Month: December 2008

ARMAMENT DRIVE IN CAUCASUS PREGNANT WITH UNPREDICTABLE CONSEQUENCES

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.12.2008 14:54 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armament drive in the Caucasus is pregnant with
unpredictable consequences, the Armenian Foreign Minister said.

"Azerbaijan keeps on increasing its defense budget and announcing plans
to resolve the Karabakh conflict by the use of force. Any incident at
the line of contact can lead to destabilization," Edward Nalbandian
said during a joint news conference with OSCE Secretary-General Marc
Perrin de Brichambaut.

At that he remarked that OSCE doesn’t give an adequate assessment of
Azerbaijan’s violations of the CFE norms.

For his part, Mr. de Brichambaut emphasized that the OSCE is the forum
for resolution of conflicts between the member countries. "Peaceful
resolution of conflicts is a common principle for all OSCE member
states," he said.

RUSSIAN TEENAGE GANG JAILED FOR RACIST MURDERS

Agence France Presse
Dec 15 2008

MOSCOW (AFP) — A Russian court on Monday handed jail terms of up to
20 years to seven members of a teenage group who carried out a string
of racially-motivated murders and posted the evidence on the Internet.

The 19 murders, carried out between August 2006 and October 2007 in
the Moscow region, underlined the growing problem of racist violence
in Russia after the fall of the Soviet Union.

Artur Ryno and Pavel Skachevsky, seen as the ringleaders of the group,
were given 10-year sentences in a penal colony, the maximum the judge
could give as they were minors at the time of the crime.

The 20-year term was handed to Roman Kuzin, born in 1988. Four other
members of the group received jail sentences of six to 12 years. Two
others had previously been acquitted.

The young men, standing in a glass-walled box and dressed in casual
jeans and sweaters, remained impassive as the verdicts were read
out. Ryno stared blankly in front while Skachevsky hid his face
beneath a baseball hat.

The accused were charged with singling out people of "non-Slavic"
appearance and then recording their attacks on video camera before
downloading footage onto the Internet.

"They killed citizens of Russia, Tajikistan, Azerbaijan and China,"
said prosecutor Marina Semenenko. They had been found guilty of
19 murders and 12 attempted murders, although earlier Russian news
agencies had said 20 murders were carried out.

Prosecutors said the young men used knives, baseball bats and metal
bars. They communicated through nationalist sites and agreed to act
"against people with non-Slavic appearance".

Skachevsky has said he was a "Russian soldier" who was cleansing the
city of "occupants."

After his arrest in 2007, Ryno said he "hated from school people from
the Caucasus and Asians who oppressed Russians."

Rights groups in Russia say that racist crimes have increased fivefold
over the last half-decade.

Earlier this month, the decapitated head of a migrant from Tajikistan
was found wrapped in a polythene bag in a rubbish bin outside a local
administration building in central Moscow.

A nationalist group claimed the murder, saying it was a warning to the
authorities over the growing number of migrants in the Russian capital.

According to the Moscow Human Rights Bureau, 113 people were killed
and 340 wounded in a total of 254 racist attacks in Russia from
January to October 2008.

Dmitry Agranovski, the lawyer for Skachevsky, said he would be
appealing against the verdict and urged people to see the crimes in
a wider social context.

"The indictment is based on testimony from my client, so there are
attenuating circumstances," he said. "These crimes reflect a social
phenomenon which is of massive magnitude and shows a malaise in
inter-ethnic relations."

"My client was a brilliant pupil with an ideal character. We should
educate young people instead of punishing them," he added.

The gang’s last victim was an ethnic Armenian, Karen Abramian, who
died from 55 stab wounds. His mother Assia said the sentences were
too lenient.

"They sent minors to kill because they knew they could not be given
heavy punishments. I want the mother of the person who did this to
suffer like me."

Of the murders recorded by the Moscow Human Rights Bureau between
January and October, the largest number was recorded in Moscow and
its region where 48 people were killed, followed by St. Petersburg
and Leningrad region where 19 lives were claimed by racist murders.

Citizens of the Central Asian republics of Uzbekistan, Kyrgyzstan and
Tajikistan were those worst affected by the violence, data published
on its website showed.

THE FIRST CRUSADE: FOR FAITH AND PLUNDER

Socialistworker.co.uk
http://www.socialis tworker.co.uk/art.php?id=16699
Dec 15 2008
UK

The princes, knights, peasants and pilgrims who answered the pope’s
call for the First Crusade in 1095 were driven by many different
motivations, writes Conor Kostick

On 27 November 1095 Pope Urban II launched the call for a crusade to
win Jerusalem and the other holy places in Palestine for the Roman
Catholic church.

