Turkey
Pray for the Turkish Women
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Turkey, Armenia sign historic accord
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee,
Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 40 mins ago
ZURICH – Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark agreement
Saturday to establish diplomatic relations and open their sealed
border after a century of enmity, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton helped the two sides clear a last-minute snag.
The contentious issue of whether the killing of up to 1.5 million
Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire amounted
to genocide is only hinted at in the agreement.
"There were several times when I said to all of the parties
involved that this is too important," Clinton said. "This has to be
seen through. We have come too far. All of the work that has
gone into the protocols should not be walked away from."
The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed the accord in
the Swiss city of Zurich after a dispute over the final statements
they would make. In the end, the signing took place about three
hours later than scheduled and there were no spoken statements.
Read more at http://news.yahoo.
com/s/ap/20091010/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_armenia
By MATTHEW LEE, Associated Press Writer Matthew Lee,
Associated Press Writer – 2 hrs 40 mins ago
ZURICH – Turkey and Armenia signed a landmark agreement
Saturday to establish diplomatic relations and open their sealed
border after a century of enmity, as U.S. Secretary of State Hillary
Rodham Clinton helped the two sides clear a last-minute snag.
The contentious issue of whether the killing of up to 1.5 million
Armenians during the final days of the Ottoman Empire amounted
to genocide is only hinted at in the agreement.
"There were several times when I said to all of the parties
involved that this is too important," Clinton said. "This has to be
seen through. We have come too far. All of the work that has
gone into the protocols should not be walked away from."
The Turkish and Armenian foreign ministers signed the accord in
the Swiss city of Zurich after a dispute over the final statements
they would make. In the end, the signing took place about three
hours later than scheduled and there were no spoken statements.
Read more at http://news.yahoo.
com/s/ap/20091010/ap_on_re_eu/eu_turkey_armenia
Can the leopard change his spots?
15:58 / 08/19/2009
On August 15, the day of the feast commemorating the Assumption of
Virgin Mary and celebrated by Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches,
Greek pilgrims from many countries made a pilgrimage to the Panagia
Soumela monastery, about 20 km away from Trabzon. They arrived to
pay homage to the sacred places, but the Turkish authorities’ plans were
different. At the airport they demanded that clergymen take off their
crosses and cloaks. The passengers on the ships that arrived from
Georgia, as well as on the eight ships from Greece, were not allowed to
go ashore.
For unknown reasons the Turkish authorities informed their Greek
counterparts that some ceremonies at the Panagia Soumela monastery
with pilgrims’ participation have been banned this year. Ivan Savvidis, a
member of the Inter-Greek Council, called the Turkish authorities’ actions
a violation of human rights.
The religious ceremony was held in the presence of numerous pilgrims,
but interrupted by Turkish officials, who began to pour water on candles
and confiscated them thereby trying to stop the service. Since religious
services have been held at the monastery from year to year, the Turkish
authorities’ actions can be called barbarity that can be a precondition for
similar manifestations of primitive savagery in the future.
It is noteworthy that the aforementioned events occurred just a few days
after Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan held a meeting with
representatives of Turkey’s national minorities, including Patriarch
Bartholomew of the Greek Orthodox Church. Premier Erdogan was
speaking of lofty matters and of love for neighbors in the name of Allah –
irrespective of nationality. However, Erdogan must have overestimated
the “archetypal nature” of some parts of his own people. The Turkish
authorities’ actions are evidence thereof.
Report Source: http://news.am/en/news/turkey/2769.html
15:58 / 08/19/2009
On August 15, the day of the feast commemorating the Assumption of
Virgin Mary and celebrated by Roman Catholic and Orthodox churches,
Greek pilgrims from many countries made a pilgrimage to the Panagia
Soumela monastery, about 20 km away from Trabzon. They arrived to
pay homage to the sacred places, but the Turkish authorities’ plans were
different. At the airport they demanded that clergymen take off their
crosses and cloaks. The passengers on the ships that arrived from
Georgia, as well as on the eight ships from Greece, were not allowed to
go ashore.
For unknown reasons the Turkish authorities informed their Greek
counterparts that some ceremonies at the Panagia Soumela monastery
with pilgrims’ participation have been banned this year. Ivan Savvidis, a
member of the Inter-Greek Council, called the Turkish authorities’ actions
a violation of human rights.
