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Washington post: Erdogan is transforming Turkey into a totalitarian prison

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IN TURKEY under President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the tweet has been turned into a crime, and a troubled democracy is being turned into a dictatorship. Gradually but inexorably, a nation that once aspired to be an exemplar of enlightened moderation is being transformed by Mr. Erdogan into a dreary totalitarian prison. In the latest setback, last week, 23 journalists were sentenced to prison for between two and seven years on patently ridiculous charges that they were members of a terrorist organization and had tweeted about it. Two others were convicted on lesser charges of supporting a terrorist organization.

Mr. Erdogan, the target of a failed coup attempt in July 2016, has embarked on a campaign of repression against perceived enemies in the press, government, academia and law enforcement, among other pillars of Turkish society. More than 60,000 people have been arrested and 150,000 forced from their jobs. Mr. Erdogan’s prime targets are the perceived followers of the opposition cleric Fethullah Gulen, who now lives in Pennsylvania. Mr. Erdogan claims Mr. Gulen — once his ally in Turkish politics — had incited the coup attempt, hence the charge of a “terrorist organization.” Mr. Gulen denies it.

Turkey once had a robust, independent press, but Mr. Erdogan has waged a multifront campaign: closing media outlets, forcing others into new ownership, and using friendly judges and prosecutors. In the latest cases, some reporters and editors were convicted for what they said on Twitter. A lawyer representing two journalists, Baris Topuk, said at an earlier hearing: “In our opinion, the name of the organization in which the defendants are accused of being members should be TTO: Tweetist Terrorist Organization. There are no weapons or bombs in the case, only news articles and tweets.” Ali Akkus, who was news editor of the now-defunct Zaman daily, had said on Twitter, “No dictator can silence the press.” The use of the word “dictator” was singled out by a prosecutor in the charges against him. Mr. Akkus received a sentence of seven years and six months in prison.

Cuma Ulus, the editor of the daily Millet, got the same sentence and declared earlier during the proceedings: “I have been a journalist for 21 years. I stood against terrorism and violence, [and] defended expression of freedom during all my life.” In the indictment, prosecutors cited three tweets and 22 retweets, accusing him of stirring up frenzy against the government.

Separately, 17 current and former writers, cartoonists and executives from the Cumhuriyet newspaper are also on trial. Mr. Erdogan is reportedly planning an assault on Internet broadcasting and free expression online, as well.

The show trials underscore how far Turkey has fallen from Western norms of democracy, human rights and rule of law. Mr. Erdogan is happily marching alongside Russia, China, Egypt, Cuba and others where legitimacy to rule rests on coercion and thought control. Mr. Erdogan’s dictatorship must be called out for what it is. Even if he covers his ears, the United States and other nations must protest, and loudly.

Hostage Taking new #Erdogan venture: Former #Greek Armed Forces Chief says officers’ arrest was a Turkish “set up”

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by Aggelos Skordas

Greece’s former Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff Manousos Paragioudakis expressed his belief that the two Greek army officers currently imprisoned in Edirne were ambushed rather than captured after crossing the borders with Turkey in the Evros region. As he said on Thursday during an interview with Skai TV, the arrest of the second lieutenant and the sergeant was a “set up”, orchestrated by the Turkish special forces.

Moreover, the honorary Chief of the Hellenic National Defense General Staff underlined that such incidents are significantly frequent at the frontier, as patrols from both sides unintentionally cross the borders but the incidents are “resolved on the spot”, after direct communication between the local Greek and Turkish military commanders. As he said, there have never been arrests in the past after such incidents.

In addition, Paragioudakis questions the Turkish scenario that the two Greek army officers walked for 250 meters into Turkish soil. “From the moment the two officers did not return immediately, the case becomes complicated. Since the incident was not resolved within the first hours, we have become entangled… It is impossible they have been captured by simple Turkish soldiers. It must have been another force, trained to do this, special units which had been prepared to capture Greek military men. They were acting on orders”, Paragioudakis characteristically explained.

Comparing the incident with other “hot” encounters between the two countries’ forces at sea Paragioudakis pointed out that “at sea, it is easy to ram a ship, in Evros, it is not easy”. As he said, “there is an informal practice that you do not proceed with arrests”, thus, he concluded, “I believe the incident was set up”. Finally, he said that the fact that the servicemen were not returned within the first hours of their detention serious complications might occur.

