Month: November 2009

Right Vision News
November 12, 2009 Thursday

Turkey: Is the West losing Turkey? Probably not

Pakistan

Pakistan, Nov. 12 — In recent weeks a lot of newspaper space has been
dedicated to questioning whether Turkey is moving away from its
traditional Euro-Atlantic orientation, turning its back on the West,
so to speak, and choosing instead to become chummier with the Middle
East and the Muslim world. In fact these aspersions are not really
anything new.Ever since the ruling Justice and Development Party (AKP)
— which most of the Western media describe as "Islamist" — came to
power, this question has been bubbling away, and seven years since
taking over the reins, the "hidden" Islamist agenda of Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdo?an is still being talked about.Every foreign policy
decision is closely scrutinized by eagle-eyed analysts and journalists
and of course by Turkey’s opposition parties, which are always on the
lookout for any skullduggery or signs that the government is putting
Turkey’s secular roots at risk.

It’s fair to say that the government has given them plenty of fodder
to get their teeth into: Prime Minister Erdo?an’s walkout during a
debate with Shimon Peres at the Davos World Economic Forum, Turkey’s
decision to veto Israel’s participation in a joint air force exercise
(citing the Israeli leadership’s conduct in Gaza) and Erdo?an’s recent
visit to Iran during which he declared Iranian President Mahmoud
Ahmadinejad as his friend and accused those countries which oppose
Tehran’s atomic program of hypocrisy can serve as a few examples.
Indeed the Iranian visit in particular raised many eyebrows in the
West. Combine this with Turkey’s apparent disillusionment with the EU
given the slow progress of its membership talks, and Turkey’s
commitment to the West is brought into question. But is this enough to
suggest that Turkey is shifting its foreign policy orientation? I
would doubt that very much.Today Turkey’s foreign policy is famously
focused on "zero problems with neighbors" and, given the fact that
many of Turkey’s neighbors are part of the Muslim world, this means
Turkey is bound to deal with them and build stronger relations even
though they are countries (in the case of Syria and Iran, at least)
that the West does not trust. Turkey has spent decades dealing with
difficult neighbors, but to be taken as a serious regional power and
increasing global player, Ankara needs to put its own house in order
and move from acrimonious to positive relationships. This shift does
not mean that Turkey’s historical relationship with the West is at
risk — rather, it should complement it. Turkey’s reaction to Israel
may have shocked many in the West, but these decisions were taken out
of genuine anger and concern, not because of some prefabricated public
relations campaign to win support from the Arab street. Turkey has for
years been encouraging progress on the Arab-Israeli peace process and
will continue to do so.On Iran, the fact is no country has the luxury
of choosing its own neighbors. You have to make the best of what you
have, and it would be unrealistic for the West to expect Turkey to
have no relations with Tehran. Turkey needs cooperation with Iran on a
whole range of issues, and the best way to go about this would hardly
be for Turkey’s leadership to harshly criticize its leadership at
every opportunity. Indeed while many in the West do not agree with the
"friendly" relations between Erdo?an and Ahmadinejad, at the same they
are not Iran’s neighbor and it is not they who risk having their gas
cut off in the winter months or have Tehran refuse to cooperate on
containing Kurdish militants. Furthermore, if Erdo?an manages to have
the ear of the president, it can also be beneficial to the West. For
an isolated, distrustful Iran, a friendly and powerful neighbor like
Turkey is not to be snubbed. At the same time Turkey also has no
interest in a nuclear Iran. Indeed, Turkey recently ordered advanced
Patriot missile batteries from the US, which could be viewed as an
action to defend itself against Iran’s missile program.Furthermore,
the upgrading or relations is not limited to the Muslim world. The
recent thawing of relations with Armenia — at the cost of risking
relations with "Muslim kin" Azerbaijan — is an example. And then, of
course, there is Russia. Such has been the dramatic increase in ties
that some people even talk of a "Putinization" of Turkey. A scary
thought, to say the least. While relations with the EU are difficult,
they are progressing and Turkey still remains a valuable and dedicated
member of NATO and a country that continues to contribute
substantially to numerous peacekeeping and military operations around
the globe.It seems to me that Turkey is not trying to re-establish the
Ottoman Empire but is rather aiming for a smart foreign policy, a
foreign policy that looks to the East and the West at the same time.
There is no need to have a single geopolitical direction, no need to
make a "choice." This would not serve the interests of the country. So
no one should expect Ankara to "resign" from NATO or quit its EU
membership talks any time soon. Published by HT Syndication with
permission from Right Vision News.