The religious ceremony was held in the presence of numerous pilgrims,
but interrupted by Turkish officials, who began to pour water on candles
and confiscated them thereby trying to stop the service. Since religious
services have been held at the monastery from year to year, the Turkish
authorities’ actions can be called barbarity that can be a precondition for
similar manifestations of primitive savagery in the future.
It is noteworthy that the aforementioned events occurred just a few days
after Turkish Premier Recep Erdogan held a meeting with
representatives of Turkey’s national minorities, including Patriarch
Bartholomew of the Greek Orthodox Church. Premier Erdogan was
speaking of lofty matters and of love for neighbors in the name of Allah –
irrespective of nationality. However, Erdogan must have overestimated
the “archetypal nature” of some parts of his own people. The Turkish
authorities’ actions are evidence thereof.
Report Source: http://news.am/en/news/turkey/2769.html
Turkey's Erdogan holds rare talks with pro-Kurdish party
06/08/2009
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the leader of a
pro-Kurdish party Wednesday to discuss a new plan to expand the rights
of Turkey's ethnic Kurds.
(Zaman, Wall Street Journal - 06/08/09; AP, Reuters, VOA, Xinhua -
05/08/09)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) and Democratic
Society Party leader Ahmet Turk pose during a meeting in Ankara on
Wednesday (August 5th). [Getty Images]
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with representatives of the
pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) on Wednesday (August 5th)
to discuss a government initiative aimed at resolving the long-standing
Kurdish problem.
Turkish Kurds account for up to a fifth of the country's population of
nearly 77 million people and are its most sizable ethnic minority. Living
predominantly in Turkey's impoverished southeast, they have been
fighting for greater autonomy and more rights since 1984, when the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) launched an armed insurgency
against the government. The 25-year-long conflict has left more than
40,000 people dead, most of them Kurds.
"Our nation wants unity, co-operation and solidarity. It wants the mothers'
tears to stop. It wants there to be no blood and death," Erdogan said
following his talks with DTP leader Ahmet Turk at parliament Wednesday.
Others attending the hour-long talks included Interior Minister Besir
Atalay, the co-ordinator of the government's Kurdish initiative, and two
senior members of the DTP, which has 21 representatives in parliament.
Previously, Erdogan had been resisting meeting with the pro-Kurdish
party because of its refusal to denounce the PKK as a terrorist
organisation, as it is considered by Turkey, the EU and the United States.
The DTP faces possible closure over its alleged links to the militant
group.
"We are happy and hopeful that an environment of dialogue has been
ensured," said Turk, welcoming Wednesday's talks.
"We have made clear our thoughts on the process that will include
opinions of every part of society and will ripen with time," he said.
While no details of the government's Kurdish initiative have been
disclosed, foreign ministry spokesperson Burak Ozugergin told reporters
Wednesday that his ministry is contributing to plans to introduce a series
of reforms giving more rights to Kurds.
According to Turkish media reports, the new initiative would likely
envision arrangements for the return of some of the thousands of ethnic
Kurd refugees who fled the country, and have been living at a camp in
northern Iraq.
Analysts believed Erdogan's meeting with Turk took place in anticipation
of the "roadmap" for a solution to the Kurdish issue that Abdullah Ocalan,
the PKK's imprisoned leader, is expected to announce next week.
Reports said this would likely happen on August 15th, the 25th
anniversary of the start of PKK's armed campaign for self rule.
Deniz Baykal, the leader of the main opposition Republican People's
Party, criticised Erdogan's move, accusing him of making concessions to
the rebels.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/fea
tures/2009/08/06/feature-01
06/08/2009
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with the leader of a
pro-Kurdish party Wednesday to discuss a new plan to expand the rights
of Turkey's ethnic Kurds.
(Zaman, Wall Street Journal - 06/08/09; AP, Reuters, VOA, Xinhua -
05/08/09)
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (left) and Democratic
Society Party leader Ahmet Turk pose during a meeting in Ankara on
Wednesday (August 5th). [Getty Images]
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan met with representatives of the
pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party (DTP) on Wednesday (August 5th)
to discuss a government initiative aimed at resolving the long-standing
Kurdish problem.
