ETHIOPIA BECOMES THE FIRST “LITTLE AFRICAN TOWN” IN THE U.S.

Addis Tribune, Ethiopia
Oct 4 2005

Little Tokyo, Little Armenia, Korea Town, Little Italy are some of the
names of places in North American cities that were christened to give
recognition to the contributions made by the immigrant communities
from the respective countries.

But no part of a city in North America was named after an African
country until recently.

“Little Ethiopia” was inaugurated in Los Angeles during the last week
of last month around Fairfax Avenue, a centrally located area between
Pico Boulevard and Olympic Boulevard.

“Little Ethiopia” is about 5-10 miles from Beverly Hills and 3
miles from Farmers Market, a well-known tourist attraction site in
Los Angeles.

According to the organizers, about 6,000 Ethiopians showed up at the
inauguration of “Little Ethiopia”

“What you see around you is a bustling hub of activity of business and
commerce mostly run and operated by Ethiopians. The impact Ethiopian
immigrants have made in the life of this great country and particularly
this city is not confined to business and commerce alone. Ethiopians
have their fair share in other noble professions as well,” said one
of the speakers at the inaugural ceremony, Dr. Getachew Mekasha.

ARMENIANS HOLD ‘SO-CALLED ARMENIAN GENOCIDE’ RALLY

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 4 2005

By Cihan News Agency
zaman.com

A group of Armenians have demanded Turkey accept the So-Called
Armenian Genocide Allegations in Luxembourg where European Union
foreign ministers are in session for discussion on the Negotiation
Framework Document relating to accession talks with the country.

In front of the Luxexpo building, over 100 Armenians opened banners
written in French and asked Turkey to accept that the so-called
genocide allegations took place in 1915. The same group also called on
the EU ministers not to let Turkey into the EU unless Turks recognize
the so-called genocide. Armenians defend that Turks need to confront
their past.

EU DEAL ENABLES START OF TURKEY’S ACCESSION TALKS

Irish Times
Oct 4 2005

The EU narrowly averted a crisis last night when foreign ministers
finally agreed a historic deal to enable the start of accession
negotiations with Turkey, writes Jamie Smyth in Luxembourg.

The negotiations, which will take at least 10 years to conclude,
formally began early this morning when the Turkish foreign minister
Abdullah Gul arrived in Luxembourg.

The agreement followed 30 hours of intense discussions at a council
of ministers meeting in Luxembourg to overcome Austrian objections
to the start of the talks.

Austria, which was the only member state to formally object to
starting accession negotiations, had sought to change the text of
the negotiating framework to include a reference offering Turkey
alternatives to full EU membership.

However, after marathon discussions between British foreign secretary
Jack Straw and his Austrian counterpart, Ursula Plassnik, Vienna
dropped its insistence on a rewording of that aspect of the framework
text for the accession negotiations.

Announcing the deal, Mr Straw said it was important to begin
negotiations as planned with Turkey, a European, secular and Muslim
country.

“We are all winners: Europe, the existing member states and the
international community,” said Mr Straw, who chaired the talks as
Britain holds the EU presidency.

The agreement enabled Mr Gul to board a plane for Luxembourg to attend
an official ceremony to mark the start of the accession talks.

He had earlier refused to travel until Turkey had agreed the framework
text for the start of negotiations.

Despite expressing concern over a paragraph in the framework
stipulating that Turkey would not block EU members from joining
international organisations, Ankara signed off on the framework for
the talks.

Turkish ministers were fearful this could force them into having to
agree to allow Cyprus, which it does not recognise, into Nato. But US
Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice telephoned Turkish prime minister
Tayyip Erdogan to assure him that the proposed EU negotiating framework
would not impinge on Nato.

Austria was the only EU member to formally object to starting accession
talks with Turkey, which with 70 million people may have the biggest
population of any EU state if it eventually joins.

A recent opinion poll found that 80 per cent of Austrians do not want
Turkey to join, with just 10 per cent in favour.

Several other EU member states such as France, the Netherlands and
Denmark, are also concerned about allowing Turkey to join the EU.

Meanwhile, EU foreign ministers also signalled yesterday that they
were ready to begin accession talks with Croatia, which is likely to
join the EU well before Turkey.

Minister for Foreign Affairs Dermot Ahern said Ireland had been a
strong supporter of Croatia’s bid to join the EU.

He welcomed the deal to start talks with Turkey and said it would
have been bad faith not to stick to the date for the start of talks,
which was initially agreed last December.

“Turkey is a bridge between the Middle East and Europe,” said Mr Ahern.

“This will send a strong signal to Islam and moderate countries and
people [ that] the EU is not just a Christian club.”

Asked if there had been enough debate in Ireland about the question
of Turkey’s accession to the EU, Mr Ahern said there would be at
least 10 years to educate people.

The deal with Turkey was not welcomed by several hundred Armenian
protesters gathered outside the council meeting to protest at the
start of accession talks.

“Turkey is not yet a democratic country and has not recognised the
Armenian genocide in 1915,” said Michael Cazarian, chairman of the
Armenian Socialist Party, which helped to organise the protest.

Turkey still refuses to accept responsibility for the murder of more
the one million Armenians in 1915.

MOHAMMED ALI
By Fayza Hassan

Egypt Today
Oct 4 2005

Two centuries after Mohammed Ali’s meteoric rise to power, we delve
into the testimony of his contemporaries and descendants to take
the measure of the man the world came to know as the Father of
Modern Egypt.

EXACTLY TWO CENTURIES ago to the year, one man was single-handedly
shaping Egypt’s history as we know it. Simultaneously feared and
admired by his subjects, the visionary viceroy set the wheels of
modernity in motion. Travelers awed by his reputation came from the
four corners of the globe to chronicle the extraordinary legends spun
around him in an attempt to elucidate his formidable personality.

Called the Father of Modern Egypt, the Wali, the Pasha of Egypt and
the Great Viceroy, Mohammed Ali ruled Egypt for almost five decades,
from 1805 to 1849. This year, for the first time since the memory
of the royal family he spawned was collectively declared persona non
grata by the Free Officers’ Revolution, the Pasha is finally getting
his due in bicentenary celebrations.

