New Iraq constitution must protect Christians
ALDA BENJAMEN
The fate of millions of Iraqis hangs in the balance as politicians
appear poised to introduce a new constitution for the country.
This constitution represents freedom for the Iraqi people from more
than 30 years of oppression and injustice under the Ba’ath Party and
marks the birth of a new society based on equality.
The constitution is not merely words on paper. Rather, its
application is what will truly define it and will make Iraq a free
and democratic country, a rarity in the Middle East.
Its success will be measured not in the amount of time it takes to
finish, not in the number of votes it receives, and not in the
successful party who adopts its principles, but in its application.
It is when the human rights of an individual, regardless of religion
or ethnic background, are protected by this constitution that we can
declare it successful and democratic.
It is when an Assyrian (also known as Chaldean or Syriac) woman
living in her homeland in northern Iraq is free to wear a Christian
cross around her neck and knows that she has just as much right to
life as the Shiite woman who wears the Islamic veil.
For it is the Assyrians, the indigenous Christian people of Iraq, who
most need this constitution to be successful.
It is they who have been butchered, not only under Saddam Hussein’s
rule, but also by the Ottoman Empire of Turkey and the Kurds for
generations, simply because of their separate religious and ethnic
identity.
It is they who, to this day, are singled out and treated as less than
human; when their churches are destroyed, their women forced to wear
the Islamic veil, their villages uprooted and their businesses
targeted by extremists.
Amnesty International has noted many of these injustices, which also
include assassinations of political leaders and the slaying of nuns
and priests. This constitution will not only be necessary to secure
the basic human rights of the Assyrians but is essential for their
survival in the country.
As the indigenous people of Iraq, we have suffered from the forced
Arabization drives of Saddam’s regime. Further back in time, our
people were killed alongside the Armenians and Greeks during the
1915-1918 genocide by the Turkish and Kurdish forces of the Ottoman
Empire, the first recorded genocide of the 20th century.
Close to 750,000 Assyrians, or two-thirds of our population at that
time, were slaughtered in what is internationally recognized as the
Armenian genocide.
Yet again, more than 3,000 villagers were massacred in 1933 in
Simile, north of Iraq by the Iraqi army. Attacks targeting our people
are still being carried out today.
Between August and October of 2004, more than nine churches were
bombed in two separate incidents. Many parishioners were killed and
others injured during these terrorist attacks.
Because of these attacks and constant threats, rapes and abductions,
more than 40,000 Assyrian Christians have fled Iraq for Syria.
It is now obvious why this is such a crucial time for the Assyrians
of Iraq.
Will the constitution acknowledge people who suffered under the
former Iraqi regime, other than the Kurds and Shiites? Will it
guarantee seats for our people in the National Assembly and give us
appropriate representation?
Will it ensure that we no longer remain a voiceless community that
has been forcibly kept as an under-represented part of the Iraqi
population?
Given the magnitude of the brutality against Assyrians, it is crucial
that our rights to practise our religion and teach our Syriac
language be guaranteed. It is also necessary that the Assyrians
secure an administrative region in Iraq as stated in the Transitional
Administrative Law, Article 53(D). This law guarantees the
administrative, cultural and political rights of our people and other
minority groups in Iraq.
Assyrians now stand at the crossroads. We do not want history to
repeat itself. We need to remind ourselves that although it is the
majority that rules in a democracy the voices of the minority cannot
be ignored.
Alda Benjamen is a member of the Assyrian Chaldean Syriac Student
Union of Canada.

Foreign Minister Leaves for Moscow
Foreign Minister Elmar Mammadyarov has left for Moscow to attend a
meeting of the CIS foreign ministers due on Tuesday.
Mammadyarov will meet with his Armenian counterpart Vardan Oskanian
in the Russian capital on Wednesday.
During the meeting to be attended by the co-chairs of the mediating
OSCE Minsk Group, the two ministers will exchange views on the
unresolved issues and preparations for the August 26 meeting of Azeri
and Armenian presidents Ilham Aliyev and Robert Kocharian in Kazan,
Russia on the sidelines of the CIS summit.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 23 2005

Aliyev Receives PACE President
President Ilham Aliyev, receiving the visiting President of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van Der
Linden on Monday, spoke of the extensive work done in Azerbaijan to
promote civil democratization.
He expressed confidence that Linden’s visit to Baku will allow him to
become closely familiar with the development processes ongoing in the
country.
Linden said the Council of Europe hails the reforms underway in
Azerbaijan.
Touching upon the Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh,
the number one problem for the country, Linden praised the steps
taken toward its peaceful resolution. He said that he discussed the
issue with Armenian officials during his visit to the country. The
PACE President also voiced a hope for a speedy conflict settlement.

