Move over Eurovision: A 22-year-old from Kyrgyzstan has won Turkish state television’s first-ever “Eurasia Star” pop music competition, held in Istanbul, returning home with $30,000.
After two weeks and six rounds of performances, a unanimous panel of judges, and fans voting by text message, chose Guljigit Kalykov the winner on January 14. Thanks to his victory, the next Eurasia Star contest will be held in Kyrgyzstan.
Singer Gulnur Satylganova, who holds the state-conferred distinction of Popular Performer of the Kyrgyz Republic, said “the victory by our compatriot, particularly in the first year of such a project’s creation, raises the level of Kyrgyzstan’s live musical performance and art in the eyes of the international musical community as a country that can give birth to and nurture stars on an international scale.”
Uzbekistan abstained from the contest, which included most other Turkic-speaking lands, specifically: Azerbaijan (whose capital, Baku, will host Eurovision later this year), Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Northern Cyprus, Turkey and Turkmenistan.
In at least one case, Eurasia Star’s selection process faced criticism for being only as democratic as the country in question. A November entry on the blogging platform Neweurasia.net complained that Turkmenistan’s vote lacked transparency because judges were government-appointed artists and text-message voting was tallied by the state-run telecom monopoly, Altyn Asyr: “This was a lost opportunity to experiment with electronic direct democracy. There wasn’t any transparency to this process, i.e., to confirm that our votes were really obeyed — something we’re used to in Turkmenistan,” wrote blogger Annasoltan.
Kyrgyzstan, meanwhile, has had something of a knack for producing pop sensations lately. In November, 21-year-old Atai Omurzakov from Karakol won the Czecho-Slovakia’s Got Talent contest with his “robot dance,” which is well worth watching.
via Kyrgyzstan Wins First Pan-Turkic Pop Contest | EurasiaNet.org.
This book is a great work in its own right. In terms of real-world impact, it measures above Thomas Paine’s writings, having been used by non-violent movements in dictatorships around the world.
It is also a good introduction to study of nonviolent movements, before diving into all 902 pages of “Politics of Nonviolent Action”
Excerpts below are from an article in the Wall Street Journal, 13.09.2008:
Mr. Sharp’s writings on nonviolent resistance have been studied by opposition activists in Zimbabwe, Burma, Russia, Venezuela and Iran, among others. His 1993 guide to unseating despots, “From Dictatorship to Democracy,” has been translated into at least 28 languages and was used by movements that toppled governments in Serbia, Ukraine, Georgia and Kyrgyzstan.
Although nonviolent struggle has played a major role throughout history, Mr. Sharp was among the first modern scholars to take a comprehensive look at all the various movements, from the civil-rights struggle in the U.S. to uprisings in Eastern Europe.
In his writings, Mr. Sharp teased out common principles that make nonviolent resistance successful, creating a broad road map for activists looking to destabilize authoritarian regimes. Mr. Sharp’s magnum opus, the 902-page “Politics of Nonviolent Action,” was published in 1973. But the main source of his success is his 90-page “From Dictatorship to Democracy.”
This slim volume offers concise advice on how to plan a successful opposition campaign, along with a list of historically tested tactics for rattling a dictatorial regime. Aimed at no particular country, and easily downloadable from the Internet, the booklet has found universal appeal among opposition activists around the globe.
Though he warns readers that resistance may provoke violent crackdowns and will take careful planning to succeed, Mr. Sharp writes that any dictatorship will eventually collapse if its subjects refuse to obey.
President Abdullah Gül gives a speech at an international meeting to mark the 20th year of the independence of Turkic republics.
As the 20th anniversary of independence arrives for the Turkic republics, Turkey is reviewing its connections with the countries it deems “brothers,” looking for a more institutionalized touch that speaks more to the mind than to the heart.
Although these countries, namely Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan, have traditionally held priority of place amongst Turkey’s bilateral ties with other countries, the arrival of the 20th anniversary of their independence has prompted Turkey to review its long-standing policy toward them. What has been accomplished between the countries, popularly claimed to be “different states of the same nation,” in these 20 years is a clear indication that it might be high time for Turkey to build on the strong ties, but with solid accomplishment that speaks for the pledges.