Right Vision News
November 12, 2009 Thursday

Turkey: Zero problems with minorities?

Pakistan

Pakistan, Nov. 12 — A meeting with the US president in the White
House, a meeting with the vice president and a formal dinner in his
honor at the vice presidential residence, a dinner hosted by the
secretary of state honoring his visit, a lunch in his honor hosted by
the House of Representatives and Senate leaders at US Capitol and
conferences organized at Georgetown University and the Brookings
Institution.All these compliments for a visitor from Turkey to the
American capital. No, it wasn’t President Abdullah Gul or Prime
Minister Recep Tayyip Erdo?an who visited Washington.

There is no way they would be welcomed like that. In fact, let alone
the president and prime minister, we haven’t seen any Turkish official
or any other person from Turkey receive as much praise in Washington
ever before. So what is the name of the Turkish citizen who was deemed
worthy of this extraordinary protocol and treatment? Bartholomew.
Those who see him as the religious leader of a small Greek Orthodox
minority in Turkey and as a counterpart to the district governor of
Fatih in the line of protocol generally refer to him as the "Greek
Patriarch at Fener." Those — including many states around the world
and especially the US — who see him as the leading spiritual leader
of the approximately 300 million Orthodox Christians in the world
refer to him as "His All Holiness Ecumenical Patriarch."There is a
wonderful phrase in Bediuzzaman Said Nursi’s works that goes "A person
who closes his eyes makes it dark for just himself." The respect to
the Patriarchate and its connections transcended Turkey’s borders a
long time ago, whereas it is belittled, excluded and deprived of due
attention by some segments of the Turkish state and society. Wouldn’t
it be better if we kept the Patriarchate happy and tried to benefit
from it to assist Turkey’s national interests and especially its image
promotion, instead of making it upset over frivolous issues and
creating a pother in the international scene? Which other lobby in
Turkey, that we hope to get support, or consulting company, which
costs us millions of dollars, has the power and esteem to get Western
leaders to respectfully wait hand and foot on them?If we don’t take
offense in spending money and trying to persuade foreign men to work
in our favor, then why should we take offense in working with the
leaders and members of minority groups that came from the heart of
this country? It is known that Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew
supports Turkey’s EU membership. I don’t think it’s very difficult to
carry this perspective to America as well. We just need to be able to
overcome antiquated narrow national security considerations and
socio-psychological obstacles.Religious and ethnic minority issues top
the list of issues that "we’ve closed our eyes to" since the Republic
of Turkey was established. By simply igoring the facts, we thought the
Kurdish issue would be solved, what we did to Armenians would be
forgotten, Alevis would stop complaining about discrimination and the
Greek Orthodox Patriarchate would lose its "ecumenical" status. The
current democratic initiative that the state and civil society are
carrying out in the above-mentioned areas constitutes one of the most
notable steps in terms of reopening Turkey’s eyes to the facts and
rejuvenating its historical wisdom.There is benefit in extending the
democratic initiative process to include all problematic areas, and
handling the issues as smaller pieces of the bigger picture. I know
that there are major responsibilities and burdens on the shoulders of
the state, which has awakened from many years of sleep, and especially
President Gul and the Erdo?an government, which are leading this
process by taking great political risks. But if problems are not
evaluated as a whole within a conceptual framework and coordinated
works are not carried out, there could be an erosion of credibility
both inside and outside the country.Indeed, Turkey is carrying out
initiatives for the sake of its own national interests and domestic
peace, not to look cute for others. On the other side, international
human rights agreements signed by Ankara and the expectations of
multinational institutions where Turkey is a member cannot be
overlooked. The initiatives are also a requirement of the
"value-oriented" realist foreign policy line, which the highest
authorities proclaim Turkey has adopted. Making peace with its
minorities will add strength to Turkey’s power, reinforce its national
security and increase its respect and influence in the international
scene.I think I have developed a better understanding of the minority
psychology ever since I came to America. For example the killing of 13
people in a fusillade opened by an American Muslim major against his
fellow soldiers in Texas on Thursday was perhaps nothing more than an
unfortunate piece of news for most of those living in Turkey that
won’t have any effect on their daily lives.

