Turkish Forum

Author: Aylin D. Miller

  • REUTERS: Turkey detains 26 in coup plan investigation

    REUTERS: Turkey detains 26 in coup plan investigation

    E-mail: assembly@ataa.org 

    REUTERS:  Turkey detains 26 in coup plan investigation

    Turkish police detained 26 people on Wednesday in connection with an investigation into an alleged plot to overthrow the government, state-run Anatolian news agency said. The raids were part of an operation against the shadowy, ultra-nationalist Ergenekon organisation, which has fuelled uncertainty in Turkey and unsettled financial markets. Eighty-six people have been charged with involvement in the plot against Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan’s government, which hardline secularists accuse of Islamist subversion. Early on Wednesday, police staged simultaneous raids in five provinces from Istanbul in the west to Elazig in eastern Turkey, Anatolian reported. [link to article]      

     

    Rule on a case that could well plunge America’s most important (one could almost say only) ally in the Muslim Middle East into political chaos. The case pits Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (the AKP) against the Republican People’s Party (the CHP). What the former stands accused of is violation of Turkey’s secular constitution, and if the court rules against the AKP the government will be overthrown and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, along with scores of his closest associates, will be banned from politics for at least five years. [link to article] 

    EPOCH TIMES:  Turkish Court to Hear AK Party Closure on July 28

    ANKARA-Turkey’s highest court will hold a final hearing in a case to close the governing AK Party for suspected Islamist activities on July 28, a court official said on Tuesday. The Constitutional Court’s verdict, nervously watched by financial markets, could be announced on the same day or soon after. Eleven judges will vote and seven votes in favour are needed to shut down the ruling party. The AK Party is on trial on charges of trying to introduce Islamic rule in Turkey, a predominantly Muslim but officially secular state. A chief prosecutor also wants to bar Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan, President Abdullah Gul and 69 leading AK Party figures from party membership for five years on charges of seeking to introduce Islamic sharia law in Turkey. [link to article]
     
    AP:  Turkish Cypriot leader hopes for Cyprus reunification talks in September
     
    ISTANBUL, Turkey: The leader of Turks in Cyprus says he hopes talks on possible reunification of the divided island will start in September. In a live interview on CNN-Turk television, Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat says: “I think these negotiations will start in September.” Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias and Talat will meet on July 25 to assess progress in preparatory negotiations and to decide when to restart direct peace talks. The last such talks were held four years ago. The Mediterranean island was split in 1974, when Turkey invaded after an Athens-backed coup aimed at union with Greece. The breakaway Turkish Cypriot north is only recognized by Turkey. [link to article] 

    AP:  Emre Belozoglu moves to Fenerbahce on four-year contract from Newcastle

    ISTANBUL, Turkey: Turkey midfielder Emre Belozoglu signed a four-year contract with Fenerbahce on Wednesday. Fenerbahce announced in May that it had agreed an undisclosed transfer fee with Premier League club Newcastle for Emre, but the signing of the contract was delayed due to the European Championship in Austria and Switzerland. Emre only played one game in five at Euro 2008 due to a leg injury as Turkey reached the semifinals. “I worked for many years to represent Turkish football in Europe,” Emre said. “Now, I’m happy to sign with Fenerbahce and I hope to serve them for many years.” Fenerbahce didn’t announce how much Emre would be paid, but television station NTV reported that he will receive an annual salary of €3.5 million (US$5.25 million). The 27-year-old midfielder transferred to Newcastle from Inter Milan in 2005. [link to article]
     
    TRAVEL POD:  It’s Istanbul Not Constantinople

    Flying into Istanbul was the start of an amazing realization of the size of this city. We were directly over the city 30 minutes prior to landing, and we still appeared to be in dense urban sprawl 30 minutes later at landing. The sheer awe and astonishment at the size of this city continued as we drove 70 kilometers on a coach to the city center. The entire 70 km drive was through city as densly populated as downtown San Francisco. Istanbul is by far the largest city either of us have been in. Its population is well over 16 million in the city limits proper and well over 20 milion in the metro area. [link to article]

     

     
  • Kurds ask for US bases to be built near Iran border

    Kurds ask for US bases to be built near Iran border

    As part of a long-term security agreement with Iraq, US forces could be stationed in Kurdistan. [sic.]

    The Iraqi government and the head of northern Iraq’s regional Kurdish administration, Massoud Barzani, have suggested to military officials that US forces be permanently based in Kurdistan. [sic.]

    Mr Barzani has said a permanent US military presence in the Kurdistan region would defend Iraq from internal and external risks.

    On hearing the request, US Democratic Presidential candidate Barack Obama said it would be appropriate to redeploy US troops there in the future.

