Gagrule.net

Gagrule.net News, Views, Interviews worldwide

Azerbaijan “seized” Georgian territory to build defense facilities – study

By

Azerbaijan has built defense facilities and strongholds which sink into the territory of Georgia, beginning from the crossroad of Armenia-Georgia-Azerbaijan border and stretching to the Red Bridge checkpoint. Some 6,5 km long, the area covers around 800-1000 hectares.

In a conversation with PanARMENIAN.Net Armenian political scientist Samvel Meliksetyan unveiled the results of his own research.

According to Meliksetyan, Papakar peak, a key military point, is situated in the territory of Georgia, the Azerbaijan border lying south of the mountain. But the Azerbaijanis have gone some 400 meters deep in this area and established a system of strongholds that fully lie on the territory of Georgia.

“The section situated farther in the east was a subject of dispute in the Soviet times but a final demarcation was carried out in the early 1980s, as a result of which the border was established in favor of Georgia. The demarcation went on to become the state border and is clearly indicated on Google Maps and formal sources,” Meliksetyan said.

By the way, the same map also shows that the Armenian-Azerbaijani border underwent more serious modifications, especially near the village of Barekamavan, where a much larger area of land has become a part of the Azeri village of Kemerli.

Some changes have also occurred on the Armenian-Georgian border in favor of Georgia, but the amended borders were approved as the official ones and are reflected on Google Maps.

Turkey: Erdogan have seized and added another Billions of assets of 41 businessmen.

By

more-assets-seizedThe assets of a total of 41 business leaders were seized on Sept. 7 over their alleged links to Fethullah Gülen, the prime suspect in the July 15 coup attempt, as more people, including a renowned pollster and journalists, were detained.

Investigations have been launched into companies accused of financially supporting the Fetullahist Terrorist Organization (FETÖ).

Fikret İnan, the owner of the large construction business Fi Yapı; the former CEO of İhlas Holding, Cahit Paksoy; and Fatih Aktaş, chairman of Akfa Holding, were among those whose assets were confiscated.
A total of 102 people had already been detained in the case, while 39 people, including Paksoy, İnan and Aktaş, were arrested.

Meanwhile, the chairman of the MetroPOLL polling company, Özer Sencar, was detained on Sept. 7 in Ankara as a part of the ongoing investigation into the FETÖ.

“Özer Sencar has been detained today after a search was conducted as part of the investigation into FETÖ/PDY [Parallel State Structure],” read a tweet posted on Sencar’s personal Twitter account.

His son, Hüsrev Taha Sencar, said his father was detained after a search at his residence and the MetroPOLL headquarters at 6:30 a.m.

He also added that Sencar’s views and stance against FETÖ were clearly known by the public.

MetroPOLL is one of the more respected polling companies in Turkey.

Elsewhere, three columnists from a nationalist newspaper were detained as a part of the probe into FETÖ.

Servet Avcı, Adnan İslamoğulları and Yavuz Selim Demirağ, who wrote a book on Gülenist activities in the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK), from daily Yeniçağ were detained as a part of the probe launched by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

Dissidents from the opposition Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) have reacted to the detentions of columnists, with Meral Akşener, Sinan Oğan and Koray Aydın condemning it.

Turan Yaldir, a former lawmaker from the MHP was detained in Ankara on similar charges, Yeniçağ reported.

Meanwhile, detention warrants were issued for a total of 105 people from 17 provinces. Detention warrants were issued as a part of the investigation launched by the Ankara Chief Public Prosecutor’s Office.

“Imams managing the Armed Forces” and soldiers were among those for whom detention warrants were issued.

“Imam,” which traditionally refers to a religious public worker, is a term used by the Gülenist organization to mark local leadership.

September/07/2016

Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/turkish-pollster-detained-assets-of-41-businessmen-seized.aspx?pageID=238&nID=103675&NewsCatID=341

847 shotguns seized in Italy en route from Turkey to Belgium

By

56583345c36188f8688b45ecA large cargo of shotguns without transportation permits has been seized by the Italian police at the Port of Trieste. The 847 Turkish-made Winchester shotguns worth about €500,000 were on their way to Belgium.