But despite the generally prudent attitudes of the state, media and
intellectuals, the Muslim minority in America is on pins and needles,
worried that the incident will incite Islamophobia and push extremists
in society to carry out hate crimes.Some capitals in the Muslim world
including Ankara are supporting efforts to fight against Islamophobia
and that gives us a little sense of comfort. On the other hand, if and
when Turkey can overcome its minority phobia and address their fair
complaints its ability to stand for Muslim brothers and
Turkish-Kurdish kin in the US and Europe will improve.In my opinion,
"zero problems with minorities" within the context of the democratic
initiative should be an equally important goal as our "zero problems
with neighbors" policy. Initiatives being carried out inside and
outside are supplementary per se. The fruits of the democratic
initiative will give momentum to Turkish foreign policy’s regional and
global initiatives. Imagine a Turkey that has zero problems with all
its minorities and majority members that have a minority psychology
for various reasons. It is that kind of Turkey that would truly be a
"soft power" or a "smart power." Published by HT Syndication with
permission from Right Vision News.

World Markets Research Center
Global Insight
Nov 12 2009

Pipeline Explosion Disrupts Armenian Gas Supplies, Raises Rationing Concerns

BYLINE: Lilit Gevorgyan

Yesterday, representatives of Armenian gas company Armrusgasard
announced that an explosion has damaged a segment of the Iran-Armenia
gas pipeline that provides Armenia with Iranian gas. This has led to
Iran suspending gas supplies to Armenia. Iran promised to resume the
gas supply once the damage, in the Armenian section of the pipeline,
was repaired. The pipeline was only built recently, following a 2004
agreement between the two countries, and Armenia received the first
supply of gas in May this year. In exchange for the gas Iran receives
electricity generated by Armenia’s Metsamor Soviet-era nuclear power
station. Neither Armenia nor Iran have commented on the causes of the
explosion.

Significance:The Armenia-Iran gas pipeline provides an energy lifeline
for the small, landlocked and resource-poor Armenia. Armenia has long
suffered from inconsistent supplies of gas from Russia via Georgia,
prompting it to seek more stable supply resources through the
construction of the pipeline with Iran. The country’s businesses and
population are heavily dependent on gas rather than electricity as it
is cheaper. Therefore, they are bound to be affected by yesterday’s
pipeline explosion. This has led to fears that rationing could be
introduced in order to deal with a possible shortage causing
significant disruption to businesses already struggling to deal with
the global economic slowdown which has caused a double-digit
contraction of Armenia’s GDP.

Dhaka Courier, Bangladesh
November 12, 2009 Thursday

Pages of history in Dhaka

Dhaka

Dhaka, Nov. 12 — While 2010 is knocking at the door, one capital city
in the world is taking preparation for celebrating its 400th birth
anniversary; the city is Dhaka. This old city writes its own history,
one just has to learn the language in which this is documented. Yet,
Dhaka like Bengalis is often a bit unmindful about its past and let
many glorious things crumble away in negligence. Whenever people utter
the names of places, buildings and foods in Dhaka, they unconsciously
read out the chapters in history.

Tantibazar (the marketplace for weavers of the famous muslin,
afterwards turned into the largest market of gold jewelry),
Shankharibazar (the marketplace for conch-shell cutters), Kumartuli
(potters’ area), Patuatuli (the area of artists), Sutrapur
(carpenters’ area), Goalnagar (milkmen’s market), Kashaituli
(butchers’ area), Tikatuli (market area for hookah’s tika), Dhanmondi
(rice market), Nilkhet (field for indigo planting), etc. tell the
names of areas and markets for certain items and certain occupation of
the people who settled here at the beginning of this city. Likewise,
Farashganj was a market place set up by the French who came to Bengal
in 1680s after the English. Armanitola is the residential area of rich
Armenians who came and lived here since seventeenth century.

