Turkey: Garo Paylan says “It’s April 24, 1915,” all over again

November 6, 2016 By administrator

garo-it-is-1915 After leaders of the Peoples Democratic Party (Turkish: Halkların Demokratik Partisi, Kurdish: Partiya Demokratik has Gelan, HDP) of Turkey were arrested and jailed Friday morning Garo Paylan, Armenian member of the Turkish Parliament of that party, issued a warning on his Twitter account saying that the events in Turkey recalled April 24, 1915.

“We live in 1915, is April 24!” Tweeted Garo Paylan after the leaders of the main pro-Kurdish party in Turkey have been remanded in custody, hours after their arrest by the authorities, who seem to take a new step in the purges carried out in all directions from the aborted putsch of July

The arrest of the co-chairs of the ruling Peoples Democratic Party (HDP) Selahattin Demirtaş and Mrs Figen Yüksekdag, and eleven other members of that party, provoked indignant reactions in the West, whose relations with Turkey are already strained due alleged violations of freedoms to power of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan ..

“The Turkish police raided the house in Ankara Selahattin Demirtaş and home Figen Yüksekdağ in Diyarbakir said the party’s lawyers.

The decision to place the two party leaders, and three others arrested elected in custody was taken in the afternoon by a court in Diyarbakir, in the context of “terrorism” investigation related to the PKK, according to the pro-government agency Anadolu.

The HDP second opposition party in Turkey, said in a statement that the arrests marked “the end of democracy” in the country.

The head of European diplomacy, Federica Mogherini, was known for its hand “extremely worried” and said it would convene a meeting of EU ambassadors in Ankara. Berlin said it had summoned the Turkish charge d’affaires and the spokesman of Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled the arrests “highly alarming”.

Among the arrested members included, besides the two leaders, party heavyweights like Baluken Idris, president of the parliamentary group HDP, also formally remanded in custody.

“This is a coup against the HDP is a coup against pluralism, against diversity, against equality,” said Garo Paylan, a member of HDP, at a conference Press the Istanbul headquarters of the party.

“It slams the door of Parliament to the nose, it means ignoring the vote of six million people, ignore the democratic demand of the people, their hope for a peaceful future,” added his colleague Huda Kaya.

“The HDP calls on the international community to react against the coup Erdogan,” the party said on Twitter, referring to President Tayyip Erdogan.

In the wake of government repression against the HDP, the Armenian National Committee of America has launched a campaign asking supporters to write letters urging the US secretary of state to act decisively against the attempt to Erdogan to silence the last remaining democratic forces in Turkey.

“The United States should publicly and forcefully protest against the undemocratic repression of Turkey and demand the release of officials HDP illegally imprisoned by the Erdogan regime. We must break with the policy of appeasement that has failed for too long in US policy against Turkey, allowing the Ankara lobbyists army compromise the interests of our country and the values of our country, “said the general director of ANCA Aram Hamparian.

The United States is “deeply troubled” by the detention in Turkey of pro-Kurdish politicians and elected officials, said for his part Friday on Twitter, Tom Malinowski, in charge of human rights at the State Department.

“When democracies are attacking elected officials, they have a duty to justify their actions and to maintain confidence in the judicial system,” wrote Malinowski, on the social network.

In France the Communists senators have called for a parliamentary debate “soon” next week on the situation in Turkey after the arrest on the night of leaders and members of the main pro-Kurdish party in this country, the Peoples Democratic Party (HDP).

“It is urgent that a debate be held next week in Parliament on the worrying situation in Turkey,” write the senators of the Communist group, Republican and Citizen (CRC), adding that “respect for human rights not not be violated in the name of geopolitical interests. “

CRC group “supports seamless to all parliamentarians arrested and requires that France so his silence over the repeated attacks of the Turkish government towards democratic and civic forces,” the statement said.

He also asked the hearing by the High Assembly of Selahattin Demirtaş, co-chairman of the HDP and Istanbul deputy, arrested with another party leader, Ms Figen Yüksekdag, and at least nine other MPs.

This “slippage continues from Turkey to an authoritarian state after lifting the arbitrary and unfounded the parliamentary immunity of fifty of the fifty-nine members of HDP in May, the organization of a purge following the attempted coup of 15 July and the administrative closure of 160 Turkish media, “the statement said.

The national secretary of the PCF Pierre Laurent then expressed his “anger” and its “strong indignation” saying that with these arrests, “Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan takes another step in the establishment of the dictatorship” . He called for “amplify the campaign StopErdogan + #! +”.

For the Socialist Party, the arrest of two of HDP co-chairs, “two democratically elected and respected personalities in Turkey,” “is a shock.”

