Tag: Mersin

  • The Record-holder Swimmer in the Mediterranean Sea for Peace and Brotherhood

    The Record-holder Swimmer in the Mediterranean Sea for Peace and Brotherhood

    Alper SunacogluAlper Sunaçoğlu who is known for his records in swimming and performance sports will swim in Mediterranean on 30th of August 2013 and will start swimming from Samandağ Hatay for the respect to the basic fundamental rights, freedoms and to say no to  war, death and captivity.

    In the past Alper SUNAÇOĞLU swam the distance of 78 km from Mersin to Cyprus without using safety cage and  broke the world record with a whopping short limit of time 26 hours 15 minutes.

    Alper Sunacoglu

    On 23th of April 2011 Mr. Sunaçoğlu swam across Istanbul Bosphorus at full length in 2 hours 25 minutes and after that on 29th of October 2012 and last year, the marathon swimmer again broke a new world record  in Dardenelles in 7 hours 12 minutes .

    Furthermore our sportsman greeted the Mavi Marmara at the offshores of Marmara Sea and escorted the Mavi Marmara flotilla until it reached the offshores of Sarayburnu in order to protest the brutality of Israel and to call for attention to the inhumanities that take place in Gazze, Palestine.Alper Sunacoglu

    After all Alper wanted to swim from Port Said of Egypt to Gazze but this was cancelled with the official written order of Ministry of  Foreign Affairs for security reasons due to  the civil riots in Egypt that erupted at the time.

     Alper Sunacoglu

    On 30 th of August 2013 the activist sportsman Mr. Sunaçoğlu and his friend Bedirhan Karabağ will start swimming from the coast of Antakya to the Syria where there is a war and deaths. .  Sunaçoğlu will swim to Syria in order to give peace message and  will say no to the cruelty, death, captivity, torture and to call for attention for the peace and for the respect to basic fundamental rights and freedoms at Mediterranean Sea which is a sea of Muslims.

     

    Lets pay attention to what Alper Sunaçoğlu has to say about this extraordinary project.

    Tolga: Firstly I would to thank you that you that you have kindly spared your time to us in your busy schedule.

    When did you start swimming and become a long-distance swimmer?  When you swim don’t you ever get bored or scared?

    SUNAÇOĞLU:  I have been swimming since I have known myself.  I feel that I am a part of the sea while swimming and it’s like a kind of worship.

    You are on your own  and with the God in an unguarded environment and the only option you have is to trust God who will arrange things for the best.

    In order to understand what I really mean you have to try what I do.  Just swim 500 metres from the coast and wait.. No one can see and hear you.. You are alone.. There is only God, you and sea..  Moreover the host of the sea and the living creatures of course.

     

    Tolga: One day I will definately try 🙂

    On the recent headlines you were about to swim the English Channel.  Why is this cancelled?  It is heard that you refused the sponsorship of the Governorship fo Istanbul.  Could you give us more detailed information relating to this event to enlighten your followers and our readers?

     

    SUNAÇOĞLU:  My project was to swim across the English Channel which is 36 km course and known for its extreme currents and freezing water temperatures in less than 7 hours to break the world record however I have postponed this due to the problems that the Turkey face as well as private private reasons.  Now my aim is to break the world record in 2014.  As part of the sponsorship we agreed in principle with governorship however after the Gezi Park protests I thougt that it will make sense, more logical and better to postpone this to the next year.

     

    Tolga:  Don’t you ever get afraid of sharks in the sea?  Have you ever seen them before?  Especially Mediterranean Sea seems to be very risky. What do you think?

     

    SUNAÇOĞLU: I can’t say I am not afraid but I know how to control my fear.  I have seen them before and I  know I will see them in the future. But there were no threat or attack so far and I certainly hope there won’t 🙂

     

    Tolga:  Recently you made a protest under  the name of  Yüzen Adam.  You and Bedirhan Karadağ swam across 30 km sourroundings of Büyük Ada together with the support of Gürsel Tekin and some members of parliament. And now the last stop of the protest is Antakya, is there any speacial reason to end this protest up in Antakya?  What is the rela reason behind the attempt of swimming across from Antakya to Syria? What is the real aim of this protest?

     

    SUNAÇOĞLU: I would like a world which shows respect to fundamental rights and freedoms.  I accept mankind as it is no matter for me what  language, religion and ethnic origin they have.  I do not want a war, blood, death, violence and empire of fear.  As the prime minister Tayyip Erdoğan said, ” There might be foreign powers influences or some monkey business” but once for all there is unrest, war, fear in Middle East and Muslim Sea of Mediterranean Sea.  I protest the Muslims’ killing of each other.  I am not the man of someone, some power or serve anyone. I am not the supporter of any political party and I don’t earn any money, on the contrary I have faced many loses materially and spiritually.  I only use my individusl democratic rights for action.  I hope that this works and I can contribute and lead to form common sense in this region of the world.  This is my unique aim. In short they say”A good deed is its own reward”.

    My aim is to support peace and brotherhood of mankind.  And if the conditions are convenient I would like to go the place where Turkish aircraft crashed and stand at attention in order to show respect by raising the Turkish flag.  I hope that God allows me for this so that I can achieve this and return home to Turkey safe and sound.