When someone walks through Islampur, s/he goes back to 1610 when Islam
Khan, Subedar under Emperor Jahangir, made Dhaka capital of Bengal. He
died at Bhawal near Dhaka and many a person is fond of believing the
grave at the Highcourt Mazaar premises to be his. Azimpur may bear the
name of Prince Mohammad Azam, son of Aurangzeb, who lived in Dhaka as
the ruler of Bengal in 1678. He built the first paved road in Dhaka
and began construction of Aurangabad Palace or Lalbagh Fort. Or it may
be carrying on the name of Azim-us-Shan, a grandson of Aurangzeb, who
lived in Dhaka from 1700 to 1703 as the ruler of Bengal. Lalbagh
snatches one away to the period of Prince Azam and Shaista Khan; the
latter developed the fort but did not complete it owing to the death
of his daughter Pari Bibi, whose tomb is there.

As Subedar of Bengal from 1639 to 1659 Shah Shuja, the second son of
Emperor Shah Jahan, preferred Rajmahal to Dhaka as his capital for
political reasons, but he did not ignore Dhaka. During his period in
1640 Portuguese missionary Fray Sebastien Manrique traveled to Dhaka
and gave an interesting description of Bengal. In 1640 Dhanmondi
Eidgah was built by Mir Abul Quasim, Dewan of Prince Shuja. Husseini
Dalan as a Shia religious building was built on his orders by Mir
Murad. Abul Qasim also built Bara Katra as Shuja’s residence in 1644.

The cannon at Osmani Uddyan tells of the victory of Mir Jumla, Subedar
of Bengal under Aurangzeb in 1660, against his enemies in Assam. Chawk
Mosque, Shatgombuz Mosque and the Dhaka gate inscribed with ‘Let him
only open this gate who can show the selling rate of rice as cheap as
this,’ which was 8 maunds per rupee, speaks for Shaista Khan, Subedar
of Bengal during (1664-1688). Whenever someone puts his/her teeth into
Bakkarkhani, the soft crispy bread melting in the mouth speaks of Aga
Baker, Diwan of Murshidkuli Khan, and his amour Khani Begum.

Lalbagh Fort is the witness of the revolt of the native soldiers
against the British during the Great Rebellion of 1857. As in the Red
Fort in India, they were defeated by the force led by the East India
Company. They and the soldiers who fled from Meerat were hanged to
death at the Victoria Park. In 1858 the declaration of Queen Victoria
of taking over the administrative control of India from the Company
was read out at the Victoria park, latter renamed Bahadur Shah Park
after the name of the last Mughal Emperor who led that greatest
rebellion against then British empire.

In 1835 Dhaka Collegiate School as an English Seminary, in 1841 Dhaka
College, in 1848 Pogose School built by the Armenian zamindar Nicholas
Pogose, in 1858 Dhaka Brahma School now turned into Jagannath
University, in 1874 Dhaka Madrassah now turned into Kabi Nazrul
College were founded and carried the torch of enlightenment for the
nation. Then in 1921 founding of Dhaka University made the rise of an
independent Bengali nationhood unstoppable. Dhaka has no more looked
back since then.

Pages of history are open to read in the city of Dhaka. Whenever
people move through this city they unknowingly leaf through the pages
of history. Some pages get soiled everyday; some even are being torn
away; and some might be lost forever if serious attention is not
devoted to it. Published by HT Syndication with permission from Dhaka
Courier.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

Interfax, Russia
Nov 12 2009

Belarusian leader urges Armenia, Azerbaijan to settle conflict without
mediators

Minsk, 11 November: Belarusian President Alyaksandr Lukashenka
believes that Armenia and Azerbaijan can resolve the problem of the
Nagornyy Karabakh conflict by themselves, without pinning their hopes
on intermediaries.

"We realize how painful and important this problem is both for the
Armenian and Azeri peoples. This problem should be cut, and what is
the most important, this problem should be cut by the two presidents.
You should not hope for some intermediaries, though there is the Minsk
OSCE [Organization for Security and Cooperation in Europe] group,"
Lukashenka has said in an interview with the Trend news agency
(Azerbaijan) [on 9 November].

"If we, Minsk, as the creation centre of this group, can do something
in this respect, if Belarusians can bring something positive to the
settlement of this dispute, we will do it with pleasure," the
Belarusian president said.

