They hit us in Malatya…

HUSEYIN GULERCE; Zaman Gazetesi

The savage murders committed in the publishing house raided because it had been distributing free Bibles are surely provocative, but what was the target? If we can clearly see the target, we can then reach a more accurate conclusion on who may be the real perpetrators.
Let’s quickly remember three recent murders: that of the Catholic priest Andrea Santoro in Trabzon, Hrant Dink in Istanbul and now three people in Malatya. Santoro was an Italian citizen, Dink was of Armenian descent, and one of the three people killed in the recent murder was a German. As a result of the three provocations, Italy, France (where the Armenian voice is loudest) and Germany are rising up against Turkey and Muslims all over Europe. But it’s not only Europe that is adopting a harsh stance against Turkey. Because the victims were Christians, all Christians from around the world, including America, are questioning Turkey. Could there have been a bigger atrocity inflicted on Turkey?

So what sort of Turkey is losing grace, accused and hard put upon? The Turkey that has been advancing toward the European Union; the Turkey that is the secular-democratic representative of the Islamic world in the Alliance of Civilizations project; the Turkey that some want to be dragged into turmoil and polarized prior to the presidential elections because it has now achieved economic and political stability. So the real masterminds of the provocations are those who want to dynamite Turkey’s EU process and who cannot digest the tolerance of the Anatolian people, who understand the core of Islam. There are circles and centers both at home and abroad conforming to these two characterizations. Many sound-minded people have kept repeating that “the groups against Turkey’s EU membership will cooperate and act in complicity to cripple this process in and out of the country.” While there are voices in Europe insisting that Turkey cannot become a full member because of its Muslim identity, and while a new condition for Turkey’s membership - a referendum -- has been introduced, these murders, which will surely play into the hands of people with such a mindset and strengthen their arguments, were committed.

Can these provocations, which will profoundly affect the European public, really be coincidences? Can it also be a coincidence that these people who exaggerate about Christian missionary activities in Turkey to draw the public’s attention again, while they themselves have no interest in preserving or practicing their own religion? Aren’t lies written and circulated through the “whisper newspaper” -- as we say in Turkish -- that Christianization activities in Turkey have intensified, thousands of people have renounced their faith and become Christians in the Black Sea region, and that hundreds of churches have been opened in the basements of big buildings in metropolitan areas? And those who spread these falsehoods also claim that the AK Party has been doing nothing to stop these missionary activities. Weekly news magazine Aksiyon revealed the actual figures in March 2005. According to the police department database, there have been 500 cases of conversion in recent years, and 400 of the people involved were already Christian and just wanted to change the official record in the registration office. Only 100 people over several years! While this is the truth and while the people of this land have lived together for centuries in peace, some people are trying to incite religious hatred in the country. Nobody dares divert the issue from its core by showing the minor hitmen. Those who are profoundly disturbed by Turkey becoming stronger, its possibility of setting sail for new horizons with EU membership and its reassuming, after perhaps centuries, a well-deserved position in the world with regard to establishing peace, serenity and justice, are now striking these hopes below the belt.

Let’s frustrate this plot together, hand in hand…

3 Killed in Attack on Publishing House That Prints Bibles in Turkey

ISTANBUL, Turkey: Three employees of a publishing house that distributes Bibles were slain in the latest attack apparently targeting Turkey's Christian minority.
The attack Wednesday added to concerns in Europe about whether this predominantly Muslim country — which is bidding for EU membership — could protect its religious minorities. It also underlined concerns about rising Turkish nationalism and hostility toward non-Muslims.
The three victims — a German and two Turkish citizens — were found with their hands and legs bound and their throats slit at the Zirve publishing house in the central city of Malatya.
Police detained four youths, aged 19-20, and also suspect a fifth, who underwent surgery for head injuries sustained apparently in trying to escape by jumping from a window at Zirve, authorities said.
The five suspects had each had been carrying copies of a letter that read "We five are brothers. "We are going to our deaths. We may not return," according to the state-run Anatolia news agency.

