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Turkey says detains over 1,000 in latest anti-terror “Gulen” raids

August 1, 2017 by administrator

Turkish authorities detained 1,098 people over the last week for suspected links to militant groups or last year’s failed coup attempt, Reuters reports, citing the Interior Ministry.

In a statement, the ministry said 831 of those were detained for suspected ties to the US-based Muslim cleric Fethullah Gulen, whom Ankara blames for orchestrating an attempted coup in July. Gulen denies any involvement.

It said another 213 of those were suspected of links to the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), which has carried out a three-decade insurgency against the government and is considered a terrorist organization by the United States, Turkey and Europe.

Forty-six people were detained over alleged links to Islamic State, while 8 more were held for suspected ties to “leftist terrorist groups”, the ministry said.

Following the July 15 coup, Turkey has arrested some 50,000 people and sacked or suspended more than 150,000 in the military, civil service and private sector as part of a sweeping crackdown that has worried rights groups and some Western nations.

The Turkish government, however, has said the purges were justified by the gravity of the threats it was facing.

EDITORIAL: At 101, Our Demands for Justice Are More Urgent

April 23, 2016 by administrator

Asbarez 2016 April 24 Special Issue

(Asbarez) What has become known as the “four day war,” which erupted on April 1 as Azerbaijani forces brutally attacked all the Karabakh-Azerbaijan borders, brought to fore the urgency for justice and hammered in the realization the our demands will only be met by a collective national effort, which must heretofore guide all Armenian Cause-related steps.

The savagery with which Azerbaijan attacked Armenian military units and civilian targets and the brutal force displayed at the command of Baku was not only reminiscent of the vindictive nature of Azerbaijani attacks in Sumgait, Kirovabad, Baku and Shahumian in the late 1980s and early 1990s, but also of the guidelines put forth by Talaat and Enver pashas as they orchestrated the Armenian Genocide 101 years ago.

Last year, the entire world rose up to commemorate and recognize the Armenian Genocide, as thousands upon thousands of Armenians came together in every continent to demand justice for the Genocide and remember the 1.5 million martyrs of that tragedy.

Perhaps, most important, was that we, as Armenians, were emboldened by one another. We saw in each other, the same level of commitment and determination to pursue the just aspirations of the Armenian Nation and a drive to advance our demands, be that on the streets of Los Angeles, where 166,000 people rallied around to call for justice, or in the streets of Istanbul, where a new generation of Armenians is shaping its own future by reclaiming an identity that was long oppressed and continues to be a cause for acute persecution.

The international community’s posturing amid this groundswell was notably positive. The Pope’s reiteration of the Vatican’s long-held recognition of the Armenian Genocide triggered vociferous chain of action, with nations that had already recognized the Genocide vocalized their positions and sent leaders to Armenia to attend the events at Dzidzernagapert. Some countries, like Austria, that had not recognized did. The international media’s call for Turkey to end this cycle of denial and finally come to terms with its past also reached a crescendo not seen before, with some newspaper, such as the New York Times, even going as far as to report on the reparations issue that is part and parcel of the Armenian Cause.

However, after the Centennial, it became clear that the politics of the region will continue to dictate world response to events and issues such as the Armenian Genocide or the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. With proverbial battle lines being draw around the Syrian conflict by the West and Russia with the Islamic State at as its focal point, once again Armenia and Armenians are at the center of a larger reality with higher and more regionally-centric focus.

How else can we explain the Obama administrations declaration a few weeks back when Secretary of State John Kerry called the atrocities committed against Christians, Yezidis and other minorities by Da’esh (ISIS or ISIL) genocide, yet the same administration, headed by President Obama, is refusing, for the eighth time, to call the events of 1915 genocide.

By the same token, despite the egregious aggression by Azerbaijan toward the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, the world powers, in this instance including Russia, are refusing to call out Baku’s inhumane policies and are maintaining a false parity, that is not only empowering Azerbaijan to act with impunity, but is also enabling other forces to destabilize the region at the expense of Armenian lives.

This post-Centennial world order has seen world leaders turn a blind eye on human rights violations by Turkey and Azerbaijan and has created a climate whereby Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan can praise Hitler and then collect $3 billion in aid from Europe, while waging an indiscriminate war on its own Kurdish population.

This only means one thing: Armenians can only advance the just aspirations of the Armenian people and relying on outside forces only delays our abilities to transform ourselves into a strong and resilient nation by putting forth all our individual and collective capabilities in the pursuit of the Armenian Cause.

To successfully achieve this, we must all work together to strengthen the republics of Armenia and Artsakh. This means that this new order must compel the government of Armenia to end the corruption that has become a noose around the Armenian people, and for the Diaspora to focus its resources on enabling the positive and tangible efforts all for the advancement of our collective Nation.