Feature The Imam of Quraa Once, Sheikh Mostafa Ismail’s recitation
of the Qur’an was e…

Mostafa Ismail .. .

Rebuilding the Rubble Israel has withdrawn from Gaza, Egyptian troops
are back on …

He who saw Egypt 40 years ago can only but marvel at the transformation
that came to pass over [the country]; it is a new world that has
appeared. To what cause should one attribute this transformation? As
soon as one mentions modern Egypt, it is always to the Great Viceroy,
Mohammed Ali that reference is made. He is the one who transformed
[Egypt]; he opened wide the doors to Europe’s material progress
and through these doors events have made their way, ideas have been
introduced which have concluded the task [he] started.Nubar Pasha,
Memoirs, Cannes, November 1890 “Mohammed Ali was a pragmatist,”
says Raouf Abbas, a professor of modern history at Cairo University,
“a pragmatist with qualities of genius and farsightedness.” Abbas,
the ultimate Egyptian authority on Ali’s reign, explains that the
nation was mired in the Middle Ages when Napoleon Bonaparte pointed
out its strategic importance to Europe. The information was not lost
on the young Ali, who soon realized how, on the other hand, Europe
was important to Egypt.

Europe then possessed the knowledge and technical know-how needed
to turn Egypt into an international power to be reckoned with; it
was therefore necessary to attract as many foreigners as possible to
do the job, he decided, while promising young Egyptians were sent on
missions abroad to learn the skills that would allow them to replace
foreign experts in the future.

Mohammed Ali devoted his life to the grand oeuvre of dragging Egypt
out of its state as a backward province of the Ottoman Empire. Though
he fell short of his long-term dream to head the Ottoman Empire,
while attempting this formidable conquest, he managed to turn Egypt
into a self-sufficient, secular and modern country, active on the
international scene and a beacon in the Middle East. Agriculture and
irrigation, digging of canals and building of dams, education and
healthcare, constructing factories and creating a military force were
high on Mohammed Ali’s list of priorities.

His methods may have been ruthless, but he managed to perform a near
miracle in less than half a century.

Debated Origins

Was Mohammed Ali a poor boy raised by his paternal uncle as he
himself always claimed? Or was he born in a well-to-do family of
tobacco merchants? Did his father die when he was only six years old,
as he often recounted? Or rather, when he was well into his 20s,
did he join the family tobacco business as an already married man,
as Afaf Lutfi Sayyid-Marsot contends in her renowned 1984 book Egypt
in the Reign of Mohammed Ali?

Much confusion surrounds Mohammed Ali’s childhood, and different
versions have been periodically circulated on the various episodes
of his life as the ruler of Egypt.

According to Marsot, Ali’s exact date of birth is uncertain – he
claimed he was born in 1769, although other sources suggest 1770 or
1771 – and so are the origins of his family. “Mohammed Ali was from
lowly stock,” Marsot claims. “He was the son of Ibrahim Agha, who was
the son of Uthman Agha, himself the son of Ibrahim Agha, engaged in
military duties for three generations. Beyond that, little is known
about the family or their roots.

“While historians have described his clan as being of Albanian origin,
a family tradition maintains that they might have been of Kurdish
stock and come from the village of Ilic in Eastern Anatolia, where they
were horse traders,” Marsot notes. Apparently, Mohammed Ali’s father,
Ibrahim Agha, moved first from his village to Konia, then to Kavala
in Macedonia, this latter flight the consequence of a blood feud.

Little is known about this incident, except that the family had to
leave in a hurry for fear of reprisals, a tradition that continues
to this day in isolated pockets of neighboring Albania.

The last of the MamluksPainting by William De Famars Testas

Yet, Prince Abbas Helmi, who is descended from Mohammed Ali through
Viceroy Ibrahim, Khedive Ismail, Khedive Mohammed Tewfik, Khedive
Abbas Helmi II and Prince Mohamed Abdel-Moneim, believes otherwise.

Prince Abbas, who is also head of Concorde Investments in Cairo,
contends that the family was very active in the tobacco business,
which was extremely lucrative at the time, and therefore Mohammed
Ali was not a poor boy of lowly extraction, as has been often alleged.

Although several historians claim that Mohammed Ali came to Egypt
as a lieutenant with a small contingent of Albanian soldiers, Prince
Helmi asserts that his forefather was sent at the head of an Albanian
regiment. He was not an Albanian soldier himself, the prince points
out, but an Ottoman subject whose family had moved from Konia to
the tiny port of Kavala for reasons linked to the tobacco trade. In
Kavala, Ibrahim Agha married into the family of the port’s governor
and was appointed commander of a body of irregulars, famous for their
restiveness, the prince adds.

Interestingly, the wording of the Ottoman Sultan’s firman (also
referred to as faramaan, meaning ‘royal mandate’ or ‘royal decree’)
that was to send Mohammed Ali on the warpath, which Prince Helmi has
had the opportunity to study, mentioned an “authorization” rather
than an “order” to levy a contingent of Albanians and sail to Egypt.

“It could mean, perhaps, that Mohammed Ali was a turbulent young man
who made himself a bit of a nuisance with his fiery temperament and
that the sultan was only too happy to grant him the request to go
fight the French,” Prince Helmi suggests.

Actually, though it is not widely known, Mohammed Ali’s brother Ahmad
accompanied him to Egypt, adds Prince Helmi. This fact is also recorded
by Abdel-Rahman El-Jabarti, the famous chronicler of the period:
“On Saturday, Ahmad Bey, Mohammed Ali’s brother, went to the Khan
El-Khalili to conduct an investigation in the matter of the plunder
taken from the Albanians by the Janissaries (members of the elite
personal guard) and deposited for safe-keeping by the latter with
their friends the Turks.”

Mohammed Ali’s mosque at Cairo’s Citadel

Helmi wonders whether Ahmad was sent along because he, too, was too
boisterous for his own good, or whether he joined the expedition to
keep an eye on his brother. His role at this point in time remains
shrouded in mystery, but family tradition has it that once Mohammed
Ali was established as Pasha of Egypt, he offered Ahmad a high-ranking
position, a palace and a fortune in gold, but the latter refused,
preferring to return to Kavala.