He stressed, however, that "the problem can be solved only by the two
presidents". "Maybe it is fine to involve others here. But then some
commitments will appear, an opinion of a third, fourth, fifth side
will have to be taken into account. Everyone will be trying to build
up politics on this and see themselves," Lukashenka noted.

"If I reason right, you should agree that the presidents of Armenia
and Azerbaijan can resolve the problem in the interests of people who
stayed there (in Nagornyy Karabakh). We support the process in the
sense of that the problem should be resolved by the two presidents,
two peoples," the Belarusian leader said.

Lukashenka said that he "discussed the issue as a friend with both the
former and incumbent presidents of Azerbaijan and Armenia". "I have
not interfered in the subtleties which are abundant in the issue. We
have never used this problem in politics, we have never been friends
against anyone," Lukashenka said.

AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
November 12, 2009 Thursday

TURKEYS EU BID HINGES ON GENOCIDE RECOGNITION, SWEDISH POLITICIAN

A Swedish party leader has reportedly claimed that Turkey is to
recognize the developments that happened during World War I as
genocide against Armenians if it seeks to advance toward its admission
to the European Union. The statement was made by Mona Ingeborg Sahlin,
the leader of the Swedish ruling Social Democratic Party, Armenias
public TV channel reported quoting Germanys Deutsche Welle radio
station. This comes after the Swedish party passed a decision at its
annual meeting denouncing the alleged mass killings of Armenians under
the Ottoman rule. In its statement, the party also maintained that,
besides Armenians, Assyrians faced genocide. It is not ruled out that
a genocide bill will soon be put on discussion at the Swedish
parliament. We recall that during the developments in the Ottoman
Empire from 1915 to 1923, Armenians had risen to a riot. They had
taken up arms against Turkey and assisted Russia, one of Turkeys
enemies in WWI. To counter these actions, the Ottoman Empire passed a
decision to resettle the Armenians. However, the latter claim that
their predecessors were subjected to genocide in the process, while
Ankara rejects the allegations and has repeatedly offered to study the
issue through a joint commission of historians.

AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
November 12, 2009 Thursday

ARMENIAN NATIONALISTS HIT BACK AT TER-PETROSIAN CRITICISM

The Armenian Revolutionary Federation (Dashnaktsutyun) on Thursday
dismissed Levon Ter-Petrosians harsh criticism of its hard line on
Turkey and said he ceased to be Armenias top opposition leader after
making far-reaching overtures to President Serzh Sarkisian. In a
landmark speech on Wednesday, Ter-Petrosian implied that he and his
Armenian National Congress (HAK) are ready, in principle, to recognize
Sarkisians legitimacy if he agreed to cooperate with the opposition
alliance on major challenges facing the country. He also defended some
key aspects of Sarkisians policy on Turkey against attacks by
Dashnaktsutyun and other extreme nationalists.

Top HAK representatives confirmed on Thursday that the remarks were a
cooperation offer addressed to the current Armenian leadership. One of
them, Vahagn Khachatrian, summed up the former Armenian presidents
message as follows: If you are ready to strive for a big idea, we are
ready to talk to you about that. The HAK was always ready to
collaborate with the authorities under certain circumstances, he said.
The Armenian National Congress has never made secret of that, agreed
Aram Sarkisian, another leader of the bloc. He said Ter-Petrosian gave
the president a definitely good piece of advice. He is offering the
authorities a deal, scoffed Giro Manoyan, Dashnaktsutyuns foreign
policy spokesman. He said Ter-Petrosian and his allies are now ready
to stop challenging Sarkisians legitimacy in return for something
which should be a subject of haggling. I think he is resorting to that
for two reasons, said Manoyan. First, because he is a supporter of the
defeatist Armenia-Turkey policy. Second, he acknowledged that he
doesnt have much to do as an opposition anymore and is keen to cut a
deal with the authorities to ensure his survival. Manoyan said
Ter-Petrosians extraordinary statements also heralded the end of the
HAKs monopoly on opposition. His statements show that they have not
only lost that monopoly but no longer lead the opposition, he told
RFE/RL. There is now another opposition that is doing the job. Manoyan
referred to a Dashnaktsutyun-led coalition of a dozen mostly small
opposition groups that have strongly condemned the Turkish-Armenian
agreements to normalize bilateral relations which were signed last
month. Manoyan said Ter-Petrosian distorted the Dashnaktsutyuns
position on Turkish-Armenian relations because he is jealous about the
nationalist partys rising profile. Also alleging jealousy was Razmik
Zohrabian, a deputy chairman of President Sarkisians Republican Party
of Armenia (HHK). Zohrabian refrained from commenting on the HAK
leaders overtures to the government, focusing instead on other parts
of his speech that were critical of the Sarkisian administration.
Levon Ter-Petrosian wishes he had been elected president and managed
this policy on Turkish-Armenian relations, Zohrabian told RFE/RL. But
naturally, he wasnt elected and cant manage [that policy] and thats
why keeps repeating scenes of jealousy.*

AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
November 12, 2009 Thursday

ARMENIA OPPOSITION LEADER HAILS SARKISIANS POLICY ON TURKEY

An Armenian opposition leader who is a vocal critic of the government
has welcomed President Serzh Sarkisians efforts to mend ties with
Turkey marred by decades of hostility. Levon Ter-Petrosian, a former
president, at a Wednesday meeting at the Armenian National Congress he
chairs, voiced support of his bloc for all but one provision of the
reconciliation agreement signed by Yerevan and Ankara last month,
including those on recognizing present-day borders with the
neighboring country. The Congress disagrees with the plans to research
the alleged World War I-era genocide of Armenians in the Ottoman
Empire through a joint commission of historians. Turkey and Armenia
signed protocols to establish diplomatic relations and reopen their
borders on October 10. However, the documents require ratification in
both countries parliaments to take effect, and Ankara has made clear
it could fully normalize ties with Yerevan only after the
Armenia-Azerbaijan Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh conflict has been settled.
Ter-Petrosian also said his bloc could recognize President Sarkisians
legitimacy. The opposition leader, who says the February 2008
presidential election was rigged, has, so far, been calling for
canceling the election results and holding a new vote. Ter-Petrosian
said in June that he would never hold dialog with the incumbent
president.

AssA-Irada, Azerbaijan
November 12, 2009 Thursday

ARMENIAN GOVT REFUSES TO BACK GARABAGH INDEPENDENCE BILL

The Armenian government has opposed a draft law on recognizing the
self-proclaimed Upper (Nagorno) Garabagh republic as an independent
state. The authorities, at their meeting on Thursday, rejected the
bill submitted by the opposition Heritage parliamentary faction,
Armenia Today news agency reported. Recognizing the Upper Garabagh
republic is inappropriate for us at this point, Armenian Deputy
Foreign Minister, Savarsh Kocharian, said in his address. The bill was
forwarded to the legislature on October 15. The party initially put
forth the initiative in 2008, but the parliamentary majority blocked
its passage. Upper Garabagh is a historical Azerbaijani territory.
Armenians were settled there in the early 19th century. Azerbaijan and
Armenia have been locked in conflict over the mountainous region for
over a decade. OSCE-brokered peace talks kicked off after a lengthy
war that ended with the signing of a shaky cease-fire in 1994. Armenia
continues to occupy Upper Garabagh and seven adjacent Azerbaijani
districts in defiance of international law.

Interfax, Russia
Nov 13 2009

Aliyev vows to defend Azerbaijan’s territorial integrity

MINSK Nov 13

Azeri President Ilham Aliyev has pledged to continue taking measures
to re-establish justice and to defend his country’s territorial
integrity.

"The Nagorno-Karabakh conflict was imposed on us before the collapse
of the Soviet Union. A war was unleashed against Azerbaijan, ethnic
cleansing was launched, more than one million of our citizens became
refugees, and nearly 20% of our territory is currently under
occupation," Aliyev said in Minsk on Thursday, addressing students of
the Belarus State University.

"Azerbaijan’s culture monuments, our cemeteries and other sites have
been either destroyed or looted," the Azeri president said.

Armenia has failed to fulfill UN resolutions that call on it to
withdraw troops from the territory of Azerbaijan, Aliyev said.

"All attempts to solve this issue peacefully have proved to be
fruitless," he added.