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Turkey, 113 children tortured in Turkish prisons or in custody in 2014: NGO

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ISTANBUL

n_74594_1Forty-nine children have been subjected to torture in Turkish prisons in 2014, while another 64 have been tortured in police custody, a leading Turkish human rights NGO stated in a report released to mark World Children’s Day on Nov. 20.

The Human Rights Association (İHD) stressed that the figures only represent cases reported to activists and that many victims are hesitant to denounce officials for fear of facing retribution.

So far in 2014, some 360 children have been detained during public incidents or demonstrations, 59 have been arrested and 42 have suffered injury, the report said.

“Children are the utmost victims in terms of human rights violations,” the İHD report said.

The İHD criticized the Justice Ministry for remaining silent in cases of violence and sexual abuse against children in prisons, and called for the release of all child convicts.

The report also drew a bleak picture of the grave social conditions for children, particularly emphasizing the lack of state action against child labor and child marriages.

It also emphasized that children have a right to be part of the decision-making process regarding issues that concern them.

November/20/2014

source: hurriyetdailynews

Greece, Cyprus, Egypt Countering Turkish swagger in the Eastern Mediterranean

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Greece NATOA Greek Navy officer gives directions to a helicopter during a Greek joint military exercise ”Pyrpolitis” at the Saronic Gulf, south of Athens on Thursday.

By Tom Ellis

Holding Turkey to account for its violation of the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea is certainly the first step that Greece and Cyprus must take in response to Turkey’s growing assertiveness in the Eastern Mediterranean over the past few weeks. After Ankara sent the Barbaros, a seismic survey vessel, inside Cyprus’s exclusive economic zone (EEZ), and given its intention to set up a drilling platform within the island’s maritime borders, it makes sense to stress the recognition of Cyprus’s international status and national sovereignty.

That said, Greek and Cypriot diplomats have not stopped at invoking international law. Whether we like it or not, what really counts is cold calculations. The Greek military should be on the alert and Greece has naturally boosted its naval presence in the Eastern Mediterranean area.

On a geostrategic level, the two allies must take action on three axes: One is trilateral cooperation between Greece, Cyprus and Egypt. The three states took some early, cautious steps last year in New York. These are being accelerated thanks to clear political will on all sides. In a joint statement issued after a meeting between the countries’ foreign ministers in Nicosia on Wednesday, the three states condemned Ankara, saying they “deplored the recent illegal actions perpetrated within Cyprus’s EEZ, as well as the unauthorized seismic operations being conducted therein.”

It is important that the statement was signed by a major Arab state. Egypt, after all, has the biggest Muslim population and a strategic geographical location.

A second axis is the strategic relations cultivated between Greece, Cyprus and Israel, as evidenced by Israeli Foreign Minister Avigdor Lieberman’s upcoming visit to Nicosia next week and Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu following in late November.

A third axis concerns the deepening of cooperation with major powers, which involves providing support in various forms. In a letter sent to Cyprus President Nicos Anastasiades on Wednesday, French President Francois Hollande stressed that “the position of France with regard to the right of Cyprus to exploit freely the natural resources within its Exclusive Economic Zone is clear and firm,” adding that “international law, and specifically the Law of the Sea, must be respected by all states including Turkey.”

Finally, there is the energy dimension. Amid Turkey’s provocations in Cyprus’s EEZ – where several Western firms, including US company Noble Energy, are currently operating – Greek Energy Minister Yiannis Maniatis is set to visit the US for talks with his American counterpart Ernest Moniz and Under Secretary for Economic Growth, Energy, and the Environment Catherine Novelli. Maniatis will also meet with representatives of American energy giants and give a speech at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS), a prominent American think tank based in Washington DC, as well as Columbia University in New York, regarding energy developments in the Eastern Mediterranean. The Greek minister is expected to analyze the role of Greece and Cyprus in boosting Europe’s energy security, which is also a key strategic objective for Washington.

By invoking international law, being on military alert, strengthening strategic alliances with regional players, and harmonizing with the geostrategic interests of the US and EU (as well as the economic interests of large international companies) in the region, Athens and Nicosia are taking cautious and systematic steps during a difficult period hoping to find more substantial backing among their allies and partners.