(Read more)

Մեր հին ընկերը

Մերը երկիրն է, պատիվն է մերը,
Մեզ միացնում են հավատն, հույսն ու սերը,
Մեր նպատակը արդարությունն է,
Մեր հին ընկերը Դաշնակցությունն է:

Մենք մեր ապագան քեզ վստահել,
Նույն դժվար ճամփան քեզ հետ քայլել,
Քո կողքին կանգնել,
Մենք քեզ հետ վստահ ենք մեզ զգացել:

Աջից, ձախից եկել են շատ շատերը,
Սուտ խոստումներ տվել,
Փոխել իրենց գույները,
Մեզ միացնողը եղբայրությունն է,
Մեր հին ընկերը Դաշնակցությունն է:

Մենք մեր ապագան քեզ վստահել,
Նույն դժվար ճամփան քեզ հետ քայլել,
Քո կողքին կանգնել,
Մենք քեզ հետ վստահ ենք մեզ զգացել:

Մեր հայրենիքն է միակ մեր բույնը,
Ուր էլ գնանք՝ մենք մնում ենք նույնը,
Մեր միությունը հզորությունն է,
Մեր հին ընկերը Դաշնակցությունն է:

Մենք մեր ապագան քեզ վստահել,
Նույն դժվար ճամփան քեզ հետ քայլել,
Քո կողքին կանգնել,
Մենք քեզ հետ վստահ ենք մեզ զգացել:

Tayyip Erdoğan: The 11th president of Turkey?

AMANDA AKCAKOCA. Zaman Gazetesi

Cumhuriyet newspaper in Turkey recently warned: “Are you aware of the danger? Clocks will be turned back 100 years on May 16.” The opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) is threatening to boycott Parliament and the secularists and the other so-called guardians of Atatürk’s legacy are endeavoring to drive a wave of panic through the nation. The forthcoming Turkish presidential election is proving to be one of the most controversial in the history of the Republic.

Wisely or not, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan continues to keep the nation guessing as to whether he will declare himself a candidate. Though Erdoğan is still a young man and has a lot of political talent left to give, he may believe that if he does not take this opportunity he will never have another chance. At the same time he must be conscious that he will upset a lot of people. The recent protests in Ankara are a clear signal of the strong feelings of some. He must weigh up to what extent the upset will rattle the stability of Turkey and its economy. If he wants it, his parliamentary majority will almost certainly ensure success. However opponents and senior military figures continue to fight tooth and nail to keep him from Atatürk’s throne. Their relentless verbal attacks and scaremongering are in fact increasing the likelihood that Erdoğan will find he has no alternative but to run. It will be a matter of pride and prestige.

Many claim that Erdoğan in Çankaya will be a threat to Turkey’s secular foundations, but this is a questionable argument given that if Erdoğan were to attempt anything sinister, the opposition could bring it to the Constitutional Court, the head of which is in place for at least another couple of years. Furthermore, particularly in the short and medium term, Erdoğan will not want to lose the Justice and Development Party’s (AK Party) liberal voters, so he is unlikely to try to amend legislation. Erdoğan’s every move will be scrutinized by the nation. It will be the people that will protect Turkey’s secular status and not the military. There will be no military coup, Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt has already stated as much. He may not like it but he will accept it. Turkey is not the same country it was 10 or 20 years ago. Turks have loud voices and if they are unhappy they will sing it from the rooftops. An Erdoğan presidency will not make Turkey the next Iran.

Whether the AK Party can survive without Erdoğan at the helm is another question. He is a charismatic leader who has managed to hold together a party that is fragmenting. Whether or not Foreign Minister Abdullah Gül would be able to do so is questionable. The first hurdle will be to win the general elections and avoid a grid-locked coalition government coming to power. It would therefore not be surprising if the date were shifted forward to either just before or after the summer. Turkey also desperately needs a much stronger and effective opposition. Not the shambles that exits today.

Of course Erdoğan may surprise everybody and at the last minute announce a “rookie” candidate. Somebody totally unexpected and less controversial, such as a woman. Somebody nobody could object to.

