Turkish Forum

Category: Asia and Pacific

  • Young woman fired from Uyghur radio station, then arrested

    Young woman fired from Uyghur radio station, then arrested

    Young woman fired from Uyghur radio station, then arrested

    Reporters Without Borders condemns the dismissal and arrest of Mehbube Ablesh, a member of the Uyghur community in the northwestern province of Xinjiang, who worked for Xinjiang People’s Radio Station, a government station based in the provincial capital of Urumqi.

    After posting articles online criticising provincial leaders and Chinese government policy, she was fired from the station’s advertising department in August and was then arrested by the Urumqi police. According to one of her colleagues interviewed by Radio Free Asia, she is still being held.

    “As in other provinces with pro-autonomy movements, there is even more censorship and police control in Xinjiang than the rest of China, especially during the month of Ramadan,” Reporters Without Borders said. “There is an urgent need for Uyghur journalists to be allowed to write and express themselves without fear of being arrested and convicted on trumped-up charges of calling for violence or threatening Chinese sovereignty.”

    Nurmuhemmet Yasin, the author of the 2004 short story “Wild Pigeon,” was sentenced in February 2005 to 10 years in prison for inciting Uyghur separatism. Written in the first person, the story described a young pigeon that was put in a cage by humans and took its own life rather than sacrifice its freedom. The authorities claimed that it was about Yasin’s father, who poisoned himself in similar circumstances, and argued that it therefore contained a political message.

    Korash Huseyin, an employee of the literary magazine that published the short story, was arrested in November 2005 and was sentenced to three years in prison by a south Xinjiang court. Ismail Tiliwaldi, the Uyghur governor of Xinjiang, said Yasin’s arrest was necessary to maintain stability in the region.

    Abdulghani Memetemin, a Xinjiang-based writer, teacher and translator, was arrested on 26 July 2002 for providing information to the East Turkestan Information Centre (ETIC), an Uyghur rights and pro-independence group run by Uyghur exiles in Germany. A Kashgar court sentenced him to nine years in prison in June 2003 on a charge of “illegally providing state secrets to foreign organisations.”

    Reporters Without Borders believes that all of these Uyghurs were unfairly convicted for expressing themselves publicly, and calls on the Chinese authorities to release them.

     

     

     

     

     

    Source: Reporters Without Borders, 10 September 2008

  • Barack Obama on the Importance of US-Armenia Relations AND TURKEY

    Barack Obama on the Importance of US-Armenia Relations AND TURKEY

    Barack Obama on the Importance of US-Armenia Relations

    “Two years ago, I criticized the Secretary of State for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after he properly used the term “genocide” to describe Turkey’s slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915″ ….  Barack Obama

    | January 19, 2008

    I am proud of my strong record on issues of concern to the one and a half million Americans of Armenian heritage in the United States. I warmly welcome the support of this vibrant and politically active community as we change how our government works here at home, and restore American leadership abroad.

    I am a strong supporter of a U.S.-Armenian relationship that advances our common security and strengthens Armenian democracy. As President, I will maintain our assistance to Armenia, which has been a reliable partner in the fight against terrorism and extremism. I will promote Armenian security by seeking an end to the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades, and by working for a lasting and durable settlement of the Nagorno Karabagh conflict that is agreeable to all parties, and based upon America’s founding commitment to the principles of democracy and self determination. And my Administration will help foster Armenia’s growth and development through expanded trade and targeted aid, and by strengthening the commercial, political, military, developmental, and cultural relationships between the U.S. and Armenian governments.

    I also share with Armenian Americans – so many of whom are descended from genocide survivors – a principled commitment to commemorating and ending genocide. That starts with acknowledging the tragic instances of genocide in world history. As a U.S. Senator, I have stood with the Armenian American community in calling for Turkey’s acknowledgement of the Armenian Genocide. Two years ago, I criticized the Secretary of State for the firing of U.S. Ambassador to Armenia, John Evans, after he properly used the term “genocide” to describe Turkey’s slaughter of thousands of Armenians starting in 1915. I shared with Secretary Rice my firmly held conviction that the Armenian Genocide is not an allegation, a personal opinion, or a point of view, but rather a widely documented fact supported by an overwhelming body of historical evidence. The facts are undeniable. An official policy that calls on diplomats to distort the historical facts is an untenable policy. As a senator, I strongly support passage of the Armenian Genocide Resolution (H.Res.106 and S.Res.106), and as President I will recognize the Armenian Genocide.