Turkish Intellectuals Who Have Recognized The Armenian Genocide 39-Sait Çetinoğlu

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By : Hambersom Aghbashian

Sait-CetinogluSait Çetinoğlu is a Turkish scholar. His interests include The Young Turks, The Committee of Union and Progress (CUP) and Kemalism. He has published many original articles based  on research of the National Archives in Turkey.(1)                         

                             According to http://www.variant.org.uk , Sait Çetinoğlu, author of The Malta Documents and Economic and Cultural Genocide, 1942-1944, and an organizing member of the Ankara Freedom of Thought Initiative that hosted the “1915 Within Its Pre-and Post-Historical Periods: Denial and Confrontation” conference which took place in Ankara on 24th April 2010, highlighted the dangers that still exist in Turkey for those that seek to expose the genocidal realities of the past. He added  “What happened at the conference which we organized in Ankara showed how difficult and dangerous is discussing the topic. Despite the fact that we faced tremendous obstacles, we as socialists of Turkey discussed this question for two days with oppressed people, socialists and poor people of Turkey, and scholars from Turkey and abroad.”(2)

                        According to The Armenian weekly (April 28, 2010) , ” On April 24, as genocide commemoration events were being held one after the other in different locations in Istanbul, a groundbreaking two-day conference on the Armenian Genocide began at the Princess Hotel in Ankara. The conference, organized by the Ankara Freedom of Thought Initiative, was held under tight security measures. The conference attracted around 200 attendees, mostly activists and intellectuals who support genocide recognition. Among the prominent names from Turkey were Ismail Besikci, Baskin Oran, Sevan Nishanian, Ragip Zarakolu, Temel Demirer, and Sait Cetinoglu.”(3)

                        According to Lilit Muradyan “Radiolur”, April 25, 2013, ” 10 Turkish intellectuals visited the Armenian Genocide Memorial on April 24 to pay tribute to the memory of the innocent victims. Ali Sait Çetinoğlu , a Turkish intellectual and  the founder of the Free University system of Turkey, which publishes brochures presenting the real and undistorted history to the Turkish society said at a meeting with Armenians today , shared his pain for the greatest crime of the 20th century and said it was an honor for him to stand in front of representatives of a nation, which survived the great calamity and thrived.” “I have devoted my live to revealing that evil. I declare we must not believe the masks of the Turkish authorities and their calls for friendship between the two nations. What we should believe in is their actions” said  Çetinoğlu and addressed a question to all attendees: “Have you asked the Turkish intellectuals you met before where their grandfathers were in 1915? Will you ask from now on?”(4)

                         In a long Study/Article  titled “Foundations of non-Muslim Communities: The Last Object of Confiscation“, Sait Çetinoğlu mentioned that “During the process of 1915 Armenian Genocide, the immovable properties belonging to Armenians who left or entrusted them to their neighbors were looted and/or sold by those who turned war conditions as a ground of opportunity. These properties naturally were seized by powerful locals. With decree number 1457-246/7, which was enacted in 25 January 1925, those who had seized these properties became entitled to get deed titles in a short period of time. The main character of the measures introduced after expulsions during the 1923 Population Exchange is that they were systematic measures aimed at disturbing, expulsing and deporting non-Muslims and that they systematically followed each other.(5)

                          Sait Cetinoglu presented a paper on “The Mechanisms of Terrorizing Minorities: The Work Battalions and the Capital Tax [Varlik Vergisi] in Turkey During World War Two”. He detailed the manner in which the tax was designed to intentionally “exterminate the economic and cultural existence … of the non-Muslim minorities, …[to] loot their properties and living means and, in parallel, to Turkify the economy of the country. This tax”, he clarified, must be assessed as “a continuation of the tradition of the Committee of Union and Progress and has the structure of an ethnic cleansing” mechanism. “The government of that time, through this law that implemented the Capital Tax, achieved in great part its aim of acting to destroy the minorities economically and culturally in order to promote ethnic homogenization.” This genocidal initiative, following in the tradition of the Committee of Union and Progress, he noted, followed other terrible actions against minorities. The anti-Jewish pogroms in Thrace in 1934, the intimidatory campaign “Citizen Speak Turkish” and the mobilization of work battalions for the ‘minorities’ during 1941-42.(3)

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1- http://www.keghart.com/Cetinoglu-Malta

2-http://www.variant.org.uk/37_38texts/report37.html

3- http://www.armenianweekly.com/2010/04/28/ankara-conference/

4-http://www.armradio.am/en/2013/04/25/ask-turks-were-their-grandfathers-were-in-1915-turkish-intellectual-tells-armenians/

5- http://neweasternpolitics.wordpress.com/2012/02/28/foundations-of-non-muslim-communities-the-last-object-of-confiscation-by-sait-cetinoglu/

Turkish (FSA) so called ‘Free Syrian Army’ militants in Kobani to supposedly fight ISIL

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Turkish-fsaForeign-backed militants from the so-called Free Syrian Army (FSA) have crossed from Turkey into the Syrian border city of Kobani to join Kurdish forces in their battle against ISIL Takfiri militants.