In Brussels bureaucrats are intrigued as to the outcome. Most important for the EU is stability in the country, a strong government with whom they can work constructively and ensuring that the elections are carried out in a democratic fashion. There are no strong feelings here as to whether or not Erdoğan should run, but some feel that dealing with Gül as prime minister could be easier given Erdoğan’s tendency to act on his emotions.

The countdown has begun. We must all wait and see.

Why can Kemalists not digest change?

ETYEN MAHCUPYAN; Zaman Gazetesi

The most frightening aspect of modernism for the Ottoman elite was the statement that societies have been going through an unstoppable process of change, and that modernism made it inevitable.
This was really a big shock for the Ottoman edifice, which thought all human systems would be formed around norms independent of time. Since the classical understanding of management was nourished by the idea of “nizam-ı alem” (the order of the world) -- an idea that reflects a “divine” balance of positions and relations, to which change of any kind would indicate degeneration.

A lot of people would find it abhorrent to hear the argument that the current unwillingness of Kemalists to accept change comes from their sharing the Ottoman view of the order of the world. Was not Kemalism the ideology that overturned this stagnant system and introduced modernism to the nation? It is true that the founding ideology of the republic had so positivist an interpretation of modernism that the need to change society in a particular direction for a particular reason was something to be handled scientifically. This prompted the expectation that the people should be freed from religious superstitions, should adopt a secular way of life and should assimilate modernism on all levels. However the presupposition that Turkish society had resisted categorical change because of its piety and that change was urgently necessary, forced Kemalism to accept an action plan that was authoritarian, oppressive and which they attempted to carry out overnight. This ideology was made into a strategy for action by those who felt they knew what was good for the public and all efforts were made to have the public accept the supposed benefits. Their ideological definition was not going to change, as piety soon rendered Kemalism an alternative ideology to religion, and Kemalism became a dogma far more enforceable than religion because the ideology was set within an authoritarian mindset.

This appears to be critical to understanding our current politics. The secular elite circle that affiliates itself with Kemalism in Turkey tends to view “change” as occurring in a kind of public sphere. Change is not treated as if it is a social phenomenon that has its own intrinsic logic and that can find its own course at an intersection of a lot of different dynamics; rather, for the secular elite, “change” is a project of domestication that needs controlling at every level. In other words, it is a program designed to make a man out of the people. Behind the reactions against the administration of the Justice and Development Party (AK Party), as well as against the likelihood of someone from AK Party becoming president, is the secular elite circle’s unwillingness to accept the fact that it was, all this time, deceiving itself. The Kemalists say that the AK Party is making concessions because they don’t believe in the potential of religious people for authentic change. More strangely is the fact that they, just like the Ottoman elite, judge change to be “wrong and dangerous,” when they find it impossible to overlook the change that religious people are undergoing. For this reason the headscarf can be looked down upon as “retrogression,” though it extends women’s space of movement and it introduces them to the modern life.

The bureaucratic wing of the elite circle is one step ahead of democracy. They think that for someone from the AK Party to be elected president is a form of civil disobedience. From the point of view of the bureaucratic elite, democracy is a regime that reflects their own preferences -- about the certainty of which they feel no doubt -- not the preferences of the public, and the public is allowed a place in democracy as long as it abides by those preferences… It is understood that Kemalism has actually defined democracy as a private sphere of the state organization, though we are late in realizing this.

A country of coups d’état

ETYEN MAHCUPYAN: Zaman Gazetesi

The end of the Cold War did not bring much benefit to the Turkish government. Rather, globalization became the primary concern. A state ideology based on isolating the society from the world had lost most of its power. This made the public dependent on the media and introduced a need to create more vehicles to manipulate public opinion. It also forced the state to create a strategy to protect its authority. The Feb. 28 “postmodern” coup served as an example of a successful military intervention in the new period. Thanks to Nokta magazine, we have just learned of an unsuccessful coup attempt scheduled for 2004. The coup leaders wanted to align media organs with themselves, stir up commotion in universities and encourage unionists to hold rallies. However the leaders could not agree on certain issues and decided to cancel their coup attempt. Nokta revealed that the coup was recommended by an admiral who urged until the last moment to go ahead with the action. In fact this individual was so determined that he was willing to carry out the coup by himself.