This "call to the cross" came at a time of deep social turmoil in
Europe. In 1094 and 1095 Europe was devastated by floods, famine and
plagues leaving millions destitute.

The following year, tens of thousands of people of all backgrounds left
their homes in Europe to march on Jerusalem. The "people’s crusade" set
off under the influence of popular preachers such as Peter the Hermit.

Some of these crusaders organised Europe’s first mass pogroms against
the Jewish communities of the Rhineland, Bavaria and Rouen.

Later that year the "Prince’s crusade", comprising four major armies
from Lotharingia, northern France, southern France and Italy, joined
the crusades.

Among them were many thousands of knights – professional warriors who
lived for the chase. If they were not waging war they were hunting,
and the horse that they rode gave them not only military prowess but
a social status that was greater than that of the foot soldiers.

Even greater throngs of more lowly non-combatants tried to keep
pace with those trained for war. Farmers sold their lands and tools,
except for a plough and a few animals. Hitching a cart to their oxen,
they placed their remaining possessions in the vehicle, put their
children on top and set out for the Holy Land.

Peasants

Bonded peasants, the serfs, ran from the prospect of lifelong toil
to obtain freedom in the ranks of the "Army of God". With little more
than a few coins, and dependent upon "the bounty of God", they joined
the crusade to escape their oppression.

Among the crowds were thousands of women. Their presence dismayed
the senior clergy, but popular preachers distributed alms to them so
that they could find husbands and protectors. Some women disguised
themselves as men to cast off the role that had been assigned to them
from birth.

As the great armies snaked their way along the old Roman roads, elderly
men, monks, nuns, artisans and peasants joined the expedition. The
poor escorted the princes and the glittering knights, who in turn
felt some responsibility for their protection.

As this army of pilgrims marched east it plundered the Balkans,
clashed with eastern Christians of the Byzantine empire and sacked
the Armenian Christian city of Edessa before fighting repeatedly with
Turkish tribes and Arab forces.

They died in great numbers. Ships full of pilgrims sank in the
Adriatic. Stragglers left trails of dead across hundreds of miles,
especially once the armies were south east of the Alps and could no
longer count on the sympathy of Catholic Christian towns.

Once in Muslim territory enormous numbers perished, both in battle
and from the hardship of desert, mountain and disease.

Contemporary accounts of the First Crusade help us understand how
different social groupings took up the crusade in different ways,
sometimes leading to clashes between them.

These tensions came to the surface when the expedition stalled from
July 1098 to May 1099.

The princes showed no interest in continuing the march to Jerusalem
and sought to establish lordships for themselves in what is today
southern Turkey, Lebanon and Syria.

It was popular pressure that provided the impetus to drive the
army towards Jerusalem, a popular movement that was radical and
insubordinate towards to the senior figures on the crusade. But it
was also ruthlessly murderous towards the local populations.

This was not simply because of the religious ideas the low-ranking
crusaders adhered to but also because intended to make a new life for
themselves, free from servility, by taking over the homes and lands
of those they had slain.

It also became clear that a previously unrecognised type of person
was present on the First Crusade. They played a key role as the "shock
troops" of the movement – the first into battle, first on to the walls
of a besieged city, rash, impetuous and thirsty for fame. These were
senior nobles who had yet to establish families or careers and were
termed as "iuvenes".

Recent discussion of the First Crusade has been dominated by those
who argue that it was a spiritual endeavour.

However, eyewitness accounts describe these iuvenes as extremely
violent, both towards non-Christian enemies and to fellow Christians
on their return to Europe.

They sought glory in battle, slaughtered both combatants and civilians
and revelled in displays of their riding ability.

The chance of seizing new lands in the east was one of the great
motivations for joining a crusade as competition for land in Europe
among the princes and knights was in danger of triggering endless wars.

But their motivation for joining the crusade was not strictly a
hunger for land and booty. The violence of these bands of knights
in search of the opportunity to prove their military prowess was
destabilising Europe.

More than one clerical author breathed a sigh of relief that the
destructive energy of the knightly order had been deflected by the
idea of attacking an external non-Christian enemy.

When the crusaders finally captured Jerusalem on 15 July 1099, the
streets of a city famed for its religious tolerance were full of
rotting corpses of its Muslim and Jewish inhabitants. Over 40,000
are believed to have been killed in a few hours.

Social class

Overall, the motivation of those who took part in the First Crusade
was as diverse as the various social classes who took part.

