Category: Europe

  • Jewish-Turkish Cultural Exchange Promoted

    Jewish-Turkish Cultural Exchange Promoted

    In a meeting with representatives of the Jewish community of S. Petersburg, Russia, Turkish consul Mahmet Chinar and vice-consul Ozgyun Talyu agreed on a cultural exchange that will see new exhibits at museums in each country.

    Chabad-Lubavitch Rabbi Menachem Pewzner, the city’s chief rabbi, and Jewish community chairman Mark Grubarg hosted the meeting at S. Petersburg’s Great Choral Synagogue.

    Source: chabad.org, July 17, 2008

  • Top war crimes suspect Karadzic arrested in Serbia

    Top war crimes suspect Karadzic arrested in Serbia

    BELGRADE, Serbia (AP) — Former Bosnian Serb leader Radovan Karadzic, accused architect of massacres making him one of the world’s top war crimes fugitives, was arrested on Monday evening in a sweep by Serbian security forces, the country’s president and the U.N. tribunal said.

    Karadzic is suspected of masterminding mass killings that the U.N. war crimes tribunal described as “scenes from hell, written on the darkest pages of human history.” They include the 1995 massacre of 8,000 Muslims in Srebrenica, Europe’s worst slaughter since World War II.

    “This is a very important day for the victims who have waited for this arrest for over a decade. It is also an important day for international justice because it clearly demonstrates that nobody is beyond the reach of the law and that sooner or later all fugitives will be brought to justice,” said Serge Brammertz, the tribunal’s head prosecutor.

    President Boris Tadic’s office said Karadzic has been taken before the investigative judge of Serbia’s war crimes court — a legal procedure that indicates he would soon be extradited to the U.N. war crimes court in The Hague, Netherlands.

    If Karadzic is extradited to the tribunal in The Hague, he would be the 44th Serb suspect extradited to the tribunal. The others include former President Slobodan Milosevic, who was ousted in 2000 and died in 2006 while on trial on war crimes charges.

    Heavily armed special forces of the Serbian Gendarmerie have been deployed around the war crimes court in Belgrade where Karadzic reportedly has been held. Karadzic’s brother, Luka, also arrived at the location in central Belgrade.

    The former Bosnian Serb leader has topped the tribunal’s most-wanted list since his indictment in July 1995 on genocide charges. Serbia has been under increasing pressure from the European Union to turn over war crimes suspects.

    The charges against him, last amended in May 2000, are genocide, extermination, murder, wilful killing, deportation, inhumane acts, and other crimes committed against Bosnian Muslim, Bosnian Croat and other non-Serb civilians in Bosnia and Herzegovina during the 1992-1995 war. The specific allegations include six counts of genocide and complicity in genocide, two counts of crimes against humanity as well as violating laws of war and gravely breaching the Geneva Conventions

    The indictment alleges that Karadzic, in concert with others, committed the crimes to secure control of areas of Bosnia which had been proclaimed part of the “Serbian Republic” and significantly reducing its non-Serb population.

    “He was at large because the Yugoslav army was protecting him. But this guy in my view was worse than Milosevic,” Richard Holbrooke, former U.S. ambassador who negotiated an end to the Bosnian War, told CNN. “He was the intellectual leader.”

    Holbrooke calculated the Karadzic is responsible, directly or indirectly, for the deaths of 300,000 people, because without him there would have been no war or genocide.

    “That’s the number of people killed. And without Radovan Karadzic this thing wouldn’t have happened, in my view,” Holbrooke said.

    The fugitive’s wife, Ljiljana, told The Associated Press by phone from her home in Karadzic’s former stronghold, Pale, near Sarajevo that her daughter Sonja had called her before midnight.

    “As the phone rang, I knew something was wrong. I’m shocked. Confused. At least now, we know he is alive,” Ljiljana Karadzic said, declining further comment.

    As leader of Bosnia’s Serbs, Karadzic hobnobbed with international negotiators and his interviews were top news items during the 3 1/2-year Bosnian war, set off when a government dominated by Slavic Muslims and Croats declared independence from Yugoslavia in 1992.

