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Steven Simpson: If there has ever been a country in the Middle East guilty of committing crimes against humanity, it is Turkey

March 21, 2013 By administrator

Below is an article by Steven Simpson, published in The American Thinker, in which he presents the crimes committed by Turkey.  
Turkey’s Islamist prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, is once again engaging in his favorite political pastime – Israel-bashing.

American ThinkerLate last month at a U.N. convention held ironically to promote religious tolerance, Erdoğan lambasted Israel by calling Zionism “a crime against humanity.” Indeed, Erdoğan even outdid the biggest anti-Israel institution in the world – the United Nations – which in 1975 passed its infamous “Zionism is Racism” resolution.

But Erdoğan’s continuous contempt for Israel shows the arrogance and hypocrisy of Turkey. For if there has ever been a country in the Middle East guilty of committing crimes against humanity, it is Turkey. Indeed, next to Nazi Germany and Soviet Russia, 20th-century Turkey ranks right up there when it comes to massacres, rapes, expulsions, and rapine perpetrated against ethnic and religious minorities – namely Armenians, Greeks, and Kurds.

Before documenting Turkey’s crimes against other people, it should first be noted that today’s Turkey has for all intents and purposes become an Islamic republic in everything but name only. The so-called “Turkish-Israeli” alliance has been in tatters since Erdoğan came to power in 2003. Aside from veering Turkey on an Islamist course – and cause – the Turks (even with Obama’s “apology tour” that began in Turkey back in 2009) remain extremely anti-American. This writer back in 2010 documented Erdoğan’s democratic ascent to power, his ideology and goals, and what an Islamist Turkey means to America, Israel, and the West in general.

Regrettably, Israel allowed herself to once again be verbally slapped down by the vitriolic and sanctimonious Erdoğan. With Erdoğan’s latest diatribe, all Israel could weakly say was “that it was a sinister and mendacious comment.” America, fearful of losing its only Muslim NATO “ally,” also was quite quiet when it came to Erdoğan’s latest bombastic tirade.

Ironically, U.S. Secretary of State John Kerry was on his way to Turkey to meet with officials when Erdoğan had his latest verbal apoplectic attack against Israel. Though the mainstream media made it out that the U.S. was furious with Erdoğan, Kerry simply called the comments “objectionable.” Indeed, Erdoğan upbraided Kerry when Kerry had apologized for being late to a dinner with the Turkish prime minister after holding talks with Turkey’s foreign minister, Ahmet Davutoglu. Mr. Kerry had commented to the prime minister that he had held lengthy discussions with Mr. Davutoglu. An irritated Erdoğan then acerbically stated to Kerry that they “must have spoken about everything so there is nothing left for us to talk about.” Kerry meekly responded “that there’s a lot to talk about.” However, it remains unknown what the two actually discussed, and if Kerry raised any objections to Erdoğan’s statements on Israel, no one has yet reported on the event.

This now leaves us with Erdoğan’s hypocrisy in lecturing Israel about supposed “war crimes” and leads us to actual war crimes perpetrated by Turkey during the 20th century – crimes that still go on today against the Kurds. It is a record that not only has caused of blood to be spilled, but still has repercussions felt to this day.

Probably the most well-known war crime that Turkey engaged in was the slaughter – if not genocide – perpetrated against the Armenians in the first two decades of the 20th century. In fact, the Turks were already slaughtering Armenians in the late 19th century in what has come to be known as “the Hamidian massacres.” Estimates of the slaughter range from hundreds of thousands to millions. In any event, Turkey has consistently and constantly denied that such crimes against the Armenians took place. Turkey is so sensitive to the charge of genocide that when the U.S. Congress in 2010 finally passed a resolution condemning this crime, Turkey threatened “serious consequences” to the “partnership” between America and Turkey. Ironically, Barack Obama, who had the audacity to say back in 2007 that “nobody is suffering more than the Palestinian people,” sought to stop the congressional resolution on the Armenian genocide.

Continuing with Turkish war crimes, and the hypocrisy of the neo-Ottoman crypto-Sultan Erdoğan, there were the massacres and expulsions of the Greeks from their ancestral homelands. This is another Turkish crime against humanity that is little-known, and even less spoken or written about. “The Pontian Genocide” took place between the years of 1916 and 1922. Again, estimates vary in the casualty rate, but the slaughter could have been as close to 1,000,000 Greeks killed. This doesn’t even take into account the surviving 1.5 million Greeks who lived in Asia Minor (Anatolia) for millennia before being expelled by the Turks to European Greece during this era.

Finally, there are the Kurds. If there was ever an authentic Middle Eastern minority of Muslims that deserves a nation-state, it is the Kurds. While Islamist governments in Iran and Turkey (as well as the Arab world) talk about “Islamic solidarity” when it comes to the so-called “Palestinians,” there is not even a syllable of talk regarding the plight of the Kurds. The Kurds have been killed and suppressed by Arab, Persian, and Turk for centuries, all of whom see the legitimate aim of the Kurds to establish their own state as a threat to the status quo of continuous Arab, Persian, and Turkish imperialism.

