 Turkish Prime Minister Recep Erdogan’s hysterical outburst at Armenia’s President last week had the salutary effect of publicizing to a worldwide audience Armenian territorial demands from Turkey!
By distorting and exaggerating Pres. Serzh Sargsyan’s remarks to a group of schoolchildren in Dsaghgatsor, Armenia, on July 23, Erdogan created a gigantic mountain out of a molehill! Anyone who reads the Armenian President’s actual words would find it hard to believe that they could be the cause of Erdogan’s foaming at the mouth!
Krikor Hampartsumian, a Shahumian Middle School student from the Ararat Region, asked Pres. Sargsyan: “…I would be interested in knowing whether our future would be reminiscent of a German diplomat’s description of the Batum Agreement — they gave us enough room to swim in Lake Sevan, but not enough room to dry up — or a future that would see the return of Western Armenia along with Ararat?”
Pres. Sargsyan calmly responded: “It all depends on you and your generation. I believe my generation fulfilled its task when it was necessary in the early 1990’s to defend a part of our homeland — Karabagh — from enemies. We were able to do that…. My point is that each generation has its own task, and it must be able to carry it out, and carry it out well. If you and your peers spare no effort, and if those older and younger than you act the same way, we will have one of the best countries in the world. Trust me, a country’s clout is not always measured by its land mass. The country should be modern, secure, and prosperous. These are prerequisites that allow a nation to sit along with prominent, strong, and reputed nations of the world. We should all fulfill our duties, be active, industrious, and engage in good deeds. And we can accomplish that very easily. It would not be the first time in our history that we achieve it. I have no doubts about it, and I don’t want you to have any doubts either. We are a nation like a Phoenix that always rises from the ashes.”
This simple exchange between the President and the young student was blown out of all proportion by Azeri and Turkish officials. Journalists in both countries tried to outdo each other in their hysterical attacks on Armenia, accusing Pres. Sargsyan of “urging Armenian youth to occupy Mt. Ararat and Eastern Turkey.” Insulting adjectives were hurled at Armenia’s President by Turkey’s Prime Minister Erdogan, Deputy Prime Minister Bulent Arinch, Minister Egemen Bagis, Pres. Ilham Aliyev of Azerbaijan, and the Foreign Ministries of both countries. To incite the masses, protests were organized in Turkish cities where photographs of Pres. Sargsyan were burned!
Incredibly, Erdogan had the audacity of demanding an apology from Pres. Sargsyan. The Turkish Prime Minister’s score on failed demands for apology from the leaders of Israel, Germany, and Armenia now stands at 3 to 0. Erdogan should not hold his breath waiting for Armenia to apologize! Before making such an outrageous demand, Turkish leaders must first apologize for the 1.5 million victims of the Armenian Genocide, and return all confiscated Armenian properties, including Western Armenia and Mt. Ararat, as suggested by this erudite student who deserves to be honored by Armenian organizations as a role model for the young generation.
What was the real cause of the Turkish and Azeri hysteria? Did Erdogan have a bad translator or simply bad intentions? It is probably the latter. He delivered his outrageous remarks while standing next to Pres. Aliyev during a press conference in Baku last week. Erdogan may have wanted to impress his “junior brother” with his anti-Armenian zeal and provide a false justification to the international community for not keeping his word on the Armenia-Turkey Protocols and refusing to open the border with Armenia. He may have also intended to be excessively harsh so that no Armenian official would ever again hint at territorial claims from Turkey.
This episode demonstrates that papering over historical injustices by pressuring Armenia to sign defeatist Protocols will not eliminate the deeply-held grievances of a victimized people. The Armenian-Turkish confrontation will not be resolved until justice is done to the Armenian nation. Pursuing justice is the task of all Armenians, this generation and the next. There will be no peace for Turkey without justice for Armenians!
In addition to their gratitude to the impressive youngster and Pres. Sargsyan, Armenians should be thankful to Prime Minister Erdogan for his hysterical overreaction which helped bring Armenian territorial demands to the attention of the international media and the world community!
