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Armenian News & Views, Exposing Turkish Crime Against Humanity

How Funny: Mystery lingers over Turkey’s missing weapons, 106,000 missing ARMAMENTS who might be?

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Turkey’s missing weapons

Turkey’s missing weapons

Zulfikar Dogan,

ANKARA, Turkey — The 2017 annual report of the Turkish Interior Ministry, released in late February, raised fresh questions about a controversy ongoing since the failed coup attempt on July 15, 2016. According to the report, 2,198,774 individuals lost their vehicle registrations, gun licenses, driver’s licenses and professional IDs last year, while 106,740 guns were recorded as either lost or stolen.

News of the huge number of missing weapons comes amid concerns over the reported proliferation of unlicensed guns, including through online sales, and has reignited debate on weapons that were reported missing from military and police armories in the wake of the coup attempt..

There are no clues as to where the more than 106,000 missing weapons might be. Of note, the available statistics only include guns reported as lost or stolen to authorities, meaning that the actual figure might be higher.

In a written parliamentary question in June, CHP Deputy Eren Erdem had asked Interior Minister Suleyman Soylu for the number of weapons that had been missing from the police inventory since the night of the coup attempt. He is still waiting for an answer.

The Association of Retired Noncommissioned Officers has underlined that all assigned weapons and ammunition, and even flasks and boots, are the responsibility of individual soldiers and officers in the Turkish army. Many personnel are now anxious because some of the weapons used during the night of the coup attempt are still missing, according to the head of the association.

Few seem to be convinced by official statements on the missing guns cited in the Interior Ministry reports, as contradicting statements have deepened the confusion, and many questions remain unanswered. Turkish society is already sharply polarized, and many believe that government supporters are arming themselves for future action against political opponents. Open threats from Islamist quarters are feeding the apprehension.

Last month, a presenter on the Islamist Akit TV said on air that the staff of the daily Cumhuriyet, a vocal government critic, deserved to be “slaughtered.” Another Akit TV presenter, infuriated by claims of civilian casualties in Turkish military operations in northern Syria, said, “If we were to kill civilians, we would have started in Cihangir, Nisantasi and Etiler,” referring to Istanbul neighborhoods considered bastions of secularism. He added, “There are so many traitors. There is the Turkish Grand National Assembly,” referring to opposition lawmakers in parliament. Prosecutors have launched an investigation into the presenter.

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Vladimir Putin: Russia must halve poverty rate and Weapons no other country has

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Puting, Weapons no other country has

Puting, Weapons no other country has

The Russian president has used his state of nation address to focus on living standards and announce that Russia has new missiles no other country has. Putin is seeking a fourth term in the upcoming elections.

Russian President Vladimir Putin on Thursday delivered his state of the nation address, emphasizing that Russia needed to improve living standards and halve the country’s poverty rate.

Putin is hoping to secure a fourth term as president in Russia’s upcoming election on March 18, which he is expected to win. State opinion surveys show about 70 percent of Russians favor his reelection.

“[We should] at least halve the poverty rate in the next six years,” Putin said, adding that 20 million Russians currently live below the poverty line compared to 42 million in 2000.

Putin said that in 2017 the living conditions of 3.1 million families improved and that the aim was to do this annually for “no less than” 5 million families.

He said that in the next decade Russia should reach the circle of countries with 80-year-plus life expectancy. Russian life expectancy is currently at 73 years.

Weapons no other country has

Putin used the state of nation address to announce that Russia has developed missiles that no other country has, as well as a new supersonic weapon that cannot be tracked by anti-missile systems.

Russia has tested new nuclear weapons, he said, including a nuclear-powered cruise missile and a nuclear-powered underwater drone that cannot be intercepted by enemies.

NATO buildup on Russia’s borders and the US anti-missile system would be rendered useless by Russia’s own military buildup, Putin said, adding that Russia did not intend to attack any other country and that the country’s military buildup was designed to guarantee peace globally.