As Prince Helmi sees it, this is further proof that the family was
not poor and that business was on the contrary thriving; otherwise
Ahmad would have been happy to stay.

Ghislaine Alleaume, historian and researcher at France’s renowned
Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), offers a slightly
different version of the beginnings of the Great Pasha.

“Mohammed Ali was born in 1771 at Kavala.” she writes. “His family
was Turkish from Anatolia and established in Macedonia for three
generations. They were very representative of families of provincial
notables who were hired to head small military or civil functions,
were involved in international commerce as well as being tax farmers.

Ibrahim Agha, Mohammed Ali’s father, headed a sort of local band of
policemen in charge of road security. In parallel, he had investments
in the tobacco business, the principal export product of Macedonia.”

Ibrahim Agha, she goes on, died rather young in 1791, but not before
Mohammed Ali was married to Amina, who remained his only wife,
although he later acquired several concubines. Alleaume also argues
that although his younger brothers and sisters were placed under
the guardianship of his paternal uncle Tussoun, if Mohammed Ali had
a protector in Kavala, it would have been his maternal grandfather,
who was governor of the city.

The massacre of the Mamluks at Cairo’s citadel Painting by Horace
Vernet, 1819

Whichever account is closer to the truth is of little importance, as
Mohammed Ali himself decided early on to rewrite his past, presenting
himself as a poor orphan adopted by his paternal uncle. According to
Marsot, he did so in order “to enhance himself as a self-made man who
rose to fame against insuperable odds, including that disadvantage
early in life.”

In the introduction to All the Pasha’s Men (Cambridge University
Press, 1997), Khaled Fahmi describes the meeting Mohammed Ali had
with John Barker, the new British Consul in Alexandria, when he came
to present his credentials at Ras El-Teen Palace. In a dispatch to his
government, Barker reported that almost at once the Pasha launched into
a monologue about his childhood, designed to impress upon the consul,
his autobiographical adaptation of the awe he inspired in others.

The following is an excerpt: “I was born in a village in Albania,
and my father had 10 children who are all dead; but while living,
not one of them contradicted me. Although I left my native mountains
before I attained manhood, the principal people in the place never took
any step in the business of the commune, without previously inquiring
what my pleasure was. I came to this country an obscure adventurer,
and when I was yet a bimbashi (captain), it happened one day that
the commissary had to give each of the bimbashis a tent. They were
all my seniors and naturally pretended to a preference over me;
but the officer said, ‘Stand ye all by; this youth Mohammed Ali,
shall be served first.’ and now here I am. I never had a master.”

Alleaume believes this was all a fabrication, as was his claim that his
parents died when he was young (the date on Ibrahim Agha’s tombstone
reads 1205/1790 – in reference to the year of his death according to
the Islamic lunar calendar and the corresponding year in the Gregorian
calendar, which is approximately 20 years after Mohammed Ali was born).

“Behind such a fabrication, there may have been an unconscious desire
to cut all links with his past and to invent a new one, more befitting
his new life and social position.” In the same spirit of aggrandizing
himself, he made up a new date of birth, 1769, so as to share the
day with two men he admired: Napoleon Bonaparte and Admiral Nelson.

According to Prince Helmi, Mohammed Ali’s almost childish desire to
have his personal accomplishments celebrated may also have led him
to pretend being completely illiterate. However, as a merchant and
the commander of a regiment, he was necessarily called upon to read
and write, even if marginally. Furthermore, as a practicing Muslim,
he must have been taught at least to read the Qur’an in his childhood.

It is therefore reasonable to believe that he had a working knowledge
of the Arabic script, as well as of the popular Turkish written
language, which was different from literary Turkish.

Nubar Pasha, the Armenian minister who, starting in 1842, played a
major role in the political life of Egypt – first under Mohammed Ali,
and then under the five following khedives – confirms in his Memoirs
that, “One could speak Turkish perfectly, read a document couched
in ordinary Turkish without understanding a word of the literary
language.”

It was probably this latter proficiency that Ali wanted to acquire.

However, he chose to make a big show of learning basic literacy
skills at the age of 40. If his aim was to foster admiration,
he fully succeeded in attracting historians’ attention to this
deed. Few studies of his reign fail to mention these unusual attempts
at literacy, although no comment is ever offered as to how successful
he ultimately was.

The Opportunist

Early on, Mohammed Ali showed an uncanny capacity to take advantage
of circumstances and people. The beginning of his reign is a case
in point. He had come to a seething country where the Mamluks had
turned on each other in a desperate attempt to seize the power that
they thought the Ottoman Sultan would restore to them once the French
had departed. This, however, was never the intention of the Sublime
Porte, who wanted to get rid of the Mamluk troublemakers and rule
the country from Istanbul.

Amid the confusion of the warring factions, Mohammed Ali found
opportunities to consolidate his power base, relying on the Albanian
soldiers he had come to head after his direct chief had been promoted
to the command of the Turkish troops.

He entered into secret alliances, promised or withheld support.

Depending on the situation, he either controlled his charges or
encouraged them to create trouble over their unpaid wages. All the
time, he was careful to remain in the shadows. In the course of one
particular military insurrection, he got in touch with Omar Makram,
head of the Ashraaf (direct descendants of the Prophet, PBUH) and de
facto speaker for a civilian population exhausted by the soldiers’
conflicts and constant extortionist tactics. These followed Omar
Makram in earnest when he incited them on May 13, 1805 to depose the
last governor of Cairo named by the Porte and proclaim Mohammed Ali
the new Pasha of Cairo.

>>From then on, Mohammed Ali made a great show of his religiosity,
sending his wife to the Hajj every year in style and providing extra
camels and provisions for the pilgrims. At the same time, however,
he was surrounding himself with “infidels” who, by all accounts,
had never been better treated and were considered for the first time
equal to Muslims in front of the law.

In his great project of modernizing Egypt, Mohammed Ali sucked
knowledge out of his collaborators, showering them with honors and
gifts while they remained useful, but did not hesitate to get rid of
them in the most summary manner when he was through with them.

A consummate actor, it was hard even for those who knew him to decide
whether he was totally bereft of feelings. Historians point out the
fact that Amina remained his only wife and though he had many children
from his concubines, he was only interested in the offspring that
were born to her. He gave his daughters splendid weddings that are
talked about to this day – and showed deep despair at the death of
his sons Ismail and Tussoun.