The two Greek army officers arrested and imprisoned last Thursday after crossing borders with Turkey remain in custody in Edirne as the court rejected the appeal for their release submitted by their lawyers on Monday. The decision on the fate of the second lieutenant and the sergeant of the Greek army will be postponed the Turkish court announced.

Erdogan rule has been to raise new generations “glorifying martyrdom” mobilization reserves for Syria

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Erdogan rule has been to raise new generations glorifying martyrdom

Erdogan rule has been to raise new generations glorifying martyrdom

Zülfikar Doğan,

In his recent speeches at Justice and Development Party (AKP) meetings, President Recep Tayyip Erdogan appears to be more chauvinistic than ever with frequent impassioned references to war sagas. With the battles at Afrin, the dose of his nationalistic and martyrdom utterances has increased, so much so that on Feb. 24 at a party meeting in Kahramanmaras he called on Turkish men who have already served in the army to be ready to go to Syria.

Addressing his supporters who were chanting, “Our leader, take us to Afrin,” Erdogan said, “Don’t worry. Once we decide to go we will not leave you behind, but take you with us. Now we are dispatching our trained cadres. Those who received mobilization orders should get ready. But at this moment we don’t need them. The minute we decide we will hit the road.”

Turkish males are subject to conscription when they reach the age of 20, and they are required to mobilize until the age of 41.

Following Erdogan’s remarks that those who have received mobilization orders should be ready, millions visited the official website of the Ministry of Defense to find out if their name is on the list. Due to the heavy traffic the site went down quickly.

Devlet Bahceli, the chairman of the opposition Nationalist Action Party (MHP), which has decided to enter into an elections alliance with the AKP and to support Erdogan, answered the president’s call by saying, “We are ready for mobilization. It is time to hoist the Turkish flag over Afrin.” Prime Minister Binali Yildirim got into the mood by dressing up in military attire at a meeting of the AKP’s youth wing in Kocaeli.

The spirit of nationalism and shouts of war do not spare small children either. Erdogan’s photo shoot with children wearing military outfits at an AKP meeting and his calling a little girl dressed in a military commando uniform to the stage prompted bitter reactions, even though he had tried to console the crying girl.

Sezai Temelli, the co-chair of the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party, said this was but an attempt to militarize society by making children wear military uniforms. He said children are being primed for death and martyrdom, adding, “We are engaged in politics to create a safe society for our children while others are ready to send those little children to the front line.”

Erdogan Toprak, the deputy chairman of the main opposition Republican People’s Party, said that instead of mobilizing Turkish citizens to fight in Syria, first the Syrian men in Turkey should be called on. Toprak said there are more than 800,000 Syrian males in Turkey between the ages of 18 and 41.

“We are supporting Operation Olive Branch for the security of our country and our borders. While our soldiers are fighting terror organizations in Afrin, Jarablus and Idlib, millions of Syrians live in security of the camps and our cities, working, having fun and even starting businesses. To defend Syria above all is the national obligation of Syrians born there, who know the geography and grew up there. Syria belongs to the Syrians,” he said. “To those who opt to preserve their lives and property by escaping to other countries instead of staying and defending their own country, we can only say: Go defend your land. To exploit national sentiments in domestic politics by dressing children in military uniforms and making them cry by asking ‘Are you ready for martyrdom?’ is nothing but exploiting national sentiments and is unacceptable.”

Another name opposing the parading of children in military uniforms at AKP meetings is Kerem Altiparmak, a human rights legal expert and lecturer in the faculty of political sciences at Ankara University. Referring to the UN Declaration of the Rights of the Child, he wrote on Twitter, “According to Article 3 of the Children’s Rights Declaration, all state bodies must give priority to the rights of children in all activities concerning children. This principle cannot be ignored for any reason, including national interests.”

