PANTURKISM

[Aratta-Kingdom]

TURKS FROM BULGARIA: RECENT DEVELOPMENTS

 

"Noravank" Foundation

04 March 2010

 

Haykaram Nahapetyan

 

On November 11 in front of the entrance of Bulgarian National

Television the leader of `The Party of Bulgarian Men' Rozen Markov set

himself on fire to protest against broadcasting news in Turkish on

that channel. Markov's act attracted the attention of international

press, different media agencies, newspapers, TV channels (including

Armenian). This act once more put on the agenda the issue of the

Bulgarian Turks. The community which made a good progress and, being

isolated at some extend in the Soviet period, activated fast during

`perestroika' and since 1990 has taken a strong and stable place in

the political system of Bulgaria. The party `Movement for Rights and

Freedoms' established by Bulgarian Turks had been a part of coalition

government in 2002-2009. The number of Bulgarian Turks in Bulgaria

(which population is 8 million) is about 800 thousand. Despite the 10%

index, the party of Bulgarian Turks depending on the results of the

elections has 30-38 of 240 mandates of the Bulgarian parliament. I.e.

in the proportional correlation the Turkish presence in the

legislative body is bigger that on its territory. This unprecedented

success of the Turkish party is conditioned by two key factors:

firstly, the votes of the whole Turkish population of country go to

one party, meanwhile the votes of the Bulgarians and many other ethnic

groups are divided between dozens of parties, and in a consequence the

Turkish party secures comparatively higher result. The second reason

is the behind-the-scenes support of the state. Particularly, during

the parliamentary elections in 2005 Turks who have double citizenship

were brought by buses from Turkey to Bulgaria. They took part in the

elections at their polling stations thus trying to secure the victory

of the `Movement for Rights and Freedoms' party candidates. Ankara

also initiated such an attempt during the parliamentary elections on 5

June, 2009, but when the bus column going to Bulgaria from Turkey

approached the frontier post `Capitan Andreno' it was met by about 200

Bulgarian demonstrators. The participants of that demonstration, which

was arranged on the initiative of Bulgarian nationalist `Ataka' party,

demonstrated against the interference of Ankara, which was becoming

traditional, into the parliamentary elections in Bulgaria. The

demonstrators chanted `Turks go back to Anatolia', `Turks, get out',

`We don't need janissaries here' and others. When the activists of

`Ataka' tried to pelt the `Turkish special mission' with bottles and

other things the police interfered and the encounter took place. The

leader of `Ataka' Volen Siderov stated that `Turkish state sponsors

the dispatch of Turks (citizens of Bulgaria) from Turkey to Bulgaria'.

By the way on this incident's example one can sum up all the

developments regarding Turkish community in Bulgaria for recent years:

while political and social activity of the Turkish side continues,

gradually the inner tension becomes more vivid. The most politically

active power resisting the movement is the aforementioned `Ataka'. The

name of the party in Bulgarian, just like in Russian, means `attack',

and has distinct anti-Turkish orientation. The name of the party

symbolizes `the attack against Turkish expansion'. At the

parliamentary elections `Ataka' usually wins about 20 mandates thus

taking 3rd-4th places. `Ataka' run in parliamentary elections with a

number of sharp anti-Turkish' slogans, one of which was `There is no

place for Turkey in the EU'. `If we just seat and do not act the way

the Bulgarian patriots have to, then one fine day they will,

undoubtedly, occupy our country', - said Volen Siderov during the

electoral campaign.

 

The following indicator also speaks about the activity of Bulgarian

Turks and the resistance being formed in the country: according to

Reuters Agency for the recent 19 years 323 mosques have been built in

Bulgaria and the means for a part of those mosques were raised through

the donations by privates (Turks) or different Turkish structures.

Generally, the number of mosques in Bulgaria approaches to 2000. At

the same time for recent years the attacks on the mosques have become

more frequent: for the recent 3 years there have been about 100

attacks on the Turkish mosques in Bulgaria. In 2008 it was banned to

wear hijab in the universities. The Reuters quotes the Turkish public

figure Mustafa Yumer saying that `the anxiety is growing inside the

Turkish community' as connected with, as he said `the activity of the

radical right parties'.