The Man without a Heart

Nubar Nubarian (later Nubar Pasha) was a young man freshly graduated
from a British university when he came to Egypt to join his uncle
Boghos Bey, then Mohammed Ali’s trusted Armenian adviser. On the
evening of his arrival, his uncle took him to Ras El-Teen Palace to
meet his future master.

In his Memoirs, Nubar recounts his first encounter with the Pasha
of Egypt: “At the bottom of an immense hall lit by a white crystal
chandelier and deriving grandeur from its austerity and its majestic
proportions, a man was seated in the corner of a sofa covered with
a rich length of material adorned with gold tassels: it was Mohammed
Ali. Leaning on a pillow, his legs slightly bent, he was listening to
one of his secretaries’ reading of the day’s dispatches Five or six
young Mamluks attended the proceedings standing humbly at attention
my uncle introduced me. ‘Work,’ the Pasha told me. ‘I want to see
you at work.’ I then withdrew respectfully having kissed, as the
etiquette required, the hem of the carpet he was sitting on.”

Lord A.W.C. Lindsay offers a similar description of the Pasha’s palace
in his 1838 Letters on Egypt, Edom and the Holy Land. “We visited the
old spider [Mohammed Ali] in his den, the citadel Ascending a broad
marble passage on an inclined plane and traversing a lofty antechamber
crowded with attendants, we found ourselves in the presence-chamber,
a noble saloon but without an article of furniture, except a broad
divan, or sofa, extending around three sides of the room, in a corner
of which squatted his highness Mohammed Ali. Six wax candles stood
in the center yet gave but little light.”

Oddly, neither Nubar nor Lindsay make mention of Mohammed Ali’s
piercing eyes, a trait commented on by almost every traveler who
happened to meet him, even briefly. As such, Mr. Ramsay, Lord
Lindsay’s friend and companion on the visit, was more alert: “He
[Mohammed Ali] did not address any of his subjects, but I observed
his sharp, cunning eyes fixing on everyone.” Another traveler, Mr.

Wilde, who visited the Shubra Palace in 1837 with his friends,
came across the Pasha in the garden. Seeing a group of foreigners,
Mohammed Ali stopped briefly to salute them. “He is a fine old man
now,” wrote Wilde after this encounter, “upward of seventy with a
very long silver beard Slight as was our view of him, it did not
pass without making us feel the power of an eye of more brilliancy
and penetration that I ever beheld.”

If so many travelers looked at Mohammed Ali in awe, it was because
his reputation as a bloodthirsty Oriental potentate had been well
established by the massacre of Mamluks at the Citadel in 1811, which
he orchestrated to establish his power over Egypt once and for all.

The awareness of the regime’s cruelty was perpetuated by the sight
of tortured bodies floating down the Nile every so often, as the one
observed by the count of Forbin in 1817: “His two hands were nailed
and crushed between two planks. A thigh had been devoured by the fish.”

Forbin, a writer and a painter, wanted to meet Mohammed Ali and
approached Bernardino Drovetti – who would later become the French
Consul in Egypt and had the ear of the Pasha – for an introduction.

He was welcomed at the Palace of Ras El-Teen: “Mohammed Ali received
me very graciously, and expressed his regrets not to have been in
Cairo when I was visiting the city,” wrote Forbin. “His features
are lively and his eyes very expressive. He was smoking: his gold
narghile [referred to as shisha today] is covered in precious stones
Conversation with Mohammed Ali is often interrupted by a sort of
convulsive hiccup. I was assured that this infirmity befell him after
he had been given a violent poison, which effects, caught in time,
left only that sequel. Many great European doctors were consulted to
provide a remedy, but until now this has been to no avail.”

Forbin was allowed to paint Mohammed Ali a portrait for which the
Pasha posed with evident pleasure. This painting and Forbin’s account
of his visit inspired the painter Horace Vernet in his tableau of the
Pasha half-reclining on his cushions, gazing fixedly ahead. Next to
him is a small lion symbolizing might. He is making a fist with his
right hand, the only indication that he is aware of the massacre of
the Mamluks taking place in the courtyard beyond.

Nubar Pasha had many opportunities to learn of Mohammed Ali’s
callousness. Tales of the bloody events that had brought him to
power were reaching the young man’s ears and it did not take him
long to discover that his uncle had at one time been victim of the
ruler’s ruthlessness: Soon after Ali came to power, he called Boghos,
who was then director of the customs, to Damietta. They had a slight
disagreement over the accounts, which enraged the master, who shouted,
“Drag him by his feet.” This was tantamount to a death sentence. One
of the Turkish attendants got hold of Boghos and dragged him out,
but since he owed him a favor, instead of taking of him to the Nile
where his body should have been thrown after the execution, he hid him
in a safe house. A few days later Mohammed Ali had trouble collecting
the taxes in Rosetta and, finding himself short of cash, exclaimed:
“If only Boghos were here, he would have solved the problem!”

The attendant, believing that Mohammed Ali had found him out,
confessed to the hiding of the customs director. “Boghos is alive,”
cried the Pasha. “Bring him to me at once and if you don’t, you won’t
live long enough to regret it.”

It seems that, from that day on, Boghos earned more and more esteem in
the Pasha’s eyes, but the poor man could never relax enough to enjoy
the favors bestowed on him. Years later, after Boghos had retired,
an incident occurred which left him feeling slighted by one of the
Pasha’s administrators. He was hurt so deeply that he took to his
bed and refused to take any nourishment. Alerted, Mohammed Ali sent
one of his secretaries to inform Boghos that the Pasha was ordering
him to get well.

“If my master has ordered,” Boghos told his physician, “then I must.

See what you can do.”

But it was too late, however, and Boghos died soon after his master’s
command. His funeral was a little-publicized, discreet affair until
the Pasha, who was residing in Alexandria at the time, found out that
the old man was not buried with military honors, as he deserved. He
dispatched at once the following letter to the commander in chief of
his armies:

“To my honored son, the mighty Osman Pasha: You are an ass and a
brute. The man who bought you and raised you dies, and you and the
troops under your orders do not accompany him to his grave! As soon
as you receive this letter, you and the Alexandrian regiment will go
to the Armenian church, dig out Boghos and bury him again with the
military honors due to him. Don’t you dare disobey me.”

