Wednesday 31 December 2008

Ten thousand people demonstrated in BRUSSELS against the massacre of Palestinians in Gaza

Photos: BELTÜRK




In Brussels ten thousand people demonstrated for Gaza

Bruxelles: 10.000 personnes ont manifesté pour Gaza

See article and photos in Bel Türk:

Bruxelles le 31.12.08 - 10.000 personnes se sont rassemblées de 14h à 16h30 à Bruxelles pour réclamer "la fin des bombardements sur Gaza, la fin de l'embargo contre les Palestiniens et l'arrêt des violences contre les civils".

Hormis quelques drapeaux israéliens brûlés sur la place de Martyrs, il n'y a pas eu d'incident selon les organisateurs. La police a confirmé vers 17h qu'aucun manifestant n'avait été interpellé. La dislocation a eu lieu à partir de 16h30. Tous les manifestants avaient quitté à 17h00 la place des Martyrs mais un groupe de quelques centaines de personnes continue à manifester dans les rues avoisinantes dont celle de la rue Neuve.


La manifestation était soutenue par une cinquantaine d'associations, dont l'Association belgo-palestinienne (ABP), 11.11.11, Broederlijk Delen, l'asbl "Vrede", les Magasins du Monde Oxfam, Groen et la Ligue communiste des travailleurs (LCT). De nombreux manifestants arboraient des drapeaux aux couleurs de la Palestine et portaient le keffieh palestinien. Certains portaient des banderoles sur lesquelles on pouvait notamment lire "Stop au génocide du peuple palestinien", "Non à la guerre, non à l'occupation" ou encore "USA+Israël= nazisme". "La seule solution, c'est l'arrêt de l'occupation", scandaient notamment les manifestants tout au long du parcours.


A la tête du cortège se trouvait la déléguée générale de la Palestine auprès de l'Union européenne à Bruxelles, Leïla Shahid. "Les ministres européens des affaires étrangères se sont réunis hier à Paris pour réclamer un cessez-le-feu humanitaire de 48 heures. C'est une honte pour le droit international et les victimes du massacre. C'est indigne de réclamer un cessez-le-feu temporaire après cinq jours de bombardements, un massacre qui a causé plus de 400 morts et 2000 blessés, ainsi que la destruction de la bande de Gaza qui est assiégée depuis deux ans.



Les habitants sont privés depuis deux ans d'électricité et de médicaments", a-t-elle déclaré.
Leïla Shahid estime que l'Union européenne, comme les Etats-Unis, la Russie ou encore les Nations Unies sont responsables de la situation actuellement à Gaza car aucune solution politique n'est proposée. "L'Union européenne se contente de son rôle de donateur mais elle doit assumer son rôle politique car l'histoire la jugera. Elle doit prendre des initiatives et mettre fin à l'occupation par la voie diplomatique, avec la Ligue arabe et l'équipe du nouveau président américain", a-t-elle ajouté.


L'association belgo-palestinienne (ABP), organisatrice de la manifestation, exige quant à elle que l'Europe prenne des mesures immédiates contre Israël en stoppant notamment sans délai toute collaboration. "Les arguments ne manquent pas et l'Europe retrouverait sa légitimité démocratique", estime l'association.


"Nous nous sommes mobilisés dès samedi pour lancer un appel à se rassembler à Bruxelles. Les gens ici ne sont visiblement pas indifférents aux massacres qui se déroulent à Gaza ces derniers jours mais aussi à l'embargo qui touche la population et qui agit comme un tueur silencieux. Les gouvernements européens, eux, restent silencieux. Ce n'est pas lié aux vacances mais bien à la volonté de ne pas condamner Israël", a conclu Ludo Brabander, porte-parole de l'ASBL "Vrede" et co-organisateur de la manifestation.

***

In the Flemish city of Antwerp the ARAB-EUROPEAN LEAGUE organized a demonstration

Manifestation à Anvers organisée par la Ligue Arabe Européenne AEL


In Antwerpen werd betoogd tegen het geweld in Gaza. De betoging was georganiseerd door de Arabisch-Europese Liga (AEL)

http://www.indymedia.be/fr/node/31127

Tuesday 30 December 2008

CNN: Did secret US unit execute suspected insurgent in cold blood?

David Edwards and Muriel Kane

December 29, 2008
The US Army is investigating allegations that it executed a suspected al Qaeda member in cold blood during a special forces raid outside Baghdad two weeks ago.

The military initially issued a statement saying the killing was provoked when the victim "initially complied with Coalition Forces instructions but then returned inside the house. When he returned outside, he attempted to engage the forces with an AK-47."

However, the dead man's brothers told CNN correspondent Michael Ware that Haddan was unarmed when he was shot. "Both the American and Iraqi accounts agree," Ware explained. "All of the brothers including Haddan came out, surrendering to the Americans. Both sides say Haddan then went back into the house -- and this is where the stories diverge."

According to what the Iraqis told Ware, "all the brothers were stripped to their underwear and forced to lay on the ground. ... When Haddan did return inside, they say, it was the Americans who had ordered him to do so."The brothers insist that Haddan was killed inside the house and offer cellphone video taken by relatives, which shows bloodstains and bloody handprints in a bedroom, as evidence for their version of the story.

The brothers' account is very similar to an incident described by the Washington Post in 2006, where Marines said they had killed an Iraqi terrorist in a gun battle, after discovering him attempting to plant a bomb, and had then found an AK-47 and a shovel by his side. "

According to accounts given by Hashim's neighbors and members of his family, and apparently supported by photographs," reported the Post, "the Marines went to Hashim's home, took the 52-year-old disabled Iraqi outside and shot him four times in the face. The assault rifle and shovel next to his body had been planted by the Marines, who had borrowed them from a villager."In this latest incident, the cellphone video also shows that one of Haddan's fingers had been severed.

The military has "declined to explain" this, but Ware speculates it might have been done "for further identification and inclusion of his fingerprint and DNA in a US database." However, the family sees it as an act of intimidation.

A tribal leader helped Haddan's family meet with US officials in the Green Zone to present their case. Now the military itself is propelling the investigation, hoping to find out what really happened.

This video is from CNN.com, broadcast Dec. 28, 2008.

For photo, please click on:

www.uruknet.info?p=50107
Link: rawstory.com/news/2008/CNN_U.S._investigates_execution_of_Iraqi_1229.html

Monday 29 December 2008

Türk devletleri Bakü'de bir araya gelecek...


Azerbaycan´ın Türkiye Büyükelçisi Hulusi Kılıç yaptığı basın toplantısında 2009 senesinde Azerbaycan ile Türkiye´nin kardeşlik ilişkilerini geliştirmek adına çeşitli faaliyetler gerçekleştirileceğini söyledi. Bunlardan ilki Türk Büyükelçiliğinin Bakü´de Atatürk´e ait bir anıt yaptırması olacak. Kılıç yaptığı açıklamada "2009 senesinde Bakü´de Türk Devletleri bir araya gelecek. Bu Türk devletlerinin bir nevi parlamenter toplanışı olacak" dedi. Kılıç ayrıca Mart ayında Türkiye ile Azerbaycan´ın kardeşliğini simgeleyen bir parkın açılacağını söyledi. Diğer bir adım olarak ise Ganja şehrinde Türk başkonsolosluğu açılması öngörülüyor.

http://www.belturk.be/go.php?go=3011b4b&do=details&return=last_news&pg=1

On the death of Harold Pinter: A Giant has died

By Musafir and Dirk Adriaensens
http://brusselstribunal.org/

Sarah Meyer* sent us this essay on Harold Pinter from the Brussells Tribunal of which she is a member:

We are sad to learn that Harold Pinter, honorary member of the BRussells Tribunal, died today, Christmas day 2008, at the age of 78.

The last thing he wrote was a contribution for the 95 Statements commemorating five years of war in Iraq (10 March 2008) - Brussells Tribunal

“The invasion of Iraq was a criminal act.The occupation of Iraq remains a criminal act.
The British government under Blair and the United States administration are war criminals.
It’s as simple as that.”

The BRussells Tribunal is very sad to lose one of its most outspoken and courageous members. Harold Pinter could have joined the “silent choir” of politicians, journalists, artists, writers who did nothing to prevent the US invasions in Afghanistan, Iraq….. But he did speak, and his Nobel Lecture when he received the Nobel Prize in 2005 , shows a great writer with a conscience, a human being with an aspiration to justice seldom seen.

"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading – as a last resort – all other justifications having failed to justify themselves – as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people. We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'.

