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NKR PM (Ara Harutyunyan as Prime Minister) “hogged up” whole Stepanakert – paper Zhoghovurd daily

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September 15, 2012 – 13:48 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – On September 14, Karabakh President Bako Sahakyan signed a decree to appoint Ara Harutyunyan as Prime Minister. The new PM was instructed to submit a list of government officials in a 20-day term, Zhoghovurd daily said.

According to the daily, the majority of Artsakh residents are disappointed with the decision. Stepanakert people hoped that if re-elected Sahakyan will “get rid of” Harutyunyan seeing as the latter has hogged up the whole city. Harutyunyan owns almost all of major buildings, cafes and hotels in NKR capital.

As Zhoghovurd said citing Artsakh residents, while on a post of PM, Harutyunyan was busy expanding his business. “However, aware of his activities, Sahakyan re-appointed the PM to continue with the “old tradition”,” the paper said.

kurdish freedom fighters, PKK hits unarmed soldiers returning from leave: 10 killed, 60 injured

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BİNGÖL Turkey,

Ten soldiers were killed and 60 were injured today after a Turkish military convoy transporting unarmed soldiers returning from leave was hit by a rocket before coming under fire in an ambush conducted by suspected militants from the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) in eastern Turkey.
Some 200 soldiers who had returned from sick or home leave were being transported to their respective military units with a convoy of 5 buses, with 10 armored vehicles escorting the transports. The traveling soldiers were unarmed and in civilian clothing, Bingöl Gov. Mustafa Hakan Güvençer said. The convoy was traveling on the road between Bingöl and Muş when a bus in the convoy was hit by a rocket at around 12:45 p.m. Militants hiding on the side of the road opened fire on the vehicles with assault rifles, prompting a firefight with soldiers guarding the convoy. The bus which was hit by the rocket caught on fire; soldiers trapped inside the vehicle escaped through the smashed windows as clashes erupted.
Güvençer said bus in the convoy burst into flames after the attack, adding that the explosion was caused by rocket hitting the vehicle. “Seven soldiers were killed and 63 were injured,” he said. Eight of the injured soldiers were in “critical condition,” Güvençer said initially and added that four of them were sent to a hospital in Elazığ with ambulance aircraft.
Broadcaster CNNTürk later reported three of the injured soldiers succumbed to their injuries, bringing the toll to 10 dead.
A village guard who was on the scene told Doğan news agency that he went up to the blast zone right after the attack. “There were no explosives planted in the ground. They launched two rockets from a hill, hitting one of the vehicles. It went up in a ball of fire,” he was quoted as saying.
The PKK is recognized as a terrorist organization by Turkey, the United States and the European Union.

TURKEY’S NEW ANTI-ARMENIAN PROVOCATION IN SWITZERLAND

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news.am September 16, 2012 | 10:53

Turkey will convene a conference on September 18 at its embassy in Bern, Switzerland, and not only the Swiss National Council members, but also American denialist historian Justin McCarthy are invited to this event, Nouvelles d’Armenie monthly of France reports.
The Switzerland-Turkey Parliamentary Group leaders likewise will attend the meeting, Swiss DRS Radio informs.
Group’s leader Alec von Graffenried, however, expressed discontent over McCarthy being invited to the event, in which the Group’s Co-Chair Andreas Gross likewise will participate.
“When someone invites you, you can’t determine the ‘menu.’ Nonetheless, the owner must know that we don’t ‘eat’ everything,” Gross stated, pointing to the campaign of genocide denial.
“We insured ourselves by saying that we wish no provocation. We, too, were assured of this,” von Graffenried said, in his turn.
But Switzerland-Armenia Friendship Group Chairman Ueli Leuenberger criticized this position.
“I believe the Switzerland-Turkey Parliamentary Group leaders are working completely irresponsibly,” he stated, and expressed a concern that the Turkish side will exploit von Graffenried’s and Gross’ attendance to the conference.
To note, Genocide denial is a crime punishable by law in Switzerland.

The ICC (International Criminal Court) and crimes against humanity in Turkey

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By: ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ

As you see below, the situation is very complex. But we are left with a quite simple question: While Serbs continue to deliver Serbian butchers to The Hague, who will try Turkish butchers who committed crimes against humanity in the ’90s against Kurds in Turkey?