    Genocide, sadly, persists to this day, and threatens our common security and common humanity. Tragically, we are witnessing in Sudan many of the same brutal tactics – displacement, starvation, and mass slaughter – that were used by the Ottoman authorities against defenseless Armenians back in 1915. I have visited Darfurian refugee camps, pushed for the deployment of a robust multinational force for Darfur, and urged divestment from companies doing business in Sudan. America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that President.

    I look forward, as President, to continuing my active engagement with Armenian American leaders on the full range of issues of concern to the Armenian American community. Together, we will build, in new and exciting ways, upon the enduring ties and shared values that have bound together the American and Armenian peoples for more than a century

    ===========Obama’nın en büyük yalanı=================

    Obama’nın en büyük yalanı – ABD sahillerinde ve Alaskadaki kaynaklardan petrol  karşı çıkarken, ABDnin dışdan gelen petrolden asıllı yapmayaçağını söylemesi.Barack Obama is a classical liar. People get hooked onto the opportunity to reduce oil imports, withdraw from Iraq, reduce U.S. military presence worldwide. But no one really asks a question, how a man opposing the drilling off the U.S. coast or within the U.S. proper is  planning to accomplish these. Obama’s argument – Renewable energy? Good ideal, but it won’t appear out of  magic in January 2009, when the new President takes office. Obama is not a scientist and not a God to invent it within even 4 or 8 years.

    But most importantly, will any of you, American voters, be willing to turn off their lights and not drive their cars, for President Obama to accomplish his utopic yet false promise – the answer is clearly no. Just the opposite, the one who opposes drilling in U.S. will have to increase the dependence on foreign oil = U.S. military presence worldwide.

    And this is only one of his sheer lies apart from those vis-a-vis foreign policy. Obama talks about opposing special interest groups, while his words here about Turkey:

     

     

     

    “As a President, I will maintain our assistance to Armenia; I will promote Armenian security by seeking an end to the Turkish and Azerbaijani blockades… America deserves a leader who speaks truthfully about the Armenian Genocide and  responds forcefully to all genocides. I intend to be that President.”

    are paid by ANCA and ArmeniansForObama campaign, which IS a special interest group. I don’t understand how any Turk can even think to vote Obama, while it’s John McCain who at every single campaign meeting cites Turkey as an ally, a democratic nation and an example for the Muslim world, and most importantly opposes U.S. interference into historical issues between Turkey and Armenia.So, if Turkish pride somehow affects your choices as American voter, voting Obama is the last thing to do. Unless you want to walk in this country ashamed in front of Armenians, or even worse, be charged (like in France) for denying that your ancestors were murderers, just for being Turks.

    Javid Huseynov [javid@azeris.com]

  • Armenia signs power supply deal with Turkey

    Armenia signs power supply deal with Turkey

    Armenia has signed a deal to supply electricity to Turkey from the beginning of 2009, Energy Minister Armen Movsisian said Wednesday.

    Movsisian told reporters that the deal will see electricity from Armenian thermal power plants supplied to eastern Turkey.

    “An agreement on this was reached during the recent visit of the Turkish President Abdullah Gul,” he said.

    “Turkey is a new market for Armenia, as Armenia last supplied electricity to this country during the Soviet period,” he added.

    Gul’s visit Saturday to attend a football match between the two nations teams and meet his Armenian counterpart Serzh Sargsyan raised hopes that Turkey and Armenia could help the resolution of conflicts and establish diplomatic relations.

    The deal was signed between Armenias state-owned High Voltage Electricity Network

    company and a privately owned Turkish firm called UNIT, Movsisian said.

    He said the infrastructure was in place on the Armenian side to deliver the electricity but that repairs to transmission lines and the installation of a new transformer in Turkey would take four to five months.

    Armenia signs power supply deal with Turkey.

  • Turkey:Armenia ties could end genocide resolutions

    Turkey:Armenia ties could end genocide resolutions

    ANKARA, Turkey: If Turkey and Armenia forge diplomatic ties and are seen to have good relations, other countries could well stop passing resolutions that accuse Ottoman Turks of genocide against their Armenian population during World War I, Turkey’s foreign minister said Wednesday.