In an interview with the CNN, Colonel Abdul Jabbar al-Oqaidi, an FSA commander, said about 200 members of the group entered Kobani, known in Arabic as Ain al-Arab, early on Wednesday with munitions that comprised mortars and heavy machine guns.

“Today, 200 is enough,” he said. “But we can send more today if needed.”

However, the so-called Syrian Observatory for Human Rights said it believed just 50 Free Syrian Army militants have been deployed to Kobani.

The so-called Free Syrian Army comprises militants fighting against the Syrian government. They are enjoying the support of the US and its allies mainly Turkey, Saudi Arabia and Qatar.

This is while the ISIL militants have emerged from the insurgents fighting the Syrian government forces since 2011. They have been also backed by the US and its allies.

Forces from Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG), known as Peshmerga, have not yet crossed into Kobani after the first contingent departed Erbil by air overnight, and landed in Turkey’s southeastern city of Şanlıurfa in the early hours of Wednesday.

On October 22, the KRG decided to send Peshmerga fighters to Kobani, two days after Turkey announced that it would allow Iraqi Kurdish forces to cross into Syria to join fellow fighters defending Kobani against ISIL terrorists.

Kobani and its surroundings have been under attack since mid-September, with the ISIL militants capturing dozens of nearby Kurdish villages. More than 800 people have been killed on both sides during the battle for the city.

The ISIL advance in the region has forced tens of thousands of Syrian Kurds to flee their homes, mainly into Turkey, which is a stone’s throw from Kobani.

 

Oh what a lovely war! Remarkable video shows ISIS fighters strolling right up Turkish border checkpoint for a relaxing chat with guards

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By John Hall for MailOnline

  • 1414517994975_wps_55_image001_pngAmateur footage shows militants casually wandering up to Turkish border 
  • Pair display shocking bravado waving at camera while carrying large guns
  • Greeted at border by Turkish security officials who break into conversation
  • Group chat for a short time before fighters wander back towards Kobane
  • Militants heard chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ and making jihadist hand gestures
  • Video raises new questions over Turkish border guards’ relations with ISIS

A remarkable video has emerged purporting to show Islamic State militants chatting casually with a group of Turkish border guards near the besieged Syrian city of Kobane.

The amateur footage, understood to have been filmed close to Zarova Hill in the outskirts of Kobane, raises serious questions about the apparently relaxed relationship between the terror group and officials from the Nato member state.

It appears to show two heavily armed militants wandering nonchalantly up to the Turkish border fence – displaying shocking bravado as they smile and wave at the camera.

1414517886208_wps_52_Alleged_ISIS_fighters_casThey are met by what appears to be a military vehicle full of security officials who, despite carrying weapons themselves, do little more than break into conversation with the jihadis, who eventually wander off back into Syria while shouting ‘Allahu Akbar’.

As they reach the border fence, an armoured military vehicle belonging to Turkish border guards speeds up to meet them. Heavily armed officials jump out the back of the car and – after briefly talking on their radios, simply engage the men in conversation.

At one point the situation appears tense and a border guard scampers towards the militants with his gun briefly raised, but he stops seconds later and also begins talking to the men.

After several minutes chatting, the militants wander off, defiantly raising their index finger to the sky to represent jihadism while chanting ‘Allahu Akbar’ – a phrase that translates as ‘God is the greatest’.

19 Turkish fans detained ahead of game in Belgrade

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Source: Beta, Tanjug

1112072716544a0264396eb227431566_v4bigBELGRADE — 19 visiting fans of the Turkish football club Besiktas were late on Thursday “brought” to the police in Belgrade, the MUP confirmed for Tanjug.

5 were detained for using pyrotechnics, while others violated public order.

The hooligans demolished several buses belonging to the Belgrade city transportation company GSP, used to transport them from the Hotel Jugoslavija.

They also caused incidents while at the hotel where they set alight flares. According to reports, they behaved “violently” in the buses.

Members of the MUP Gendarmerie unit “managed to calm down the situation” and taken the fans to the Partizan stadium where a portion of the stands was open “just for them, for security reasons.”

The Europa League game between Partizan and Besiktas ended 0:4.

 

Egyptians call for boycott of Turkish products

By

CAIRO

egypt-boycott-turkishEgyptian writers and political movements have called for a boycott of Turkish products in response to what they describe as “unjustified” attacks on Egypt by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan.

Advocates of the boycott note that Egypt is a major importer of Turkish products and that a boycott of the products would take a toll on the Turkish economy.

Egyptian lawyer Samir Sabri filed a lawsuit last week to force the Egyptian government to ban the entry of Turkish products into the country. A court is expected to rule on the case on Dec. 2.