Finally Ratko Mladic, the former chief of staff of the Army of Republika Srpska, has been arrested and he is on his way to The Hague. This is, of course, a step forward for justice for the victims of ethnic cleansing in Bosnia between 1992 and 1995. I am sure it will be a huge relief for Bosnians to see Mladic accounting for the crimes he has committed before the International Criminal Tribunal for former Yugoslavia (ICTY).

This news, of course, was also met with great happiness in Turkey by Turks, who have a deep affinity with the Bosnian victims for historical and religious reasons. Mladic and his men used to call Bosnian Muslims Turks. Whether they are aware or not of Mladic’s deep-seated hatred for “Turks,” Turkish people welcomed the news of the arrest of this perpetrator of genocide, who is called the Serbian butcher in Turkey.

In Turkey, most people focused on Mladic’s arrest without thinking too much about its implications for the Serbian people and political system. Delivering war criminals and genocide perpetrators one after another to the ICTY, an ad hoc international court, is a manifestation of a strong political will on the part of Serbia, is it not? In this way, the Serbian political establishment has parted ways with the bloody past of Serbian fascists. Some Serbs are really facing up to their past atrocities, in spite of strong ultranationalist segments that are still alive in that society.

Interestingly enough, between 1992 and 1995, while Bosnian Muslims and Croats were being butchered, there was another serious crime committed in southeastern Turkey. During the ’90s more than 3,500 Kurdish villages were destroyed and tens of thousands of extrajudicial killings were committed. While most Turks welcome the delivery of Mladic to the ICTY, most probably they don’t know that those involved in this destruction of villages and extrajudicial killings committed crimes that are defined as “crimes against humanity,” and thus they could also be transferred to The Hague if Turkey became a party to the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court (ICC).

Under Article 7 of the Rome Statute, crimes against humanity mean, amongst other things, “murder” and “deportation or forcible transfer of population” when committed as part of widespread or systematic attack against any civilian population. This definition is a perfect definition of the crimes that were committed against Kurds in those years. And we also know that the drafters of the Rome Statute also intended to cover the atrocities committed within the borders of a sovereign country. I have not heard about any person being put on trial because of their role in the destruction of villages in southeastern Turkey. Amongst those tens of thousands murders, only 20 of them are now being addressed in a trial in Cizre, murders allegedly committed by Col. Cemal Temizöz between 1993 and 1994 in this district.

We also know that some founders and commanders of JİTEM, which was responsible for most of these extrajudicial killings, are now being tried in the Ergenekon case for being members of this organization. It is, of course, quite significant to see them behind iron bars, but it is also quite sad that we cannot see them giving an account for crimes against humanity. Imagine if Mladic was being tried in Serbia for being a member of a terrorist organization that aims to overthrow the Serbian government. Would it then be said that justice was being served?

Interestingly enough, as far as I can see, most of Turkey’s hesitation regarding the ICC and reluctance to be a part of it stems from the possibility that the prosecutor in The Hague may press charges against people who have committed crimes against Kurds. Retroactive application of the Rome Statute is not a known practice, but bureaucrats in the Turkish Foreign Ministry may be keeping in mind the possibility that the ICC may adhere to the interpretation that in the case of an “ongoing violation” (reluctance to investigate extrajudicial killings and the inability of Kurds to return to their villages that were destroyed) it would be possible for past crimes, which were committed before a state party ratified the Rome Statute, can be tried by the ICC.

As you see, the situation is very complex. But we are left with a quite simple question: While Serbs continue to deliver Serbian butchers to The Hague, who will try Turkish butchers who committed crimes against humanity in the ’90s against Kurds in Turkey?