Assa-Irada, Azerbaijan
Aug 23 2005

PACE President Cites `Favorable Conditions’ for Conflict Settlement
Favorable conditions have been created to settle the
Armenia-Azerbaijan conflict over Nagorno Karabakh, president of the
Parliamentary Assembly of the Council of Europe (PACE) Rene van Der
Linden has said.
`We should take advantage of this and find a way to resolve the
conflict,’ the PACE president, who arrived in Baku on Monday as part
of his tour of the South Caucasus region, told journalists upon
arrival. The visit is aimed at getting familiar with the situation in
the region.
Linden said he held broad discussions on the Karabakh conflict during
his visit to Armenia.
The PACE president said that Azerbaijan’s November parliament
elections will be discussed. Asked whether the Council of Europe will
reconsider the mandate of the Azerbaijani delegation if it is not
satisfied with the results of the forthcoming poll, Linden said he
will reply to the question in conclusion of his visit.
Linden met with President Ilham Aliyev, Chief-of-Staff of the
President’s Office Ramiz Mehdiyev, representatives of the Azadlig and
New Policy election blocs as well as media and NGO representatives on
the same day. On Tuesday, he is to meet Parliament Speaker Murtuz
Alasgarov and Interior Minister Ramil Usubov.

Iraq’s mosaic of ethnic groups
August 23, 2005
BAGHDAD — Iraq’s majority Shias and the Kurds, over the objections
of the Sunni Arabs, flexed their newfound muscle to present a draft
constitution to parliament on Monday.
The following are short profiles of the main groups in Iraq’s mosaic
of ethnic groups:
Shias
The Shias, who faced decades of repression dating back to the Ottoman
period, make up around 60 percent of Iraq’s population and are
concentrated in the south of the country and the capital.
Their religious leaders, especially spiritual chief Grand Ayatollah
Ali Al Sistani, have encouraged Shias to seize the initiative on the
political front.
The Shias have been the target of devastating attacks by Sunni
insurgents determined to bring down the new order:
At least 83 people, including top cleric Mohammed Baker Hakim, were
killed in Najaf in August 2003, and more than 170 died in March 2,
2003, attacks in Karbala and Baghdad during the Ashura religious
holiday.
Last December 19, 66 people were killed in further bomb attacks in
Najaf and Karbala, the homes of the two holiest sites of Shia Islam.
In modern Iraqi history the Shias during the 1950s made up the
rank-and-file of the Baath and communist parties, before being
sidelined after the rise to power of Saddam Hussein’s Sunni clan from
Tikrit in the 1970s.
Some Shia religious events such as the public display of grief for
Ashura were banned and a bloody repression targeted Shia leaders,
including Ayatollah Mohammed Baker Sadr, who was executed in 1980.
Brutal force was used to put down a Shia uprising in the aftermath of
Iraq’s ouster from Kuwait in the 1991 Gulf War.
Sunnis
The Sunnis, although the majority sect in the Arab world, account for
only 20 to 25 percent of the Iraqi population.
Under Saddam’s regime they occupied the top posts in the army and
police as well as the ruling Baath party. But since the invasion they
have been overshadowed by the Shias and Kurds, and they mostly
boycotted elections in January.
Most of the bloodiest attacks and bombings since the United States
declared the end of major combat operations in Iraq on May 1, 2003,
have taken place in Sunni areas.
Kurds
In a milestone on the road to autonomy, the non-Arab Kurds of
northern Iraq took part in two simultaneous elections in January: for
a transitional National Assembly in Baghdad and for their own
111-member parliament.
They are estimated to number some 4 million to 5 million in Iraq, or
between 15 and 20 percent of the population.
In the early 1970s the Iraqi authorities forcibly displaced the Kurds
as part of an “Arabization” policy of strategic areas such as the
oil-rich center of Kirkuk, launching two decades of repression.
After a Kurdish uprising in the aftermath of the 1991 war over
Kuwait, hundreds of thousands of Kurdish civilians were driven across
the mountains into Turkey and Iran.
Under a Western security umbrella the Kurds returned and held the
first elections in their history, resulting in the Kurdistan
Democratic Party (KDP) and Patriotic Union of Kurdistan (PUK) sharing
power.
But fighting erupted between the two factions in 1994 leaving some
3,000 dead and paralyzing fledgling Kurdish institutions.
They buried the hatchet on the eve of the US-led invasion to
overthrow Saddam, fighting alongside American troops in the north of
the country. The peshmergas (guerrillas) entered Kirkuk in April
2003.
The Kurds insist on an historical claim to Kirkuk and a federated
Iraq.
Turcomans
The Turcoman minority, who originated in Central Asia and moved to
Mesopotamia in the eleventh century, represent between 1 and 2
percent of the population, with most of them living in northern Iraq.
After the fall of the Ottoman Empire in 1918 the British occupiers of
Iraq launched a campaign to assimilate the Turcomans with the Arab
and Kurdish communities.
They were the victims of several massacres between 1924 and 1959,
straddling independence in 1932.
Like the Kurds the Turcomans were driven out of Kirkuk during the
1970s to be replaced by Arabs. The two ethnic groups have clashed
since Saddam’s fall and are now in dispute over who was in the
majority before the expulsions.
Ankara has pledged to protect the interests of the Turcomans and,
fearful of unrest among its own sizable Kurdish minority, opposes too
high a level of autonomy for the Kurds of Iraq.
Christians
The Christian community stood at 1.4 million people according to a
1987 census but has since shrunk to 700,000 – out of a total
population of 25 million – during a turbulent period of war and years
of crippling sanctions.
They have been heavily targeted in the unrest that has swept
post-Saddam Iraq.
At the start of August 2004 four attacks against Christian targets in
Baghdad and two others in Mosul left 10 people dead and 50 injured,
sending tens of thousands of Iraqi Christians into exile.
Liquor stores, owned by Christians, have been blown up by Islamic
militants. And Christian families, many considered wealthy by Iraqi
standards, have been targeted by kidnappers for huge ransoms.
The Chaldeans, whose 600,000 people represent most Christians in
Iraq, are an oriental rite Catholic community. Iraq also has Assyrian
Christians, Catholic and Orthodox Syriacs, and Catholic and Orthodox
Armenians.

