Residents of Istanbul suburb in violent protest over Syrian refugees

August 25, 2014 By administrator

ISTANBUL – Agence France-Presse

Cars were smashed and turned upside down in the İkitelli neighborhood in the early hours of Aug. 25 following violent protests targeting Syrian refugees. DHA Photo

Hundreds of Istanbul residents angered by the presence of Syrian refugees clashed with police early Aug. 25 in a violent protest in a suburb of Turkey’s biggest city, reports said.

The clashes were the latest violence amid growing tensions between Turkish locals and Syrian refugees who fled the civil war in their country and whose numbers in Turkey have now swelled to 1.2 million according to the official figures.

The protest in the İkitelli neighborhood in the west of the European side of Istanbul was sparked by claims that young Syrian men had sexually harassed a teenage girl, Doğan news agency reported.

Television pictures showed a group of some 300 people, armed with sticks, knives and machetes, attacking shops and cars belonging to Syrians and shouting anti-Syrian slogans. Cars were smashed and turned upside down while the window panes of shops belonging to Syrians with Arabic lettering on the shopfronts were broken.

Riot police, using tear gas and water cannon, then moved in to disperse the protest. Private boradcaster CNNTürk said five Syrian women were injured in the protest.

There have been repeated protests against the presence of Syrian refugees in Turkey over the last weeks but the actions have until now been largely in the south and southeast, where most of the refugees are concentrated.

However the refugees are also a visible presence in Istanbul, with many seeking to make ends meet by begging. A similar protest sparked by allegations that a Syrian refugee had abused a Turkish child erupted last week in the city of İskenderun in the Hatay province on the Syrian border.

Following violent protests against the presence of Syrians in the southeastern city of Gaziantep earlier this month, the authorities moved hundreds of the refugees into refugee camps in a bid to calm tensions.

According to Turkey’s relief agency, some 285,000 Syrian refugees are living in camps in Turkey, but a far greater number of 912,0000 are living outside the camps in cities across the country.

Armenian catholicos condemns violence against Iraqi Yezidis

August 25, 2014 By administrator

Catholicos of All Armenians Garegin II has condemned the continuing violence against the Yezidis of Iraq.

Priest Vahram Melikyan says in a Facebook post that the supreme patriarch has extended condolences to Mire-Mira Tahsim Beg, the spiritual leader of the Yezidis, in a solidarity message submitted to the latter by Archbishop Avag Asaturian, the prelate of the Armenian Diocese in Iraq,

“Strongly condemning the massacres and violence against the Yezidi people, the Catholicos of All Armenians has expressed belief that the Yezidis, who have a centuries-long history, will have the tenacity to overcome this ordeal. His holiness has also called upon the international community and organizations to take urgent steps towards stopping the massacres of Yezidis in Iraq,” reads the post.

Freedom House calls for sanctions against Azerbaijani officials

August 25, 2014 By administrator

Freedom House has issued a statement condemning violent attack on Azerbaijani journalist Ilgar Nasibov.

“The horrific physical assault on Ilgar Nasibov, a journalist, is the latest trauma in a rapidly and radically deteriorating human rights situation in Azerbaijan,” said David J. Kramer, president of Freedom House.

“The Government of Azerbaijan seems determined to intimidate human rights activists and any critic of its actions, whether by arrest on false charges or beating, as has happened August 21 to Nasibov. President Ilham Aliyev is entirely wrong if he believes his government can go after its critics without consequences while the world’s attention is focused on other hot spots.”

“He and his government should be held responsible for the dangerous and hostile environment they are promoting,” Kramer said.

“The United States and the European Union should consider sanctions against officials who authorize and carry out these horrific abuses.”

As reported earlier, Nasibov was assaulted on 21 August in his office at the Resource Centre for Development of NGOs and Democracy in Nakhichevan.

Nasibov sustained serious injuries, including concussion, broken cheekbones, nose and ribs. He is still in a very critical condition and receiving medical treatment at the hospital. The attackers also smashed and destroyed property and office equipment.

President talks Customs Union, pension reforms, Baku provocations

August 25, 2014 By administrator

Allegations that Armenia has been under pressure to join the Customs Union are untrue, President Serzh Sargsyan said, according to ARKA.

“It is an important period for development of our country. A lot will change in the country. I have no problems – either with those criticizing me or the ones supporting the idea of accession. Time will show who was right,” the President said at a meeting with young reporters at Baze-2014 youth gathering in Tsakhkadzor on Sunday, August 24.

