Formerly "Hudson Institute, New York"
In this mailing:
- Anna Mahjar-Barducci: Ahmadinejad's Sentimental Journey for Uranium and Money
- AK Group: U.S. Vendors Near Monopolies in Turkey's Arms Acquisitions
- AK Group: Investigation a Shame for Democracy, CHP Leader Says
Ahmadinejad's Sentimental Journey for Uranium and Money
by Anna Mahjar-Barducci
January 18, 2012 at 4:30 am
http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2762/iran-uranium-money
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Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad's recent trip to Latin America has been addressed by many as the "Hate America Tour." During the five-day tour, Ahmadinejad met Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, with whom he joked about having a nuclear bomb. He then attended controversial Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega's inauguration for a third 5-year term as president of Nicaragua; moved to Cuba to meet with the Castro brothers, and ended his tour in Ecuador, where he called on people to unite against "imperialism and capitalism".
Ahmadinejad in Venezuela:
On January 8, Ahmadinejad arrived in Venezuela with his ministers for foreign affairs, energy and the economy. The Latin American media outlet Merco News reports that Venezuela and Iran are expanding cooperation in several economic fields, and have signed more than 270 accords, including trade deals, construction projects, car and tractor factories, energy initiatives and banking programs.
El Universal , however, reported that Ahmadinejad did not come to Venezuela just to strengthen relations, but to demand the payment of a USD 298 million debt that the Venezuelan government had contracted with state-run Iranian companies.
The pro-Chavez Venezuelan paper, Correo del Orinoco, reports that during the meeting, the two presidents "reiterated their agenda against US aggression." Chavez accused the U.S. demonizing Iran and using made-up claims about the nuclear issue. "Like they [the U.S] used the excuse of weapons of mass destruction to do what they did in Iraq. They [the U.S.] accuse us of being warmongers. They are the threat," Chavez said, joking that the Iranian president was traveling through "the axis of evil of Latin America [sic)]."
Ahmadinejad said that the U.S. has been fabricating lies and that Iran is not developing a nuclear bomb: "They say we are making a bomb. Fortunately, [as] the majority of Latin American countries are aware, everyone knows that those words... are a joke. It is something to laugh at. It is clear they're afraid of our development."
For his part, Chavez continued to joke about Iran and Venezuela having nuclear ambitions: "They accuse us over and over again of plans to attack the United States. They say we are building a bomb to launch against Washington. See that hill right there?" Chavez said to journalists. "The grass will open up to reveal a big atomic bomb that President Ahmadinejad and I will launch against the White House."
Correo del Orinoco also wrote that both Chavez and Ahmadinejad defended their right to maintain "their mutually beneficial relationship." "We have a willingness to continue working together in order to put the brakes on the imperialist insanity that has been unleashed around the world with terrible, threatening power," Chavez said as he received Ahmadinejad, adding, "No chemotherapy, no cancer, no disease anymore, but life, the will to live and keep on working together we, our governments, revolutions and peoples, to curb the imperialist madness."
Chavez also commented that Washington's stances on Iran and Venezuela were "ridiculous." "We are not war-like people. Iran has not invaded anyone and neither has the [Venezuelan] Bolivarian Revolution. We have not dropped bombs on anyone. Who has launched missiles and thousands of bombs, including atomic ones, on unarmed people? ... It's not us. We are part of the people who have been attacked and continue to be attacked while they attempt to portray us as aggressors," Chavez said.
Ahmadinjad joined in on condemning Washington: "We are two counties who are against the greed of the arrogant and the preponderant. We are resisting, and we defend our rights."
The opposition in Venezuela, however, criticized Amhadinejad's trip to Latin America. Diego Arria, an opposition politician, described the trip as a "provocation" to the United States, and an "embarrassment" for Venezuela. "It comes at the worst moment -- at a time when Ahmadinejad is being looked at by the international community with great fear. ... It is bringing the threat to the United States closer to home," he said.
The opposition paper El Universal commented that "an alliance between Chavez and Ahmadinejad would be seen as a threat to both the petroleum that passes through the Strait of Hormuz and the vast oil reserves of Venezuela. What benefits might accrue to Venezuela? None! […] We [Venezuelans] have no part in this conflict. Only a deranged mind would hope to force our country to engage in such an atrocity."