Eight Turkish police officers were killed in a mine attack by the PKK in Bingöl

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BİNGÖL – Hürriyet Daily News

Eight Turkish police officers were killed in a mine attack by the PKK in Bingöl, bringing the total number of killed security officers to 30 since the beginning of September

Eight policemen were killed and nine more were wounded yesterday in the eastern province of Bingöl’s Karlıova district in a mine blast that occurred as police vehicles were passing through the area, Doğan news agency reported.
The mine was detonated by remote control by suspected members of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). The police officers killed in the attack were identified as Gökhan Kuzu, Fatih Celayir, Cuma Mercimek, Samet Kırcalı, Ümit Yıldırım, Murat Toprak, Osman Küçükdilan and Şeyhmus Karakut. One civilian, a teenage girl, was also wounded amid the chaos by a canister shot in the area.
Clashes continued in the area afterwards as security forces sought to locate the militants responsible for the attack.
Turkish President Abdullah Gül and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu condemned the strike and said such attacks would not shake Turkey’s will in its fight with terror. Parliamentary Speaker Cemil Çiçek also said they would not allow the attack to drag Turkey into chaos and terror.
Meanwhile, four Turkish soldiers were killed and five more were wounded Sept. 15 in a suspected PKK attack during the passing of a military convoy, Doğan news agency reported.
Explosives were detonated remotely by suspected PKK members as the military convoy was passing through a village 35 kilometers from the town center of the eastern province of Hakkari at around 2 p.m.
Operations followed the blast, as armored vehicles and helicopters were sent to the area immediately. Meanwhile, the Hakkari Governor’s Office announced in a written statement that 28 PKK militants were killed in the area yesterday. Some 123 militants have been caught in the area in the last 10 days, the statement also said.
High numbers
At least 30 Turkish security personnel have been killed by PKK militants in the eastern part of Turkey since the beginning of September, while more than 150 PKK militants have also been killed, according to reports. Ten Turkish soldiers were killed and seven were injured in attacks by PKK in the southeastern province of Şırnak on Sept. 2. Some 373 PKK militants have been killed in operations carried out over five months, while 88 Turkish soldiers have also lost their lives in the last nine months, the army was quoted as saying Sept. 9.

Artsakh President receives a group of famous astronauts

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On September 16, President of Artsakh Republic Bako Sahakyan received a group of the participants of a conference titled “Man and the Space,” professor of the Institute of Astrophysics of Canary Islands and European Northern Observatory, Gagik Israelyan, famous astronauts Charles Duke (USA) and Claude Nicollier (Switzerland).

President Bako Sahakyan expressed his gratitude to the famous scientists and astronauts for coming to Artsakh and participating in such an important event, which will contribute greatly to the development of science in the country.

In return, the guests expressed satisfaction over the fact that the first conference in memory of world-famous astronaut Neil Armstrong was held in Artsakh.

Issues related to the development of exact sciences and organizing various international scientific events in Artsakh were discussed as well.

NKR Acting Minister of Education and Science, Vladik Khachatryan, other officials were present at the meeting, presidential press service reported.

 

Arsine Khanjyan: Turkey will recognize Armenian Genocide when it is able to look at its own “bloody” history

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11:21, 17 September, 2012

YEREVAN, SEPTEMBER 17, ARMENPRESS:

Turkeywill recognize the Armenian Genocide only when it finds strength in itself to look at its own “bloody” history and realizes that their actions were nothing but a crime. It is necessary also that the members of the Turkish society ask themselves, who am I in reality with my bad and good qualities and genetic memory. This was reported to Armenpress by the Canadian Armenian famous actress and producer Arsine Khanjyan. According to her, this all will come true, when the Turkish people themselves begin clarifying the history and exert pressure.

“They should understand that they have lived in lie for so many years and each of them will feel that in their families there is a part of that “crime”, that their grandfather was one of the implementators of the crime of the year of 1915”, – said Arsine Khanjyan. The actress is certain that the denial policy is to the detriment of the current generation. “This very denial makes them a part of that continuous crime”, – said the actress.Armeniashould pay a great attention to the Armenians living inTurkey, notwithstanding the fact if they are still Christians or forcibly made Muslims. They should join the other minorities living inTurkeyand make concrete actions. “I hope that we will come to a certain result in that case. At least, I hope”, – said Arsine.

In this issue the actress highlights the role of the international community as well. “The international community is responsible for the denial as Turkey. The international community should cease all the discussions and negotiations on this issue and look at this problem without political interest”, – said Arsine emphasizing that not only Armenians should cry about it but also the allies. According to her, notwithstanding that Holocaust was recognized byGermany, the Turkish cannot find strength in them to accept the reality. There is only one reason,Turkeylacks civilized society. “People never forget about a crime, genocide. The further generations ofArmeniaandTurkeywill always face this part of the history of their countries and it will never be forgotten. And for the sake of the Armenian and Turkish generations the international structures should exert pressure to settle the issue”, – said Arsine.