The weapons were declared along with other cargoes destined for Germany and the Netherlands on a Dutch-registered truck driven by a Turkish citizen. Gun shipments from Turkey are nothing new in Trieste, but this time the shipment was missing a key document: authorization for transportation in the EU.

The shipment consisted of 847 pump-action Winchester shotguns: 781 SXP 12-51 and 66 SXP 12-47 models, La Stampa reports.

A major seizure,” the chief prosecutor of Trieste, Carlo Mastelloni, commented, stressing that the Guardia di Finanza (Financial Police) “have done well for encouraging controls in the port, a sensitive area that affects business in the commercial city of Trieste.”

Given the terror threat in Europe, the seizure in Trieste has drawn “an extremely high level of attention,” said Lieutenant Colonel Gabriel Baron, commander of the Guardia di Finanza in Trieste.

Following the seizure, Trieste’s public prosecutor accused the Turkish exporter of unauthorized weapons’ trading.

The port in Trieste remains one of the largest gateways for European trade with Turkey.

“At this time we work as closely as possible on what passes through the port, which records 250,000 cargoes annually to and from Turkey,” according to Nicola Palladino, head of Trieste’s anti-fraud office.

This is not the first time European law enforcement has seized a shipment of Turkish-made weapons.

In September, the Hellenic Coast Guard of Greece intercepted two sea containers loaded with some 5,000 pump-action combat shotguns and nearly 500,000 rounds of US-made 9mm ammo, on the Haddad I cargo ship off the port of Heraklion in Crete.

The Haddad I departed from the Turkish port of Iskenderun and was heading to the Libyan city of Misrata. After intelligence services informed the Greek coastal guards about the ship’s cargo of guns, the vessel was intercepted south of Crete by the Open Sea Coast Patrol.

Armenian Church Sues Turkey for Return of Seized Monastery

By

Dorian Jones

May 27, 2015 2:41 PM

ISTANBUL, TURKEY—71FEF994-E13B-432A-AECA-6D638CC3BCED_w640_r1_s_cx0_cy4_cw0The Armenian Apostolic Church has filed a case in Turkey’s Constitutional Court for the return of land and the iconic Kozan monastery in Adana. The monastery once was the largest belonging to the Armenian Church in Turkey, and it is one of thousands of properties seized by the Turkish state. Report Voice of America

This is widely seen as a groundbreaking legal case for the prospect of reclaiming the Catholicosate of Cilicia, which dates back to 1293, was taken over a century ago by Turkish authorities, during the mass killings of Armenians. Ankara has strongly denied the killings by Ottoman Turks was genocide.

Church spokesperson Teni Pirri-Simonian said the timing of the suit is deliberate.

“We are doing this 100 years after the genocide, for the youth. It is the center of our faith, it is the center of our identity. Therefore the church, by having its headquarters, is also giving life to all these symbols,” said Pirri-Simonian. “Now if it would have its ripple effect, of course it will have it. The church left more than 1,000 churches in different parishes, in different towns that our people were living in before the genocide.”

Pressuring Ankara

The case is not expected to be the last faced by Turkish authorities. Analysts say Yerevan and the wider Armenian Diaspora see the opening of the case as a means of adding pressure on Ankara to recognize the genocide claims.

Political scientist Cengiz Aktar of Istanbul’s Suleyman Sah University said the Armenian Diaspora and its supporters are investing heavily in the project.

“There is now a worldwide effort to develop more and more claims at all levels. There are two big groups, and one is based in the United States and the other in France, who come with extensive records of properties confiscated or taken by force, illegal action,” said Aktar.

Estimates of the value of the properties being sought could run into tens of billions of dollars. The Armenian Church in Istanbul, however, has remained silent about the case.

Journalist Fatih Gokhan Diler of Agos, Turkey’s bilingual Turkish Armenian newspaper, said the silence likely is a combination of rivalry and fear.