Television anchor and writer Gamal Anayet has also called for a boycott of Turkish products and has even encouraged Egyptians to drop Turkey as a tourist destination.

“A boycott is a simple and thorough [means by] which we can affect Turkish policies,” Anayet said during his “New Evening” talk show on the private al-Tahrir channel.

“Turkish products have alternatives in Egypt,” he added, inviting Egyptians to buy local products instead of their Turkish counterparts.

Political analyst Michel Fahmi, for his part, called for a “strong public boycott” of all products, services and arts coming from Turkey.

He said striking at the economic interests of those who “harbor inimical” attitudes toward Egypt would cause them pain. “Economic sanctions will be much tougher than political sanctions,” Fahmi said.

Bassem Halaqa, the head of Egypt’s Tourist Guides Union, also called for a boycott of Turkey as a tourist destination, saying that supporting Egyptian tourism and the national economy were “patriotic duties.”

Despite political tensions between the two states, some 30,125 Egyptians visited Turkey between January and April of this year, compared to 37,299 who visited the country in the corresponding period last year, according to Turkey’s Tourism Ministry.

The ministry added that some 10,600 Turkish tourists visited Egypt between January and April this year, compared with 25,289 who visited in the corresponding period last year.

Trade exchanges between Egypt and Turkey, meanwhile, reached a total of $5 billion last year, including $3.5 billion of Turkish exports to Egypt, according to Egypt’s Trade Ministry.

Around 418 Turkish companies also operate in Egypt, especially in the textile, food and petrochemical sectors.

Public action 

Female writer Reem Eidi and the Congress Party, founded by former presidential candidate Amr Moussa, also joined the boycott calls for Egyptians, but they raised the stakes further, extending a call to the whole Arab world.

“The appropriate response will come through an Egyptian-Arab public boycott campaign against Turkish products and TV serials,” Congress Party Vice Chairman Tamer al-Zaydi said in a statement. “Egyptians and Arabs must also stop travelling to Turkey.”

Relations between Egypt and Turkey took a turn for the worse after Egypt’s military ousted elected President Mohamed Morsi in July of last year.

Tensions between the two countries reached their nadir last November, when Egypt declared the Turkish ambassador in Cairo “persona non grata” and Turkey responded in kind.

While addressing the U.N. General Assembly late last week, Erdoğan again lashed out at the new regime in Egypt. He accused the international community of lending legitimacy to Egyptian President Abdel-Fattah el-Sisi, widely seen as the architect of Morsi’s ouster last year.

September/30/2014

Turkish company constructing apartment building in Yerevan?

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182943PanARMENIAN.Net – Ozturkler Holding Turkish company is constructing an apartment building in Yerevan.

In a conversation with Sabah daily, the company chair Yusuf Ozturk announced plans to expand construction business in Armenia.

“Though small, the country has major possibilities and we’re the first Turkish company here. Our plan is to establish an apartment management system; construction of 5000 buildings is envisaged for the 1st stage, with a target number of 3000 buildings.”

As a representative of the Ministry of Urban Development told PanARMENIAN.Net the above-mentioned company is not operating in Yerevan. However, the Ministry promised to provide additional information after sending an inquiry to a relevant department at Yerevan Mayor’s Office.

Later, Yerevan Mayor’s Office also denied knowledge of the Turkish company’s activities in Yerevan.

Ozturkler Holding is planning construction of an urban settlement near Saudi Arabian citiy of Mecca. The settlement, to house over 100,000 people, will be located at a distance of 3 km from a sacred mosque Kaaba.

Turkish intellectuals slam textbooks spreading ‘hatred towards Armenians’

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182878A group of academics, journalists, artists and intellectuals have released a statement condemning in the harshest terms what they define as expressions that include “open hatred and hostility” towards Armenians in Turkish schoolbooks, which were recently exposed by the newspapers Agos and Taraf.

The two newspapers recently published reports on hateful remarks targeting Armenians in the textbooks used in history classes, according to Today’s Zaman.

A letter accompanying the text of the condemnation, written by historian Taner Akçam, notes that including such expressions as lesson material to teach children is a disgrace.

“Standing with integrity in the face of history is the prerequisite for establishing the future on the foundations of friendship and peace. I do hope that this signature campaign will be taken as a scream from all of us for the publication of textbooks that we would like to see,” Akçam noted.

“The revolutions history and history textbooks should be collected immediately, with an apology issued to everyone and particularly to Armenian students. This is where the path to Turkish-Armenian peace lies, at this time when we are approaching 2015,” the statement reads.

Photo: Today’s Zaman