Monday, February 28, 2011

#1068 Pipes ponders "Erdoğan and the 'Al-Gaddafi Prize'" in NRO


































Daniel

Pipes

February 28, 2011


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In addition, a second blog entry, "Defund the U.S. Institute of Peace?" follows below.


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Daniel Pipes




Erdoğan and the "Al-Gaddafi Prize"


by Daniel Pipes

February 28, 2011

Cross-posted from National Review Online


http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2011/02/erdogan-accepts-al-gaddafi-international-prize













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The slogan of the "Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights" is "As the sun shines for everyone, freedom is a right for everyone." Lovely, no, especially at a moment when Mu'ammar al-Qaddafi's war planes are raining down death and destruction on his own subject people and when foreign mercenaries are brutalizing the population?


The prize description includes such gems as these:




The prize is awarded every year to one of the international personalities, bodies or organizations that have distinctively contributed to rendering an outstanding human service and has achieved great actions in defending Human rights, protecting the causes of freedom and supporting peace everywhere in the world. ...


The Prize categorically believes that freedom is an indivisible natural right for Man ; it is not a gift or grace from anybody, and that safeguarding it is a general human responsibility.



Past recipients of the prize have included Nelson Mandela (1989), "The Red Indians" (1991), Louis Farrakhan (1996), Fidel Castro (1998), and Hugo Chavez (2004).










Logo of the "Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights."




But it's the current recipient who is the most interesting: none other than the prime minister of Turkey, Recep Tayyip Erdoğan. He accepted the prize in Tripoli, Libya, on Dec. 1, 2010, for his "distinguished service to humanity." In his acceptance speech, Erdoğan said that the award will further encourage him to fight for human rights and that "Islamophobia" is a crime against humanity.










Turkish prime minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan accepted the prize in Tripoli, Libya, on Dec. 1, 2010, for his "distinguished service to humanity."




The report on this event in the pro-Erdoğan Zaman newspaper goes on:



[Erdoğan] reiterated that Turkey will not remain silent on the killing of nine innocent people by Israel in the Mediterranean, which he described as a sea of "friendship and brotherhood." The Turkish prime minister added that he will continue to protect the rights of people in the Middle East and all around the world. …"The only thing we want in our region and in the globe is peace and justice."



After receiving the award, Erdoğan reported on his meeting with Qaddafi, indicating that ties between the two countries are growing.


Comment: Accepting "Al-Gaddafi International Prize for Human Rights" three months ago says all one needs to know about Erdoğan. (February 28, 2011)


Related Topics: Libya, Turkey and Turks This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.




Defund the U.S. Institute of Peace?


by Daniel Pipes

February 16, 2011


updated Feb 26, 2011


http://www.danielpipes.org/blog/2011/02/defund-the-us-institute-of-peace













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In an article today ("Small Budget Cuts Add Up"), Reps. Jason Chaffetz (Republican of Utah) and Anthony Weiner (Democrat of New York) call the U.S. Institute of Peace a "case study in how government waste thrives" and calls its $54 million in public funding in 2011 a "misuse of taxpayer money." To which I respond:










The USIP logo.



As a former board member of the U.S. Institute of Peace, I enthusiastically endorse the Chaffetz-Weiner initiative to defund the USIP. I became aware during my tenure on the board, 2003-05, that the organization performs little worthwhile service to the taxpayer but rather that it forwards a political agenda. Americans who wish to fund such an organization are free to do so, but it should not be a public burden. (February 16, 2011)



Feb. 19, 2011 update: Bravo to the House for cutting off all funding to USIP.


Feb. 24, 2011 update: Al Kamen reviews the bidding at "U.S. Institute of Peace loses all federal funds under House spending plan."


Related Topics: USIP This text may be reposted or forwarded so long as it is presented as an integral whole with complete information provided about its author, date, place of publication, and original URL.





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