Harold Pinter, honorary member of theBRussells Tribunal - Nobel Lecture
07 Dec 2005

It couldn’t be clearer. The Iraqi people, the peace movement worldwide and every honest man who wants to see justice prevail, will remember Harold Pinter not only as one of the greatest authors of his generation, but also as a beacon of wisdom and sanity. Harold Pinter did what every intellectual ought to do: stand against the imperial aspirations of the USA and part of Europe. We will always remember him, and so will the Iraqi people.

For the BRussells Tribunal committee
Dirk Adriaensens

Submitted by Sarah Meyer, correspondent to Axis of Logic. She is also the UK researcher who edits and publishes Index Research

"Musafir" writes: A giant passed away.
I read the news of the death of Harold Pinter with a sense of loss.
From his Nobel prize (for literature) acceptance speech in 2005:

"The invasion of Iraq was a bandit act, an act of blatant state terrorism, demonstrating absolute contempt for the concept of international law. The invasion was an arbitrary military action inspired by a series of lies upon lies and gross manipulation of the media and therefore of the public; an act intended to consolidate American military and economic control of the Middle East masquerading - as a last resort - all other justifications having failed to justify themselves - as liberation. A formidable assertion of military force responsible for the death and mutilation of thousands and thousands of innocent people."We have brought torture, cluster bombs, depleted uranium, innumerable acts of random murder, misery, degradation and death to the Iraqi people and call it 'bringing freedom and democracy to the Middle East'."and ...

Death

Where was the dead body found?
Who found the dead body?
Was the dead body dead when found?
How was the dead body found?

Who was the dead body?

Who was the father or daughter or brother
Or uncle or sister or mother or son
Of the dead and abandoned body?

Was the body dead when abandoned?
Was the body abandoned?
By whom had it been abandoned?

Was the dead body naked or dressed for a journey?

What made you declare the dead body dead?
Did you declare the dead body dead?

How well did you know the dead body?
How did you know the dead body was dead?

Did you wash the dead body
Did you close both its eyes
Did you bury the body
Did you leave it abandoned
Did you kiss the dead body

Musafir's message was also sent to us by Sarah Meyer, UK researcher, http://indexresearch.blogspot.com

Sunday 28 December 2008

APPEAL FROM THE TURKMENS OF IRAQ

Appeal from the Turkmens of Iraq to the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri Al -Maliki, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Journalists Union, and all Iraqi and international organizations.

TURKMEN TERRORIZED BY THE US FORCES

Mr.Falah Hassan Younis is a Turkmen citizen and a member of the Iraqi Turkmen Advisory Council in Kerkuk who works as a Director of the sub district of Alaiyaziya which is a link to the Turkmen district of Telafer. Currently he is in charge of the district in the absence of its councillor.

On the 25th of December 2008 Mr. Falah Hassan Younis was summoned by the American forces for a meeting and Mr. Falah Hassan was obliged to attend at the request of the American forces. He attended the meeting with the US forces while he was accompanied by his bodyguards.
During the meeting with the American counterpart his body guards were disarmed by the American forces as this was backed up by the Iraqi Turkmen Front representative in the Turkmen District of Telafer Mr. Nabil Harbu.

Mr.Falah Hassan Younis and his body guards were physically abused and beaten badly by the US forces.

Mr.Falah Hassan Younis and one of his body guards were detained by the US forces whereas the remaining body guards were released. Then both the body guards were handed over to the Iraqi forces in the city of Mosul. As the election approaches in Iraq, they would like to silence the voice of the Turkmen; various steps have been taken by Kurdish parties and American forces to do this.

However, the Turkmen, Arabs, and Chaldo Assyrians had high expectations of the interim administration established after April 9, 2003. The Turkmen expected to see democracy, fairness, an end to discrimination, the right to self-determination and an end to violence. Unfortunately, the opposite has occurred regarding the human rights situation in Iraq, in particular concerning the Iraqi Turkmen. The Turkmen have been subject to campaigns by the Kurds and the American in Turkmeneli in an often more brutal fashion than carried out on Kurds by Saddam Hussein.

The arbitrary arrests of the Turkmen citizen Mr. Falah Hassan Younis by US force is a clear violation of human rights. They are still detained and being imprisoned by the Iraqi forces and no one knows where they are imprisoned. The most striking thing is that, the detainees have not been given any reason for their arrest and have not been given access for a lawyer.

Turkmen of Iraq call upon the Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri AlMaliki, Turkish President Abdullah Gul, Journalists Union, all Iraqi and international organizations defending the human rights and freedom to move immediately to the authorities of the Iraqi government at the highest levels for the protection of the Turkmen, Arabs and Assyrian from the Kurdish and American oppression that are carried out under the pretext of fighting of the terrors.


Mofak Salman
Turkmeneli Party Representative for Both Ireland and United Kingdom

Friday 26 December 2008

TURKEY AND IRAQ agree to strenghten ties, intensify economic relations

Turkey and Iraq intensify their bilateral ties as the two countries agreed to cooperate on several economic issues during Iraqi prime minister's Ankara visit this week.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/finance/10649737.asp?gid=244

The economy issue, in addition to the fight against the terror organization PKK, was high on the agenda during the Turkey visit of Iraqi Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who was accompanied by his ministers of trade, electricity, transportation and public works.

Iraqi and Turkish officials agreed to establish a free trade zone at the Turkish-Iraqi border during their meetings in Ankara.

Turkey and Iraq also agreed to open a second border gate in order to meet the growing demand of transportation between the two countries.

Currently all road transportation between the two countries is made through Habur border gate, which is the only border gate along the Turkey-Iraqi border.

Turkish private companies will meet the electricity demand of Iraq, sources also told hurriyet.com.tr. According to the deal, a refinery and power station will be established in the planned free zone in order to meet the electricity and oil products needs of Iraq.

Turkish companies will also construct transportation infrastructure in Iraq. Iraqi and Turkish companies will also be encouraged to establish partnerships in the fields of finance and banking.

The sides agreed to enhance the capacity of Kirkuk-Yunurtalik oil pipeline between Turkey and Iraq, and to carry Iraqi natural gas to international markets via Turkey.

Officials from the Iraqi delegation also said their country planned to purchase 50 locomotive engine and carriage sets from Turkey, and to increase cooperation in railway projects.