Turkish Kurds account for up to a fifth of the country's population of
nearly 77 million people and are its most sizable ethnic minority. Living
predominantly in Turkey's impoverished southeast, they have been
fighting for greater autonomy and more rights since 1984, when the
outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) launched an armed insurgency
against the government. The 25-year-long conflict has left more than
40,000 people dead, most of them Kurds.
"Our nation wants unity, co-operation and solidarity. It wants the mothers'
tears to stop. It wants there to be no blood and death," Erdogan said
following his talks with DTP leader Ahmet Turk at parliament Wednesday.
Others attending the hour-long talks included Interior Minister Besir
Atalay, the co-ordinator of the government's Kurdish initiative, and two
senior members of the DTP, which has 21 representatives in parliament.
Previously, Erdogan had been resisting meeting with the pro-Kurdish
party because of its refusal to denounce the PKK as a terrorist
organisation, as it is considered by Turkey, the EU and the United States.
The DTP faces possible closure over its alleged links to the militant
group.
"We are happy and hopeful that an environment of dialogue has been
ensured," said Turk, welcoming Wednesday's talks.
"We have made clear our thoughts on the process that will include
opinions of every part of society and will ripen with time," he said.
While no details of the government's Kurdish initiative have been
disclosed, foreign ministry spokesperson Burak Ozugergin told reporters
Wednesday that his ministry is contributing to plans to introduce a series
of reforms giving more rights to Kurds.
According to Turkish media reports, the new initiative would likely
envision arrangements for the return of some of the thousands of ethnic
Kurd refugees who fled the country, and have been living at a camp in
northern Iraq.
Analysts believed Erdogan's meeting with Turk took place in anticipation
of the "roadmap" for a solution to the Kurdish issue that Abdullah Ocalan,
the PKK's imprisoned leader, is expected to announce next week.
Reports said this would likely happen on August 15th, the 25th
anniversary of the start of PKK's armed campaign for self rule.
Deniz Baykal, the leader of the main opposition Republican People's
Party, criticised Erdogan's move, accusing him of making concessions to
the rebels.
This content was commissioned for SETimes.com
http://www.setimes.com/cocoon/setimes/xhtml/en_GB/features/setimes/fea
tures/2009/08/06/feature-01
Kurds in the Middle East
Islamic case for religious liberty
By MUSTAFA AKYOL
ANKARA — Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew of the Orthodox Church
recently said on American TV that he feels "crucified" in Turkey,
upsetting many Turks. Sadly, he is right. Yet his complaint is not with
Islam but with the secular Turkish Republic.
The Turkish state has kept the Halki Seminary, the only institution able to
train Orthodox priests, closed since 1971. Even the patriarch's title
"ecumenical" is lashed out at by some Turkish authorities and their
nationalist supporters. Every year, international reports on religious
freedom point to such pressures on the patriarchate with concern, and
they are right to do so. But why does Turkey do all this? What is the
source of the problem?
Things were better long ago. The first Turkish ruler to reign over the
Ecumenical Patriarchate was Mehmed II, the Ottoman sultan who
conquered Constantinople in 1453. In line with the Islamic tradition of
accepting the "People of the Book," the young sultan granted amnesty to
the patriarchate. He also gave the institution many privileges and
authorities, no less than that which existed under the Byzantine
emperors. Armenians and Jews later enjoyed the same autonomies.
In the 19th century, the non-Muslim peoples of the empire also achieved
the rights of equal citizenship with Muslims. That's why the late Ottoman
bureaucracy and the Ottoman Parliament included a great number of
Greeks, Armenians and Jews — something you never see in republican
Turkey. The Halki Seminary, opened in 1844, is a relic from that bygone
age of pluralism.
Nationalism is what destroyed this Pax Ottomana. It affected the peoples
of the empire one by one, including, toward the end, the Turks. Many
conflicts took place between the latter and the rest, and the great
empire's colossal collapse left a bitter taste in the mouths of all. The
Armenians, who suffered the worst tragedy in 1915, never forgot nor
forgave.
Read More: http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/eo20100203a2.html
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