Turkish Forum

Category: East Asia & Pacific

  • KAMPANYA: PETITION: ABC is at it again!

    KAMPANYA: PETITION: ABC is at it again!

    They will be telling the whole wide world how terrible us Turks are!
    After all we have systematically killed whoever sat a foot in Anatolia just for the sake of it!We never, ever had an Independence War!
    We were never, ever insulted, abused, massacred, invaded etc.!

    Please React!
    As the ABC promotes Have Your Say!
    Don’t forget both SBS and ABC reject to screen the documentary Armenian Revolt!

    Family Footsteps – Armenia
    8:30pm Thursday, 28 Aug 2008
    Documentary CC PG

    Family Footsteps, series two, takes us once again on an intimate journey into the lives of four young Australians as they travel back to the homeland of their parents in search of answers, a sense of belonging and for some, the chance to lay ghosts to rest. The four-part series takes us to Armenia, Uganda, Tonga and Cambodia.

    In the first episode we follow the adventures of graphic artist Joanna Kambourian from NSW who has grown up knowing very little about her Armenian culture. Overshadowing her family is a sense of shame, hiding a secret that has kept them from returning to their homeland. It weighs heavily on Joanna as she travels to Armenia in the quest to remove the stain that has haunted her family for several generations.

    Joanna has always longed to go to an Armenian school, be taught the language and customs of her ancient culture but her father didn’t think it was that important. So with few cultural references Joanna, 31, embarks on her own voyage of cultural exploration.

    It is 40 degrees in the small country town of Coraki in NSW and Joanna is packing her winter clothes. Temperatures in Armenia are 10 below zero. As she arrives, snow covers the tiny mountainous country that lies to the east of Turkey, sharing borders with Georgia, Azerbaijan and Iran. Here she will live with her mentor Tehmineh the local schoolteacher who shares her home with her husband Ara and mother-in-law Jemma. They welcome Joanna as part of their family.

    The next day Joanna starts her job in the local bakery. The local women have been making Lavash bread using the same techniques for centuries. As their days unfold Tehmineh continues to teach her students in the morning and in the afternoon introduces Joanna to the subtleties of Armenian culture.

    With Tehmineh’s help Joanna begins to investigate the history of her family’s flight from Armenia and the story of betrayal that lies behind it. They visit an historian, an expert in the Armenian genocide, who explains that in 1915 under the cover of WWI the Turks began a systematic genocide of the Christians and Armenians living in the Ottoman Empire. Joanna confesses that her great, great, grandfather was the surgeon general in the Turkish army at that time, and to save his family and his life he converted to Islam.

    As her journey draws to a close Tehmineh offers Joanna the chance to take part in an ancient pagan ritual to give thanks for the transition she and her family have made.’

  • Wrestler Sahin wins gold for Turkey in close bout

    Wrestler Sahin wins gold for Turkey in close bout

    Turkey's Ramazan Sahin prays after his victory over Ukraine's Andriy Stadnik during their wrestling men's 66kg freestyle gold medal contest in the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games at the China Agricultural University Gymnasium in Beijing on August 20, 2008. Sahin won the gold medal. (Agencies)
    Xinhua
    Updated: 2008-08-20 20:30

    BEIJING — Ramazan Sahin of Turkey won the men’s freestyle 66kg wrestling title to earn Turkey their first gold medal here on Wednesday evening at the Beijing Olympic Games.

    The reigning world champion lost the first period to Ukrainian Andriy Stadnik but took the next two for a 2-1 (2-2, 2-1, 2-2) victory. The first period was decided on the last point given to Stadnik, while the third period went to Sahin because he had one 2-point technique to his opponent’s two 1-point techniques.

    “The final was the most difficult round,” said Sahin. “I lost to him the last time we fought, but I felt quite relaxed and confident this time.”

    “The gold is for the Turkish people. I would like to give my appreciation to my coach and all the people who support me.” added Sahin.

    Turkey's Ramazan Sahin carries national flags to celebrate his victory over Ukraine's Andriy Stadnik (not in photo) in their men's 66kg freestyle gold medal wrestling match at the 2008 Beijing Olympic Games on August 20, 2008. (Agencies)
    Stadnik was happy to win the silver because he thought he did better than his wife, bronze medalist Mariya Stadnik of Azerbaijan in women’s freestyle 48kg wrestling.