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Category: Authors
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Erdogan Inadvertently Publicizes Armenian Territorial Claims from Turkey
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Erdogan Responds to Sarksyan’s Remarks By Backing Azerbaijan
Erdogan Responds to Sarksyan’s Remarks By Backing Azerbaijan
Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 8 Issue: 146
July 29, 2011
By: Saban Kardas
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan paid a one-day working visit to Baku, where he met the Azerbaijani President Ilham Aliyev to discuss various bilateral and regional issues. Erdogan deliberately chose Baku as the destination for his second official trip abroad, since he formed his new government after emerging victorious in the June 12 parliamentary elections. Erdogan’s first trip was paid to the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) last week. The choice of these two destinations and the messages delivered during Erdogan’s contacts reflect Erdogan’s determination to stand firm on Turkey’s traditional position on the two important foreign policy issues. In TRNC, Erdogan drew red lines by saying that Turkey would not accept the EU’s terms, and a solution to the Cyprus issue will be based on Ankara’s own priorities. In Azerbaijan, Erdogan reiterated his determination to continue with Ankara’s Baku-centered policy in the South Caucasus.
The improvement of economic ties between the two countries was a key item on the two leaders’ agenda. For his part, Aliyev highlighted the investments by Azerbaijani companies in Turkey, which has exceeded $4 billion, and added that Azerbaijan plans to invest another $6 billion in Turkey, especially in the petrochemicals industry. However, in the long-standing issue of the transit of Azerbaijani gas through Turkey to European markets, the two leaders failed to announce a breakthrough. Erdogan noted that the bureaucrats will continue to work on the remaining articles to finalize a deal, which was reached one year ago.
A concrete outcome of the visit was the announcement of the parties’ determination to hold the first meeting of the High Level Strategic Cooperation Council (HLSC) in Turkey. This form of partnership has been a new instrument, which Turkey has developed to foster its bilateral relations with neighbors and countries deemed to be strategically important. Despite the initiation of such platforms with Iraq, Syria, Greece and Russia, the delay in the conclusion of the Turkey-Azerbaijan HLSC was an issue of concern for some time. To a certain extent, it reflected the ongoing disagreements, caused by Turkey’s thwarted rapprochement efforts with Armenia. Erdogan, thus, emphasized the importance he places on holding the first HLSC, which might be interpreted as yet another sign of a thaw between Ankara and Baku.
An additional issue on which Turkey has sought a breakthrough for some time relates to Azerbaijan’s removal of visa requirements for Turkish citizens. Although Turkey unilaterally lifted visa requirements for Azerbaijani citizens and managed to sign mutual visa liberalization agreements with other countries, including Russia, a similar agreement with Azerbaijan has been on hold. During Erdogan’s Baku trip, Aliyev said that the Azerbaijani side was not ready to move to a visa-free travel regime and would need more time to complete necessary preparations (Anadolu Ajansi, July 27).
Azerbaijani-Armenian problems and the recent developments in Turkish-Armenian relations also occupied a large part of Erdogan’s agenda in Baku. On the eve of Erdogan’s departure to Baku, Armenian President Serzh Sarksyan’s remarks about Mount Ararat (located within Turkey’s borders) shocked observers. Attending the Armenian Language Olympics, Sarksyan responded to a question from an Armenian youth as saying “I think my generation has managed to fulfill its debt when it was necessary to protect the part of our Motherland, [Karabakh], from the enemies. We managed to do it. … “[Any return of historic territories in Western Armenia] all depends on you and your generation” (Hurriyet, July 26).
A statement issued by Turkish foreign ministry strongly condemned Sarksyan’s comments as “extremely irresponsible behavior,” and took them as an indication “that he does not intend to work for peace” (www.mfa.gov.tr, July 26). During his contacts in Azerbaijan, Erdogan also echoed similar messages, going as far as claiming that Sarksyan should issue an apology for his mistake (www.cnnturk.com, July 27).