 

Let us mention that the activity of the Turkish party and resistance

movement in Bulgaria influences also the issue of the recognition of

the Armenian Genocide in Bulgaria. The legislative body of Bulgaria

has already twice put forward and rejected the decision condemning the

Armenian Genocide - in May 2006 and in January 2008. This, in fact, is

the unique case when the document connected with the Armenian Genocide

is rejected. For the last 10 years there has been no such a case when

the document condemning the Armenian Genocide has been put forward and

rejected by voting. The initiator of the recognition of the Armenian

Genocide in the parliament was `Ataka' party. At the same time when on

25 April, 2007 the deputy of the parliament from `The National

Movement Simeon II' Ruben Krikoryan offered to hold a moment of

silence for the victims of the Armenian Genocide all the members of

Turkish party walked out in protest. By the way, at that time the

Turkish party formed a political coalition with Socialist Party and

`The National Movement Simeon II'. Speaking about that incident the

leader of `Ataka' said: `In the ruling coalition there is party which

protects the interests of Turkey. The representatives of that party do

not respect the memory of 1.5 million Armenians'. And the deputy from

`Bulgarian National Union' Boyko Vatev stated that it was time for

Bulgaria to recognize the Armenian Genocide and to consider the mass

killings of the Bulgarians by the Ottoman army in 1903 in Bulgarian

Ilinden settlement as the genocide.

 

Summarizing the theme of the Turkish political activity in Bulgaria it

can be concluded that different events directed to restrict the

activity of Turkish party and to restrain the attempts of Ankara to

control the Bulgarian Turks and this, of course, will be accompanied

by the growing anxiety and protest of Turkish party. It is not

excluded that the Turkish activists may turn to the European Court or

international court instances to protect their rights. The Armenian

issue will also play its role in this process. By the joint efforts of

the Armenian community and supporting parties, particularly `Ataka',

for the recent 3 years the process of the recognition of the Armenian

Genocide on local levels has been initiated. The Armenian Genocide has

already been recognized in more than 10 Bulgarian cities: Varna, Stara

Zagora, Ruse, Batak, Silistra, Vidin, Plovdiv and others.

[Aratta-Kingdom]

Erdogan urges German Turks not to integrate

 

 

 

 

Published: 17 Mar

 

 

Online: http://www.thelocal....0317-25933.html

 

 

 

The Turkish government has reportedly angered Turkish-German politicians by inviting them to an Istanbul conference and then urging them to resist political and social integration in their adopted homeland.

 

 

 

At the meeting last month, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan urged Turks living in foreign countries to take out citizenship of the new homelands – not to integrate, but rather to become more politically active, according to the website of news magazine Der Spiegel.

 

Ali Ertan Toprak, deputy chairman of the Alevi community in Germany, told the magazine government representatives had said: "We have to inject European culture with Turkish."

 

Erdogan told the meeting countries that did not allow dual citizenship violated basic rights and also likened Islamophobia to anti-Semitism.

 

Participants told Spiegel that Erdogan repeated elements of his widely criticised speech in Cologne in 2008 in which he said: "Assimilation is a crime against humanity."

 

The invitation to politicians and religious leaders of Turkish descent included lunch in a five-star hotel in Istanbul and offered to cover their travel costs.

 

The title of the meeting was: "Wherever one of our countrymen is, we are there too."

 

About 1,500 Turks from several European countries attended, including a Belgian MP and representatives of companies and NGOs.

 

The meeting was organised by Erdogan's reigning Justice and Development Party (AKP), which has conservative-religious leanings and has been criticised for pulling the country away from its secular tradition.

 

Faruk Celik, a minister in Erdogan's cabinet, described German politicians as "my honourable parliamentarians" and described Erdogan as "our Prime Minister."

 

German politicians and religious representatives of Turkish descent were shocked by the brazen political lobbying and were sharply critical of Ankara.

 

"It was an absolutely clear lobbying event by the Turkish government," said Ali Ertan Toprak. He said he was appalled by how often the Turkish government had said Turkish-Germans should represent the interests of Turkey.

 

"If opponents of (Turkey's) EU entry from the (European) Union had been there, they would have got a whole lot of material for their argument," Toprak said.

 

Canan Bayram, a Turkish-born Greens member of the Berlin city parliament, said she had travelled to the conference as the integration spokeswoman for her party but had insisted on paying for herself.

 

"It was important for me to make clear that as a German MP I was not financed by the Turkish government," she said.

