Turkish Forum

Category: World

  • Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release Regarding the Recent Developments in Syria

    Republic of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs Press Release Regarding the Recent Developments in Syria

    DisisleriThe social developments taking place in our neighbor Syria for the last couple of months have been followed very closely and patiently by Turkey along with the international community.
    Turkey had been expecting and patiently waiting for the realization of the pledged reforms aiming to meet the just and legitimate aspirations of the brotherly Syrian people within the shortest time, as well as finding a solution to the issue through dialogue and peaceful methods.
    Turkey, throughout this process, has mobilized all resources at its disposal in order to keep close contact with the Syrian administration, to address the needs of our Syrian brothers and to provide its constructive contributions to the reform process in all means.
    However, we see with deep regret that violence and loss of lives have increasingly been the case. Along with the continuing operations in Homs, Deirezzor and Daraa, we have learned that many have been killed and wounded in the operations launched this morning against the residents of Hama who have refrained from violence from the outset and strived to engage in dialogue with the administration.
    Turkey had expected efforts to be exerted towards creating an atmosphere of peace and tranquility in the holy month of Ramadan, and is deeply disappointed and saddened by these developments on the eve of holy Ramadan as rest of the Islamic world.
    These operations do not contribute to the restoration of order in Syria, but hamper the process of needed reforms. These kind of operations and violence do not achieve solutions, but rather create a deadlock. It is time for the Syrian administration to see this reality.
    The current developments raise suspicions regarding the intention and sincerity of the Syrian administration to resolve the issue through peaceful methods.
    Turkey reiterates its call upon the Syrian government to end the operations and resort to political methods, dialogue and peaceful initiatives in order to reach a solution.

    Republic Of Turkey Ministry of Foreign Affairs

  • UK Prime Minister’s Message for Ramadan

    UK Prime Minister’s Message for Ramadan

    Number 101Prime Minister David Cameron has sent his best wishes to all Muslim communities in Britain and around the world at the start of the month of Ramadan.

    Mr Cameron said Ramadan was a time to remind us of our duties and responsibilities and the importance of charity.

    The PM said:

    “To all Muslim communities in the United Kingdom and around the world, I send you my warmest wishes at this time of Ramadan.

    “This is a time for Muslims all over the world to put aside thoughts of themselves, and think of others. The terrible scenes of famine and suffering in the Horn of Africa cry out to all of us. They remind us of our duties and responsibilities to those beyond our shores.

     

    “The importance of charity at this time is clear and I am proud that many different communities in the United Kingdom continue to come together to support many thousands – indeed millions – in desperate need.

    The Prime Minister’s Office

    “As the holy month of Ramadan begins I wish you all peace and happiness.”