    “It’s nice to realise that you compete against your own wife and you are the winner,” said Stadnik.

    “Reaching the final is already a good result. I have been ready to win. I have competed against Sahin three times, and I only won once.”

    The bronze medal was shared by Otar Tushishvili of Georgia, a semifinal loser to Sahin, and Sushil Kumar of India.

    Tushishvili won the medal by points over Cuba’s Geandry Garzon, scoring the last of two takedowns of the second period after dominating the first one.

    Kumar broke free from a defensive position in an extra time to beat Leonid Spiridonov of Kazakhstan for the bronze medal.

    Source: www.chinadaily.com.cn, 20.08.2008

  • Exiles claim China planning crackdown on Xinjiang during Ramadan

    Exiles claim China planning crackdown on Xinjiang during Ramadan

     Aug 19, 2008, 7:52 GMT

    Beijing – A group of exiles from China’s Muslim ethnic Uighur minority alleged Tuesday that police were planning to crack down on the Xinjiang region, where a series of attacks were carried out during the Olympic Games.

    The Munich-based World Uyghur Congress said Xinjiang authorities plan to hold a 40-day ‘Strike Hard’ campaign next month, coinciding with the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

    Such campaigns are routinely carried out in China, but in Xinjiang they focus on finding suspected terrorists, religious extremists and separatists.

    ‘The main targets of this Strike Hard are fasting Uighurs, including cadres (civil servants) and students,’ the group’s spokesman Dilxat Raxit said in a statement.

    Fasting is a common practice by devout Muslims worldwide during Ramadan. People avoid food and drink, even water, from dawn to dusk, only eating in the early morning and at night.

    ‘With the Strike Hard activity being held around the time of Ramadan, Uighurs will be welcoming Islam’s holiday under an atmosphere of fear,’ Raxit said.

    ‘We strongly request the international community to pay attention to China’s banning of Uighurs from fasting and trampling on religious rights.’

    An employee at the Xinjiang public security department’s propaganda bureau denied the allegations when contacted by phone.

    ‘There’s no such plan,’ said the man, who only gave his surname Li.

    He also said government employees including Uighurs who work in the police department are not forbidden to fast. But he admitted that in his 20 years at the bureau, he was not aware of any Uighur colleagues fasting, either.

    ‘It’s up to them. We respect minorities’ practices,’ he said.

    An employee contacted at a post office of Xinjiang’s capital Urumqi said: ‘Some people fast, some people don’t. It’s based on their practice.’

    In Shule county, located 30 kilometers from the city of Kashgar, 12 people were arrested on charges of trying to divide the country and participating in illegal religious activities, Raxit alleged.

    Xinjiang has witnessed a spate of deadly attacks, which analysts believe were timed to coincide with the August 8-24 Olympic Games in Beijing. China blamed Uighur terrorists and separatists.

    The attacks killed at least 26 people in less than 10 days.

    On August 4, two Uighur men drove a truck into a group of soldiers on their morning jog in Kashgar city, and used homemade bombs and knives to kill 16 soldiers, injuring 16 others.

    On Sunday, more than a dozen explosions were set off in Kuqa county, damaging mostly government buildings, with 10 ‘terrorists’ killed by police bullets or their own bombs, the government said.

    On Tuesday, three security guards were stabbed to death at a roadside checkpoint near Kashgar.

    The Turkic-speaking population enjoyed brief periods of independence in the 1930s and 1940s, although Chinese dynasties have historically sought to control the region. But since Communist rule, China has encouraged an influx of ethnic Han Chinese to the region, inflaming racial tensions.

    Deutsche Presse-Agentur

  • Renewed violence in west China

    Renewed violence in west China

     
      

    Three security staff have been stabbed to death in China’s Xinjiang region, the third attack there in eight days.

    Assailants killed the men at a checkpoint near the city of Kashgar, Chinese state media said.

    Sixteen police officers were killed in an attack in Kashgar earlier this month, but state media said there was no evidence linking the two attacks.

    Xinjiang is home to many Muslim Uighurs, some of whom want independence in the region they call East Turkestan.

    There has been a rise in violent incidents in Xinjiang in recent months, which China has blamed on separatists seeking to disrupt the Olympic Games.

