Category: Asia and Pacific

President for upgrading Pakistan-Turkey rail link

* Says Pakistan eager to enhance mutual cooperation between two countries

* Suggests currency swap agreement to facilitate business, trade, commerce

Staff Report

ISLAMABAD: President Asif Ali Zardari on Wednesday, while meeting with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan at the Presidency, called for upgrading rail linkage between Pakistan and Turkey

Briefing the media, the president’s spokesman, Farhatullah Babar, said the president, during the meeting, reiterated the proposal of upgradation of railway lines between the two countries and urged the Turkish PM to seriously consider the proposal. He said that Pakistan was eager to further enhance mutual cooperation between the two countries for taking maximum advantage of the existing potential of the two countries and to fully translate their equation into a strategic partnership.

He said that the railway line upgradation project between the two countries was one such step for not only speedy transportation of cargo, but to open new vistas of opportunities for the people and contribute towards economic development. The president said that there was a need to urgently evaluate similar projects so that the next step that involves raising finances could be vigorously pursued.

In this context, the president also suggested a currency swap agreement between the two countries to facilitate business, trade and commerce.

Babar said the president also felicitated the Turkish PM on the vote for a series of democratic measures in the recently held referendum. He hailed the verdict on reform package as a triumph for democracy and democratic processes and recalled the recent democratic reform in the shape of the 18th Amendment in Pakistan.

The president also appreciated the Turkish government’s generous assistance, both in cash and kind, for providing relief to flood victims in Pakistan and also its pledge to actively participate in reconstruction and rehabilitation activities for the flood-affected people. He said the government and people of Pakistan greatly value sensitivity and the support of the Turkish people and government at this hour of need.

The president said both countries needed to aim at increasing their trade and investments equations and further cooperate especially in transport, telecommunications, manufacturing, tourism and other industries.

Discussing the regional situation, Zardari said that Turkey had an important role to play for not only bringing in socio economic development in the region, but also for stability in the region, adding that regional issues could best be addressed by regional powers.

Prime Minister Erdogan thanked the president for the warm welcome and said that Turkey would continue to support Pakistan and its people at every critical occasion and would actively participate in the reconstruction and rehabilitation phase for the flood affectees.

October 15, 2010
China and Turkey eye trade boost

Turkey and China intend to triple bilateral trade to $50bn within five years, the countries’ leaders have said after meetings aimed at strengthening political and business ties.

At a joint news conference held in the Turkish capital Ankara, Tayyib Erdogan, the prime minister, said: “We set ourselves a timetable. We agreed to increase our trade volume to $50bn in 2015 and to $100bn in 2020.”

Erdogan’s Chinese counterpart, Wen Jiabao, hailed what he described as a new “strategic partnership”, saying he recognised Turkey’s “power and influence in the international community and its region”.

Both countries – the fastest growing economies in the world – sealed agreements to co-operate in energy, transport and infrastructure.

Erdogan said the two countries have also agreed to carry out their trade in their national currencies.

‘Important milestone’

Wen, the first Chinese premier to visit Turkey in eight years, said he wanted to “turn over a new leaf” in ties with Turkey. He also held talks with Abdullah Gul, the Turkish president, and business leaders before returning home on Saturday.

Turkey was the last stop on Wen’s European tour, which took him to Greece, Belgium and Brussels.

He described his two-day visit as an “important milestone in relations”.

Turkey’s ties with China have been strained at times, notably over Beijing’s approach to unrest in Xinjiang, home to China’s Muslim Turkish minority Uighurs.

The two leaders did not, however, address one of the few areas of tension in bilateral ties.

Hundreds of Uighur Turks held demonstrations during Wen’s visit, denouncing Beijing’s handling of the unrest which killed 184 people in Xinjiang in 2009.

Turkey accepts China’s sovereignty over Xinjiang, but last year heavily criticised the deadly violence in the region, which it described as “atrocities”.

Wen’s tour of Europe was also overshadowed by a dispute with the European Union and the US over the level of the yuan.

In the Greek capital Athens, he pledged investment and support to debt-stricken Greece and announced the creation of a $5bn fund to help finance the purchase of Chinese ships by Greek shipping companies.

In Brussels, Wen fended off European pressure to raise the value of the yuan before sealing business deals worth $3.15bn in Rome.