In the years of 1892-1923 the Turkish government organized the Armenian Genocide, during which mass deportation and massacre of more than 1.5 million people from the Western Armenia, Cilicia andOttoman  Empirewas carried out. Conditionally the beginning of the Genocide is considered to be the April 24 1915, when 600 Armenian intellectuals were arrested and then killed inConstantinople.

Fars news agency: Turkish Airline Flying Al-Qaeda from Pakistan to Syrian Borders

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News number: 9106240242  17:25 | 2012-09-15

by: Iran’s Fars news agency

Turkish Airline Flying Al-Qaeda from Pakistan to Syrian Borders

TEHRAN (FNA)- Turkey’s national air carrier, Turkish Air, has been transiting Al-Qaeda and Taliban militants from North Waziristan in Pakistan to the Turkish borders with Syria, sources revealed on Saturday, mentioning that the last group were flown to Hatay on a Turkish Air Airbus flight No. 709 on September 10, 2012

“The Turkish intelligence agency sent 93 Al-Qaeda and Taliban terrorists from Waziristan to Hatay province near the border with Syria on a Turkish Air Airbus flight No. 709 on September 10, 2012 and via the Karachi-Istanbul flight route,” the source told FNA on Saturday, adding that the flight had a short stop in Istanbul.

The 93 terrorists transited to the Turkish border with Syria included Al-Qaeda militants from Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Pakistan, Afghanistan and a group of Arabs residing in Waziristan, he added.

The source, who asked to remain anonymous due to the sensitivity of his information, further revealed that the Turkish intelligence agency is coordinating its measures with the CIA and the Saudi and Qatari secret services.

FNA dispatches from Pakistan said new al-Qaeda members were trained in North Waziristan until a few days ago and then sent to Syria, but now they are transferring their command center to the borders between Turkey and Syria as a first step to be followed by a last move directly into the restive parts of Syria on the other side of the border.

The al-Qaeda, backed by Turkey, the US and its regional Arab allies, had set up a new camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Salafi and Jihadi terrorists and dispatched them to Syria via Turkish borders.

“A new Al-Qaeda has been created in the region through the financial and logistical backup of Turkey, Saudi Arabia, Qatar and a number of western states, specially the US,” a source told FNA earlier this month.

Ali Mahdian told FNA that the US and the British governments have been playing with the al-Qaeda through their Arab proxy regimes in the region in a bid to materialize their goals, specially in Syria.

He said the Saudi and Qatari regimes serve as interlocutors to facilitate the CIA and MI6 plans in Syria through instigating terrorist operations by Salafi and Arab Jihadi groups, adding that the terrorists do not know that they actually exercise the US plans.

“Turkey has also been misusing extremist Salafis and Al-Qaeda terrorists to intensify the crisis in Syria and it has recently augmented its efforts in this regard by helping the new Al-Qaeda branch set up a camp in Northern Waziristan in Pakistan to train Al-Qaeda and Taliban members as well as Turkish Salafis and Arab Jihadis who are later sent to Syria for terrorist operations,” said the source.

He said the camp in Waziristan is not just a training center, but a command center for terrorist operations against Syria.

Yet, the source said the US and Britain are looking at the new Al-Qaeda force as an instrument to attain their goals and do not intend to support them to ascend to power, “because if Salafi elements in Syria ascend to power, they will create many problems for the US, the Western states and Turkey in future”.

“Thus, the US, Britain and Turkey are looking at the Al-Qaeda as a tactical instrument,” he said, and warned of the regional and global repercussions of the US and Turkish aid to the Al-Qaeda and Salafi groups.

“Unfortunately, these group of countries have just focused on the short-term benefits that the Salafis and the Al-Qaeda can provide for them and ignore the perils of this support in the long run,” he said.

“At present, the western countries, specially Britain which hosts and controls the Jihadi Salafi groups throughout the world are paving the ground for these extremists to leave their homes – mostly in Qatar, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait and the Untied Arab Emirates (UAE) as well as those who live in Europe and the US – for Waziristan,” the source added.