As a country we’ve become accustomed to such developments. In fact when Nokta published these documents, reactions remained mainly muted. It was like an old story for us, one we’ve heard several times. Turkish people know that there are always a few people in the military who dream of a coup. It is obvious that these people will remain even if society becomes more liberal and democratic. When we look at the issue from the eyes of the authoritarian elite, Turkey is headed toward a very stressful period. Why? Because the need for a coup will increase but planning a coup will become more difficult.

We can imagine just how much this will disturb some bureaucrats and even some civilians and how they will attempt extremely “brave” moves. The documents published in Nokta also helped us understand the level of rationality and intelligence of the potential coup leaders. Take for example the diary of the former navy commander. The most striking fact we see is the lack of knowledge they have about the public. Here we have a group of people that solely associate the public with the term “threat to law and order” and have absolutely no understanding of sociological reform. We also see the level of futility in their analyses, which contained repeated clichés from the official socialist ideology. Their approach was to assess democratic and laic terms with an autocratic mentality, to develop the republic within this faulty framework. It was an approach that had absolutely no association with reality.

We learned of two very dangerous features these people have. First, their ability to fool themselves, and second, their arrogance. Apparently these coup plotters not only lectured each other on the importance of their plan, but believed they were chosen people who needed to complete this “holy” task. Needless to say, a military that functions as an independent social power would be detrimental to society, especially since this elitist coalition holds a weapon-based source of power. It is ironic that the people most distant to the Turkish public are those that are most powerful. Fortunately nothing remains private long enough in our day, and we are able to know the real “others.”

COALITION AGAINST ARMENIAN GENOCIDE RESOLUTION CONTINUES TO UNRAVEL

Xerox, American Express, Altria, and FedEx are the Latest to Distance themselves from Turkey's Efforts to Defeat Human Rights Legislation

WASHINGTON, DC - Major U.S. companies continue to distance themselves from two corporate coalitions that are publicly backing the Turkish government's campaign against the Armenian Genocide Resolution, according to documents released today by the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). The American Turkish Council (ATC) and the American Business Forum in Turkey (ABFT), both coalitions claiming to represent U.S corporations doing business in Turkey, have each publicly - and aggressively - opposed the adoption by Congress of legislation recognizing the Armenian Genocide (H.Res.106/S.Res.106.) In response to these efforts, the ANCA sent formal letters last month to each member of the two coalitions, requesting that they clarify their position on the Armenian Genocide Resolution. To date, the ANCA has received written confirmation from a number of these companies that they are not opposed to the adoption of the Armenian Genocide Resolution. Among these are several major multinationals, such as Microsoft, Xerox, American Express, Altria, Johnson & Johnson, FedEx, and Cargill. Relevant excerpts from these letters are provided below: * Leonard W. Condon, Vice President of Altria's International Business Relations, explained in a letter to the ANCA that: "Our international tobacco company, Philip Morris International (PMI) is a member of the Turkish American Council. However, neither PMI nor Altria have taken a position - and neither company plans to take a position - on the proposed Resolution." Altria is ranked 20th on the Fortune 500 and had revenues last year of $101.4 billion. * Thomas Schick, the Executive Vice President for American Express Corporate Affairs and Communications, in a letter to ANCA, wrote: "Please be assured that, as a matter of company policy, American Express does not take a position on issues before any legislative body that do not directly affect our company." American Express is ranked 69th on the Fortune 500 and brought in revenues during 2006 of $30.08 billion. * Ann S. Dickey, Staff Vice President of Government Affairs for Federal Express, wrote to the ANCA that: "FedEx does not participate in communications regarding information of this nature." FedEx is ranked 70th on the Fortune 500 and generated $32.3 billion in revenue last year. * Anne M. Mulcahy, Chairwoman and Chief Executive Officer of Xerox, wrote that, despite its listing on the ABFT website: "Xerox is not a member of the ABFT. Therefore, Xerox did not participate in any way in the decision of the ABFT to send a letter to the United States Congress." Xerox is ranked 142nd on Fortune 500 and had annual revenues last year of $15.9 billion. * Clement R. Gagne III, Microsoft Central and Eastern Europe's Director of Legal and Corporate Affairs, in a letter addressed to ANCA, wrote that: "Microsoft has not participated in any discussions or decisions of ABFT, and was not involved with the communication to which you referred in your letter." Microsoft is ranked 48th on the 2006 Fortune 500 and had annual revenue last year of $44.28 billion. * Thomas M. Gorrie, Ph.D., Johnson & Johnson's Corporate Vice President for Government Affairs and Policy, wrote to the ANCA that: "Johnson and Johnson in Turkey is not a board member and has not been engaged in any role in the ABFT communication you have mentioned in your letter. As [the] world's largest and most comprehensive and broadly based health care company, we would not engage in political issues of this nature." Johnson & Johnson is ranked 32nd on the Fortune 500 and had annual revenue last year of $53.32 billion. * Van Yeutter, Cargill's Director of International Business Development and Washington Operations, explained in writing that: "We are a commercial enterprise focused on business matters rather than on political or foreign policy matters. As such the company does not have a position on the issue of your enquiry." Cargill, a multinational corporation based in Minnesota, is the world’s second largest privately held corporation. In 2006, it had revenue of $75.2 billion. The controversy surrounding this issue was the subject of a March 28, 2007 article by Kate Ackley in Roll Call, the Capitol Hill newspaper. The article cites ATC President, Jim Holmes, listing Philip Morris International as one of the companies he claims is working through the council to stop the Armenian Genocide Resolution. This point is clearly contradicted by the letter from Altria, the parent company to Philip Morris, which states that neither company opposes H.Res.106. Copies of these letters can be obtained by writing to the ANCA at anca@anca.org. Visit ANCA.org for more details

