Category: News

Preparations for Second Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival Have Begun..Turkish Cypriot Cultural Association (TCCA),UK

CTCA UK February 2018 Newsletter

CTCA UK Announcements

Preparations for Second Turkish Cypriot Cultural Festival Have Begun

Following on from the success of last year’s first ever Turkish Cypriot festival and with an overwhelming attendance of more than 20,000 people, we have decided to organise the second festival over two days to ensure that everyone is able to attend and enjoy what is promised to be an even bigger and better event. The dates will be 16 – 17 June 2018.

In order to achieve this spectacular and ambitious occasion and provide our community with the cultural celebration it deserves, we have decided to partner with: Turkish Language, Culture and Education Consortium (Türk Dili Kültürü ve Eğitim Konsorsiyumu), Turkish Cypriot Community Association (TCCA – Kıbrıs Türk Toplum Merkezi) and Turkish Community Football Federation (TTFF – Türk Toplumu Futbol Federasyonu.

Further updates and details, including venue information, will follow in due course, in the meantime please save these dates and keep following us.

CTCA UK Executive Board

CTCA UK Membership Fee Reminder

For the attention of our all members: If you haven’t paid your membership fees yet, please complete.

CTCA UK Needs a TV Presenter

We are looking for a presenter to work part-time for the CTCA UK’s and its members’ TV program which will be on the screen twice a week in both Turkish and English. Please send your CV to info or info if you are presentable and have good dictation. We prefer presentation skills in both Turkish and English but you can also apply for only one of the languages.
Please forward this to anyone who may be interested.

Upcoming Events

Dr. Fazıl Küçük Turkish School Presents “Parsel Parsel” Theatre Play

Written by Zalihe Sususlu and Aygün Kencer in Cypriot dialect, “Parsel Parsel” theatre play is coming to London on Saturday 24 February. You can call 07738947674 – 07951739054 or 07980431557 for more details and tickets.

Date: Saturday 24 February
Time: 7 PM
Venue: Dr. Fazıl Küçük Turkish School, Bellinghan Road, Catford SE6 2PS
Tickets: £15

TWPA February and March Events

Turkish Women’s Philanthropic Association of England (TWPA) is organising:

Afternoon Tea at 2-5 PM on Sunday 25 February
Mother’s Day Lunch at Grand Palace on Friday 9 March at 12-3.30 PM
Please contact the association for further details.

Dr. Fazıl Küçük Turkish School’s Spring and Solidarity Ball

Dr. Fazıl Küçük Turkish School is organising a Spring and Solidarity Ball with dinner, dance and music on Saturday, 10 March. Please call 07535793350 for more details and tickets.

Date: 10 March 2018, Saturday
Time: 6.30-11.30 PM
Tickets: Adults £20 – Over 5s £15
Venue: Conisborough College, Bellingham Road, London SE6 1SE

Limasollular Association Celebrates International Day of Happiness (Costume Ball)

Limasollular Association is holding its traditional costume ball featuring DJ Ahmet’s music to celebrate the International Day of Happiness. There will be a prize for the best costume.

Date: Sunday, 11 March 2018
Time: 6-10 PM
Venue: Turkish Cypriot Community Association (TCCA – Kıbrıs Türk Toplum Merkezi)
Tickets: £15

Balıkçıoğlu Cabaret Theatre Presents “Huzur Evine Vermeyin Beni”

Balıkçıoğlu Cabaret Theatre production of “Huzur Evine Vermeyin Beni” will be performed on Sunday 25 March. Please contact Artun Lurucinalı for more details and tickets.

Date: 25 March 2018, Sunday
Time: 3.30 and 7.30 PM (two performances)
Tickets: £15
Venue: Millfield Theatre, Silver Street, Edmonton

Ali Rıza Değirmencioğlu Turkish School’s Benefit Ball

Ali Rıza Değirmencioğlu Turkish School is organising a benefit ball to replace all the school’s books, stationery, folklore costumes and other essential items that perished in the recent fire. Please contact Sevtap Kemal on 07782359616 for more details and tickets.

Date: Monday 7 May 2018
Venue: Regency Banqueting Suite

Hornsey Atatürk Turkish School Competes Abroad Again

Hornsey Atatürk Turkish School is once again competing abroad. Last year, its Junior team came first in the Eighth European Turkish Folk Dancing Championships. At CTCA UK we are extremely proud of their achievements and wish them every success in the championships.