Together we must be the guarantors of our own fate. Together we must advance the Armenian Cause. Together we must fight for and attain justice for the Armenian Nation.

As we remember 1.5 million martyrs of the Armenian Genocide, we must keep in mind that Turkey failed, as did and will Azerbaijan. The events in this month in Karabakh showed that our nation can come together and will come together around a common cause.

Let us RALLY FOR JUSTICE on April 24.

Turkey now in full control of NATO, Two more Turks appointed to key NATO posts.”World got more Dangerous”

December 13, 2015 by administrator

BRUSSELS,

At a time when the 28-member alliance is in bid to counter unprecedented security challenges both at home and abroad, two senior Turkish diplomats are being appointed to key posts at NATO.

Ambassador Tacan İldem, currently serving as the permanent representative of Turkey to the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE), is expected to be shortly appointed as NATO’s Assistant Secretary General for Public Diplomacy, while international career diplomat Burcu San, has already been appointed as the director of the Operations Division of NATO’s International Secretariat.

İldem, 59, is a career diplomat who entered the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Turkey in 1978. He started his career by working as second secretary at the NATO Department at the headquarters in the capital city of Ankara. In 1981, İldem served as second and later first secretary in the Turkish Delegation to NATO in Brussels.

From 2006 to 2009, İldem served as permanent representative of Turkey to NATO. After holding post of director- general for international security affairs at the headquarters from 2009, he was appointed to his current post as the permanent representative of Turkey to OSCE in June 2011.

As the head of Public Diplomacy Division, which plays a key role in conveying the alliance’s strategic and political messages to opinion formers and to the public in general, İldem will report directly to NATO Secretary General Jens Stoltenberg and advise Stoltenberg on public diplomacy issues as a member of the secretary-general’s senior management team.

As for San, 45, who worked in separate units of NATO in the past, she was already working at the Operations Division before being appointed as the director.

Impunity begets more crimes – Serzh Sargsyan’s address at global anti-genocide forum

April 22, 2015 by administrator

Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan has delivered a speech at the International Social and Political Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide, calling for support to the prevention of the universal crime against humanity and considering its impunity a pre-requisite for more crimes.

His full address is presented below:

“Distinguished guests,

“Dear participants of the global forum,

“I welcome you at the International Social and Political Global Forum against the Crime of Genocide. Thank you for accepting our invitation, and your most important contribution. The impressive and venerable list of this forum’s participants gives us hope that the forum will become an important platform to comprehensively discuss, and further improve the mechanisms for the prevention of genocide that is the crime of all crimes. I strongly believe that the remarks delivered, and the views expressed here will trigger a broad international reaction that in its turn may produce an invaluable impact on the raising of global awareness on this key issue.

“The international organizations’ agendas, diplomatic efforts exerted by the small and large states alike, international media’s headlines have recently been specifically addressing one of the tremendous challenges humanity faces. I speak of the Middle East, the modern civilization’s cradle, where the surging extremism and intolerance resulted in violence and, at some places, even in genocidal acts against a number minorities. This is yet another warning to the international community alerting that the threat of the crimes of genocide, and other crimes against humanity, has not been eliminated, and requires consolidated and consistent efforts by the international organizations, states and civil society.

“Dear participants,

“This forum is one of the central events to mark the Armenian Genocide Centennial. As you are aware, commemoration events are being held in different countries of the world, supported by the four fundamental pillars. Those are remembrance, gratitude, prevention, and revival. These are also the messages that the Republic of Armenia, and Armenian Diaspora communities that emerged because of the Genocide in different countries wish to deliver to the international community and coming generations upon the Centennial. These four notions are also deeply symbolic for the commemoration of all other crimes of genocide committed throughout the human history.

“One of the topics to be discussed during the forum refers to the role of the memory and truth in overcoming the consequences of genocide. That is, truly, the most accurate way to pin it down since, as far as the crimes of genocide are concerned, the remembrance and contemporary reality are unavoidably interlaced. Genocide is a crime of such a vast scale, with such a severe damage inflicted that even many decades later its impact is felt by the descendants of both the victims and perpetrators, as well as by the entire international community.

“For us, Armenians, remembrance is a moral obligation and, at the same time, inalienable individual and collective right. It is our moral duty and right to commemorate the one and a half milion of victims, inhumane sufferings endured by the hundreds of thousands, loss of the material and spiritual heritage accumulated by our people throughout millenia, extermination of the substantial part of the early 20th century Armenian intelligentsia, who mainly resided in Constantinople, that led to the mass slaughter. It is because of this cohesion of the right and duty that we have adopted the motto “I remember and demand” for the commemoration events.

“It is impossible to disagree with the Holocaust survivor and Nobel Prize winner Elie Wiesel, who notes that “to forget the dead would be akin to killing them a second time.” Remembrance, meanwhile, is the best remedy for the descendants of those who perpetrated genocide to face their own history, and the best oportunity to restore the justice.