    Suspected Muslim separatists also launched a series of bomb attacks in Kuqa, in southern Xinjiang, on Sunday, which left 11 dead.

    Arrest report

    Tuesday’s attack happened at a checkpoint about 30 km (18 miles) from the border city of Kashgar.

    Attackers – it is not clear how many – jumped out of a passing vehicle and stabbed the men to death. Three men died and a fourth was injured, Xinhua news agency said.

    News of the attack emerged hours after Chinese state media announced that the situation in Kuqa, scene of Sunday’s attacks, had returned to normal.

    Q&A: China and the Uighurs

    Early on Sunday, a string of explosions took place in supermarkets, hotels and government buildings across the city.

    One security guard died, two attackers blew themselves up and eight were shot by police, Xinhua said.

    A Uighur activist has accused Chinese authorities of arresting dozens of people in the wake of the blasts.

    Dilxat Raxit, of the pro-independence World Uighur Congress, said more than 90 people had been arrested in Kuqa, as well as others in nearby counties.

    Local people had heard the sound of detainees being beaten and tortured, he said in a statement.

    He urged the international community to put pressure on China to end “inhumane crimes against ethnic Uighurs”.

    But the Kuqa local government said that Mr Raxit’s allegations were untrue.

    Xinjiang is home to more than eight million Uighurs.

    China says it is bringing development and prosperity to the region, but activists accuse Beijing of suppressing traditional Uighur culture and religion.
  • Chinese Islamic group threatens Olympics

    Chinese Islamic group threatens Olympics

    updated 10:10 p.m. EDT, Thu August 7, 2008

    • Story Highlights
    • Reported warning comes days after assailants killed 16 border police in Xinjiang
    • SITE: Group also calls on Muslims to offer support financially, physically, spiritually
    • SITE: Warning implicitly targets those “complicit” with Chinese regime

    BEIJING, China (AP) — A Chinese Islamic faction that has threatened to attack the Olympics released a new video, warning Muslims to stay away from the Beijing Games and avoid buses, trains, planes and buildings used by Chinese, a U.S. group that monitors militant organizations said Thursday.
    A police officer asks girls to move away from the fence outside the National Stadium in Beijing on July 27.

    On the six-minute video issued Wednesday, two days before the opening of the games, a representative of the Turkistan Islamic Party reiterates the group’s threats against the Olympics made in a video last month, according to SITE Intelligence Group. It shows images of the Beijing Olympics logo in flames and an explosion over an Olympics venue.

    “Choose your side,” says the speaker, grasping a rifle and dressed in a black turban and camouflage with his face masked. “Do not stay on the same bus, on the same train, on the same plane, in the same buildings, or any place the Chinese are,” he warns Muslims, according to SITE.

    The video accuses China of using the Olympics to hide its actions from the world.

    The TIP representative spoke the Turkic language of the Uighurs, a largely Muslim minority in China’s restive western Xinjiang territory near the borders of Pakistan and Afghanistan. The Uighurs have a long history of tense relations with the central government.

    The Turkistan Islamic Party is believed to be based across the border in Pakistan, where security experts say it has received training from al Qaeda. Last month, the group issued videotaped threats and claimed responsibility for a series of recent bus bombings in China.

    On Monday, assailants killed 16 border police and wounded 16 others in the Xinjiang city of Kashgar when they rammed a stolen truck into the group before tossing homemade bombs and stabbing them. Chinese authorities called the raid a terrorist attack and said they had arrested two men who are Uighurs. No group has claimed responsibility.

    The latest video claims the communist regime’s alleged mistreatment of Muslims justifies holy war. It accuses China of forcing Muslims into atheism by capturing and killing Islamic teachers and destroying Islamic schools, according to the SITE. It says China’s birth control program has forced abortions on Muslim women.

    “They are implying that anyone who is complicit with the Chinese regime is a legitimate target,” Rita Katz, director of SITE, told The Associated Press.

    “The reason for the increased propaganda from TIP at this time is likely due to the fact that the international media’s attention on the Olympics in China provides the group with the perfect platform to publicize their existence and activities on a global scale,” Katz added.

    The group also calls upon Muslims to offer support financially, physically and spiritually, SITE said.

    News of the video came just hours after President Bush landed in Beijing for a three day visit to attend the games opening ceremony and some Olympic events.