 

Former Social Democrats member of the European parliament and businessman Vural Öger said: "The Turkish government should worry about the interests of Turks in Turkey rather than trying to use Germans of Turkish descent as their messengers."

Edited March 21, 2010 by Aratta-Kingdom

[Aratta-Kingdom]

MosJan kam/yev Yervant, vor xndrem es tredi anun@ kpoxek PANTURKISM

 

thanks in advance

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

 

 

 

Ankara Seeks Influence through Turks Living Abroad

By Anna Reimann and Katrin Elger

 

 

 

SpiegelOnline

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,684125,00.html

 

 

 

Leaders of Turkish descent across Europe recently received an invitation to a fancy event in Istanbul, all expenses paid. But what sounded innocent enough appears to have been an attempt by Ankara to get members of the Turkish diaspora to represent Turkish interests abroad. Turkish-German politicians have reacted angrily to the brazen lobbying.

 

The invitation that numerous Turkish-German politicians received in February sounded enticing: Lunch in a five-star hotel in Istanbul, travel expenses included. The session was titled: "Wherever One of Our Compatriots Is, We Are There Too."

 

 

 

Around 1,500 people of Turkish descent from several European countries accepted the tempting offer. Among the speakers at the event, which took place at the end of February, were businesspeople, NGO representatives and a member of the Belgian parliament of Turkish descent. But the meeting, which has sparked outrage among Turkish-German politicians, was more than a harmless gathering of the Turkish diaspora.

 

The event was organized by the Turkish government, which is led by the conservative-religious Justice and Development (AKP) party, in an attempt to send a clear message to the participants that they should represent Turkey in other countries. Turks living abroad should take the citizenship of their new home country -- not, however, with the intention of becoming an integrated part of that society, but so they can become politically active, said Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, who spoke at the event. Erdogan also compared Islamophobia with anti-Semitism in his speech and said that countries which oppose dual citizenship are violating people's fundamental rights. (Germany, for example, generally does not allow its citizens to hold dual nationality.)

 

'Crime Against Humanity'

 

Participants in the session told SPIEGEL ONLINE that the Turkish prime minister then repeated a sentence which had already sparked fierce criticism when he said it during a 2008 speech in Cologne: "Assimilation is a crime against humanity." And even stronger language was apparently used by one representative of the Turkish government. According to Ali Ertan Toprak, the vice chairman of the Alevi community in Germany, who was present at the lunch, one speaker went so far as to say: "We need to inoculate European culture with Turkish culture."

 

The language in the invitiations already suggested the attitude of the Turkish government toward Turkish-German politicians. Ankara perceives them as being its own. Invitations sent in the name of Turkish Labor Minister Faruk Celik to German Bundestag members were addressed as "my esteemed members of parliament" and Erdogan was referred to as "our prime minister."

 

Turkish-German politicians and religious representatives in Germany are now voicing sharp criticism of Ankara. "It was very clearly a lobbying event on the part of the Turkish government," said Toprak. He said that he himself was shocked about how openly the Turkish government had expressed its view that Germans of Turkish descent should represent Turkey's interests. "If members of the (conservative) Christian Democratic Union who oppose EU membership for Turkey had been there, they would have got a lot of material for their arguments," Toprak says.

 

Highly Problematic

 

Canan Bayram, a member of the Berlin state parliament, said she only attended the meeting because, as an integration spokeswoman for the Green Party in the city, she felt she needed to see what an event like this was like. Of course she covered her own travel and accommodation expenses, she said. "It was important to me that I make it clear that, as a member of a German state parliament, I do not allow the Turkish government to pay my expenses." Sirvan Cakici, a member of the Bremen state parliament for the Left Party who attended the Istanbul meeting, also emphasized that she paid for her expenses herself.

 

"The Turkish government should pay more attention to the interests of Turks in Turkey, rather than trying to exploit Turkish-Germans as their ambassadors," said Vural Öger, a former member of the European Parliament who was also at the lunch.

 

Other Turkish-German politicians turned down the invitation because they saw it as highly problematic right from the beginning. "It was clear that this was purely a lobbying event on the part of the Turkish government. As a German politician, I did not belong there," says Özcan Mutlu, a member of the Berlin state parliament for the Greens. "We are not an extended arm of the Turkish government." Memet Kilic, a member of the federal parliament with the Green Party, also declined to take part for similar reasons.