He also said the use of nuclear weapons against Russia or its allies would be regarded as an attack on Russia and would be answered with an immediate response.

Strengthen democracy

With the presidential elections fast approaching, Putin called for a strengthening of the country’s democratic institutions.

“To move forward, to develop dynamically, we should expand freedom in all spheres and strengthen institutions of democracy, local government, structures of civil society and courts,” Putin said.Putin served as president from 2000-2008 but was unable to seek a third term under Russian law. From 2008-2012 he served as prime minister, which allowed him to keep his hold on Russian politics, and was then reelected as president in 2012.

Support for the elderly

Putin said it was the government’s duty to improve living conditions for the country’s elderly population, and that a program of systematic support should be developed to achieve this.

“Our duty is to support the older generation. Elderly people have to have decent conditions for their lives, and we must increase pensions. They need to be regularly indexed and higher than the level of inflation,” Putin said.

Infrastructure

Putin said the country needed to “transform infrastructure” and increase the housing supply.

“We need to transform infrastructure, many regional cities and towns are changing…I suggest starting a large-scale program of development of cities and towns and double expenditures into this sphere in the next six years.”

He said that Russia should spend more than 11 trillion rubles (€160 billion, $195 billion) on road infrastructure.

law/kms (AFP, AP, dpa, Reuters)

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Ankara uses Afrin campaign to showcase Turkish-made weapons

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Afrin campaign to showcase Turkish-made weapons

Afrin campaign to showcase Turkish-made weapons

By Zülfikar Doğan,

ANKARA, Turkey — On Jan. 21, a day after Turkey launched Operation Olive Branch against Afrin in northern Syria, Prime Minister Binali Yildirim briefed media representatives about the campaign, putting special emphasis on one issue. The operation, he said, was being carried out with weapons and ammunition that were up to 75% Turkish made.

As the operation proceeded, Defense Minister Nurettin Canikli made the same point in a series of tweets, stressing the notion of “native and national” that President Recep Tayyip Erdogan has come to repeat in various contexts. According to the minister, all ammunition used in the operation was Turkish produced, and the local share in Turkey’s defense industries has risen to 70% from 18% 15 years ago. He mentioned the smart HGK bombs, manufactured jointly by the Mechanical and Chemical Industry Company (MKEK) and the Military Electronics Industries (ASELSAN), multi-barrel rocket launchers made by the MKEK and the Firtina (Storm) howitzers produced in Turkish military plants. “Our ammunition stocks are so abundant that they will suffice to wipe out terrorism not only from Afrin but from the entire region, and we are continuing to produce,” Canikli wrote.

Erdogan’s son-in-law Selcuk Bayraktar, whose family business produces armed and unarmed drones for the Turkish military, was also eager to announce that his company’s drones were in action in the Afrin campaign. Bayraktar’s Twitter message was accompanied with a picture of him in front of screens in the army’s drone control room. Yet, another familiar face — the president’s son Bilal Erdogan — was seen in the picture, and his presence in the control room without any official duty did not go without criticism.

Drawing on this military industry showcase, Erdogan took the opportunity to hit back at main opposition leader Kemal Kilicdaroglu, who often criticizes the state of Turkey’s economy and industry. He even offered to give Kilicdaroglu a Firtina howitzer barrel as a gift.

Ankara’s emphasis on the use of Turkish-made weapons in the Afrin campaign is meant to send out a dual message: to highlight the progress in the Turkish defense industry and give a gleeful response to foreign critics who advocate the halt of arms sales to Turkey or oppose the use of weapons made in their countries in the Afrin offensive.

Turkey has previously failed to acquire armed and unarmed drones from the United States due to congressional objections. In September, the US Senate blocked the sale of Sig Sauer guns to Erdogan’s security guards after members of his security detail assaulted protesters during Erdogan’s visit to Washington in May.

Israel, for its part, has refused to share technology and know-how in production and intelligence-sharing negotiations over its Heron drones.

Most recently, Germany suspended some arms sales to Turkey amid political tensions over the arrest of German nationals in the country and froze plans to upgrade the Turkish army’s German-made Leopard tanks.