Trade ‘imbalance’

The trade volume between Turkey and China stood at $14.2bn in 2009 – $12.6bn of which consisted of Chinese exports.

Wen said his country was not opposed to looking into ways to redress the imbalance. “The Chinese side will carry out a study in order to sustain our trade without giving a huge deficit,” he said.

One of the agreements would open the way for the joint construction of 4,500km of railway in Turkey, Erdogan said, adding that efforts would now focus on finding the necessary finance for the project.

Chinese companies are already involved in the construction of railroads for two high-speed train links, he added.

Turkey and China are also involved in projects to build oil pipelines from Iran.

Joint military exercise

Turkish newspapers reported last week that Chinese warplanes took part in a military training exercise at an airbase in central Turkey, in what appeared to be the first such drill involving Beijing and a Nato member country.

The Turkish army has not confirmed the exercise.

Turkish press reports also said the Chinese-Turkish manoeuvres took place on September 20 through October 4 at the Konya air base in Turkey’s central Anatolia region – before Wen’s visit.

“To the best of our knowledge, US-made F-16s were not involved in the exercise,” Lieutenant Colonel Tamara Parker, a defence department spokeswoman, said on Friday.

Another Pentagon official, who asked not to be identified, said indications were that the Turkish air force flew F-4 Phantom fighters, used extensively by the US during the Vietnam war, while China flew Russian-built SU-27s.

China, according to reports, has also developed a surface-to-surface rocket-launching system together with Turkey.

October 15, 2010
Nalbandian: Turkey backtracks on protocols

Armenian Foreign Minister Edward Nalbandian has slammed Turkey for reneging on its pledge to display a commitment to reconcile with Armenia following a century of hostilities, while urging Turkey to immediately ratify the protocols signed in Zurich.

In an op-ed he published in The Wall Street Journal on Tuesday, Nalbandian said Turkey had backtracked from the Zurich protocols — which it signed on Oct. 10, 2009, in an effort to reconcile with Armenia — and Ankara had returned to the language of preconditions that it used before the rapprochement process began.

“It seems we speak in different languages,” Nalbandian said, adding that Turkey claimed to have no preconditions, but then demanded Armenia fulfill this or that condition before they could proceed with the ratification. “Does this mean they have no preconditions?” he asked.

Nalbandian also criticized Turkey’s attempts to link the Armenian-Turkish normalization process to the settlement of the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict and said any Turkish attempts to interfere in the Karabakh process or to link the normalization of its relations with Armenia upon its own perception of progress in the Nagorno-Karabakh talks harmed both processes.

13 October 2010, Wednesday
TODAY’S ZAMAN İSTANBUL

October 13, 2010
Gorbachev: Asia-Pacific to Be New Power

Mikhail Gorbachev, former Soviet Union leader, has assessed as "deeply symbolic" the fact that the conference "Europe Looks East" is organized in Bulgaria. Photo by BGNES

It is deeply symbolic that we have organized the conference in Bulgaria, said former Soviet Union leader Mikhail Gorbachev at the first day of the forum “Europe Looks East” in Sofia.

The two-day conference, which began Thursday. is organized by “New Policy Forum“, an NGO founded by Gorbachev, and the Bulgarian “Slaviani Foundation” with President Zakhari Zakhariev.

The participants will discuss topics from modern politics, like the Turkish EU membership and the politics in the Middle East region.

“Here, at the border between civilizations, in one simultaneously European, Balkan and Slavic country, we will talk about Europe, about the countries, which have participated in the European processes for centuries,” Gorbachev said.

“Today not all of these countries are EU member states, but that does not make them less European countries. Their historical destiny and culture, as well as their nations, belong to Europe. Without them, Europe would lose part of its richness and diversity,” he said.

He noted that these non-EU member states are not neighbors of Europe, but rather an inseparable part of it.

“I would like to point that out because some people say that all the European countries have united in the European Union,” Gorbachev said, adding he did not approve of this statement.

He reminded that 20 years ago, the end of the East-West opposition provided unique conditions for creating a united Europe.

“The European politicians did not take advantage of this chance as much as they should have. The main reason for that was the wrong assessment of the events, which led to the end of the Cold War and the fall of the totalitarian and authoritarian regime. And the assessment was that it was a victory of the West,” Gorbachev said.