 

'Unacceptable'

 

It is not, in fact, the first time that the Turkish government has sought contact to Turkish-German politicians. After the 2009 parliamentary elections, Turkish-German Bundestag members received congratulatory calls from the AKP government. And in October 2009, the Turkish government invited German parliamentarians to an AKP party congress in Ankara.

 

 

 

Ekin Deligöz, a member of the Bundestag for the Greens, says she has in the past received numerous invitations from the Turkish government, which she has turned down out of principle. "I refuse to represent the interests of the Turkish government simply because I was born in Turkey."

 

Turkish-German politicians feel that, in principle, it is acceptable if the Turkish government tries to seek contact with Bundestag members of Turkish descent. "After all, we act as a kind of bridge," says Kilic. "It's the most normal thing in the world." He adds that it is "unacceptable," however, if Ankara openly says that politicians of Turkish descent should act as a mouthpiece for Turkish interests.

 

Sevim Dagdelen, a Bundestag member for the Left Party who turned down the invitation to attend the February event, talks of a "parallel foreign policy" on the part of the Turkish government. "I don't want to be part of it," she says. "I find it regrettable and cause for concern that other German politicians are apparently taking part."

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

Cologne's Turkish Spectacle

 

Erdogan's One-Man Show

By Ferda Ataman in Cologne

 

 

 

SpiegelOnline

 

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,534519,00.html

 

 

 

In the first event of its kind in Germany, 20,000 people gathered in Cologne Sunday to hear Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan speak. Erdogan's words may have warmed his listeners' hearts, but he neglected to mention how Turks in Germany can improve their quality of life.

 

 

 

 

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan allowed the audience to applaud for a long time before he began addressing his "dear brothers and sisters" assembled in the colossal stadium. He smiled a lot, he waved confidently and shook hands. Approximately 20,000 Turks had gathered to listen to their idol speak in Cologne Arena -- while a few hundred Kurds held protests against the Turkish leader outside.

 

 

 

It's been a long time -- at least since the Berlin Wall came down -- since 20,000 people heard a politician speak live in Germany. The late US President John F. Kennedy drew about half a million Berliners when he delivered his famous speech on the balcony of Schöneberg city hall right after the Wall went up in 1961. Former Chancellor Helmut Kohl could still draw a good 10,000 listeners when he spoke in the winter of 1989-1990. During the most recent parliamentary election campaigns, Gerhard Schröder and Angela Merkel were happy if a few thousand people came to listen to their speeches. And now all of a sudden Erdogan, a Turkish leader, is giving a speech right in the middle of Germany to a capacity audience of 20,000 people -- not counting the many people who were waiting in vain outside to get in.

 

The Kurdish demonstrators outside yell "Erdogan is a murderer!" and "We are the PKK!" They wave flags bearing the likeness of Abdullah Öcalan, the leader of banned Kurdish organization the PKK. At the entrance gates to the event hall, patriotic Turks stand with red and white flags and bark back: "Damn the PKK!" German police officers stand between the two groups, and the attacks remain only verbal.

 

A Charged Atmosphere

 

The event wasn't on Erdogan's calendar as part of his official state visit to Germany. Rather, it is a "privately organized event," as one police spokesperson puts it. And, as a private event, the police, strictly speaking, don't need to be here. But the police are in fact on alert due to the current "charged atmosphere" in Germany between ethnic Germans and people of Turkish descent.

 

 

 

 

It's been a week since nine people were killed in a fire in a Ludwigshafen apartment building which was inhabited exclusively by Turkish families. The tragedy fuelled suspicions among many Turks that the Germans want to get rid of them -- any way they can. The Turkish media in particular has focused on rumors that the fire was caused by an arson attack. Survivors who lived in the burned-out building have been quoted as saying: "Whoever did this to us should have his hands broken." On Sunday, the Turkish newspaper Hürriyet wrote again that three further children had witnessed the supposed arson attack. "Now they can no longer cover things up," the paper wrote. And that's what many Turks believe.

 

 

 

The charged atmosphere coincides with the largest Turkish political event Germany has ever seen: Erdogan is meeting with "Europeans of Turkish descent," according to the promotional material for the event.