Thursday 25 December 2008

الجنرال مود في كركوك




الجنرال مود في كركوك
نرمين المفتي


نشر الموقع الاعلامي لحزب الديمقراطي الكردي و نقلا عن عمر فتاح، نائب رئيس الحكومة المحلية في شمال العراق، قوله ""نحن عندما حررنا كركوك في وقتها أتينا محررين لا للاستيلاء عليها"! تماما كما صرح الجنرال مود عندما احتلت قواته بغداد في 1917، لكن فات فتاح بأن 2003 ليست 1917 و ان عشرات الفضائيات العربية و الغربية و منها الأمريكية نقلت على الهواء مباشرة كيف تم نهب دوائر الدولة و الممتلكات و حرقها فيما بعد، و كانت الفضائيات و هي تنقل على الهواء مباشرة ما يجري في كركوك تؤكد في الوقت نفسه على الذين يقومون بتلك العمليات، بل ان قناة تلفزيونية كردية بثت تمثيلية عن عمليات السلب و النهب بعد اربعة ايام من احتلال كركوك و بعد ان وصلت الأخبار الى كل مكان، و بدأت التمثيلية بمشهد ام كردية تتحدث مع ابنها و هي قلقة على زوجها الذي ذهب الى كركوك منذ الصباح و لم يعد، و فجأة يصيح ابنها، انظري امي والدي على شاشة التلفزيون. وفي المشهد الثاني يظهر الوالد و هو يحاول حمل ثلاجة على ظهره. بل ان احدى الفضائيات العربية التقت بشخص كردي كان يحمل اكثر من مسحاة على كتفه و قال لم اجد في الدائرة ما تبقى غير هذه فأخذتها! و كان مسؤول كردي قد اكد لفضائية العربية في نيسان 2003 لجيزيل خوري عبر برنامجها ( بالعربي) قائلا " نعم حرقنا الدوائر التي ضمت وثائق التعريب". و الحقيقة، فأن حملة التعريب بالرغم من شراستها، الا انها كانت موثقة تماما في دوائر تسجيل النفوس و كانت اعداد المستقدمين العرب معروفة و من السهولة بمكان تأكيدها و اعلانها. لكن حملة التكريد الأكثر شراسة و سرعة و التي بدأت تماما يوم العاشر من نيسان، يوم احتلال كركوك، غير موثقة، لأن الجميع يدعي بأنهم مرحلون من كركوك، و الوثائق التي يحملونها مزورة، عدا الوثائق التي تعود الى 11200 فرد مرحل من كركوك، ثلثهم من التركمان، استنادا الى الأمم المتحدة و قاعدة المعلومات الخاصة بالبطاقة التموينية. هنا اتكلم عن كركوك فقط و لا اشير الى حملات التكريد في الموصل و ديالى و طوز خورماتو و التون كوبري و بدرة و جصان و غيرها. و نقل الموقع عن فتاح قوله، " نحن حين حررنا كركوك حينها اتينا محررين لا للاستيلاء عليها"! و اذ لم ويضح فتاح ماذا يعني ب " نحن"، لكن على مود 2003 ان يقرأ الحوار الذي اجرته صحيفة الخليج الاماراتية مع الرئيس جلال الطالباني و المنشور في 24- كانون الأول- 2008، و الذي اكد فيه " امريكا احتلت العراق لأجل اسرائيل و النفط"، و هذا آخر و احدث تأكيد على ان القوات الأمريكية انما هي قوات احتلال و ليست تحرير. و جميع الشواهد في كركوك و التي تلت الغزو و بدء الاحتلال و الفراغ الحكومي و الفوضى الخلاقة تؤكد كيف يكون الاستيلاء. فقد اغمضت قوات الاحتلال عينها عن التجاوزات الكردية (عرفانا بجميل) تعاون الزعامات الكردية مع قوات الغزو، اثناء الغزو و حين الاستعداد له. و يؤكد المخرب باسم بوش في العراق بول بريمر في كتابه (سنتي في العراق) على ان " الأكراد هم اكثر المنتفعين من الوضع الجديد في العراق"، و نقل عن مسعود البرزاني قوله بأن " الدستور منحنا اكثر مما كنا نحلم به". و نقل الموقع ايضا عن فتاح قوله، " حان الان تقديم دعمنا و مساعدتنا للمناطق التركمانية و العربية"، و نقل عن محافظ كركوك الكردي ثناءه " للدور المتميز لحكومة الاقليم في النهوض بالواقع الخدمي في كركوك" مؤكدا بأنه لولا هذا الدعم لكان الوضع في كركوك يرثى له! لكنه لم يوضح ما هو الدعم، و فتاح يؤكد بأنه آن اوان تقديم العون للمناطق التركمانية و العربية! و اكدت مصادر موثوقة ان الادارة المحلية في كركوك استلمت لحد الآن (1120) مليار، أي 1 تريليون و 120 مليار، دينار من الحكومة المركزية ضمن الميزانية المخصصة للأقاليم.. و السؤال اين تم صرف هذا المبلغ الخيالي و الوضع الخدمي في كركوك في الواقع يرثى له، ان كانت هناك خدمات، فهي موجودة في الدرجة الأساس في المناطق الكردية و بضمنها الأحياء التي استحدثت على اراض و ممتلكات تم الاستيلاء عليها و منها ممتلكات وزارة الدفاع و محرمات وزارة النفط و غيرها، بل ان مدرسة ابتدائية حديثة، او كانت حديثة البناء في نيسان 2003، على طريق السليمانية في منطقة الشورجة، قام احدهم بتقطيعها الى منازل ، كل منزل صف او صفين مع اضافة حمام و مطبخ تم بناؤهما في الساحة، و تم بيعها (للمرحلين)! و هنا لابد من الاشارة الى تأكيد رائد فهمي، رئيس ما تسمى بلجنة 140، امام مجلس النواب بأن نسبة 25% فقط من الساكنين في الملعب الاوليمبي في كركوك هم من المرحلين. و هذه النسبة من السهولة بمكان تطبيقها على الساكنين في الفيلق، و في المخيم الكشفي و ساحة الاحتفالات و بيوت الضباط و مبنى الأمن و بناية التجنيد و في البيوت التي شيدت في مقبرة المصلى و على طريق كركوك- السليمانية و كركوك- اربيل و كركوك- بغداد! فضلا على البيوت التي شيدت تجاوزا على قطع الأراضي التي كانت مخصصة للخدمات في الاسكان و الشورجة و رحيم آوة! اما وراء هذا التصريح (الخدمي) فيكمن التصريحات الكردية السابقة بأن ( موافقة التركمان على ضم كركوك للاقليم تعني منحهم الحقوق و الخدمات)، و هو الأمر الذي كان التركمان و ما يزالون يرفضونه. مهما يكن من امر، على الزعامات الكردية ان لا تعتبر اضافة اللغة التركمانية الى قطع الدلالة في كركوك هبة او منة، لأن هذه الاضافة حق دستوري، كانت المحكمة الدستورية قد اكدتها في نيسان الماضي، و بالرغم من هذا التأكيد الا ان العمل كان متوقفا بيد من يتشدق دائما بالالتزام بالدستور. و التركمان بانتظار ان يشاهدوا الكتابة بلغتهم على جميع قطع الدلالة للدوائر في كركوك، و اذ انيط الأمر لمدراء الدوائر، فأن هناك من سيؤخرها، ربما! لقراءة تصريح عمر فتاح، الرابط

Iraqi Turkmen Artist LAHIB JADDO

"Wish"
Painting by Iraqi Turkmen artist Lahib Jaddo

http://www.alturkmani.com/makalaat/09042006/1.htm

Copied from Lahib Jaddo's website:
Fuzuli University Project in Community Design
I belong to an ethnic minority in Iraq called "Turkumani". Since 1923, this ethnic group has lacked the right to teach its own language in Iraq.

I visited Northern Iraq in 2003 in order to establish academic relations between the College of Architecture at Texas Tech University and north Iraqi universities. During this visit, I was asked to help create a design of the first Turkumani University for the city of Kirkuk. This university would be the first Iraqi university to offer courses in the native Turkish language of the Turkumani people, and the design was to be used for fund-raising purposes, and hopefully later for construction.

--Powerpoint Presentation (Large file 18 MB)

Wednesday 24 December 2008

Drug smuggling as the main financial source of PKK terrorism

w w w . t u r k i s h w e e k l y . n e t

Drug Smuggling As the Main Financial Source of PKK Terrorism

By Sedat Laciner

* Drug Smuggling, Organized Crime and Terrorism

Some claim that Turkey is one of the transit countries of drug trafficking and therefore she is not a consumer country; so the fight against narcotics should not be one of the main concerns of Turkey. Even, within some conversations, it is possible to encounter certain arguments claiming that narcotic money has an additional value for Turkey. Data on drug usage verifies the fact that Turkey is not a crucial drug consumption market; it is mostly a transit country. Due to drug smuggling, billions of dollars have entered the country. However, this is not the entire picture. To categorize Turkey solely as a “transit country” is not sufficient.

It must be noted that in the mean time, Turkey has emerged to become one of the crucial narcotic centers of the world. As each drug bag passes through Istanbul or other Turkish cities to reach Western Europe it turns back as terror, organized crime, street violence and loss of government authority in Turkey.Besides, this process has been continuing on for decades; the drug-violence-degeneration triangle has insidiously raised the prejudice against Turkey internally.

It is important that drug trucks that pass from Turkey should be stopped so as to re-construct order in Turkey and more importantly to re-gain government authority. In this study we will focus on the connection between PKK terrorism and drug smuggling. Although certain renowned sources of Turkish, European and American descent and other media reports reveal that PKK members control the European drug cartel and that they even used children to sell drugs, the connection is not a well-studied one.

The Economic Basis of Terrorism

Terrorist organizations are based on two main columns:

The first one is an ideological/political base. Terrorist organizations are renowned for exploiting the mistakes of states and areas where state authority is deficient; it can be observed that as these organizations increase their exploitation facilities, they tend to grow faster.

The second important column that terrorist organizations are based on is the economic infrastructure. Money is recruited for weapons, explosive materials, daily needs of terrorists etc. Contrary to the common perception, countries do not pay in cash to terrorist organizations. When other countries want to assist the PKK, they prefer to use other “natural ways”.

There are four fundamental principles which help to maintain the economic infrastructure of terrorism:

1. tribute \ blackmailing \ donation

2. robbery

3. narcotic money

4. other illegal revenue

If we move from the presumption that the world drug market is approximately worth 400-500 billion dollars, we can see that this amount is enough not only to sustain terrorist organizations but also individual countries. The money which circulates in the drug market is almost equivalent to US annual defense expenditure.

