Pew poll: Israel most hated country in Turkey

November 3, 2014 By administrator

86% of responders have an unfavorable opinion of Israel, while only 2% view it positively; Turks also harbor a strong dislike to terror organizations – 80% dislike Hamas, 85% dislike Hezbollah. report ynetnews

Israel is the country most hated by Turkish citizens, a Pew Research Center poll released last week found.

Responders were asked whether they have a favorable or unfavorable opinion of a selection of states (US, China, Brazil, Russia, Iran, Israel) and entities (such as the European Union and Nation).

Israel was found the most disliked country of the offered options, with 86 percent of responders saying they have an unfavorable opinion of Israel and only 2 percent seeing Israel in a positive light.

There is of course no reason to be surprised of the negative view Turks have of Israel. A diplomatic rift was opened between the two countries during the 2008-9 Operation Cast Lead. At the height of the still-ongoing conflict was the Israeli commando raid of the Turkish “Mavi Marmara” ship that was attempting to break the blockade on Gaza. The incident left 10 Turkish citizens dead.

Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan often attacks Israel, publicly accusing it of “genocide” of the Palestinians.

Still, it’s interesting to learn just how much the Turkish public dislikes Israel.

Other than having a favorable opinion of their own country (78 percent, according to a 2012 poll), the Turks don’t think highly of any of the countries or entities asked about.

The Turks have a lot opinion of the European Union (66 percent unfavorable opinion, 25 percent favorable), China (68 percent negative views, 21 percent positive), the United States (73 percent negative views and 19 percent positive), Russia (73 percent negative, 16 positive), Brazil (65 percent negative, 20 percent positive) and Iran (75 percent negative, 14 percent positive).

Saudi Arabia, however, another Sunni state, is the most liked of the countries asked about, but even then, only 26 percent of Turks have a favorable opinion of it, while 53 percent have an unfavorable opinion of it)

Retrial of military officers accused of plotting coup starts in Turkey

November 3, 2014 By administrator

The retrial of 236 military officers accused of plotting a coup to overthrow the government of then-Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan began Monday, Nov 3, months after the country’s highest court ruled that the suspects’ right to a fair trial had been violated, the Associated Press reports.

In 2012, a total of 326 officers were convicted of plotting to overthrow the country’s Islamic-based government in 2003 in a plot dubbed “Sledgehammer,” receiving sentences of up to 20 years imprisonment.

In June, Turkey’s constitutional court ordered many of the officers released pending a retrial.

The original trial helped curtail the military’s hold on Turkish politics, but the case was marred by the suspects’ long pre-trial confinement and judicial flaws, including allegations of fabricated evidence.

AP. Retrial begins in Turkey of alleged coup plot

Turkey, Thousands march in Diyarbakır, Istanbul for Kobane

November 1, 2014 By administrator

DİYARBAKIR / ISTANBUL

Thousands of people march in Turkey’s southeastern province of Diyarbakır and Istanbul in a peaceful support rally for Syrian city under ISIL fire

Protesters carried posters of Abdullah Öcalan, the jailed leader of the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) at the Diyarbakır rally. DHA photo

Thousands of people marched Nov. 1 in Turkey’s southeastern province of Diyarbakır and Istanbul in a peaceful support rally for Kobane, the Syrian city under jihadists’ attack for more than one month.

Dozens of people were killed last month October in a string of Kobane protests as 12 were murdered in the Oct. 6 and 7 street clashes in Diyarbakır only, making the Nov. 1 rally rather crucial.

The government has blamed political parties for irresponsibility for making a call for such street action.

Speaking at a ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP) event in the western province of Afyon today, Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu said the state backed the right to hold meetings but would take active measures against those who pick violence. “Do you remember any peaceful calls by the HDP [People’s Democratic Party] in the past two months,” Davutoğlu asked.

However, no violence emerged at demonstrations in Diyarbakır and Istanbul as the organizers also took measures in the southeastern province along with the police and military precautions.

Rather smaller rallies were held in some European cities.

The rallies came at a day when Iraqi Kurdish peshmerga fighters entered Kobane from Turkey to join the battle against Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (ISIL) militants.

‘Why I moved from Turkey’ “our country is now a fully corrupted country” incurable situation!