Seeds of Turkish nationalism sown at school

By Emma Ross-Thomas

ISTANBUL (Reuters) - "Happy is he who says he is a Turk," pipe hundreds of uniformed children in unison, lined up in the playground before a golden statue of Turkey's revered father Ataturk, for a daily pledge of hard work and sacrifice.

The enthusiastic chanting ends and the children file into school, past an inscription saying their first duty is to defend Turkey and another of the national anthem -- texts which appear again on the classroom walls and preface all their textbooks.

When they move up to high school, they will take a weekly class from army officers about the military's exploits. Their school books will tell them European powers have their sights set on Anatolia and Turkey's geography makes it vulnerable "to all kinds of internal and external threats".

Textbooks are peppered with the sayings of Kemal Ataturk, who founded modern Turkey in 1923 after the collapse of the Ottoman Empire. "Homeland ... we are all a sacrifice for you!" comes particularly recommended by one textbook's authors.

These are just some of the features of Turkey's education system that reformist teachers and activists want changed. They say it encourages blind nationalism -- something Turkey is looking at more seriously since the ultranationalist-inspired murder in January of Turkish-Armenian journalist Hrant Dink.

MILITARISM

Political rows with the European Union, which Ankara hopes to join, have also fanned nationalism -- especially in an election year -- but many experts say the seeds are first sown at school.

"In newly founded nation states like ours education is an effective political lever to train and transform people ... but in recent decades this concept, which needs to be loosened, continues," Ziya Selcuk, university professor and former head of the government's Training and Education Board, told Reuters.

This government has reformed the curriculum in a way teachers say makes students more active and reduces traditional rote learning, but the emphasis on nationalism remains.

"There's still some emphasis on militarism, the importance of being martyred, the importance of going to war, dying in war and so on," said Batuhan Aydagul, deputy coordinator of the Education Reform Initiative.

Teachers also say they feel pressure not to stray from the official line or curriculum in class.

"If you present some arguments which are the opposite of the established arguments ... you might get reaction, absolutely, from students, from other teachers, from directors -- negative reactions of course," said one teacher who declined to be named.