Turkey and its Western arms suppliers have a long history of such wrangling, which has motivated Ankara’s drive for self-sufficiency and investment in the defense industry.

The Turkish-made armed and unarmed drones are among the products of this drive. The Undersecretariat for Defense Industries (SSM), the agency responsible for military procurements, has raised the number of its projects to 553 from single-digit figures in previous years. The monetary worth of the projects stands at $41.4 billion and exceeds $60 billion, including projects that are still in tender stages.

The SSM projects include the local manufacture of tanks, ships, surveillance and fighter aircraft, attack helicopters, surveillance satellites and armored combat vehicles, among others. Some of those projects have reached the production stage; others remain in the process of preparation.

The Turkish-made weapons have been in use for some time in military operations against Kurdish militants in Turkey’s southeast, but most of them are being used for the first time in a cross-border operation.

The contributors to the defense industry drive include government agencies and enterprises owned by the Turkish Armed Forces Foundation such as the Turkish Scientific and Technological Research Council (TUBITAK), MKEK, ASELSAN, rocket manufacturer ROKETSAN and aerial electronics maker HAVELSAN as well as many private sector companies. ASELSAN, in particular, stands out with ambitious achievements in the realm of high-tech electronic warfare systems.

Since the US Senate’s blockage of the gun sale, the MKEK has accelerated a project for Turkish-made automatic guns and rifles. The project has now entered production stage. In cooperation with private companies, the MKEK has also began deliveries of the Turkish-made MPT-76 infantry rifle to various branches of the security forces, including the presidential security unit. The first exports, meanwhile, have gone to Somalia.

The government has set a target to place Turkey among the world’s top 10 defense industry exporters by 2023, the centenary of the modern Turkish republic. According to defense industry expert Dora Uzkesici, however, achieving this target requires Turkish exports to reach $25 billion per year. The country’s exports stood at $5.9 billion in 2016, and last year’s sales are estimated to be worth an approximately equal figure.

At present, the needs of the Turkish military and police appear to be the main driver of growth in the local defense industry. According to the 2016 performance report of the Defense Industry Manufacturers Association, which brings together publicly owned and private companies, 89% of the $11.9 billion orders the sector received in 2016 stemmed from domestic demand. The 2017 data has yet to be released, but an increase in the figures would be no surprise, given the large-scale security operations in the southeast and the Euphrates Shield and Olive Branch operations in Syria.

In December, Erdogan became the sole boss of Turkey’s defense industry after the government used its emergency rule powers to issue a legislative decree that attached all defense industry institutions to the presidency.

Of note, the real owner of the “native and national” military industry notion is not Erdogan but his mentor, the late Necmettin Erbakan, who became the first voice of “moderate Islam” in Turkish politics in the 1970s and rose to the prime minister’s post in 1996.

Erdogan broke ranks with Erbakan to create the Justice and Development Party in 2001, when he famously said he had disowned his mentor’s “National View” ideology.

Before entering politics, Erbakan was a distinguished mechanical engineer whose career included a stint at a German factory involved in military research. Erbakan advocated a “heavy industry thrust,” including the local production of engines, tanks and cannons. Erdogan may have claimed to have “taken off the National View shirt,” but the ideas of his mentor loom large in his rhetoric today.

Ankara’s frequent emphasis on the use of Turkish-made weapons in Operation Olive Branch suggests that Erdogan and the government see the campaign as an important showcase for such weapons and military technology, with a view of boosting marketing and exports.

Zülfikar Doğan began his career in journalism in 1976 at the Yanki news magazine in Ankara. He has worked as a reporter, news editor,

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Azerbaijan gets new supply of military equipment from Russia

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Azerbaijan has received a large batch of new military equipment and ammunition from Russia, Xinhua News Agency reports, citing the country’s Defense Ministry.

Russia has organized the delivery of modern military equipment in accordance with the intergovernmental deal between the two countries, the Ministry said.

