Category: Authors

Could U.S.-Turkey Relations Deteriorate?

US President Joe Biden remarked while attending the NATO Summit in Madrid on June 30, “We should sell them [Turkey] the F-16 jets and modernize those jets as well. It’s not in our interest not to do that.” His statement sparked American anti-Turkey organizations to take action. In a scandalous letter signed by 35 members of the US Congress, these lobbies asked President Biden “Not to sell F-16s to Turkey”. We are not surprised by those anti-Turkish actions, but it is wrong to hand over control of the floor to these masters of misinformation.

The US’s policies in the Balkans, the Sea of Islands, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, the Caspian Region, the Caucasus, and the Black Sea Region are all dependent on Turkey, indispensable ally and strategic partner of the US. Now let’s talk about whether the US administration will be influenced by these lobbies. Turkey is the main player. President Biden, as well as the Pentagon, will not allow those provocations to jeopardise US’s regional interests. For political reasons, Greece is no longer as significant to the US as it once was. The Greek lobby’s anger is actually a tear of frustration.

I believe that the fact that 37 more nations together with the United States in taking part in the EFES-2022 military exercise in the Sea of Islands shows how significant Turkey is as a regional power. Events like the demise of anti-Turkey organizations, which were once elevated to the status of American allies in the Middle East, and the subsequent loss of this position, as well as the emergence of the global food and energy crisis with the Ukraine-Russia war that marked the year 2022, seriously exposed Turkey’s regional value in terms of the establishment of regional peace and the transfer of grain and energy to neighboring countries. How strongly US regional interests are connected to Turkey may be shown by the US Department of Defense’s funding for the upgrading of Turkey’s F-16 fleet.

Despite these facts, it is inevitable that the center of gravity within the Western bloc will start to move if US President Biden cannot persuade the US Congress and the sale of new F-16s to Turkey cannot be realized. It is obvious that the US will lose a significant amount of strength in the region if it loses the Incirlik airbase and electronic listening facility, the Kürecik Air Defense system, the Sinop regional listening facilities, and notably Turkey as an ally as a result of the lobbying.

The center shift refers to the US ceding control of regional administration in NATO and Europe to other nations. This change could manifest itself, for instance, when Turkey and Britain’s military and commercial ties grow. The western bloc’s US-centric center could start to move eastward towards Europe. Most significantly, this might shatter Ankara’s long-standing trust in Washington. In other words, when the US’s relationship with Turkey, a regional power, breaks down, the country’s already waning influence in the Balkans, the Eastern Mediterranean, the Middle East, and the Caucasus will reach a breaking point.

In conclusion, the United States must now pick a side.

Is it Turkey, the country, when USA is in need, offers a spoonful of honey by saying we’re allies, man!. Or the weak, unimportant nations like Armenia, Greece, and the Greek Cypriot Administration that no longer hold any regional significance?

I am confident that, in the end, common sense will prevail and President Biden and his administration will not be swayed by these masters of misinformation who are solely supported by lobbying.

Prof. Dr. (Civ. Eng), Assoc. Prof. Dr. (Int. Rel.) Ata Atun

Dean, Cyprus Science University

Politicial Advisor to the President of the State

July 14, 2022
Armenian news outlet cannot resist fakery

Ferruh Demirmen, Ph.D.

Public Radio of Armenia, one of the largest broadcasters in Armenia, and which also acts as a news outlet on the Internet, evidently cannot resist fakery as it advocates “Armenian genocide.” In its March 15, 2021 edition, the news outlet featured the assassination of Mehmet Talaat Pasha, the Ottoman Minister of Interior Affairs, on March 15, 1921 in Berlin by a young Armenian named Soghomon Tehlirian. The news outlet used the anniversary of the assassination as an opportunity for a propaganda hit to publicize “Armenian genocide.”

But as revealed by this author, the news coverage exposed a shameful fakery.

Fig. 1 shows how the headline appeared when the article was first published on March 15, 2021.

The headline was a fraudulent reproduction of the headline of the news coverage by the Berlin (March 15) and New York (March 16) offices of The New York Times. There was no resemblance between the fake headline and the actual Times headlines.

Most notable, was that the fake headline contained the word “genocide” – a term that did not exist until the Polish lawyer Raphael Lemkin coined it in 1944. The Times headlines of the Berlin and New York offices did not contain the word “genocide.”