The balance between spiritual and material considerations varied
considerably from social group to social group.

And figures displaying considerable devotion to the spiritual goals
of the expedition as well of those of a more cynical disposition
could be found within each class.

What my new history attempts is an account of how such a diversity
of outlook affected the history of the crusade and it also explains
the particular violence that was unleashed on Jerusalem.

Over time, and despite further crusades to the Middle East, Christian
Europe could not maintain its presence in the region. It was a brutal
society but one which was economically and culturally inferior to
that of the Muslims.

For the aristocrats and knights the fall of Jerusalem in 1187 to Salah
el-Din’s (Saladin) army was a disaster. They fled back to Europe,
their lands and property passing to the Muslim princes. Unlike the
fall of the city to the crusaders, there was no massacre.

Many of the settlers remained in the region and gained protection
under the new rulers. The final defeat of the crusades put a stop to
these endless wars allowing the descendants of the pilgrims to live
in peace – many can still be found today along the coastal areas of
Lebanon and Syria.

SAYARI: OBAMA REALIZES US CANNOT SIT ON FENCE OVER PKK

Today’s Zaman
Dec 15 2008
Turkey

Sabri Sayarı, professor of political science at Sabancı University,
has said US President-elect Barack Obama realizes that to maintain
good relations with Ankara, the US needs to support Turkey’s fight
against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK).

"He is likely to place more emphasis on relations with Turkey because
of the critical nature of American policies in the region regarding,
for example, Iran. And, in the context of the Georgian crisis and
Russia’s growing assertiveness, Turkey is an important neighboring
country," he said.

Toward the end of his presidential campaign, Obama accused the
administration of President George W. Bush of straining the country’s
ties with Turkey.

He also pledged to lead efforts to bring Turkey and the Iraqi Kurds
to find a solution to the terror threat posed by the separatist PKK.

In a foreign policy document published on his election campaign Web
site, Obama said, "The result is that this strategically important
NATO ally, the most advanced democracy in the Muslim world, is turning
against the West," recalling recent opinion polls indicating that
the number of Turks with a favorable opinion of the United States
had fallen to 12 percent.

For Monday Talk, Sayarı elaborated on the repercussions Turkey should
expect from Obama’s election as the next US president.

Should Turkey be relieved or concerned with the election of Barack
Obama as the next US president?

The Turkish press focused only on the Armenian genocide issue, but
there is a broader context. Considering the fact that Obama represents
the end of the Bush era, this is a welcome result.

Why were you concerned about the focus on the Armenian issue?

The Armenian genocide issue has been largely seen in Turkey as the
most important thing that came out of the American election. We should
be more broad minded and think about larger issues.

Like what?

Iraq is very important for Turkey. That’s how the two candidates
started out their campaigns; Obama was supporting the withdrawal
of troops, McCain favored America’s presence there. This issue had
priority in the campaign, although later the economic crisis dominated
the scene.

Do you think Obama will attempt a total pullout of American troops,
or will he maintain a significant force there?

He says he is going to withdraw, but he is likely to maintain a
significant presence there in the form of military bases. The northern
Iraqi Kurdish leadership has already stated that they welcome American
bases in their part of Iraqi territory. You cannot simply take out
150,000 troops overnight. This would leave America exposed. It’s
going to be a gradual process. Given the unhappiness in American
public opinion about the American presence in Iraq and given the
fact that Obama benefited from that unhappiness, he is going to do
something about it. In his mind, Afghanistan is more important and,
given the size of the US military, you can’t fight on two fronts,
so he will move some of the American troops to Afghanistan.

>From a Turkish viewpoint, is an American troop withdrawal from Iraq
a good move?

Initially, there was much opposition in Turkey to the American presence
there. In time, officials in Ankara started to think that a withdrawal
would be a potential danger for Turkey. So Turkey’s position has
shifted. Turkey would not be happy with an immediate withdrawal,
but with something of a gradual nature.

Why?

The expectation is that an American withdrawal form Iraq will be
accompanied by some sort of formation of a democratic government
in Iraq. It is to Turkey’s advantage if that becomes a reality. The
nightmare scenario is that with the American withdrawal you will have
a civil war situation.

‘If the United States is going to withdraw troops, it will do so with
the help of Turkey’

Toward the end of his election campaign Obama released a document
arguing that US-Turkey relations had been deeply strained by the Bush
administration’s mismanaged intervention in Iraq, which helped revive
the terrorist threat posed to Turkey by the separatist PKK. Why do
you think he published this document?