More importantly, Erdogan capitalized on this development to reiterate his earlier position on the complicated relations between Turkey, Azerbaijan and Armenia. On the one hand, he defined the situation in Karabakh as one of clear occupation by Armenia, which in his view has not demonstrated a constructive attitude toward the resolution of the dispute. Erdogan found Azerbaijan’s approach to the problem constructive, and called on the international community to take the necessary steps for the resolution of the dispute.
On the other hand, Erdogan interpreted Sarksyan’s comments as indication of Armenian’s official position and criticized those who ask Turkey to take steps toward the resolution of its problems with Armenia. Turkish-Armenian normalization, which gained momentum in 2009, had to be stalled partly after Erdogan declared that Turkey would not proceed with its rapprochement unless progress was achieved in the Karabakh dispute (EDM, June 1, 2010). Some have asked Turkey to take limited steps to maintain the momentum in Turkish-Armenian normalization such as the partial opening of the border, even before a solution is reached in the Azerbaijan-Armenian disputes. Referring to these arguments, Erdogan reiterated clearly that Turkey will not proceed with the re-opening of border, before Armenia solves its problems with Azerbaijan (Cihan, July 27).
Erdogan’s reiteration of Ankara’s position was important, especially considering that it was preceded by some positive remarks from Armenian NGO leaders – in Ankara to attend a civil society dialogue – following their meeting with Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu and Foreign Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu. Reportedly, Davutoglu painted an optimistic picture, expressing his hope that the border will be eventually re-opened and Armenians might even be able to buy homes in Turkey , July 20). Indeed, this was not the first time Davutoglu expressed his determination to pursue the Turkish-Armenian normalization efforts, despite many obstacles presented by the domestic politics in both countries and the tight coupling between this process and the Karabakh issue (Today’s Zaman, September 30, 2010).
However, against the background of the failure of the Kazan summit to produce any progress on the Azerbaijan-Armenia dispute, Davutoglu has yet to formulate a genuine strategy to break the Turkey-Armenia-Azerbaijan stalemate so that he can proceed with Turkish-Armenian normalization, which would be a major victory for his “zero-problems-with-neighbors” policy. The statements by Sarksyan and Erdogan’s harsh response only add to the complexity of this already daunting task.
https://jamestown.org/program/erdogan-responds-to-sarksyans-remarks-by-backing-azerbaijan/
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Congressional Panel Urges Turkey to Return Church Properties to Christians
The House Foreign Affairs Committee adopted a strongly-worded measure on July 20, pressing Turkey to return all Christian church properties “to their rightful owners.”By an overwhelming 43-1 vote, the congressional panel adopted a sweeping amendment to the State Department’s Foreign Relations Authorization Act, urging “the Secretary of State in all official contacts with Turkish leaders and other Turkish officials to emphasize that Turkey should”:1) end all religious discrimination;2) allow the rightful church and lay owners of Christian church properties to perform religious and social services;3) return to their rightful owners all Christian churches and other places of worship, monasteries, schools, hospitals, monuments, relics, holy sites, and other religious properties, including artwork, manuscripts, vestments, vessels, and other artifacts; and4) allow the rightful church and lay owners of Christian church properties to repair all churches and other places of worship, monasteries, schools, hospitals, monuments, relics, holy sites, and other religious properties within Turkey.Despite intensive efforts by Turkey’s Ambassador in Washington, Turkish and Azerbaijani organizations, and lobbying firms hired by Ankara, almost all members of the Committee, including Turkey’s staunchest supporters, voted in favor of the amendment, dealing Turkey a devastating defeat. The single negative vote was cast by Cong. Ron Paul (R-TX) because of his isolationist ideology and not his support for Turkey!This near unanimous vote did not come as a surprise to me, as I had long advocated the passage of such a measure realizing that Members of Congress could not possibly vote against religious freedom. All fifteen Members of Congress who spoke during the hearing indicated their support for the amendment. Here are excerpts from some of their remarks:— Cong. Howard Berman (D-CA), who offered the amendment jointly with Cong. David Cicilline (D-RI), stated: “We want Turkey to return confiscated property to Christian communities and at a minimum to provide compensation for properties that can’t be recovered…. In this particular area, their [Turks’] practices for many years…have been atrocious.”