It is argued that PKK has at certain points in time controlled 80 % of the European market which constitutes one of the main segments of the huge world market. This helps to clarify how the PKK has been able to sustain itself for more than two decades. Michael Radu asserts that "Considering the range of PKK drug trafficking in Europe (Germany, France, Denmark, Romania, Switzerland, Belgium and Netherlands), the group is wealthy indeed". Radu further argues that the PKK's annual income from drug trafficking, robberies, extortion, emigrant and arms smuggling reached ten millions of dollars in the 1990s CNN International further confirms Mr. Radu’s claim by drawing attention to the organized crime and drug smuggling affairs of the PKK with the following statement: "By many accounts from inside and outside Turkey, Ocalan is a dogmatic and tyrannical leader whose organization is involved in drug trafficking, robbery, extortion, arson, blackmail and money laundering."

It has been noted that in 2008 alone, the drug income of the PKK had reached more than 500 million euros. According to Soner Cagaptay, the figure is actually much higher than 500 million euros. Cagaptay claims that approximately 2.5 billion narcotic dollars go to the PKK. Through these facts, it becomes obvious that the PKK has been financing its activities through illegal means and drug trafficking has had a great share in this budget.

PKK Discovers Narcotic Money

When the PKK emerged as a terrorist organization, it did not take it very long to discover the benefits of drug smuggling. From the beginning of the 1980s, it has become active in both production and transportation sectors of illegal drug business. In the year 1982, the PKK began to produce hemp and opium poppy in Lebanese camps (Baelbek and Hermen) that were under Syrian control. Ports of Beirut, Sayda, Sur, Miryan, Abdeh and Tripoli were the main transit points of this transaction. Drugs were sent to the ports of Greek Cyprus, Greece and Italy; and through this venue the terrorist organization has been able to sustain a significant amount of revenue for many years.

It is unfortunate that Syria, Greek Cyprus and Greece ignored (or supported) the PKK drug business in order to support the terrorist organization against Turkey.

In the beginning of the 1980s, PKK became active in the line extending from Afghanistan-Pakistan-Iran line and then which crosses Turkey and reaches to Europe. These three countries are commonly known as the “golden crescent” for drug smuggling. In addition to the ‘Golden Crescent’, Laos – Thailand - Birmania countries are ‘Golden Triangle’and these three are also known as the centers of drug production and smuggling in the continent Asia.

In other words, it should be noted that the main producer countries are located in the east of Turkey. Thus, Turkey is one of the main routes for the European drug market. It can be observed that it certainly did not take too long for the PKK militants to realize the importance of their ‘lucky position’ in terms of controlling drug trafficking between the East and the West.

Terrorists became aware of the huge wealth involved in this business and began their interactions by allowing transition and sustaining “security services” for ordinary smugglers. In this context , PKK terrorist organization is not an exception and it "taxed" those who smuggled drugs, arms, and other valuable goods in the 1980s and 1990s.During the 1980s, it was certainly not difficult for the PKK to conduct international drug transportation in the region as it was organized almost in every district and village of eastern Turkey.

When its infrastructure and organizational schema became sophisticated in Istanbul, drug dispatching and distribution has become easier for the PKK in European market. Especially, on the Afghanistan-Iran-Turkey-Eastern Europe-Southern Europe-West Europe route, tons of morphine, heroin, liquid hashish and other drug materials were transferred under PKK control.

Moreover, increasing instability in Iraq, the Iran-Iraq-Turkey-Western Europe route has became more popular for drug smuggling. As Michael Rubin pointed out that different from the KDP and the KPU, the PKK still facilitates drug smuggling from Iran through Iraq and Turkey and into Europe.The PKK has not only played a significant role in drug transportation in the East-West route, but also in the West-East route for the transportation of chemical goods used for processing of raw drug materials in the East. At the end of the 1980s, the organization came to realize that the real money was in the drug processing business. When raw drug materials are processed, their prices increase geometrically. At that point the PKK began to construct processing drug laboratories initially in East and Southeast Anatolia and later in different regions of Turkey and in some Eastern European countries.

PKK Drug Smuggling and the Kurdish Diaspora

In the words of David Romano "once the PKK matured into a larger, more established movement, it could finance itself via contributions from Kurds in the region and abroad as well as with support from foreign state powers and involvement in the narcotics trade and smuggling". When the PKK reached one of its main political aims by constructing a Kurdish Diaspora composed of PKK sympathizers in Western European countries. It became one of the real bosses in the drug business between the Golden Crescent and Western Europe without any serious rivals.

In a considerable number of European cities, the PKK had thousands of members and huge sympathizer networks which helped it in the drug business. The terrorist organization helped many Kurdish people to immigrate illegally to Western Europe, and all these people were forced to donate significant parts of their incomes to the organization. Apart from these so-called donations, Kurdish immigrants were also forced to help the PKK’s drug business operating in Western European cities. As it had no comparable rival in the East and in the West, the PKK within a short period of time, managed to strengthen its power in the European drug market in terms of production, transportation, distribution and marketing.

Kurdish children including 10-15 years old ones became drug sellers in front of pubs, pavilions, and even around certain schools in many European capitals.

Four Kurds were arrested in Milan (Italy) on a TIR truck carrying 100 kg of hidden heroin in 1989. The driver, Nazim Kelo told Italian investigators that the heroin had come from the PKK, for whom he had worked for years. In 1991, a PKK confessor said that between 1988 and 1990, he carried more than 300 kg heroin to Europe only on his own. According to Interpol, in 1992, the PKK was orchestrating approximately 80 % of the European drug market.

PKK is an active organization not only drug smuggling, but also in processing, transportation, securing transportation, distribution, and marketing. With reference to 1992 Interpol data, the number of Kurdish organizations related with the drug business was 178 and most of them were under the control of the PKK or they at least gave tribute to the PKK. Ikbal Huseyin Rivzi, Interpol’s chief narcotics officer, explained that the PKK was heavily involved in drug trafficking as a means to support its terrorist activities in Turkey. During the same year, the reports of Italian police clearly showed that the PKK set up special teams for international drug business.

The US Department of State Bureau of International Narcotics Matters has published "International Narcotics Control Strategy Report” in 1992, in which it stipulates that the European drug cartel is controlled by PKK members. Haluk Bahcekapali, a senior Turkish narcotics agent, argued that "the PKK members were the brains behind the trafficking between Turkey and Western European countries".

Some of the money acquired from drug trafficking and extortion, goes to the purchase of firearms and other equipment.

According to a report published by the British National Service of Criminal intelligence, in 1993 the PKK acquired about $75 million from drug smuggling in Europe. Later on, in 1994 PKK members were arrested by Turkish authorities while attempting to smuggle 1.5 tons of hashish to Turkey from one of Turkey's neighboring countries. German high rank officials also stated that 75% of the heroin caught in this country that year belonged to the Kurdish origin Turkish citizens.

Moreover, in Germany, 70 % of the total drug sale was made by the PKK. Other sources similarly indicate that in 1994 the PKK controlled 60% to 70% of the illegal European drug market. In 1994 in Germany, 30 of the imprisoned PKK members were affiliated with drug crimes In the same year, the amount of the captured PKK drug was nearly 1.6 tons.

An article in a German newspaper (Kölnische Rundschau), dated February 2, 1995 also reported that a drug trafficking cartel which operates in South America called "Medellin" had close links with PKK drug dealers who work in Europe. In this connection, 25 PKK sympathizers were apprehended in Cologne, with 143 kg of heroin.A 1995 report prepared by the Drug Enforcement Agency of the US Department of Justice also emphasized that the PKK is engaged in drug trafficking and money laundering activities and is well-established in the production of almost all kinds of opium products and their smuggling.

Turkish Interior Minister Nahit Mentese reported in 1993 that security forces had scored major successes against Kurdish rebel drug-smuggling operations. Over the year, he said, the police had seized 1,054 kilograms of heroin, 2,884 kg of morphine base, and 23,679 kg of hashish from PKK traffickers. The Turkish Minister added "This terrorist organization gets financial revenues from smuggling drugs abroad, as it does in Turkey."

Columnist Enis Berberoğlu, who has written several books on the subject similarly, underlines the connection between the PKK and drug smuggling during the early 1990s: "Turkey was deeply involved in drug smuggling in the mid 1990s. There was a very strong mafia at that time and the PKK (the Kurdish rebel group, the Kurdistan Workers Party) used to take protection money in return for letting them operate in the east".

The Sputnik Operation

During the 1990s drug business has become the most important revenue of the PKK terrorist organization. The 1996 UN Narcotic Audit Committee’s Report indicated the reason why the PKK still stands, as narcotic money. Belgium newspapers in 1996 reported that the police there believe that the PKK was engaged in drug and arms smuggling, extortion and other crimes in Europe.

During the 1990s the PKK established the so-called NGOs and companies in Western European countries, notably in the UK, Germany, France and Belgium, to launder and transfer the smuggling and extortion money.