    But his life changed by the time the war ended in late 1995 with an estimated 250,000 people dead and another 1.8 million driven from their homes. He was indicted twice by the U.N. tribunal on genocide charges stemming from his alleged crimes against Bosnia’s Muslims and Croats.

    Karadzic’s reported hide-outs included Serbian Orthodox monasteries and refurbished mountain caves in remote eastern Bosnia. Some newspaper reports said he had at times disguised himself as a priest by shaving off his trademark silver mane and donning a brown cassock.

    The European Union said the arrest “illustrates the commitment of the new Belgrade government to contributing to peace and stability in the Balkans region.”

    A statement from the EU presidency, currently held by France, said the arrest was “an important step on the path to the rapprochement of Serbia with the European Union.”

    On Saturday, Serb authorities turned over an ex-Bosnian Serb police chief, Stojan Zupljanin, who was arrested in the town of Pancevo last week after nine years on the run. A Belgrade court on Friday rejected his appeal against extradition and Zupljanin pleaded innocent Monday to 12 charges of murder, torture and persecution of Bosnian Muslims and Croats in 1992.

    Zupljanin was charged with war crimes for allegedly overseeing Serb-run prison camps where thousands of Muslims and Croats were killed during the 1992-95 war in Bosnia.

    Source: Associated Press, 22.07.2008

     

    ————–

     

    Bosnian Serb Arrested on War Crimes Charges

    By REUTERS
    Published: July 21, 2008

    BELGRADE, July 21 (Reuters) – Bosnian Serb wartime president Radovan Karadzic, one of the world’s most wanted men for his part in civilian massacres, has been arrested in Serbia, President Boris Tadic’s office said on Monday.

    The arrest of Karadzic and other indicted war criminals and their delivery to the Hague war crimes tribunal, is one of the main conditions of Serbian progress towards European Union (EU) membership.

    It came on the eve of a meeting of EU Foreign Ministers which is scheduled to discuss closer relations with serbia following the formation of a new pro-western government. A war crimes prosecutor was due to visit Belgrade on Tuesday.

    Karadzic’s place of hiding has been a constant subject of international speculation since he went underground in 1997. Sources close to the government said Karadzic, distinguished by his characteristic long, grey hair, was arrested in Belgrade.

    He was currently undergoing a formal identification rocess, inccluding DNA testing, and would be meeting with investigators overnight.

    “Karadzic was located and arrested,” the President’s statement said. It gave no details.

    Karadzic, was leader of the Bosnian Serbs during the 1992-95 Bosnia war. He was indicted by the United Nations war crimes tribunal in The Hague in July 1995 for authorising the shooting of civilians during the 43-month siege of Sarajevo.

    He was indicted for genocide a second time four months later for orchestrating the slaughter of some 8,000 Muslim men after Mladic’s forces seized the U.N. “safe area” of Srebrenica in eastern Bosnia.

    He went underground in 1997 after losing power.

    The West is also pressing for the arrest of Bosnian Serb military commander Ratko Mladic.

  • Last chance for peace in Cyprus

    Last chance for peace in Cyprus

    Costas Pitas
    guardian.co.uk, Wednesday July 23, 2008

    “Cyprus is entering its most critical stage” is a phrase I have heard ad nauseam over the last decade. It feels as if the “Cyprus Problem”, as it has been dubbed, is characterised by a jolty movement from one crucial moment to another. However, at each turn a solution is always thwarted. It thus comes as no surprise that the proposed face-to-face negotiations between Cypriot president, Demetris Christofias and Turkish Cypriot leader Mehmet Ali Talat will once again be “critical”. However, for the first time, the talks may well be the last chance for peace.

    Cyprus gained its independence from Britain in 1960. Inter-communal violence between the two communities blighted the 60s and early 70s and in the summer of 1974, a coup, backed by the ruling military in Athens, overthrew the democratically elected President Makarios. Turkey attacked a week later in what the international community see as an illegal invasion and subsequent occupation. For Turks the same events were an act of liberation, establishing a Turkish Cypriot state, albeit one which is not recognised by anyone except Turkey.