Previous Events

Dr. Fazıl Küçük Turkish School Commemorated Dr. Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Raif Denktaş

Dr. Fazıl Küçük Turkish School commemorated Dr. Fazıl Küçük and Rauf Raif Denktaş on Saturday, 13 January.

Limasollular Association and North London Islamic Turkish Trust Organised Mevlid-i Şerif

Limasollular Association and North London Islamic Turkish Trust organised another Mevlid-i Şerif on 17 January 2018 to commemorate Dr Fazıl Küçük and Rauf R Denktaş on their remembrance anniversary and to pay respect to all martyrs and veterans of the Turkish Cypriot cause. Notable guests present included the TRNC London Representative Zehra Başaran, Consulate Ülkü Alemdar and her husband, and CTCA UK Chair Leyla Kemal.

TWPA Held a Seminer on Menopause

Turkish Women’s Philanthropic Association (TWPA), held a seminar on menopause on Friday 26 January. Gynaecologist Dr. Cahit Berk gave a keynote speech about the subject.

Dr. Fazıl Küçük Turkish School Celebrated Its Eighth Cultural Evening

Dr. Fazıl Küçük Turkish School had its Eighth Cultural Evening on Saturday 3 February. The event was very well attended with lots of attendees, music, folklore dance, handicrafts and delicious food from Anatolia and Cyprus.

TWPA Hosted Local Journalists

Turkish Women’s Philanthropic Association (TWPA), organised a dinner for local press members in London on Friday 9 February. Notable guests present included the TRNC Representative Zehra Başaran, Consulate Ülkü Alemdar, Press Attaché İsmet Ramiz and CTCA UK Vice Chair Işık Vedat. TWPA Chair Ayşe İbrahim thanked the guests. Attending journalists expressed their delight and gratitude for such an event.

Limasollular Association Organised Daytrip to Stratford Upon Avon

Limasollular Assocation organised a cultural trip to Stratford Upon Avon on Saturday 17 February.

Vatan Cultural Turkish Choir Supports a Disabled Student

Vatan Cultural Turkish Choir continues to work hard on its charity projects as well as contributing to arts and cultural activities in London. One significant charity focus has been to cover all the educational expenses of a disabled student in Cyprus. Little Ece has difficulties in walking and talking and needs special education at a private school in TRNC.

Turkish Cypriot Cultural Association (TCCA) Started Cake Decoration Courses

Turkish Cypriot Cultural Association (TCCA), started cake decoration courses both in English and Turkish which is happening for the first time in Britain.

February 24, 2018
Pres. Erdogan Admits that Turkey is… The ‘Continuation’ of the Ottoman Empire

By Harut Sassounian

Publisher, The California Courier

www.TheCaliforniaCourier.com

For many decades Turkish officials have outright denied the occurrence of the Armenian Genocide. In recent years, however, some Turks have made the excuse that today’s Turkish Republic is not responsible for the Armenian Genocide because it was committed by the Ottoman Empire, a defunct state.

With this pretext, the issue is no longer whether genocide was committed or not, but who is responsible for it. Those who use this justification, claim that the Republic of Turkey is neither the successor nor the continuation of the Ottoman Empire, but a new and separate state!

This argument has gradually grown weaker as Pres. Recep Tayyip Erdogan began speaking and acting as an Ottoman Sultan! Two weeks ago, the Turkish leader made matters worse for his country when he, according to The Times of London, asserted that “modern Turkey is a ‘continuation’ of the Ottoman Empire — a direct contradiction of Ataturk’s ideology, which cast the Imperial era as backwards, stale and to be discarded and forgotten rather than celebrated.”

By stating that Turkey is a ‘continuation’ of the Ottoman Empire, Erdogan effectively concedes that today’s Turkey is responsible for the actions of the Ottoman Empire. In other words, the Republic of Turkey, which inherited the Ottoman Empire’s assets, also inherited its liabilities!