Serdar Degirmencioglu, visiting lecturer at Universite Libre de Bruxelles, was quoting as saying by Turkey’s independent media outlet Bianet that one of the objectives of the last 15 years of AKP rule has been to raise new generations glorifying martyrdom, by naming schools, parks and even kindergartens after martyrs — people who have died for their country or for a cause. He said as if that wasn’t enough, 4- and 5-year-olds are made to enact martyrdom in battles at school. In Turkey’s mainly Kurdish province of Diyarbakir, six children who were killed in a fire in their Quran seminary in December 2015 were declared martyrs. The goal is to have Turkish children accept war and death as a duty, as their destiny and even as an objective.”

When the debate that started with Erdogan’s call for the mobilization of Turkish men became a major controversy, Deputy Prime Minister Bekir Bozdag was forced to clarify that those who have received their mobilization papers do not yet need to report to their units. While the military operation in Syria is used to infuse stronger sentiments of nationalism in domestic politics, the latest report of the International Crisis Group warns of growing public opposition and virulent reactions targeting Syrians in Turkey.

The International Crisis Group report, titled “Turkey’s Syrian Refugees: Defusing Metropolitan Tensions,” says 78% of poll respondents believe Syrians have made the country less safe, while 75% believe they can’t live in peace with Syrians. Last year, clashes, tensions and other criminal incidents between Syrian refugees and Turkish citizens increased threefold compared to the year before; 35 people, 24 of them Syrians, have died in those incidents. The report notes that many incidents with Syrians are not reported by the mainstream media as the parties to the clashes usually refrain from going to the police.

Ethnic tensions between Syrian refugees and Turks is rising due to the high unemployment rate and unregistered Syrian workers. Many Turkish businessmen of Kurdish origin in the southeast prefer to employ Syrian Turkmens instead of Turkish citizens of Kurdish descent, increasing ethnic conflict.

The government’s national mobilization for Syria on pretexts of combating terror and ensuring border security contribute to increasing negative sentiments of the Turkish public toward Syrians. The government seems to be aware of this trend. No wonder officials now talk of settling some of the Syrians in Afrin.

But Erdogan and his new election ally, the MHP, want to keep the winds of nationalism blowing until the 2019 elections. Today, with war and nationalistic feelings on the rise, there is not much reference to the increasingly deteriorating economic situation of the country. But negative economic trends may well force people to ignore nationalist currents and seek snap elections.

In warning to US, Erdogan vows to ‘break arms and wings ‘ of US-backed militants

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Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has issued one of his strongest warnings meant for the US, pledging to “break the arms and wings” of Washington-backed militants in Syria.

The warning in an address to his ruling party members in the southern province of Kahramanmaras on Saturday came as tensions grow between Turkey and the US over the latter’s support for Kurdish militants.

Turkey’s patience boiled over when the US announced last month to create a 30,000-strong force comprised of Kurdish militants, which would be deployed along the Turkish border.

Without mentioning the US, Erdogan said, “They want to sever us from our sisters and brothers by forming a terror corridor along our borders. They do not hesitate to link arms with terrorist organizations.”

“They are not aware of the fact that we will break the arms and wings of the structure they have been striving to form and destroy it completely,” he added.

Turkey launched an operation in the Syrian city of Afrin on January 20 to eliminate the Kurdish People’s Protection Units (YPG), which Ankara views as the Syrian branch of the outlawed Kurdish Workers Party (PKK).

The US views the YPG as an ally in Syria, where the militant group forms the backbone of the so-called Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) which is being trained, equipped and protected by the Americans.

“We believe we will sooner or later bring down the terrorist organizations and those who are behind them,” Erdogan said.

“Those who see us as yesterday’s Turkey, and treat us in this manner, have begun to gradually realize the truth,” he said, in an apparent reference to Washington which has had long-held military ties with Ankara.

The Syrian government has condemned both the “Turkish aggression” and the “illegitimate” US presence in Syria, saying they violate international law and impede the political solution and victory over terrorism.

While Turkey is coming under mounting pressure over reports of rising civilian casualties, Erdogan has announced plans to expand the offensive to Manbij where Turkish troops are likely to face  US-led forces.

US concerned about Turkey’s S-400 purchase 

Ankara and Washington also appear to be at odds over Turkey’s purchase of the advanced Russian-made S-400 long-range air missile defense system.

On Saturday, a US government official expressed concerns about Turkey’s planned purchase, saying talks were underway on alternatives to boost the country’s air defense.