“The fight against terrorism and against the attempts of political destabilization can not justify any violations of freedoms,” the party said in a statement, noting that “this escalation” raises its “deep concern”.

The party calls on the Turkish authorities to “precisely justify their accusations” against those responsible for the HDP and called “European and international authorities to step up their pressure on Turkey to remain faithful to the principles and values of the European Convention on Human of Man “.

Berlin said it had summoned the Turkish charge d’affaires, and the spokesman for Chancellor Angela Merkel ruled the arrests “highly alarming”.

In Paris, the spokesman for the Foreign Ministry Romain Nadal said that the arrest of HDP elected aroused “great concern.”

In a text written by hand read by one of his lawyers, Mr Demirtas said he was the victim of a “civil blow by the government and the palace.”

The words “We will certainly win,” he launched in Turkey at the time of his arrest were widely on Twitter under the hasthtag #MutlakaKazanacagiz.

Sunday, November 6, 2016,
Stéphane © armenews.co

The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) withdraws from Turkish parliament “VIDEO”

November 6, 2016 By administrator

European envoys summoned as Turkey’s political crisis deepens

The pro-Kurdish People’s Democratic Party (HDP) has said it would boycott parliament after its senior members were arrested. A leaked European Commission report warns Turkey’s democracy is seriously backsliding.

The HDP said on Sunday it was “halting its legislative efforts” after its leaders and other lawmakers were detained and said it would no longer take part in general assembly sittings. “After discussions with our parliamentary group and our central executive board, we have decided to halt our legislative efforts in light of everything that has happened,” party spokesman Ayhan Bilgen said in a statement read out in front of its offices in Diyarbakir, the de facto capital of Turkey’s predominately Kurdish southeast.

Bilgen later clarified that the party, Turkey’s second-largest opposition bloc, was not fully withdrawing from parliament and its deputies would remain members, but they would not take part in general assembly sittings or parliamentary commission meetings.

The co-leaders of the HDP and seven others were detained Friday after refusing to submit to questioning by prosecutors in a counterterrorism investigation. The Turkish government accuses the HDP of links to the armed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) which it denies.

The crackdown on the HDP, which made history last year by becoming the first Kurdish party to cross the 10 percent electoral threshold and enter parliament, has been roundly criticized by Western governments and rights groups.

“The kind of detentions of democratically elected members of parliament we are seeing in Turkey today is an assault on the right to political representation and participation for millions of voters and defies fundamental principles of any country that claims to be democratic and based on rule of law and human rights,” Human Rights Watch’s Turkey researcher Emma Sinclair-Webb said in a statement to reporters.

Meanwhile, a radical faction of the PKK, the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons (TAK), claimed on its website responsibility for a bomb blast on a police station on Friday morning in Diyarbakir that killed 11 people and wounded another 100. The government had previously blamed the PKK, but that claim was questioned on Saturday after the “Islamic State” claimed credit, according to the IS-linked Amaq news agency.

Ankara answers EU critics in roundtable meeting with ambassadors

Responding to criticism from European Union countries, including Germany and Denmark, Turkey’s EU Affairs Minister Omer Celik summoned EU ambassadors to an unusual meeting Sunday where he will give an address “on the latest developments in our country,” the ministry said in a statement.

Turkey’s recent crackdown on political opposition and critical media outlets has triggered a damning progress report by the European Commission on its progress toward EU membership, the “Frankfurter Allgemeine Sonntagszeitung” reported on Sunday.

The German newspaper said that the report, to be published on Wednesday, described “a significant relapse” in press freedom and said legal decisions over national security and the fight against terrorism were applied “selectively and randomly.”

European officials have been increasingly critical of Turkey’s crackdown on those it suspects of involvement in the attempted coup on July 15-16. More than 110,000 judges, teachers, police and civil servants have been detained or suspended. Add the 170 newspapers, magazines, television stations and news agencies that have been closed, leaving 2,500 journalists unemployed, and there are concerns that Turkey is seriously backsliding in its commitment to parliamentary democracy.

Street demonstrations against the crackdown on pro-Kurdish politicians and critical media outlets have been met with heavy-handed force by riot police.

jar/jlw (AFP, Reuters)

Source: http://www.dw.com/en/european-envoys-summoned-as-turkeys-political-crisis-deepens/a-36281438

I’m a journalist on the run from Erdoğan – I have no idea what I’ve done Yavuz Baydar

September 3, 2016 By administrator

A municipal worker covers graffiti near the pro-Kurdish Özgür Gündem newspaper’s Istanbul headquarters in June. Photograph: Ozan Kose/AFP/Getty Images

The arrest of over 100 journalists and exile of others is a clear crackdown on criticism of the president. What has happened to my beloved Turkey?