“There is [a] certain rivalry between the Church in Armenia and the Church in Istanbul. So they [are] not always on the same side on these kind of cases,” said Diler. “And they do not want to speak much about Armenian genocide, confiscated Armenian properties and all hard issue. They cannot say openly their views, because they might be some problems coming from the government.”

Turkey’s Constitutional Court

The ruling AK Party, which is in the midst of a general election, has not commented on the case. It did introduce a limited program of returning some confiscated properties taken from Turkey’s Christian minorities, but that program has ended.

Turkey’s Constitutional Court has not yet decided whether to accept this latest case filed by the Armenian Church.

The Armenian Church has said if it fails, it will take the case to the European Court of Human Rights; but in January, the Strasbourg court ruled in Turkey’s favor in the case of a local Armenian foundation seeking the return of a building in Istanbul.

Former European Court judge Riza Turmen warned it is far from certain the Armenian Church will be successful.

“These [are] very difficult cases because of the past history. When [going] to court, because of the time that has elapsed, there are many legal obstacles for these cases to become successful,” said Turmen.

With potentially hundreds of cases by individual members of the Armenians Diaspora, as well the Armenian Church, observers warn that Ankara could be facing a wave of litigation, both nationally and internationally.

Syria Air Force destroys 2 of 3 jets seized by Islamic State – official

By

The Syrian Air Force has destroyed two of three jets seized by the Islamic State (IS) group last week, the information minister in Damascus said. Omran al-Zoubi said on television that Syrian aircraft bombed the jets as they were landing at Jarrah airbase in the eastern countryside of Aleppo province. The militants were able to hide a third jet, which the Syrian Air Force is now searching for, AP quoted the minister as saying. The Syrian Observatory for Human Rights had reported that IS militants flew three MiG fighter jets over the air base with the help of former Iraqi air force pilots.

Karabakh seizes considerable arms from Azerbaijani armed forces (photos)

By

The Nagorno-Karabakh Defense Army has seized the special-purpose arms and military equipment that the Azerbaijani subversive group left behind after the overnight act of sabotage.

fucku (7)Among the confiscated items are anti-tank and hand grenades, thermobaric grenades, automatic firing guns (AKM 7.62 mm), bullets, grenade containers and a communication devices (Tadiran PNR-500) etc.

Azerbaijan reported five losses in the fatal incident. A spokesperson for Armenia’s Ministry of Defense, Artsrun Pepanyan, said in a Facebook post on Saturday morning that the adversary suffered over eight losses.

The Armenian troops observed two landing helicopters in Sarijali, an Azerbaijani village situated in the rear of the defense positions after the crossfire; they are thought to have headed to the area to pick up the injured servicemen and the bodies of those killed.)

The Defense Army reported one loss by the Armenian side earlier today.

see Tert.am for more photo

ISIL seizes mainly ethnic Turkmen city of Telafer after heavy fighting

By

Insurgents seized a mainly ethnic Turkmen city in northwestern Iraq on June 15 after heavy fighting, solidifying their grip on the north after a lightning offensive that threatens n_67841_1to dismember Iraq.

Residents reached by telephone in the city of Telafer said it had fallen to the militants from the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) after a battle that saw heavy casualties on both sides. “The city was overrun by militants. Severe fighting took place, and many people were killed. Shiite families have fled to the west and Sunni families have fled to the east,” said a city official who asked not to be identified.

Tal Afar is a short drive west from Mosul, the north’s main city, which the ISIL militants seized last week. The city had been defended by an unit of Iraq’s security forces commanded by a Shiite major general, Abu Walid, whose men were among the few holdouts from the government’s forces in the province around Mosul not to flee the rapid ISIL advance.

After sweeping through towns in the Tigris valley north of Baghdad, ISIL militants appear to have halted their advance outside the capital, instead moving to tighten their grip on the north. Most of the inhabitants of Telafer are members of the Turkmen ethnic group. Turkey has expressed concern about their security.

June/16/2014