“The US understands Turkey’s desire to improve its air defenses. But we are concerned and have said so publicly about potential acquisition of Russian S-400 missiles, which would have implications for NATO interoperability and which would potentially expose Turkey to sanctions,” the Turkey’s Hurriyet Daily News quoted the unnamed official as saying.

In December, Turkey officially signed a $2.5 billion agreement with Russia for the S-400s to become the first NATO member state to acquire the system.

Asked if there were specific proposals to Turkey, the US official said “conversations are taking place.”

“We are also working with Turkey cooperatively. This issue was discussed in Ankara last week, about how we can find better solutions to help Turkey’s air defense needs,” he pointed out.

Erdogan uses imprisoned foreigners as bargaining chips

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Erdogan bargaining chips imprisoned foreigners

Erdogan bargaining chips imprisoned foreigners

By Pinar Tremblay,

Did Turkey imprison an innocent man for over a year, or was it coaxed to release a dangerous terrorist or spy under pressure from the German government? This question is being raised since German-Turkish journalist Deniz Yucel was freed Feb. 16. That day, Yucel released a short video clip explaining that as he was leaving the prison, he was handed a piece of paper dated Feb. 13 that informed him the court had decided to continue his prison term.

“I was still let go,” he said. “I don’t know why I was released today, or [why I was] arrested last year. But I know that neither my arrest — or rather, my being taken hostage — nor my release has anything to do with the rule of law.”

Yucel’s release after a lengthy bargaining process between German and Turkish authorities was no surprise. To the contrary, it confirmed the adage, “Desperate times call for desperate measures.” The timeline from his arrest to his release proves how desperate Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan and his Justice and Development Party (AKP) government have become to continue credible foreign relations.

Prime Minister Binali Yildirim, on his way Feb. 14 to Berlin for an official visit, told the press, “I hope [Yucel] will be released soon. I believe there will be positive developments soon.”

That statement was a clear sign that Yucel’s release was imminent. Yucel is a correspondent for Germany’s Die Welt (DW) newspaper.

Another crucial moment came Feb. 8, when AKP Vice Chair Ravza Kavakci Kann told a German television channel, “Human rights have excelled under Erdogan.” Yet when he was asked how Yucel could be kept in prison for a year without any charge, Kann didn’t have much to say. When Yucel was detained, he was being questioned about supposedly spreading “terrorist propaganda” and “inciting hatred.”

DW’s Michel Friedman summarized the situation when he said, “No court, no accusation, but

[Erdogan] decided he is guilty. Human Rights? This is how the law exists today in Turkey — not [through] the courts, but the president.”

The German-Turkish negotiations for Yucel’s release had been in the works for a while. Even Yucel was aware of them. He told his lawyer he didn’t want to be a part of a “dirty deal” between Germany and Turkey. German officials had hinted that the government wouldn’t be selling arms to Turkey as long as Yucel was captive.

So why was Yucel arrested to begin with? On April 14 (just before the April 16 referendum that granted greater power to the presidency) Erdogan told the Turkish press, “As long as I occupy this position, [Yucel] will not be released.” Erdogan referred to Yucel as a spy and terrorist. He claimed that Yucel was a German agent acting as a liaison with the Kurdistan Workers Party and that the Turkish government had incriminating evidence against him. The alleged evidence, which was said to be photos or videos, hasn’t been made public or shared with the courts.

Al-Monitor asked senior government officials why Yucel was arrested and why he was released. Most speculated that his arrest was likely a tit-for-tat affair, because German authorities were holding several pro-AKP Turkish citizens. For example, government elites noted that last year, Turks in Germany who were asking questions about affiliates of fugitive cleric Fethullah Gulen (whom Erdogan blames for an attempted coup in July 2016) were taken into custody as Turkish spies. Turks who confronted alleged Kurdish activists in Germany also were imprisoned. So, in turn, arrests of German citizens in Turkey would send a message to Germany that the countries share a “relationship of equals.” This is a concept heard quite often from both the pro-AKP press and the government elite.

Yucel is not the first German whose release was based on backdoor deals rather than independent court proceedings. Peter Steudtner and other German human rights activists were held in a Turkish prison for three months charged with being spies. Steudtner was released in October. In the case, known as the “Buyukada trial,” the prosecution was asking for sentences of up to 15 years in jail. Yet thanks to a deal quietly brokered by former German Chancellor Gerhard Schroeder, eight out of 11 activists in the Buyukada trial were released.