In relevant remarks, Syrian Prime Minister Wael al-Halqi last week blamed certain states, the Salafis and the Al-Qaeda for terrorist operations which have claimed the lives of thousands of people in his country, and said terrorist groups supported by certain foreign actors are misusing differences in his country to bring Syria into turmoil.

Addressing the 16th heads-of-state summit of the Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) here in Tehran on Thursday, the Syrian premier noted terrorist attacks on his nation, and said the “terrorists are backed up by certain foreign states”.

“Many countries allege to be supporting peaceful solutions in Syria, but they oppose Annan’s plan in practice,” he said, and cautioned, “The responsibility for the failure of this plan lies on their shoulder as they strove to keep the Syrian crisis going and falsified events.”

“The world should know that the Syrian crisis, in fact, rises from foreign meddling. Certain well-known countries from inside and outside the region are seeking instability of Syria,” the Syrian prime minister complained.

Elaborating on the recent developments in Syria, al-Halqi said, “It has been proved that foreign-backed terrorist groups have been misusing events and killing the innocent people.”

“These terrorists include Salafis and Al-Qaeda Takfiri groups,” he reiterated, and added, “Those states that support terrorism and oppose talks should be given moral and economic punishments as they are part of the problem in Syria.”

Syria has been experiencing unrest since March 2011 with organized attacks by well-armed gangs against Syrian police forces and border guards being reported across the country.

In October, calm was eventually restored in the Arab state after President Assad started a reform initiative in the country, but Israel, the US and its Arab allies are seeking hard to bring the country into chaos through any possible means. Tel Aviv, Washington and some Arab capitals have been staging various plots in the hope of stirring unrests in Syria once again.

The US and its western and regional allies have long sought to topple Bashar al-Assad and his ruling system. Media reports said that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The US daily, Washington Post, reported in May that the Syrian rebels and terrorist groups battling the President Bashar al-Assad’s government have received significantly more and better weapons in recent weeks, a crime paid for by the Persian Gulf Arab states and coordinated by the United States.

The newspaper, quoting opposition activists and US and foreign officials, reported that Obama administration officials emphasized the administration has expanded contacts with opposition military forces to provide the Persian Gulf nations with assessments of rebel credibility and command-and-control infrastructure.

Opposition activists who several months ago said the rebels were running out of ammunition said in May that the flow of weapons – most bought on the black market in neighboring countries or from elements of the Syrian military in the past – has significantly increased after a decision by Saudi Arabia, Qatar and other Persian Gulf states to provide millions of dollars in funding each month.

http://english.farsnews.com/newstext.php?nn=9106240242

Special Thanks to: FNA Bureau in Islamabad, FNA Bureau in Kabul, FNA Bureau in Damascus

Armeno-Kurdish Relations: Love Fest or Divorce Settlement Meetings?

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Posted by Dr. Henry Astarjian on August 19, 2012

Like a first date with a potential lover or a last meeting to settle divorce property with an ex, Armenian and Kurdish individuals are in a fest, both knowing full well that negative feelings hover over the canopy under which they are sipping champagne. Both sides, dealing from a position of weakness, manage to create a façade of joviality and happiness for the created opportunity. And both sides realize that in order to settle their differences, they have to accept difficult compromises, and yield serious overdue concessions to the other side. Such are Armeno-Kurdish relations today.

Individuals from both sides, meeting individually in various places and on various occasions, are set to rediscover each other. Recently boy-meets-girl and getting-to-know-you opportunities were created. I am mindful of the visit of Armenian dance troops to Dersim (Tunceli), Armenian Diasporan participations in Newruz celebrations, and in celebrations for renovation of a church in Diyarbekir.

As part of their public relations strategy, the Kurds are desperately trying to makeover their look by attempting to erase the image of savagery, which they perpetrated during the Armenian Genocide. Their first official act came from the Kurdish Parliament in Exile in Brussels through their communiqué #1, in which they apologized to the Armenian nation for all the ills they have committed against us.

Another such sweet event was the celebration in Diyarbekir during the consecration of Surp Giragos Church, when the city hosted Armenian clergy and lay people with signs and flags welcoming their guests “Home”—an uplifting gesture indeed that goes beyond the usual mea culpa! No Armenian, to my knowledge, packed his bag to go “Home,” and none is expected to do so anytime soon.