“The crimes of genocide – Medz Yeghern, Shoah, those commited in Cambodia, Rwanda, Darfur and elsewhere, shall be commemorated by both the successors of the victims and perpetrators. The path to reconciliation is not paved by denial, but rather by the consciousness of memory.

“Dear participants,

“Perpetration of genocide is both an aftermath of the inner developments in a given state or society, and failure of the entire system of international relations. It has been demonstrated on numerous occasions that impunity is a prerequisite to the recurrence of the crime of genocide. The Armenian Genocide and the Holocaust were committed in the course of, respectively, the World War One and Two. The international community proved unable to prevent them and other crimes of genocide. Remembrance is the only possible way to reveal nowadays the enormous losses that the global civilization has suffered as in the aftermath of the crimes of genocide. It is impossible to describe by words the scope and level of the distortion of human values that resulted in the initiation of such a heinous crime.

“In our recollections of the crimes of genocide a specific significance has been reserved the notion of gratitude in order to acknowledge the human virtue that saved thousands of living souls. There have been numerous narratives, such as the activities of Irena Sendler and Raoul Wallenberg during the Holocaust, Paul Rusesabagina during the Rwandan Genocide, Van Chhuon during the Cambodian Genocide; they all ensured the physical security of the people they rescued, and inspired hope at the times of overwhelming domination of cruelty and hatred.

“The Armenian people has not forgotten and is grateful to those Kurds and Turks, who covertly saved lives of their Armenian neighbors. We are indebted to the Arab people, who gave shelter to those, who had narrowly escaped the Turkish yataghan, as well as the Russians, Americans and Europeans, who took care of the Armenian orphans or partook in the humanitarian efforts.
Equally, our gratitude is well-earned by the public figures, clergymen, missionaries, diplomats, and those nations that demonstrated righteousness and civic courage since their actions had been guided by the noble ideas of humanism.

“Dear participants,

“Alongside with our consistent efforts toward the recognition, condemnation of the Genocide and elimination of its consequences, the prevention of the crimes of genocide is yet another key mission on our foreign policy agenda. Needless to say, these efforts are interrelated since the recognition and condemnation of the past crimes of genocide play invaluable role in the prevention of the crimes against humanity. For that reason we attach utmost importance to the genocide prevention, and emphasize once again our firm resolution and political will in combating crimes incompatible with the human civilization.
Armenia’s active engagement with the international community’s efforts toward the prevention of the crime of genocide has been time and again demonstrated through the relevant UN resolutions adopted by consensus throughout years upon our initiative. The most recent one was adopted in March of this year by the United Nation’s Human Rights Council. The resolution, inter alia, condemned the international public denial of crimes of genocide and crimes against humanity since public denials created a risk of further violations and undermined efforts to prevent genocide.

“Denial, in conjunction with the creation of genocidal environment and extermination itself, is a vertex of that very triangle. The denial of genocide is fraught with inciting a new xenophobic wave, and is often accompanied by intolerance and justification of the already commited crimes of genocide. However, under strong international pressure denial aqcuires a seemingly softer yet eqaually dangerous nature overshadowed or dissolved in the history revision campaigns.

“Dear ladies and gentlemen,

“It is unambiguous that considerable contribution has been made so far by the international law experts and historians toward the legal definition of the term “genocide,” and development of the punishment mechanisms for this crime. Likewise unambiguous has been the contribution of the social and political circles, journalists, and parliamentarians, who without any hesitation very often took the lead in that respect. The aforesaid is absolutely applicable also to the case of the Armenian Genocide. In 1915-16 the world press was replete with horrendous articles describing the Armenian massacres. The New York Times covered the issue extensively publishing some 145 articles in 1915 alone with headlines like “Appeal to the Ottoman Empire to Stop Massacres.” The newspaper characterized the crime perpetrated against the Armenian people as “systematic,” “authorized,” and “organized by the government.”
On May 24, 1915 the Allied Powers, Great Britain, France, and Russia jointly issued a statement, describing the crime perpetrated against the Armenian people as a “crime against humanity and civilization”, which was the first time ever that definition was aired on such a high level.

“Subsequently, these notions were introduced into the fundamental language to define that crime – the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide, the Rome Statute of the International Criminal Court, and other most important documents of the international law.

“The recurrence of the crimes against humanity and genocide has also been caused by the lack of adequate adequacy, consistency, unity and determination of the international community for the recognition, and condemnation of the committed crimes of genocide, as well as for the elimination of the genocidal environment and denial. Parliaments and their members, as cornerstones of the democratic values, have a significant role to play in that regard.

“I deem it important that in the framework of this conference a special discussion will be held on the invaluable role of the legislators. Their messages, decisions and statements are significant both for the restoration of justice, and for the emancipation of the given societies, especially the coming generations from the clutches of the consequences of the evil of genocide.