The body was not disinterred, but a new mass was said, attended by
Osman Pasha and the regiment, the commander and high-ranking officers,
while soldiers stood at attention in the courtyard.

Death of a Giant

In 1844, Mohammed Ali began to suffer episodes of mental collapse.

The fits were of a passing nature and, after periods where he was
prone to hallucinations, the Pasha recovered without a trace. The
origins of his illness have never been fully ascertained, although
Alleaume suggests that some of the symptoms were indicative of
Alzheimer’s. Ali’s private physician ordered small doses of mercury
to be administered to the Pasha to control the bouts; historian
Mohammed Hakim argues that the treatment was severe and the physician
had ordered that the patient abstain from sexual activity. However,
according to Hakim, one of the Pasha’s daughters, wanting to please
her sick father, surreptitiously allowed women into his room, thus
unwittingly hastening his demise.

By 1848, Mohammed Ali’s spells had turned into comas, and he was
unconscious at the time of his son Ibrahim’s death in November of
that year. Luckily, he was thus unaware of what this favorite son
had done: In the spring of that same year, Ibrahim had convened a
group of 12 physicians who had unanimously declared the Pasha unfit
to govern. He had taken this report to Istanbul, where he claimed
the Sultan’s investiture.

Mohammed Ali was deposed in September 1848, and with that his dreams of
grandeur for the country came to a crashing end. Ibrahim became viceroy
for a period of two months whereupon, after his untimely death, power
passed on to Abbas, the son of Tussoun and the oldest male member of
the family, as prescribed by the law governing the succession in Egypt.

>>From then on, Mohammed Ali’s descendants saw their power decline
until 1952, when King Farouk was finally ousted from the throne.

Dynasty

Today, Princess Nimet Amr lives in a Zamalek flat in sober gentility.

In her living room, cluttered with pictures of her family and children,
is a portrait of Mohammed Ali gazing sternly from a side table, perhaps
looking on at the trials and tribulations of his descendants. Princess
Nimet Amr is his great granddaughter.

The princess, however, does not remember the founder of the dynasty
particularly overshadowing her childhood, except in so far as she was
submitted to a stricter discipline than children her age, “Because
of who I was,” she says. “But that was more related to the present,
to the fact that we belonged to the royal family and had to appear
as examples of good behavior,” she reflects.

Of Mohammed Ali, she was told that he was Albanian and that she should
be proud of his achievements because he had introduced modernity to
Egypt. It was very theoretical however, like being proud to be Egyptian
or Muslim, something really shared with the rest of the population. It
did not amount to personal pride in a special relationship.

That, she says, is why the princess does not normally dwell on the
past and would rather talk about her work in an arts and crafts
boutique. Yet when the conversation turns to Mohammed Ali’s military
successes, suddenly she blurts, “Mohammed Ali would not have lost
Palestine, I can tell you that!” Suddenly, pride in the achievements
of her ancestor is there for all to see. Gamal Abdel Nasser may have
abolished the privileges of the royal family, but he did not succeed
in belittling its founder.

Battered like all the members of the royal family by the Free Officers’
revolution, the princess’ first loyalties are to the country her
ancestor adopted and proudly built. She suffers much less from the
unfair treatment that was meted to his memory and his family during
the past half century than from the defeat of 1948, in which King
Farouk played an active and determining role.

But how binding is memory? The princess’ daughter Magda, born after
the revolution, today has no interest in the glorious past of her
august ancestor. She is resolutely modern. She is steeped in Egyptian
life, embracing the fashions and customs of the day. If her great,
great grandfather brought about some of the progress she is enjoying
now, so be it, but she is more worried about her 20-year-old son
threatening to quit his job or her daughter’s intention to celebrate
her best friend’s henna night in their flat.

A distressed Princess Nimet expresses how the world has changed so
much. She wonders where the manners she was once taught have gone. In
her days, weddings were a most civilized affair, certainly not preceded
by a folkloric carnival.

One can, however, imagine that in his frame the Pasha of Egypt will
look kindly tonight upon the frolicking girls. The sumptuous wedding
including a henna night that he organized for his daughter Zeinab was
a historic event lasting many days; he wanted modernity for Egypt,
but knew better than to reject its people’s lore, which he obviously
did not consider incompatible with progress.

Mohammed Ali is not a primary concern in the life of Fouad Sadek
either. The son of Princess Faika, sister of King Farouk, he is a
partner in a well-known fabric shop in Zamalek. He is surprised that
Egyptian intellectuals have chosen to honor his ancestor on the 200th
anniversary of his ascent to power, but he is nevertheless delighted.

With his friend and expert in Mohammed Ali’s history Mahmoud Sabet
(another descendant of Mohammed Ali – the son of a cousin of Queen
Nazli, King Fouad’s wife), they are happy to evoke the Pasha’s military
acumen and his numerous victories.

“He was one of those rare men who appear every few centuries and who
have natural gifts that propel them to power. Mohammed Ali knew how
to use them well,” concludes Sabet. et

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

‘A SHARED FUTURE IS THE WAY FORWARD’

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 3 2005

By Foreign News Desk
zaman.com

As the last stage in Turkey’s adventure towards the EU has started,
the European media pointed out the importance of Turkey’s membership
for Europe and the world.

The British newspaper, The Observer, in the column published with
the title “We need Turkey,” wrote that there are strong reasons to
start negotiations with Turkey.

The editorial that writes, “A shared future is the way forward,”
noted, objections in the public opinion will not be enough to prevent
Turkey’s candidature.

The newspaper cited the following as the points in which Europe needs
Turkey: “Europe needs Turkey as a custodian of prosperity and democracy
and as an exemplar and anchor for all the countries that surround
it. It needs Turkish labor and the Turkish guarantee of oil and gas
from central Asia. Above all, it needs to send a positive message to
the 12 million or so Muslims, who already live within Europe.”

