Month: December 2008

THE COMPELLING CASE OF TURKEY’S CONSTITUTION
By Liam Hardy

Today’s Zaman
Dec 15 2008
Turkey

WASHINGTON, D.C. – Turkish Foreign Minister and chief negotiator for
the EU Ali Babacan, speaking at a NATO foreign ministers meeting two
weeks ago, mentioned that the Turkish Constitution as it stands now
will not help Turkey move forward with its reform agenda.

This resonates with a statement made in September by EU Commissioner
for Enlargement Olli Rehn that constitutional reform would greatly
accelerate Turkey’s EU accession process and could "break the cycle"
of political crises in the country — such as last year’s presidential
election crisis and this year’s Constitutional Court case to disband
the ruling political party.

Although debate over changing the Constitution has waned immensely
over the past year, Babacan has rightly called attention to an issue
that has important implications for Turkey. The current Constitution,
which was implemented under Turkish military rule in 1982, has caused
some serious headaches. Many elements within Turkey argue that the
current Constitution limits basic rights and freedoms, including the
freedom of speech, religious expression and association.

Both for internal steadiness as well as greater EU compatibility,
debate has focused in the past on creating a new constitution that
functions more democratically and better ensures the rights and
freedoms of all Turkish citizens. A renewed energy must emerge from
Turkey’s political parties and civil society for action to take place
anytime soon. However, recent history and the government’s current
workload also make this a challenging task.

Turkey’s ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) made an
effort to draft a new constitution after the 2007 elections, but the
party made some serious missteps. They attempted to create a draft in
secrecy without involving other political parties or institutions. The
draft was then leaked to the press.

Soon thereafter, the constitutional amendments to allow headscarves
in universities and the trial charging the AK Party for violating
secularism created a major distraction. Meanwhile, other events have
taken center stage: increased violence from the Kurdistan Workers’
Party (PKK), the Russia-Georgia conflict, renewed ties with Armenia,
mediation between Syria and Israel, the global economic crisis and
the scandal surrounding the clandestine group Ergenekon, which some
allege was plotting a coup and others believe was an excuse used by
the government to arrest its critics.

As a result, debate over a new constitution has been sitting on
the shelf.

More conservative Turks have argued that the current Constitution
has been amended so frequently (79 articles have been changed and 13
amendments added in 26 years), that only some additional amendments
would be necessary. Others, particularly in academia and civil society,
insist that a constitutional convention should be called and a complete
revision generated, claiming that the spirit of the document needs
to be renewed.

A new draft would most likely strengthen the parliamentary system,
reduce powers of the presidency, reform the judicial process and
clearly define individual freedoms.

An attempt to renew Turkey’s Constitution could be as daunting, and
perhaps as dangerous, as open heart surgery. However, many sectors
of society have been calling for change, claiming that Turkey
has progressed far beyond its days of military rule and that its
Constitution must reflect this.

Yet, convincing political leaders that such reforms are necessary
sooner rather than later, and sustaining the political will to
carry them out, will be challenging. Still stinging from the
embarrassment of the recent attempts to change the Constitution,
those in power are unlikely to risk taking up this issue again in the
near future. Additionally, there are many regional issues involving
Turkey that will keep the government occupied.

However, judging from the comments of Foreign Minister Babacan and
other leaders, addressing challenges and moving ahead with reforms
must be done within a solid constitutional framework, and a renewed
and vibrant debate over the Constitution would be healthy for Turkey’s
future.

*Liam Hardy is an independent researcher on issues related to Turkey
and the region. This article was written for the Common Ground News
Service (CGNews).

ACADEMICS’ ARMENIA APOLOGY TO TEST TABOOS

Hurriyet
Dec 15 2008
Turkey

ANKARA – A group of Turkish intellectuals and academics are planning
to issue a public apology on the Internet in relation to the Armenian
claims of genocide, testing one of Turkey’s most sensitive taboos.

The campaign, which has drawn the ire of nationalists who regard it as
an act of national betrayal, coincides with a diplomatic rapprochement
between Turkey and Armenia to end almost 100 years of hostility.