    Thirty-four years later, anyone under the age of 45 has no recollection of the two communities living harmoniously together. There is a concern that by growing up separately, it is becoming ever more difficult for a future reunification to succeed. Further, Greeks look on anxiously as holiday villas and hotels begin to crop up across the North, despite deep uncertainty as to the legality of purchasing such property. These were among the concerns that prompted the election of Christofias in the spring of this year. His victory centred on the promise to end his predecessor’s freeze on negotiations.

    Although history is important, Cyprus must now look forward and the acrimony of the past must be put to one side. Fundamental to this process is to build trust between the two sides. Many Greek Cypriots will point to Turkey’s military prowess (it keeps an estimated 40,000 troops on the island making it one of the most militarised places in the world) and conclude they cannot believe Ankara’s promises will be fulfilled.

    Many Turkish Cypriots also have concerns that a future solution must guarantee them equal standing with the far more populous Greek Cypriots. They do not want to be a minority whose concerns are overridden. Having said that, there is also grave concern that Turkey has already contributed to Turkish Cypriot marginalisation. Tens of thousands of settlers have been brought in from Anatolia to alter the demographic balance. This is of great concern to the many Turkish Cypriots who feel increasingly alienated in their own country with large numbers choosing to leave. It is all too often ignored that the culture and attitudes of both Greeks and Turks in Cyprus are frequently more similar to each other, than they are to the two “motherlands”.

    This demonstrates the problem of the guarantor powers, Greece, Turkey and Britain. It may not have escaped your notice that Cyprus is in the ultimate strategic position. It is perfectly poised in the eastern Mediterranean to monitor happenings in the Middle East. This is why Britain will fight tooth and nail to preserve its bases on the island and why others will not want to relinquish their influence. Somehow, Cypriot leaders will have to pry the hands of various foreign powers from the island if a solution is firstly to be found, but equally as important is to work in the long term; Cypriots should decide their own future.

    The recent opening of several border checkpoints between the north and south has been a most welcomed gesture and does demonstrate the good will from both sides to avoid permanent division. Christofias and Talat have a warm relationship, forged through the labour movement, and are eager to resolve the stalemate. The two must seize the scintilla of hope that has been reignited but also recognise that too often hopes have been dashed. We may finally have reached the critical moment.

  • Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a demande a Nicolas Sarkozy

    Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a demande a Nicolas Sarkozy

    MELIH ASIK’IN KOSESINDEN

    Tepki çağrısı!

    Fransız Le Figaro gazetesinde Erdoğan – Sarkozy görüşmesiyle ilgili bir haber: Fethiye Temiz (florida)
    “Recep Tayyip Erdogan, a demande a Nicolas Sarkozy, au cours d’un entretien, dimanche matin. Ouverture de chapitres, reaction ‘coordonne’ des 27 et en concertation avec Ankara en cas d’interdiction par la justice du parti au pouvoir AKP.”

    Tercümesi:

    “T.C. Başbakanı Recep Tayyip Erdoğan, bu pazar Nicolas Sarkozy ile yaptığı gorüşmede AB adaylığı çerçevesinde öngörülen başlıkların açılmasını ve AB’nin 27 ülkesinin AKP kapatıldığı takdirde Ankara ile koordineli (eşgüdümlü) şekilde tepki göstermelerini istedi.”

    * * *

    Yani… Başbakan, Fransa ve AB’yi kendi ülkesinin yargı kararına tepki göstermeye çağırmış… Herhalde cumhuriyet tarihinde bir ilk…

  • Russian Military to End Their Use of Kazakh Space Site This Year

    Russian Military to End Their Use of Kazakh Space Site This Year

    Posted on: Sunday, 20 July 2008, 15:00 CDT

    Text of report by corporate-owned Russian military news agency Interfax-AVN website

    Baykonur (Kazakhstan), 16 July: The discontinuation of military units and the transfer of [Russian] Defence Ministry facilities located at the Baykonur space launch site to enterprises of the Russian space rocket sector will be completed in the autumn of this year.