Yucel’s arrest and the process of his release provide us with an understanding of how the meaning of “political prisoner” has evolved in Turkey.

Turkey’s government has increased domestic surveillance of all residents. People are encouraged to snitch if they observe anti-AKP behavior. Foreigners, dual citizens and people whose names are known internationally undergo meticulous surveillance. Despite the effort, Turkey has failed to provide credible evidence against those taken into custody. As Yucel’s case has shown, the courts don’t need to produce an indictment, and they aren’t obliged to follow due process or even inform those under arrest of the charges against them. A general blanket accusation of being a spy or terrorist is sufficient. The cases are political not only because those in custody are presented as potential threats to the government, but also because decisions about their court cases aren’t made in the courts. Rather, the decisions are coming from government elites.

In Yucel’s case, Erdogan had to eat his promise that Yucel would remain in prison as long as Erdogan was president. Of course, he dined quietly. And Yildirim’s good wishes about Yucel’s imminent release received little to no play in the mainstream media. A few days after Yucel’s release, Yildirim was irritated when he was asked about it. He said, “Is there no other issue between Germany and Turkey [to ask about] except for this guy [Yucel]?”

When the Turkish government reverses its course, most of the time Erdogan refrains from commenting and the majority of media outlets completely ignore the change. At the time of Yucel’s release, for example, Erdogan was busy continuing his tirade about Turkey’s military operation in Afrin, Syria, and threatening US forces with the “Ottoman slap,” ridiculing them for their ignorance of how harsh it could be. And pro-AKP social media trolls were sharing images of Erdogan, wearing a fez, slapping US President Donald Trump under the hashtag #OsmanlidanABDyeTokat, or “Slap from the Ottomans to USA.”

Erdogan vows to recapture all lands once held by the Ottoman Empire VIDEO

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BY ,

“We say at every opportunity we have that Syria, Iraq and other places in the geography [map] in our hearts are no different from our own homeland. We are struggling so that a foreign flag will not be waved anywhere where adhan [Islamic call to prayer in mosques] is recited.”

Apparently Erdogan means at the very least the recapture of all the lands once held by the Ottoman Empire. That’s not just Greece, as in the article title below. That’s also Bulgaria, Romania, Yugoslavia, Algeria, Syria, Iraq, Israel, Egypt, Algeria, Tunisia, Morocco, and more. How seriously this can be taken is anybody’s guess, but it shouldn’t be dismissed out of hand. Erdogan is already moving against the Kurds in Syria, explicitly calling the action a “jihad” and invoking the Ottoman era repeatedly.

And “We are struggling so that a foreign flag will not be waved anywhere where adhan [Islamic call to prayer in mosques] is recited” refers to far more than just the old Ottoman domains. That means everywhere there are Muslims in Europe and everywhere else. The caliphate is, in Sunni Islamic theology, the sole legitimate government for Muslims on earth, to which all Muslims owe allegiance. Erdogan is saying more clearly than he ever has before, as far as I know, that he is going to restore the caliphate. And he is virtually promising war with the non-Muslim (at least for now) states of Europe.

How far we have come. Just a few years ago, mainstream analysts would dismiss my talk of jihad and the caliphate by pointing to Turkey as an example of how Islam can coexist with democracy, and confidently predicting that soon the rest of the Islamic world would follow Turkey’s lead. Now they don’t talk about Turkey so much anymore.

“Turkey Threatens to Invade Greece,” by Uzay Bulut, https://gagrule.net/turkey-threatens-invade-greece/, February 19, 2018:

…Referring to the days of the Ottoman Empire, Erdoğan went on:

“Those who think that we have erased from our hearts the lands from which we withdrew in tears a hundred years ago are wrong.

“We say at every opportunity we have that Syria, Iraq and other places in the geography [map] in our hearts are no different from our own homeland. We are struggling so that a foreign flag will not be waved anywhere where adhan [Islamic call to prayer in mosques] is recited.