Cengiz Aktar, a professor at Istanbul’s BahceÅ~_ehir University who
also writes for the Hurriyet Daily News & Economic Review, and one of
the campaign’s organizers, said the group plans to issue the apology
Monday along with a non-binding Internet petition to gather signatures.

It will read, "My conscience does not accept the insensitivity showed
to and the denial of the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians
were subjected to in 1915.

"I reject this injustice and for my share, I empathize with the
feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers. I apologize to them."

Turkey accepts that many Armenians were killed during the waning years
of the Ottoman Empire, but strongly denies the Armenian claims of
genocide, saying that Muslim Turks also died in inter-ethnic conflicts.

Turks, including Nobel Literature Laureate Orhan Pamuk, have been
prosecuted in the European Union candidate country for affirming that
the 1915 incidents amount to a so called genocide.

The apology, which has been leaked to the media, threatens to re-ignite
a controversy that challenges one of the ideological foundations of
modern Turkey.

Aktar said the initiative was meant to allow Turks to be able to
offer a personal apology and put an end to an official silence.

Individual apology "We are not targeting anyone. It is an apology
of an individual nature. We want to tell our Armenian brothers and
sisters we apologize for not being able to discuss this issue for
almost 100 years," he told Reuters.

He said the group included 200 writers, intellectuals and
academics. Among the signatories are Germany’s Green Party co-chair
Cem Ozdemir, journalists Ece Temelkuran, Mine Kırıkkanat, Oral
CalıÅ~_lar, Ertugrul Kurkcu, director BarıÅ~_ Pirhasan, political
scientist Baskın Oran, writers Murathan Mungan, Enis Batur, economists
Ahmet Ä°nsel, AyÅ~_e Bugra, musician Aylin Aslım, actress Derya
Alabora, and historians Halil Berkay and Selim Deringil.

President Gul became the first Turkish leader to visit Armenia in
September as Turkey has sought to improve ties.

–Boundary_(ID_7vxXEAlML83Vk7J7tIeokw)–

THEATERS STAR IN OWN DRAMA

Hurriyet
Dec 15 2008
Turkey

ISTANBUL – The theather mapping project will mark the theaters of
Istanbul from the Tanzimat period, a time of modernization in the
mid-19th century of the Ottoman Empire. This academic project would
document a rapidly disappearing legacy that the closing of theaters
has hurt theater life.

A new project that will map the theaters of Istanbul from the Tanzimat
period a time of modernization in the mid-19th century of the Ottoman
Empire, began last week as part of Istanbul’s European Capital of
Culture projects for 2010.

"A tradition of parting curtains for the future: Istanbul Theatre Map"
is one of many performing arts projects that will be an important part
of the 2010 cultural capital activities, said Istanbul 2010 European
Capital of Culture Agency’s Performance Arts Director Dikmen Gurun.

Gurun said their department had organized a 2008 Theater Festival
as part of a inter-universities theater festival, and were planning
a Turkey’s Universities Theater Festival in 2009 and a European
Universities Theater Festival in 2010. She said the department hoped
these programs would become permanent.

On the theater-mapping project, Gurun said the closing of theaters
had hurt theater life in the global city of Istanbul and this academic
project would document a rapidly disappearing legacy.

She said Istanbul was introduced to western-style theater at the
beginning of the 19th century, in that period theatre buildings were
constructed and foreign theater companies were invited to perform
in them.

Gurun said old theater buildings were so rare, they were almost
nonexistent and theaters built during the Republican period had ceased
to be functional.

Theater fires The project is a serious attempt to identify, showcase
and protect theaters, a critical element of a city’s culture and
art. Gurun said they will comb areas where theater buildings had been
concentrated, such as Beyoglu and its environs, Å~^iÅ~_li, Ortaköy,
Dolmabahce, Å~^ehzadebaÅ~_ı-Direkleraras& #xC4;±, including Aksaray and
Fatih, on the European side and Kadiköy, Uskudar on the Anatolian
side.

They are going to research the title deeds, registries and archive
records of the locations to establish whether there were theaters there
and will use Refik Ahmet Sevegil and Metin And’s books to lead them
to identify theaters from the time of the Tanzimat period up to today.