Armenians, in turn, are making a half-hearted effort to forgive, but not to forget, the Kurdish atrocities perpetrated before, during, and after the genocide. These are very difficult tasks for both.

Kurds, some 30 million of them, have been battling for a century to gain notoriety in their own land. Their major shortcoming has been, and to some degree still is, tribalism. This socio-political structure was a major obstacle in gaining statehood when the pie was being divided at Sevres. This Treaty of Peace, which sealed a lot of deals in dividing the defeated Ottoman Empire, provided in its article 64 a rare opportunity for Kurdish independence:

“If within one year from the coming into force of the present Treaty the Kurdish peoples within the areas defined in article 62 shall address themselves to the Council of the League of Nations in such a manner as to show that a majority of the population of these areas desires independence from Turkey, and if the Council then considers that these peoples are capable of such independence from Turkey and recommends that it should be granted to them, Turkey hereby agrees to execute such a recommendation, and to renounce all rights and title over these areas.”

The mandated year passed, and now over 90 years later, the Kurdish society remains disunited in purpose. This fact does not need much to verify; one look at the societal and political make-up of Turkish Kurdistan or the Kurdish Parliament in Exile based in Brussels would convince one of its authenticity.

Further evidence comes from the recent Buyuk Millet Meclisi (Turkish Parliament) elections where the Kurdish vote was split and their goals shattered as a result.

The most recent disunity and story of betrayal comes from skeptics and conspiracy theorists who believe that Abdullah Ocalan was betrayed by his Kurdish adversaries, or I should say enemies, which led to his kidnapping from Kenya by Turkish special agents.

Kurdish political thought and institutions are so dangerously diverse and divided, that a section of them prefer their status quo within Turkey; others inebriated by religious fervor work for the return of the Islamic Caliphate of yesteryear; and yet others yearn for total independence and statehood.

This being the situational climate, Kurds can offer us only love and good will, which they are attempting to do, and we accept all that with gratitude—but that is not enough! The price of reconciliation is far greater than that. Granted they cannot give us what they don’t have, but sooner or later 30 million or so of them will have to have some kind of self-rule—be it autonomy, federation, or confederation—with Turkey, taking our legitimate rights to Western Armenia with them. This is not acceptable!

To achieve their goals, the Kurds need to forge alliances. Among their most natural allies, aside from the mountains, are the Armenians who spread the span of the globe and can exercise their ideological and political clout to bolster the cause. This can happen if and when our love fest is consummated in concrete terms.

We have the same past, the same political and armed struggle, the same national aspirations, the same future, the same destiny, and the reciprocity of goodwill. Furthermore, regardless of all circumstances, we are locked in and destined to live together. At the beginning of the 19th century, the Kurdish Prince Badrkhan forged an alliance with the Armenians, put together some 40,000-strong armies consisting of both parties, and waged a war against the central Turkish government. At the beginning they gave Turks hell only to live in one when Badrkhan’s brother, who was commanding the forces on the right flank of the attack, betrayed them in lieu of money and perks offered him by the Turks.

When all is said and done, Armenians have their own problems and shortcomings. Physically they are scattered almost everywhere and in most places they are comfortable. The genocide and post-genocide psychological and physical translocations have created a reality of apathy in the nation. In the diaspora, people, especially the political parties, are interested in rehashing failed policies because it justifies projecting guilt on the perpetrators of the genocide, thereby avoiding a commitment to the new, necessary, risky, and difficult issue of Western Armenia.

Poverty of thought prevails in the nation; the intellectual class of yesteryear was either beheaded on the eve of the genocide, assassinated like Hrant Dink, or died a natural death. No! There are no replacements! There is a void, a political thought and action vacuum, which the church is trying to fill affirming the millet mentality and reality. History tells us how disastrous that could be!

The Third Republic is corrupt to the core and sitting on its hands while tens of thousands leave the country, creating an unprecedented brain drain.

The diaspora, neglecting the real issue of regaining our rights in Western Armenia, is busy like the hounds chasing the plastic rabbit dangled in front of us. A church here, a church there, or a monument renovated and returned to us, generates psychological but deceptive comfort. It does not address the real issue of Western Armenia.