The Independent, on Sunday said those who think Turkey’s membership is
necessary to protect the West’s relationships with the Muslim world
are making a mistake, “The reason why Turkey’s application should be
supported is because it is right for Europe, for Turkey and for the
advancement of universal human rights.”

The newspaper’s editor wrote Austria’s attitude towards Turkey goes
beyond xenophobia, as he said, “He is sure that the fact that the
Turks had been routed at the gates of Vienna in the past lies beneath
this unease.”

In an article written by Daniel Hannan, among the Conservative Group
members of the European Parliament and was published in the Daily
Telegraph, it is noted that politicians from around Europe make
speeches about how much the EU will gain from Turkey’s membership
and vice versa, but few of them believe what they are saying.

Hannan also criticized the conditions put before Turkey such as,
acknowledging its role in the so-called Armenian genocide and
recognizing the Greek Cypriot administration, and pointed out that
no other country has had such conditions attached to its membership.

The US newspaper, Washington Times, wrote that after a 40-year struggle
against European reluctance, Turkey is standing on the precarious
threshold of the European Union (EU).

The newspaper wrote that it is a major step for Turkey in its bid to
join a lukewarm Europe, while some populist politicians still speak of
“the scourge of Christendom.” The newspaper also stated that Turkey’s
reproach that “Europe should accept a Muslim country to the Union and
show that it is not a Christian club” has appeased Europeans somewhat
and has made Europe give a green light to Turkey.

‘IT WOULD BE A SHAME IF TURKEY’S EU PROCESS DIDN’T COMPLETE ITSELF’
By Ali H. Aslan

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 3 2005

zaman.com

US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State for European and Eurasian
Affairs Matthew J. Bryza shared Washington’s views with Zaman prior
to Turkey’s critical European Union (EU) negotiations.

Underlining that the beginning of the negotiations has great importance
with regard to the continuation of the reform process that dated back
to the administrative reforms of 1839 (Tanzimat Edict), Bryza said,
“It would be a shame if that process didn’t complete itself. But I
think it will.”

Bryza also discussed recent high-level diplomatic traffic between
Washington and Ankara: ‘We have decided that we want to do everything
to restore sense of partnership in US-Turkey relations’ He explained
why Turkey’s integration with the EU mattered for the US, “Why that
matters to us, frankly is that, we believe that the prospect of
membership in the EU encourages TR to take very difficult decisions
that make TR a stronger and more reliable partner for us both in
terms of diplomacy and economics as well as in a broader sense, in a
broader social-cultural sense as an inspiration for others who search
for same sorts of freedoms Turks enjoy.”

Reminding that the process of modernizing reforms in Turkey had a
history that dated back to the Ottoman Sultan Abdulmecid period of the
1840s, then continued with the Ataturk reforms and the foundation of
the Republic of Turkey in 1923 and gained momentum during President
of the Republic Turgut Ozal’s period, Bryza indicated that the reform
process has really increased recently as Turkey strives to attain EU
membership. He said, “So, if you look at that historical progression,
Turkey’s full incorporation to the European family is an ongoing
process and we need to complete it together.”

Bryza defended that “privileged partnership,” which Austria wants
inserted into the negotiation framework document, is not strong enough
to make Turkey take decisions which are “politically difficult”
and emphasized, “We have long thought that it is the prospect of
absolutely full inclusion in Europe that provides the best incentive
for Turkey to stick with that process.”

This is appropriate for the long run, Bryza said. “What we care about
is that Turkey feels sufficient motivation to undertake very difficult
reforms that are groundbreaking and truly historical in nature. So the
point is make sure we all provide Turkey with the sufficient incentives
to take decisions that are politically difficult but ultimately in
the long run interest of Turkey as well as other European friends.”

“So, the important thing is everybody focuses primarily on strategic
gains rather than tactical maneuvering,” he continued.

When asked, “What is your view of the EU counter-declaration on
Turkey? Do you find it a fair and balanced document?” Bryza replied,
“It’s up to TR to decide whether it’s fair and balanced. But I can
just say that I am convinced that our friends in the EU especially
under the current leadership of the UK presidency completely understand
how important it is to continue that process of Turkey’s anchoring in
Europe. I think all of the parties understand that. The Greeks,. GR
Cypriots, the Brits, the Austrians, the Germans, the French, everybody
understands the strategic importance of that process continuing.”

‘Our friends in the EU completely understand how important it is to
continue that process of Turkey’s anchoring in Europe’

Bryza noted that everybody including the Austrians, Greeks, Cypriot
Greeks, the British, Germans, and the French realizes the strategic
importance of continuing the “process of Turkey anchoring in Europe”.

However, he commented: “What is not clear how much any one state
would like for technical reasons to try to squeeze a little bit more
out of the negotiation process.”

Recently, Greek Cyprus, which wants to receive certain concessions
from Turkey, is leading EU countries. Bryza did not want to become
involved in the polemics on whether or not the counter declaration,
which established the recognition of Greek Cyprus as a condition to
Turkey, was a “fair and balanced” document.

In response to Zaman’s question asking what else the US could do in
order to convince Greek Cyprus on a solution for the island, as they
already regularly send messages relating to their official position.

Bryza noted that they perceived the UN Secretary-General Annan’s
plan as “the most hopeful proposal ever put out there for a just and
lasting settlement” and they would maintain their “absolute undying
support”. He said: “So it seems only logical therefore that our friends
on the Greek Cypriot side of the island and Rep of Cyprus would specify
what they don’t like about the plan and allow the negotiations to
continue. That’s what Secretary General has said this is requirement
for his reengagement. So we stand fully supportive of him and hope
that that is the next step. And once that happens, yes, of course the
US will be fully supportive of and as engaged as we ever have had,
which is pretty engaged.” Indicating that the US will maintain its
efforts to soften isolations on the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus
(TRNC), Bryza informed that they could pump economic assistance into
small and medium size enterprises and launch initiatives to facilitate
the direct sale of TRNC products. As for direct flights by US planes
to the Turkish Cypriot side, he said that such arrangements should
be commercially available and this seemed more possible for Europeans
rather than US air transporters.

Bryza commented on the European Parliament’s (EP) call for Turkey
to recognize the so-called Armenian genocide. “I would suggest that
our friends in Turkey don’t worry so much about those statements of
political opinion but instead also remain focused on the historical
significance of the beginning the accession talks.”