Sargsyan agreed that, to some extent, not all CU member states may be happy about Armenia’s accession.

“We are a small country, with a number of problems, and, naturally, our accession may create problems for the member states as well,” Sargsyan said. “Yet, had they been adamantly opposed to Armenia’s accession, they would have vetoed it.”

Sargsyan also noted that he will sign the constitutional reform concept this October, with transparent discussions held on the issue.

“About a month ago we came to a conclusion that the constitutional reform commission needed time to expand the scope of discussions and, if I am not mistaken, the outcome was to be finalized in October,” Sargsyan said.

The President further dismissed suggestions of soaring shadow economy in Armenia, noting that a doubled budget income in recent years became possible only through taxes paid, with the budget having no other means for replenishment.

The Armenian leader also voiced support for introduction of mandatory funded pensions, ruling out revision of the issue.

Commenting on recent Azeri-caused escalations at borders with Armenia and Karabakh, the President noted that Baku’s moves aimed to suggest that the war is not over and current status quo is unacceptable.

Sargsyan believes that Azeri provocations are initiated by the country’s leadership, without President Aliyev concealing it. “Additional goals Baku pursued lied in intimidating the Armenian side, justifying major expenditures in the military sector and showcasing their weaponry,” he said.

The President noted, in conclusion, that negotiations to achieve a peaceful settlement continue despite lack of progress.

24% of Russians consider Karabakh independent state

August 25, 2014 By administrator

Almost a quarter (24%) of Russians consider Nagorno Karabakh to be an independent state, a survey held by Russian Public Opinion Research Center shows. PanARMENIAN.Net

According to the survey, 56% of Russians favor peaceful settlement of the Karabakh conflict, while 14% of those polled believe that it can not be solved without the use of force. 30% of didn’t have any specific stance on the issue.

About 45% of Russians were aware of recent escalations in the conflict zone, with 10% well-informed about the situation; 52% of those polled first heard about the mounting tension in the conflict zone during the survey.

Famous Turkish heart surgeon shot in gun attack

August 24, 2014 By administrator

KARS – Doğan News Agency

Doctors at Kars State Hospital said Sözmez’s condition was not life-threatening. AA Photo

Famous heart surgeon Bingür Sönmez has been injured in a gun attack after assailants opened fire in the eastern province of Kars’ Sarıkamış district.

Sözmez, who is the head of the Sarıkamış Cooperation Group, was attending a ceremony in the district on Aug. 24. The assailants, reportedly two people, first shouted his name and then shot him in the leg and arm when he turned toward them.

Doctors at Kars State Hospital said Sözmez’s condition was not life-threatening.

The attacker who shot the surgeon was İlhan Özbilen, the former mayor of Sarıkamış, who reportedly has a conflict with Sönmez over the ceremonies for the commemoration of the Sarıkamış martyrs, who died during World War I. The second person in the attack was Özbilen’s nephew, reports said.

Özbilen has been sen to police station after being detained.

Kars Gov. Günay Özdemir has confirmed the former mayor’s detention.

Armenia’s UN rep. talks conflict prevention at Security Council debate

August 24, 2014 By administrator

August 22, 2014 – 19:20 AMT

Armenia’s permanent representative to the United Nations expressed the country’s interest in elaborating effective conflict prevention mechanisms in a speech at an open debate held by the Security Council, Tert.am said.

“Armenia is profoundly interested in establishing effective conflict prevention mechanisms, on the international and regional levels,” Zohrab Mnatsakanyan said, stressing the importance of applying such mechanisms also to the Nagorno Karabakh conflict.

The diplomat noted that the war against the Karabakh, which Azerbaijan launched in violation of the UN Chanter, was against the country’s Armenian population’s right to self-determination.

“The world witnessed, over the past weeks, repeated violations of ceasefire and the escalated provocations across the Line of Contact between Nagorno Karabakh and Azerbaijan, and the Armenian-Azerbaijani border, which caused many human losses, with innocent civilians targeted,” Mnatsakanyan said.

He further called attention to the massive killings of the Yezidis in northern Iraq, noting that thousands (including Yezidis, Assyrians and Armenians) had to flee their homes in the wake of the violent clashes provoked by extremist groups. The diplomat informed the participants of the Armenian authorities’ decision to deliver aid to the Iraqi Yezidis through the United Nations.