Ahmadinejad in Nicaragua:
On January 10, Ahamdinejad went to Nicaragua to attend Sandinista leader Daniel Ortega's inauguration for a third 5-year term as president. During the ceremony, Ortega took the opportunity to criticize Israel and condemn the killing of the former Libyan dictato,r Muammar Qaddafi. "Simply by starting to push for talks in the region in which the steps are laid down for Israel to give up and destroy these nuclear arms, I am certain this would bring about great peace in the region […] Christ never said: Israel arm yourself, arm yourself to the teeth," Ortega said, addressing his presidential inauguration ceremony, while adding that Iran has instead the right "to use peaceful nuclear energy."
The media outlet Inside Costa Rica reported that Iran, which opened an embassy in Nicaragua, will invest $1 billion in agriculture projects in Nicaragua in addition to building a deep water port in the small Central American nation, and granting a loan for a hydroelectric plant.
Ahmadinejad in Cuba:
The Havana Times reported that Ahmadinejad arrived in Cuba making the "V" for victory gesture and smiling. The Times also wrote that many Cubans wondered about the reason for this visit; however the "Cuban press only said that Ahmadinejad was an anti-imperialist who thinks that the capitalist system is in decline."
The Communist Cuban paper, Granma, wrote that during the meeting between Ahmadinejad the Cuban President Raul Castro, the two leaders discussed the excellent state of bilateral relations and international issues: "Raul and Ahmadinejad confirmed the commitment of the two countries to the defense of peace, international law and the principles of the United Nations Charter, and the right of all states to the use of nuclear energy for peaceful ends. They also reaffirmed their opposition to the implementation of unilateral economic sanctions."
The Cuban leader Fidel Castro wrote in his periodical column on the Cuban website Cubadebate about his private meeting with Ahmadinejad, saying that for him it was a pleasure conversing "leisurely" with the Iranian president. Fidel added that he found the Iranian President calm and composed, "completely indifferent to the Yankee threats, confident in the capacity of his people to confront any aggression and in the ability of [Iranian] weapons, a large portion of which they themselves have produced, to make the aggressors pay a heavy price."
The Cuban government also granted Ahmadinejad an honorary doctorate degree in political science. The Havana University declared that the honorary degree was given to Ahmadinejad because of his incomparable efforts in te defense of the establishment of a just international system as well as nations' rights against capitalist powers. During the ceremony, Ahmadinejad gave a speech denouncing capitalism. "Thankfully we are already witnessing that the capitalist system is in decay," he said. "On various stages it has come to a dead end -- politically, economically and culturally. You see that when it lacks logic, they turn to weapons to kill and destroy."
Contemporary U.S.-Latin American relations, a book edited by Jorge I. Dominguez and Rafael Fernandez De Castro, states that since the Iranian Revolution in 1979, Cuban-Iranian relations have been on a "strong footing:" "Cuba has had strong political affinities with Iran, from supporting the Palestinian cause to espousing Tehran's right to develop nuclear power. In May 2001, Fidel Castro visited Iran and there said: 'Iran and Cuba, in cooperation with each other, can bring America to its knees.' After 9-11, some analysts saw a potential Cuba-Iran axis in the making. After his election in 2005, Mahmoud Ahmadinejad noted: 'Iran's relations with Cuba are strategic and deep-seated.' In September 2006, Havana hosted the Non-Aligned Movement's summit; Raul Castro met privately with Ahmadinejad […]. In January 2009, Tehran sent a special envoy to meet with the Cuban president; the agenda was not made public."
U.S. Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen (R-FL), Chairman of the House Foreign Affairs Committee, warned about the meeting between the Castro brothers and Ahmadinejad: "Both Iran and Cuba have clear intentions of harming the U.S., and both support extremist groups dedicated to bringing destruction to our nation or destabilizing our allies. In the past few years, Iran has propped up Cuba's failing economy by providing it with an increased line of credit and loans to ramp up their economic and energy cooperation. They also work together on biotechnology research that could have weapons applications, and continue to share sensitive intelligence information that could harm the United States and our allies." Ros-Lehtinen added that, "Iran and Cuba are both state-sponsors of terrorism, and need to be treated as immediate threats to our national security. Just as the Iranian regime has rejected every overture by the Administration, the Castro regime will never be coddled into changing its ways. In fact, by easing economic pressure on Cuba, the Obama Administration is making the regime stronger and better able to maintain its iron grip on the Cuban people and continue to threaten U.S. interests."