The fakery prompted this author to write to the Times on March 23, 2021 to inform the newspaper of the fakery by providing the images of the actual and faked headlines. It was left to the judgment of the newspaper as to whether to take action vis-a-vis the fakery, including a stern warning or legal action, if need be. At the very least, Public Radio of Armenia had deceived its readers and breached journalistic ethics The newspaper did not respond.

This is where the situation stood until this author happened to re-visit the same news coverage around June 1 (2022): . Most surprisingly, although the news Internet link had not changed, the headline had changed as shown in Fig. 2.

The fake headline had disappeared, and there was no explanation as to the reason. One explanation for the change was that the Times had contacted the publisher and demanded correction, possibly under threat of a lawsuit.

The other explanation is that the publisher took note of this author’s Diplomatic Observer article and took its own initiative.

However, there was more surprise. When the same news coverage was visited around end-June (2022) through the same Internet link, both the fake (Fig.1) and the corrected headline (Fig. 2) appeared. The publisher somehow could not resist re-invigorating the fake headline.

The over-all impression was that, the publisher was simply making mockery of the truth, and playing games with the readers. One wonders whether the Times is aware of such disrespectful behavior.

But the bigger question is: Why did Public Radio of Armenia resort to the shameful deception in the first place? Deception by Armenian sources as to the alleged “Armenian genocide” is not new, e.g., the “Andonian telegrams,” the “Hitler quote,” the “pyramids of human skulls,” the ECtHR Switzerland-Perinçek “victory verdict,” and the alleged Subatan (Kars) massacre, which in fact is the savagery inflicted by Armenian militants on Muslim civilians. Evidently the best way to propagandize a falsified “Armenian genocide” is through fake news!

July 11, 2022
UN and Cyprus Issue Resolution

The draft report that Guterres provided to the parties on the extension of the UN Peacekeeping Force’s mandate in Cyprus differs from previous Greek and pro-Greek reports in terms of content, language, and methodology.

This time, the report bears little resemblance to earlier rulings regarding Cyprus and the UN’s guidelines. The previously agreed-upon solution to the Cyprus issue is not mentioned. In other words, no mention has ever been made of the bi-communal and bi-zonal Federation.

The negotiations that ended in Crans Montana in 2017 were delayed from starting because to the maximalist demands of Greek Cypriot leader Anastasiades. It seems UN Secretary-General Guterres is still unsure on how to restart talks. The negotiations, which were started in 1977 with the goal of “Federation,” seem to have been abandoned by the UN Secretary-General. The “two-state solution based on sovereign equality in Cyprus” is gaining support from the Republic of Turkey and TRNC President Ersin Tatar.

What is novel is that Turkey’s demand for NATO nations to adopt the TRNC is also being debated behind closed doors as talks on Sweden and Finland’s entrance to the alliance continue.

At every chance, Greece and the Greek Cypriot side have exercised their veto power against Turkey’s membership in and relations with the EU. It’s a recent development now that Turkey has established its use of its “veto power” within NATO as regular and acceptable. It is also interesting to note that Britain, the Republic of Cyprus’ third guarantor in 1960, viewed this matter favourably as well.

The informal report on the Goodwill Mission of the UN Secretary-General and the extension of UNFICYP’s mission will be reviewed on July 18 and released at the end of the month.

The negotiations came to a standstill in 2017 at Crans Montana because to the maximalist demands made by the Greek Cypriot side. The Greek Cypriot side will now, as usual, voice objections to the draft report, attempt to alter its content, and lay responsibility on Turkey. The report will therefore primarily represent their preferences. The Turkish side won’t accept the report.

This is the reason why it has taken so long to find a solution to the Cyprus issue: The fact that the Greek Cypriots do not want a solution, that they prevent a solution by using every opportunity, that they believe that they own the island and that the Turkish Cypriots are a minority. And last, the Enosis, a utopic vision of the Hellenic world that Cyprus should annex to Greece.

As you can see, it is impossible to reach a deal with this utopic ideals of the Greek Cypriots, regardless of who takes office in the TRNC and Southern Cyprus.

Prof. Dr. (Civ. Eng), Assoc. Prof. Dr. (Int. Rel.) Ata Atun

Dean, Cyprus Science University

Politicial Advisor to the President of the State

July 11, 2022
Armenian Officials Discourage Diasporans From Sending Aid to Armenia

Just when you think you have come across every oddity in Armenia, someone will surprise you with a brand new one. Let we warn you that this problem has nothing to do with internal politics. It has to do with incompetent, careless, and sometimes, corrupt officials whose unacceptable conduct has been going on for over 30 years in Armenia.