“We are witnessing a devastating situation that has to be settled through coordinated efforts towards preventing mass atrocities. The international community has to take prompt action in direct collaboration with the UN agencies. In that respect, the role of the UN advisor on Genocide is inestimable. Armenia calls upon the Security Council to urgently react to the Yezidi population’s plight,” said the ambassador.

The meeting, entitled Conflict Prevention: Maintenance of International Peace and Security, was attended by UN Secretary General Ban Ki-moon, High Commissioner for Human Rights Navi Pillay and representatives from around sixty countries.

BREAKING NEWS California Governor Declares State of Emergency in Napa Earthquake

August 24, 2014 By administrator

Gov. Jerry Brown of California declared a state of emergency for southern Napa on Sunday after a strong earthquake with a preliminary magnitude of 6.0 hit the region, causing scores of injuries and extensive damage and knocking out power to thousands of people across the region. KTLA News
The temblor struck about 10 miles northwest of American Canyon — six miles south of Napa — around 3:20 a.m., according to the United States Geological Survey. It was the most powerful earthquake to hit the Bay Area since the Loma Prieta earthquake of 1989, which collapsed the Bay Bridge. At least four aftershocks were reported Sunday.

Davutoğlu, the Kemalo-Islamist and the Erdogan Yes-Man

August 23, 2014 By administrator

By İHSAN YILMAZ

Ahmet Davutoğlu is not someone who was popular among his own party to be nominated as prime minister. According to several polls, the Justice and Development Party (AKP) voters did not favor him either. Yet, similar to the Ottoman traditions, it was not the society that chose him but the father (Recep Tayyip Erdoğan) who was the decisive factor. This should be surprising given that we are talking about someone who loves the idea of neo-Ottomanism.

Davutoğlu’s speech after his prime ministry was announced by Erdoğan is crucial to understanding his ideology. This speech was not prepared by spin doctors or speech writers. It was uttered at a very emotional moment by an emotional Davutoğlu. A few days later, he may come up with a well-prepared, well-crafted, carefully engineered speech, but I think it will be a little late. He has lost his chance to underline democracy, human rights, plurality, freedoms and civil society. Instead, he kept repeating the word “state” and the phrase “state traditions.” This is quite telling.

When talking about what Erdoğan called a “witch hunt,” Davutoğlu, who loves to reference Ottoman history, stated that in the past sons were sacrificed for the state. He was referring to the fact that some of the Ottoman sultans had their sons executed in order to prevent political rivalry and chaos. Davutoğlu was simply saying that, in order to protect the state, some people could be harmed. Davutoğlu is not of course alone in his understanding of the concept of the state. As the regular readers of this column will know, this is a common characteristic of Islamists, and especially Turkish Islamists.

Prominent Turkish political scientist Şerif Mardin employs the phrase “Turkish Exceptionalism” to explain this phenomenon. He argues that Turkish Islamists have never revolted against the state and have always worked within the parameters of the constitutional framework for historical reasons. Given the history of the Crusades, European expansionism and imperialism and the collapse of the Ottoman Empire, the Islamists have concluded that without the protection of the state, Islam will not be able to survive. Thus, for the Turkish Islamists, the existence of the state, however unjust and cruel it may be, is the ultimate priority. Thus, they have a sacred understanding of the state. They can resist its practices but never revolt against it and never resort to violence against it. This of course is not the end of the story as far as the Islamists vis-à-vis state relations are concerned.

The Islamists also love, cherish and respect the state because of their top-down social engineering understanding that will pave the way for the Islamist utopian society as a result of the use of the ideological apparatuses of the state. In this understanding, especially after Islamists have come to power, anything that opposes the state is deemed to be un-Islamic, which needs to be fought with full force and eradicated. Civil society, freedoms, human rights, plurality, international standards and so on can only exist as long as they are not a threat to the state (actually the rulers), its authority and power. As I have tried to explain before, this ideology is an anti-democratic modernist ideology and it is not very much different from the other Turkish anti-democratic modernist ideology, Kemalism. If you add the Islamic flavor to the Kemalist ideology, the end-result would be Turkish Islamism. To underline this fact, I have coined the concept, Kemalo-Islamism.

Davutoğlu’s unprepared emotional speech has shown that he will most probably be a Kemalo-Islamist prime minister. This is of course not a recipe for success in 21st-century Turkish society, which is very much pluralistic and has an average gross domestic product (GDP) per capita of $11,000.