Turkey has been reviewing its policy in a way that looks to balance ties with regard to past issues to give birth to solutions, Turkish officials told Sunday’s Zaman on the sidelines of an international meeting Turkey hosted in celebration of the anniversaries. These statements confirm the obvious fact that in spite of the great importance Turkey attaches to its Turkic brothers, relations with these countries have not always evolved into solid cooperation; to the contrary, the ties have loosened due to Turkey’s naïve and mistaken conviction that they can be maintained without much effort because of the historic and ethnic ties. Now Turkey seems to be aligning its foreign policy in a way that would close the gap and revive old partnerships.
Twenty years ago when the Turkic states acquired their independence after the collapse of the Soviet Union, Turkish political leaders were quite enthusiastic about the prospects this new state of affairs offered Turkey: The first initiatives towards the region were mainly based on emotions, in the process of which, Turkey emerged as a protective elder brother, which caused drawbacks over the long-run when the role was too much to deliver. Twenty years later, it is all the more clear for Turkey that it may not actually be the right way to build lasting relations, as for some time now the motivation behind relations between the “brotherly” countries has progressively evolved into a system where the interests of the parties involved are more important than emotions.
As a result, cooperation between the Turkic countries has increasingly gotten better, although some problems still persist between these countries themselves, as a result of which the Nakhchivan Agreement was signed between Turkey, Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan and Kyrgyzstan, while the two others, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan, remained outside, on Oct. 3, 2009. The agreement paved the way for the foundation of the Cooperation Council of Turkic Speaking States (CCTS), which became operational at a summit in 2010 in İstanbul, laying the groundwork to hopefully put the council on a more solid track.
The next step in the council meetings is scheduled for Astana, where ministers of economy come together on Oct. 13, followed by another meeting of foreign ministers on Oct 21. Also that month the heads of the Turkic states will meet at the first get-together of the CCTS, proving that the long-desired institutionalization may now be under way for the Turkic republics and Turkey.
Emotions cause for past disappointments
Since the countries enjoyed a close bond and a common world vision without much effort from either side, heartfelt expectations sometimes melted into disappointment — a feeling Turkey is trying to eradicate by putting affairs on solid ground to foster political, economic, cultural and social ties between the states.
The international meeting held in Turkey earlier this week on the occasion of the 20th anniversary of the independence of the Turkic republics is a clear indication that the countries are eager to come together on the diplomatic track and alternative avenues, define problems and look for solutions to existing issues. “Turkey’s dream in the ’90s of forming an economic union with the newly emerged Turkic countries did not come true,” Halil Akıncı, secretary-general of the CCTS and a former ambassador, noted as he co-chaired a session during the Ankara meetings of Oct. 5 and 6. Akıncı added that the formation of institutional bodies between the states makes it easier to track progress and ensures that problems do not only get “whined about” but are put on an agenda to be solved. “Past issues stemmed from over-emotional reactions between the Turkic republics; it is high time we emerge from that,” Akıncı stated at an evaluation session on Thursday.
The Turkic Council, Akıncı noted, would initially deal with economic progress but continue with a second phase concerning the cultural and educational fields. To this end, Akıncı said a common history book would be published, presenting the shared history of the republics and that a Turkic Academy would be founded to study the culture of the Turkic republics. “The 20 years of relations between Turkic states have been fruitful,” commented Bülent Aras, chairman of Center for Strategic Research (SAM), a research body founded under the umbrella of the Turkish Foreign Ministry, in a quick interview with Sunday’s Zaman on the margin of the meeting. “There is a great tendency for cooperation, and steps we cannot downplay have been taken,” Aras noted but admitted that the current level of developments between the states was not enough. “We have developed a fresh perspective in our relations; more cooperation is sure to come in the future,” Aras added, hinting that Turkey is indeed changing its attitude toward the Turkic republics.
Obstacles
The bonds between the six states are also affected by a complex interwoven web of relations with each other, as well as with other parties, which have a claim on the dynamics of the region. The last instance of a dispute between Turkey and its major Turkic ally, Azerbaijan, erupted in 2009 when Turkey tried to normalize relations with Armenia through outlining a roadmap that would make the dysfunctional border between the neighbors operational again. However, Azerbaijan lashed out at the possibility of normalization before a solution is found to the Armenian occupation of a number of Azeri enclaves around Nagorno-Karabakh, which is why Turkey closed its border with Armenia in 1993 in the first place.
In the case of waiving visa requirements between Azerbaijan and Turkey, it was Iran that intervened and blocked the prospect, saying that it would ask to benefit from the same privilege if Turkey was given the green light.
An additional debate that usually comes up on the economic sidelines between the nations concerns energy prices, since Turkey is the buyer and transporter of large amounts of Azeri natural gas.
