Spokesman of Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs said U.S. Ambassador in Ankara should have refrained from comments on Turkish domestic politics.
Spokesman of the Turkish Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MFA) said Saturday the U.S. Ambassador in Ankara, James Jeffrey, should have refrained from comments on Turkish domestic politics.
The MFA spokesperson’s remarks came after an interview that Jeffrey gave to a Turkish newspaper recently.
Answering a question, the MFA spokesman said that Ambassador Jeffrey uttered certain remarks targeting Turkey’s internal policies while giving an interview to a Turkish newspaper recently.
Based on diplomatic conventions, ambassadors should not make comments regarding internal politics of the countries in which they serve, the MFA spokesman stressed.
Ambassador Jeffrey should approach this matter with greater sensitivity. Mr. Jeffrey should have refrained from making comments and remarks on Turkey’s internal political life, the MFA spokesman underlined.
The anti-Islam English Defence League, which caused violence in Stoke-on-Trent city centre last month, is planning to head to Northern Ireland for the traditional 12 July parades to “kick some Fenian ass”.
At the height of the EDL rally in Stoke on 23 January over 2,000 protesters, many the worse for drink, were on the streets, a mixture of football hooligans, oddballs and fascists, including several British National Party activists. Violent clashes, as the thugs tried to break through police lines to attack a mosque, resulted in nearly 20 arrests and injuries to six officers.
Similar trouble was caused at another EDL event in Harrow, northwest London, last year when supporters again tried to attack a mosque, and in Birmingham where 600 rioted.
Searchlight, working with the Sunday World in Northern Ireland, has now discovered plans by the EDL to head to Belfast for the biggest event on the Orange Order’s calendar, where it only takes a small spark to ignite violence. Our researchers who monitor the websites and forums that the EDL uses to communicate with supporters uncovered an invitation from someone claiming to be part of the Ulster Defence League to “all EDL, SDL [Scottish Defence League], WDL [Welsh Defence League] members and supporters to Belfast for the loyalist 12th of July celebrations”.
“Flights are cheap and there is plenty of time for booking. Thousands of men from Scotland and Liverpool and London come every year. Please show your colours and be with us on this glorious day.”
Their safety would be guaranteed. “Please take heed if you are coming over in your divisions that Belfast on the 12th of July is very dangerous and trouble is expected at flashpoints by Irish Republicans, though do not let them put you off coming over. You will be made most welcome and your protection is Garanteed [sic].”
A further message from the same person warned anyone coming over only to become violent if republicans start trouble.
“For all those def going there will be a list of all the areas to avoid. As much as it’s our city Belfast is completely separated from Republicans and loyalists, they fly Irish Tricolours and us Union Jacks/Ulster flags, so you will know where to stay, you will be safe!
“There is no trouble on the day so troublemakers be aware you could be severely dealt with by loyalists for causing trouble. The only trouble that may happen is by republicans. If that happens by all means join in and help us loyalists.
“Remember if a petrol bomb comes your way … through the F***er back and kick some Fenion [sic] ass.”
Matthew Collins from Searchlight said the EDL was the last thing Northern Ireland needed on 12 July. “The EDL are a bunch of racist football hooligans who somehow feel they have something to offer the loyalist and unionist community,” he said. “But all they have to offer is excessive drinking, excessive racism and excessive violence.
“They are considered a serious threat to public order. When 1,500 thugs who can’t hold their drink descend on a town you know what the outcome is going to be.
“They love fighting with the police and Muslims and have caused mayhem in Birmingham and London before they went mad in Stoke last week. They will cause trouble in
Belfast without a doubt.”
The EDL website states: “We have organised a series of peaceful protests across the country. Unfortunately, some of these have been disrupted by self-proclaimed yet clearly misguided anti-fascists and gangs of Muslim youth whipped up by the extremist preachers we oppose.
“These gangs have come armed and attacked our members, the police officers trying to protect us, and even random members of the public.”