— Cong. Brad Sherman (D-CA): “This amendment is urgently needed to address the vast destruction of Christian religious heritage as a result of the Turkish government’s theft, desecration, and disregard of ancient Christian holy sites and churches.”— Cong. Dan Burton (R-IN), one of the staunchest supporters of Turkey: “I do support the amendment. I do support religious freedom, and I hope that this amendment does pass.”— Cong. Gerald Connolly (D-VA), co-chair of the Turkish Congressional Caucus: “Religious freedom is a tenet of American philosophy and it is a cardinal of our American values. I look forward to supporting the language.”— Cong. Ed Royce (R-CA), co-sponsor of House Resolution 306 which formed the basis for the proposed amendment: “Turkey is identified as a country among the world’s top violators of religious freedom…. So we urge Turkey to return all confiscated church properties taken from these religions that were frankly stolen.”— Cong. Eliot Engel (D-NY): “Turkey is an ally in NATO, and we recognize that. I wish frankly that they would act more like an ally to the United States than they have lately. They really have gone astray…. Their Foreign Minister has set out a policy of Islamism and has moved away from the European Union, the West, and the United States, and has behaved very poorly frankly with the flotilla and Israel and the whole bit.”Turkey’s Ambassador to the U.S., Namik Tan, disingenuously attributed the setback suffered by his country to the work of “radical Armenians.” He must have forgotten that the Turkish government is the one paying millions of dollars to lobbying firms each year to influence Members of Congress, and that 43 out of 44 Foreign Affairs Committee members, including Turkey’s staunchest supporters, could not possibly be in the pockets of a handful of “radical Armenians.”Turkish leaders have not made a public statement after the adoption of the amendment, in order to hide this embarrassing episode. Surprisingly, Armenian government officials have not commented either on this issue. Obama administration officials have also remained silent and refrained from overt efforts to block the amendment in view of its overwhelming bipartisan support.While Armenian, Assyrian and Greek-Americans have won the first skirmish, they have not yet won the final battle. The Authorization Bill along with this amendment will next go to the full House for approval. A similar Bill has to be adopted by the Senate. A joint committee of both houses will then attempt to reconcile the differences between the two versions. Turkish lobbyists and the Obama administration still have an opportunity to remove the amendment from the larger Bill. Supporters of the amendment must remain vigilant, urging their House and Senate representatives to vote in favor of keeping the church amendment in the Authorization Bill.Even though the amendment has no legally binding effect, it is a moral victory for all those who cherish religious freedom, and a major political success for the Armenian-American community which went toe to toe against the mighty Turkish lobbying machine and dealt it a devastating blow. The amendment also exposes the alarming condition of Christian churches in Turkey, paving the way for other countries and international organizations, such as the Council of Europe and UNESCO, to support their restoration.Yet, the most effective way of forcing Turkey to return the confiscated Christian churches to their rightful owners is by filing lawsuits in the European Court of Human Rights. The Turkish government has accepted the jurisdiction of that court and has readily complied with its verdicts. -
Armenia Ready, Target 2015
Turkish foreign policy recently intensified its attention on the Arab Spring, carrying out extensive diplomatic efforts to secure an immediate resolution for the turmoil in the region. (more…)
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Turkey Recalibres Its Policy On Libya
Turkey Recalibres Its Policy On Libya
Publication: Eurasia Daily Monitor Volume: 8 Issue: 139
July 20, 2011
By: Saban Kardas
Turkey has hosted an important meeting, which marked the drastic transformation its policy on Libya has undergone. Although Turkey initially expressed strong opposition to military intervention against the Gaddafi regime, over time it adjusted its policy and managed to coordinate it with Western powers and various Muslim nations that have been working to end Gaddafi’s rule. The Libya Contact Group, bringing together these powers, held its fourth meeting in Istanbul, co-chaired by Turkey and the UAE, on July 15.