Gurun said Istanbul University Literature Faculty’s Theatre Critique
and Dramaturgy Department supported the project and had created a
team to assist. The project commended two months ago and will be
completed in 2010.

The project will combine field work and archival research on theater
halls and buildings and comb newspapers to uncover the company’s and
artists that performed, a theater’s repertoire and audience profiles
that would show the impact of each theater on the city’s culture
and arts.

Many of the historic theater buildings were destroyed by fire, Gurun
said, and those that remained were difficult to locate, some were in
narrow passages and others have been converted into movie theaters.

English translation The data will be collected into a book that will
be translated into English. The book will contain old photographs,
pictures of locations, various documents and architectural drawings.

"The cosmopolitan culture of the city will be revealed, particularly
when we analyze the Beyoglu theaters frequented by British, French,
and Italian performers on tour and the Direklerarası-Å~^ehzadebaÅ~_& #xC4;±
theaters which raised Turkish and Armenian artists," Gurun said.

"Today, theaters in many cities around the world are being preserved
due to the results of similar research. This project will overcome our
own shortcomings in this area. There has been previous research done
on theaters before, but ours is deeper and more detailed," she added.

Gurun said they wanted to identify theaters that had shut or were
on the verge of closing, make a new generation aware of the value of
theater and embrace its past and present, and reinforce the permanence
of theater in all its forms. She said she hoped the research would
remain a permanent archive that would contribute to the academic and
cultural elements of theater life.

–Boundary_(ID_roU88vSl4aCZwbDCE71n0g)–

EDWARD NALBANDIAN: "MADRID PROPOSALS HAVE NOT BEEN AMENDED"

Azeri Press Agency
Dec 15 2008
Azerbaijan

Yerevan-APA. "Madrid proposals presented by OSCE MG Co-Chairs have
not been amended", Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian said,
APA reports.

The minister underlined the facts that proposals would be reconsidered
and amended were groundless.

"Reports that Armenian foreign ministry had received the document on
amendment of Madrid proposals are not true as well. We have received a
document on Madrid proposals, but it does not cover change of essence
of proposals. It is natural to receive such kind of documents during
negotiations process. If we publicize every document, it will not
worth negotiating. We conduct negotiations basing on Madrid proposals",
the minister added.

GENERAL VELI KUCUK: "PKK IS NOT KURDISH, BUT ARMENIAN PROBLEM"

Azeri Press Agency
Dec 15 2008
Azerbaijan

Istanbul – APA. Addressing the trial on "Ergenekon" in Turkey, retired
General, member of World Azerbaijanis Congress Veli Kucuk said the
criminal case and arrests had been prepared by the order of the US,
APA reports quoting Haberturk.

Veli Kucuk said though investigation on "Ergenekon" had started before
the establishment of Justice and Development Party (AKP), the operation
began after Recep Tayyip Erdogan’s meeting with George Bush in the
White House on November 5, 2007. He said the secret witnesses giving
testimony against him were members of such terrorist organizations
as PKK, Revolutionary People’s Liberation Party-Front and Hezbollah
and refuted the accusations. General said he had led the troops in
border regions for a long time and underlined that he had defended
the friendship of Turks and Kurds.

"I said PKK did not represent Kurds, eastern problem of Turkey was
actually Armenian problem. Of course, some did not like it and that’s
why I am here," he said.

Veli Kucuk’s speech consisted of 101 pages. General’s lawyer is his
daughter Zeyneb.

CHINA, ARMENIA SIGN AGREEMENT TO FURTHER INTER-PARLIAMENT COOPERATION

Trend News Agency
Dec 15 2008
Azerbaijan

China and Armenia signed a memorandum of understanding here on
Monday on exchange and cooperation between the two parliaments,
reported Xinhua.

"The signing of the memo marks a new era for the relationship between
the two parliaments", Chinese top legislator Wu Bangguo said when
witnessing the signing ceremony with visiting chairman of the Armenian
National Assembly Ovik Abramyan, according to a press release from
the news office of the Standing Committee of China’s National People’s
Congress (NPC), China’s top legislature.