While the Kurds are spread out over Syria, Iraq, Iran, and Turkey, it has been in the last country that the Kurds have basically been written out of history by the Turks. The Turkish quest to deny any semblance of a Kurdish existence has been so bizarre that Turkey even banned the Kurdish language during the years 1983-1999 and routinely referred to them as “mountain Turks.” To this day, Turkey routinely crosses the Syrian and Iraqi borders to fight against “Kurdish terrorists.”

This background on Turkish war crimes is just a brief sketch of the brutal actions that Turkey has committed over the decades (if not centuries). The next time the arrogant, bellicose, and venomous Erdoğan along with his fellow Islamists lectures Israel about “crimes against humanity,” they should look in the mirror and admit to true war crimes.

Indeed, Israel – and America, for that matter – would do history a great justice if they reminded Turkey in the strongest language possible, of the Turks’ bloody crimes against their own minorities, instead of sitting back and allowing Turkey to pontificate about Israel’s nonexistent “crimes against humanity.” Continued silence will only strengthen bullies and thugs like Erdoğan, lend credence to his outlandish slander, and allow Turkey to continue to rewrite history in its own image.

Source: Panorama.am

Filed Under: News

The mystery of British SS Armenian and the Armenian Genocide

March 21, 2013 By administrator

13:54, 21 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 21, ARMENPRESS: The fact that SS Armenian once sailed the high seas and worked the cargo routes of the North Atlantic is news to most people, including Armenians. Brithish SS Armenian was built during the Hamidian massacares and sunk during the Armenian Genocide.
712259Built as a freighter, the SS Armenian was a valuable transportation vessel in the profitable cargo service that existed between Great Britain and North America at the turn of the 20th century. The exact location of its final resting place remained a mystery until 2008, when its wreck was discovered off the western coast of England and it was seen for the first time since World War I, reports Armenpress citing English language The Armenian Mirror-Spectator weekly.
For a ship born during the Hamidian massacres, it was perhaps inevitable that it would meet its doom in that darkest of years – in 1915 – at the same time as the people with whom she shared her name were being slaughtered.
The SS Armenian was built in 1895 by Harland & Wolff, the Belfast shipyard that would later become famous for making the legendary trio Titanic, Olympic and Britannic. The vessel was 156 meters long and had a displacement of 8,825 tons.
With very little contact between Great Britain and a nation called Armenia, the clue behind the sudden name change lies in the events inundating the British press throughout 1895. During this time, the sultan and the ruling elite of the Ottoman Empire were diligently putting into action their final solution to the ‘Armenian Question,’ a solution which required the destruction of the empire’s Armenian minority as a cohesive unit and its dispersal throughout the country .
In October 1895, reports of the slaughter of hundreds of Armenian men in the town of Erzurum provoked shock and indignation across the world. Newspaper articles regularly depicted the sultan as a bloodthirsty tyrant, a butcher of women and children, and sympathy for the Armenians was widespread. Leading newspapers such as the Times, Morning Post, Daily News, New York Times and Le Petit Parisien published articles and editorials by prominent public figures condemning the Turkish crimes.  With the constant flow of news reports causing outrage and clamors for justice, it is understandable why the people behind the building of the SS Armenian would choose to rename the vessel. It may have been a small but significant gesture, an expression of solidarity with the Armenian people in their hour of torment and agony.
While heading northeast off Trevose Head, Cornwall, a watchman on the Armenian sighted a German submarine in June 1915. In what proved to be an erroneous decision, Captain James Trickey ordered the ship ahead full-steam in an attempt to outrun the U-boat, which turned out to be the U-24. The captain was signaled to stop and surrender after two shots were fired across the ship’s bow, but he refused.
The Armenian was then sunk by two torpedoes fired into its stern.
While the propaganda war raged in the newspapers, President Woodrow Wilson considered the Armenian incident before making any official pronouncements, preferring to wait until the investigation was over. His procrastination proved expedient. The ship was undeniably engaged in the transportation of contraband to England.
The furor caused by the sinking of the Armenian eventually abated because of the circumstances surrounding the event, and the US did not declare war on Germany until April 1917.
The SS Armenian was finally located and identified by wreck hunter and archaeologist Innes McCartney in 2008.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: The mystery of British SS Armenian and the Armenian Genocide

American Student Composes Symphony dedicated to the Armenian Genocide

March 20, 2013 By administrator

12:50, 20 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 20, ARMENPRESS: After learning about the Armenian Genocide for the very first time, Francis Norton decided to vent his anger over the tragedy. As reports Armenpress referring to The Armenian Weekly,  inspired by  genocide studies classes the Wilmington High senior sat behind a computer and composed an Armenian 712103symphony he so aptly calls “Hellfire.” He debuted it inside a genocide studies class called “Facing History and Ourselves,” being taught by Lisa Joy Desberg and Maura Tucker.

