As Turkey and Israel prepare for the final rounds of discussion before a U.N. panel concludes its inquiry into a deadly raid last year, hopes are dim that the panel’s report will provide a diplomatic breakthrough.
The once-close allies have been estranged since Israeli Defense Forces staged a deadly attack May 31, 2010, on an aid flotilla attempting to break the blockade of the Gaza Strip, killing eight Turks and one American of Turkish descent.
The U.N. panel, set up by Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in August 2010 to investigate the incident, is not expected to force Israel to apologize and pay compensation to the victims’ families, two conditions set by the Turkish government to normalize ties.
Turkey’s conviction that Israel is using every possible means behind the scenes to affect the outcome of the panel was reinforced recently when the head of a separate probe on Israel’s 2008-2009 military offensive in Gaza backed away from a report published last September.
The report, issued by a commission headed by Judge Richard Goldstone, concluded that both Israel and the Palestinian group Hamas, which controls the Gaza Strip, sides committed potential war crimes and possible crimes against humanity. It accused Israel of using disproportionate force, deliberately targeting civilians and destroying civilian infrastructure, and using people as human shields.
The four-member panel on the flotilla raid is set to resume work next week. Led by former New Zealand Prime Minister Geoffrey Palmer, it includes an Israeli and a Turkish expert. Representatives of both governments will also be present during the workings of the panel. The panel will meet for a final time in May and the Turkish side hopes it will give its report to the U.N. secretary-general no later than May 31, the first anniversary of the deadly incident.
While Turkey seems confident about the strength of its arguments, the behind-the-scenes weight of the Israeli lobby on the possible outcome of the U.N. probe cannot be underestimated. It has been extremely difficult to convince Israel to cooperate with the U.N. probe and the lengthy negotiations have seriously restricted the mandate of the panel.
The panel is tasked with looking at the circumstances of the raid and reviewing the results of the Turkish and Israeli investigations into the incident, as well as considering ways to avoid similar incidents in the future. Israel is extremely sensitive about any U.N. inquiries. It has been working to cancel the Goldstone commission’s report after the judge said earlier this month regret that the report may have been inaccurate.
“If I had known then what I know now, the Goldstone report would have been a very different document,” he said in a newspaper article
A leading lawmaker in Flanders deliberately insults Turks and Turkey during a live TV program with unsolicited racist remarks.
President of the Flemish parliament in Belgium, Jan Peter Peumans (59,) causes a scandal with his arrogant and bigoted comments during a quiz show, ”De Pappenheimers,” by VRT (Flemish Public Radio and Television Broadcasting Federated) on Wednesday, December 1, 2010. (watch video: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQFqcaqiJi0 )
The question the organizers of the quiz show haplessly considered amusing and proper for a competition watched by general public, including children, was a related to a comment by the famous French philosopher: “Who did Voltaire think was the most disgusting nation?” The potential answers offered were Flemish, Jews and Turks. Peumans replied: “ Turks.”
After a loud laughter, he was reminded that the correct answer was “the Jews”. Peumans said he knew the right answer but was scared to say it because of possibly very strong Jewish reaction. Laughter in the audience grew. When asked “Wouldn’t the Turks do react equally strongly?” Peumans replied with a negative.
Film director Jan Eelen, another contestant, told Peumans later that the Turkish Embassy had been informed of the incident by Güler Turan — a Flemish parliament member of Turkish heritage. Turkish Ambassador Murat Ersavcı called Peumans to convey Turkey’s disappointment by the racist question and comment. The remarks also drew strong reactions from Turks in and out of Belgium.
All of this unfortunate episode took only a few minutes. But its reverberations promise to take more than that… much more!
First, it is, indeed, a sad day in Belgium if a major entertainment industry executive there thinks racist questions are fun for the entire family. A sensitization course in Belgium on issues of diversity and tolerance seems appropriate and even urgent.
Second, it must be especially ironic for such a bigoted question to surface in a country which suffered terribly under the racist persecution the Nazis (perhaps Peumans is too young to remember or too ignorant to know.) Such a question should never have been asked in the first place. How would the audience who cheered on the racist questions and response if the next question in the live quiz show was about the feelings of the German Nazis about Belgians and if the potential answers offered were A) cowards B)cheap skates C) both? Would they consider that to be “family fun?”
Third, if a Belgian politician publicly declares that he deliberately provides false answers for political correctness or expediency, and cheered on by millions in and around Belgium, and arguably around Europe, what does that tell one about the state of affairs and mind in Europe? Are prejudice, humiliation, intimidation, discrimination, and racism accepted norms of thought and/or conduct in Belgium and/or Europe?