Touching on difficulties facing Turkic states in their quest for better cooperation, Mehmet Seyfettin Erol, a professor of international relations at Gazi University in Ankara, told Sunday’s Zaman in an interview that under the surface, there was much to be considered for relations to evolve to the desired level. Hailing the establishment of the CCTS, founded with the Nakhchivan Agreement, which is “the best move Turkey has ever made in Central Asia,” Erol stated most plans to increase cooperation have remained at their initial stages due to a large number of obstacles.
Lamenting difficulties the Turkic republics face in their diplomatic connections, Erol added that Turkey could only improve relations through deeply rooted diplomatic tracks, which necessitate more institutionalization from all ends. Although the academic stressed that the states wanted more institutionalization, he noted the current level of ties remained at the initial phase of intentions and should be backed by solid plans to move on to the next phase.
His words were confirmed by Dr. Aydar Amrebaev, deputy director of the Kazakhstan Institute for World Economy and Politics (IWEP), at the Thursday session of the international meeting, as he spoke of the problems within the Turkic states. “There are no representatives from Uzbekistan and Turkmenistan. As the Turkic world, we need to solve the problems of the Caspian region,” Amrebaev stated. Not only Amrebaev but also Associate Professor Bulat Sultanov, director of the Kazakhstan Institute of Strategic Research, underlined that relations should be handled on an equal basis, implying that Kazakhstan has no need of aid from Turkey but needs cooperation in many fields, including defense and security.
Republic of Turkey , born from the ashes of a 600-year Empire and having the character of independence , has pioneered many freedom movements which resulted with the establishment of new free countries within the first half of 20th century . The founders of the Republic under the leadership of Ataturk set up this new state by giving the whole nation , desolated and impoverished , the spirit of resistance and by getting their rights with force against the Western Allies at that time ; therefore , they deserve our feelings of gratitude and respect .
Today , at this point , we , as Turkey , need to follow much more active government policies . Personally , I strongly believe that the nationalism concept taking place among the founding principles of the Republic should be considered as Imperial Nationalism . In other words , Turkey , will exert its power and authority in every piece of land which it already exists or existed before and which it strongly wishes to exist in the future . No need to say , this is not an enlargement basing on the military power , but on the contrary , an enlargement policy by using all the historical and cultural close relations and by creating a land of attraction for other states and people . Military power must always be respected and must create hesitation among the possible enemies .
First of all , I want to start wit a basic fact of creation : every entity in the universe has an energy and the power of this energy is directly proportional to its mass .
If we apply this fact to politics , the way to gain power in world politics goes through creating unity , as our ancestors wisely said “union makes us strong” . Examples are many : USA today , Ottoman & Roman Empires in the past … Of course , the age of empires ended long time ago , but there is always a future for the unions . Even the United States , despite its present power and influence , continuously brainstorms about establishing a One-World-Government under the authority of the United Nations controlled & directed by the USA .
Under the light of the basic reality above , Turkey , in order to be effective in world politics , needs to unite . The candidates for setting up a union stand next to us : Azerbaijan , Kazakhstan , Turkmenistan , Uzbekistan , Kyrgyzstan and , due to geographical and historical ties , Georgia and Tajikistan . Except the last two , all Turkish origin states … This unification process can first start with the establishment of confederation and may end up with a federation .
Due to its historical experience and the effectiveness in state establishment , Turkey must perform a leadership for establishing “Eurasia Federation” consisting of the eight states above . This new Federation will represent a union covering approximaely 5 million square kilometers and a population of 150+ million , which is hard to ignore .
It is obvious that many of the other actors in the world politics will try every way in order to prevent such a powerful union . Moreover , the present administrators in these eight countries will be reluctant in giving up the power they currently use . However , nobody can claim that it will be easy . I personally do believe that the people forming the nations of those states will look at this unification idea with sympathy .
Finally , the last but not least , this new “Eurasia Federation” will need a technology-creating reliable partner in order to set up a confederation . That partner is JAPAN . Imagine Japan and Turkey with their own distinctive and leading characteristics and , right beside them , all other participating countries with their natural and social wealth . The future lies in the united political and social entities .
Even the idea itself is exciting !… Don’t you think this is worth trying ???
Moscow – Police in the Central Asian nation Kyrgyzstan have detained a Turkish journalist suspected of ties with Islamist terrorist groups, according to Wednesday news reports.