  • Norwegian hitman was obsessed with Turkey

    Norwegian hitman was obsessed with Turkey

    breivik on turkeyA fundamentalist Christian who massacred 76 people in Norway had strong feelings against Turkey and Turks. A book believed to have been written by Anders Behring Breivik, who admitted to having staged both the bombing of government buildings in Oslo on Friday and later killing dozens of teenagers at a Labor Party youth camp on the island of Utoya, has revealed that the terrorist was an ardent hater of Turkey.
    In a 1,500-page manifesto titled “2083: A European Declaration of Independence,” Breivik made hundreds of references to the Ottoman Empire and Turkey, rambling on about hundreds of years of world history, reflecting a revisionist interpretation that sees history only as being a long-running conflict between Muslims and Christians. His manifesto, written in a fashion akin to a journal, also indicates that he has visited Turkey.
    Norwegian police initially reported that the assailant killed 93 people but then it reduced the confirmed death toll on Monday to 76.
    There are 237 references to Turks and Turkey in the manifesto, but this number does not take into account the many other references to Ottoman history (written mostly focusing on the state of religious minorities) and the Seljuk Empire. He accuses the Ottoman Turks of genocide of various minorities, including the Armenians, the Orthodox Greeks and the Assyrians.
    There are lengthy analyses of the Ottoman Tanzimat (Reformation) era, the Declaration of Reforms (Islahat Fermanı) period, the period under Abdülhamid II and the Committee of Union and Process government and its ruling triumvirate — Enver, Talat and Cemal Paşa — as well as the early republican period. After a 40-page analysis of the Ottomans and the early republican era, on page 187, he concludes: “[Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip] Erdoğan’s efforts to further re-Islamize Turkey are entirely consistent with a return to Turkey’s Ottoman past as the heartland of an empire established by jihad and governed by the Shariah. Indeed, both the current Erdoğan administration and the regime headed by the overtly pious Muslim [Necmettin] Erbakan a decade ago reflect the advanced state of Islam’s ‘sociopolitical reawakening’ in Turkey since 1950-1960, when the Menderes government, pandering to Muslim religious sentiments for electoral support, re-established the dervish orders and undertook an extensive campaign of mosque construction. Despite Frank Gaffney’s apparent failure to understand this continuum of related historical phenomena, I share his acute concerns. And ultimately, we agree that Turkey’s bid to join the EU should be rejected.”
    Sèvres for Turkey
    Starting on page 235, Breivik presents a history of the Battle of Vienna from a Christian perspective and again accuses Turks of Islamizing Bosnia and Kosovo. Starting on page 313, he expresses his hostility toward many international organizations, including the EU and the UN. On page 314, Breivik wrote: “The EU is deliberately destroying the cultural traditions of member states by flooding them with immigrants and eradicating native traditions. This is a gross violation of the rights of the indigenous peoples across an entire continent. Europe has some of the richest cultural traditions on the planet. To replace this with Shariah barbarism is a crime against humanity. The European Union is currently the principal (though not the only) motor behind the Islamization of Europe, perhaps the greatest betrayal in this civilization’s history. Appeasement of Islam and Muslims is so deeply immersed into the structural DNA of the EU that the only way to stop the Islamization of the continent is to get rid of the EU. All of it.”
    The ‘Atatürk approach’ has already failed
    Breivik says on page 723 that the “Atatürk approach” failed to modernize Muslims. “Many moderate cultural conservatives have suggested that banning the Shariah will solve all our problems and force the Muslims to integrate. Unfortunately, Islam is a lot more resilient than most people can comprehend. Any ‘Atatürk approach’ will not solve anything but only delay the inevitable. Turkey became secular after Mustafa Atatürk, by military force, implemented his harsh reforms 90 years ago. The result? The Shariah lay dormant for 70-80 years. As soon as it was practically possible (Turkey had to implement more human rights to appease the EU) the former ‘dormant’ devout Muslims resurfaced and the Islamist alliance won the last election. … The reason why Atatürk failed is because Islam is extremely resilient, in fact more resilient than most people can comprehend.”
    Breivik also asserted that the Treaty of Sèvres should be applied to Turkey and equates supporting Turkey’s membership in the EU as supporting a global jihad. He also says Turkey and Albania should be kicked out of NATO. On top of that, he states that Europe should wage war on Turkey to re-Christianize Eastern and Western Anatolia and the northern part of Cyprus.

    Today’s Zaman

  • Goldman to Acquire Aksa Stake in Turkey for $450 Million

    Goldman to Acquire Aksa Stake in Turkey for $450 Million

    Goldman SachsGoldman Sachs Group Inc. agreed to buy 26.5 percent of Aksa Enerji Uretim AS, one of Turkey’s two biggest power producers, for about $450 million, driving a record gain in the utility’s shares.

    Goldman Sachs will pay 5.05 liras ($2.94) a share to Aksa’s parent company, Kazanci Holding AS, which will invest the proceeds in power generation, Aksa Chairman Cemil Kazanci said today by telephone. “The price isn’t certain and could change at the closing of the transaction,” he said.

    Turkey’s energy industry is luring international companies as electricity demand is set to grow by an average 6.3 percent over the next 20 years, Hasan Koktas, head of the energy-market regulator, said June 15. Italy’s Ansaldo STS SpA won a 640 million-euro ($919 million) order for an 865-megawatt plant this month. Austria’s Verbund AG and OMV AG, Germany’s RWE AG and U.S.-based AES Corp. have also bought power assets in Turkey.

    Goldman Sachs loaned Kazanci Holding $192 million as part of the transaction, Kazanci said. The holding company pledged 43 percent of Aksa shares as collateral for the loan, which has a maturity of a year and one week, he said.

    Goldman Sachs’s offer represents a 22 percent premium to Aksa’s volume-weighted average share price over the 20 days through July 22, according to data compiled by Bloomberg. Aksa rose 33 kurus, or 8.7 percent, to 4.14 liras at the 5:30 p.m. close in Istanbul, the biggest one-day gain since the stock started trading in May 2010.

    Debt Payments

    Aksa expects the deal to close in September. Kazanci Holding will use a “large part” of the proceeds to pay its debts to Aksa, Zeynep Karaman, an analyst at BGC Partners Istanbul, said by telephone.