Fourth, Voltaire was a crusader against tyranny and bigotry, which is probably why he could not keep out of trouble. Almost every person of importance was Voltaire’s enemy at some period of his life. Voltaire, the Renaissance man of the Enlightenment, was no pussycat , either, as he struck back with bitter, mocking, poignant sarcasm whenever he was attacked.
Voltaire often scrutinized the political and philosophical controversies of the 18th century and campaigned tirelessly on behalf of the oppressed.
You, Mr. Peumans, badly need to learn the tragic plight of Jean Calas, a Protestant in Toulouse, which illustrates the passion in Voltaire. Calas had a son who wanted to study law but he was denied access because he was not a Catholic. The son got very depressed and killed himself, a fatal sin then. His family decided to conceal the suicide as they did not want to see his body dragged in the streets and fed to dogs as was the common practice for those who took their own lives. A rumor started that Jean Calas had murdered his son because he wanted to convert to Catholicism. The old man was convicted of murder on the basis of the flimsiest hearsay evidence by lynch mobs. Rejecting confession even after terrible torture, Calas was tied to a wooden cross, had his arms and legs broken. Then he was strangled by the executioner and burned at the stake. The state confiscated his property, leaving his widow homeless, penniless, and childless, as the latter were forced into Catholic institutions.
Voltaire heard about this and set out to clear Calas. He wrote many letters to powerful people throughout Europe, hired a lawyer, and raised money for the family. eventually securing a unanimous vote in the parliament of Paris declaring Calas innocent. Calas himself was dead but the reversal of his conviction meant that his estate was returned to his family and the children returned to their mother. That was Voltaire!
I told you this story for two reasons:
1) You and your supporters are doing to Turks today what the Catholic Church did to Protestant merchant Jean Calas of Toulouse in 1762.
2) If Voltaire was alive today, he would fight you and your kind for the same reasons he fought for Jean Calas of Toulouse
Last but not least, here is what Voltaire really said about the Turks:
“ The great Turk is governing in peace twenty nations from different religions. Turks have taught the Christians how to be moderate in peace and gentle in victory.”
It is never too late to learn new facts and proper manners.
Federe yapılı Belçika’da Flamanca yayın
yapan devlet radyo ve televizyonu VRT’nin birinci kanalında “De Pappenheimers” adlı bilgi yarışmasına katılan, bağımsızlık yanlısı Yeni Flaman İttifakı (N-VA)
partisinin Başkan Yardımcısı ve Flaman Parlamentosu Başkanı Jan Peter Peumans (59), doğru cevabı bildiği halde “Yahudilere bir şey söyleyecek cesareti olmadığı
için” Türklere hakareti tercih etti.
Yarışmada ünlü Fransız düşünür Voltaire’in, “Dünya yüzündeki en iğrenç halk” olarak hangi milleti tanımladığı sorusunda bildiğini itiraf ettiği doğru
şık “Yahudiler” yerine “Türkler” şıkkını tercih eden Peumans’la sunucu Tom Lenaerts ve diğer yarışmacı olan Yönetmen Jan Eelen arasında şu diyalog yaşandı:
Lenaerts: “Türkler cevabını verdiniz ama doğrusu Yahudiler idi. Bunu gerçekten biliyor muydunuz?”
Peumans: “Gerçekten biliyordum ama Yahudiler hakkında yeni birşey söyleyecek cesaretim yok. Çok hassas insanlar. Bir zamanlar onların sözde
liberalizmi hakkında bir şeyler söyledim ama çok çektim. Bu nedenle..” Eelen: “Fakat Türkler hakkında söylemek meğer sorun değilmiş”
-BÜYÜKELÇİLİKTEN TEPKİ-
Skandal yarışmaya tepki gösteren Türkiye’nin Brüksel Bürükelçisi Murat Ersavcı, rahatsızlığını ilettiği Peumans’tan Türk toplumuna yönelik açıklama sözü
aldı.
Büyükelçilikten yapılan yazılı açıklamada, “Bir bilgi yarışması programına yakışmayan bu tür bir sorunun sorulmuş olması ve verilen yanıttan
duyduğumuz memnuniyetsizlik Büyükelçi Ersavcı tarafından Peumans;a telefonla iletilmiştir. Peumans, ön bilgisi dışında gelişen bu durumun amacını aşan
sonuçlara yol açmasından üzüntü duyduğunu; sitayişle bahsettiği ve hiçbir şekilde rencide etmek istemediğini vurguladığı Türk toplumuna bir açıklamada
bulunacağını; anılan televizyon kanalı nezdinde de gerekli girişimi yapacağını ifade etmiştir” denildi.