 

Erdogan is fully aware of the tense situation. He begins his speech -- which won't be translated into German -- with flowery words. "The Turkish people are a people of friendship and tolerance," he says. "Wherever they go, they only bring love and joy." What he means is: Don't bring any shame on us, and stay calm.

 

Erdogan goes on to list the efforts that his government has made to push forward the German investigation into the Ludwigshafen blaze. But he doesn't try to make the incident any less painful. "Hopefully we'll never have to experience such pain again," he says at the close of this part of his speech.

 

The prime minister goes on to address the integration of Turks in Germany. "I understand that you are sensitive about the issue of assimilation," Erdogan says. "No one can demand that from you." Assimilation -- in other words, conforming to German culture -- is a catchword that Turkish immigrants associate with their fear of losing their national identity. Erdogan does not repeat the controversial demand he made to German Chancellor Angela Merkel on Friday, when he called for the founding of Turkish-language educational institutions in Germany. Today, he only says: "It is your natural right to teach your children their mother tongue."

 

During his long speech, Erdogan plays the integration card as he sees fit. He makes conciliatory noises, but he stops short of making a plea for assimilation. Although much remains vague, at times he takes a pragmatic tone. "Take advantage of Germany's educational institutions," he says. "It's a disadvantage if you don't speak the language of the country." Nevertheless, his speech, in which the phrases "we Turks" and "the Germans" appear again and again, does deliver a clear message: You may live in Germany, but you are Turks -- and I am your prime minister.

 

 

 

Putting on a Big Show

 

 

This was the first gathering of Turks held by a Turkish head of state in Germany. The spectacle had been advertised for weeks in advance -- on Turkish television, in newspapers and on billboards. "We are anxious to hear what the prime minister has to say to us," says a father from a town near Cologne. All morning, motor coaches organized by mosques and cultural organizations have been arriving from all over Europe.

 

 

 

Some of the spectators are disappointed that the musical program to be held before the speech was cancelled at the last minute, on account of the funeral services being held for the victims of the Ludwigshafen fire. Nevertheless, the staging is reminiscent of a superstar's pop concert. There are flashing multi-colored lights and dramatic music, and images of the prime minister are projected onto an enormous screen set up on the stage.

 

Ultimately the event is a painstakingly staged political PR appearance for Erdogan. The private mega-show has been organized by an association called the Union of European Turkish Democrats, whose self-stated aim is to "support the political, social and cultural engagement of Turks in Europe." A number of the organization's founders are old acquaintances of the prime minister, who makes regular visits to the organization when he makes state visits.

 

'Turkey Is Proud of You!'

 

Today the organization is thanking Erdogan for his support. The moderator announces the prime minister as if he was an MC at a boxing match announcing his favorite fighter. Before the star even arrives, everyone has to stand up and sing the Turkish national anthem. Many people join in with the singing, and the applause at the end is deafening. Then comes the German national anthem. "Come on, sing along!" one man says to the guy sitting next to him and laughs. The sound of off-key humming can be heard in the auditorium, followed by polite applause.

 

The predominantly Turkish crowd had been waiting anxiously for hours. Then suddenly: "The architect of Turkey, the man you've all been waiting for, is here!" The place resounds with thunderous applause and screams, and the sound of thousands of spectators bellowing "Turkey is proud of you!"

 

Erdogan's one-man show finishes around 4:30 p.m. The spectators give him a rousing send-off. Now it's time for the audience to drive home through the German night -- back to their dry-cleaning stores, their döner kebab restaurants, their hair salons and kiosks, their tailor shops and their engineering companies. They are returning to Hamburg, Munich, Berlin, Duisburg and Bremen; some are going as far as Brussels and The Hague.

 

Once home, they'll tell their relatives how the Turkish prime minister warmed their hearts in a stadium in Cologne. But they won't be able to explain how they can improve their quality of life in Germany, Belgium or the Netherlands. After all, Erdogan didn't say anything about that.

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

Turkey's Prime Minister Surprises Merkel

 

Erdogan Proposes Turkish-Medium High Schools for Germany

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has suggested that Germany, which is home to 2.7 million people of Turkish descent, found Turkish-medium schools. The novel idea took Chancellor Angela Merkel by surprise.

 

SpiegelOnline International

http://www.spiegel.de/international/germany/0,1518,534090,00.html

 

 

 

"Knowledge knows no borders." That's what Turkey's prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, told a group of Turkish and German students gathered at the German chancellory on Friday.