Movers and shakers—if there are any in the nation—must have unity of purpose. Bring this issue on the radar screen, and then sip champagne with the Kurds under the canopy of the Sevres Treaty, in a divorce settlement while engaging in love fest.

Turkish Prim minister Erdoğan tells Turkish journalists: don’t cover conflict with Kurds

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By Özgür Öğret and Nina Ognianova/CPJ Europe and  Central Asia Program Staff

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan of Turkey  is known to lash out publicly at journalists of whose coverage he disapproves. He  has called on media owners and editors to discipline reporters and columnists critical  of his policies, particularly when it comes to the sensitive Kurdish issue. In  more than a few cases, to avoid trouble, newsroom managers have listened and  dismissed the staffers in question.

But Erdoğan’s most recent televised message to  the media crosses from reprimanding into directly instructing journalists to  stop covering the long-standing conflict between the Turkish Armed Forces and  the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK). This is unthinkable.

At a live TV debate on August 31, the prime  minister told journalists: “This [news about the conflict] must be ignored;  there is no other way.” He proceeded to claim that U.S., French, and British  media do not cover military action in Afghanistan. (This, of course, is untrue.  A simple Google news search of the keywords “coalition forces in Afghanistan”  returns 21,000 hits.)

Erdoğan brought up the recent kidnapping by the PKK of an opposition member of parliament, who was released two days  later in southeastern Turkey. The prime minister said he believed the  kidnapping had been staged and, by covering the incident, Turkish media served  as a propaganda platform for the PKK. “I really expect the media [to act] as  one hand, one heart,” Erdoğan said. “I want to come to an understanding with  you on this subject. This is a message to all the media. There are soldiers of  all the coalition forces in Afghanistan. There were 158 losses in the last  month, I received the numbers today. However, you cannot see this in either a  British newspaper or in a French one. However, when it is us, print media  covers it all.

“What are they [Turkish media] doing?” the  prime minister said. “The most important target of terrorism is propaganda.  [Terrorism] gets it done for free here. On whose side will the media be?”

Propaganda of terrorism is an umbrella term in  Turkey, where the legal system provides authorities with ample opportunity to  prosecute and imprison journalists, publishers, academics, activists, and  demonstrators on the vaguely defined charge. Dozens of journalists are in  prison in Turkey for their work, the vast majority of them on PKK and  terrorism-related charges.

The prime minister has publicly claimed a  commitment to freedom of the press and freedom of expression as pillars of a  democratic society, including in last week’s exclusive interview  with CNN journalist and CPJ board member Christiane Amanpour. But when he  equates media coverage with abetting terrorism, he sends a message to Turkey’s  judiciary and prosecutors to keep going after members of the press who cover  the sensitive Kurdish story.

In his August 31 statements, Erdoğan  specifically told the media to stop reporting on fallen Turkish soldiers, who  are officially recognized as “martyrs” by the Turkish state. When a journalist  pointed out that readers demand coverage of the issue, the prime minister was  straightforward: “Here, I believe that covering it even in small ways should be  put aside. It should not be covered at all.”

It’s of little surprise, then, that  pro-Kurdish local television station Gün TV is banned from broadcasting its  evening news programs for a week starting tomorrow. The program’s hosts were  also banned from appearing on air–not only on Gün TV but on any station–for the  same period. An astronomy documentary series will be aired instead of news,  local reports said. The ban was ordered by the High Board of Radio and  Television (RTÜK)–the state media regulator–on a complaint made by Mustafa  Toprak, the governor of Diyarbakir province, on request of local police. The  complaint reportedly said that Gün TV was involved in terrorist propaganda by  praising the PKK and its leaders, according to the local press.

Meanwhile, the  trial of more than 40 Kurdish journalists, charged with supporting  terrorism, continued for a third consecutive day in Istanbul today. The  accusations stem from media coverage of PKK activities.

Özgür Öğret is a Turkish freelance journalist and CPJ’s Istanbul correspondent.

Nina Ognianova is coordinator of CPJ’s Europe and Central Asia Program. A native of Bulgaria, Ognianova has led CPJ advocacy missions to Russia, Georgia, Azerbaijan, and Kazakhstan.