I received last week an email from Kevork Yazedjian, a scholar and activist in Armenia. He described his frustration and anger at an objectionable incident that he had just experienced. He addressed his email to Prime Minister Nikol Pashinyan, the Head of the State Income Committee, and the High Commissioner of Diaspora Affairs of Armenia. Kevork sent copies of his email to hundreds of Armenians in and out of Armenia to alert them and seek their intervention.

The problem started on June 27 when Kevork along with his sister and her husband went to the State Income Committee’s office to pick up Armenian books sent from the United States by Vahakn Kupelian who had shipped 78 copies of his mother’s, Siran Seza’s (1903-1973), two novels. Kupelian had asked Kevork to donate the books to libraries throughout Armenia and Artsakh. When the government official, Mr. Sahakyan, saw multiple copies of the two books, he became suspicious that Kevork was going to sell them. Sahakyan wrote a memo to the Customs Officers at the Yerevan airport, asking them to evaluate the price of these books and charge Kevork the corresponding import duty.

Once at the Customs Office, Kevork was shocked when five officials, after consulting with each other, told him that copies of the two novels will be sent to the National Security Service (NSS) to inspect their contents! Kevork wondered if censorship of books was part of NSS duties. He was concerned that by the time NSS employees finished reading the two novels, he could be asked to pay a large amount for storage fees. Disgusted by this violation of free speech in a “democratic country,” Kevork told the Customs officials that they can have the books.

After he sent several letters of protest to various officials, Kevork received on June 30 an unexpected phone call from Sahakyan, who asked him to come over so he can give him the books. When he arrived at the office the next day, Sahakyan was not there, but his boss received Kevork with utmost courtesy, saying that he had gotten many complaints about this case which had embarrassed him in front of the whole world. The Chief Customs Officer also claimed that his office had sent several pages of the novels to the National Security Service, asking them to review them urgently. The NSS had supposedly replied that there are no national security issues in the two novels. The first book, “Shattered Lives,” was published in 2015 and the second one, “Book of Genesis,” in 2019.

Given this frustrating experience and his serious interest in Armenian literature, Kevork has come up with a new proposal, asking the government to facilitate the transfer of Armenian books and periodicals to Armenia through diplomatic pouch by Armenia’s Embassies and Consulates overseas.

There is a second more shocking example of Armenian officials’ gross negligence which had serious medical and diplomatic repercussions.

After the Artsakh War of 2020, on Dec. 12, 2020 and January 9, 2021, the Armenian Relief Society (ARS) of Greece collected urgently needed humanitarian aid which was flown to Armenia by two Greek military planes. A small part of the cargo was released shortly after its arrival and distributed by the ARS. More than a year later, however, it was discovered that the bulk of the aid was still at the Customs’ warehouse at the Yerevan Airport. After several letters of complaints which had remained unanswered, Armenia’s recently-appointed Ambassador to Greece, Tigran Mkrtchyan, responded on June 28, 2022, with troubling news: While the ARS humanitarian aid was finally cleared from Customs, “due to the expiration of the items [medicines], part of the cargo had to be destroyed.”

Amb. Mkrtchyan was answering the Greek Armenian community’s letters sent to Prime Minister Pashinyan and other officials on Dec. 14, 2020 and February 7, 2022.

The urgently dispatched medicines were supposed to save the lives of Armenian soldiers wounded during the 2020 war. Who will be held responsible for the loss of the lives of the soldiers who were deprived of these medicines? Furthermore, has the Armenian government sent a letter of apology to the Greek government for the lengthy delay in releasing and destroying a part of the urgently flown medicines to Armenia? Greece may not be as responsive next time there is a medical emergency in Armenia. Besides Armenia’s utter negligence in clearing the cargo, the ARS did not even get a reply to its two letters until 18 months later!

This is a prime example of gross negligence. Regrettably, no Armenian official was held responsible for this scandalous behavior and no one was fired!

No good deed goes unpunished in Armenia!

July 5, 2022
Who is the Revisionist?

The Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiadis has sent a message to the vice-president of Turkiye, Fuat Oktay, regarding his speech released after the graduation ceremony of a university in the TRNC in which he said: “Turkiye and the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus do not want to make any concessions.” Nikos Anastasiadis said it is out of the question to go along with those following revisionist policies.