Who is actually responsible for the violence is likely to be revealed in a number of court cases arising from arrests at the EDL’s various rallies around Britain. In the first last month, four EDL activists pleaded guilty to affray at a march against Muslim extremism in Luton on 24 May, at which groups of yobs, many draped in the flag of St George, went on the rampage, fighting battles with the 200 police who were drafted in from across three forces. They were jailed for up to 28 weeks.
The European Union (EU) report says that racism is on the rise in Germany. The EU report on racism in Europe severely critised Germany. The criticism for Germany comes on several fronts, including violent crimes and discrimination against foreigners in the job and housing markets.
Racism has recently become a hot issue in Germany after an apparently xenophobic attack on eight Indians (more…) in the eastern German town of M+-geln. The Germany Turks, biggest minorty group in the country, have also confronted serious racist attacks everyday.
The EU report says that violent racism in Germany appears to be on the increase. According to the report the incidents of racist violence and crime in Germany increased by 14 percent between 2005 and 2006, going up from 15,914 incidents in 2005 to 18,142 in 2006.
The “Report on Racism and Xenophobia in the Member States of the EU” also shows that crime with an extremist right-wing motive also in increase, going up from 15,361 incidents in 2005 to 17,597 incidents in 2006, a 14.6 percent increase.
The incidence of anti-Semitic crime in Germany however remained fairly constant, with 1,662 incidents in 2006 compared to 1,682 in 2005.
The “Report on Racism and Xenophobia in the Member States of the EU” was published Tuesday by the Vienna-based European Union Agency for Fundamental Rights (FRA) — an agency which was created on Mar. 1, 2007 to replace the European Monitoring Centre on Racism and Xenophobia.
Sunday, 1 June 2008 (IRNA) – Germany’s Turkish community warned of continued racism in the country, while marking the 15th anniversary of an anti-foreigner arson attack in the western city of Solingen which killed five Turkish women and girls, the press reported Thursday.
There is still a high degree of xenophobia in Germany society which has to be combated through better education, stressed the Turkish community of Germany (TGD) and the Foundation of Turkish Studies (ZfT) in a statement.
“Aggressive behaviour and prejudices are already being taught at the age of a child. Therefore, one must act pedagogically at an early stage,” ZfT director,Faruk Sen was quoted saying.
There are 7.5 million foreigners living in Germany of which 2.5 million are Turks.
A recent confidential government report revealed widespread xenophobia among millions of teenagers in Germany.
Almost every German youth said there are too many foreigners living in Germany.
Nearly every 9th grader has Islamophobic tendencies while every 13 teenager admits to having committed a right-wing motivated criminal act.
Germany has been the scene of a series of vicious neo-Nazi attacks in recent months, especially against foreigners.
German Interior Minister Wolfgang Schaeuble has repeatedly warned of a growing far-right problem in his country, branding it a “steadily growing danger.”
Schaeuble had voiced concern that the number of far-right crimes between 2005 and 2006 rose from 15,000 to 18,000 offenses, indicating a 9.3 percent increase.
Meanwhile, the number of anti-foreigner attacks hovered at 511 in 2006, showing a 37 percent rise from the previous year.
Political observers link the dramatic rise in the number of far-right crimes to the recent success of neo-Nazi parties in key regional elections in several east German states.
Young neo-Nazis feel also more and more emboldened to commit hate crimes, knowing that police won’t charge them with an offense.
Most of the suspects implicated in far-right crimes are juveniles.
Hate crime experts and sociologists have repeatedly stressed that Germany’s political leadership lacked a clear and effective strategy to fight neo-Nazi and racist crimes.
The French government and media’s “double standards” in tackling hate crimes has drawn a diatribe after an odious attack on a Frenchman of Algerian origin had been met with deafening silence compared to the much publicized and denounced killing of a French Jew last month.