With recommendations from his foreign policy team, he emphasized
that you cannot sit on the fence when it comes to this issue. If
you want to maintain good relations with Turkey, you need to support
Turkey’s fight against the PKK. He is likely to place more emphasis
on relations with Turkey because of the critical nature of American
policies in the region regarding, for example, Iran. And, in the
context of the Georgian crisis and Russia’s growing assertiveness,
Turkey is an important neighboring country. If the United States is
going to withdraw troops, it will do so with the help of Turkey —
and probably through Turkey.

Observers had said that a John McCain presidency would lead to a
more interventionist course for America than an Obama presidency. Now
that Obama has been elected, should the world forget about American
interventionism?

If something happens that will adversely affect American interests,
he is going to support intervention. It is not that he is an idealist
who will support solving every issue through diplomacy. His approach
will be more multilateral than unilateral. That means working with
the allies, with the United Nations, and using diplomacy. Even
George W. Bush did not act unilaterally in the last two years, and
he consulted with allies in Europe.

Why did Obama target Pakistan while explaining his foreign policy
priorities prior to the election?

There is a growing belief in the United States that the problem in
Afghanistan is Pakistan and that Pakistan needs to cooperate with the
United States. Since Obama places the most emphasis on Afghanistan
and capturing Osama bin Laden, who is probably hiding on the border
area between Pakistan and Afghanistan, he also places emphasis on
Pakistan. Can he intervene in Pakistan? It seems like a distant
possibility. But Obama wanted to send a forceful message to Pakistan
that they need to cooperate.

How do you think Turkey’s "zero conflict" foreign policy will be
affected by Obama’s presidency?

Turkish foreign policy stresses a "zero conflict" policy, but that
could be a source of problems with Turkey’s Western allies, for
example, with the United States on Iran and to some extent with the
EU. The French are not at all on the same wavelength with Turkey on
Syria because they think Syria is still involved in Lebanon. So to
maintain a "zero conflict" policy and at the same time maintain good
relations with the West is a delicate balancing act for Turkey. It
needs to be done very carefully; otherwise, you could loose on
both ends.

‘We may see people familiar with Turkey in the Obama administration’

What do you think of Obama’s quick call to economic experts to discuss
the first steps toward healing the damaged US economy?

Obviously he wants to emphasize how critical the problem facing the
American economy is. The economic experts he has consulted are mostly
members of Bill Clinton’s economic team. I think he also wanted to
emphasize that this team was responsible for the achievements of the
economy under President Clinton.

What would you say about familiar names such as Richard Holbrooke
and Anthony Lake, as they are being discussed as potentials for the
position of secretary of state?

When there is a Republican administration in charge, the democratic
thinkers on foreign and domestic policy move out to think tanks and
universities. When there is a Democratic administration, the reverse
happens. Now that Obama is the president-elect, various people in
the think tanks and universities are trying to get a position in the
new administration. As far as personalities, Richard Holbrooke’s name
has been mentioned, but he was so heavily involved with the Hillary
Clinton campaign that I doubt that he will be chosen as secretary of
state. Anthony Lake, who moved to Georgetown University as a professor
after Clinton left, could be chosen as national security advisor.

Looking from a Turkish perspective — considering that the Israeli
father of Rahm Emanuel, who has been selected as Obama’s chief of
staff, said his son would naturally influence the president to be
pro-Israel — how would you evaluate Obama’s choice of Emanuel?

Obviously Emanuel is a friend of Israel. But I doubt that Obama’s
approach to the Israeli-Palestinian conflict will be shaped by
Emanuel’s background and views. As you know, Henry Kissinger is
also Jewish, but the Nixon presidency (where he served as a top
foreign policy official) did not witness a major pro-Israel tilt. More
importantly for Turkey, let’s not forget that Emanuel has been a strong
opponent of the Armenian "genocide" resolution and he has been vilified
and criticized by the Armenian lobby for his position on this issue.

And your views on such names as James Steinberg, Gregory Craig and
Susan Rice for the position of the White House national security
adviser?

Steinberg served as deputy national security advisor to President
Clinton. He is a veteran foreign policy expert who worked at the State
Department, the Brookings Institution and the US Congress. Currently he
is a dean at the Johnson School of Public Affairs at the University
of Texas. Craig is a well-known Washington lawyer who defended
Clinton against impeachment. He has been a foreign policy advisor
to Senator Edward Kennedy, Madeleine Albright and, most recently,
Barack Obama. Rice is a respected and well-known foreign affairs
expert. An African-American, she served at the National Security
Council and was also assistant secretary of state for African
affairs during the Clinton presidency. She was John Kerry’s top
foreign policy advisor during the 2004 election campaign. I think
all three will occupy important positions in foreign policy in the
Obama administration. Among them, Jim Steinberg has the best chance
of becoming the next national security advisor.

