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Petition to remove Turkish bases submitted to the (KRG) Iraqi Kurdistan Regional Government

March 1, 2018 By administrator

ANF Report The signatures gathered to demand the removal of the Turkish state from Bashurê (Southern) Kurdistan have been submitted to the government. There are over 10.000 signatures.

The organization Enough/Êdî Besê has gathered 10.000 signatures in 16 days to remove the Turkish state’s military bases from Bashurê (Southern) Kurdistan. The signatures have been submitted to the Kurdistan Regional Government.

“THERE IS A PARLIAMENT RESOLUTION”

Enough’s lawyer Beşdar Hesen stated that they are giving the government until March 16 to respond: “There is already a parliament resolution on this issue. There should be no MİT (Turkish intelligence service) or Turkish military bases left in Bashurê Kurdistan.”

Lawyer Hesen said in case the government does not respond to them in time, the signatures will be submitted to the Iraqi Cabinet and the Iraqi Parliament.

The petition had been launched on February 3 and concluded on February 17.

Reuters: Turkey removes 8,000 police across country: security official

July 18, 2016 By administrator

Turkish police officers salute during a funeral ceremony for police officer Nedip Cengiz Eker in Marmaris, Turkey, July 16, 2016.
REUTERS/KENAN GURBUZ

Turkey removed 8,000 police across the country, including in Istanbul and the capital Ankara due to alleged links with Friday’s failed coup attempt, a senior security official told Reuters on Monday.

The moves come days after a failed coup attempt the government blames on a “parallel state” led by self-exiled Islamic preacher Fethullah Gulen.

(Reporting by Orhan Coskun and Ece Toksabay, writing by Dasha Afanasieva)

http://www.reuters.com/article/us-turkey-security-police-idUSKCN0ZY0KT?

Armenia to Remove Visa Requirement for Iranians

June 2, 2016 By administrator

Iranian tourists visiting Yerevan (Photo: RFE/RL)

YEREVAN (RFE/RL) —The Armenian government moved on Thursday to lift visa requirements for Iranian nationals, saying that the measure will strengthen Armenia’s relations with Iran and attract more Iranian tourists to the country.

The government formally approved a draft on visa-free travel between the two neighboring states. It did not specify when the deal will be signed.

A government statement said that visa liberalization “stems from the need to boost mutually beneficial commercial and other links between Armenia and Iran.” In particular, it will create “more favorable conditions” for tourism, added the statement.

The number of Iranians visiting Armenia has increased sharply over the past decade. According to data from the Armenian government, it reached to 144,000 visitors in 2015, up by 24 percent from 2014.

Many Iranians travel to Armenia during annual celebrations in March of Nowruz, the ancient Persian New Year that has long been their country’s most popular and longest holiday. The number of visitors more than doubled this year.

Iranian citizens are currently able to receive Armenian visas at Yerevan’s Zvartnots airport and the sole Armenian-Iranian overland border crossing. They are charged 3,000 drams ($6.30) for a single-entry short-term visa.

The planned Armenian-Iranian deal would allow Iranians to stay in Armenia visa-free for up to 90 days. The same arrangement will also apply to Armenians visiting the Islamic Republic.

Mekhak Apresian, the head of a tourism department at the Armenian Ministry of Economy, insisted that the scrapping of visa requirements will give a further significant boost to the influx of Iranian tourists. “It’s not just about money; it’s also a matter of treatment. It takes time to get a visa at the border,” he said.

Some Iranian tourists visiting Armenia agreed. “The visa price doesn’t really matter, but if the visas are abolished Iranians will feel at home in Armenia,” an Iranian tourist named Hossein said.

“We won’t waste time at the border,” said one of Hossein’s friends, Amir. “Besides, I view visa liberalization as a sign of closeness between the two countries.”

But another Iranian tourist disagreed, saying that he needed only 5 minutes to get his Armenian visa.

Armenia has maintained close political and economic relations with Iran ever since it gained independence. The two states agreed to expand bilateral commercial ties following last year’s lifting of international sanctions against Tehran.

Karabakh Abkhazia remove visa requirements for citizens of Artsakh

February 26, 2016 By administrator

122601-432x273 Relations between Abkhazia independent Georgian territory made since 1992 and the Nagorno Karabakh have reached a new level with the decision of the Abkhaz Foreign Ministry, reported by a Russian news agency, signed an agreement with Artsakh to remove the visa regime between the two territories.

This follows the announcement in early February by the Abkhaz government on simplification of visa regime from April 1 to citizens of countries that have recognized the independence of Abkhazia. Russia recognized the independence of Abkhazia and the South Ossetia after the blitzkrieg that it had waged against Georgia in August 2008 on behalf of the defense of the two breakaway territories, where it has since strengthened its military presence.