Ros-Lehtinen's warning is also supported by the fact that in the documentary The Iranian Threat, recently aired by the U.S Spanish language channel Univision, Cuban, Iranian and Venezuelan officials have been caught on camera actively considering cyber attacks against the U.S.
Ahmadinejad in Ecuador:
Ahmadinejad concluded his visit in Ecuador, where he was greeted by an excited crowd. In exchange for the warm welcome, Ahmadinejad told Ecuadorian President Rafael Correa that he was "glad to meet the friendly and caring people of Ecuador; I have brought a message of love, affection and solidarity." Correa referred to Ahmadinejad as his "brother," and added that, "the era of the people has begun; people are waking up all over the world to build a more beautiful world."
According to Ros-Lehtinen, however, Ahmadinejad's visit to Ecuador illustrates the growing strategic partnership between Rafael Correa and the regime in Tehran: "Over the last five years, Iran's economic investments in Ecuador have been effectively used to secure a loyal ally within our Hemisphere that could help Iran circumvent U.S. and UN sanctions. Iran's deepened alliance with Correa also facilitates Tehran's ability to access Ecuador's uranium deposits."
Ahmadinejad went on to describe Ecuador as a lovely country with friendly people and expressed hope that Iran-Ecuador relations would be promoted in the future. He then said that despite the long geographical distance between Iran and Ecuador, there is no distance between the freedom-seeking beliefs of the two nations.
During the meeting, Correa reiterated his support for Iran's nuclear plan: "Ecuador supports Tehran's peaceful nuclear energy against arrogant powers' propaganda machine," Correa said. Further, Univision reports that Correa denounced a recent IAEA report that found "credible" evidence that Iran is developing a nuclear bomb: "How can we accept these kinds of reports?" Correa said. "The report concluded, in quotes, that Iran was developing nuclear weapons, something it has always denied, and we believe them [the Iranians]. Iran can count on the total support of Ecuador so that the truth is known and not just the propaganda of countries which show a shameful double standard."
Conclusion
The Obama administration has called the Ahmadinejad's tour a sign of "desperation." Although Iran might feel isolated, this does not mean that the U.S. should underestimate the danger Iran represents. The State Department stated that the Iranian government is "desperate for friends," but in Latin America Ahmadinejad did not feel desperate: he found a strong and substantial support. In Ecuador, the newspaper La Hora, welcomed Ahmadinejad with an article entitled, "Welcome Mahmoud," which should be of high concern for the U.S.:"We welcome you with jubilation. We do not care that you deny the Holocaust or that you want to wipe Israel off the map. … The complaints of the U.S. are of no concern. Nor it is a problem that we are just a tool for you to convince the world that you still have friends. … Mahmoud, we will be forever your friends."
Related Topics: Anna Mahjar-Barducci
U.S. Vendors Near Monopolies in Turkey's Arms Acquisitions
And more from the Turkish Press
by AK Group
January 18, 2012 at 3:00 am
http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2765/us-vendors-near-monopolies-in-turkey-arms
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United States armsmakers are re-establishing themselves in the narrower-but-still-lucrative Turkish market, where European rivals appear to have lost their competitive edge.
According to defense analysts, political disagreements with countries whose armsmakers Turkey once favored have earned U.S. contenders a "near-monopoly" position in off-the-shelf purchases.
"This is not the first time Ankara used blacklisting as a foreign policy tool," said one analyst. "Recent disputes with Israel and France and the transformation of ties with Italy from excellent to just normal dictate that U.S. firms could enjoy a favorable competition condition they have not enjoyed for several years."
U.S. companies recently won two contracts and are viewed as frontrunners in two others. In April, Sikorsky Aircraft defeated Italy's AgustaWestland in a multibillion-dollar competition to lead the co-production of more than 100 T-70 utility helicopters, a Turkish version of the U.S. company's S-70i Black Hawk International.
And earlier this month, in selecting a producer of light police helicopters, Turkey's top procurement decision-making body chose Bell Helicopter Textron over AgustaWestland and Eurocopter Deutschland, the German arm of Eurocopter.
But between 2000 and 2010, U.S. companies tried and failed to secure several Turkish contracts.