The long wait, filled with anxiety, is at last over. Very early on Tuesday morning, I was woken up by another alarming ring on my phone; it is part of the routine these days as the ordeal continues for journalists in Turkey. It was a text message from the doorman of my apartment block in Istanbul. “Mr Yavuz, police entered your flat a short while ago with the help of a locksmith. They did not damage or take anything during the search. Told us about an arrest warrant for you.”

Slightly relieved that at least the raid had been conducted in the correct fashion, I called my wife, who was at the Aegean coast, and had just woken up. One can imagine how shocked she was about this intrusion into our privacy. I wasn’t. I’m fully aware that a consequence of the botched coup is the nullifying of whatever remains of dignified journalism in Turkey.

Having seen the targeting of 72 year old Şahin Alpay (one of Turkey’s most powerful, dignified, consistent liberal columnists) and Lale Kemal (a veteran reporter, known for her stories for Jane’s Defence Weekly, sent to jail for their independent professional stands) I knew one day it would be my turn.

In the days preceding this clampdown, there were clear signs of a brutal escalation of the attacks on our freedom and diversity. After the recent closure of pro-Kurdish newspaper Özgür Gündem and the arrests of intellectuals such as author Aslı Erdoğan, police raided another Kurdish paper, Azadiya Welat, in Diyarbakır, and rounded up 27 Kurdish staff. In addition, 36 workers at the state broadcaster TRT were detained and sent to jail.

We had begun the week with immense pressure on us, sending private messages to each other in the industry: “Just be careful.” What else could we do, vulnerable as we are and abandoned by European politicians?

I learned on Tuesday morning that Murat Aksoy was among those arrested. Murat, a commentator in print and TV with social democrat leanings – who has never hidden his Alevi roots – is not only a journalist, but also had recently been recruited as press adviser to CHP leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu. In those same early morning hours I learned that the house of Ali Yurttagül, not far from where I live by Bosporus, had also been raided. Ali was a columnist, like myself, with the English language Today’s Zaman, until it was brutally seized and shut last spring. He has been a respected adviser – as a member of the Dutch Green movement – to the European parliament on Turkish affairs for decades.

Soon I read the news story of a fresh roundup: 35 journalists were being hunted that day. A new list of “public enemies” was issued. It included my name. By Tuesday night, we knew that at least nine of those on the list had been taken into custody, which means up to 30 days under arbitrary confinement, according to emergency regulations. Why was all this happening?

That evening, all efforts with my lawyer shed no light on what was going on. I still have no idea, at the time of writing this, what I am accused of – because, as my lawyer told me: “All the files in this sweep are classified.”

It may look like a puzzle to the reader, but we all know by now what this destructive pattern of targeting journalist means, it has been clear since as early as the Gezi park protests. The logic of the clampdown is plain and straightforward. The Turkish government, ruled strictly by President Erdoğan, is keen to fill the agenda with what it sees as “domestic enemies”, called terrorists. Large chunks of the Turkish media have therefore been branded as such, just because it is seen as affiliated to the Gülen movement, and almost the entirety of the Kurdish media is seen as serving the interests of the PKK.

Source: https://www.theguardian.com/commentisfree/2016/sep/02/journalist-erdogan-arrests-turkey-crackdown-criticism-president?CMP=Share_iOSApp_Other

Turkey Detains Top Aide to US-Based ‘Coup Mastermind

July 23, 2016 By administrator

Turkish authorities detained the “right hand” of US-based Turkish cleric Fethullah Gulen, who President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has accused of masterminding the failed coup attempt, said a spokesperson for President Erdogan.

The post-coup attempt purge against Recep Tayyip Erdogan that left hundreds dead and Turkish civil society in disarray amid growing crackdowns resulting in the arrests of over 10,000 purported loyalists of US-based cleric Fethullah Gulen has reached a critical stage with an official deemed to be the adversary’s right-hand man being arrested by Turkish officials.

Halis Hanci, described as cleric Fethullah Gulen’s right-hand man, apparently entered Turkey two days before the abortive coup, Turkish presidential officials stated.

Hanci was arrested in Trabzon’s arakli district, according to Turkish local news.

Earlier Saturday, Muhammet Sait Gulen, Fettulah Gulen’s nephew, was also arrested on the orders of the chief prosecutor of Ankara.