“The things we have done so far [pale in comparison to the] even greater attempts and attacks [we are planning for] the coming days, inshallah [Allah willing].”…

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Turkey’s violence-tinged foreign policy

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Turkey’s violence-tinged foreign policy

Turkey’s violence-tinged foreign policy

By Uzay Bulut,

ANALYSIS/OPINION:

Speaking recently about his military’s ongoing invasion of the Kurdish-ruled Afrin region in northern Syria, Turkish president Recep Tayyip Erdogan taught much of the world a rather bizarre term.

“It is clear that those who say ‘we will respond aggressively if you hit us’ have never experienced an Ottoman slap.”

He was referring to Lt. Gen. Paul E. Funk, commander of the U.S.-led coalition against ISIS.

The pro-government news website Hur Haber describes an “Ottoman slap” as “a type of strike used by Ottoman soldiers during unarmed defense or attack. It could be done with both sides of the hand and could muddle, strike unconscious or even kill the one on its receiving end. Only specialized persons could give this slap and it could only be learned after having undergone years-long training.”

The Ottoman slap has also come to mean a violent, national action by Turks to someone they consider their enemy. The slap is so powerful and effective it provides Turks with absolute victory and the enemy with utter defeat and shame.

The term is commonly used in Turkey. From 2013 to 2014, the government-funded TRT channel aired a TV series titled “The Ottoman Slap,” glorifying the Turkish invasion of the Christian Byzantine Empire in the 1300s.

Mr. Erdogan also threatened the Republic of Cyprus and eastern Mediterranean companies that are exploring for energy resources, forbidding them to “engage in activities that exceed their limits and powers” and warning them to avoid “trusting the Greek side in Cyprus,” adding that Cyprus’ courage will only last “until they see our army, our ships and our planes.”

The Ottoman Empire’s occupation of vast lands and Islam’s flag of conquest still influence Turkey’s foreign policy, including its invasions and ethnic cleansings. Cyprus was occupied by the Ottoman Empire from 1571 to 1878. And the northern part of the island has been illegally occupied by Turkey since 1974.

Even today, Turkey continues to target the Republic of Cyprus. Most recently, in a string of aggressions in Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ) in the eastern Mediterranean, Turkish warships blocked a rig belonging to the Italian energy firm ENI from reaching Cypriot waters to start exploring for gas.

The American Hellenic Institute has condemned Turkish aggression in the eastern Mediterranean, saying, in part: “The Republic of Cyprus has the sovereign right under international law to explore and exploit its natural resources within its exclusive economic zone. The United States has stated repeatedly it supports Cyprus’ sovereign right to explore energy in its offshore areas.”

Mr. Erdogan seems to disagree. “Whatever Afrin is to us, our rights in the Aegean and Cyprus are the same. Do not ever think that the natural gas exploration in the waters of Cyprus and the opportunistic attempts in the Aegean Sea drop off from our radar,” he said, and then threatened Cyprus with yet another military invasion:

“Just as we disrupt the plots [in the region] through Operation Euphrates Shield [in Syria] and Operation Olive Branch [in Syria], and soon in Manbij and other regions, we can and we will disrupt the plots of those who engage in miscalculations on our southern border. Our warships and air force are keeping an eye on the area in order to intervene in any way whenever required.”

Since 1974, Turkey has refused to comply with U.N. Security Council resolutions demanding the immediate withdrawal of its troops from Cypriot soil. The global inaction in response to Turkish aggression encourages Mr. Erdogan, the president of a so-called “ally” of the West, to threaten Cyprus with yet another military assault.

Mr. Erdogan dreams of giving Americans the Ottoman slap, for he is a proud Ottomanist. The pro-government news website A Haber posted a photo of Erdogan giving U.S. President Donald Trump the Ottoman slap.

“Those who think that we’ve erased from our hearts the lands from which we withdrew in tears a hundred years ago are wrong,” he declared, referring to the Ottoman-occupied lands that Turks lost with the dissolution of the Ottoman Empire in 1922.

There is nothing shocking in Mr. Erdogan’s words: He is a consistently honest jihadist who speaks and acts according to his beliefs. What enables him get away with his intimidating rhetoric and ongoing hostility is the apparent weakness and confusion of the West in the face of violent Turkish supremacism.

• Uzay Bulut is a journalist and political analyst from Turkey and a fellow with the news and public policy group Haym Salomon Center.