The ammunition and other military equipment have been delivered to the port in Baku and will soon be transferred to the military units stationed on the front-line zone, read the official statement.

The Russia-made military equipment is said to have excellent fire capabilities and high terrain crossing ability in mountainous conditions.

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İYİ Party leader Akşener claims civilians receiving weapons training in camps in Turkey

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According to Akşener, they are being prepared for the election season and would be used to stir chaos if the results disappoint the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP).

İYİ (Good) Party leader Meral Akşener has claimed civilians are receiving weapons training in camps in the Black Sea province of Tokat and the Central Anatolian province of Konya, daily Sözcü reported on Jan. 2.

“We have heard about these training camps in Tokat and Konya. They should be investigated and the results should be shared with us,” Akşener said in an interview.

Akşener said some people who have been seen “moving around with long-range guns lately” are told to be linked to these training camps.

Although she said these were still speculations, Akşener warned citizens and asked for precautions to be taken starting now, before the election season begins.

Akşener mentioned a single group’s name in the interview when talking about the training camps.

“One of them is a structure called ‘SADAT,’” Akşener said.

In mid-2016, a main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) lawmaker said the SADAT International Defense Consultancy, established in the early 2000s by soldiers dismissed from the military due to “reactionary activities,” is a company close to the AKP and offers “irregular warfare training” in various fields including “intelligence, psychological warfare, sabotage, raiding, ambushing, and assassination.”

The head of SADAT, retired brigadier Adnan Tanrıverdi, denies the opposition’s allegations that the company gives weapons training to civilians.

“What they want to do is to repel voters from the elections,” Akşener said.

“They are trying to scare voters by saying SADAT members or some other armed group will be on duty in the elections,” Akşener added.

“They are worried they won’t be able receive more than 50 percent of the votes in the presidential elections. That’s where the unease is coming from,” Akşener said, referring to the AKP.

But the people should not be discouraged from voting, Akşener warned.

“I tell them not to be scared. We need serenity, and we will establish it,” the İYİ Party leader said.

When asked about the possibility of snap elections, Akşener said President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan Erdoğan would not miss the chance.

“The Erdoğan I know will have the presidential elections before the local elections, and he will do it on July 15,” Akşener said.

“Erdoğan would not miss that date for the world,” she added.

“I anticipate the presidential and parliamentary elections will be held on July 15, 2018. It falls on a Sunday, that is the expectation,” Akşener had told journalists on Dec. 28.

Turkey is scheduled to hold three elections in 2019, and the change in the governance system, stipulated by the constitutional amendments approved in the April referendum, will fully be in effect after the presidential elections and parliamentary elections.

“Erdoğan will never hold local elections before the general elections. Because they receive fewer votes in local elections,” Akşener said.

Stressing that the İYİ Party will present its own candidate in the presidential elections, she said she wants to form an alliance with the liberal Democratic Party (DP) and the conservative Felicity Party (SP).

Source: http://www.hurriyetdailynews.com/iyi-party-leader-aksener-claims-civilians-receiving-weapons-training-in-camps-in-turkey-125102

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Report: Weapons destined for Azerbaijan were found in ISIS

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Azerbaijan got involved in supplying weapons to the Islamic State, says a report of the British organization Conflict Armament Research, which monitors the movement of conventional weapons globally.

According to the research, in May 2015, Syrian YPG forces recovered a PG7PM primary propelling charge from IS forces near Al Hasakah. A CAR field investigation team documented the item, with lot number 1-14-((11)), on 20 May 2015.

“Bulgaria confirmed that it had exported the item on 18 December 2014 to the Ministry of Defence of Azerbaijan. The application for the licence was accompanied by the original EUC. CAR has yet to receive a response to a trace request sent to Azerbaijan,” the report said.

According to the documents submitted by Bulgaria, the export was realized on 18 December 2014 from Bourgas Airport, Bulgaria, to Baku Airport, Azerbaijan.