What would you say about names like Henri Barkey and Philip Gordon,
who are involved in the Obama campaign?

Philip Gordon from the Brookings Institution could be in Obama’s policy
planning bureau, perhaps. On the Obama team, you may see some other
people familiar with Turkey, such as Barkey of Lehigh University,
former US Ambassador to Turkey Morton Abramowitz and Alan Makovsky,
a specialist on Middle Eastern and Turkish affairs.

How about the Joe Biden factor?

The foreign policy of this administration will be partly in the
portfolio of Joe Biden because he is an experienced person who served
on the Senate Committee for Foreign Relations for a long time. He
will probably bring some of the people from his own network.

And what would you say about Biden and Obama’s commitment to the
Armenian "genocide" issue pushed by the Armenian diaspora?

Obama was elected from Illinois and Chicago, the state capital,
has a large Greek and Armenian population. For electoral reasons,
Obama has been pushing for this for years now. Joe Biden was elected
from Delaware, which also has a small but influential Greek-American
population. Greek and Armenian Americans work together on this
issue. When you have both the president and the vice president
strongly pushing for this, the resolution will pass in Congress this
time in April. Both Biden and Obama have been tremendously committed
to the issue.

If Turkey and Armenia open their mutual border as the next step of the
recent rapprochement between them, could the American administration
take a different stance on the genocide resolution?

It could change the equilibrium in Turkey’s relations with Armenia,
but it would not affect the diaspora. We have seen what happened in the
Greek-Turkish situation. Turkey reached a rapprochement with Greece
in 1999 and the relations are quite warm, but the Greek-American
diaspora is still critical of Turkey. Just two weeks ago, the
founding of the Turkish Republic was being celebrated in Los Angeles
by Turkish-Americans and 200 young Armenians demonstrated there. What
happens between Turkey and Armenia does not seem to be affecting the
diaspora community.

Sabri Sayarı A professor of political science at Sabancı University,
he also serves on the executive board of the Ä°stanbul Policy Center
at Sabancı. Prior to his current position, he was the director
of the Institute of Turkish Studies at Georgetown University’s
School of Foreign Service in Washington, D.C., (1994-2005) and a
senior staff member at the National Academy of Sciences’ National
Research Council (1991-1993). From 1974 to 1984, he served on the
faculty of Bogazici University in Ä°stanbul. He has also been a
visiting professor of political science at Columbia University,
Aarhus University (Denmark), the University of California at Irvine
and George Washington University.

Professor Sayarı has published numerous works on Turkish politics and
foreign policy. His publications include four co-edited books published
in the United States: "Turkey’s New World: Changing Dynamics in
Turkish Foreign Policy"; "Politics, Parties and Elections in Turkey";
"Political Leaders and Democracy in Turkey"; and "Turkish Studies in
the United States."

–Boundary_(ID_bSfWNERxJxYcfTa4hSvJ UQ)–

RA FM: ARMENIAN AUTHORITIES TO CONTINUE PROCESS OF REFORM

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.12.2008 16:23 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Armenian government has undertaken precise
steps to fulfill PACE 1609 and 1620 resolutions, the Armenian Foreign
Minister said.

"Of course, it’s impossible to resolve all problems in one day, but
Armenia has carried out a great deal of work with the assistance of
international structures," Edward Nalbandian said during a joint news
conference with OSCE Secretary-General Marc Perrin de Brichambaut.

"We are fulfilling PACE recommendations proceeding from interests of
the Armenian people," he said.

200 TURKISH INTELLECTUALS APOLOGIZE TO ARMENIANS FOR GENOCIDE

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.12.2008 16:28 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ A group of Turkish intellectuals and academics
are planning to issue a public apology for the Armenian Genocide on
the Internet.

Cengiz Aktar, a professor at Istanbul’s Bahcesehir University, one of
the campaign’s initiators, said the group plans to issue the apology
Monday along with a non-binding Internet petition to gather signatures,
Hurriyet Daily News reports.

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

Turks, including Nobel Literature Laureate Orhan Pamuk, have been
prosecuted in the European Union aspirant country for recognizing
the Armenian Genocide.

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.

"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. Germany’s Green Party co-chair Cem Ozdemir, journalists
Ece Temelkuran, Mine Kirikkanat, Oral Calislar, Ertugrul Kurkcu,
director Bars Pirhasan, political scientist Baskin Oran, writers
Murathan Mungan, Enis Batur, economists Ahmet Insel, Ayse Bugra,
musician Aylin Aslim, actress Derya Alabora, and historians Halil
Berkay and Selim Deringil are among the signatories.