The 1997 Sputnik Operation (Belgium) showed how the PKK launders narcotic and other illegal money. The British and Belgium police acted simultaneously together on 18 September 1996, and started a large scale operation called 'Sputnik'. The operation targeted the PKK linked organizations and members of the terrorist organization under civilian names in the United Kingdom and Belgium (Like London-based Med-TV, so-called Kurdistan Parliament in exile).

In Germany and Luxembourg the police also made similar operations against the PKK in their countries. The main juridical foundation of all these operations was money laundering. The narcotic and other illegal money was being laundered by the PKK's TV channel and so-called civilian organizations. The operation revealed that the PKK's TV channel, namely the Med-TV had a 350 millions of Belgium Francs bank account in Luxembourg.

The police reported that the money came from drugs, arms and human trafficking. In February 1996, a Canadian citizen who had acted on Med-TV was jailed in Luxembourg. According to the Luxembourg police, he tried to launder a big amount of money for the PKK organizations for the commission.

The terrorist organization in these years laundered money under the name of donations or aids to so-called cultural, children, and women etc. associations in London, Paris, Brussels and other European cities. This money has been collected in certain accounts; later, laundered money has been spent for MED TV (now Roj TV), weapons, explosives, militia training and for other PKK businesses.

Another laundering method was buying-selling jewelry and using some other legal investments.In 1997, the relationship between the terror organization and drug smuggling began to disturb the Western European countries even more, and explained above with Sputnik and some other operations; the terror organization was forced to take more drastic measures to hide its illegal activities. When risks increased in the drug business, the PKK started a propaganda campaign claiming that it was not in any illegal drug business.

The organization claimed later on that these accusations were part of the Turkish Republic’s ‘propaganda game’ against the PKK. According to the PKK propaganda, those people who were caught by the police did not have any relations with the PKK. In this regard, the PKK, thanks to its social and so-called cultural organizations, in 1998 started a great “No to Drug” campaign in many European countries., as expected, with these kind of campaigns, it was not possible for the PKK to clear itself in the eyes of European police and other security forces.

However, it should not be forgotten that the English - French police and judiciary are working within a political system, and public opinion naturally influences their operations against criminals. This may be the point that Turkey cannot intercept fully, but on the other hand the PKK utilizes perfectly.

While Turkey generally perceives all of Europe (even the West in general) as a single body, the terror organization successfully abuses the Western democracies’ weaknesses and the Western pluralist political and legal structures.

PKK-Linked Drug Smuggling in France, Italy and the UK

Similar to the operations in UK, Belgium, Luxembourg and Germany several people mostly of Turkish nationality, were arrested on October 29, 1996 in Parisian suburbs. That was the end of 40 millions of francs-fraud, linked with Belgium, concerning about 150 relevant victims, completed by weapons and narcotics trafficking. The French police in this operation seized 6 kg of heroin, which worth 20 millions of francs. According to the French investigators who worked on that case for 18 months, the benefits of all these operations were assigned to the PKK.

Early 1997, the presumed fund-raiser of the PKK in the south of France was arrested by the French police for sending money to Turkey, allegedly proceeding from drug trafficking. François Haut, director of the Department for the Study of the Contemporary Criminal Menace in Paris, argues that the PKK is still responsible for up to 80 percent of narcotics trafficked into Parisian suburbs.A report published in 1998 by the Italian Finance Police, SCICO, determined that the PKK is 'directly involved' in 'international drug-trafficking,' while also earning illicit proceeds from the 'immigrant trade' and the 'systematic levying of 'protection' payments from Turkish businessmen and workers abroad.'

In 1998 the British security service sources estimated that the PKK was responsible for at least 40 percent of the heroin sold in the European Union.

BBC: PKK Controls 80 % of the European Drug Market

After the capture of Abdullah Öcalan, head of the PKK, and with the dramatic decrease of clashes in the Anatolian mountains, the organization began to give more importance to drug business. Between 2004 and 2005, the amount of drug caught only in the Netherlands was more than 400 kg. According to 2005 European data, the PKK is the primary actor of the illegal European drug trade. BBC stated that, 80 % of the European drug market was Turkish origin (it means Kurdish origin), and that the PKK manages it.

The BBC also reports that there are more than 1000 PKK members in British prisons. According to Turkish authorities, between 1984 and 2000, the number of PKK members caught with drugs is around 700. These numbers clearly state that the PKK has worked with hundreds of people in each country on the transition route.

Rand Beers, Assistant Secretary for International Narcotics and Law Enforcement Affairs, and Francis X. Taylor, Ambassador-At-Large For Counter-terrorism, in their joint testimony before the U.S. Senate Committee on the Judiciary Subcommittee on Technology, Terrorism and Government Information (13 March 2002) named the PKK the most important terrorist organization in Europe which makes drug business and said "The PKK "taxes" ethnic Kurdish drug traffickers and individual cells traffic heroin to support their operations."

German Police: The PKK is Involved in Drug Trafficking

Germany banned the PKK in 1993 after it carried out a campaign of fire-bombings on Turkish and German institutions in Berlin. However, the German intelligence services estimate that the PKK network in Germany has thousands of members. For the PKK, Germany is comparatively more important than any other European country in financing its terrorist activities and Turkey makes pressure on Germany to actively combat terrorism's financial sources.

As a result of these efforts, in recent years, a number of PKK members have been arrested in Germany for securing financing of the terrorist organization. According to German police sources, the PKK is also involved in drug trafficking in Germany. "Police have confirmed that several investigations have revealed a link between the PKK and drug dealers."In 2007 many PKK members who were involved in drug dealing were arrested in European countries, especially in the transit countries for drugs coming from the east.

For instance, on 19 December 2007, three fundraisers for the PKK who were involved in drug dealing were arrested in Bucharest, the capital of Romania. The Romanian public prosecutor declared that the PKK members organized the transportation of 58 kg of heroin, destined for the Netherlands. The suspects - two from Turkey and one from Syria- were all Romanian residents. They belonged to a trafficking ring which extended to Ukraine. As a matter of fact, Romania (with Bulgaria) has always been a vital transit route for PKK drug smuggling from Turkey to Europe. The country has always been important for arms transfers from Western Europe to Turkey. . Marko Hajdinjak claims that Kurdish smugglers along with the Arabs have controlled the heroin trade in the Balkans and they have dominated the Romanian route.

Hajdinjak says "Indications exist that the profits from Kurdish-run heroin trade are used for financing the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK)".

US Labels PKK Drug Smuggling Kingpin

The PKK, as well as a Turkish national and other foreign organizations and individuals, were put on a US list of suspected drug traffickers in June 2008. The US Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, which became law in December 1999, targets major foreign narcotics traffickers, their organizations and operatives worldwide. The terrorist organization will be denied access to the US financial system and all trade transactions involving US companies and individuals under the Foreign Narcotics Kingpin Designation Act, according to a statement released by the White House. Gordon Johndroe, a spokesman for the National Security Council said "Now that the PKK has been designated under the kingpin act, the penalties for doing business with them are much higher... We also now have the authority to target and designate other PKK entities and associates for narcotics activity. Before, we were limited to this group's terror activities."President George W. Bush described the group as a "common enemy" during the November Summit with Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. US experts and administration officials believe that the PKK has taken advantage of Turkey's strategic location between the poppy fields of Central Asia and the vast market of Europe and has used drug smuggling to finance its activities since as early as the 1980s. According to the American narcotics specialists, the terrorist group not only “taxed" the drug traffickers but also was directly engaged in trafficking.Parallel to these arguments Jane Intelligence Review in 2008 argued that the share of drug money with Diaspora funding increased in the PKK financial sources. "PKK financing has shifted from state support to self-financing through Diaspora funding and drug trafficking".

According to the Jane Intelligence Review, the war in Iraq has further facilitated the narcotic source of income for the terrorist organization as substantial amounts of heroin formerly transiting Iran are now re-routed through Iraq. The journal says "While the PKK's involvement in drug trafficking is clear, its exact extent and nature is not".

Similarly Prof. Dr. Norman Stone confirms in his article in the Spectator that the PKK is in the drug smuggling business: "it kills innocents, it deals in drugs".

The PKK Mafia Network and Narcotic Money

When all these data is considered, it will not be so extreme to say that the PKK has created a symbiotic relation with its existence and drug business. Lieutenant General Ergin Saygun, deputy chief of the Turkish General Staff, recently estimated that 50 to 60 percent of the PKK’s annual revenues are derived from drug trafficking.