Agents acting on orders from Kyrgyzstan’s national security council arrested Turkish national Ali Osman Zor on May 2 in response to a request from Turkey’s government, the Interfax news agency reported.
Zor, 43, arrived in Kyrgyzstan in April 2010 and applied to receive political asylum there citing alleged long-term persecution by Turkish authorities, according to the report.
Zor’s criticism of Ankara and his calls for an overthrow of the Turkish government in personal blogs and news articles are the cause of the alleged political persecution, the independent Bishkek news website www.24.kg reported.
By Kyrgyz law he may not be extradited from Kyrgyzstan as long as his request for political asylum is under review, said Cholpon Dzhakupova, Director of the Bishkek-based human rights protection group Adilet, according to the report.
Zor reportedly was a member of and frequent spokesman for the Great East Islamic Raiders Front (IBDA-C), a Turkish group calling for the replacement of most secular Middle Eastern governments with a Muslim Caliphate.
Turkish authorities may also want Zor for questioning in connection with a November 15 2003 Istanbul bombing killing 22 and injuring 242, an attack IBDA-C later took credit for, the Kyrgyz newspaper DeloN reported.
The Turkish government in 2007 listed the IBDA-C as a terrorist organization with probable ties to al-Qaeda.
via Media: Kyrgyz police detain Turkish journalist as terror suspect – Monsters and Critics.
ISTANBUL (Hurriyet)–Delegates from Turkic countries gathered Thursday in Istanbul at the World Turkic Forum to highlight the common ties among their countries while promoting steps toward the creation of a more overarching Turkic identity.
“In a globalized world, we want to spread our message to the world as Turkic citizens,” said Nazim Ibrahimov, Azerbaijan’s Diaspora minister.
Participants made many references to the Silk Road and military conquests in the same breath as goals for the countries to unite under a common set of values.
“The main target of the forum is to improve our values, expand our national values and make them international,” said Mahir Yagcilar, the minister of environment for Kosovo, which has a sizeable Turkish population. “The Turkish Republic is the mainland.”
Ahat Andıcan, a former state minister and professor at Istanbul University, echoed Ibrahimov’s call, saying: “In the 21st century, we will be the part [of the world] that is shaping the world. We should. We must.”
Many proposed that Turkey adopt the role of steward and leader for the Turkic world. But the idea didn’t receive unanimous support, with some delegates raising issues with the notion.
“Our main problem is that we can’t put forward a country as the regional leader. We lack a regional state that will pile up the other countries under its roof,” said Fazil Mustafa, a member of the Azerbaijan National assembly.
Turkey, in the past, had been unable to fulfill this role, Mustafa said, citing as evidence the country’s inability to prevent the Armenians of Nagorno-Karabakh from breaking free from Azeri rule.
Meanwhile, Hakan Kirimli of Bilkent University said Turkey’s most important task was to first protect the Turkic diaspora within its own borders, including Tatars, Kazakhs, Turkmens, and people from the Caucasus, Crimea, and the Balkan area.
He said many of these diaspora groups in Turkey actually outnumber the population of their groups in their own homelands. “Protecting those societies means protecting a whole culture.”
Pinar Akcali from Middle East Technical University said Turkey’s improving relationship with Turkic countries was partly the result of its deteriorating relationship with the West and added that such a trend would give Turkey a chance to develop its relations with other parts of the world, including the Turkic one.
Although some Turkic countries are performing well economically and others have the benefit of natural resources, many Turkic countries are not particularly rich economically, according to Mustafa. “The 21st century, in terms of the economy, will not be a Turkic century,” he said.
There are also many political problems between Turkic countries, with Hasan Ali Karasar calling attention to the brutal violence that has sporadically occurred between the local Uzbek community and ethnic Kyrgyz in Kyrgyzstan.
“For four years we have been discussing how to improve inter-Turkic relations,” said Karasar. “Still the government [of Kyrgyzstan] has not been effective. The Kyrgyz president made some important steps. Luckily we have stopped the violence – for now.”
In at least one case, Eurasia Star’s selection process faced criticism for being only as democratic as the country in question. A November entry on the blogging platform Neweurasia.net complained that Turkmenistan’s vote lacked transparency because judges were government-appointed artists and text-message voting was tallied by the state-run telecom monopoly, Altyn Asyr: “This was a lost opportunity to experiment with electronic direct democracy. There wasn’t any transparency to this process, i.e., to confirm that our votes were really obeyed — something we’re used to in Turkmenistan,” wrote blogger Annasoltan.