Fethullah Gulen denies any involvement in the failed coup attempt saying that he was “insulted” by the accusation in light of his own experience living through government overthrow bids. Instead, he accuses Turkish President Erdogan of staging the coup as an act of theater in order to garner more control over the people of Turkey.

Turkey: 188 arrest warrants issued for members of Turkey’s supreme courts

July 16, 2016 By administrator

Turkish prosecutors have issued arrest warrants for 140 Constitutional Court members and 48 members of the Council of State in the wake of Friday night’s attempted coup. Ten arrests have already been made, local media reported.

The ten jurists detained were all members of the Council of State, which is Turkey’s top administrative court, NTV broadcaster reported.

The arrests followed media reports that judges at other courts had been detained, as the government’s crackdown on the judiciary in the wake of the coup attempt widens.

Earlier on Saturday, Turkish authorities relieved 2,745 judges of duty.

The decision to sack the judges was made at an extraordinary meeting of Turkey’s High Council of Judges and Prosecutors (HSYK), NTV broadcaster reported.

According to Anadolu news agency, five members were also removed from the HSYK, which is the country’s highest judicial body.

A faction of the Turkish military attempted to overthrow the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan on Friday night, employing tanks and attack helicopters.

Turkish Prime Minister, Binali Yildirim, reported that 2,839 soldiers and officers implicated in the overnight coup attempt have been arrested.

At least 265 people were killed, including 104 pro-coup participants, while 1,440 people were injured in military action in the capital, Ankara, and the country’s largest city, Istanbul.

Tanks attacked several government buildings, including the Turkish parliament, where lawmakers hid in shelters inside the building.

Several airports were shut down and access to social media was blocked in the first hours of turmoil. The bridges over the Bosporus Strait were also blocked.

The TRT state television and the Turkish branch of CNN were seized by the rebelling troops and ceased broadcasting.

The conspiracy appears to have failed, as the organizers of the coup were unable to gain wide support from the military or population, and didn’t manage to capture any high-ranking officials.

The head of Turkey’s armed forces, chief of staff General Hulusi Akar, was held hostage by the coup perpetrators for several hours, but was later rescued.

Turkish officials accuse Fethullah Gulen, an influential cleric in self-imposed exile in the US, of instigating the plot.

Turkey: 2,839 detained over coup attempt

July 16, 2016 By administrator

Coup leader arrested A total of 2,839 soldiers have been detained over the charges of coup attempt, Prime Minister Binali Yıldırım said July 16 in a press briefing.

There are high-ranking officers among the detained.

Broadcaster CNNTürk said four of them were generals and 29 of them were colonels.

Justice Minister Bekir Bozdağ had informed that state prosecutors in all 81 provinces have already launched investigations on the coup attempt, saying “Detentions are mostly taken place in Ankara and Istanbul but there are other detentions in many other places of Turkey.”

In the meantime, Brigadier General Ekrem Çağlar, chief of the staff operations of the 3rd Army has also been detained, the Agency reported.

Turkey detains 28 over alleged links to exiled cleric Gulen

June 25, 2016 By administrator

A Turkish anti-riot police officer stands guard in front of the headquarters of Turkish daily newspaper Zaman in Istanbul on March 5, 2016. © AFP

Turkey has reportedly arrested more than two dozen people for allegedly funding the movement of Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen whom the government of President Recep Tayyip Erdogan regards as an opponent.

Turkey’s Dogan news agency said on Saturday that some 28 people were detained during police raids across the country as part of a probe into their alleged links to Gulen, a cleric based in the United States.

It said that the investigation included the head of the Turkish Confederation of Businessmen and Industrialists (TUSKON), adding that the police were searching for 23 other people in Istanbul and southern provinces of Konya, Kayseri and Mugla.

Erdogan accuses Gulen of running a “parallel state” aimed at usurping him, while the judiciary has officially called the cleric the leader of Fethullahaci Terror Organization/Parallel State Structure (FeTO/PDY), which seeks to overthrow the legitimate Turkish authorities.

Gulen was once regarded as a major ally for Erdogan, but relations broke in 2013 when police and prosecutors seen as close to Gulen opened a corruption probe into the inner circle of Erdogan, who was then the prime minister.

Numerous police operations have been carried out since the summer of 2014 to round up allies of Gulen with thousands, including police officers, prosecutors and judges, sacked or reassigned over links to Gulen.

Additionally, several media outlets with ties to Gulen have been seized or shut down.

The opposition figure has been based in the United States since 1999, when he fled charges against him laid by the former secular authorities. Ankara’s request for the cleric’s extradition has been met with cold response from Washington.