To confirm his allegiance to the Ottoman dynasty, Erdogan attended a ceremony earlier this month to mark the centenary of the death of Sultan Abdulhamid II, the ‘Red Sultan,’ who has been rehabilitated by the current government. Erdogan conveniently ignored the fact that the Red Sultan had ordered the killing of 300,000 Armenians from 1894 to 1896, known as the Hamidian massacres. As reported by The Times of London, “The descendants of one of the last Ottoman sultans are to be given Turkish citizenship, ending almost a century of outcast and ostracism.”

According to The Times of London, “Abdulhamid II ruled from 1876 to 1909, and was much maligned in Kemal Ataturk’s modern Turkish republic for his authoritarianism, anti-Westernism and clampdowns on the media. Yet, in the era of President Erdogan he has been rehabilitated. A television series, ‘Payitaht’, which depicts the life of Abdulhamid in glowing terms has been lauded by Mr. Erdogan as essential viewing for Turkish youths to find out about their country’s history…. ‘We see Sultan Abdulhamid II as one of the most important, most visionary, most strategic-minded personalities who have put their stamps on the last 150 years of our state,’ Mr. Erdogan said. ‘We should stop seeing the Ottomans and the Republic as two eras that conflict with one another.’ Abdulhamid died in 1918 and at celebrations for the centenary this week, Turkish foreign minister Mevlut Cavusoglu said that he would personally oversee the granting of citizenships to the family.”

Arrogantly, Erdogan then warned that U.S. soldiers in Northern Syria would soon receive the ‘Ottoman slap,’ according to Reuters. He was “referring to a half-legendary Turkish martial move that involves a potent open-palm hit, resulting in a one-hit knockout or even skull fractures and death.” An illustration published by the pro-government Turkish media shows Pres. Donald Trump receiving an ‘Ottoman slap’ by Pres. Erdogan. Furthermore, Reuters quoted Turkish Foreign Minister Cavusoglu stating that Washington was backing the YPG [Kurdish forces in Syria] because it shared the same “Marxist, communist, atheist” ideology!

Returning to the issue of whether the Republic of Turkey is a brand new and separate entity from the Ottoman Empire, Prof. Alfred de Zayas, an international law expert, explained in an essay titled, “The Genocide against the Armenians 1915-1923 and the relevance of the 1948 Genocide Convention,” that a ‘successor state’ is responsible for the crimes committed by its predecessor regime. Moreover, a state that is a ‘continuation’ of a previous entity is even more responsible because there is no difference between the two, as admitted by Erdogan two weeks ago.

In addition, Alfred de Zayas quoted in his study Prof. M. Cherif Bassiouni stating that “In international law, the doctrine of legal continuity and principles of State responsibility make a ‘successor Government’ liable in respect of claims arising from a former government’s violations.” Prof. de Zayas concluded that “the claims of the Armenians for their wrongfully confiscated properties did not disappear with the change from the Sultanate to the regime of Mustafa Kemal.”

Finally, Prof. de Zayas affirmed that “the principle of responsibility of successor States has been held to apply even when the State and government that committed the wrongs were not that of the ‘successor State.’ This principle was formulated, inter alia, by the Permanent Court of Arbitration in the Lighthouse Arbitration case.”

We can conclude that Pres. Erdogan, by affirming that today’s Republic of Turkey is the continuation of the Ottoman Empire, has inadvertently admitted that Turkey is responsible for the genocidal, territorial and economic damages caused by the Ottoman Empire to the Armenian people. Erdogan’s confession should be presented as evidence when demands emanating from the Turkish Genocide of Armenians are submitted to the World Court.

February 20, 2018
Icy Niagara Falls Looked Like A Different Planet

by Adam Klekotka

Hi! My name is Adam Klekotka. I am a Toronto-based photographer. Last month we had two weeks of the extreme cold weather in Canada. According to the news, parts of the country were colder than Antarctica and even colder than the surface of Mars. I thought it was a perfect opportunity to see the falls for the first time in winter and the first time at night.

I knew it is illuminated at night, but I haven’t expected anything like this. The entire place around the falls was covered with ice. The colorful light show, combined with the enormous icicles, gave a perception of being on a different planet.