    Mr Obama is known to believe troops stationed in the Kurdistan [sic.] area are not in any great danger.

    There are currently no US airbases in Kurdistan, [sic.] although there are two Air Force facilities in neighbouring provinces.

    The US military has denied any intention of building a US air base, but Kurdish sources have said if the US military decides to establish a permanent presence it will be closer to the Iraqi-Iranian border.

    Source: BirminghamStar.com, 22nd July, 2008

  • Armenian spy killed on Azerbaijan border, says Baku

    Armenian spy killed on Azerbaijan border, says Baku

    20 July 2008 | 00:54 | FOCUS News Agency

    BAKU. Azerbaijani soldiers overnight killed a suspected Armenian intelligence agent who tried to cross the border, Azerbaijan’s defence ministry said Saturday in a statement.

    The incident occurred in a village in Azerbaijan’s north-western Tovuz region, the ministry said, adding that two other intelligence agents fled.

    Armenia and Azerbaijan remain locked in a tense stand-off over the enclave of Nagorny Karabakh, where ethnic Armenian forces took control during a war in the early 1990s that killed thousands and forced nearly a million people on both sides to flee their homes.

    A ceasefire was signed between the two former Soviet republics in 1994 but the dispute remains unresolved after more than a decade of negotiations, and shootings are common. Up to 16 soldiers were killed in a clash last month.

    Nagorny-Karabakh is a 4,400-square-kilometre (1,700-square-mile) enclave surrounded by Azerbaijan.

    Source: www.focus-fen.net, 20 July 2008

  • Armenians for Obama”

    Armenians for Obama”

    Armenians for Obama” isimli kampanya çerçevesinde Colorado, Washington, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Texas, California, Michigan, Pennsylvania, Washington DC ve New York eyaletlerinde düzenlenmesi öngörülen „grassroots” toplantılarına ilişkin olarak 17 Temmuz tarihinde  „Asbarez”de yayımlanan „Armenians For Obama to Host Nationwide Platform Meetings” başlıklı haberin metni :
     
     sgurbuz@aol.com
     
     „LOS ANGELES, CA – Armenians for Obama announced this week that it has organized grassroots platform meetings throughout the country aimed at including domestic and international issues of interest to the Armenian American community within the Democratic Party’s platform to be approved at the Democratic National Convention in August.
     
    The meetings will take place in Lakewood, CO; Seattle, WA; Gallup, NM; Las Vegas, NV; Portland, OR; Houston, TX; Austin, TX; and Glendale, CA in the Western United States, and in Dearborn, MI; Philadelphia, PA; Washington, DC; and New York, NY on the Eastern part of the country. For more information on the platform hearings, Armenians for Obama, or getting involved, please email: info@armeniansforobama.com.
     
    Those attending the platform meetings will discuss the possible inclusion of US recognition for the Armenian Genocide, the right to self-determination of the people of Nagorno-Karabakh and lifting the Turkish blockade of Armenia. Participants will also address the war in Iraq, the troubled U.S. economy, and rising cost of healthcare.
     
    “The Bush Administration has failed the Armenian-American community on a wide range of issues, especially its continued complicity in the denial of the Armenian Genocide, but also its opposition to a broad array of foreign policy and domestic issues of concern to Americans of Armenian heritage,” said Areen Ibranossian, Chairman of Armenians for Obama.
     
    “Including issues of special concern to Armenian Americans in the Democratic Party Platform, such as the need to end the cycle of genocide, will play a vital role in energizing this highly motivated and networked community to tip the scales for Barack Obama this November in battleground states such as Nevada, Virginia, Colorado, and Michigan”, added Ibranossian.
     
    “In the upcoming election, we have an historic opportunity to elect a President who offers a fundamental change from the failed policies of the last seven year,” explained Ibranossian.
     
    In January, Sen. Obama issued a strong statement to the Armenian American community calling for passage of Armenian Genocide legislation and pledging to end U.S. complicity in Turkey’s denial of that crime against humanity.  “The facts are undeniable,” stated Sen. Obama in his January 19 statement. “An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.”
     
    He has made subsequent statements in support of US recognition of the Armenian Genocide both publicly and privately during meetings with Armenian-American community representatives.
     
    Last month, Obama submitted questions on the Armenian Genocide to Marie Yovanovitch, President Bush’s nominee to be U.S. Ambassador to Armenia. The Senator serves on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which must confirm Yovanovitch before she can assume her post in Yerevan.
     
    While on a fact-finding mission to Azerbaijan, Sen. Obama openly criticized the Turkish and Azeri blockades of Armenia and urged the two nations to open their borders with the land-locked country.
     