ALTAN TAN: KURDS’ LOVE AFFAIR WITH AK PARTY ENDING

Today’s Zaman
Dec 15 2008
Turkey

Kurdish intellectual and writer Altan Tan has said that the ruling
Justice and Development Party (AK Party) is not the same AK Party
that the Kurds fell in love with and that sooner or later there will
be alternatives to it.

"The AK Party takes its strength from the lack of viable alternatives;
however, this cannot last forever," Tan said. "The AK Party may save
the day for the March 2009 local elections, but after that the public
will create its own alternatives. A party that holds on to the status
quo cannot retain its power in Turkey."

"Turkey’s problem with the Kurds is a problem related to its struggle
to be a full-fledged democracy. A federal system or autonomy could
even deepen the problems if you do not take democratic steps first
recognizing the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurdish
people." he said.

Critics have increasingly questioned the Kurdish policies of the
government, which won almost half of the vote in the country’s
predominantly Kurdish-populated provinces in the July 22 general
elections last year. But Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan has been
getting more attention recently with his unsettling remarks about
the Kurdish population.

For Monday Talk, Tan elaborated on the issue.

You have just come back from Diyarbakır. Could you tell us about
the political climate there?

Diyarbakır is a politicized city, and it is the center of the Kurdish
movement. Since the elections last year, people of the region had
high hopes about a solution to the Kurdish problem, but their hopes
have almost faded, especially because the government stands close to
the military guardianship regime.

When exactly did Kurds start to feel that their expectations would
not be met?

When somebody falls in love, there is always a suspicion. There is
always a feeling of "what if?" and those questions have intensified
with the shelving of the project to make a new constitution. The prime
minister [Recep Tayyip Erdogan] promised last year in October that
he would have completed work on the new constitution in December and
would have a public referendum this year. Then came the closure case
against the AK Party, and the government did not do what is expected
of it in the process.

What were the expectations then?

For example, the government could have changed the status of
the Constitutional Court so it would not have dominance over
Parliament. Instead, they have chosen to negotiate with some
institutions.

What institutions are these?

Such institutions of the establishment as the Constitutional Court
and the military. Then some of the prime minister’s advisers told
him that since the foundation of the Republic of Turkey, it had been
always the Republican People’s Party [CHP] that has been close to the
military and that for the first time a right-wing party, the AK Party,
had the opportunity of a closer relationship with the military. The
idea was that this relationship should be strengthened, and only
after that alliance reforms can be considered.

Is this realistic?

The military is this nation’s military, of course, and the military men
are the children of this country. However, the military has a different
mentality than civilians. And with a military mentality, we cannot find
solutions to the problems, such as the Kurdish problem, the Armenian
problem, the Alevi problem, obstacles facing higher education and
so on. Is the government going to solve those problems, or continue
with the status quo? If there is an alliance with the establishment,
then this means a submission on the part of the government. This is the
way Kurds see it, Alevis see it and Islamic circles see it. We say no
to submission but yes to democracy. and a compromise is possible only
in a democratic environment that complies with universal standards.

What do Kurds want?

There is so much talk about a federal system and autonomy for
Kurds. What is it exactly that Kurds want?

Turkey’s problem with the Kurds is a problem related to its struggle
to be a full-fledged democracy. A federal system or autonomy
could even deepen the problems if you do not take democratic steps
first recognizing the cultural and linguistic rights of the Kurdish
people. Then a general amnesty can be considered after a cease-fire
and after society calms down. If you try to start with a general
amnesty, it would create more conflict between ethnic Kurds and
Turks. A much-debated law to bring home Kurds who are involved in
terrorism would not be useful at all without having a better situation
at home. And the Kurdish problem should be separately handled than
the problem of terrorism. They may be related, but solutions should
be considered separately.

One day we hear of a new reform package for Kurds, and the next day
we hear nationalistic approaches. What is the AK Party government
trying to do?

They are just trying to save the day.

Why?

There are several reasons. The prime minister did not have a vision
similar to the late President Turgut Ozal, whose mind was set to
solve the Kurdish issue. And the prime minister’s team involves
ultranationalists and even fascists in addition to liberals and
Muslim democrats. However, his main team responds to the demands
of the status quo by submission. In addition, there are internal
factors, such as the military guardianship, preventing Turkey’s
way to democratization. In order to overcome this situation, the
government needs to take a firm stance against it but falls short of
doing it. And it is not easy to take a firm stance when there are
attempts for military coups and assassination threats, so internal
conditions are not really favorable. Still, the government needs to
take a stance to solve the problems.