As The Spectator, British weekly magazine, puts it "the PKK has financed its war against Turkey by extortion and the sale of heroin" (The Spectator", 28 November-5 December 1998)In the mean time, a new kind of mafia emerged in drug, smuggling, and tribute \ robbery areas. This formation, can be called ‘PKK mafia’, and has developed its own mentality beyond the terrorist organization’s classic mentality.

In the course of time, participations to the network from outside have begun and a network stretched to three continents (Europe, Asia and Africa), has been created. Surprisingly, some organizations defining themselves on the contrary to the PKK have also begun participating in this PKK mafia network.

Thus, the drug money undermining public order and state authority in the country, Turkish or Kurdist ideologies curtailed the real intentions. So to secure processing, transportation, distribution and market drug production; this network has reflected itself differently and has even spread inside the state body. The critics made by European countries in the mid-1990s, concerned the fact that drug bosses had acquaintances in the Turkish cabinets. Although these claims seem to be exaggerated, it is remarkable that organizations reflecting themselves to the public under a different ideology and utilizing state power in some cases have been cooperating with the PKK.

It can be argued that the Deep State problem, extreme nationalisms and terrorism in Turkey have been financed by the drug smuggling money for the years.Children As Drug Sellers in the PKK Narcotic Network
Apart from taxing narcotics traffickers, direct production, refining and transportation, the PKK became a significant seller in Euro drug business in 1990s. In order to escape strict European laws, the terrorist organization has used children and teenagers. Children and teenagers moving drugs for the Kurdish terrorists have been caught throughout Europe on numerous occasions in the 1990s and as recently as the year 2000.

For example in Hamburg, the German police arrested a group of 11 year-old Kurdish children who had been smuggled into Germany from Turkey in order to sell drugs for the PKK.

Conclusion

In brief, illegal drug trade is the most crucial financial source of terror and a major precursor of the collapse of the legal state in Turkey. If Turkey succeeds in ending drug smuggling, in order to end terror, it will reach more effective solutions rather than bombing the Kandil Mountain.

Turkey on the one hand, must eliminate the areas that are exploited by terrorists and extremists, and at the same time it must destroy the financial infrastructure of terrorism and other crimes by curbing drug smuggling. Otherwise, the Turks will continue to live with problems like robbery in the streets of Istanbul, terror in the mountains of southeast Anatolia and political assassinations at most sensitive times. We should also note that Turkey desperately needs the immediate help of European countries in its combat against terrorism. The ‘monster’ is too big for Turkey, and the Turks can not overcome the problem without the EU’s help. At the same time, the drug smuggling mainly targets the youth in Western European countries, and the EU cannot stop the illegal drug problem without a real co-operation with Turkey.

www.usak.org.trwww.turkishweekly.netwww.usakgundem.com

Saturday 20 December 2008

Bush memorial

Bush Memorial
by Michael Luckovich

According to the Nuremberg tribunal, initiating a war of aggression “is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime, differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole.”


The shoe has become the symbol of worldwide contempt for George W Bush ~ which is the perfect ending for this self proclaimed decider and despot who tore up the constitution and Bill of Rights in his headlong dash towards humiliation and irrelevance: Allen L Roland

Muntather Al-Zaidi intends to press charges against the people who beat him

Um Saad, Muntather al-Zaidi's sister
Photo Sahar Issa /MCT



McClatchy Washington Bureau
More Iraqis rally to cause of reporter who threw shoes at Bush
Sahar Issa McClatchy Newspapers
last updated: December 19, 2008 08:40:55 PM




BAGHDAD — The Iraqi journalist who hurled his shoes at President George W. Bush intends to press charges against the people who he says beat him as he was taken into custody, said a member of the Iraqi parliament who's urging his release.



Bahaa al Araji, a member of parliament from a party tied to Shiite cleric Muqtada al Sadr, said journalist Muntathar al Zaidi earlier on Friday had presented his case that he was beaten to an Iraqi judge.



Zaidi's outburst at a news conference that Bush held with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki on Sunday has sparked rallies all around the country, and now Sunni leaders are lionizing the Shiite journalist.



Facing charges of attacking a head of state, Zaidi could be sentenced to as many as 15 years in jail. Zaidi's family wants him tried under a different law that would carry a maximum sentence of two years, his brother said.



Araji joined more than 70 protesters outside Baghdad's Green Zone, a secure area that includes the Parliament and Maliki's residence. Araji said Zaidi should appear in court no later than Thursday.



"We know that the judges themselves feel for him and, God willing, he will be with his family soon," Araji said. "Tomorrow we will submit a formal request that Zaidi should be allowed visits by his family."



Iraqis in different cities have protested every day this week for Zaidi, and Friday's rally brought together a handful of politicians, Zaidi's siblings and a mix of protesters from several provinces outside of Baghdad.



"Because of Muntathar, I lift my head high. And to be frank, I haven't been proud to be an Iraqi for five long years of humiliation," said Sheikh Mohammed al Inizi, a leader in the Sons of Iraq movement, which brought Sunni tribes together with American forces to fight terrorist cells.
"We should call him Muntathar al Iraqi — not Muntathar al Zaidi; all of Iraq is his tribe now," Inizi said.



Munthatar's younger brother, Maythem, 28, said the family would take part in the protests until the court allows them access to him. "I affirm that his was a heroic act, and we as a family are proud of him. He was able to unite all of Iraq, all its Sunnis, Shiites, Arabs, Kurds, Turkomen and Christians."



Muntathar al Zaidi is a reporter for the Baghdadiya satellite television channel, which has stood by him and demanded his release. It also appointed a lawyer to defend Zaidi, but Zaidi's siblings said the government hasn't allowed the lawyer to meet him.



Others, such as Maliki's media office, have called Zaidi's actions "barbaric" and an embarrassment for Iraq.



Zaidi has asked Maliki for a pardon and apologized, Maliki's office said.
Yassin Majid, Maliki's media adviser, quoted from the letter on an Iraqi television program on Friday.



"Zaidi said in his letter that his big ugly act cannot be excused," Majid said. He quoted Zaidi as writing: "But I remember in the summer of 2005, I interviewed your Excellency and you told me, 'Come in, this is your house'. And so I appeal to your fatherly feelings to forgive me."



Zaidi's sister, Um Saad, is skeptical that Zaidi wrote the apology.
"He would never apologize for insulting the man who occupied our country," she said.



(Issa is a McClatchy special correspondent in Baghdad.)
http://www.mcclatchydc.com/homepage/v-print/story/58223.html

Friday 19 December 2008

Iraqi shoe thrower inspires Turk group


The Iraqi journalist who hurled shoes at outgoing U.S President George W. Bush inspired a similar protest in Ankara yesterday.
Members of the Communist Party of Turkey, or TKP, held a protest in front of the U.S. Embassy in Ankara to show their solidarity with the jailed journalist, Munthazar al-Zaidi.
The protestors were carrying banners that read, "Yankee go home."
Journalist al-Zaidi, 29, has been in custody in Baghdad since Sunday's dramatic shoe protest against Bush and has become an instant sensation in the Arab world. Despite efforts by security forces to avert a protest, TKP members managed to march toward the embassy with plastic bags full of shoes, shouting slogans against the Bush administration.
"What did U.S imperialism bring to Iraq? Thousands of murders! Now a brave journalist stands up against all this. Al-Zaidi is a symbol of resistance in the Middle East," said Tuncay Çelen, a board member from the TKP in a press statement read in front of the embassy. Çelen also asked for the immediate release of Al-Zaidi.
The group laid a black wreath, which had a pair of shoes placed in the middle, at the gate of the embassy. They also threw shoes at a photo of President Bush placed on the ground. After the protest, they picked up all the shoes.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/domestic/10600051.asp?gid=244

Thursday 18 December 2008

No comment

Cartoon: Kevin Siers /The Charlotte Observer

The shoes we longed for




http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2008/dec/17/bush-shoes-iraqi-journalist-hero

The young journalist who took on Bush has become a unifying Iraqi symbol, a national hero

Sami Ramadani
The Guardian,
Wednesday 17 December 2008


Within a few unlikely seconds, a pair of size 10 shoes have become the most destructive weapon the people of Iraq have managed to throw at the occupying powers, after nearly six years of occupation and formidable resistance. One Iraqi writer called the shoes, hurled by a journalist at George Bush, "Iraq's weapon of comprehensive destruction".


While the uprisings of Falluja, Najaf, Basra and Baghdad against the occupation will always remain as landmarks of a people resisting occupation, these incredible seconds have united Iraqis in the most dramatic fashion.