The US State Department Deputy Assistant Secretary pointed out that
such decisions were meaningful as long as they were internalized
by the European Commission and the Council of Europe, but this has
not happened.

Conveying the US perspective on the issue, Bryza urged: “Our position
is that, the characterization events of 1915, the horrible killings
and forced relocation and exile that occurred in 1915, which is
an issue to be more properly decided by deep introspection that’s
not political. So it’s not politicians alone that should grabble
with these facts. And a political decision should not determine
how we characterize those events. It’s deeply thoughtful people,
common people, and academics and all sorts of intellectuals, writers,
screenwriters, and philosophers need to think these things through. A
political decision shouldn’t determine what happened in 1915.”

The US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State expressed his opinions on
the decisions of the European Union (EU) and its relative political
organs regarding Turkey, with particular effort to avoid giving the
image of interfering in the internal affairs of European countries.

The decisions are taken in the EU and Turkey needs to meet the
requirements set out by the EU in order to become a part of the EU
club, emphasized Bryza while making frequent expressions of admiration
for EU term president Britain.

“I don’t know,” he replied in response to our question, “Do you think
Turkey can really play a role in preventing clash of civilizations?”

emphasizing the US tendency to have different opinions regarding such
matters. “I think Turkey can play an important in inspiring people
within societies in the immediate region where Turkey finds itself.

Those regions are both Europe and Middle East. Not just the Middle
East, not just Europe, but both. That’s what so unique about Turkey.

Turkey is simultaneously a European country, a Middle Eastern country,
a Balkans country, a Caucasus country, all these things at the same
time. So Turkey matters in its ability to inspire people in all those
regions who seek to find a way to advance democratic reform often
with predominantly Muslim populations, but not exclusively. So I am
not talking about a clash between civilizations, I am talking about
movements within all sorts of civilizations,” he commented.

NEGOTIATIONS WILL START; HOWEVER, WE ENTER A STONY, MINED ROAD
By Turhan Bozkurt

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 3 2005

zaman.com

Koc Holding Honorary Chairman Rahmi Koc talked in a hopeful way
about Turkey’s European Union (EU) membership bid. Koc said that
Austria’s attitude should be taken into consideration as he explained,
“The biggest threat within the EU comes from the Austrians. They are
insistent on starting membership negotiations for Croatia. I think
the EU will start negotiations with Turkey anyway; however, we will
enter a stony, mined road, which is full of barricades.” Stressing
that Turkey will continue its own way no matter what the answer is
from Brussels, Koc showed the positive views Turkey receives from
foreign capital as a ground for this.

“Even if the bonds are cut, they may say ‘stop for a while’. The
investments are shaped in three or four year’s time.” According
to Koc, the foreign investors will take the long term profits into
consideration and look for ways to become permanent in Turkey instead
of thinking of short term profits.

Criticizing the EU’s attitude towards Turkey, “I was afraid the
Cyprus issue would come to the agenda and they brought it. They
brought the Armenian issue to the agenda as well. The acts of these
Europeans cannot be predicted. They may bring the Kurdish issue to the
agenda, too,” Koc admitted. Indicating that Turkey should find sincere
partners for itself within the EU to get the support of Europeans, Koc
continued, “When we are purchasing a bank, we make partnership with the
expert of that business just like this, Turkey should find partners for
itself even in the dynamics of the European community. Our diplomats
are very skilled, they fulfill their responsibilities; however,
we need to get the support of very experienced Europeans. Spain and
Portugal worked with these kinds of people.”

OPINION : WHAT COULD HAVE BEEN DONE WITH THE EFFORT WASTED TO PERSUADE AUSTRIA?
Baris Sanli , JTW Columnist

Journal of Turkish Weekly
Oct 3 2005

After long hours of meetings and news, now I am heading back to my
home. The two days and the stress caused by Austria to my psychology
has been destructive on me. I do not expect an official apology from
Austria, but they literally wasted my time with their five star,
gold medalist stubbornness. Now everyone is happy, as usual except me.

But how about the time, diplomacy and the effort given to persuade
Austria? It could have been used for more important causes. Now
what is different, for two days they just tested the nerves of
European Foreign Ministers and most importantly me. For what? Just
to turn a historic chance to a political circus. Some may say this
is how diplomacy works, but I will call it “this is how diplomacy is
wasted”. After all, the situation is no different than 1st October.

So I decided to write a list of things to be done with the resources
wasted to persuade Austria. Here is my list as a product of my ruined
psychology, enjoy it:

– I could have written annoying articles to annoy Armenians.

– My Armenian readers could have written more annoying emails to me
to annoy me.

– I could have been treated from my mental problems.

– Even North Korea can start the accession talks with EU with this
much of effort – I would like to add Antarctica to previous article.

– and Zimbabwe – Bush could be teached to find the Iraq on the
world map.

– Blair could be persuaded to leave his place to Gordon Brown.

– Sarkozy can be sent to space.(For peaceful purposes like the first
French president to be to enjoy space) – Austrians can be informed
about the collapse of the Ottoman Empire.

– Greek Cyprus could be persuaded to UN talks.

– Karen Hughes can win the hearts of Turkish women. (I have never
ever achieved such a thing) – Washington Times could be converted
into democratic and open minded newspaper.

– Usame Bin Laden could be persuaded that killing innocents is not
a way to deal with problems.

– Serbians could be teached that Bosnian Muslims are not bad –
Poverty problem could have been solved.

– Third world could have been transformed into a bunch of Silicon
valleys.

– The whole world could be informed that Turkey is not a desert and
is not a place where people use camels for transportation and Turks
are not barbarians, it was Conan the Barbarian.

– And I could have been persuaded not to write any more articles in
this aggressive tone.

REINSTITUTION OF TURKISH – ARMENIAN FRIENDSHIP

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 3 2005

SAHIN ALPAY

The crux of my speech at the panel on “The Armenian Problem and Turkish
Democracy” in the “Ottoman Armenians” conference was the following:
I am not a historian. As a political scientist and public commentator,
my interest is focused on the current issues and problems of Turkish
politics.