As reported earlier, Azerbaijan has already been accused of having links to ISIS. Azerbaijan transported arms to Saudi Arabia which later was found in ISIS warehouse, Balgarian newspaper Trud reported.

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Pentagon ‘taking a look’ at halting weapons for Syrian Kurds as Turkey presses ban

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By Ellen Mitchell

The Defense Department on Monday said it is reviewing the process it uses to provide equipment and weapons to Kurdish fighters with the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) but has not halted sending weapons.

Pentagon spokesman Col. Robert Manning told reporters that the department is “reviewing pending adjustments to the military support provided to our Kurdish partners in as much as the military requirements of our defeat-[Islamic State in Iraq and Syria] and stabilization efforts will allow us to prevent ISIS from returning.”

Turkey’s foreign minister said Friday that President Trump committed to Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan that the United States would no longer supply arms to Syrian Kurdish fighters.

Turkey considers the SDF Kurds, known as the YPG, to be an extension of outlawed Kurdish insurgents within its country, the Kurdistan Workers Party.

“Mr. Trump clearly stated that he had given clear instructions and that the YPG won’t be given arms, and that this nonsense should have ended a long time ago,” Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said in a news conference last week.

The White House later released a statement that confirmed the topic was touched on but would not commit to a full-on ban.

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Weapons storage of military unit explodes in Azerbaijan

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A fire occurred today at the weapons storage of the military unit of the Ministry of Defense, Trends reported quoting the Azerbaijani Defense Ministry.

A motorway linking the Azeri capital Baku with Russia was shut off in the wake of the incident.

As a result of the fire an explosion was observed on the territory of the military unit. A group consisting of representatives of the relevant structures is at the scene of the incident to find out the causes of the fire and take the necessary security measures.

According to information to the present time, there are no dead or injured servicemen.

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US & Europe should investigate Azeri shipments of weapons to terrorists

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Harut Sassounian

Harut Sassounian

By Harut Sassounian
The California Courier

A stunning investigation by Bulgarian reporter Dilyana Gaytandzhieva revealed that Azerbaijan’s state-run Silk Way Airlines has shipped under diplomatic cover 350 planeloads of heavy weapons and ammunition to terrorist groups around the world in the last three years! Azerbaijan asked the Foreign Ministries of various countries to issue a diplomatic exemption for these flights, allowing civilian planes to carry weapons which would normally be prohibited by the International Air Transport Association.

The reporter’s information is based on a large number of emails sent to her by an anonymous source: “The leaked files include correspondence between the Bulgarian Ministry of Foreign Affairs and the Embassy of Azerbaijan to Bulgaria with attached documents for weapons deals and diplomatic clearance for overflight and/or landing in Bulgaria and many other European countries,” in addition to Syria, Iraq, the United States, Saudi Arabia, UAE, Turkey, and Israel, to name a few.

According to documents obtained by Gaytandzhieva, “Silk Way Airlines offered diplomatic flights to private companies and arms manufacturers from the US, the Balkans, and Israel, as well as to the militaries of Saudi Arabia, UAE, and US Special Operations Command (USSOCOM), and the military forces of Germany and Denmark in Afghanistan and of Sweden in Iraq. Diplomatic flights are exempt of checks, air bills, and taxes, meaning that Silk Way airplanes freely transported hundreds of tons of weapons to different locations around the world without regulation.”

The leaked documents also reveal that American weapons manufacturers had shipped over $1 billion of weapons through Silk Way Airlines. These were non-US standard weapons which means that they were not intended for use by U.S. forces. When Silk Way Airlines did not have enough available planes, Azerbaijan’s Air Force jets would transport the military shipments, Gaytandzhieva reported.

According to the U.S. federal contracts registry, in December 2014, the U.S. Special Operations Command signed a $26.7 million contract with the American company Purple Shovel. Bulgaria was listed as the country of origin for the shipped weapons and Azerbaijan’s Defense Ministry as the consignee. Another US company, Orbital ATK, received a contract for $250 million of non-US standard weapons.