From: “Katia M. Peltekian”
Subject: TBILISI: Saakashvili: No Political Problems with Armenia
Civil Georgia, Georgia
Aug 23 2005
Saakashvili: No Political Problems with Armenia
Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili said after talks with his
Armenian counterpart Robert Kocharian on August 22 that the two
presidents discussed opportunities for deepening economic
cooperation, adding that the two countries `have no political
problems’ in bilateral relations.
President Saakashvili paid a two-day informal visit to Armenia on
August 21-22 and met with Robert Kocharian at the latter’s summer
residence on the shore of Lake Sevan. The Georgian President was
accompanied by Defense Minister Irakli Okruashvili.
`We are developing close cooperation with Armenia and we can say for
sure that there are no political problems in the relations between
our countries… We can not live separately from each other, hence
economic integration is necessary,’ Saakashvili said at a joint news
conference with the Armenian President.
Robert Kocharian said that the current state of affairs with Georgia
`is a positive signal.’
`Mutual trust between the two presidents is a precondition for
building relations between the two countries,’ President Kocharian
said, adding that these relations should not be a source of concern
for Russia.
`As far as I know [Russian] President [Vladimir] Putin, with whom I
also have mutually trustful relations, also attributes great
importance to personal contacts [between leaders],’ the Armenian
President said.

From: “Katia M. Peltekian”
Subject: Political ideas aside, System aims for mesmerizing music
Newsday, NY
Aug 23 2005
Political ideas aside, System aims for mesmerizing music

BY RAFER GUZMÁN
STAFF WRITER
August 23, 2005
If you’ve heard System of a Down’s latest singles, you probably have
some ideas of what the songs are about. But singer-songwriter Serj
Tankian says your guess is as good as his.
“I’ve had people come up to me with the strangest interpretations of
what lyrics might mean, and I’m like, ‘You go! I never thought of
that, but that works,'” Tankian says, speaking by phone from a hotel
in Dallas. “I think true art is a universal reflection, and true
artists are just messengers of that reflection – or, at best, skilled
presenters.”
It’s that kind of articulate philosophy – not to mention some of
the most brain-punishing metal-rock in existence – that makes System
of a Down such an unlikely success story. Their previous studio
album, 2001’s “Toxicity,” has sold about 3.6 million copies,
according to Nielsen SoundScan, and the new “Mezmerize,” released in
May, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard charts. It’s already racked up
sales of 1.3 million. All this, despite the band’s decidedly bizarre
mix of hardcore, heavy metal, opera and Middle Eastern music. (All
four of the band’s members are of Armenian descent.)
“Mezmerize” is only the first disc System of a Down plans to deliver
this year. The follow-up, “Hypnotize,” is scheduled for release in
November. In a change of pace, Tankian takes a backseat to guitarist
Daron Malakian, who wrote most of the lyrics and music on “Mezmerize”
(perhaps he’s responsible for the misspelled title). Shavo Odadjian,
System’s bassist and unofficial art director, helped create the
band’s light show and mirrored stage set.
Odadjian got the idea for the stage design from his favorite
neighborhood bar in Los Angeles. “It’s really small, but one wall is
all mirrors, so you think, ‘This bar is huge,'” he explains over the
phone from a West Palm Beach, Fla., hotel. “And then I thought, ‘No
one’s ever done that onstage before, made the stage look twice as big
with a huge mirror.'”
Odadjian and Tankian both downplay their band’s political zeal –
“We’d really rather concentrate on the music,” Tankian says – but the
lyrics on “Mesmerize” are difficult to ignore. “Violent Pornography”
is a scathing critique of mainstream television. “Cigaro” seems like
a crude sexual joke – but a closer listen reveals themes of Western
arrogance. And the first single, “B.Y.O.B.,” features the
lung-busting refrain, “Why don’t presidents fight the war/Why do they
always send the poor?”
Tankian says he keeps up with current affairs while on tour by
reading newspapers and surfing the Internet. “Nations are like
people,” he says. “Once you understand the interactions between
nations, it’s easy to understand why things are done, in terms of
foreign policy, in a certain way. But nations are not like people in
the sense that we are cumulatively represented by others – and their
interpretations of what our interests are may not be the same as what
they really are. And that’s what’s dangerous, even in a democracy.”
Are System of a Down’s stage-diving, mosh-happy fans as politically
engaged as Tankian? “I don’t find most people to be as politically
engaged as I am,” Tankian says with a laugh. “I do find people that
appreciate eye-opening events and words, and who want to learn more
about what’s going on. I do find people with a lot of opinions. And I
get a lot of people who come up to me and give us props for what we
do.”
WHEN&WHERE System of a Down plays with The Mars Volta and Bad Acid
Trip at 7 tonight at Continental Airlines Arena, East Rutherford,
N.J. Tickets are $32.50-$45. Call 631-888-9000 or go to