    “The transfer of Defence Ministry facilities has begun this month and should be completed in late November 2008,” a source at the Baykonur space launch site has told Interfax-AVN.

    The source said the schedule of transfer of launch site facilities from the military to enterprises of the space rocket sector and the town administration had been agreed at meeting of representatives of the Defence Ministry and Roskosmos [Russian Federal Space Agency] held at Baykonur on Tuesday [15 July].

    Under the agreements reached [at the meeting], the source told the agency, the Krayniy aerodrome will be transferred to the centre for the use of ground space infrastructure, while the facilities of the missile test units of the launch site (the inhabited area and the launch silos for UR-100N (RS-18) missiles will be transferred to the NPO Mashinostroyeniya (Machine-Building Research and Production Association).

    The remaining facilities, i.e. the buildings and structures of the Russian Defence Ministry, will be accepted by Roskosmos enterprises and the town administration, the source told the agency..

    The Fifth State Space Test Launch Site of the Russian Federation Defence Ministry (the Baykonur space launch site) will be discontinued by 1 January 2009. After that date, about 250 servicemen of more than 1,000 currently serving at Baykonur will stay on at the space launch site. Some of them will be transferred to the reserve, while others will be moved to new service postings in Russia.

    Once the military structures at the launch site have been discontinued, it will operate purely as a civilian enterprise.

    Originally published by Interfax-AVN military news agency website, Moscow, in Russian 1158 20 Jul 08.

    (c) 2008 BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union. Provided by ProQuest Information and Learning. All rights Reserved.

    Source: BBC Monitoring Former Soviet Union

  • Turkey stands by its offer to give Greek Cypriots water on drought-hit island

    Turkey stands by its offer to give Greek Cypriots water on drought-hit island

    The Associated Press
    Published: July 19, 2008

    NICOSIA, Cyprus: Turkey’s offer to provide drinking water to Greek Cypriots on ethnically-divided Cyprus still stands, even though it has been publicly rejected, the Turkish Cypriot leader said Saturday.

    Mehmet Ali Talat said Turkey’s prime minister, Tayyip Erdogan, “made it very clear that Turkey is ready to help” to alleviate a water crisis lashing the island.

    Talat told a news conference with Erdogan that he has made the water offer to Greek Cypriot officials “on different channels.” He said although they have publicly spurned the offer, “no official answer” has been given yet.

    The Turkish Cypriot leader said water tankers making the 75-kilometer (45-mile) trip from Turkey to the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north would be shared with Greek Cypriots in the internationally-recognized south, if they accept the offer.

    Greek Cypriot government spokesman Stefanos Stefanou has said water diplomacy is not possible as long as the Cyprus issue remains unresolved. Cyprus was split in 1974 when Turkey invaded in response to a short-lived coup by supporters of uniting the island with Greece. The self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is recognized only by Turkey which does not recognize the Greek Cypriot-dominated government.

    Many U.N.-led reunification efforts have since failed, including the most comprehensive bid in 2004 when Greek Cypriots rejected — and Turkish Cypriots approved — a U.N. plan.

    Talat and Cyprus President Dimitris Christofias agreed in March to revive the dormant peace process after a preparation period.They are scheduled to meet on July 25 to decide a date for the start of full-fledged negotiations.

    Erdogan said Saturday that he hopes a reunification deal based on “a new partnership” between “two equal peoples” and “two constituent states” would be found soon.

    A rainless winter has dwindled dam reserves to crisis levels, forcing the government to ration water to Greek Cypriot households and import quantities from Greece aboard tankers.

    Fresh water produced from two desalination plants is not enough to cover a 17 million cubic meter (600 million cubic feet) shortfall in water reserves. The south needs 66.7 million cubic meters (2.35 billion cubic feet)of water a year to meet its needs.

    Erdogan said work to build an undersea water pipeline linking Turkey to the north would begin in 2009 and be completed three years later.

    The Turkish prime minister is midway through a three-day visit to the north to attend invasion [sic.] celebrations on Sunday. The Greek Cypriot government condemned the visit as illegal.

    Source: International Herald Tribune, July 19, 2008