I believe that the resolution of the “Armenian problem” is
indispensable for consolidation of liberal and pluralist democracy, and
for peace culture to prevail in Turkey. Consequently, I am interested
more in the future than in the past. My problem is: What can be done to
reinstitute Turkish – Armenian friendship? There certainly are people,
among both Turks and Armenians, who want to reach conciliation and
resolve the problem. These today constitute a minority, but they may
well become the majority in the future. To this end, those who favor
a solution need to reach a consensus on some basic points.

Regarding history: What was experienced at the end of the19th and the
beginning of the 20th centuries is the story of the dissolution of
the multi-religious and multi-ethnic Ottoman Empire as a result of
conflicting religious and ethnic nationalisms backed by imperialist
European powers. It is the story of millions of people who were
subjected to ethnic cleansing, deportation and massacres. Almost all
of the ethnic and religious which made up the Ottoman Empire had their
share of this tragedy. The Union and Progress Party government decided
to put Anatolia fully under its control, and to cleanse this region
of ethnic and religious elements whose loyalty it did not trust. When
in 1915 – 16 the Unionists in order to punish Armenian separatists
who sought to establish an independent Armenia by cooperating with
the Russians deported Armenians living in all parts of the country
to Syria (Zor province), Armenians became the religious and ethnic
group which suffered most during the course of the dissolution of
the empire. Not only those living in the war zone but all Armenians,
except those living in Istanbul and Izmir were subjected to the
forced deportations. In the process hundreds of thousands of them
were killed or died as a result of famine or illness. Some escaped
deportation by converting to Islam, others managed to survive by
converting to Islam after being rescued by Muslims. Some of those who
managed to reach Syria alive settled there, while many emigrated to
France and the US. Turkish people know very little about the tragedy
of the Ottoman Armenians, and a solution to the “Armenian problem”
is not possible until they are sufficiently informed about it.

Neither is it possible to reach a consensus on the claim that Armenians
were subjected to genocide. Some will continue to insist on this claim,
while others will never accept it. It is, however, clear that this
claim hinders Turkey from discussing freely what really happened in
history. Holding all Turks then and now accountable for the crimes
committed by the Ottoman Unionist government, and using the genocide
allegation to fan racist hatred and enmity against all Turks, is surely
unacceptable. If a broad consensus on the above facts is achieved,
it is possible to move forward towards a solution.

Our tasks as those in Turkey who favor of reconciliation are obvious:
We must first of all exert our utmost efforts to ensure that our
Armenian citizens enjoy equal citizenship rights and that their
minority rights are secured. Historians should, with courage and
determination, work to shed light on what really happened and on those
who were responsible. We should try to win over the public opinion in
favor of the establishment of diplomatic relations between Turkey and
Armenia, and opening of the borders between the two countries. Ankara
can thereby even contribute to peace between Azerbaijan and Armenia. We
should also try to enhance the links and dialogue between the Turkish
and Armenian civil societies. If we can do all these, it will one day
be possible to erect a monument in Anatolia in memory of the great
suffering Ottoman Armenians lived through.

ONE MORE PUSH!
Selcuk Gultasli

Zaman, Turkey
Oct 3 2005

The rule that “every draft the EU prepares about Turkey does not get
its final form without getting toughened” did not change. Where did the
Cyprus declaration begin, and where did it end? The EU virtually said
to the Greek Cypriots “Write it down, we will put a signature on it.”

The declaration for which the Greek Cypriots, with the support of
the French, took EU as hostage turned out to be a legally binding
paper despite the British rhetoric that “it is not a legally binding
document and will be forgotten within six months, why give a damn?”

Moreover, even if the EU does ever forget something, it will be
decisions for the benefit of Turkey. The commitment given by Greece
back in 1981 that she would not interfere in Turkey-EU relations,
the declaration from France, Germany, Netherlands and Italy in 1998
declaring that “the Greek Cypriots will not become a member of the
EU before a solution is reached in Cyprus”, the Council’s decisions
that will bring an end to the isolation of the Turkish Cypriots in
2004 were all too easily forgotten.

The framework document is also becoming more stringent. It has not
yet been approved, and it probably won’t be until the last days and
many elements -excluding the privileged partnership that Turkey cannot
accept- will be introduced into this document.

The situation is as follows: Those who had been promised for 46 years
will announce their engagement on October 3. The EU part does all it
can to ensure that the engagement will not end up with a marriage. It
will sit at the table of engagement, just because it promised once,
but it prepares many pretexts in order to toss the ring away just after
the engagement. Turkey, too, is not happy as it sits at the table,
she is convinced that the EU is unwillingly sitting at the table. In
this case, almost everybody foresees that the negotiations will fail
to continue even if they do start on October 3 and that this will halt,
anyway, in 2006 when the additional protocol is revised.

The EU made the negotiations “unsustainable” with the declaration of
Cyprus, and allowed the UN ground for a possible solution to erode
and most importantly confirmed that it now sees the issue from a Greek
Cypriot view. From now on, in the Cyprus issue the EU cannot go beyond
the parameters cited in the declaration. The Greek Cypriots will get
what they want unless the political atmosphere in Europe goes through
a radical change-which is impossible in the short term.

The next crisis pending between the EU and Turkey is the additional
protocol waiting to be approved in the Assembly. As the screening
process will start on October 3, negotiations will most probably
start at the end of the term presidency of the UK, namely in December.

And in the worst case scenario, the start of negotiations will take
place following the scanning process and this will happen in the
term presidency of Austria. There is no need to offer any detailed
explanation of how Austria, which has the hysteria that the Turks
besieged Vienna for the third time, will approach the negotiations.

As the Greek Cypriots will ask the additional protocol to be approved
and implemented immediately after October 3, Turkey will face a
serious dilemma before it can even start the real negotiations.

As the opponents in Europe have plenty of supporters in Turkey,
sabotaging the negotiations will become easier. The guardians of the
established system whose entire comfort will be overwhelmed with the
start of negotiations will clearly show their European allies that
“Turkey has not changed” with a few provocations just as happened
at the Armenian conference. And in the words of Fuat Pasha that are
even more relevant today, “They from the outside, we from the inside,
together” will obstruct the start of negotiations! Come on guys!