From: “Katia M. Peltekian”
Subject: ALIYEV: Parliamentary elections in cannot turn to Orange Revolution
Today, Azerbaijan
Aug 23 2005
Ilham Aliyev: `Parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan cannot turn to
an `orange’ revolution’

23 August 2005 [10:53] – Today.Az

Future parliamentary elections in Azerbaijan cannot turn to an
`orange’ revolution, Ilham Aliyev, the Azerbaijani leader said in an
interview for Russian Newsweek magazine titled `Ilham Aliyev: «The
most important – to take a balance».
Taking questions from Leonid Parfenov, a writer of the magazine, the
head of state said that he parliamentary elections cannot turn to
`orange revolution’ due to some reasons. «Firstly, Azerbaijan is
presidential country and even the changes in forces in the parliament
the do not mean the changes in policy. Secondly, the nation has
confidence in the reforms. Over the past 6 months the Gross Domestic
Product (GDP) grew 17%, while over one and half year of my term in
power minimal salaries grew thrice and it is not the limit, the
public budget rose 60%. Thirdly, the peculiarities of the opposition
in difference to other countries of CIS are as follows it was in
power in 1992-1993 and collapsed. Over 10 years Azerbaijan has seen
the same people with the same position. So, there are not real terms
for state d’coup in Azerbaijan,’ Aliyev underscored.
The same time the President noted that a successful country is not
built without state control, no matter ho many hydrocarbons are in
the country. «This is my deep conviction and one of priorities in my
political activities. When 40% of people live out poverty, while a
year and half it was roughly 50% the democratization is not the theme
which worries people first of all. Azerbaijan is also concerned in
the problem of Nagorno-Karabakh, unemployment, corruption. However,
the problems cannot be resolved out of the democratic developments.
This is the world tendency and it is inevitable. The best variant is
to lead the processes,’ he underlined.
According to Aliyev, to date the level of development of the
Azerbaijani society, of course does not allow to apply the political
standards of the West Europe and North America. However, it is
possible to pursue a development policy, current non-readiness cannot
justify the maintenance of such situation. For a man well aware of
real world, the reverse direction is conservatism and isolation of
the country – is simply fatal.
Touching upon the presidential elections in Azerbaijan in autumn of
2003 Aliyev noted that understanding its loss in the presidential
elections, the opposition did not want to recognize it and took an
attempt on forced accession to power. «They accuse us in
overreaction, while the attacked on them and lorries ran over police.
The then break was a forced action. I am for a dialogue at table and
in the street. But how will the opposition behave on the elections
day and after the elections? They are actually the last chance for
those who sit chairs of `staff opposition’ for 10-15-years, Aliyev
underlined.
«We do not have any anxieties and our openness for the West – the
United States and Europe, means multi-billion American and English
investments, our active participation in the anti-terror fighting is
not a favorable state, but policy for the interests of the nation. In
the first year of the post-Soviet period Azerbaijan turned out a
country with spectral perspectives: civil war, occupation of Karabakh
by Armenia, and without integration into the world and western
investments we would never survive. We well understand it,’ the
Azerbaijani leader noted.
Touching upon the foreign political orientation of Baku Aliyev said,
«In difference to Armenia we are not advanced post of anyone. We hold
a real and independent policy and it is well in regard to neighbors.
In general, the most important in our region is the maintenance of
the balance. We have mutual trust relationships with Iran, for
instance we a Consulate in Tebriz, the center of South Azerbaijan.
Azerbaijan has a global problem, awaiting its resolution – the
Armenian-Azerbaijani conflict over Nagorno-Karabakh. In the context
of its resolution we could consider the variants for more active
military integration and only. Maybe, it is easy to have a political
patron, `elder brother’ – old or new, but it would never meet the
interests of Azerbaijan.
In the conclusion Aliyev noted that he easily imagines himself out of
the politics. «It is necessary to think over it, as the life does not
end with the power,’ the President underlined. (Trend)
URL:
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