Would you cry or laugh at Nikos Anastasiadis, who considers himself to be the only and absolute leader of Cyprus? Almost as if they themselves are innocent and Turkiye is the revisionist in the area!

But what is revisionism? In international politics, revisionism is generally understood to be a need to change or alter the existing international order (status quo). Despite the fact that it may seem like a novel concept, its use in the Cyprus issue contains on purpose negativity.

For example, Makarios, the Archbishop of the Greek Orthodox Church of Cyprus and the first President of the Republic of Cyprus in 1960, was a complete revisionist, and his whole dream was to fulfill the “Megali Ideal” and to become a hero of the Hellenic History. Although he was a clergyman, he never hesitated in exterminating and burning down Turkish Cypriot homes and villages for the sake of the Megali Idea.

You know what the Megali Idea is. Greek’s long-term goal was to revive the Eastern Roman (Byzantine) Empire by establishing Constantinople as its Capital, assuming control of the lands formerly controlled by Byzantium in the lonian Sea in the west, Asia Minor, and the Black Sea in the east, Thrace, Macedonia and Epirus in the north, Crete and Cyprus in the south and assuring its prosperity and stability. The map was released by Rigas Ferreros in 1796, showing the dreamed territories of this idea, which had been first mentioned in 1791. The all the articles in the content of the idea are literally “Revisionist”. For instance, article 8 claims to annex Cyprus to Greece.

Nikos Anastasiadis, the leader of the Hellenic Nationalist Greek movement, and Makarios’ apprentice likely forgot what they done to the Turkish Cypriots. The inhuman wild extermination and massacre of the Turkish Cypriots. Between 1963 and 1974, Turkish Cypriot villages, homes, residential areas, grain, animals, and flocks were burned and pillaged. By intervening, Turkiye put a halt to this inhumane killing and extermination of Turkish Cypriots on July 20, 1974. There would not currently be any Turkish Cypriots residing in Cyprus if Turkiye hadn’t stepped in.

Greek leader Nikos Anastasiadis makes a flimsy accusation and appears to have forgotten what they, the Greek Cypriots did to Turkish Cypriots a few years prior. Pontificating and attempting to cast Turkiye as the only culprit responsible for the Cyprus problem.

I would advise Greek Cypriot leader Nikos Anastasiadis to read the Ortega Report, which was issued by a UN delegation sent to Cyprus on an official fact-finding mission in 1964. The number of brutally killed innocent and vulnerable Turkish Cypriots, the number of burned, wrecked, erased, and knocked down Turkish Cypriot villages, and the loss of Turkish Cypriots are all detailed in this report, along with relevant photographs.

If we are going to go over the Confidence Building Measures, I would like to ask the Greek leader, Mr. Anastasiadis, what Confidence Building Measures they have implemented, which were discussed at the negotiation tables during the presidential eras of Mr. Mehmet Ali Talat and Mr. Mustafa Akinci.

We have not forgotten the Greek’s propaganda skills, which were successful enough to erase the blood shed in the past in order to annex Cyprus to Greece from the minds of Greek Cypriots and Greeks.

First, account for the crimes you committed in the past, the massacres you committed, and the families you exterminated in order to annex the island to Greece, and then, if you still feel like an innocent angel, send a message to the authorities of Turkiye, our motherland, who saved us from genocide and is still saving us from possible armed attacks by Greek Cypriots, and who is giving us full support to survive without the fear we experienced during 1963-1974.

Yes, if they address you!

Prof. Dr. (Civ. Eng.), Assoc. Prof. Dr. (Int. Relt.) Ata ATUN

Dean, Cyprus Science University

Political Advisor to the President of the TRNC

July 1, 2022
After a Century, Bankrupt Turkey Wasting Huge Sums to Deny the Armenian Genocide

Turkish government’s denial of the Armenian Genocide is as futile as a man who repeatedly hits his head against the wall, hoping the wall would give way.