     

    Tolga:  Who will you meet you at Syria ashore? What is your message to Syria?

     

    SUNAÇOĞLU: There is nothing clear about it and it is not important who will meet me however it is sufficient enough for me that this someone is a human being as I will be there as an activist  with a peace message to declare to the whole world. My message is unifier not seperatist “I want respect to right to life.  As a member of Turkish Republic and as a part od nation which destroyed many of its enemies in wars along in its long history, I will make a cross-border marathon swimming without guns and defence.  I believe that my message will be effective enough against foreign powers or some monkey business in World. My message and philosophy is this “Turks are neither afraid of war nor peace”

     

    Tolga:  As we can see and understand you are determined exactly just  like before you swam to Cyprus, I can see the same courage and determination in your eyes.  I hope that everything you wish will happen and you raise full awareness on behalf of peace and brotherhood. Good luck YÜZEN ADAM…

     

    SUNAÇOĞLU: I would to kindly thank you for giving me a chance to share my protest with public opinion and thank you for your sensitivity.  Let’s hope for the best for Turkey and World.  I would like to take this opportunity to say happy Eid to Turkish People and local communities by hoping that this leads to brotherhood, peace, prosperity and unity wordwide.

     Alper Sunacoglu

  • Alevis hail Mersin Council decision to pay cemevi expenses

    Alevis hail Mersin Council decision to pay cemevi expenses

    mersin

    Alevi worshippers inside a cemevi. In Mersin, all cemevis will be considered as having the same status as places of worship recognized by the state. (Photo: Today’s Zaman)

    6 January 2012 / YONCA POYRAZ DOĞAN, İSTANBUL

    A decision by the Mersin City Council that the expenses of Alevi places of worship should be paid for out of the council’s budget was appreciated by various Alevi groups, which expressed hope to see the practice spread to other provinces.

    News reports on Thursday said that the Mersin City Council decided that cemevis are places of worship and their care, repair and other expenses should be paid for by the council. The decision was unanimous in the 60-member council — with two absentees on the day of the voting – made up of members of various political parties: the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party), the opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP), the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) and the pro-Kurdish Peace and Democracy Party (BDP).

    The decision came following a petition by Suat Yıldız, head of the Alevi Cultural Association’s Mersin branch, of the council in September, demanding their expenses be paid by the council. Fahrettin Kılınç and Hüseyin Yıldırım, MHP and CHP members of the council, prepared a bill based on Yıldız’s petition. The five-member Mersin City Council Commission, headed by MHP member Yüksel Çelik, took the bill before the council, which approved it unanimously on Wednesday. If Mersin Governor Hasan Basri Güzeloğlu authorizes it, the decision will be implemented.

    Ali Erdinç, a CHP council member, was quoted in the Hürriyet daily on Thursday as having said their party regards cemevis as Alevi places of worship and that it is natural for the state to pay their expenses.

    A similar decision by the İzmir City Council last year was not authorized by the governor of İzmir.

    İzzettin Doğan, chairperson of the Cem Foundation, based in İstanbul, hailed the decision of the Mersin City Council, as Alevis have been seeking official recognition of their houses of worship, cemevis.

    “It is significant that the 60-member council — with two absentees — approved the bill unanimously. It is pleasing that all political parties agreed on it,” he said.

    He also added that the Mersin council’s decision in could be an example for other provinces.

    “If such decisions come from other city councils, too, then politicians would have a different attitude because they always say they cannot win votes from Sunni Muslims if they accept Alevi demands. But the public in general has no problems with Alevi places of worship,” he said.

    Asked if such a decision could be made by the city council of İstanbul, the most populous province of Turkey, Doğan said it is possible and the Cem Foundation is going to meet soon with the governor of İstanbul about the problems of the Alevi community.

    Doğan also pointed out that Sunni Muslims should not have a right to impose their beliefs on others.

    “Some people in Turkey, including at the Religious Affairs Directorate, want Turks to observe Islam as it is observed in Saudi Arabia. But Turkish Islam is different. It includes Alevism,” he added.

    The government has been trying to reconcile with the Alevi community, which has a long history of mistrust of the government.

    However, the Religious Affairs Directorate neither allocates funds for Alevi activities nor pays the salaries of Alevi religious leaders. In effect, the directorate’s budget is reserved for the Sunni community. Alevis practice a form of Islam that distinguishes their worship from that of the Sunni Muslim majority. While there are no official figures on Turkey’s Alevi population, estimates vary from 6 million to 15 million out of a country of more than 70 million.

    Fermani Altun, president of the World Ehl-i Beyt Foundation, feels that the Mersin city council made the right decision. “The decision of the Mersin council will be an example. We hope that the governor will authorize it. Turkey should not be debating the religious freedom issue at this day and age, while Turkey’s long-lasting problems are gradually being resolved,” he said.

    Additionally, both the Cem Foundation and the World Ehl-i Beyt Foundation have presented their suggestions for the new constitution to Cemil Çiçek, the parliamentary speaker and head of the parliamentary Constitutional Reconciliation Commission (AUK), an ad hoc commission created in October to draft a new constitution. Both groups have demanded the state remain equally distant from all beliefs, and that freedom of religion and conscience should be arranged in accordance with international standards.

    via Alevis hail Mersin Council decision to pay cemevi expenses.