SecondsOut.com
Aug 23 2005
Darchinyan & Jimenez make weight in Sydney

By Paul Upham: IBF/IBO flyweight world champion Vic Darchinyan
defends his titles against Colombian Jair Jimenez on Wednesday night
at the Sydney Entertainment Centre in Australia. The 29 year-old
Armenian born Australian citizen predicted an early finish. “It won’t
go three rounds,” said Darchinyan confidently.
The hard hitting southpaw will be making the second defence of his
IBF title that he won by stopping long-reigning former world champion
Irene Pacheco last December in the USA. In his next fight, Darchinyan
added the IBO title around his waist with an 8th round TKO stoppage
of South African Mzukisi Sikali on March 27.
“He said he would knock me out,” Darchinyan 23-0 (18) said of
Jimenez. “I have watched him on tape and he is a good fighter, but he
is going to go down tomorrow.”
26 year-old Jimenez 22-4-1 (16) gave respect to Darchinyan’s ability
but predicted he would win.
“He is a good world champion,” said Jimenez. “It will be a difficult
fight. But at the end of the night, I will win.”
Darchinyan and Jimenez were both right on the 112lbs limit at the
Tuesday night weigh-in at the Mercure Hotel in Sydney. The undercard
will feature Billy Dib defending his IBO Asia Pacific junior
lightweight title against Michael Kizza, while Ahmed Elomar and
Denchai Sor Tiebkoon will face off for the vacant IBO Asia Pacific
featherweight title. The opponent for Victor Oganov did not arrive in
Australia and the Russian “Destroyer” is off the card. Tickets are
available from the fight venue with the action commencing at 7:30pm
AEST. Sky Channel and Main Event Pay-Per-View will televise the fight
live in Australia.
Paul Upham
Contributing Editor
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

From: “Katia M. Peltekian”
Subject: Classic Balkanalysis: An Improbable War & Turkey’s New Opportunities
Balkan Analysis
Aug 23 2005
Classic Balkanalysis: An Improbable War and Turkey’s New
Opportunities
Posted on Tuesday, August 23 @ 06:00:00 EST by CDeliso