For more than a century, successive Turkish governments have done everything in their power to cover up the heinous crime of the Armenian Genocide committed by their predecessors. No Turkish leader has had the courage and honesty to admit the truth. Instead, Turkey has wasted huge sums of money to deny the undeniable. It has bribed questionable scholars and crooked politicians around the world to distort the historical facts. Ankara has published hundreds of deceptive books and made several trashy movies to cover up its crimes. Over several decades, Turkey has spent tens of millions of dollars to hire American lobbying firms to pressure the U.S. Congress not to acknowledge the Armenian Genocide. All of these efforts failed miserably. The U.S. House of Representatives recognized the Armenian Genocide in 1975, 1984 and 2019. The U.S. Senate unanimously recognized it in 2019. Moreover, two U.S. Presidents acknowledged it: Pres. Ronald Reagan in a Presidential Proclamation in 1981 and Pres. Joe Biden in his commemorative statements on April 24, 2021 and 2022. The most authoritative American acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide took place on May 28, 1951, when the U.S. government submitted an official report to the World Court, stating that the Armenian Genocide was one of the “outstanding examples of the crime of genocide.”

Despite all Turkish pressures, threats and bribes, over 30 countries have formally acknowledged the Armenian Genocide. This is in addition to acknowledgments by the United Nations War Crimes Commission in 1948, the UN Sub-Commission on Prevention of Discrimination and Protection of Minorities in 1985 and the European Parliament repeatedly since 1987.

Most of these acknowledgments took place at a time when the Republic of Armenia did not exist as an independent state. The Armenian Diaspora, in a David vs. Goliath battle, was able to counter the denials of the powerful Turkish government, supported by its NATO allies and scores of Islamic states.

All of these denialist efforts are based on the simple misconception that should the Turkish government acknowledge the Armenian Genocide, it would then be obligated to pay restitution to surviving Armenians. Regrettably, many Armenians have the same misconception. The fact is that the Turkish government is liable to pay reparations and return confiscated Armenian properties and territories, regardless of whether Turkish leaders acknowledge their guilt or not. Political statements by government leaders are of no value in a court of law. Courts deal with facts and documents. No matter how many times Turkey denies the genocide, the Republic of Armenia has the right to take its demands for restitution and return of territories to the International Court of Justice (World Court), where only governments have such jurisdiction.

After an entire century of denial, the Turkish government announced last week its latest desperate attempt to counter the facts of the Armenian Genocide by forming the TEKAR Foundation (Turkish Armenian Issue Research Foundation). This is a coalition of three Turkish groups: Educational Friends Foundation, Baskent (Capital City) Strategic Research Center, and Center for Countering Fanatic Armenian Lies. The new Foundation held its inaugural assembly on June 25.

TEKAR plans to republish a Turkish denialist book written by Esat Uras (1882-1957), titled: “The Armenians in history and the Armenian question.” As a member of the Committee of Union and Progress (Young Turks), Uras played a key role in planning and executing the Armenian Genocide. His book is replete with gross misrepresentations.

The Turkish Foundation also stated that it will “print Mustafa Kemal Ataturk’s views, thoughts and statements on Armenians, Armenian activities and Armenian relations.” I hope the Foundation will not forget to quote from Ataturk’s interview published by the Los Angeles Examiner on August 1, 1926, in which he said: “These leftovers from the former Young Turk Party, who should have been made to account for the lives of millions of our Christian subjects, who were ruthlessly driven en masse from their homes and massacred…. They have hitherto lived on plunder, robbery and bribery.”

The TEKAR Foundation has 23 members on its board of trustees. The chairman of the board is Mehmet Arif Demirer, a chemical engineer, not a historian! Incomprehensibly, the board is composed of six military officers, three engineers, two economists, one gastronomist, one student, and several others of miscellaneous backgrounds. It looks like the real purpose of the TEKAR Foundation is to provide jobs to Pres. Erdogan’s circle of friends. While it is a good thing that these Turks want to study the Armenian Genocide, their intention is not seeking the truth!

Turkish denialists have never understood that the more they deny the Armenian Genocide and the longer they talk about it, the more the world becomes aware of the Armenian Genocide. In other words, Turkey foolishly keeps publicizing the Armenian Genocide to new generations while trying to deny it.

The second thing that the Turkish leaders never understood is that the sooner they acknowledge the crimes of their predecessors, the sooner they will gain the respect of the international public opinion. When a Turkish leader eventually acknowledges the truth, he will be praised worldwide and may even be nominated for the Nobel Peace Prize. By their denials, Turkish leaders are doing a major disservice to their own reputations, not to mention the huge sums of money they are wasting at a time when the Turkish economy is bankrupt!

June 29, 2022