Russia has however not recognized Nagorno Karabakh any more that Armenia itself, which nevertheless supports the independence of Karabakh Armenians. The Abkhaz authorities plan to set up new border posts where visas will be issued, strict visa regime being provided to all countries that refuse to recognize the independence of the territory. The Abkhaz authorities believe that the new visa regime will help to regulate immigration.

At the same time, the press officer of the President of the Republic of Nagorno Karabakh David Babayan, said that Artsakh welcomed the decision of Abkhazia. “I think this issue should not be politicized. I can say that we support the decision of Abkhazia. We want our citizens to have the opportunity to visit as many countries without having to carry a visa, “said Mr. Babayan, adding that this will help to strengthen and develop bilateral relations in the political, economic , culture and tourism.

M.Babayan took the opportunity to denounce Azerbaijan’s policy. “I would ask the authorities of Baku if they have introduced a visa regime with the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus and if Azerbaijani citizens need visas to get there. So why Baku does not condemn its own policy in this case? “Exclaimed Mr. Babayan. Abkhaz Minister of Foreign Affairs Kan Taniya announced that Abkhazia preparing the signing of an agreement on visa liberalization with Transnistria, Russian-speaking separatist region of Moldova, as well as Nagorno-Karabakh.

He justified this measure by relying on legislation on immigration procedure of the Republic of Abkhazia, which will take effect as of April 1. Under the law, only citizens of countries that have recognized the independence of Abkhazia and have bilateral agreements on abolition of visa regime will be free to enter the country. The representative of the Ministry of Foreign Affairs of Azerbaijan Hikmet Hajiyev reacted to this statement by saying that Azerbaijan supports the territorial integrity and sovereignty of Georgia. He also said his ministry called its citizens not to travel to the areas concerned, which are not under the control of the authorities of Georgia without the permission of the competent authorities of that country.

Friday, February 26, 2016,
Gari © armenews.com

EUROPEAN UNION The PKK must be removed from the EU list of terrorist organizations – Call MEPs

February 20, 2016 By administrator

arton122394-480x90 Marie-Christine VERGIAT, European MP has launched an appeal to member states to remove the PKK from the terrorist list and received the support of over 100 MEPs. Here is the call and the list of signatories:

The PKK must be removed from the EU list of terrorist organizations

Call more than 100 European parliamentarians to Member States

The prospect of achieving a peaceful and democratic solution to the Kurdish question in Turkey is threatened. The violence intensifies and pose a serious risk to the stability of Turkey and the region. In Turkey, we are facing more and more to an explosion of violence that puts the idea of a peace process and weakens the fight against Daech.

Already, the European Union through the voice of its High Representative but also the European Council, the UN and the US have launched appeals for peace in Turkey.

In this context, there is evidence that the PKK’s inclusion on this list is therefore opposed to the establishment of peace, dialogue and negotiations. It aids in the name of the fight against terrorism, violations of human rights, allows the restriction of thought and press freedoms.

The Kurds are an important component of the political struggles in the Middle East and a peaceful solution to the Kurdish conflict is not possible without negotiations with the PKK, which were accepted by the former Prime Minister and current President Erdogan. Similarly in Northern Ireland, a peaceful solution will be possible only by involving all concerned parties.

We parliamentarians undersigned, ask the Council of the European Union that this list be revised and that the PKK removed from the list of EU terrorist organizations.

signatories:

VERGIAT Marie-Christine

GOMES Ana

VALERO Bodil

Josef Weidenholzer

Michael DEMESMEAKER

KELAM Tunne

Izaskun BILBAO BARANDICA

Fabio Massimo CASTALDO

Matt CARTHY

Marina ALBIOL GUZMAN

Margrete Auken

BJORK Malin

Martina ANDERSON

Lynn BOYLAN

CHOUNTIS Nikolaos

BENIFEI Brando

Lefteris Christoforou

José BOVÉ

Kostas CHRYSOGONOS

CORRAO Ignazio

Javier Couso

DE MASI Fabio

João FERREIRA

DURAND Pascal

FARIA Jose Inacio

ECK Stefan

Eva KAILI

Paloma LOPEZ BERMEJO

Sergio Gaetano COFFERATI

ERNST Cornelia

EVI Eleonora

Ernest Maragall

GRASWANDER-HAINZ Karoline

Sabine LÖSING

Eleonora FORENZA

Klaus BUCHNER

HÄNDEL Thomas

FREUND Eugen

Arne GERICKE

Costas Mavrides

Maria GRAPINI

Karima DELLI

Eleni THEOCHAROUS

JAAKONSAARI Liisa

Takis HADJIGEORGIOU

Jordi SEBASTIA

Heidi Hautala

Yannick Jadot

Dennis DE JONG

Bart Staes

António Marinho e Pinto

Eva Joly Gro

KARI Rina Ronja

KELLER January

MICHELS Martina

Kateřina Konečná

Merja Kyllönen

Jean LAMBERT

THE HYARIC Patrick

Barbara LOCHBIHLER

LUNACEK Ulrike

MALTESE Curzio

JUARISTI ABAUNZ Iosu

Jiri MASTALKA

GONZALEZ PENAS Tania

Kuneva Kostadinka

Marisa MATIAS

MÉLENCHON Jean-Luc

MINOR Anne-Marie

Michel Reimon

PAPADIMOULIS Dimitrios

NI RIADA Liadh

PANZERI Pier Antonio

Alfred SANT

Pedicini Piernicola

Georgi Pirinski

VALLINA OF NOVAL Angela Rosa

Evelyn Regner

Demetris Papadakis

SPINELLI Barbara

RIVASI Michèle

Miguel VIEGAS

Sofia Sakorafa

SÁNCHEZ CALDENTEY María Dolores Lola

SCOTT CATO Molly

Ernest URTASUN

SERRÃO Ricardo SANTOS

Alyn SMITH

ZUBER Inês

Škrlec Davor

Ivo VAJGL

Gabriele ZIMMER

Keith TAYLOR

SENRA Lidia RODRIGUEZ

REVAULT of ALLONNES Bonnefoy Christine

Terricabras Josep-Maria

TORRES MARTINEZ Estefania

URBAN CRESPO Miguel

SYLIKIOTIS Neoklis

VANA Monika

Helmut SCHOLZ

Tatjana Ždanoka

New House Speaker Paul Ryan removes portrait of former Turkish Lobbyist Ex. House Speaker Dennis Hastert

November 10, 2015 By administrator

Hastert did withdrawn the Armenian Genocide resolution for $ 500,000, Those who read The American Conservative has long been familiar with the saga of Sibel Edmonds. Edmonds is an FBI translator who revealed the widespread corruption throughout the government, and has received multiple orders for silence motivated by the State Secrets Act [Act status Secrets]. She still persevered even exposed to prosecution, even threatened with imprisonment. In a feature article, TAC had interviewed in 2009 and I reviewed myself the more calls she launched, particularly when the release of his book Classified Woman [A Woman Secret Classified Defence, ndt] in 2012.

Turkish citizen removes ‘Islam’ from ID card, receives death threats

June 23, 2015 By administrator

By İdris Emen – ADIYAMAN,

A self-described atheist from the southeastern province of Adıyaman has been forced to leave his hometown after receiving death threats for removing the term “Islam” from the religious affiliation section of his national identity card.

The threats began on May 21, with the young man, identified only by the initials E.F., receiving two letters containing death threats and his house being marked.

Fearing for his life, E.F. appealed to the Adıyaman branch of Turkey’s Human Rights Association (İHD), which filed a criminal complaint in his name.

He subsequently decided to leave Adıyaman for the neighboring province of Gaziantep, where started to live with his uncle.

However, the threats continued when E.F. visited Adıyaman with his uncle on June 13 for the funeral of his grandfather.

Upon his return to Gaziantep, E.F. found another letter containing a verse from the Quran written in Arabic and a sentence written in Turkish below that read “We are entitled to your blood.”

Although he filed a complaint at the police station in Gaziantep’s Şahinbey district, E.F. returned to his hometown Adıyaman as the death threats did not subside in Gaziantep.

Speaking to Radikal newspaper, E.F. said the state should grant him legal protection.

“I can no longer leave my house or hang out with my friends. I am an atheist. My family members are Alevis. I believe this is why I’m receiving death threats. I want the state to find those who are threatening me and I want the state to protect me,” he said.

The head of İHD’s Adıyaman branch, Osman Süzen, urged the chief public prosecutor’s office to shed light on the incidents.

“We believe the continuation of such threats could damage E.F.’s mental health. Those who are threatening him could be people who are closely acquainted with him. We demand that the public prosecutor’s office clarify the situation,” Süzen said.

The religious affiliation section in national ID cards remains a thorny issue in Turkey, where citizens were obliged to declare their religion until 2006.

Turkish citizens have since been allowed to leave the section blank.

Nevertheless, the European Court of Human Rights ruled on Feb. 2, 2010 that the mere presence of a religious affiliation section on national identity cards is a violation of freedom of conscience and religion as defined in the European Convention on Human Rights.