“I welcome and value the two documents adopted by the National Assembly of the Republic of Armenia this year – the Statement Condemning the Genocide of the Greeks and Assyrians Perpetrated by the Ottoman Turkey, and the amendments introduced in the Law on Holidays and Memorial Days. In accordance to the latter December 9 is designated as the day for condemnation and prevention of the crimes of genocide, which is highly symbolic, as the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide had been adopted on the very that day.

“Ladies and gentlemen,

“In this context revival is the last one amongst the most important messages of ours. A hundred years ago the Armenian people survived through the darkest and brutal page of their history. The calamity that befell upon our ancestors was indeed unprecedented by its scale. Today, a hundred years thenceforth, the Armenian people commemorates its martyrs, and presents itself to the world with the independent state, emancipated Artsakh, and viable Diaspora that strives to preserve the Armenian identity and to develop Armenia proper. Now our overarching objective is to contribute anew to the development of universal civilization.

“All those achievements have been based upon the revival of the Armenian people. Perhaps, it has been the demonstration of the most salient feature of our people – upholding the faith toward the universal human values, in spite of all the complications and calamities, and the ability to find the strength within to build and create anew. Yet in 1918 the Armenian statehood, lost centuries ago, had been restored. Later on, during the Soviet times the Armenian people created numerous spiritual and tangible values thus partaking in the enrichment of the world scientific and cultural repository. The revival of the Armenian people culminated in the 1991 national awakening with the accession of the newly independent Republic of Armenia to the international family of sovereign states.

“The Armenian nation revived not only in the homeland, but also in Diaspora. The sons and daughters of Armenia, who had found refuge in many countries of the world because of the Armenian Genocide, successfully integrated in the societies that adopted them, and meanwhile preserved their Armenian identity, their sense of deep bond with the Armenian homeland.

“Therefore, on the Armenian Genocide Centennial we declare confidently in broad daylight that the perpetrators of the Genocide failed to achieve what they planned. Moreover, our response to the attempt to annihilate the Armenian nation is the state building, our ongoing revival that is now no longer reversible.

“Dear participants,

“In conclusion, I would like to reiterate that today’s Forum, along with the discussions to be held, shall send the following powerful and pragmatic message to the international community: the crimes of genocide have not in the least ceased to be a threat to the humanity, and the overcoming of their consequences, and prevention shall become a top priority. The lessons of the past simply oblige us to do so. The civilized humanity shall joint its efforts to eradicate eventually the evil of genocide, and its underlying circumstances.

“It is a well-known truth that everything is interconnected in the universe. It is also true for the civilization since humanity establishes itself as a harmonious and complete continuum within the patchwork of its diverse races, nations, cultures, and religions. Genocide is a crime that is intended to tear a branch off from the tree of the global civilization. The loss of any branch may be fatal to the rest that tree.
Hence, being determined to state “Never again” let’s make our modest contribution towards the universal objective that unites us all – a more adequate accomplishment of the international community’s mission to prevent the crime of genocide.

“Once again, I thank you for being with us in Yerevan these days, and wish you a fruitful work.

“Thank you.”

Syrian troops capture key central town

September 12, 2014 by administrator

Government forces have captured a central Syrian town that has changed hands several times during the civil war, the military and activists said Friday, The Associated Press reported.

By retaking the town of Halfaya in Hama province, troops will be better positioned to defend nearby Christian and Allawite communities that support President Bashar Assad. Central Syria is a communal patchwork, with large communities of Christians, Ismailis and Allawites, who mainly back Assad, himself an Allawite, and fear Sunni extremists among the rebels.

The al-Qaida-linked Nusra Front is known to be active in Hama province and has been behind attacks in recent weeks on the historic Christian town of Mahradeh, which is west of Halfaya.

The latest victory by government forces came two days after President Barack Obama said for the first time that he would authorize U.S. airstrikes in Syria against the Islamic State group. Syria has criticized Obama’s move because it was excluded from a coalition coming together in the battle against the extremist group.

The army command said in a statement that the offensive aims “to wipe out terrorists in northern parts of Hama.” It added that “a large number of terrorists were killed in the fighting, many of them foreign fighters.”

Rami Abdurrahman, the head of the Britain-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights, which relies on a network of activists inside Syria, said Halfaya was captured by the army on Thursday.

Abdurrahman and a Hama-based activist who goes by the name of Yazan Shahdawi said the army offensive was commanded by one of Syria’s best-known officers, Col. Suheil al-Hassan, who is also known as “The Tiger.”

The army’s next target appears to be the rebel strongholds of Kfar Zeita and Morek, which are on the highway that links Hama with Aleppo, Shahdawi said.

Source: Panorama.am