October 31, 2014 By administrator

BELGİN AKALTAN – belgin.akaltan@hdn.com.tr

Blogger Melih Karakelle has written a piece to inform his friends and relatives why he left Turkey. His blog, www.melihkarakelle.com, is usually visited by 500 people a month. But his latest piece hit 100,000 in the first 24 hours.

Karakelle is a mechanical engineer who decided to leave his family and friends behind and settle in Britain. This is a shortened version in a loose translation.

He starts with a lexicon of terms for the piece: An ignorant person is not a person who has been schooled less, they are someone who has not been educated to suit the norms of society, who poses a threat to daily life. For example, while everybody is queuing, they cut in line, thinking they’re being clever. A driver who has not grasped that he needs to stop for pedestrians at a crosswalk is ignorant, regardless of his degrees.

Stupid: Statistically, one in every three people in society is stupid. It is the answer to “Why do they do this?” in many situations.

There is a critical threshold in societies to prevent ignorance, Karakelle wrote: This threshold can be defined as the number of ignorant people per one person of reason. The state is responsible for educating the ignorant and the stupid to a level where they do not harm the rest. The best example of this is when a Turk goes abroad and comes back, saying: “Dude, everybody gets in line there. Nobody violates anyone else’s rights. You step into the crosswalk and all the cars stop.

“Well, the state has primarily educated all its citizens to a level where they would not harm society. As a result of this, the fact that the other person is stupid does not constitute a problem for you. Thus, fewer cons grow up in civilized societies; more scientists emerge from there.

“Why did I move from Turkey? Well, although it has multiplied in the past 12 years or so, as a result of a decaying period of the last 30 years which started with [late President Turgut] Özal, our country is now a fully corrupted country.

“Right now in Turkey, ignorance is an accepted norm in society. And the number of the ignorant per person is far too big. Moreover, we are at the point where ignorance is ruling us. Today’s Turkey is simply a corrupted society because the critical threshold has been crossed; the decomposition has infected the whole society.”

The blogger criticizes those who criticize the main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) for not being stronger: “This society which is fed by ignorance and corruption is past the stage where it can be saved by wisdom and reason… Do not dream of a strong opposition; it will not save society.”

If in a country the number of those who think stealing is a bad thing is under 50 percent, then you cannot count on these people to build values and long-term plans. Karakelle says several examples of this exist in recent history. He asks us to take a look at the Afghanistan, Iran, Lebanon and Egypt of the 1960s. And take a look at them today.

“What Afghanistan and others have lost is their war to fight ignorance. Then next it may have been the prioritization of the religion factor because it is the easiest way to rule an ignorant nation. However, these countries became what they are now not by being religious but by being corrupt.”

Turkey was slow in corruption, the blogger believes. This may be due to Atatürk or may be because of its proximity to Europe. But, time for Turkey has also expired.

“Now, for the time being, we have transformed into a society where an average of 12 hours are spent in front of the TV watching soap operas, a society with people who show no respect to anyone else but themselves, one that honors and even hands over the governing of the country to bullying.

“And this society is raising their kids. These kids will shape the behavior of your own kids also, no matter what you do … They will live at least 70 years together in the same society. At this point, there is nothing to be done; trying to do something is a waste of energy.

“If you want to contribute as an individual to humanity, then it would be so much more correct to leave your nationalistic feelings aside and take this contribution to societies that demand it from you.”

“At this point, I decided that as an individual it was meaningless to try to continue living in this incurable situation. I moved from Turkey. Don’t I miss my country? Of course I do… But more than that, I have a huge disappointment because of those years I wasted.”

OK. I do not agree with everything he says, but his conclusions are so correct, so to the point, that it hurts…

As I was reading his blog piece, I thought of the vulgarity, ignorance and rudeness I face on daily basis here. Neighbors that kick your apartment door, bus drivers that are about to hit you at a pedestrian crossing…

His judgments are sound and correct. He added that this situation was a street fact, not a political view. Even if the government vaporized today, you have to live with the kid raised by the minibus driver who steers toward you for another 70 years in the same country…