Predating the meeting, Turkey had undertaken several steps to forge closer ties with the Libyan rebels. Despite its opposition to the use of force, Ankara later agreed to the transfer of the operation to NATO command and joined the Libya Contact Group. However, Turkey’s insistence on a negotiated settlement, and its slow pace in cutting its ties with Tripoli arguably drew a wedge between Ankara and Tripoli-based National Transitional Council (NTC) (EDM, April 19).
While distancing itself from Gaddafi, Turkey progressively repaired its ties with the NTC. After joining the Contact Group, Turkey intensified its criticism against the Gaddafi administration. Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan argued that a new period was to start in the history of Libya and called on Gaddafi to relinquish power. More importantly, following the temporary closure of the Turkish embassy in Tripoli the day before, Erdogan emphasized that Turkey would continue to work with the NTC to find a political solution (www.mfa.gov.tr, May 3).
During the second meeting of the Contact Group in Rome in the same week, Turkey argued for an immediate ceasefire and insisted on a roadmap it proposed earlier in April to end the conflict (Hurriyet, May 5). However, the inability of the Contact Group to agree on determined action and the deepening of the civil war rendered Turkey’s proposal largely ineffective.
Turkey then moved toward consolidating ties with the opposition, which came in mid-May when the chairman of the NTC, Mustafa Abdul-Jalil, visited Turkey and met the president, prime minister and foreign minister. Although Turkish leaders described the NTC as a legal and credible representative of the people of Libya, they stopped short of extending official recognition. Satisfied with Turkey’s de facto recognition of their administration, Abdul-Jalil emphasized that they would discuss ways to improve trade with Turkey and how Ankara could assist the country’s reconstruction and provision of humanitarian aid. He also sought to make the case that the rebel forces held sympathy toward Turkey’s position and earlier protests against Turkey in Benghazi were due to a misunderstanding. More importantly, he said the NTC would honor all the agreements signed in the past by the Tripoli government, meaning that Turkish business investments in the country would be protected. Granted, reflecting perhaps a divergence with Turkey, Abdul-Jalil underlined the necessity of the military option to topple Gaddafi, though he avoided any request for Turkish military assistance (Anadolu Ajansi May 23; Zaman, May 25).
The real boost for Ankara’s ties with the NTC came when Davutoglu visited Benghazi. Arguing that Turkey and Libya shared the same destiny, he extended support to the Benghazi administration by describing it as the legitimate representative of the country, and adding that Turkey would soon appoint an ambassador to Benghazi. At the same time, Davutoglu made a commitment to provide $100 million in project credit and $100 million in cash credit, in addition to the $100 million Turkey previously provided. Davutoglu reiterated Turkey’s call for a roadmap, based on an immediate ceasefire, delivery of humanitarian assistance, an end to Gaddafi’s rule, and maintenance of Libya’s unity, and argued that a ceasefire should be established before the beginning of Muslim holy month of Ramadan (Anadolu Ajansi, July 3).
The Turkish government also took a major step, by issuing a decree to freeze the assets of Gaddafi and his family in Turkey, imposing a ban on their entry into Turkey, and opening the way for seizing the control of Arab-Turkish Bank which was partly owned by Libyan Foreign Bank. The decree also spelled out other measures to implement the arms embargo in line with the UN Security Council Resolution (Radikal, July 3). Mahmoud Jibril, the NTC’s spokesman on foreign affairs, paid a visit to Turkey to finalize the loan deal, where he also requested that Ankara grant access to the frozen assets. The Turkish side, however, declined to unfreeze the assets, citing the existing UN resolutions (Hurriyet Daily News, July 6).
Ahead of the Contact Group meeting in Istanbul, Davutoglu reiterated the need to reach a truce before Ramadan, while arguing that the Turkish proposal would constitute the basis for discussions. Although Ankara also extended an invitation to China and Russia, they declined to attend, arguing that the issue should be handled in the UN Security Council (Sabah, July 14). In his address at the opening of the meeting, Davutoglu expressed support for NTC’s request for the release of $3 billion from the frozen assets and its equal distribution in Tripoli and Benghazi (www.mfa.gov.tr, July 15).