Amazingly, the daring Bulgarian reporter went to Aleppo, Syria, in December of last year where she “found and filmed 9 underground warehouses full of heavy weapons with Bulgaria as their country of origin. They were used by Al Nusra Front (Al Qaeda affiliate in Syria designated as a terrorist organization by the UN).”

Gaytandzhieva discovered that just in April and May of 2017, Azerbaijan’s Air Force jets transported 282 tons of grenades on 10 diplomatic flights.

Another major purchaser of non-US standard weapons is Saudi Arabia which cannot use these weapons for its own defense as they are not compatible with its arsenal of western weapons. In 2016 and 2017, there were 23 diplomatic flights carrying weapons from Bulgaria, Serbia and Azerbaijan to Jeddah and Riyadh. These weapons were transported to the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia through Silk Way Airlines and ended up in the hands of militants in Syria and Yemen that Saudi Arabia officially admits supporting, according to Gaytandzhieva.

On April 28 and May 12 of this year, Silk Way Airlines carried out two diplomatic flights from Baku to Burgas-Jeddah-Brazzaville (Republic of Congo). The military cargo on board both flights was paid for by Saudi Arabia. The aircraft was loaded with mortars and anti-tank grenades. These very same weapons were discovered by the Iraqi army a month ago in an Islamic State warehouse in Mosul. It is not surprising that Islamic State terrorists have displayed these weapons in their propaganda videos, according to Gaytandzhieva.

The same situation existed with the shipment of Coyote machine guns which appeared on propaganda videos posted online by militant groups in Syria. These weapons were transported on a diplomatic flight via Turkey and Saudi Arabia a few months earlier. There are many other examples of such shipments that ended up in the hands of terrorists, including some shipments sponsored by United Arab Emirates.

In February and March 2017, Saudi Arabia received 350 tons of weapons on Silk Way Airlines’ diplomatic flights originating from Baku. The cargo included 27,350 pieces of 128-mm rockets and 10,000 pieces of 122 mm. Grad rockets.

Some of these shipments were paid in cash which may account for the huge amount of wealth accumulated by Pres. Aliyev and his family.

Just as concerning are the shipments of large quantities (around 200 tons) of white phosphorus which could be deadly. Ironically, Azerbaijan, which possesses white phosphorus, accuses Armenia of using it in the Artsakh conflict.

This is not just another article which should be read and forgotten! The US Congress and European governments should hold hearings and investigate these huge shipments of weapons, most of which are destined for terrorists in the Middle East and elsewhere.

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Russia Has Intel on Upcoming Chemical Weapons Provocations in Syrian Regions

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Russia has intelligence from “trusted sources” that chemical weapons provocations are currently being prepared in more regions in Syria, including Damascus, Russian President Vladimir Putin said after talks with Italian counterpart Sergio Mattarella Tuesday.

“We have information from various sources that such provocations — and I cannot call them anything else — are being prepared in other regions of Syria, including in the southern suburbs of Damascus, where they intend to plant some substance and blame the official Syrian authorities for its use,” Putin told a briefing.

Russian President Putin announced that Russia will officially turn to the UN in the Hague for an investigation of the chemical weapons’ use in Idlib.

“All incidents reminiscent of the ‘chemical attacks’ that took place in Idlib must be thoroughly investigated,” Putin said.

On Thursday night, the United States launched 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the military airfield in Ash Sha’irat. US President Donald Trump said that the attack was a response to the alleged chemical weapon use in Syria’s Idlib province on Tuesday, which resulted in the death of over 80 people.

Following Putin’s presser, Russian General Staff released a statement announcing that it has information of militants bringing poisonous substances to areas of Khan Shaykhun, West of Aleppo and Eastern Guta in Syria.

Chief of the Russian General Staff Main Operational Directorate Col. Gen. Sergei Rudskoy said that the militants are trying to provoke new accusations targeted at Syrian government for alleged use of chemical weapons. The militants aim to incite the US to conduct new strikes, Rudskoy warned, adding that such measures are impermissible.

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