“We want dialogue with the U.S., not war,” says Turkish author
Burak Turna. “We have written this book to prevent a war.”
The book of which Turna speaks, Metal Firtina (“Metal Storm” in
Turkish) has become a runaway bestseller in Turkey over the past
couple months. A thriller in the style of Tom Clancy, the novel (by
Turkish authors Turna and Orkun Uçar) has been attacked for its
alleged anti-American elements and conspiracy theorizing. The plot
describes how a flare-up between Turkish and American troops in
northern Iraq leads to an out-and-out war, resulting in the American
bombing of Istanbul and Ankara and a Turkish detonation of a nuclear
bomb in Washington in response.
Is such a war possible? And is there any precedent for U.S.-Turkish
hostilities? Very few would wager money on the former scenario. It is
far more likely that any future disaster in Istanbul, at least, would
be caused by an earthquake or accident in the congested Bosporus. But
Burak Turna does believe there is an example of the latter. “We
foresaw that American policy is turning against Turkey, which would
lead to a clash between sides,” he told me recently. “Such an event
occurred after we started to write the book – in Sulaymaniyah
[northern Iraq], where U.S. soldiers captured 11 Turkish soldiers. If
we had resisted, a war would have broken out.”
The event of which Turna speaks caused indignation across Turkey. On
July 4, 2003, around 100 U.S. soldiers “stormed the barracks,”
arresting 11 Turkish soldiers who were allegedly planning to
assassinate the Kurdish governor of Kirkuk. Turks were outraged not
only by this aggression from a longtime ally, but also because the
Americans had actually handcuffed the soldiers and put bags over
their heads “as if they were al-Qaeda terrorists.” This incident had
been preceded by a similar (but hushed-up) one on April 22, which saw
the U.S. arrest Turkish soldiers in civilian clothes who were
escorting an arms shipment into northern Iraq. Such ugly events go a
long way toward explaining why such distrust has arisen.
Could tranquil, age-old Istanbul be reduced to rubble by American
bombardment?
Fiction and Fact
According to the VOA, Metal Storm has “an outrageous plot that
somehow strikes a responsive chord [among Turks]” and reveals “a
startling shift of opinion.” Yet there is a lot of presupposition
latent behind words like “outrageous,” “somehow,” and “startling.”
It’s strange that the U.S. government’s media wing can express
surprise here, since after all the same article mentions that the
Turkish people have been adamantly opposed to the Iraq war since the
beginning – some on grounds of religion, others out of stability
fears, others out of mistrust of American designs on the region.
But Metal Storm can hardly be blamed for creating “anti-Americanism”
among the Turks. Rather, the fact that the book is so popular should
be seen as more of a rare barometer of not only public opinion but
also imagination. After all, if people didn’t love high-firepower,
cloak-and-dagger geopolitical thrillers, how could authors from Ian
Fleming to John Le Carré to Tom Clancy have made industries out of
their works? No one thinks twice when the enemies in such a book (the
Western “good guys” are always a given) happen to be dastardly
Soviets or North Koreans, Arabs or Cubans or whoever. And, if the
reader also finds works in which their nation is an actor more
relevant, why shouldn’t the Turkish imagination be struck by a book
which features their own country? And is it not rather chauvinistic,
anyway, to assume that we in the West can enjoy a work of fiction for
what it is, whereas other lesser peoples run the risk of taking it
for gospel truth? A Turkish commentator (who also did not discern
much anti-Americanism in the book’s popularity) pointed out that “any
human wanting to escape from the issues of every day life can easily
do so by reading [Metal Storm]. Within that same logic the humans
that read the Da Vinci Code were not against the Catholic Church but
they read it because it had an intriguing theme.”
Most recent Western articles about Metal Storm have centered simply
on the fact that it has sold over 150,000 copies – but not bothered
to get the feedback of anyone who actually read it. This leads to
sweeping generalizations and deceptive juxtapositions. For example,
much has been made of a recent BBC poll that “indicates Turkey is now
the most anti-American nation on earth,” with 82 percent allegedly
hating America. But this is laughable. There are plenty of other
nations more “anti-American” than Turkey. And if one looks at the
original article, it seems the only specific question that the BBC
asked was whether or not the reelection of George W. Bush had made
the world a more dangerous place. A full 21 out of the 24 countries
surveyed agreed with this statement; only a few percentage points
after Turkey were citizens from a couple other key (and non-Muslim)
U.S. allies, Argentina and Brazil. Of course, none of these facts
have stopped neocon mouthpieces like FrontPageMag from tarring Turkey
as “a new al-Qaeda state.” Very helpful.
Indeed, my frequent trips to the country over the past six years have
shown me that in the vast majority of cases, any American, so long as
they act sensibly and respectfully, will be treated well by most
Turks. And a recent AP report conceded as much: “while criticism of
Bush and U.S. policy has skyrocketed, there is little hostility
toward Americans on the streets.”
Isolating the Real Enemy
For the authors of Metal Storm, in fact, part of the task was to
point out the real enemy from the American side. “Our book reveals,”
says Turna, “that Turkey should not be anti-American, but [rather]
harshly criticize Bush and his neocon politics.”
That said, it is truly remarkable (but not very surprising) that the
ever aware U.S. government is trying to bury the problem, while also
attacking the phenomenon of Metal Storm. Secretary of State
Condoleezza Rice, meeting recently with Turkish leaders, “raised
concerns about the negative image of the United States in Turkey.”
According to Burak Turna, “U.S. officials made comments on the book
to [the Turkish] media … some U.S. diplomats are very angry with us.”
And an unnamed U.S. diplomat in Turkey cited by the CSM in
mid-February stated in exasperation that “we’re really pulling our
hair out trying to figure how to deal with this.”
Really, it’s not so difficult, as William S. Lind subsequently