In his meeting with Abramyan, Wu, Chairman of NPC Standing Committee,
highlighted the roles that the two parliaments play in promoting
Sino-Armenian relations as "highly important", expressing his hope
that the two sides could maintain the exchange at various levels and
cement cooperation in fields such as legislation and legal supervision.

China highly values its ties with Armenia, Wu told Abramyan, saying
that the country is willing to promote relations with Armenia to
a higher level based on the principles of mutual respect, equality
and reciprocity.

Echoing Wu’s views on the ties between the two nations and the two
parliaments, Abramyan said Armenia was committed to developing its ties
with China especially in the fields of trade, science and technology,
and education.

The Armenian National Assembly would regard the signing of the
agreement memo as an opportunity to boost friendly exchange and
pragmatic cooperation and inject new vigor into relations, said
Abramyan.

He said that Armenia would continue to adhere to the one-China policy.

TEHRAN, YEREVAN SIGN MOU WITH 71 ARTICLES

Iranian Students News Agency ISNA
Dec 15 2008
Iran

TEHRAN, Dec. 15 (ISNA)-Foreign Minister Manouchehr Mottaki announced
Iran and Armenia have inked a Memorandum of Understanding with 71
articles.

Energy, oil, gas, petrochemistry, environment, commerce, banking,
transportation, industry, agriculture, tourism, culture, health,
science and training are the fields they have agreed to cooperate on.

According to Mottaki in his joint press conference with Armenian
Energy and Natural Resources Minister Armen Movsisyan on Monday
energy, electricity generation, gas pipeline and transportation are
the domains in which the two countries have took big steps.

Presidents of both countries during the last 3 years have emphasized
they must expand bilateral ties and there have been good steps in
this regard, he noted as expressing satisfaction over mounting and
flourishing relations.

He also added they rebuild of Iran’s railway to run to Caucasus,
north and east of Europe and Iran-Armenia railway on the agenda.

Mottaki then said officials are seeking for holding new round of
meeting between Iran and Armenia’s presidents in Tehran.

Mottaki meanwhile explained the reason he has not attended Paris
talks on Afghanistan’s security and development was the lack of polite
hosting manners by French officials.

Over Gaza Strip crisis he stressed the international community and
the United Nations are responsible for the inhuman condition in the
troubled region.

The Zionist regime must not feel that governments and international
organizations do not pay enough attention to condemn the criminal
measures and do not take a step to prevent these moves, he added.

Over the recent years Iran has contacted with foreign ministers of
Egypt, Syria, Malaysia, Senegal, some member states of Organization
of Islamic Countries (OIC) and Non-Aligned Movement (NAM) and has
proposed suggestions which are being studied, he added.

Iran tries to set up an emergency meeting of OIC foreign ministers and
Senegal as the current chief of the organization will start pursuing
the request, he said.

Also Iran seeks to arrange a meeting at the UN General Assembly to
resolve Gaza issue and Tehran’s mission at the UN is working on the
case, he continued.

Getting humanitarian aids to Gaza must be done through its neighbors
and Egypt is expected to cooperate in this regard, he said.

Foreign Minister announced Iran intends to dispatch 2000 tonnes of
essentials to Gaza by ship and Tehran hopes UN and Egypt help the
shipment reach 1.5 million Gazans.

Armen Movsisyan on his part regarding the new inaugurated gas pipeline
said "soon the pragmatic formula of gas in return for electricity
will be implemented."

Early December a pipeline beginning in Iran and ending in Armenia was
inaugurated to carry Iran’s gas to the country, in return Yerevan will
supply part of north Iran’s electricity. The pipeline is significant
since it may be a substitute for Russia’s gas which reaches Armenia
through Georgia and mostly in case it decides to cut the gas export.

The two officials have held their 8th joint economic commission Monday
morning where they discussed global economic meltdown and the ways
to make short work of its negative effects on the region.

OSCE SEC-GEN: YEREVAN, BAKU SHOULD FIX TERMS FOR KARABAKH RESOLUTION

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.12.2008 14:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The declarations adopted by OSCE and OSCE MG Foreign
Ministers are alike, the OSCE Secretary-General said.