Contrary to most media coverage, the 28-year-old TV reporter Muntadhar al-Zaidi made history not by merely throwing a pair of shoes, the highest expression of insult in Iraqi culture, at the US president, but by what he said while doing so and as he was smothered by US and Iraqi security men. He groaned as they dragged him out of the press conference. They succeeded in silencing him - and according to his brother he was beaten in custody - but he had already said enough to shake the occupation and Nouri al-Maliki's Green Zone regime to their foundations.


Strip the words away, and his and the Iraqi people's cry of deep pain, anger and defiance would amount to no more than a shoe-throwing insult. But the words were heard. "This is the farewell kiss, you dog," he shouted as he threw the first shoe. The crucial line followed the second shoe: "This is from the widows, the orphans and those who were killed in Iraq." Once those words were heard, the impact of a pair of shoes became electrifying.


A young journalist has put aside the demands of his profession, preferring to act as the loudest cry of his long-suffering people. If one considers the torture and killings in Iraqi and US jails that Muntadhar often mentioned in his reports for al-Baghdadia satellite TV station, he was certainly aware he risked being badly hurt.


As the Iraqi and Arab satellite stations switched from the live press conference to reporting reaction to the event, the stunned presenters and reporters were swept away by popular expressions of joy in the streets, from Baghdad to Gaza to Casablanca.


TV stations and media websites were inundated with messages of adulation. The instant reply to any criticism of "insulting a guest" was: "Bush is a mass murderer and a war criminal who sneaked into Baghdad. He killed a million Iraqis. He burned the country down."


Expressions of support and demands for Muntadhar's immediate release have spread from Najaf and Falluja to Baghdad, and from Mosul in the north to Basra in the south. An impressive show of anti-occupation unity is developing fast, after being weakened by the sectarian forces that the occupation itself has strengthened and nourished, as Muntadhar himself used to stress.


No one asked after Muntadhar's religion or sect, but they all loved his message. Indeed, I have yet to come across an Iraqi media outlet or website that pronounced on his religion, sect or ethnicity. The first I heard of his "sect" was through US and British media.


The reality is that Muntadhar is a secular socialist whose hero happens to be Che Guevara. He became a prominent leftwing student leader immediately after the occupation, while at Baghdad University's media college. He reported for al-Baghdadia on the poor and downtrodden victims of the US war. He was first on the scene in Sadr City and wherever people suffered violence or severe deprivation. He not only followed US Apache helicopters' trails of death and destruction, but he was also among the first to report every "sectarian" atrocity and the bombing of popular market places. He let the victims talk first.


It was effective journalism, reporting that the victims of violence themselves accused the US-led occupation of being behind all the carnage. He was a voice that could not be silenced, despite being kidnapped by a gang and arrested by US and regime forces.


His passion for the war's victims and his staunchly anti-occupation message endeared him to al-Baghdadia viewers. And after sending Bush out of Iraq in ignominy he has become a formidable national hero. The orphan who was brought up by his aunt, and whose name means the longed or awaited for, has become a powerful unifying symbol of defiance, and is being adopted by countless Iraqis as "our dearest son".


• Sami Ramadani, a political exile from Saddam's regime, is a senior lecturer at London Metropolitan University sami.ramadani@londonmet.ac.uk

Wednesday 17 December 2008

Commission Liberté et Justice: Libérez Mountazer al-Zaïdi et tous les détenus politiques irakiens


Commission Liberté et Justice
C.E.A.C.S.

Communiqué



Quelques semaines à peine après la signature de l’Accord de sécurité (SOFA) par le régime de Bagdad, l’opinion publique internationale sait – si elle en doutait encore - ce que les Irakiens pensent de l’intervention américaine dans leur pays.



Le referendum prévu pour légitimer le vote honteux de la soi-disant assemblée nationale irakienne a-t-il encore sa raison d’être ? Mountazer al-Zaïdi, plus conscient que d’autres de la part essentielle donnée aux médias dans ce conflit, a fait voler en éclats six ans de bourrage de crâne. On sait aujourd’hui qu’il condamne la double occupation - américaine et iranienne – de l’Irak. La seconde chaussure, lancée au péril de sa vie, visait Nouri al-Maliki qui avait tenté, un instant plus tôt, de protéger son maître.



La Commission Liberté et Justice, réunie à Paris le 17 décembre 2009, réclame la libération de Mountazer al-Zaïdi, véritable combattant de la liberté, et de tous les détenus politiques irakiens. Elle rend hommage, à cette occasion, à tous les résistants anonymes morts pour la libération de l’Irak. L’heure de juger les responsables des crimes commis depuis avril 2003, approche.



Paris, le 18 décembre 2009

Monday 15 December 2008

Saturday 13 December 2008

Aydın Beyatlı: Saldırıda çok sayıda Türkmen ailelerin ve çocuklarının öldüğünü ifade etti



Türkmeneli Sağlık ve Sosyal Yardımlaşma Derneği Genel Başkanı, Irak Türkleri Kültür ve Yardımlaşma Derneği Konya Şube Başkanı Aydın Beyatlı, Irak'ın Kerkük kentindeki intihar saldırısıyla ilgili olarak "Ölü ve yaralıların üzerinde çivi ve bilyeler gördüm. Ortalık cehenneme dönmüştü" dedi.Beyatlı, patlama sırasında restoranda bulunduğunu ve başına gelen bilyeyle yaralandığını söyledi.

Beyatlı, yaşadıklarını şöyle anlattı:"Restoranın üçüncü salonunda bazı arkadaşlarımla yemek yiyorduk. Aniden çok şiddetli bir patlama oldu. Her yer birbirine girdi. Çivi ve bilyelerin de kullanıldığı bir intihar saldırısı oldu. Ölü ve yaralıların üzerinde çivi ve bilyeler gördüm. Ortalık cehenneme dönmüştü. Hemen yaralıları bulduğumuz araçlarla hastaneye gönderdik. Yaralı olduğumu sonra fark ettim.

Hastanede tedavi altına aldılar."Kerkük'te barışın sağlanması yolunda restoranda bir toplantı yapıldığını belirten Beyatlı, "Bu saldırı büyük ihtimalle bu toplantıyı hedef aldı. Bayramın ikinci gününden itibaren bölgede bir gerginlik vardı ve bu saldırı gerginliği zirveye taşıdı" diye konuştu.

Saldırıda çok sayıda Türkmen ailelerin ve çocuklarının öldüğünü anlatan Aydın Beyatlı, "Kollar, bacaklar çevreye savrulmuştu. Türkmenler ve bazı Kürt grupları saldırıyı şiddetle kınadı.

Şimdiye kadar Kerkük'te rahat bir ortam vardı, ancak saldırı ile bu sona erdi. Şimdi sessiz bir gerginlik var ve yarın ne olacağını kimse bilmiyor" şeklinde konuştu.Kerkük'teki saldırıda 55 kişi ölmüş, 93 kişi yaralanmıştı. BM Genel Sekreteri Ban Ki-mun da, intihar saldırısını "şiddetle" kınadı.

Mert Asutay


http://bizturkmeniz.com/tr/index.htm

Friday 12 December 2008

Dutch Government Allocates Money for Assyrians in Iraq

GMT 12-12-2008
Assyrian International News Agency

Amsterdam (AINA) -- Dutch government officials have allocated 400,000 Euros (510,000 USD) to go directly to Assyrians in Iraq. The amount is taken from the 6 million Euros pledged by the Dutch government in December last year (AINA 12-19-2007); most of the 6 million was distributed to UN agencies working with Iraqis in need.

The 400,000 Euros reserved for Assyrians will be administered by Dutch aid organizations. The main implementing partner in Iraq will be the Assyrian Aid Society, one of the most well organized domestic aid organizations in Iraq, with more than 18 years of experience in the war torn country.

The Assyria Council of Europe, a pan-European advocacy group, welcomed the aid allocated specifically to Assyrians.

"We are pleased by the decision and hope more aid will be channeled directly to independent minority group organizations such as the Assyrian Aid society." said Afram Yakoub of the Assyria Council of Europe. "Most of the international aid does not reach minority areas; it is controlled by the Arab-Kurdish majority, which relocates it to Arab and Kurdish areas in Iraq."

The Dutch aid will be used to implement long term projects in the Nineveh Plain, an area heavily populated by Assyrians.

Thursday 11 December 2008

Violations of Uyghurs' indigenous rights

Uyghurs as indigenous people; a new UHRP report highlights Chinese government violations of Uyghurs' indigenous rights

For immediate release

December 10, 2008, 7:15 pm EST

Contact: Uyghur American Association +1 (202) 349 1496

As the world marks the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights, Uyghurs in East Turkestan (also known as Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region, in the People's Republic of China) continue to experience human rights abuses in nearly every aspect of their lives. A new report by the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) details the PRC’s violations of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples (UNDRIP) in the case of the Uyghur people.