    Foreign Minister Ali Babacan said in a television interview that after the Turkish president’s breakthrough visit to Armenia on Saturday, the two countries had stepped up efforts to resolve their differences.

    Historians estimate that up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed in 1915-18 in Ottoman Turkey in what is widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th Century. About 20 parliaments have passed resolutions to this effect. Turkey denies any genocide, saying the death toll has been inflated and the dead were victims of civil war and unrest.

    Turkey:Armenia ties could end genocide resolutions – International Herald Tribune.

  • Turkey to definitely finalize Nabucco: energy minister

    Turkey to definitely finalize Nabucco: energy minister

    Turkey will definitely finalize the Nabucco project and there are no problems regarding the safety of the Baku-Tbilis-Ceyhan (BTC) oil pipeline, the Turkish energy minister said on Wednesday. 

    Talks regarding the Nabucco project have progressed rapidly, and studies on the project were submitted to the European Union (EU) and other related institutions, Hilmi Guler said at a news conference at Turkey’s Embassy in Baku, in Azerbaijan, the Anatolian Agency reported.  

    Commenting on the BTC oil pipeline, Guler said safety of the pipelines was very important and there was no problem with the security systems. 

    The Nabucco pipeline is aimed at diversifying the EU’s energy supplies and decreasing its energy dependence on Russia. The EU-backed pipeline, a 3,300-kilometre (2,050-mile) pipeline is planned to run via Turkey, Bulgaria, Romania, and Hungary to Austria. 

    A consortium made up of Austria’s OMV, Germany’s RWE, Hungary’s MOL, Turkey’s Botas, Bulgaria’s Bulgargaz and Romania’s Transgaz will build and operate the pipeline. 

    Guler also said the security of the BTC oil pipeline was not risky and there were no problem about security systems. 

    The gendarmerie forces did not find any evidence of sabotage regarding the blast on the Turkey section of BTC, however added that an investigation was underway. 

    Turkey to definitely finalize Nabucco: energy minister.

  • Turkey seeks fence-mending meeting with Armenia, Azerbaijan

    Turkey seeks fence-mending meeting with Armenia, Azerbaijan

     

     

     

     

     

    ANKARA, (AFP) – Turkish Foreign Minister Ali Babacan Wednesday said he was trying to organize a meeting with counterparts from Armenia and Azerbaijan to discuss decades-old disputes plaguing ties between them.

    The idea, Babacan said, emerged during a historic visit to Yereven by President Abdullah Gul on Saturday, which raised hopes that Turkey and Armenia could overcome traditional enmity and establish diplomatic relations.

    “We have many reasons to be hopeful, the most important of which is the presence of a strong political will to improve ties,” the minister said in an interview with NTV television.

    Babacan and Armenian Foreign Minister Eduard Nalbandian are already scheduled to meet on the sidelines of the UN General Assembly in New York later this month.

    Babacan said he suggested that their Azeri counterpart also join the meeting and Nalbandian agreed.

    “We will now seek Azerbaijan’s consent… The problems between Turkey and Armenia and not independent from the problems between Azerbaijan and Armenia,” he said.

    The issue would be discussed when Gul visits Baku later Wednesday, he said.

    Turkey has refused to establish diplomatic ties with eastern neighbor Armenia because of Yerevan’s campaign for the recognition of the mass killings of Armenians under the Ottoman Empire during World War I as genocide.

    In 1993, Turkey dealt a heavy economic blow to its impoverished neighbor by shutting the border in a show of solidarity with its close ally Azerbaijan, then at war with Armenia over Nagorno-Karabakh — an Armenian-majority region in Azerbaijan which declared independence.

    Babacan said Gul’s visit to Armenia, the first by a Turkish head of state, had raised hopes that the two sides could mend fences.

    “In our talks in Yereven we decided to speed up the process (of reconciliation)… We are entering a period in which we will have frequent contacts,” he told NTV.

    Gul traveled to Yereven for several hours to watch a World Cup qualifying football match between Turkey and Armenia following an invitation by his counterpart Serzh Sarkisian.