“We condemn the double standards of media and French institutions especially the Elysee and the government,” the Coalition for Truth said in a statement, a copy of which was obtained by IslamOnline.net on Monday, March 27.
The rights advocacy group was formed in the wake of the killing of Shayeb Zaef, a 40-year-old French of Algerian roots, three weeks ago in an apparent racist attack.
The assailant, identified as Jean Marie, called Zaef a “filthy Arab” before shooting him thrice as he was stepping out of a caf+® in Lyon, witnesses said.
“We waited in vain for three entire weeks for a single word of condemnation from prominent French politicians, including the head of Lyon’s municipality,” Mouloud Aounit, the Secretary General of the Movement Against Racism and for Friendship Between Peoples, told IOL.
Aounit was among the signatories of the coalition’s statement along with prominent figures such as Algerian-born Senator Alima Boumediene and Olivia Zemor, the head of the Euro Palestine group.
In stark contrast, the killing of French Jew Ilan Halimi has been the talk of France last month and drew immediate condemnation from President Jacques Chirac, who was keen on attending a memorial service for the victim in a Paris synagogue.
Tens of thousands of demonstrators have further took to the streets in protest against racism and anti-Semitism.
The march drew an array of politicians, including Interior Minister Nicolas Sarkozy and representatives of the opposition Socialists, including Lionel Jospin, a former prime minister.
“Pressures”
Although initial investigations have revealed that the killer had links with the radical right-wing and despite eyewitness counts that he used mouth-fouled abuse against Zaef, police are reluctant to admit the racist nature of the crime.
This drew fire from the coalition which urged judiciary authorities not to “bow to political pressures.”
This also prompted the S.S. Racime group to organize a silent rally that drew 500 people in central Lyon.
The protesters carried banners demanding nothing but the truth.
As anger mounted, Sarkozy finally decided to meet Zaef’s wife and three sons to promise them a transparent inquiry into the killing of their breadwinner.
Zaef’s killing is he second of its kind in less than two months.
On February 25, two brothers of Moroccan origin were harshly attacked by a group of rightists and rushed to intensive care in critical condition.
Years of government negligence and marginalization prompted thousands of French immigrants and Arabs to stage nationwide riot in October and November of last year.
They voiced anger at racial discrimination despite being born in France, a lack of educational and employment prospects and police harassment.
A Sorbonne research released in 2005 by the French Observatory Against Racism found that Arab names and dark complexion represent an obstacle to jobseekers.
Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjørn Jagland says it would be of great help if Turkey adopted a new constitution in line with European norms.
Council of Europe Secretary-General Thorbjørn Jagland has said Turkey, along with Russia and the European Union, is a global player and has much to contribute in boosting the status of the 47-nation European institution.
In an exclusive interview with Sunday’s Zaman, Jagland said the interests of the council are perfectly aligned with the interests of Turkey on a number of issues and expressed his hope that Turkey would be of great help in reforming the organization.
“It was certainly a historic moment when the Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe [PACE] elected its first Muslim president,” he said, referring to the election of Turkish deputy Mevlüt Çavuşoğlu last week in Strasbourg. “This has happened for the first time, the first in any European institution,” he added. Jagland sees the election of Çavuşoğlu as a clear signal that Europe has become a multicultural and multi-religious continent. “It certainly gives us an opportunity to overcome new and old dividing lines in Europe, be it culturally or in terms of religion,” he underlined.
The head of the human rights watchdog strongly believes that issues emanating from multiculturalism and multi-religiosity are high on the agenda in Europe. “The Council of Europe is an excellent forum for trying to bring people together and meeting this challenge,” he said, adding that the timing was just right for a Turk to be elected as the head of the assembly. “He can bring new ideas to the table. It is a great opportunity to work together with him,” Jagland said.
Reform needed
With his high expectations for reforming the institution, Secretary-General Jagland has fresh ideas in mind and believes he has found receptive ears in many capitals of Europe including Ankara. “I am quite optimistic as the mood is very good now. Everybody realizes now that we have to adapt to new realities. Europe has changed. The Lisbon Treaty has come into force. Turkey is becoming more and more important. So is Russia. We need to modernize ourselves,” he said.