pointed out. Rice and the diplomats should have considered which
Americans and which policies in particular are responsible for
Turkish unease. But the neocons have never been very interested in
introspection.
That’s the unbelievable scenario described in Metal Storm.
The Neocons Step Up Anti-Turkish Aggression
At the same time, the neocon-driven Bush administration is also
pushing the Turkish government to grant it unpopular military
concessions – something that can only increase Turkish hostility
toward the U.S. But what else could be expected of them? Now the
neocons are clamping down and tightening the screws. A recent AEI
event called “Can the U.S.-Turkish Relationship be Repaired?” was
attended by in-house notables such as Richard Perle and Robert
Pollock, “who wrote the Wall Street Journal op-ed painting Turkey as
rapidly turning into a hotbed of vicious anti-American attitudes,” as
well as Middle East Forum editor (and former Office of Special Plans
disinformation specialist) Michael Rubin, “who recently questioned
[the ruling Turkish party] AKP’s links to Islamic capital.” A partial
report of the proceedings shows that these overblown demagogues were
quite vicious themselves in attacking the Turks from all sides –
something which would have been inconceivable until the Iraq war.
Why all the intimidation? The AEI event seems to have been backup for
the Bush administration’s “proposal to use the southern air base of
Incirlik as a cargo hub for U.S. forces operating in the region.”
Now, the U.S. has been using Incirlik, near the southern city of
Adana, for a long time already, but the current proposal would see it
become a vital center for the U.S. war effort in Iraq – something the
Turks vetoed in a March 1, 2003 parliamentary vote that was
incidentally a rare victory for democracy. But the decision also
caused immense displeasure among the neocons, who had counted on
Turkey to be faithful as ever and expedite the war.
Any decision to increase American use of the air base will be an
unpopular one in Turkey, but probably not a devastating one for
relations. However, there is now a real risk that the administration
might go all the way in alienating the Turks, whether or not an
“agreement” is reached. Turkey’s NTV television is cited as reporting
“[T]he government might officially reply to Washington over the
Incirlik proposal in the coming weeks, before the 90th anniversary of
an alleged Armenian genocide at the hands of the late Ottoman Empire
arrives on April 24.
“A powerful Armenian lobby in the U.S. Congress is expected to push
for a resolution recognizing the alleged genocide as part of an
anniversary campaign. U.S. administrations have opposed such attempts
in Congress in the past but observers say this year the George W.
Bush administration may not be as willing to prevent such a move as
it was in the past, given the growing mistrust of the Turkish
government.”
The Turks Ask: What Is the U.S. Really Up To?
While I guess we can learn something from “focus groups” held in
American-style bagel factories and the Istanbul Ritz-Carlton, it’s
not the way I chose to do it on this month’s visit to Istanbul. I was
not particularly interested in dismissing the Turks as adherents of
“mad conspiracy theories” or in making haughty and sweeping
news-speak statements like “the real battle for Turkey is the battle
for Turkish hearts and minds.” Rather than interview Turkey’s
“pro-Western” elite, the kind of people whose voices are already
heard in the media anyway, I sought out young Turks and Kurds who are
far from influential but who have plenty of education and experience
working with and for Westerners. People some of whom come from the
“fundamentalist” places that the elite look down upon with fear and
disdain, but who also understand well the differing mindsets of
everyone from America to Germany to Japan.
According to them, the growing wariness of America owes specifically
to Turkish observance of the American war machine in action. “People
in Turkey are starting to talk about things in a new way,” says
Enver, a 24-year-old Turkish tour operator from the Aegean coastal
city of Izmir. “If they [the U.S.] attacked Afghanistan, and then
Iraq, and now are talking about Syria or Iran, who will be next?”
Kamer, a 32-year-old hotel manager and Kurdish Turk from the
southeastern town of Mardin, nods in agreement. “Now, everything is
changing. Even the people who used to say ‘yeah, America!’ no longer
trust them. There is a feeling that the Americans screwed up big time
in Iraq – so, many people are laughing at them, but they are also a
little afraid of what they will do next.”
Their view is shared by another Kurd originally from the Batman area,
Apo, who now works as a bartender in a pub popular with American,
Australian, and British tourists. “I’ve been in 23 countries, and met
people from many more,” he says. “The most common criticism of the
U.S. is not against the [American] people but against the war
policies of George Bush. I have friends and family in America, and I
would like to visit there someday. So we Turks are not against
America – but after seeing these wars against Muslim countries
continue to unfold, we have for the first time become a bit
mistrustful: what is Bush really up to? Is it all about Middle
Eastern oil and control of Central Asia, like the book [Metal Storm]
says? And what country will be next?”
A colleague of his, Fatih, adds that some Turks fear there is a
religious dimension to this as well. “We can see clearly who supports
Bush’s wars: Israel and the Christian fundamentalists in America.
These people are like crusaders. They want to make the whole world
like them. It is true, Turkey is a secular Muslim state, but it is a
Muslim state [nonetheless], and religious people here are afraid that
they would like to ‘convert’ us someday.”
The Self-Sufficiency Argument and the EU Backlash
It is interesting that many of these views are shared by the Turkish
“elite.” The Australian article, for example, cites young Turks who
point out America’s support for Israel as a prime factor behind
tensions in the region. And the author cites a young academic who
says, “[W]e’re worried about the way America is attacking countries
in the region and we might be on the list.”
On a second front, the complex issue of potential EU membership,
Turks are again leery. A young airline executive cited denounces the
EU countries as “liars and hypocrites” bent on denying Turkey EU