Karakelle wrote, “Please pick up my piece and use it without asking permission.” Well, here it is in English. I would have liked to offer you the same, but this piece does not belong to me once it is printed and posted. But feel free to read it, like it, tweet it and share it…

belgin.akaltan@hurriyet.com.tr
Tweets by belginakaltan
belgin.akaltan.com

November/01/2014

The German ambassador in Yerevan calls for recognition of the Armenian genocide by Turkey

October 31, 2014 By administrator

Ambassadors of Great Britain and Germany in Armenia, Catherine Leach and Reiner Morell, held a press conference Wednesday, October 29 in Yerevan in particular to expose their preparations for the commemoration of the 100th anniversary of the First World War. Entitled “100 years after the First World War,” the program of events organized jointly sign of reconciliation includes visits to schools, the symbolic planting

Turkey’s top security body lists Gülenists as threat against national security

October 31, 2014 By administrator

The meeting was also the first chaired by President Erdoğan in his current capacity. AA Photo

Turkey’s top national security body has publicly documented the movement of U.S.-based Islamic scholar Fethullah Gülen, referred to by government officials as the “parallel state,” as one of the leading threats against the country’s national security. Report hurriyet

“Matters related to our country’s security, our people’s serenity and public order have been discussed in detail. Within this content, it has been emphasized that the struggle against parallel structures and illegal formations, which threaten our national security and disrupt public order and conduct illegal activity with internally and externally legal images, will be continued with determination,” the National Security Council (MGK) said in a written statement released late on Oct. 30 following its lengthy bimonthly meeting.

The almost 10.5-hour meeting marked the longest ever meeting of the council, which brings together the country’s top civilian and military leaders. It was also the first MGK meeting chaired by President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan in his current capacity, although he participated in numerous meetings during his prime ministry from March 2003 until being elected as president in August.

The fight between erstwhile allies Erdoğan and Gülen began late last year after a massive corruption and graft investigation against four ministers led by Istanbul prosecutors went public. The Justice and Development Party (AKP) government says the operation was a plot carried out by prosecutors and police officers loyal to Gülen, a 73-year-old preacher who has lived in self-imposed exile in the United States since 1997, aiming to topple Erdoğan and his government.

The Gülenists, who have been accused of forming a “parallel structure” within the state, have also been charged with illegally eavesdropping on hundreds of thousands of people through operations by members employed in the judiciary and the police.

Since the probe broke, thousands of prosecutors and police officers have been removed from their previous positions, with pro-government prosecutors now probing the activities of the “parallel state.”

Turkish military blocks locals from joining Peshmerga mission to Kobane

October 30, 2014 By administrator

By Alexander Whitcomb 8 hours ago

Peshmerga forces wait to deploy to Kobane.

ERBIL/SYRIAN-TURKISH BORDER—The Turkish military is holding Kurdish Peshmerga soldiers seven kilometers from the Turkish border to Syria, delaying their mission in the besieged city of Kobane, Peshmerga officials told Rudaw.

A Peshmerga commander says his troops are in the town of Pirsus, guarded by Turkish military to prevent enthusiastic locals from joining the Iraqi Kurdish unit. The Iraqi Kurdish troops will provide artillery support to the Syrian Kurdish militia defending the city.

He declined to provide further details about the location and timing of their passage to Kobane, but confirmed that the Islamic State had intensified attacks in expectation of their arrival and the US-led coalition planned targeted airstrikes to facilitate a safe crossing.

They will be the first foreign soldiers to be dispatched to the Syrian Kurdish border town, which has been under siege by ISIS for more than 40 days. Local Kurdish fighters have held out with backing from US-led airstrikes.

This comes a day after the Free Syrian Army (FSA) said 200 its fighters had entered Kobane at the request of the People’s Protection Units (YPG), the Syrian-Kurdish force that has been defending the city against an ISIS takeover.

Approximately 150 Peshmerga arrived in Turkey early Wednesday morning in two groups, one flying to Sanliurfa airport in the country’s south-east, the other crossing by land with a trucks filled with heavy weapons.

Soldiers were bussed in to a camp near to the border, where the two contingents gathered and stayed overnight.

The trip was not been without complications. A Peshmerga medic told Rudaw on Wednesday evening that the Turkish authorities refused to let Peshmerga cross with their guns or uniforms, and complained about the miserable conditions of a camp they were made to stay in.