    In April, Kazanci Holding applied to the Istanbul Stock Exchange to sell 68.9 million shares in Aksa, or an 11.9 percent stake, on the bourse. The stock slumped 13 percent in the following three months.

    “I don’t think Kazanci has given up on its plan for a secondary share sale at Aksa, but this plan has put pressure on the stock price,” according to Karaman, who recommends buying Aksa shares. “Now that overhang seems to be going away.”

    Aksa, based in Istanbul, has power-generation capacity in excess of 1,500 megawatts, Kazanci said, adding that it will “soon” rise to 2,000 megawatts. Competitor Enerjisa, a venture owned by Verbund and Turkey’s Haci Omer Sabanci Holding AS, has a capacity of 1,557 megawatts, according to its website.

    Bloomberg

     

  • İstanbul Graffiti Fest spreads positive message of street art

    İstanbul Graffiti Fest spreads positive message of street art

    Grafitti IstanbulA winding wall of vibrant color, punctuated by the sharp smell of aerosol spray paint and a pulsing R&B soundtrack, provided the backdrop to a melee of skateboarders, rollerbladers and airborne BMX bikes.

    This was the Meeting of AllStars Festival 2011, a celebration of street art that hit Taksim Gezi Park on Sunday in an explosion of color and sound.

    Kicking off at 11 a.m. and continuing to 8 p.m., the festival allowed participants the opportunity to literally blast their creative flair on a 2.5-meter-high wall constructed around the perimeter of the leafy city oasis. Approximately 60 graffiti artists from all over Turkey and Europe were featured, including Amok156, Koacleo, Texas, Choma Dryhure, Repuz, Amd, Hero S2komeria, Tab, Funk, Okdose and Misk.

    With an 80-meter stretch of wall set aside for amateurs not included on the VIP guest list, projects that materialized throughout the course of the day ranged from simple tags and sketches to more intricate displays and political statements. But it wasn’t all about the spray painting. As the day went on, attention turned to the BMX performances, break dancing, rollerblading and skateboard exhibitions that took place, with most of the focus devoted to the professionals showcasing their talents in a large half pipe ramp situated in the middle of the park. Power FM radio station was on-scene to provide pulsing R&B, hip hop and dubstep tracks, which were enhanced by a concert from rap artist Ramiz and a set played by DJ Funky C.

    The event was first organized in 2008 in İstanbul by the Youth Council of the İstanbul Metropolitan Municipality, where over 40 graffiti artists from Turkey and beyond came together to breathe new life into a 200-meter-long platform attached to the Old Galata Bridge. The festival took a two-year break, returning this summer with the aim of becoming an annual event and providing a diverse multicultural artistic platform that will simultaneously serve to introduce and develop an understanding of graffiti art in Turkey.

    Whilst graffiti art is not an alien concept in Turkey, and indeed a sharp eye on a stroll through Beyoğlu or other central neighborhoods will quickly pick up an interesting portfolio of stencil graffiti messages and political stamps, it has not developed as a vibrant art culture in the way it has in many other countries.

    The municipality’s decision is thus an interesting and forward thinking one; despite the gritty street credentials and vandalism with which the graffiti movement continues to be associated, there is recognition of the positive aspects of street art as a constructive means to channel young people’s energy into a positive outlet. Whilst the last thing the municipality wants to do is encourage a wave of angst-stricken teenage spray-painters to lay siege on the city, there is an appreciation that if encouraged in controlled environments, the graffiti art culture has more than just a little potential to serve as a vibrant platform for dialogue and expression amongst younger generations in Turkey.

    Despite the fact that graffiti art has been criminalized and carries heavy penalties in many European countries, there remains an endorsement of the positive aspects of the art in the form of international festivals. One such event is the Meeting of Styles, established in Germany in 2002, that has since gone from strength to strength, spreading to 16 countries throughout Europe, the Far East and even to the US.

    Perhaps most influential in the changing face of graffiti, however, has been the rise to global recognition of revered graffiti artist Banksy, the mysterious, faceless Bristol-born graffiti artist, political activist, film director and painter, whose satirical stencil drawings, combining dark humor with compelling messages, have been featured on street corners and walls around the world.

    As the great man himself once said, “Nothing in the world is more common than unsuccessful people with talent; leave the house before you find something worth staying in for.”

    Today’s Zaman

     

  • Anders Behring Breivik is a freemason

    Anders Behring Breivik is a freemason

    AndersBehringBreivikInAFreemasonUniform

    Anders Behring Breivik in a freemason uniform, in footage uploaded to YouTube on 23 July