While recognizing the NTC as the legitimate governing authority in Libya until an interim authority is set in place, the contact group took various decisions to aid the political transition, and assist the NTC in political, economic, financial and administrative fields. For instance, the final declaration urged participants to “open credit lines to the NTC corresponding to 10 percent to 20 percent of the frozen assets by accepting them as collateral” (www.mfa.gov.tr, July 15).
Although the conclusions outlined a roadmap for the political transition after the end of Gaddafi’s rule and decided to heighten pressure on Tripoli, the meeting failed to present clear answers as to how the current military stalemate will be overcome. Likewise, despite the incorporation of some of the elements from Turkey’s own roadmap, there was no decision to halt military operations in Ramadan. Granted, the process leading from the outbreak of the crisis in Libya to the holding of the Contact Group meeting in Istanbul reflects the high degree of flexibility on the part of Turkey. More importantly, it demonstrates Ankara’s determination to work closely with the United States, as was reflected by the warm welcome US Secretary of State Hillary Clinton received from Turkish leaders during her stay in Turkey.
https://jamestown.org/program/turkey-recalibres-its-policy-on-libya/
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Rare and Unusual WWII Photographs
For all photography and history buffs, these are incredible photos !!!
VERY RARE & Unusual WWII Photographs
Where have these pics been hiding for the past 65 years?
Japanese Kawanishi H8K seaplane after strafing. Kwajalein
Squad of Rufe’s at Bougainville . These things were very nimble even with the pontoons.
The A6M2-N float plane version of the Zero did extremely well, suffering only a small loss in its legendary maneuverability. Top speed was not affected, however, the aircraft’s relatively light armament was a detriment.
Snow on deck. USS Philippine Sea North Pacific 1945
HARVS on the way in shot by a P-47. Rare shot. Deck crew climbing up to get the pilot out. He did. That’s a fuel tank his foot is on. Empty? Marines disembark LST at Tinian Island.
Bougainville.
Guam
Outside Bastogne
German 280mm K5 firing U.S. munitions ship goes up during the invasion of Sicily. V1 Spitfire “tipping-off” a V1. If you’ve never heard of this insane tactic ……. At first V1’s were shot down by gunfire. Optimum range was inside 200yds, which was marginal for survival. Many planes were damaged and quite a few pilots killed. Basically at such high speed and low altitude a plane had to fly though the explosion and hope. With the high risk of being blown up some of the best pilots started tipping the V1’s wing, because of damage to wing tips they later developed a tactic of disrupting the aitflow by placing their wing very close to the V1’s wing, causing it to topple.
Not every pilot did this. At night this was not possible, the flame from the V1 blinded the pilot to everything else, though some Mossie pilots flew past closely in front of the V1, again causing it to topple. The thought of doing this at 450mph, 4,000 feet above the ground, at night and being blinded gives me the willies. Panzerkampfwagen VI “E Tiger” Ju 88 loading a torpedo. This is one HUGE bomber … and it’s on pontoons!!!! German “KARL” mortars. Sebastopol Reloading a KARL BOOM! Macchi 202v
Italian 303 Bombers over N Africa
See more pictures below!!
PICTURES TAKEN 69 YRS AGO & LEFT IN A BROWNIE ARE REAL INTERESTING.
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(December 7, 1941)
Isn’t it amazing how a film could last so long in a camera without disintegrating?
Fantastic photos taken 69 years ago. Some of you will have to go to a museum to
see what a Brownie box camera looked like?
Here is a simple picture of what we are talking about. . .
These photos are absolutely incredible…..Read below, the first picture and at the end…
PHOTOS STORED IN AN OLD BROWNIE CAMERA
Thought you might find these photos very interesting; what quality from 1941. These Pearl Harbor photos
were found in an old Brownie stored in a foot locker and just recently taken to be developed. They are from
a Sailor who was on the USS Quapaw ATF-110.
PEARL HARBOR
December 7th, 1941