Erdogan admits that Turkey is the ‘continuation’ of the Ottoman Empire

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Harut Sassounian

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

For many decades Turkish officials have outright denied the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide. In recent years, however, some Turks have made the excuse that today’s Turkish Republic is not responsible for the Armenian Genocide because it was committed by the Ottoman Empire, a defunct state.

With this pretext, the issue is no longer whether genocide was committed or not, but who is responsible for it. Those who use this justification, claim that the Republic of Turkey is neither the successor nor the continuation of the Ottoman Empire, but a new and separate state!

This argument has gradually grown weaker as Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan began speaking and acting as an Ottoman Sultan! Two weeks ago, the Turkish leader made matters worse for his country when he, according to The Times of London, asserted that “modern Turkey is a ‘continuation’ of the Ottoman Empire — a direct contradiction of Ataturk’s ideology, which cast the Imperial era as backwards, stale and to be discarded and forgotten rather than celebrated.”

By stating that Turkey is a ‘continuation’ of the Ottoman Empire, Erdogan effectively concedes that today’s Turkey is responsible for the actions of the Ottoman Empire. In other words, the Republic of Turkey, which inherited the Ottoman Empire’s assets, also inherited its liabilities!

To confirm his allegiance to the Ottoman dynasty, Erdogan attended a ceremony earlier this month to mark the centenary of the death of Sultan Abdulhamid II, the ‘Red Sultan,’ who has been rehabilitated by the current government. Erdogan conveniently ignored the fact that the Red Sultan had ordered the killing of 300,000 Armenians from 1894 to 1896, known as the Hamidian massacres. As reported by The Times of London, “The descendants of one of the last Ottoman sultans are to be given Turkish citizenship, ending almost a century of outcast and ostracism.”

According to The Times of London, “Abdulhamid II ruled from 1876 to 1909, and was much maligned in Kemal Ataturk’s modern Turkish republic for his authoritarianism, anti-Westernism and clampdowns on the media. Yet, in the era of President Erdogan he has been rehabilitated. A television series, ‘Payitaht’, which depicts the life of Abdulhamid in glowing terms has been lauded by Mr. Erdogan as essential viewing for Turkish youths to find out about their country’s history…. ‘We see Sultan Abdulhamid II as one of the most important, most visionary, most strategic-minded personalities who have put their stamps on the last 150 years of our state,’ Mr. Erdogan said. ‘We should stop seeing the Ottomans and the Republic as two eras that conflict with one another.’ Abdulhamid died in 1918 and at celebrations for the centenary this week, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that he would personally oversee the granting of citizenships to the family.”

Arrogantly, Erdogan then warned that U.S. soldiers in Northern Syria would soon receive the ‘Ottoman slap,’ according to Reuters. He was “referring to a half-legendary Turkish martial move that involves a potent open-palm hit, resulting in a one-hit knockout or even skull fractures and death.” An illustration published by the pro-government Turkish media shows Pres. Donald Trump receiving an ‘Ottoman slap’ by Pres. Erdogan. Furthermore, Reuters quoted Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu stating that Washington was backing the YPG [Kurdish forces in Syria] because it shared the same “Marxist, communist, atheist” ideology!

Returning to the issue of whether the Republic of Turkey is a brand new and separate entity from the Ottoman Empire, Prof. Alfred de Zayas, an international law expert, explained in an essay titled, “The Genocide against the Armenians 1915-1923 and the relevance of the 1948 Genocide Convention,” that a ‘successor state’ is responsible for the crimes committed by its predecessor regime. Moreover, a state that is a ‘continuation’ of a previous entity is even more responsible because there is no difference between the two, as admitted by Erdogan two weeks ago.

In addition, Alfred de Zayas quoted in his study Prof. M. Cherif Bassiouni stating that “In international law, the doctrine of legal continuity and principles of State responsibility make a ‘successor Government’ liable in respect of claims arising from a former government’s violations.” Prof. de Zayas concluded that “the claims of the Armenians for their wrongfully confiscated properties did not disappear with the change from the Sultanate to the regime of Mustafa Kemal.”

Finally, Prof. de Zayas affirmed that “the principle of responsibility of successor States has been held to apply even when the State and government that committed the wrongs were not that of the ‘successor State.’ This principle was formulated, inter alia, by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Lighthouse Arbitration case.”