-SKANDALLARLA GÜNDEMDE-
Belçika’da cumhuriyetçi olduğu gerekçesiyle Kral’ın resepsiyonlarını boykot etmesiyle tanınan ve saldırgan uslubu nedeniyle Fransızca konuşan Valon
toplumunun tepkisini çeken Peumans, eşiyle gezintiye çıktığı Valon sınırındaki Vise kasabasında, “Yeni Flaman İttifakı üyesi bir politikacının Valon bölgesinde
ne işi olduğunu sorgulayan” bir gençten dayak yerken polis ekiplerince kurtarılmıştı.
The UN’s efforts to reunite the island nation of Cyprus have been stalled. As the possibility of a permanent division looms, the European Green party is making its own efforts to restart the reunification process.
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosts the leadership of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots on Thursday in what is being described as a final effort by the UN to revitalize reunification talks.
Greek Cypriot President Dimitris Christofias and Dervis Eroglu, president of the de facto Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, are to meet with Ban in New York. The UN’s Cyprus envoy, Alexander Downer, said the secretary-general “wants to hear face-to-face with the leaders their perspective of how the talks are going and what the prospects are.”
Eighteen months of UN-sponsored talks have ground to a virtual halt amid mutual recriminations. There are growing signs that these talks could be the last and that the island’s partition could become essentially permanent – something that has the potential to scupper Turkey’s efforts to join the European Union.
EU intervention
Cohn-Bendit says ending the EU’s embargo could be a new impetus for reunification
The European Green Party held talks in Istanbul earlier this month, taking the opportunity to build support for its efforts to break the current stalemate in Cyprus. The party has proposed an end to the EU’s economic embargo against the Turkish North as a first step in restarting reunification talks.
“The opening of North Cyprus, of the ports and airports, is a question of trade,” said party co-chair Daniel Cohn-Bendit. “It’s a majority decision, so one nation cannot block it. So we are for the opening the ports and airports in Northern Cyprus. Then Turkey will open its ports and airports for the Greek Cypriots.”
The initiative has been made possible under the Lisbon Treaty, which came into force last year and removed the right of EU member states to veto certain initiatives, including those related to trade. Until now the internationally recognized Greek Cypriot government has used its veto to stop any move to ease the trade restrictions on the North.
Turkish military presence
During his visit to Istanbul, Cohn-Bendit met with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan. He said the UN’s Cyprus talks needed fresh impetus, and that if the Greens are successful in lifting the embargo it will open the door to concessions from Turkey.
Turkey is believed to have more than 40,000 soldiers on the Turkish side of the island, and their removal remains a major stumbling block to reunification talks.
“We want Turkey to say if trade is open with North Cyprus, they will start to reduce the number of soldiers in North Cyprus,” said Cohn-Bendit.
Turkey lends substantial military support to Turkish Northern Cyprus
Support for reunification divided
The Greek Cypriots are lobbying hard against any attempt to remove their veto over an end to the embargo, arguing that it is crucial to put pressure on the Turkish Cypriots to agree to reunification. But the possibility of a permanent division of Cyprus may lend support to the Greens’ initiative.
Ankara claims Brussels had promised to end the embargo after the Turkish Cypriots in 2004 voted in a referendum to support a UN-sponsored reunification plan, while Greek Cypriots voted against it.
Turkey says it will not open its airports and ports to the Greek Cypriots until the embargo is lifted, and last week Turkish EU affairs minister Egemen Bagis ruled out any new concessions over Cyprus.
“By now Turkey and Turkish Cypriots have proven time and time again that they believe in a solution and that they believe in a settlement,” he said. “It’s now up to the Greek Cypriots to prove that they really do believe in a solution – a comprehensive settlement.”
According to Jerusalem Post ,The United Nation’s refugee agency has slammed Greek authorities over a severe deterioration in conditions at detention facilities for illegal migrants at the Greek-Turkish border.
The last warning from the UN High Commissioner for Refugees, which came last Friday, indicates that popular trafficking routes, Greek islands in the Aegean Sea have changed. The report states that new routes are towards the Greece-Turkey land border which is 200 km (125-mile) long.
The agency reported that the migrants detained in the border zone are jam packed into cells with “dire hygiene conditions.”
Iran's President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad addresses the 65th United Nations General Assembly at U.N. headquarters in New York, September 23, 2010. Credit: Reuters/Mike Segar
By Louis Charbonneau
(Reuters) – Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad told the United Nations on Thursday most people believe the U.S. government was behind the attacks of September 11, 2001, prompting the U.S. and European delegations to leave the hall in protest.