In 2000, for example, Bell Helicopter was selected for the Army's multibillion-dollar attack helicopter deal, but the deal was never signed because of disagreements over price and the mission computer's provider.
In general, U.S. companies won only U.S. foreign military sales-related contracts and single-source deals in Turkey in the 2000s.
Italy, Israel, France Lose Ground
Until 2011, units of Italy's Finmeccanica were the top foreign players in the Turkish market. In fact, Italian firms won every Turkish contract between 2006 and 2007. But the two countries' defense relationship suffered as political ties weakened between Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and his former Italian counterpart, Silvio Berlusconi, whose government fell last November.
Another major non-U.S. competitor was Israel. But procurement and military cooperation between Turkey and the Jewish state came to a standstill after the former allies froze their diplomatic relations last year. Turkey and Israel fell out after Israeli commandos killed nine Turks aboard an aid flotilla bound for Gaza in 2010. The last major contract that went to an Israeli company was a 2004 deal for the sale of 10 Heron UAVs.
Recently, another major player on the Turkish market, France, has fallen from grace. Last month, the French Parliament's Lower House passed a bill criminalizing the denial of World War I-era Armenian "genocide" by the Ottoman Empire, modern Turkey's predecessor. In response, Turkish government officials unofficially said French bidders, and those who partnered with them, would be blacklisted in Turkish procurement competitions.
The largest upcoming Turkish contest, the procurement of long-range missile and air defense systems, is valued at about $4 billion. Competitors include U.S. partners Raytheon and Lockheed Martin, Eurosam, Russia's Rosoboronexport and China's CPMIEC. Eurosam's shareholders include MBDA – jointly owned by British BAE Systems, Italian Finmeccanica and pan-European EADS – and France's Thales.
"France can forget about this project in the event the [Armenian genocide] bill passes [in the French Senate]," a senior Turkish procurement official said. "I agree with the view that this would be very good news for the Americans."
Rick Perry Calls Turkish Leaders 'Islamic Terrorists,' Call for Expulsion from NATO
Texas governor and United States presidential hopeful Rick Perry suggested it might be time to kick Turkey out of NATO, calling the country's leaders "Islamic terrorists."
Perry made the remarks during Fox News' South Carolina debate, Mediaite.com reported Monday. Moderator Bret Baier reportedly mentioned Turkey's ruling "Islamist" Justice and Development Party, or AKP, and outlined the increasing murder rates of women, declining press freedom in the country and deteriorating relations with Israel and Greek Cyprus since the AKP came to power and asked Perry if he believed Turkey should still be a part of NATO.
"Obviously, when you have a country that is being ruled by what many would perceive to be Islamic terrorists, when you start seeing that type of activity against their own citizens, then not only is it time for us to have a conversation about whether or not they belong to be in NATO, but it's time for the United States, when we look at their foreign aid, to go to zero with it," Perry said, adding that Turkey "moved far away from the country it once was in the 1970s," when Perry was stationed there as a pilot.
The report said Perry's response "might surprise many" and mentioned Turkey's longstanding alliance with the U.S. in NATO, citing an article from the Washington Post that defined Turkey as "a critical diplomatic partner engaged in a working relationship that is one of the most important but least discussed developments shaping [2011's] change in the Arab world."
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/planet/19703018.asp
Turkey Says Russian Ship Delivery 'Dangerous Cargo' to Syria
Turkey has confirmed that a Russian ship suspected of delivering munitions to Syria in violation of a European Union arms embargo after an unscheduled stop in Greek Cyprus docked at Turkey's coast on Monday after offloading nearly 60 tons of what it called "dangerous cargo."
The Russian ship Chariot initially made its way to the Greek Cypriot port of Limassol last Tuesday after running low on fuel because of rough seas. Its arrival at the EU member country meant the vessel would be subject to the embargo the bloc imposed to protest Syria's crackdown on the uprising against President Bashar al-Assad's rule.
But Greek Cypriot authorities allowed it to leave Wednesday after the ship's owners, St. Petersburg-based Westberg Ltd., said it would head to Turkey instead of Syria.
The ship then vanished off radar screens after apparently switching off its Automatic Identification System, or AIS, that enables the vessel to be tracked. Turkey, citing navy intelligence, said the ship made its way to Tartus after leaving Greek Cyprus.