“There are no facilities in the place we are staying,” Issettin Temo, part of the small medical team accompanying the soldiers said in a telephone call from Turkey. “We do not have a bar of soap nor a washbasin to wash our hands. We feel like prisoners. We have no connection with the outside world. However we can do nothing but wait for our guns to reach us. Our journey is being delayed because of this.”

He believed that the Turkish escort resented the local support the Peshmerga enjoyed. The troops arrived great fanfare in Turkey. Thousands of people rushed from surrounding areas to greet the land convoy and the soldiers in Sanliurfa.

“People came out onto the streets to greet the Peshmerga,” he added. “They are mistreating and insulting us because of this.”

Turkey’s intelligence agency MIT was ordered to coordinate the crossing of the Peshmerga into Syria, according to the Hurriyet daily.

The newspaper reported the Turkish army saying it was unwilling to undertake the task, and would only be involved during the Kurdish soldiers’ crossing of the military zone at the border.

The reason why Peshmerga did not immediately cross into Kobane has not been confirmed by officials.

Turkish newspaper Milliyet reported that YPG forces had originally refused entry to Free Syrian Army troops on Wednesday. According to the paper, YPG distrusted the fighters and claimed were linked to ISIS troops.

The Turkish military intervened, citing a previous agreement with YPG leadership to allow the FSA passage, and threatened they would be sent in with the Peshmerga troops. At this point, Milliyet reports, the FSA was allowed to cross, but Peshmerga held near the border overnight.

The Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) claimed it had proposed the idea of a Peshmerga mission to Kobane three weeks ago in a series of secret meetings with Turkey, the United States, and Syrian Kurds.

State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki reaffirmed U.S. enthusiasm for the plan, saying: “we welcome the support they would provide to Kobane’s defense.” U.S. General US General Lloyd Austin met with Kurdish leadership do discuss the Kobane strategy and other security issues on Tuesday.

But Turkey did not cooperate with the United States on an airdrop of medical and military supplies to YPG forces in Kobane last week, publicly denouncing the mission.

More than 800 people died in the first 40 days of fighting in Kobane, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated this week.  It said it had documented the deaths of 21 Kurdish civilians, 481 ISIS militants and 302 fighters from the YPG.

More than 800 people died in the first 40 days of fighting in Kobane, the UK-based Syrian Observatory for Human Rights estimated this week. It said it had documented the deaths of 21 Kurdish civilians, 481 ISIS militants and 302 fighters from the YPG.

The monitoring group said the actual death toll could be twice as high, because both sides were remaining silent on casualties, and many areas that had suffered heavy clashes and bombardment were difficult to access.

Additional reporting by Jonathon Burch in Istanbul

Turkey urged to halt gas exploration off Cyprus coast

October 30, 2014 By administrator

The governments of Cyprus, Egypt, and Greece have called on Turkey to stop gas exploration operations off the southern coast of Cyprus.

During a meeting in the Cypriot capital, Nicosia, on Wednesday, the foreign ministers of the three countries accused Ankara of dispatching a research vessel to collect seismic data in the disputed area, describing the practice as “illegal.”

In a joint statement following their meeting, Cyprus’ Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides, Egypt’s Foreign Minister Sameh Shukri, and Evangelos Venizelos, the Greek foreign minister, called on the Turkish government to “cease all seismic operations within the maritime zones of Cyprus.”

The top diplomats also asked Turkey to refrain from similar operations in the future.

Last week, Egypt’s energy firm, BG Egypt, announced that it had held talks with Cypriot officials on the potential of Cyprus supplying Egypt with gas.

Egypt has been grappling with a growing energy crisis over the past few years, causing anger among the Egyptians who have blamed successive governments for failing to tackle the problem.

“We are hopeful all activity in the eastern Mediterranean will conform with international regulations,” Shukri told reporters after Wednesday’s meeting.

The meeting was held amid an ongoing dispute over the right to natural gas in the eastern Mediterranean Sea.

Earlier this month, Turkish vessel, Barbaros, entered the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) of Nicosia to explore oil and gas.

Cyprus said Ankara has violated the country’s sovereign rights and threatened to block Turkey’s progress in the negotiations for its membership at the European Union.