 

 

 

It certainly sounds like a nice idea, but the reality of national borders makes things a tad more complicated when it comes to actual educational systems. Hence Erdogan's suggestion that Germany should found Turkish-medium high schools and universities came as a bit of a surprise to German Chancellor Angela Merkel, who was also present at the question-and-answer session.

 

For immigrants to speak better German, Erdogan explained, they have to be able to speak their own mother tongue first. Turkish teachers and schools could help them along, he said. "The German government should have no problem with that," Erdogan said, adding that, "whatever needs to be done for integration, should be done."

 

Erdogan also pleaded for existing German high schools to hire teachers from Turkey to ease the language barrier immigrants often face in their adopted country. Around 2.7 million people of Turkish descent currently live in Germany.

 

Merkel reacted cautiously to the suggestion of sending Turkish teachers to Germany. German schoolteachers need to have "an essential openness to all students," she said, explaining that it was not necessary to have teachers from immigrant backgrounds to meet the needs of Turkish-German children.

 

However Merkel said she was open to another of Erdogan's recommendations, namely that social workers be assigned to cases involving immigrants from Turkey.

 

The Turkish prime minister has been in Germany since Thursday, when he visited the town of Ludwigshafen, scene of a recent tragic fire which killed five children and four adults, all of Turkish descent. The reason for the blaze remains under investigation, but there are speculations that the fire was caused by arson and may have been racially motivated.

 

After his visit to Berlin, Erdogan is expected in southern Germany on Saturday morning for the 44th Munich Conference on Security Policy, where he will deliver the day's opening speech.

 

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

 

The term “Turkish slavery” is a historical term: historian

 

 

 

 

http://www.focus-fen.net/index.php?id=n213368

http://www.focus-fen.net/Images/space.gifhttp://www.focus-fen.net/Images/space.gifhttp://www.focus-fen.net/Images/space.gif16 March 2010 | FOCUS News Agencyhttp://www.focus-fen.net/Images/space.gifhttp://www.focus-fen.net/Images/space.gifhttp://www.focus-fen.net/Images/space.gifSofia. The term “Turkish slavery” is a historical term. It is used in all Bulgarian documents before the Liberation of Bulgaria, historian Georgi Markov told FOCUS News Agency. In his words it is not wrong to use this term.

“It concerns the Ottoman Empire but the prevailing nation is the Ottoman Turks. Thus either the term “Ottoman domination” or “Turkish slavery” can be used. There is nothing offensive but unfortunately over the last ten years Turks forfeit the idea of Mustafa Kemal Atatürk who said the Republic of Turkey has nothing to do with the Ottoman Empire. Over the last ten years and especially the Islamic government of the Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, rehabilitate the Ottoman Empire both in politics and in Turkish historiography. Turkish Minister of Foreign Affairs Ahmet Davutoğlu is an absolute neo-Osman. Last fall he said in Sarajevo the Ottoman Empire was a flourishing empire, all nations lived like brothers. This is a dangerous tendency in Turkey because they rehabilitate this Ottoman Empire, which cannot be accepted by the nations, victims of this Empire.

Yulian HRISTOV

 

[Aratta-Kingdom]

This is turkey!

AsbarezOnline

http://www.asbarez.com/78066/this-is-turkey/

 

 

 

BY HENRY D. ASTARJIAN M.D.

Never for a moment, since its inception, has the so called “Modern, Democratic, Secular” Turkey been any one of them. Never for a moment since its inception has Turkey veered towards tempering its Islamic fervor to become a secular state. Never since Mustafa Kemal Ataturk massacred tens of thousands of civilians to establish modern day Turkey, has the Republic been for all its inhabitants; it has been for a select few of the Central Asian Turkic origin.

 

http://www.asbarez.com/wp-content/uploads/2010/03/2068254893_723e600d60.jpgAtaturk, the Free Mason that he was, never ceased to affirm the dual identity of the republic which he established: Turkishness and Islamism. In every speech and in every action he emphasized these points to assert his authority and gain political advantage. He was never a true Muslim. He drank liquor, had lavish nightlife, his palace was full of immorality, and he did not observe the Five Tenets of Islam, yet he used Islam to rule with iron fist. He beheaded thousands of Kurds, not because they were Muslims, but because they were Kurds. He did the same to the non-Muslims, just because they were not Muslims.

