by the ruling Justice and Development party and its coalition partner Nationalist Movement) as an attempt to silence the opposition, sources from her press service told Tert.am.  

The bill was proposed as an amendment to the parliament’s rules of procedure to impose fines or non-pecuniary sanctions upon lawmakers  who ever use “genocide” or make reference to Kurdistan in public speeches.

Dogan accused the Turkish authorities for spreading hatred against ethnic and religious minorities. “If those speaking about Genocide are to incur fines for insulting Turkey’s historical past, then what should be the punishment for those who insult the Armenians from the same podium?” she asked the Majilis.

While the Armenians pray for those regions' prosperity, the Turks keep characterizing Armenians as fast-foes, Dogan added.

“Nobody can and must insult the shared past of the peoples who ever resided or reside on Turkey’s territory. What about the other nations? Is insulting the Armenians’ historical past permitted? Can any parliament member use insulting remarks about the Jews? Do they enjoy freedom when it comes to the Greeks or Assyrians?”

 

“The Armenian Patriarchate in Turkey served a special liturgy on the first anniversary of the [failed] coup to pray for those who died on July 15 last year; the Jewish community delivered prayers for its part. And what did you do? You called the coup organizer, Fetullah Gulen, an Armenian; you wrote a book about Gulen’s collusion with the Jews,” she added. 

Out of the 18 clauses outlined in the package, 11 have been already adopted.

http://www.tert.am/e...9/dogan/2435641

[Yervant1]

Lragir, Armenia

July 20 2017

 

 

Germany Declared War on Turkey: Who's Next?

Naira Hayrumyan, Political Commentator 
Politics - Thursday, 20 July 2017, 23:46

 

 

 

The German foreign minister Zigmar Gabriel has announced about change in Germany’s attitude to Turkey. This decision was made after the meeting of Angela Merkel with the president of the Social Democratic Party Martin Shultz, Gabriel announced on July 20.

 

That day may remain in history as the beginning of initiation of a new structure of the region of the Greater Near East. Germany may be followed by other countries, such as Austria, the Netherlands, Belgium, Sweden which have recently banned the entry of Turkish ministers. And this process may end up in signing another “Treaty of Lausanne”.

 

According to Gabriel, the conditions under which Germany provides loans and economic assistance to Turkey, as well as the EU support to prepare Turkey’s membership are going to be reviewed. Besides, the German ministry of foreign affairs has given a stronger warning to its citizens visiting Turkey on danger to their security.

 

The relations with Turkey cannot be developed in the former way, Gabriel announced.

 

A consequence of such change could be not only the refusal of the current level of cooperation but also sanctions on Turkey which may be a catastrophe for Ankara. Turkey lacks resources to tackle the sanctions.

 

Note that recently the European Parliament has called on the European Commission to bring to a halt the negotiations with Turkey on its membership to the EU and support to reforms. And the head of the European Commission Jean-Claude Juncker announced that the doors of the EU will be closed to Turkey if Turkey restores the capital punishment. Besides, the international press writes that Turkey’s intention to buy C400 air defense systems from Russia and several other steps question its membership. Turkey seems to be provoking Germany and the European Union into a conflict to appear in a setting of a conflict which will favor itself the most. Turkey is not used to equal competitions and sustainable relations. Fighting, expansion, invasions is closer to its spirit.

 

In fact, a process of an open German-Turkish conflict is starting which may end up in an open conflict between the west and Turkey. Apparently, the start of the conflict was June 2015 when Bundestag adopted the resolution on recognition of the Armenian genocide. Germany has declassified documents relating to the Genocide this year.

 

http://m.lragir.am/i...tics/view/37257