His colleague, who also spoke on condition of anonymity, laughed at the idea of criticizing Ataturk in a history lesson, saying to do so would spark investigation by prosecutors.

"They think ... if you do such a thing you confuse their minds and confusion is not good for young people," the first teacher said.

But the textbooks could be confusing for some: while foreign historians say Ottoman forces massacred Armenians in 1915, high school history books here say it was the other way around.

"It must not be forgotten that in eastern Anatolia the Armenians carried out genocide," one 2005-dated book reads.

In its latest progress report the EU also criticized the portrayal of minorities such as Armenians, saying further work was needed to remove discriminatory language from textbooks.

LOW SCORES

Nationalism is not the only problem with schools in Turkey, which, hemmed in by the budget restraints of an International Monetary Fund accord, spends little on education.

With a population of 74 million, Turkey already struggles to find jobs for its ever-growing army of young people.

But in terms of spending per head as a proportion of the economy, Turkey spends least among OECD countries.

Primary school teacher Ayse Panus said parents at her public school -- where there are 21 teachers for 680 pupils -- make contributions of about 50 lira ($35) a year to keep it going.

Turkey is also around the bottom of the OECD league in terms of years spent at school, the proportion of the population with tertiary education and the maths ability of 15-year-olds.

Teachers are low-paid and spend the first years of their career in a state-assigned posting.

This government has increased spending, but experts say more is needed to narrow the gap in Turkey's two-tier system between high quality selective academies and regular schools.

Enrolment has also improved, especially for girls -- helped by a high-profile government and UNICEF-backed campaign to persuade conservative rural parents to send their daughters to school.

Citing such progress, the EU says Turkey is well prepared for accession when it comes to education, but many disagree.

"On the one hand they want to be in Europe, and on the other ... they are encouraging the feeling that there are enemies all around," said Panus.

Armenia Names a New Prime Minister

(Source AP)
After Andranik Markarian died, Serzh Sarkisian was named Armenia's prime minister.

Sarkissian, 52, will serve as head of the Armenian government only until the May 12 parliamentary elections, which his Republican Party is widely expected to win.

Margarian, 55, who died of heart failure on March 25, had served as prime minister since the politically tense period that followed an October 1999 armed attack on parliament that killed eight politicians, including Prime Minister Vazgen Sarkisian, who is not related to the defense minister.

Under the Armenian political system, the prime minister has mostly executive powers and is a much less powerful figure than the president.

Armenia's Foreign Debt Grows by $192.49 mln to $2.05 bln in 2006

( RIA Novosti ) - Armenia's foreign debt increased by $192.49 million to $2.05 billion in 2006, the country's top statistics body said Tuesday.

Armenia's National Statistics Service said the Armenian government's foreign debt was $1.02 billion, the private sector's liabilities stood at $390.19 million, the debt of monetary authorities amounted to $185.76 million, commercial banks owed $211.01 million and foreign direct investment in the form of loans totaled $244.44 million.

Long-term liabilities accounted for the largest part of Armenia's foreign debt ($1.45 billion or 70.60%), the statistics service said.

Armenia's international assets increased by $307.06 million in 2006, to $1.39 billion as of January 1, 2007, the statistics service said.

Gyumri Mayor Survives Assasination Attempt; 4 Killed

Vardan Gukassyan, the mayor of Armenia's second largest city, Gyumri, was severely injured in the gun attack while four people travelling with him were killed, the prosecutor general's office said in a statement.

Armenia's President Robert Kocharyan met with his security ministers and ordered them to do everything possible to find the attackers, the president's press service said.
Gukassyan had just attended a special session of the ruling Armenian Republican Party's governing council, which agreed to put forward the acting defence minister, Serzh Sarksyan, as the country's new prime minister.

His nomination follows the sudden death from a heart attack last month of Andranik Margaryan.
The mayor, his deputy and their driver were all hospitalised following the late-night attack while three bodyguards in an accompanying vehicle died as they travelled home by road from the capital, Yerevan. The driver later died in hospital.

So far, local authorities have no clear information on who carried out the attack.