Jagland has recently unveiled his plan to revitalize the Council of Europe as a political body and an innovative, flexible organization, in close cooperation with its staff and stakeholders, making it more visible and relevant for the citizens of Europe. He said the organization should concentrate on fewer projects, selected for the added value and comparative advantages they offer. His proposals were unanimously endorsed by the Committee of Ministers.
He concedes that the overhaul will be a long process. “I know it is not going to be easy. We have a history of 60 years, and it is not easy to reform an old institution. But the base support is very strong. I have been to many governments to talk about this. They have given clear signals in that regard,” he underlined.
Asked what tops the list of reforms, the secretary-general said, “The first priority is to make the organization more focused on the issues where we have a comparative advantage and where we can have added value.” Jagland is like an entrepreneur looking for a niche market to amplify the return on his investment. He disagrees with this analogy, however, and stresses: “We are not looking for a small niche here. Our aim is way higher. It is not a small niche market we are looking for.”
In fact, he has taken on a very challenging task. Against the backdrop of its powers being encroached upon by other organizations, Jagland has to make the organization stand out from other European institutions such as the EU and the Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe (OSCE). One of the challenges he is facing is coordinating the Council of Europe’s role with the EU and OSCE. “We need to look for an overall role vis-à-vis other European institutions,” he underlined.
A single platform for law across Europe
It looks like Jagland has found the perfect platform for his campaign to achieve this: creating a single platform for law for all organizations in Europe under the stewardship of the Council of Europe’s legal arm, the European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR). “The first aim is to get the EU to accede to the ECtHR and the European Convention on Human Rights now that the Lisbon Treaty has come into force,” he noted, stressing that it would be the basis for the mandate to create a culture of Europe. According to him, that would be achieved with the creation of one legal platform across the continent based on common standards, democracy, human rights and the rule of law.
It certainly sounds ambitious but Jagland believes the Council of Europe is the only institution that is perfectly placed to embark on that journey. “We can reach out to all European countries and Turkey and Russia, which are not members of the EU. This is the priority for us,” he noted. The Council of Europe’s status was boosted two weeks ago when the Russian Parliament finally ratified the long-delayed Protocol 14 of the convention. “This would help reform the court in becoming an effective instrument across the entire continent,” Jagland said. He is happy to see that the Russians are completely on board. “They have given a clear signal that they want to access to the court. The EU can do the same. Then we would have achieved a great deal. We in fact created this legal space for everybody. This is an unprecedented development, not only for Europe but also for the whole world,” he remarked.
Turkey should do more
The secretary-general agrees with newly elected head of PACE, Çavuşoğlu, who called on Turkey to draft a new civil constitution. Though he cautions that his job does not allow him to interfere in domestic politics, he nevertheless thinks it would be a great help if the country adopts a new constitution in line with European norms. “As I understand it, many Turks are asking for this. It is the right time to draft a new one,” he said.
He also said that he is concerned with human rights violations in Turkey. The ECtHR found last week in its report that Turkey is by far the worst violator of human rights. Jagland acknowledges that there have been positive developments in Turkey with respect to protecting human rights. “The number of cases is still high, however,” he said. “It could be the case that the court is more widely known and is very popular in Turkey and I welcome that,” he added.
Nonetheless Jagland believes Turkey is a very important country in Europe and is on the way to becoming a global player. “I have always attached great importance to the role Turkey plays in Europe, the Middle East and the Caucasus. It is very much needed,” he emphasized. The secretary-general will be paying a three-day visit to Turkey next week starting on Sunday. He recalled that US President Barack Obama paid his first official visit to Turkey and argues that that by itself is a testament to the fact that the country is becoming a global player. “We should make a note of that in Europe,” he said.