Turkish officials said Saturday that the Russian ship anchored off the port of İskenderun. Foreign Ministry spokesman Selçuk Ünal told Today's Zaman that Turkish coast guard and customs officials had inspected the Chariot while at anchor off the İskenderun port before allowing it to dock at the port.
Ünal said it was clear that 59,422 tons of the "dangerous cargo" the St. Vincent and Grenadines-flagged ship had been offloaded at Tartus, but that the rest of what was offloaded was general cargo. It was not immediately clear what kind of munitions the Russian ship had delivered to Syria.
Greek Cypriot customs officials inspecting the vessel last week found that it was carrying "dangerous cargo" inside four containers that Cypriot Finance Minister Kikis Kazamias said was of a type that necessitated its seizure under EU embargo rules.
A Greek Cypriot official, speaking on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue, told The Associated Press that the containers carried a shipment of bullets.
Turkey, Iraq Summons Countries Ambassadors as Tensions Rise
Already tense ties between Turkey and Iraq were further strained Monday as both countries summoned each other's ambassador to accuse one another of interfering in the internal affairs in the wake of growing sectarian conflict in war-torn Iraq.
The rise in tension between the neighboring countries apparently united Ankara and Arbil as Turkey's most senior diplomat held unannounced meetings with Masoud Barzani, leader of the Kurdistan Regional Government, over the weekend.
The first move came Monday morning from Iraq when Deputy Foreign Minister Muhammed Jawad al-Dooreki summoned Yunus Demirer, the Turkish ambassador in Baghdad, urging his government to consider the "necessity of avoiding anything that might disturb" good relations.
The Iraqi move came a week after Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan said Iraq's neighbors should not stoke Sunni-Shiite tensions in Iraq, which he said could engulf the entire Islamic world. The same day Erdoğan held a phone conversation with Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and reiterated Turkey's concerns.
"The Turkish ambassador gave assurances that Turkish officials' statements were in good faith and he will inform his government in Ankara of the Iraqi position," an Iraqi Foreign Ministry statement said Monday. In return, Demirer underlined that the situation in Iraq was a concern for all regional countries and required a holistic approach for the solution, a diplomatic source told the Hürriyet Daily News.
Ties between Baghdad and Ankara have been strained by Turkey's position on the Shiite-led government's move to arrest Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi, a measure that has triggered political turmoil that risks stirring more sectarian tensions.
Hours after its envoy to Baghdad was summoned, Ankara invited Iraq's ambassador to Turkey in a move to express the Turkish government's disturbances over al-Maliki's recent statement, warning that Turkey itself would suffer if its interventions in Iraq sparked conflict in the Middle East.
"Recently we noticed their surprise interventions with statements, as if Iraq is controlled or run by them," al-Maliki said in an interview with private al-Hurra television channel late Friday. "Their latest statements interfered in domestic Iraqi affairs and we do not allow that absolutely. If it is acceptable to talk about our judicial authority, then we can talk about theirs; and if they talk about their disputes, we can talk about theirs."
In further remarks, al-Maliki warned that "Turkey is playing a role that might bring disaster and civil war to the region, and Turkey will suffer because it has different sects and ethnicities."
Al-Maliki's strongly worded statement was not left unanswered by Ankara, which invited Iraq's Ambassador to Turkey Abdul Kamil Tabikh to the Foreign Ministry late Monday, when the Hürriyet Daily News went to print. Apart from voicing criticisms about al-Maliki's statement, Ankara reiterated its policy to Iraq with calls on Iraqi officials to responsibly deal with the ongoing sectarian conflict.
In a separate reaction, Ömer Çelik, deputy leader of the Justice and Development Party, or AKP, slammed al-Maliki through his Twitter account.
Describing al-Maliki as the leader of an organization, rather than a state, and his statements as imprudent, Çelik said: "Words targeting Turkey are not compatible with the responsibility of the 'Iraqi Prime Minister.' He is fulfilling 'other responsibilities."
Accusing al-Maliki of aiming to run a Shiite-dominated country, Çelik warned that Iraq might be a satellite country in the future under his rule.
"From now on Iraq has a serious al-Maliki problem. Turkey has no problem with Iraq and fully supports Iraq's unity," Çelik said.