How?

They should be ready to pay the price. [the late French President
Charles] de Gaulle lost in the election after solving the problems
with Algeria. He left politics. [the late British President]
Winston Churchill took the country successfully out of World War II
but left the following election. But we — the whole world — know
about Churchill and de Gaulle, not the people who won the elections
after them. However, the AK Party is just trying to save the day,
calculating that there is no alternative to the CHP but the AK Party.

Could the AK Party still have the votes of the Kurdish people of
the Southeast?

The AK Party is not the same AK Party that the Kurds fell in love
with. Kurds also face the dilemma of not having an alternative. The DTP
[pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party] does not meet the demands of the
Kurds, either. Therefore, the AK Party derives its strength from the
lack of viable alternatives; however, this cannot last forever. The
AK Party may save the day for the March 2009 local elections, but
after that the public will create its own alternatives. A party which
holds on to the status quo cannot retain its power in Turkey. That has
been same with the True Path Party [DYP], Motherland Party [ANAP, now
ANAVATAN] and the Welfare Party [RP]. Even though Necmettin Erbakan
[former leader of the now-defunct RP] submitted to the system, he
was disqualified.

What would happen if the AK Party wins Diyarbakır?

AK Party politicians have a cunning calculation. They think that if
they win over the DTP, then that means winning over the PKK [outlawed
Kurdistan Workers’ Party]. This is not true at all because even if
the PKK is finished off, the Kurdish problem would remain unless
democratic steps toward a solution have been taken.

If there were elections today, which one do you think will be the
winner in the Southeast, the DTP or the AK Party?

Fifty percent of Kurds support neither the DTP nor the AK
Party. There is serious talk about boycotting the elections or
supporting independents. Still the DTP is ahead of the AK Party,
but you never know. Twenty-four hours is a short time in politics.

Have the DTP municipalities improved their services?

They have improved their services a lot. Streets are clean in the
Southeast. And they also distribute food aid to the needy like the
AK Party, even though they criticized the AK Party for doing it before.

‘Tension will increase’

What do you expect in the coming days when there is such a climate
of tension between ethnic Kurds and Turks?

There is a climate of tension, and the tension will increase. The
efforts to make a new constitution have been shelved, expectations
of the Islamic camp have not been discussed and economic expectations
of the lower and middle classes have not been discussed, either. The
discussion has been centered on the Kurdish question. The current
situation has benefited the status quo. The government has been
taken over, and the operation is complete. This could last until an
alternative emerges.

Do you think any steps by the government could change the situation
for the better?

The first urgent step would be to make Kurdish an elective course in
schools, Kurdish television channels should be established and then
a general amnesty should be declared.

What should the DTP do?

All violence should be stopped. If they say it is the PKK that acts
violently and not them, then they should call on the PKK to stop the
violence. Even if unilaterally, violence should stop.

President Abdullah Gul had called on the Kurdish deputies to come
together and produce solutions. Why can they not gather?

The prime minister should allow them to go to that meeting, but
apparently he is not.

Why not?

He may be making the calculations I have mentioned previously, and
he does not care about a real solution to the problem.

Could the recent rapprochement with the northern Iraqi leadership
help to finish off the PKK?

Massoud Barzani does not have the power to fight the PKK. He tried to
do it in the past and lost 3,000 of his peshmerga troops. Relations
with Barzani should not be based on the plans about taking down the
PKK because such a relationship would not be a lasting one.

Tan explains demands of the Kurds living in Turkey

The concept of citizenship should be more broadly defined to
embrace citizens of all ethnic and religious origins in the new
constitution. Or the new constitution should not try to define
citizenship at all;

People of all ethnic and religious origins, their cultures and their
existence should be recognized and constitutionally protected;

Kurdish should be an elective course in schools;

A necessary infrastructure should be provided to make it possible
for Kurds to be educated in their native Kurdish;

Kurdology institutes should be established at universities;

State television should provide a few channels in the Kurdish language,
and there should be no restrictions on the private channels as far
as Kurdish broadcasting hours;

The changed names — from Kurdish to Turkish — of such places as
rivers, villages, mountains and plains should be reversed;

Affirmative action in terms of economic development should be practiced
in eastern and southeastern Turkey; in that regard, projects of such
organizations as the Diyarbakır Chamber of Commerce and Industry
and others should be taken into consideration;

People of the region have been through a traumatic experience over
the years. For example, millions of people migrated, 3,000 villages
have been evacuated, 4,000 people have been killed and their murders
still have not been solved, and nearly half a million people have
been through detention and torture. They need a serious rehabilitation
project.