The two-minute piece is full of ritualistic movement done with cello, violin, piano, and brass with multiple key and tempo changes, much like an early Alan Hovhaness work.

“It’s a dark theme that inspired the Armenian Genocide,” says Norton. “I thought of the mood and subject matter. In some instances, I had to stop writing when I thought about the torment and depression this nation faced. I felt the pain of the victims.”

Members of the Armenian Genocide Education Committee of Merrimack Valley have been making repeated visits to the school for each semester, as well as other communities throughout Greater Boston and Merrimack Valley.

While student essays on the subject of the Armenian Genocide are nothing unusual, the fact that it comes from a totally non-Armenian classroom setting taught by sympathetic instructors remains tantamount to our cause.

“They have a sincere desire to learn from outsiders who’ve approached our school with such motivation as the Armenians,” Desberg pointed out. “They want to be students who make a big difference in the world.”

Tucker’s symphony will be performed during a Merrimack Valley genocide presentation at local churches.

“I told them to pick their means of expression,” said Tucker. “Never did I expect a musical interlude on genocide.”

The results were vast and varied. Out of the assignment came an eclectic poem over an Armenian khatchkar done by Michelle Soel and Katie Finn.”

Another class at Melrose Middle School reciprocated by making a generous donation to the Armenian National Committee of America.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Symphony dedicated to the Armenian Genocide

Pope Francis talks to Armenian President

March 19, 2013 By administrator

March 19, 2013 | 15:45

After the inaug145125uration ceremony Pope Francis received heads of the states, including President of Armenia Serzh Sargsyan. .

Pope talked to Sargsyan longer than to other guests, Nouvelles d’Arménie reported.

The website of French Armenians quotes Ulysse Gosset, who was making report for French BFM TV, recalling that Armenia has a special place in Christianity. It is the first state which adopted Christianity as a state religion.

 

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Filed Under: News Tagged With: Pope Francis talks to Armenian President

Official: Azeris should march to Aliyev residence, instead of NKR

March 19, 2013 By administrator

March 19, 2013 – 16:58 AMT

PanARMENIAN.Net – The head of the Central Information Department at NKR President’s Office David Babayan commented on young Azerbaijanis’ decision to organize a tour to Akna (previously called Agdam). Mr Babayan noted the step as another PR action, organized by state intuitions.

150503“Azerbaijani activists have chosen a wrong path if they truly have such an intention. They should march to Ilham Aliyev’s presidential residence and struggle against the country’s fascist policy. Azeri authorities are the key obstacle to Nagorno Karabakh conflict settlement,” Mr Babayan said, adding that such initiatives usually fail due to the small number of supporters.

He further said that Azeri activists will likely come to some Azerbaijani border village, come up with a statement and leave.

A group of young Azerbaijanis have resolved to organize a tour to Akna (previously called Agdam), urging for an unarmed march to Nagorno Karabakh, haqqin.az. reported.

A page has been created on Facebook social network, with the following announcement posted:

“We ourselves will offer a solution to the unresolved problem. Neither the international forces, nor the current authorities will condemn our decision. We are against a war. We are just returning home. Together we will take an unarmed tour to Karabakh! The more people join us, the fewer obstacles we will face. We will prove that we are right,” the post reads.

The organizers called on other activists to join them for May 8 tour.

Filed Under: News

Iranian media on Azerbaijan’s role in Syrian war

March 18, 2013 By administrator

Young Azerbaijanis participate in the Syrian war on the part of Wahhabis, says an article on Arastabar.ir.

Citing Fakt Xeber, the Iranian website reports that in the Azerbaijani city of Sumgait, Salafi/Wahabbist instructors acquaint their pupils with the Salafist teaching and then Azerbajan Teroristafter a special training they are sent to participate in the military operations in Syria.

Arannews.ir reported recently that Azerbaijan gave 500,000 euros financial assistance to Syrian terrorists by Turkey’s mediation.

Iran’s Fars news agency said that Turkish National Intelligence Organization had transported 93 members of al-Qaeda and Taliban – nationals of Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Yemen, Afghanistan, Pakistan and Uzbekistan – to Istanbul from Pakistan’s North Waziristan region on September 10, 2012, via Turkish Airlines.

Radio Liberty, citing Syria’s state-run news agency SANA, reported on October 19 that Azerbaijani national Hasin Ghazli was killed in a fighting between servicemen and armed terrorists in Aleppo.

Dozens of terrorists were killed in clashes between Syrian government forces and terrorists in Aleppo, one of which was an Azerbaijani national, Arannews.ir said on November 9.