The former Soviet Union leader has explained that nowadays political analysts claim that the role of Europe on the world political scene is decreasing.

“America, Asia and Europe itself are talking about the setting in of the Asia-Pacific region. The center of the international politics and economy is redirecting to this fast developing part of our planet,” Gorbachev said.

Former Minister of Foreign Affairs of Yugoslavia, Budimir Loncar, former Presidents of Romania, Ion Iliesku, and Bulgaria, Petar Stoyanov also took part of the discussions at the forum.

Former Bulgarian Foreign Minister, Solomon Passy, made a brief announcement, stating that inside or outside the EU, Turkey will be the new power of 21st century.

, October 7, 2010

October 13, 2010
China, Turkey Deepen Ties During Rare Visit

Chinese Premier Wen Jiabao visited Turkey last week as part of his tour of Europe. Both countries – the fastest growing economies in the world – sealed agreements to cooperate in energy, transport and infrastructure.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan declared the visit an important step in the growing relationship between China and Turkey.

“We said let’s raise our trade volume to $50 billion by 2015. And as the second phase, by 2020 let’s aim to reach a volume of $100 billion. We have agreed upon this with my counterpart,” said Erdogan.

China Premier Wen Jiabao, described the transaction as a new “strategic partnership”, saying he recognized Turkey’s “power and influence in the international community and its region”.

Both countries – the fastest growing economies in the world – sealed agreements to cooperate in energy, transport and infrastructure.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan (r) and his Chinese counterpart Wen Jiabao after a news conference in Ankara, 08 Oct 2010 Photo: AP

One of the agreements would open the way for the joint construction of 4,500-kilometer railway in Turkey. Chinese companies are already involved in the construction of railroads for two high-speed train links. Turkey and China are also involved in projects to build oil pipelines from Iran.

Mr. Erdogan said the two countries have also agreed to carry out their trade in their national currencies.

Let’s continue our business transactions based on yuan and Turkish lira,” he said. “This would be the most important step after the similar steps we took with Russia and Iran.”

But analysts say trade may not be the only motive behind the Chinese premier’s visit.

Turkey’s ties with China have been strained at times, mostly over Beijing’s approach to unrest in Xinjiang, home to China’s Muslim Turkish minority Uighurs. Some analysts says China believes Turkey can play a role in helping to resolve tensions. Last year China was hit by major Uighur unrest which was violently put down by Chinese authorities.

That strained Turkish-Chinese relations with an angry diplomatic exchange. The Turkish prime minister accused China of committing atrocities, Beijing retorted telling Turkey to back down.

Political columnist Murat Yetkin says while trade is the backbone behind deepening relations, it seems to have moved into the diplomatic realm.

“Right before this visit, there was bilateral military exercise in Turkey where Chinese jets were involved in flying over Pakistani and Iranian airspace,” said Yetkin. “And, this was the first time ever, a Chinese air force had a military exercise with a NATO country. So Turkish-Chinese relations are getting more and more upfront.”

Businessman Omer Bollat, the former head of Musiad – a Turkish business confederation – says relations with China is part of a wider policy of reducing its dependancy on Europe.

“The Turkish economy with present government has been opening up to Eurasia markets, Russia Caucasus, Balkans, Middle Eastern gulf countries, African countries in particular North African countries,” said Bollat. “And the Turkish economy is diversifying its products, its services, and its markets not to be too much dependent on the European Union market.”

Turkish foreign policy adviser Gokhan Cetinsayar says while in the past previous Turkish leaders tried to develop ties with central Asia and China, those efforts failed due to a weak economy and unstable government. But, he says Turkey’s ruling AKP believes with the country’s strong economy and government such goals are obtainable.

“AKP’s foreign policy doctrine, Turkey with its strategic depth, geographic depth, Turkey with its economic and military power, should certainly play a leading role in the region including the Middle East,” said Cetinsayar. “Turkey should become a global power in the long run.”

The Turkey stop was part of the final leg of the Chinese premier’s four-nation European trip that started October 2, which also took him to Greece, Belgium, Germany and Italy.

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October 13, 2010
ANOTHER LEGAL VICTORY FOR FREEDOM OF SPEECH

The tables are slowly but surely turning and Armenians are in visible panic. All this because of a recent legal defeat. Prof. Guenter Lewy is cleared of all defamations dished out by Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), perhaps a hapless tool in the Armenian propaganda. If this intrigues you, then fasten your seatbelt for what follows.