On September 13, 2007, the People’s Republic of China (PRC), along with 142 other countries, voted to adopt the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples. By voting for the Declaration, the PRC recognized that indigenous persons are a particularly vulnerable group in general and specifically supported the principles outlined and rights explicitly enumerated in the articles of this long awaited essential human rights Declaration.

In practice, the PRC government violates almost every article of the Declaration that it supported at the UN, routinely violating the fundamental rights of the Uyghur people. Uyghurs’ culture, religion and language are all under attack by the PRC government. Uyghurs do not have substantive control over their own education, media, or employment, and they have no voice in the region’s government. Uyghurs are also denied access to or benefit from East Turkestan’s land and resources.

"While UNDRIP guarantees Uyghurs' rights across a spectrum of areas, the reality is that Uyghurs are marginalized in their own homeland," said Uyghur democracy leader Rebiya Kadeer. "Uyghurs also lack access to any mechanism with which they can seek redress for violations of their rights."

UHRP's report begins by briefly reviewing the development of the United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous Peoples and demonstrating that the Uyghurs are the indigenous people of East Turkestan. The main body of the report then examines the Articles of the Declaration with respect to the Uyghur case, by discussing violations of articles in categories such as Fundamental Rights, Life and Security, and Culture, Religion and Language (among others). While not all-inclusive, the report highlights some of the most egregious ways in which Uyghurs’ fundamental, social and cultural rights are violated by the Chinese government, with respect to international law and often domestic law as well. For instance, in the area of Culture, Religion and Language, the report examines the ways in which the PRC controls the freedom of religion for Uyghurs in East Turkestan, effectively undermining Uyghurs’ identity. In conclusion, the report offers suggestions to address the situation, both to the United Nations and the Chinese government.

The report, United Nations Declaration on the Rights of Indigenous People and the Uyghurs of East Turkestan (also known as the Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region or XUAR, People’s Republic of China), can be downloaded at http://uhrp.org/docs/final_UNDRIP.pdf.
The Uyghur American Association (UAA) works to promote the preservation and flourishing of a rich, humanistic and diverse Uyghur culture, and to support the right of the Uyghur people to use peaceful, democratic means to determine their own political future.

The UAA has undertaken the Uyghur Human Rights Project (UHRP) for the purpose of promoting improved human rights conditions for Uyghurs and other indigenous groups in East Turkestan, on the premise that the assurance of basic human rights will facilitate the realization of the community’s democratic aspirations.

Uyghur Human Rights Project
Uyghur American Association
1701 Pennsylvania Ave. N.W. Suite 300
Washington, D.C. 20006
Tel: +1 (202) 349 1496
Fax: +1 (202) 349 1491
info[at]uyghuramerican.org
www.uhrp.org
www.uyghuramerican.org

Lahib Jaddo's art

" Two Ghosts"


Iraqi Turkmen artist LAHIB JADDO’s most recent piece about the loss of Kerkuk Kalaa and the loss of her mother Nejiba Sabir (a daughter of Kirkuk).

Tuesday 9 December 2008

Turkmenler, Londonda Turk Forumu Kecirildi



Britaniyali turk icmasinin temsilcisi Levent Hassan, Londondaki Turkiyeli toplum temsilcisi Servet Hassan, Britaniyadaki Azerbaycan ve Guney Azerbaycan icmasi temsilcileri Vusal Hamzayev ve Altan Ateturkun tesebbusu ile London Azerbaycan Evinde `Turkic Forum` (Britaniyadaki Turk Icmalarinin Medeni Forumu) ilk toplantisini kecirdi.

Qirgizistanin Britaniyadaki sefirliyi, Azerbaycan ve Qazaxistan sefirlikleri ve icmasinin numayendeleri, Turkmenistan, Tukiye, Simali Kipr, Guney Azerbaycan, Kerkuk, Bolqaristan ve Yunanistan turklerinin numayendelerinin de qatildigi forumda ilk once Azerbaycan Evi idare heyyetinin rehberi Dr. Ali Tekin Atalar her kesi salamladiqdan ve forumun fealiyyetinde ugurlar arzuladiqdan sonra teskilatcilar cixis etdi. Servet Hassan oz cixisinda her birimizin muxtelif sebebler uzunden Britaniyda yerlesdiyini, lakin her kesin ureyinde veten sevgisinin oldugunu vurguladi. O, butun turklerin uzun iller bir-birinden ayri olmasina baxmayaraq, Sovetler Birliyinin dagilmasindan sonra bir yerde olmaq ucun boyuk furset yarandigini da qeyd etdi. Daha sora cixis eden Vusal Hamzayev, Britaniyadaki turk icmalarinin bir yerde daha cox ve ferqli ugurlar elde ede bileceyini ve bir yerde daha boyuk icma statusunu elde etmekle genis miqyasli layiheleri heyata kecirmeyin mumkun oldugunu soyledi.
Sonra, forum istirakcilari ve qonaqlar oz fikirlerini bolusdu ve maraqli fikir mubadilesi heyat kecdi.

Sonda muveqqeti idare heyyeti ve numayendeler komitesine seckiler kecirildikden ve gelen Novruz bayramini bir yerde nece qeyd etmek haqqinda qisa muzakire heyata kecirildikden sonra, gelen ilin baslangicinda yeniden gorusuleceyi ve yeni ve konkret layiheler uzerinde calismalarin heyata kecirileceyi haqqinda raziliq elde olundu ve forumun isine yekun vuruldu.

Posted By
Mofak salman

Monday 8 December 2008

DAK Azerbaijan World Congress at the Belgian Senate

Here are some pictures I took during the Congress:

His Excellency Mr Emin Eyübov Ambassador of Azerbaijan in Belgium (on the right)
Dr. Sabir Rüstamkhanli, co-chairman of the World Azerbaijanis Congress
Deputy of the Parliament of the Republic of Azerbaijan
Chairman of the Civil Solidarity Party
National Poet (on the left)


Dr Hassan Aydinli, ITF Europe Representative (on the left)
Dr Sabir Rüstamkhanli, Co-Chairman of the World Azerbaijanis Congress (on the right)


Dr. Tanzila Rüstamkhanli, Chairman
Azeri-Turkish Women Society,
The editor-in-chief "KHATUN"



Mr. Abdulla Amir Hashimi (Javanshir) Chairman of Congress of South Azerbaijan (in the middle)
his daughter who is co-chairman of CSA
and Dr Hassan Aydinli




Article published in BELTÜRK:

Dünya Azerbaycanlılar Kongresi Belçika Senato´sunda konferans verdi.




Konferansa DAK Azerbaycan, Rusya, İsveç, Türkiye, Almanya ve Belçika temsilcilerinin yanısıra vatandaşlarda katıldı.


Belçika DAK Temsilciliği tarafından Senatör Philippe Monfils´in desteği ile düzenlenen konferansın açılışında MR´li senatör Collas Berni konferansı onurlandıran Azerbaycan Büyükelçisi Emin Eyübov´u karşıladı.


Konferansa Belçikalı senatör Collas Berni ve Azerbaycan Büyükelçisi Emin Eyübov´un yanısıra ProBruxsel partisi kurucu başkanı Philippe Delstanche, DAK eşbaşkanları Sabir Rüstemhanlı ve Feridun Pervezniya, DAK idare heyeti üyeleri Abuzer Bağırov, Mireşrev Fetiyev, Vagıf Arzumanlı, Feramaz Quluzade, Nurəddin Garevi, Rahman Abbasov, Hüseyn Vüsuqi, Semed Fertaş, Sefter Rehimli, Tofiq Hacıyev, TRT The Voice of Turkey´den DAK idare heyeti üyesi Mehmet Müştak DAK Türk dünyası üzerine müşaviri ve Azeri Türk Kadınlar Birliği başkanı Doç Dr Tenzile Rüstemhanlı, DAK gençler teşkilatı başkanı Samir Turan, DAK Daimi şurası başkanı Ejder Tagızade, DAK NTK başkanı Agil Alasger başkan yardımcısı Babek Tağizade, Evere Belediye meclis üyesi ve bakan Grouwels´in danışmanı Nebahat Acar, Abdullah Amir Hasimi ve dünyanın çeşitli ülkelerinden gelen DAK üyeleri katıldı. İran´da yaşayan Azerbaycan Türklerinin sorunları, Karabağ sorunu, dünyanın çeşitli ülkelerinde yaşayan Azerbaycan Türklerinin sorunları üzerine yapılan konuşmalarla ilgili ayrıntılar sadece Beltürk´de ..


Beltürk Özel