Source: Panorama.am

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Iranian media on Azerbaijan’s role in Syrian war

Syrian-Armenian family establishes a dental laboratory in Yerevan

March 18, 2013 By administrator

11:28, 18 March, 2013

YEREVAN, MARCH 18, ARMENPRESS: Syrian-Armenian Vahan Chaghlasyan, dentist- dental technician by profession has decided to establish a dental laboratory in Yerevan jointly with his wife. In an interview with Armenpress, our compatriot stated he was engaged in similar activities in Aleppo before the break up of known clashes. Vahan 711788Chaghlasyan and his wife had a dental laboratory in Aleppo and were managing it, yet they had to leave it and move to Armenia. They are currently living in Yerevan, and are busy with establishment of their business in Homeland.

The Syrian-Armenian family has exerted much efforts, their laboratory is scheduled to operate soon. Initially they have encountered some difficulties because of the lack of both shelter and job. Later they made up their minds to establish their own business in Armenia; their goal will sooner be called into life.

The Syrian-Armenian couple as well as had a chance to move to the United States, yet preferred to come to Armenia. They adhere to the opinion that the Armenians should live and create in their Homeland. They are decisive to never leave Armenia and give birth to their future children in Armenia too.

Filed Under: News

Steve Bell on the Iraq war, 10 years on – video

March 16, 2013 By administrator

The Guardian homeSteve Bell

Guardian cartoonist Steve Bell takes us through some of his work at the time of the invasion of Iraq in 2003 and shares his views on the decisions made by George Bush and Tony Blair. He explains how he represents the reality of ‘shock and awe’. Cartoons are often seen as a low art form which is generally humorous, says Bell – but much of his Iraq war work is grisly

Filed Under: News Tagged With: 10 years on, 10 years on - video, Steve Bell on the Iraq war

I visit Armenia as a close friend – Julio Iglesias (world concert tour)

March 16, 2013 By administrator

YEREVAN.- World famous singer Julio Iglesias has arrived in Armenia within the framework of  world concert tour.

This is his first visit Armenia, he told reporters on Saturday, pointing at long history of friendly relations between Armenian and Spanish nations.

Julio Iglesias“I have many Armenian friends. I have met thousands of Armenians for the last 45 years. They are spreading your culture all over the globe. So, my visit is not a visit of a foreigner but of a close friend. I never sing in the place which I dislike. I was happy to come here and will sing with pleasure,” he said during the press conference.

Asked about possible cooperation with Armenian musicians, he recalled that had been friends with Charles Aznavour. He sang with Aznavour dozen times and considers French singer his elder brother.

Although Iglesias did not share opinion of reporters that he is adored by women, famous singer confessed to loving women very much.

“I think women feel when men love them.”

Julio Iglesias said he had already asked what Armenians’ favorite song is and what song he could perform during the Monday concert.

“Having experienced revival at a young age, I have become realistic. I set a goal and go for it,” singer said, adding that he is not a dreamer.

Sharing his first impressions on arriving in Armenia, he said that he, and his team thought Armenians are very nice people.

“I have never been to Armenia, but I know the country, thanks to my friends. There is a kind of melancholy in Armenians’ eyes. This reminds me of my homeland. Melancholy is a sister of vulnerability and when a person is vulnerable, it speaks of his heroism.”

Julio Iglesias started his world tour on February 24 from Guatemala. Then he went to Russia, and Ukraine.

Filed Under: News Tagged With: Julio Iglesias

New Pope urged Turkey to recognize Genocide in 2006

March 14, 2013 By administrator

Seven yeaNew POPErs ago, the newly-elected Pope Francis urged Turkey to unconditionally recognize the Armenian Genocide, Asbarez reported.

During events marking the 91st anniversary of the Armenian Genocide in Buenos Aires, then Archbishop of Buenos Aires Jorge Mario Bergoglio urged Turkey to recognize the Genocide as the “gravest crime of Ottoman Turkey against the Armenian people and the entire humanity.”

On Wednesday, after what is viewed as a short conclave, white smoke from the chimney of the Sistine Chapel heralded that a gathering of Catholic cardinals picked a new pope, choosing the first pontiff from the Americas to lead the Roman Catholic Church.

The 76-year-old pope will be called Francis, the 226th pontiff of the Roman Catholic Church and the first member of the Jesuit order to lead the church and the first none-European pope in more than 1,200 years.

“I would like to thank you for your embrace,” the new pope, dressed in white, said from the white balcony on St. Peter’s Basilica as thousands cheered joyously below. “My brother cardinals have chosen one who is from far away, but here I am,” reported the New York Times.

“Pray for me, and we’ll see each other soon,” the pope told the crowd of more than 100,000 gathered at St. Peter’s Square.

 

Filed Under: News Tagged With: New Pope urged Turkey to recognize Genocide in 2006

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