We can conclude that Pres. Erdogan, by affirming that today’s Republic of Turkey is the continuation of the Ottoman Empire, has inadvertently admitted that Turkey is responsible for the genocidal, territorial and economic damages caused by the Ottoman Empire to the Armenian people. Erdogan’s confession should be presented as evidence when demands emanating from the Turkish Genocide of Armenians are submitted to the World Court.

Turkish Dictator Erdogan: Turkish army will besiege Afrin within days, Russia gave Turkey ‘green light’

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Turkish leader Recep Tayyip Erdogan has pledged Turkey’s forces would lay siege to the Kurdish-controlled Afrin “in the coming days.” Previously, Kurds denied reports of a deal with Damascus to fight the Turks together.

Turkish forces are continuing their push into Syria and would “swiftly” reach the Kurdish city of Afrin, Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan told the parliament on Monday, as Turkey’s invasion entered its second month.

“In the coming days we will lay siege to the center of the town of Afrin,” he told lawmakers.

“Aid from outside will be blocked, and the terrorist group will have no room to bargain with anyone,” Erdogan added, in an apparent reference to talks between the Kurdish forces and the regime.

On Monday, Syrian state media reported that Damascus would deploy its fighters to Afrin to reinforce the Kurds against the Turkish attack. Speaking to reporters on Tuesday, however, Erdogan said that Turkey thwarted this initiative diplomatically.

Syrian troops stay out of Afrin

While some analysts claim Turkey and its allies were making slow progress against the Kurdish YPG militia, Erdogan said it was to avoid risking the lives of soldiers and civilians.

“We did not go there to burn it down,” he added.

Russia gave Turkey ‘green light’

On Monday, YPG spokesman Nouri Mahmoud denied a deal has been made with Syrian government.

“There is only a call from us for the Syrian army to come in and protect the borders,” he said.

Separately, a Kurdish official blamed Russia for blocking the alleged deal between Kurdish forces and the pro-Assad troops.

“The negotiations have been going on for a week now, but the Russians have been putting [up] obstacles not to allow such a deal to be implemented,” Suleiman Jaafar, a member of the Afrin local council told the dpa news agency by phone.

“We have solid information that Russia has given Turkey the green light to destroy everything in Afrin,” he said.

While Kurdish forces spearheaded the fight against the “Islamic State” militia on behalf of the US-led coalition, it would appear that Washington was also not ready to commit significant resources to averting the Turkish offensive.

“It seems that the two superpowers, the US and Russia, have given Turkey a free hand to attack Afrin,” Jaafar said.

dj/rc (Reuters, dpa, Interfax)

International community ‘turning blind eye’ to Turkey’s aggression – expert

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Erdogan the bully of middle-east

Erdogan the bully of middle-east

Turkey, which ostensibly seems to assist in the Syria peace plan, is, as a matter of fact, keeping the country under occupation, with the international community turning a blind eye to its aggressive  actions in the country, Academician Ruben Safrastyan, Director of the National Academy’s Institute of Oriental Studies, said Wednesday.

“Turkey is considered an aggressor. And notably, all the countries have put up with the idea, as we do not see any statement today – by either major superpowers or the United Nations’ Security Council – to condemn the country. What’s bad though is that many civilians are being killed. The Turkish authorities pursue aggression in not only their foreign policies but also internally they intensify the pressures against the Kurds.

In the recent military operations alone, more than 600 arrests were reported, with most involving individuals who expressed complaints through the social networks,” he told reporters.

The expert said he still hesitates to specify any red lines for the country in the light of President Recept Tayyip Erdogan plan to create a 30km security zone.

“The Turkish plan is to create a security zone as deep as 30 kilometers along the Syrian border. If we consider the length, it is about 24,000km. So that’s virtually the territory which Turkey seeks to keep under occupation. Moreover, they have announced a plan for creating a dead zone to rule out any population’s presence. That’s a statement of genocide or ethnic cleansing [threatened] by country leaders. Yet, none of these statements have so far received an adequate reaction by the international community. But Turkey is unlikely to succeed in its plan as the United States have stated that they will not withdraw their troops from Manbij,” Safrastyan added.