As a gesture, Diyarbakır Prison, infamous for its conditions, should
be either destroyed and a monument should replace it, or it should
be shut down and turned into a museum;

About 45 percent of the Kurdish population is under 15 years of age
and 64 percent is under 25 years of age. And there is an unemployment
problem waiting to be solved.

In the region, women have been subject to murder for traditional
reasons, and they need education and a rehabilitation project;

Following a full cease-fire, a general amnesty should be considered;
and

Turkey should develop friendly relations with the northern Iraqi
Kurdish regional administration. Turkey should support the northern
Iraqi regime culturally, economically and politically.

Kurdish writer and intellectual Altan Tan

Born in the southeastern province of Batman in 1958, he is the son of
Bedii Tan, a venerable businessman from the region who was arrested
in the aftermath of the Sept. 12, 1980, military coup though he was
not related to the Kurdish cause. Bedii Tan was tortured to death
in prison.

Altan Tan, who studied architecture and engineering, earns his living
as a contractor and has been in and out of Islamic-oriented political
movements. He joined the Welfare Party (RP) in 1987 and became its
Southeast watchdog but left the party when it went into coalition
with the Nationalist Movement Party (MHP) in 1991. He was also in the
administration of the now defunct Kurdish People’s Democracy Party
(HADEP) from 2000-2002.

He has published various political periodicals and authored the
upcoming book "Kurt Sorunu: Ya Tam KardeÅ~_lik Ya Hep Birlikte
Kölelik" (The Kurdish Problem: Either Full Brotherhood or Slavery
Altogether).

–Boundary_(ID_tGUcKyPvAQoFJ HEzH/7TUw)–

MOSCOW: SKINHEAD GANG LEADERS SENTENCED TO 10 YEARS IN PRISON

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.12.2008 17:03 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Moscow city court has announced the verdict of
guilty for the leaders of a gang of skinheads Arthur Ryno and Pavel
Skachevsky, for the murders committed through national hatred, and
sentenced them to 10 years in prison.

The other criminals in the dock will spend from 6 to 20 years in
prison, depending on age and degree of complicity.

The gang was found guilty of 32 assaults on people of non-Slavonic
nationality.

RA PRESIDENT TO DEPART FOR KAZAKHSTAN FOR CSTO LEADERS MEETING

PanARMENIAN.Net
15.12.2008 17:53 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan will depart for
Astana December 19 to attend an informal meeting of CSTO leaders,
the President’s spokesman Samvel Farmanyan told PanARMENIAN.Net.

The heads of state will consider ways to resist consequences of the
world financial crisis. They will gather on initiative of Kazakh
President Nursultan Nazarbayev to discuss further activities of the
Organization.

EX-TURKISH ENVOYS SLAM CAMPAIGN APOLOGIZING TO ARMENIANS

Hurriyet
Dec 15 2008
Turkey

A group of retired ambassadors slammed the recent internet campaign
launched to issue a public apology to Armenians regarding the 1915
incidents.

Around 200 Turkish academics, writers and journalists are planning
to issue an apology to the Armenians.

Retired diplomats and ambassadors issued on Monday a response to the
attempt, saying the campaign is "unfair, wrong and unfavorable for
the national interests".

"Such an incorrect and one-sided attempt would mean disrespecting our
history and betraying our people who lost their lives in the violent
attacks of the terror organizations in the final days of the Ottoman
Empire, as well as after, during the formation of the Republic," the
statement issued by around 60 retired ambassadors and diplomats said.

Armenia, with the backing of the diaspora, claims up to 1.5 million
of their kin were slaughtered in orchestrated killings in 1915.Turkey
rejects the claims saying that 300,000 Armenians, along with at least
as many Turks, died in civil strife that emerged when Armenians took
up arms, backed by Russia, for independence in eastern Anatolia.

The issue remains unsolved as Armenia drags its feet in accepting
Turkey’s proposal of forming a commission to investigate the claims.

The statement also acknowledged that the forced emigration of the
Armenians during World War One had created "sour" consequences,
but the pain of the Turkish people suffered from the Armenian riot,
as well as terror attacks, is as much as the Armenians.

The diplomats also said in order to improve the relations between
neighboring countries both sides should recognize each other’s borders
and mutually share the pain each side suffered.

The statement was signed by CHP deputies Sukru Elekdag and Onur Oymen.