Turkey: Human rights activist sent to court for arrest for supporting press freedom campaign

June 20, 2016 By administrator

A human rights activist was sent to court on June 20 for arrest after supporting a campaign in solidarity with Turkish daily Özgür Gündem, which was started on World Press Freedom Day, news portal Bianet has reported.

Turkey Human Rights Foundation (THIV) head Prof. Şebnem Korur Fincancı was sent to court for arrest on charges of making terror propaganda when she served as the editor-in-chief of Özgür Gündem for one day on May 29 as a part of the “Editor-in-chief on Duty” campaign.

Financı called the decision “an effort to break solidarity.”

“This is an expected situation. It is also disturbing to send people to court for arrest by hand-picking [them],” Financı told Bianet.

Meanwhile, Paris-based Reporters Without Borders (RSF) Turkey representative Erol Önderoğlu and journalist Ahmet Nesin also testified to the terror and organized crimes prosecutor for taking part in the campaign.

A total of 44 prominent journalists, including Hasan Cemal, Şeyhmus Diken, Tuğrul Eryılmaz and Ayşe Düzkan served as one-day editors-in-chief during the campaign, while 37 of them were probed for their support.

Özgür Gündem started the campaign on May 3 to provide solidarity and defend press freedom against a number of investigations it faced.

Iraq Arrests 500 Daesh Suspects Trying to Sneak Out of Fallujah

June 13, 2016 By administrator

Hundreds of Daesh extremists attempted to take advantage of the ongoing evacuation of the besieged city of Fallujah by blending in with fleeing civilians.

More than 500 alleged Daesh terrorists have been arrested by Iraqi forces as they tried to flee Fallujah, one of the terrorist group’s strongholds in the western Anbar province, Daily Sabah reported.

According to police in the Anbar province, extremists tried to leave besieged Fallujah by using fake IDs.

“We have arrested 546 suspected terrorists who had fled by taking advantage of the movements of displaced families over the past two weeks,” said Hadi Rzayej, the police chief for Anbar province.

“Daesh (IS) is fleeing among the civilians, we have arrested many and are investigating the suspects,” said Lieutenant General Abdelwahab al-Saadi, the commander in charge of the operation to recapture Fallujah.

There are estimated to still be 1,000-2,000 Daesh members at the scene of fighting. Government forces are thoroughly screening the fleeing civilians, separating teenagers and adults.

Fallujah, located about 65 kilometers to the west of Baghdad, was seized by Daesh in the beginning of 2014. On May 23, 2016, the country’s authorities announced the start of an operation to liberate the city.

On June 11 the Iraqi Army opened a safe corridor on the southwest of the city, allowing thousands of civilians seek shelter from the fighting. UN deputy representative to Iraq Lise Grande said Monday that over 7,000 people reached displacement camps, organized by the government of Iraq.

According to al-Saadi, it is problematic for Daesh fighters to escape Fallujah, which is almost completely cut off from the rest of its self-imposed caliphate.

CORRUPTION Senior arrest of MoD

June 1, 2016 By administrator

karabakh corruption (RFE / RL) An army general and two other senior Defense Ministry Armenian officials have been arrested in the course of investigations on corruption.

General Melsik Chilingarian was arrested Monday night, ten days after having been dismissed from his post of head of department at the Ministry of Armaments. He supports the storage processing, maintenance and repair of arms and ammunition provided to the Armenian armed forces.

Colonel Armen Markarian, one of the subordinates Chilingarian, was also arrested. He was in charge of the vehicles used by the military. Markarian had also been dismissed early May.

The Investigation Committee of Armenia said that the two men are suspected of abuse of power, which would have “serious consequences.”

The third suspect, Colonel Mher Papian had an important position in the Defense Ministry department responsible for arms purchases. He was arrested as part of a separate investigation by the Commission of Inquiry. The agency enforcement explained that Papian faces prosecution for his “careless attitude toward military service.” “

Moreover, it is recalled that in late April, President Serzh Sargsyan had sacked Deputy Defense Minister Alik Mirzabekian and General Arshak Karapetyan, head of military intelligence, and General Komitas Muradian, commander of communication units the Armenian army.

These dismissals took place three weeks after the outbreak of fighting in Nagorno-Karabakh. A pro-government member was assigned to the “gaps” in the response of the Armenian army in the Azerbaijani offensive.

The inquiry committee has declined to say whether Monday’s arrests also have a connection with this offensive in Karabakh.

The “four-day war” has raised questions about the fact that the Armenian army was not aware of the attack before it occurs. Critics have also suggested that frontline troops lacked adequate modern weapons and other military equipment when they were attacked.