 

He introduced his brand of Islam separating it from State, but that did not really happen. The country remained fanatic Muslim, the seat of the Caliphate.

 

The country continued to believe in and practice chauvinism and fascism yearning for the days of the Caliphate, where corrupt murderous Sultans ruled the Islamic world, in the name of Allah and Islam.

 

In all this he had the support of the Army, which he had created, and which in return had helped him conquer the land and establish recent day Turkey.

 

What he had tailored for Turkey, like two sizes too big orphan’s jacket, did not fit Turkey’s society. The Turk remained a deeply fanatic Muslim wielding clout and oppressing the minorities, mainly the Kurdish big minority, the Alevis, and the Christian.

 

To them Mohamed was the Messenger of God, while Kemal was the messenger of the evil. This reactionary attitude of the Turks generated enmity between them and the Army, which was the protector of Kemalism. Since 1960 the Army overthrew the country’s civilian government four times, and now was preparing for the fifth..

 

Men, Prime Ministers and Presidents of the country like Celal Bayar (Sentenced to death, later spared), Adnan Menderes (Hanged), Bulent Ecevit, Demirel, Tansu Ciller, Mesoud Yilmaz and many others became direct or indirect victims of such military interventions. All Kemalists and all corrupt to the core, with skeletons in their closets, were true to their ancestral Ottoman traditions. Tansu Ciller, Turkey’s first and only female Prime Minister had spent five million dollars for an undisclosed purpose, which she would not divulge even to the Turkish Parliament. Finally she whispered in the ear of Suleyman Demirel, the President, who assured the parliament, that she had spent the money in lieu of the Government; she had financed the assassination of journalists, Kurdish leaders, and the “Enemies of the Republic”. It is not clear if she did not pocket some of that money to finance the purchase of a Holiday inn in New Hampshire, a few miles away from where I live. Turkish media said she did.

 

The beat goes on and on, and on; stories of Turkish official and unofficial behaviors and misconducts are endless.

 

The Islamists utilizing the ills of Kemalism and invoking the righteousness of Islam established themselves as heirs to the Ottoman Caliphate. Necmettin Erbakan a devout Naqshbandi Muslim Turk established the Refah party with a clear Islamic platform. The threat of its popularity and growth, led the Military to arrange for his party’s dissolution. He was barred from running for office. Turkish newspapers exposed his corruption, especially his stealing 140 kilogram of gold which belonged to Refah party.

 

The high courts decision to dissolve the party did not deter the Islamist from forming a new one under a new name Adalet ve Kalkinma Party (AK) Justice and Development Party, and the leadership of Erbakan’s protégés Recep Tayyip Erdogan and Abdulla Gul.

 

Now Turkey was and is divided three ways

The Military, the Islamist, and the Kurds, each driving its own donkey to the finishing line; The military which was plotting to overthrow the government through Ergenekon and through the newly cooked plot.

 

The Islamist Government by driving another nail in the coffin of Kemalism by taking an unprecedented step of civilian government arresting 50 of the retired and active duty Generals, and The Kurds by continuing their struggle for autonomy veiled in pseudo claims of struggle for Human Rights.

 

Turkey, according to Arab news media, is a fertile ground for ultra fanatic, Islamic terrorist group Al-Qaa’ida, to establish itself; the on-the-ground circumstances of Islamic fervor are right for Osama’s move into Turkey. An estimated 180 of them are already on the ground. The consequences of this are left to your imagination and deliberations.

 

It is this kind of a degenerating country that the United States is relying on to contain Iran, at a time when Turkey is in a love fest with Iran attempting to bolster its stature, and clout in the Islamic world.. It is this kind of a government that the United States fears to alienate if she accepts the Turkish Genocide of Armenians.

 

It is with these realities at play, that the present, equally corrupt government of Armenia was trying to make peace with Turkey. Oh, what a farce, what a joke! Who was trying to steal from whom?

 

This is Turkey, a member of NATO, and an ally of the United States, which under false pretence markets itself as a “Modern, Democratic, Secular” state. The reality is far from the truth! Turkey is a chauvinist, fascist, reactionary country. It has never been “Modern, Secular, Democratic” at its founding, it is not now, and with its ethnic makeup, religious fanaticism, Central Asian tribal culture, feelings of uber alis, and the DNA, it will never be.