Addressing the General Assembly, he said it was mostly U.S. government officials and statesmen who believed al Qaeda Islamist militants carried out the suicide hijacking attacks that brought down New York’s World Trade Center — less than 4 miles from where the Iranian president was speaking.
Another theory, he said, was “that some segments within the U.S. government orchestrated the attack to reverse the declining American economy, and its grips on the Middle East, in order to save the Zionist regime.” Ahmadinejad usually refers to Israel as the “Zionist regime.”
“The majority of the American people as well as most nations and politicians around the world agree with this view,” Ahmadinejad told the 192-nation assembly, calling on the United Nations to establish “an independent fact-finding group” to look into the events of September 11.
As in past years, the U.S. delegation walked out during Ahmadinejad’s speech. It was joined by all 27 European Union delegations and several other countries.
Mark Kornblau, spokesman for the U.S. mission to the United Nations, said Ahmadinejad chose “to spout vile conspiracy theories and anti-Semitic slurs that are as abhorrent and delusional as they are predictable.”
White House spokesman Bill Burton said President Barack Obama thought the comments “utterly outrageous and offensive — especially in the city where the 9/11 attacks occurred.”
EU foreign policy chief Catherine Ashton said the remarks were “outrageous and unacceptable.”
‘COVERED UP’
Ahmadinejad said some evidence that could support alternative theories had been “covered up” — passports located in the rubble and a video of an unknown individual who had been “involved in oil deals with some American officials.”
As he had in past years, the Iranian president used the General Assembly podium to attack Iran’s other archfoe, Israel, and to defend the right of his country to a nuclear program that Western powers fear is aimed at developing arms.
“This regime (Israel), which enjoys the absolute support of some Western countries, regularly threatens the countries in the region and continues publicly announced assassination of Palestinian figures and others, while Palestinian defenders … are labeled as terrorists and anti-Semites,” he said.
“All values, even the freedom of expression, in Europe and the United States are being sacrificed at the altar of Zionism,” Ahmadinejad said.
The Iranian president previously raised doubts about the Holocaust of the Jews in World War Two and said Israel had no right to exist.
Tehran has been hit with four rounds of U.N. sanctions for refusing to halt its nuclear enrichment program. Obama earlier told the assembly the door to diplomacy was still open for Iran, but it needed to prove its atomic program is peaceful, as it says it is.
TEHRAN – Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki told reporters on Wednesday that Iran, Turkey and Brazil will soon resume talks on the nuclear fuel swap deal known as the Tehran Declaration.
On May 17, Iran, Turkey, and Brazil signed a declaration according to which, Iran would ship 1200 kilograms of its low-enriched uranium to Turkey to be exchanged for 120 kilograms of 20 percent enriched nuclear fuel rods to power the Tehran research reactor, which produces radioisotopes for cancer treatment.
Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov said on Tuesday that Russia and the U.S. had offered to hold talks with Iran on the provision of nuclear fuel. “I very much hope that Iran will agree to this and this will give an opportunity to prevent the deterioration of the situation,” Lavrov said.
On Russia’s offer, Mottaki said, “Our criterion would be the Tehran Declaration and we will review the Tehran agreement on fuel swap with Turkey and Brazil and after consultations with these two countries, (we) will announce our final view.”
On Iran’s response to a letter by the Vienna group (the U.S., Russia and France), Mottaki said Iran will consult with Turkey and Brazil and then will prepare its response.
About Iran’s letters to fifteen members of the Security Council, he said the overall content of the letters is Tehran’s complaint about the council’s sanctions resolution.
On June 9, the UN Security Council approved the fourth round of sanctions against Iran in a 12-2 vote, but Brazil and Turkey voted against the resolution and Lebanon abstained.
Elsewhere in his remarks, he said Iran believes that certain countries, which have different approaches, should be added to the 5+1 group (the U.S., Britain, France, Russia, China and Germany) in negotiations over Iran’s nuclear issue.
Therefore, an “assortment of votes” can help the negotiations make progress, he added.
The question the organizers of the quiz show haplessly considered amusing and proper for a competition watched by general public, including children, was a related to a comment by the famous French philosopher: “Who did Voltaire think was the most disgusting nation?” The potential answers offered were Flemish, Jews and Turks. Peumans replied: “ Turks.”
United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon hosts the leadership of the Greek and Turkish Cypriots on Thursday in what is being described as a final effort by the UN to revitalize reunification talks.