İHSAN YILMAZ

ISIL militants tipped off to US operation when Americans asked about hostages in Turkish city

August 23, 2014 By administrator

BEIRUT/WASHINGTON – Reuters

A Syrian source close to the Islamic State told Reuters that the militants had been tipped off to the July 4 operation when Americans were seen asking about the hostages in the Turkish city of Antakya

Residents point to warplanes operated by forces of Syria’s President Bashar Al-Assad during what activists said was an air raid around al-Tabqa military base at a government-controlled airport that is surrounded by militants, west of Raqqa city, August 21, 2014. REUTERS/Stringer

It was just after midnight on July 4 when at least two dozen U.S. Delta Force commandos arrived on heavily armed Black Hawk helicopters in Akrishi, a small town near the eastern Syrian city of Raqqa on the bank of the Euphrates River.

Before they landed to search for American hostages including journalist James Foley, they destroyed a crucial target: anti-aircraft weapons at a jihadist base about 3 miles (5 km) southeast of the city, a stronghold of militants of the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL), now simply known as the Islamic State.

The above account and other details of the raid have emerged from witnesses who spoke with a member of a Syrian opposition activist group, who identified himself as Abu Ibrahim al Raqaoui. Raqaoui told the information to Reuters in an interview via Skype from inside Syria.

His group also posted witness accounts of the raid on Facebook soon after it took place. The posts, which were viewed by Reuters, have since been taken down.

“The raid happened just after midnight,” Raqaoui said. “The helicopters first started destroying anti-aircraft weapons.” Reuters could not verify the account.

The White House publicized details of the raid on Wednesday, a day after Islamic State jihadists posted a video showing Foley being beheaded. The White House said the commandos failed to find Foley or other hostages and that it was prompted to make the announcement after several U.S. news organizations learned of the operation.

The U.S. military incursion into the heart of Islamic State territory, made on U.S. Independence Day, ended in disappointment when the soldiers found no prisoners.

Burned the camp

After landing, the commandos blocked the main road to Raqqa and moved toward a makeshift jail believed to hold Foley and other hostages, Raqaoui said. Discovering Foley wasn’t there, they attacked the base, which the militants had named “Bin Laden”, after the former al-Qaeda leader, Osama bin Laden, Raqaoui said. They lit it on fire, he said.

“According to villagers, they burned the camp and killed all the ISIS fighters,” he said, using one of the acronyms that refer to the Islamic State.

U.S. officials said “many” Islamic State fighters were killed and one American soldier was wounded when a helicopter came under fire. Raqaoui’s account puts the number of wounded U.S. soldiers at two.

The mission was authorized by President Barack Obama and based on U.S. intelligence, including information from hostages who have been released, the administration said. U.S. officials would not confirm that it was on July 4.

It was first direct ground engagement between the United States and Islamic State militants, and the first known U.S. ground operation in Syria since the start of its civil war in 2011.

The raid’s failure to bring hostages home underscores the limits of U.S. intelligence about Syria’s chaotic conflict.

“We believed we had a good case for where they might be,” said one U.S. official who declined to be identified.

Militants tipped off

A Syrian source close to the Islamic State told Reuters that the militants had been tipped off to the planned operation when Americans were seen asking about the hostages in the Turkish city of Antakya, about 12 miles (20 km) from the Syrian border.

“The Americans were looking for their hostages and desperately looking for any information,” said this person, who spoke to Reuters on the condition of anonymity.

“They met people in Antakya and asked questions. Afterwards, the operation became expected. The (Islamic) State anticipated the operation and took precautions. They expected it and that is why they have probably changed the location of the hostages.”

Rami Abdelrahman, founder of the Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which monitors violence in the Syrian war via a network of activists across the country, said that at the time of the operation last month, his activists in Raqqa received a report from a single source close to the Islamic State saying that there had been a raid in the area by American troops.

“The residents said they heard the noise of aircraft and gunfire but did not know more than that,” he said.

The source close to the Islamic State had said at the time that some of the Americans had been killed, Abdelrahman said. The source said Islamic State fighters also had been hurt. “They said some of the brothers were wounded.”

The Committee to Protect Journalists, a U.S. independent group, estimates that two dozen kidnapped journalists, both local and foreigners, remain in Syria, including American Steven Sotloff who was shown at the end of the Islamic State video on Tuesday. The militant who killed Foley warned that Sotloff would be next if U.S air strikes persist.

U.S. warplanes and drones have continued daily attacks on Islamic State positions in Iraq. U.S. officials say they have not ruled out escalating military action against the jihadists, who have increased their threats against the United States since the air campaign in Iraq began two weeks ago.

August/23/2014