At a moment when Ankara-Baghdad ties were put into a deeper spat, Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioğlu's unannounced visit to Arbil sparked fresh thoughts about a possible Ankara-Arbil alliance in the face of ongoing internal conflict in Iraq.
Sinirlioğlu met with Masoud Barzani and Iraqi Kurdistan Democratic Party leader Nechirvan Barzani to discuss a variety of issues including the ongoing political crisis in Iraq, the fight against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, and other bilateral matters.
That visit came after Arbil's relations with Baghdad were also strained as Barzani refused to hand over al-Hashemi, who was accused of establishing a criminal gang in the capital.
Turkish diplomatic sources would neither confirm nor deny a potential meeting between Sinirlioğlu and al-Hashemi, who has near-perfect relations with Ankara. Al-Hashemi, who is currently holed up in Iraq's Kurdish region, has mooted the possibility of going to Turkey, even though officials have barred him from overseas travel.
Meanwhile, the Iraqi judiciary says a court in Baghdad has ruled that the Sunni vice president must stand trial on terror charges in Baghdad, not the northern city of Kirkuk, the Associated Press reported. Al-Hashemi escaped to the semi-autonomous northern Iraq, out of reach of authorities in Baghdad.
Turkish Foreign Minister Warns of Cyprus Miss
The Cyprus issue is at a crucial juncture and all parties must ensure that a chance for a solution is not wasted, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has said.
"We are on the threshold of an important opportunity in the Cyprus issue, and it is important not to miss this opportunity," Davutoğlu told reporters Sunday, following a meeting with United Nations Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon in Beirut.
The foreign minister said Ban had also told him that Turkey's initiatives on the Cyprus issue were important.
The secretary-general also attached importance to making rapid progress during a critical Cyprus summit that will be held in New York next week, Davutoğlu said.
On Monday, Davutoğlu also met Ban's special adviser in Cyprus, Alexander Downer.
Ankara urged Downer to schedule a multilateral conference with the participation of guarantor states during the New York meeting. During his meeting with Downer, Davutoğlu also noted the flexible stance of Turkish Cypriots while pursuing Cyprus talks, diplomatic sources said.
Turkish Cypriot President Derviş Eroğlu and Greek Cypriot President Demetris Christofias and Ban will hold their meeting in New York on Jan. 22 with the hopes of speeding up UN-sponsored talks that have been continuing since 2008. Turkey aims to accelerate the process with a conference that would increase pressure on Cypriot leaders to reach an agreement for reunification before taking the document to a referendum on both sides of the island.
http://www.aa.com.tr/tr/kategoriler/dunya
Ceremony for Denktas Continuing in Nicosia
Turkey's political and military hierarchy joined thousands of residents in the northern half of divided Cyprus on Tuesday at a funeral service for former Turkish Cypriot leader Rauf Denktaş.
Turkey's President Abdullah Gül and Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan will be among mourners filing past Denktaş's coffin to pay their last respects before his burial in the Turkish Cypriot part of the island's capital.
A gun carriage will transport Dentkaş's coffin, draped with the flags of Turkey and the breakaway state that he founded, to the Selimiye Mosque for funeral prayers prior to burial.
Denktaş's final resting place is the appropriately named Park of the Republic, where he and his colleagues created the separatist Turkish Resistance Organization, or TMT, in the 1950s as a counterweight to a Greek Cypriot guerrilla campaign against the island's then colonial ruler Britain to achieve union with Greece.
Denktaş, who died Jan. 13 at the age of 87, was as much loved by Turkish Cypriots as he was reviled by Greek Cypriots for his uncompromising vision over a six-decade-long political career to forge a separate Turkish Cypriot state.
He believed that Turkish Cypriots needed a separate state to preserve peace and prevent what he called the massacres of Turkish Cypriots by the majority Greek Cypriots.
http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/planet/19703151.asp
Turkey to Take Iranian Gas Price to Arbitration
International arbitration over the price of Iranian natural gas is "inevitable" due to Tehran's reluctance to provide a discount, Energy Minister Taner Yıldız said Monday, a day before Iran's foreign minister comes to Turkey for economic cooperation talks.
"We have close cooperation with Iran in natural gas and we shared with them our unease about the high gas price. They did not share the same view," Yıldız told reporters. "Our demand for a discount continues. An international arbitration tribunal is inevitable. If they want to talk, we are ready."