Turkish minister calls Ani “Armenian” for first time the “City of 1001 Churches,”

October 30, 2014 By administrator

Minister of Culture and Tourism of Turkey, Omer Celik, has become the first senior Turkish official to pronounce the word “Armenian” in connection with the historical Armenian City of Ani.

Celik informed that they are making efforts to include Ani, the “City of 1001 Churches,” in the UNESCO World Heritage List by the year 2016, reported Haberler website of Turkey.

He noted that the Armenian people are among the several nations that have left a world heritage in these lands.

“The historical City of Ani is an important heritage that conveys the Armenian traces to us. The continuation of the traces of the Armenian culture in these lands is a proof of our cultural wealth.

“Professionals from Armenia will participate in the renovation of the Church of the Savior and the Cathedral of Mren [in Ani],” the Turkish Minister of Culture and Tourism stated.

2.5 Million Islamized Armenians Estimated in Turkey

October 30, 2014 By administrator

A scene from the Hrant Dink Foundation’s conference on ‘Islamized Armenians’ at the Istanbul Bosphorus University. Nov. 3, 2013.

ISTANBUL (Horizon Weekly)—A rediscovery of national identity among Turkey’s millions of “hidden Armenians” is rattling national taboos in Turkey. Specialists studying the matter have related the trend to various political and cultural changes that are enabling Turkey’s Islamized Armenians to return to their roots.

The director of the Study Center for Western Armenian Issues, Haykazun Alvrtsyan, says that the movement started long ago, and it was greatly influenced by the Kurdish armed rebellion, the collapse of the Soviet Union, and Turkey’s campaign to join the European Union.

The 88th article of the first Turkish constitution adopted in 1924 said that all Turkish residents, regardless of their religious and national belonging are considered Turkish. In order to improve its chances for EU membership, Turkey had to revise some of the points in its constitution. However, even after some changes in the country’s constitution the terms Turkish citizen and Turkish national succeed each other – each Turkish citizen is considered a Turk.

Alvrtsyan says that only upon the Treaty of Lausanne Armenian, Greek and Assyrian communities were recognized as religious, not ethnic. A huge amount of other ethnicities – 50 ethno-religious groups speaking 36 languages, were recognized as Turkish.

“Now this taboo has been broken, can you imagine what kind of a movement has been started? Armenians are no exception in this movement, but on our part the interesting thing is that Turkey today has the Armenian Question – a complicated political wrinkle. It does not have a Syrian, Greek or Jewish question, but it has an Armenian Question, which is a serious problem for Turkey, and in this context the revival of Armenians unlike other nations is highly important,” Alvrtsyan said.

Addressing the question of Islam-converted Armenians, he mentioned that their number grew to 3 million, a part of whom emigrated. In Germany alone, there were 300,000 Muslim Armenians. He insisted that today in the Eastern part of Turkey, in various areas of historic Armenia there live at least 2.5 million Muslim Armenians, half of which are hiding.

“Both of the groups are converted Muslims, but (those who hide their ethnic identity), unlike the other group, secretly preserve the national traditions, ceremonies, beliefs. And they marry among themselves, which is a highly important factor. The other group gets baptized and returns to the Armenian Church. The number of these people is not much yet, because pressure and persecution against Armenians still continue. Thus, they endanger their and their children’s lives, property, their children’s future,” Alvrtsyan said. “But let me tell you that last week I baptized several Alevis and Muslim Armenians from Dersim. One of them had his private business in Dersim four years ago and now he lost it because he announced he is an Armenian and he became a member of the Armenian union in Dersim.”

Armenians in Hamashen have the Vagf union, and in Istanbul they established Hatig. Last month Armenians from Mush and Taron established the social and touristic union of Taron. According to Turkey’s State Statistical data, there are 37,000 Armenian families in 17 cities of the country – a total of about 200,000 (about 50-60,000 in Istanbul).

“Upon official data there are 3,000 Armenians in Mush now, but the locals say that there are more. In Van, again the locals say that they form 12 percent of the 350,000 population, which makes 40-42,000 Armenians. Recently, when there was an earthquake in Van, numerous sacred books, crosses, and church relics were found from under the ruins. It was surprising that Armenian icons were found from that unilaterally Kurdish and Islamic city,” he said.