membership through subterfuge and deception. “Of course they are
racist and prejudiced against us. We don’t need Europe.”
I have noticed these attitude growing for the past couple years, as
Turkish-EU negotiations have intensified and Turkish exasperation
with the union has grown. As the European states wound Turkish pride
by threatening to keep them out, Turks are beginning to invoke the
argument for self-sufficiency and national pride. Turkey is a major
textiles and agricultural exporter; has developed industries in areas
such as chemicals, pharmaceuticals, and automobiles; and boasts a
growing tourism industry as well. As for mineral resources, the
country possesses the world’s largest boron reserves (64 percent), as
well as 40 percent of the world’s marble and large quantities of
other natural resources, including magnesites, coal, chromite, and
copper. Urban Turkey offers shopping malls, airports, hotels, and
convention centers as modern as anywhere in the world. Don’t these
things count for anything, Turks ask?
Says Enver, “Turkey has everything it needs to be one of the richest
countries in Europe. It doesn’t need the EU, though the politicians
keep saying that this is our only choice.”
Apo agrees. “Turkish people want to live well, but they have been
brainwashed by the media to believe that only the EU can help. Yet
now is coming a generation of young people, many from western Turkey,
who are not so sure. They have educated themselves about the issue.
They know what’s going on. They know what we can expect to gain from
the EU – but also what we can lose.”
A Future Superpower Role for Turkey?
Distaste with the EU’s prevarications and tricks, mistrust with
America’s incessant warmongering, and a new sense of self-confidence
could conceivably lead the Turks to seek a more active role in world
leadership. How might this play out? “My friend, there is too much
support for an all-Turkish alliance,” says Enver. He is referring to
a possible scenario long considered, which would see Turks create
some kind of union with their ethnic kin in Azerbaijan and the
Central Asian states. While such a possibility is popular, at least
among a certain percentage of the population, Kamer avers, “our
politicians are very pro-Europe, and want to keep the people down. So
they haven’t moved very strongly in this direction.”
It is in this context that Apo recounts the pan-Turkic dream of
Turgut Ozal. A towering figure in modern Turkish politics, Ozal
served as prime minister from 1983-1989, and thereafter became
president until his death in 1993 of a heart attack. Ozal was
enthusiastic about creating a Turkish sphere of influence, one that
would stretch “from the Adriatic to the Great Wall of China.”
With the fall of the Soviet Union, Turkey began energetically seeking
out new allies among its ethnic peers in Central Asia. In 2004,
former Indian Ambassador to Turkey and Azerbaijan K. Gajendra Singh
credited “the dynamic leadership” of Ozal for a plan that provided
training, loans, and investments into the billions of dollars for the
Central Asian republics after 1991. However, following Ozal’s death
in 1993, the pan-Turkic project was put on the back burner.
Subsequent governments showed less interest in ethnic projects than
in religious ones, and despite various resumptions of interest, a
pan-Turkic alliance never really got off the ground.
Until recently, the primary opposition to Turkish influence in
Central Asia has come from the Russians, who wished to retain their
influence over military and energy affairs. However, now that
increased American intransigence has driven the two ancient enemies
closer together than ever before, things are changing. And America’s
frenetic democracy-building adventures in Central Asia are also
proving a headache for the Turkish government, as it tries to decide
how to react to events such as the destructive coup in Kyrgyzstan,
which has revealed a vacuum of power that perhaps neither Russia nor
America can adequately fill. Is it possible that Turkey could
exercise some influence, here and in the other republics America is
seeking to revolutionize?
It is clear that adventures such as Kyrgyzstan reveal the U.S. to be
just as obsessed with limiting the influence of Russia and China as
it is with controlling energy sources and pipeline routes. However,
it has shown relatively little awareness of other unifying regional
factors, most importantly the shared Turkic background of the Central
Asian states, which, if augmented by Azerbaijan and Turkey, could
make up one of the largest and richest ethnic blocs in the world. Is
it just possible that continuing neocon intransigence could drive
Turkey to assert itself more forcefully, both as a leader of allies
and in its budding friendship with ancient antagonist Russia?
This is a very large and complex subject, one well beyond the scope
of the present article. But it is worth speculating for a moment over
what the “map” could look like if, after a few years, oafish neocon
belligerence backfires and Russia and China are joined by the Turkic
bloc in an alliance fundamentally hostile to American interests. To
some, it might sound as ridiculous as the plot of Metal Storm. But
then again, none of the U.S. government’s adventures in this part of
the world have materialized quite as the “experts” expected. No
doubt, the world has more surprises in store for them yet.
Inevitably… the Sequels
So what happens next? The road ahead is clear for the authors of
Metal Storm, at least. In true American style, they are franchising
their product. While 37-year-old co-author Orkun Uçar forges ahead on
Metal Storm 2, 30-year-old Turna is working on Metal Storm 3, as well
as another novel on a similar theme, World War 3. In the latter work,
he tells me, the scenario of a future pan-Turkic alliance figures
strongly in the plot. It sounds like it will be another rousing
bestseller.
What is most remarkable is the degree to which the authors’ viewpoint
coincides with that of the public at large. Turna echoes the
mentality of Turks I and others have spoken to recently when he
declares that
“Turkey can be and should be a superpower in the world. We have all
the resources and historical background for that. The EU would
benefit from us but there is little benefit we can take from them.
Turkey is a must for Europe’s future, if they want to stay as one,
but they are not a must for us.”
As every reader of futuristic, high-velocity fiction knows, only time
will tell.

;file=article&sid=552