More info: Instagram

An observation deck

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

Niagara Falls

February 18, 2018
President’s Day in 2018
AMERIKADA .. GEORGE WASHINGTON & ABRAHAM LINCOLN DOGUM GUNU BAYRAMI KUTLAMALARI PAZARTESI GUNU
President’s Day in 2018

Monday, Feb 19

2017

Feb 20

2019

Feb 18

President’s Day History

President’s Day, or Washington’s Birthday as it is still legally known, was originally designed as a celebration of George Washington’s birthdate. In 1880, Congress voted to make this the first national holiday which honored an individual. In 1968, Congress enacted the Uniform Monday Bill, to give workers as many long weekends as possible. This moved as many holidays to a standard Monday each year. Many states were already honoring Abraham Lincoln’s birthday, February 12th, and this celebration was combined with George Washington’s birthday, for one federal holiday. It is observed on the third Monday in February each year.
President’s Day Facts

According to the Julian calendar, Washington was born February 11, 1732. The Gregorian calendar was adopted in 1752, changing Washington’s birthday to February 22.

Since 1888, Washington’s Farewell Address has been read aloud in the U.S. Senate on February 22nd.

George Washington was the Commander in Chief of the Continental Army, first U.S. President, and President of the Constitutional Convention.

Presidents Day never falls on Washington’s actual birthdate (Feb. 22). The third Monday in February can never be any later than February 21st.
President’s Day Top Events and Things to Do

Visit Mt. Vernon, VA, Washington’s ancestral home and place of both he and his wife Martha’s tomb. Admission is free on President’s Day.

Go shopping for a car. Presidents day weekend typically features some of the best car deals of the year as dealers try to clear out prior-year inventory.

Read George Washington’s Farewell Address and reflect on his contributions to United States.

Read Abraham Lincoln’s Emancipation Proclamation and reflect on his contributions to the United States.

Visit the Lincoln Memorial in Washington D.C.
President’s Day References and Related Sites

US National Archives: George Washington’s Birthday

U.S. Senate: Washington’s Farewell Address

George Washington’s Mount Vernon
February 17, 2018
Happiness in slow motion… Your body is an incredibly bizarre machine….

Kimden: Suleyman Celimli [mailto:scelimli@gmail.com]

Happiness. You’re looking at happiness

Your body is an incredibly bizarre machine.

“What you see is a myosin protein dragging an endorphin along a filament to the inner part of the brain’s parietal cortex which creates happiness. .”

February 13, 2018
WHAT TRUMP WANTS FROM YOU – COOPARATION IS ESSENTIAL FROM ALL OF US .. Darisi Turkiyenin Başina

It’s about time; but in reality, one can only hope and wish!
Agree…not only Congress but local and State politicians as well. What a racket they have going.

TRUMP’s Rules
This makes way too much sense not to be passed on. But at least we can
make our wishes known and hope. I’m with Trump on this one.

President Trump is asking everyone to forward this email to a minimum of
20 people, and to ask each of those to do likewise. In three days, most
people in the United States will have the message. This is an idea that
should be passed around, regardless of political party.

The TRUMP Rule’s Congressional Reform Act of 2017

1. No Tenure / No Pension.
A Congressman / Woman collects a salary while in office and receives no
pay when they’re out of office. And, no more perks go with them.

2. Congress (past, present, & future) participates in Social Security.
All funds in the Congressional retirement fund move to the Social Security
system immediately. All future funds flow into the Social Security system,
and Congress participates with the American people. It may not be used for any other purpose.

3. Congress must purchase their own retirement plan, just as all Americans do.

4. Congress will no longer vote themselves a pay raise. Congressional pay
will rise by the lower of CPI or 3%.

5. Congress loses their current health care system and participates in the
same health care system as the American people.

6. Congress must equally abide by all laws they impose on the American
people.

7. All contracts with past and present Congressmen / Women are void.
The American people did not make this contract with Congressmen / Women. Congress made all these contracts for themselves.

Serving in Congress is an honor,not a career. The Founding Fathers envisioned citizen legislators should serve their term(s), then go home and go back to work not get all kind of freebies.

[NO WONDER THEY’RE FIGHTING EVERYTHING HE TRIES!]

If each person contacts a minimum of twenty people, then it will only take three days for most people in the U.S. to receive the message.

It’s time for us to take action now!

THIS IS HOW YOU FIX CONGRESS! He’s working on it at his desk.

Pass it on!!!! Let’s help TRUMP drain the swamp!!

February 12, 2018