    Armenians for Obama is a nationwide voter registration, education, and mobilization effort dedicated to electing Barack Obama President. Based in Los Angeles, and with chapters and affiliates in all 50 States, Armenians for Obama will harness the energy and enthusiasm for Barack Obama’s candidacy to ensure record high Armenian American turnout in critical battleground states. „
  • Islam gains momentum after 9/11

    Islam gains momentum after 9/11

    In a recent interview with the BBC, British Home Secretary Jackoi Smith made some interesting observations about the unimaginable rapid spread of Islam in Europe.

    Islam, choicest religion in EU – 21 / 07 / 2008 12:49

    According to Smith, around 50,000 Britons are converting to Islam each year and since 2001, 400,000 Britons have converted to Islam.

    He said the Muslim population in Britain has reached 2 million and followers of Islam are now the second biggest population in Britain after Christians.

    He even suggested setting up an Islamic University in Britain given the overwhelming population of the Muslims in that country.

    The momentum and intensity with which Islam is spreading in the West has puzzled the policy makers, religious scholars, researchers and media there.

    The conversions have especially gained unimaginable momentum after 9/11. Most of the researchers believe that the fast erosion of the religious and cultural values in the Western societies is pushing its people towards Islam that offers a more comprehensive, well-knit and value-oriented cultural, social and family structure.

    According to a recent report in the prestigious Time magazine, hundreds of new mosques are coming up in the West and most of the European cities now get to hear Azan (call for prayer) five times a day.

    In Rome a grand mosque is coming up at a whopping cost of $30 million for which the land has been donated by the local government.

    According to Dr Mehmood Siddiqi Saidi, Director, European Muslim Minority Board, while as per a recent UN report the Muslim population in Europe is 21 million, in actual it could be around 50 million.

     As per the data available at islamicpopulation.com, in 2006 the Muslim population in Europe, including Russia, was around 50.70 million.

    With the increase in Muslim population in Europe, the number of mosques and Islamic centers is also growing speedily.

    While in Britain there were only 13 mosques in 1963, at present there are 600 mosques and 1400 Islamic organizations in the country.

    France, with a population of 6 million Muslims, has 1300 mosques and Islamic centers in addition to around 600 Islamic organizations. The Muslims in France have a 24-hour radio channel. The estimated population of Muslims in France would reach around 8 million during the next 15 years.

    Italy has a population of 1 million Muslims with 450 mosques and Islamic centers. According to reputed Italian magazine The Journal, in next 200 years the European society would almost entirely accept Islam as the only religion.

    Germany has a Muslim population of 4 million with 1400 mosques and Islamic centers. The Muslim population ration in Germany is around 4 per cent.

    In Canada the conversion rate to Islam has been almost 130 percent between 1991 and 2001.

    In Switzerland around 6000 Christians converted to Islam after 9/11.

    According to San Diego University researcher Jan Wax, by 2020, out of every four persons in Europe, one would be a Muslim.

    The ratio of Muslim youth (between 45 and 50% of the Muslims) to EU youth is between 16 and 20%.

     In other words, in a few years Muslims will constitute 16 to 20% of the European workforce, and could therefore influence policies and decision-making.

    Albania has proportionally the largest Muslim population in all of Europe, with the exception of Turkey, which is situated at the crossroads of Europe and Asia.

    According to the most recent census results, Albania’s Muslim population is estimated at 2.2 million, or 70% of the country’s total population.

    Although Albania was officially an atheist society during the Communist period, and all public expression of religious beliefs was banned, today most Albanians are practicing Muslims.

    Following Albania, Bosnia-Herzegovina has proportionally the second largest Muslim population in Europe, with 40% of Bosnians, or 1.5 million people, who practice Islam.

     In Western Europe, France is followed by the Netherlands, which has over 945,000 Muslims, making up 5% of the population.

  • Turkish, Kazakh cities twin

    Turkish, Kazakh cities twin

    ALMATY. July 15. KAZINFORM. Businessmen of the Turkish Bursa city will visit Kapchagay region of Kazakhstan on 18 July to study investment opportunities. At the same time, the Kazakh culture days will be held in Bursa city, Dariga Isgendergizi, the deputy chairman of Turkic Nations Culture Foundation, which operates in Kazakhstan, told Trend News. At the Foundation’s initiative, a cooperation agreement was signed between Bursa city of Turkey and Kapchagay city of Almaty region of Kazakhstan a month ago.

    The Kazakh delegation will visit Turkish Republic of North Cyprus at the end of July to organize a scientific conference on ‘Future of Turkic World’ at the Cyprus University, Kazinform cites corr. Trend News R.Meshedihasanli.

    Source: inform.kz, 15 July 2008