    “I think what they’re doing is they’re trying to capitalize on the buildup to the games,” said Ben Venzke of Washington-based IntelCenter, another group that monitors militant groups.

    Terrorism analysts and Chinese authorities have said that with more than 100,000 soldiers and police guarding Beijing and other Olympic co-host cities, terrorists were more likely to attack less-protected areas.  

    Copyright 2008 The Associated Press. All rights reserved

  • Victory for Turkish Democracy (Editorial)

    Victory for Turkish Democracy (Editorial)

    By Japan Times, Tokyo

    Aug. 5–Turkey’s Constitutional Court ruled last week that the country’s governing party will not be banned for violating the country’s constitution. The outcome is a victory for democracy, as the court decision amounted to a rejection of conservative opposition to the ruling Justice and Development Party and the opposition’s attempts to shape Turkish politics by extra-parliamentary means.

    While Turkey is a predominantly Muslim country, the country’s constitution prescribes a secular state. That mandate has empowered a conservative order — backed by the military — that has controlled Turkish politics in the name of secularism.

    Having won 47 percent of the popular vote in elections last year — the biggest margin in over 40 years — Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan, head of the Justice and Development Party (AKP), feels confident enough to press for greater expression of Islamic identity in Turkey. For example, his government has rescinded the ban on women wearing head scarves in university. While this may seem like a minor issue, many fear it is only the first item in an agenda designed to push Turkey toward becoming an Islamic state.

    Mr. Erdogan insists he and his party respect the constitution, but critics have their doubts. This spring the chief prosecutor charged the prime minister with harboring an Islamic agenda and demanded that the AKP be banned. The Constitutional Court ruled that the party’s activities were indeed unconstitutional. Six of the 11 judges voted to ban the party, but seven were needed for the ban to be enacted. Another four judges felt that cutting in half the funding the AKP receives from the Treasury — $20 million — would suffice as punishment.

    The decision was “a serious warning,” said chief judge Hasim Kilic, to the AKP to “take the necessary lessons.” The loss of financing is not likely to hurt badly since party supporters can make up the lost revenue. The lifting of the threat of a party ban means that Mr. Erdogan can reach out to secularists who oppose conservatives and want to see democracy more deeply entrenched in Turkey. The question now is whether hardliners in the party will see the decision as an opportunity to push harder on their Islamic agenda, alienating moderates and animating conservatives.

    The AKP may be on probation, but the decision is also a sign that the country’s judiciary, a pillar of the conservative order, is not prepared to once again overturn the democratic will of the Turkish people. Political parties have been banned in the past, but never one as popular as AKP or one that is in power. While the military has dominated Turkish politics since the founding of the modern state in 1923 — there have been four coups in the last half century — its allies are no longer prepared to give it a blank check.

    Mr. Erdogan deserves some of the credit for this new reluctance. His economic policies have been a success. GDP expanded 5 percent in 2007, a slight slowdown from the previous year, but still a respectable showing. Inflation is at a 37-year low and foreign investment last year set a record, topping $22 billion.

    The most important development is Mr. Erdogan’s ability to commence membership talks with the European Union. That has been and will continue to be a difficult negotiation as Europe is by no means united on Turkey’s membership. (The chief objection is the fact that it’s a Muslim country; Turkey’s size, argue the critics, would transform the nature of the EU.) But any progress depends on a rigorous and stable democracy. A constitutional coup would strengthen the hands of opponents.

    This realization constrains whatever inclinations the AKP might have to push the Islamist agenda further. After the court ruling, EU Enlargement Commissioner Olli Rehn called on Ankara “to resume with full energy its reforms to modernize the country,” forging consensus “through a broad-based dialogue with all sections of Turkish society.” The message could not be clearer.

    The constitutional court decision has settled one important question, but tensions and deep divisions remain. Eighty-six people, including several senior military officers, are in jail awaiting trial on charges of involvement with a terrorist group that aimed to overthrow Mr. Erdogan’s government. The group is suspected of having operated with the tacit acceptance of other pillars of the “secular order.”

    Although such musings appeal to the conspiracy minded, many believe that the group enjoys good connections with elements of the security forces. Thus the rulings in their cases will be every bit as important as last week’s ruling on the AKP. They will confirm whether laws and democratic processes, rather than an unelected elite, will shape Turkey’s future.

    Source: Japan Times, Tokyo, 05.08.2008