Southern Poverty Law Center (SPLC), one of America’s revered civil rights organizations, accused in 2008 Professor Guenter Lewy of being part of a network of academicians financed by the Turkish government, based on input from SPLC, we now understand that an Armenian employee misled SPLC with falsified information (why am I not surprised?)

SPLC even compared Prof. Lewy and Neo-Nazis, even though Prof. Lewy had been harassed by Nazi thugs on Kristallnacht in 1938 and later joined the British Army’s Jewish Brigade in World War II to fight Nazis. Armenian fanaticism, deception, and misrepresentations know no ends, in the true tradition of the master falsifier Aram Andonian of fake Tallat telegrams, and the above article is no exception.

The court battle forced the SPLC to publish an embarrassing apology and retraction, perhaps a first in their history, as a small price for trusting Armenian falsifiers and Turk haters in matters relating to the Turkish Armenian conflict. Reportedly, SPLC will also provide Prof. Lewy a monetary settlement.

Prof. Lewy was still kind when he commented, “The SPLC has made important contributions to the rule of law and the struggle against bigotry. Thus I took no pleasure in commencing legal action against it. But the stakes, both for my reputation as a scholar and for the free and unhindered discussion of controversial topics, were compelling. It must be possible to defend views that contradict conventional wisdom without being called the agent of a foreign government.”

David Saltzman, one of Lewy’s co-counsel from the TALDF was more to the point when he said, “Academic freedom requires that scholars not work under a cloud of suspicion of their motives. Professor Lewy has been transparent and objective in his work.”

Bruce Fein, Lewy’s other co-counsel reinforced this by stating, “SPLC did the right thing by admitting and correcting their errors” whereby they rescued Professor Lewy’s reputation and “… advanced a common goal of free inquiry as the best method of discovering truths.”

Lincoln McCurdy, president of Turkish Coalition of America, perhaps put it best when he observed, “Reconciliation between the Turkish and Armenian peoples will require a full accounting of history. TCA supports an open dialogue and unfettered academic inquiry into this controversial period of Ottoman-Armenian history and tragedy. We are proud of TALDF’s hard work which hopefully will contribute to this open debate and offer our congratulations to Professor Lewy.”

THE FACTS ARE CLEAR FOR THOSE WHO WISH TO KNOW THE TRUTH

Jewish Holocaust is supported by due process and a court verdict by a competent tribunal (Nuremberg, 1945.) What due process and court verdict support Armenian claims of genocide? The answer might surprise you: none!

Armenian claims are based on a racist and dishonest version of history, not law or the truth. They are racist because they ignore the Turkish victims at the hands of Armenian revolutionaries (120,000 in the year 1914 alone, according to the dictionary of World War One, by Stephen Pope and Elizabeth-Anne Wheal, 2003, page 34.) And they are dishonest because they simply dismiss the six T’s of the Turkish-Armenian conflict. The “poor, starving Armenians myth” needs to be reconciled with these photos of the Armenian ultra-nationalists armed to the teeth (www.ethocide.com .)

Whereas the picture is crystal clear: Armenians took up arms against their own government. After a millennium of harmonious cohabitation, Armenians, thus chose to resort to revolts, terrorism, supreme treason, and territorial demands, causing countless Muslim/Turkish casualties, all of which triggered the TERESET (temporary resettlement of 1915). These are the plain facts.
Armenians must face up to their own unspeakable crimes against humanity before any closure can occur. If you are still in doubt, let me refer you to an Armenian source to see photos of Armenian murderers, gun-toting Armenian clergy, their Muslim, mostly Turkish, victims: Houshamatyan of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation, Centennial, Album-Atlas, Volume I, Epic Battles, 1890-1914 (The Next Day Color Printing, Inc., Glendale, CA, U.S.A., 2006)

These facts contradict with the embellished and falsified Armenian narrative, which in turn, creates “cognitive dissonance” in Armenian people. Modern psychology informs us that this trauma can be resolved in two ways:

1) accept the new facts and change your attitude accordingly, or

2) ignore/dismiss the new facts and demonize all dissenters.

Most Armenians, unfortunately, seem to still choose the latter, hence no closure after a century.

October 12, 2010