The Helsinki meeting between the Armenian and Azerbaijani Foreign
Ministers gives hope for continuation of talks at the highest level,"
Marc Perrin de Brichambaut told a joint news conference in Yerevan
today.

"The sides in the Nagorno Karabakh conflict should demonstrate
flexibility and fix terms for resolution of the dispute. We understand
that atmosphere of confidence is essential to achieve success. The
conflict is complicated but we observed political will in Helsinki,
which should be encourages by all of 56 OSCE member states," he said.

IS RADIO LIBERTY FUNCTIONING ON THE OCCUPIED AZERBAIJANI LANDS?

Today.Az
/49586.html
Dec 15 2008
Azerbaijan

The information about the operation of the Liberty radio on the
occupied lands of Azerbaijan has partially been confirmed.

Day.Az reports with reference to sources in the Liberty radio that
a correspondent started working as a freelancer for the Armenian
service of the radio in Khankendi.

It was noted that the correspondent point is not implied.

It should be reminded that on December 13 Day.Az reported with
reference to the Kavkazskiy uzel about the resumption of the activity
of the Azadlyg radio correspondent point in Khankendi which was
approved by the leaders of the separatist regime in the occupied
lands of Azerbaijan.

Sources in the official structures of Azerbaijan told our correspondent
that the intentions of the Liberty radio, which wants to get
information from the occupied lands of Azerbaijan are understandable.

Head of the Baku office of the Azadlyg radio Khadija Ismaylova told
Day.Az that Khankendi always had a freelance correspondent and in
this case one correspondent can just be replaced with another.

"Khankendi never had a correspondnet point of the Liberty Radio except
for a freelance correspondent. The information about the resumption
of activity of Liberty Radio in Nagorno Karabakh after 15 years of
interval is incorrect as all this time, the radio was present there",
said Ismaylova.

It should be noted that the plans of the Libery Radio with their
correspondent in Khankendi astonishingly "coincided" with the plans
of the National Television and Radio Council of Azerbaijan to halt
transmission of foreign radio stations, including Liberty radio on the
national frequencies of Azerbaijan, which is more likely a demarche.

On the background of the negative attitude of official Baku to foreign
companies, working in the occupied lands, we consider that this issue
will get due response.

TURKISH INTELLECTUALS ISSUE APOLOGY TO ARMENIANS

Sky Valley Journal
Dec 15 2008
USA

Turkish intellectuals issue apology to Armenians – Yahoo! News
document.body.className = ‘js-enabled’; Skip to navigation "Skip to
content" U.S. Australia/Antarctica Turkish intellectuals issue apology
to Armenians Buzz Up IM del.icio.us Yahoo! Bookmarks By SUZAN FRASER,
Associated Press Writer Suzan Fraser, Associated Press Writer –
2 mins ago

The group of prominent academics, journalists, writers and artists
avoided using the contentious term "genocide" in the apology, using
the less explosive "Great Catastrophe" instead.

Historians estimate that, in the last days of the Ottoman Empire,
up to 1.5 million Armenians were killed by Ottoman Turks in what is
widely regarded as the first genocide of the 20th century. Armenians
have long pushed for the deaths to be recognized as genocide.

"My conscience does not accept that (we) remain insensitive toward and
deny the Great Catastrophe that the Ottoman Armenians were subjected
in 1915," read the apology. "I reject this injustice, share in the
feelings and pain of my Armenian brothers, and apologize to them."

Nobel Prize-winning author Orhan Pamuk was prosecuted after he
commented on the mass killings in 2005. Hrant Dink, an ethnic Armenian
journalist was shot outside his Istanbul office in 2007, following
his prosecution for comments he made about the killings of Armenians.

"Such an incorrect and one-sided attempt would mean disrespecting
our history," the diplomats said.

By late Monday, there were no public threats of legal action over
the petition.

In September, however, President Abdullah Gul became the first
Turkish leader to visit Armenia, where he and Armenian President
Serge Sarkisian watched their countries’ football teams play a World
Cup qualifying match.