The issue was not initially supposed to be on the agenda of the Turkey-Iran Joint Economic Commission meeting, which is scheduled for Wednesday, and will feature Iranian Foreign Minister Ali Akbar Salehi, an energy ministry official said.
The discount Russia recently made for Turkey had led to "quite a difference" between the prices of Russian and Iranian gas, the official said, adding that Iran also failed to deliver the promised quantities.
Turkey has already won an arbitration case against Iran over deliveries of sub-standard quality gas, he added. Turkish officials involved in the negotiations are said to be using the growing pressure on Tehran as a bargaining chip to secure a discount.
Seven KCK Suspects, BDP Officials Arrested in Operations
A court in Van ruled to arrest seven people on Monday for their ties to the Kurdish Communities Union, or KCK, which, prosecutors say, is a political umbrella organization that includes the Kurdistan Workers' Party, or PKK, terrorist organization.
Police conducted simultaneous operations targeting the KCK and raided 123 premises in 17 provinces, detaining 49 suspects. Detainees included former Peace and Democracy Party, or BDP, Deputy Fatma Kurtulan, now defunct pro-Kurdish Democratic People's Party, or DEHAP, leader Tuncer Bakırhan and Dicle news agency reporter Murat Çiftçi. These suspects were later interrogated by the prosecutors and seven of the detainees were put behind bars pending trail.
The detainees include Hakkari's Esendere Mayor Hurşit Altekin, former Yüksekova Mayor Ruken Yetişkin and BDP officials Mehmet Capraz, Abdurrahman Gemicioğlu, Sıracettin Fırat, Yılmaz Gözyan and Sabri Tümen.
Police recently stepped up operations against the KCK. The KCK investigation started in December 2009 and a large number of Kurdish politicians, including several mayors from the pro-Kurdish BDP, have been detained.
The suspects are accused of various crimes, including membership in a terrorist organization, aiding and abetting a terrorist organization and attempting to destroy the country's unity and integrity.
BDP officials have said the investigation is the government's method of suppressing BDP politicians, denying any links between the suspects and any terrorist organizations.
http://www.todayszaman.com/news-268715-seven-kck-suspects-bdp-officials-arrested-in-operations.html
Related Topics: AK Group
Investigation a Shame for Democracy, CHP Leader Says
And more from the Turkish Press
by AK Group
January 17, 2012 at 3:00 am
http://www.stonegateinstitute.org/2764/investigation-a-shame-for-democracy-chp-leader
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Main opposition leader Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu harshly denounced the prime minister Sunday for backing a prosecution attempt to put him on trial as a war of words raged on between the two.
"The prime minister [Recep Tayyip Erdoğan] says the probe cannot produce a hero. True. The probe could only produce shame for democracy and gloom for freedom of speech and expression," Republican People's Party, or CHP, leader Kılıçdaroğlu said at a party gathering in Ankara.
Erdoğan had derided Kılıçdaroğlu for exaggerating the judicial move against him in a bid to earn himself a hero's status, arguing that even he himself was the subject of investigations.
"Erdoğan is today a person who is applauding oppression. The victim of yesterday has become the oppressor of today. He spent four months in jail. I would have expected him to develop wisdom; instead he has nourished feelings of vengeance," Kılıçdaroğlu said.
He spoke at a CHP gathering that was organized to welcome more than 1,000 new party members, including people who had recently quit Erdoğan's Justice and Development Party, or AKP.
Kılıçdaroğlu said the judicial probes against Erdoğan pertained to allegations of fraud and forgery.
"How can you consider this as equivalent to freedom of thought?" he said, referring to the charges pressed against him for criticizing the judiciary.
Kılıçdaroğlu urged Erdoğan to reveal the content of his secret meeting with former Army Chief Yaşar Büyükanıt in May 2007, held shortly after the military had issued the so-called "e-memorandum" to the government to block Abdullah Gül's way to the president's post.
Asked about reports that his opponents within the party had collected enough signatures to call a congress to amend the party statute, Kılıçdaroğlu said he would not shy away from a congress if the signatures were formally submitted to the party.
The CHP leader said the party members collecting the signatures were "using their right given to them by the party statute."
"I do not consider them as dissidents within our party. The party members are free to exercise any legal right they have," Kılıçdaroğlu said.
http://haber.gazetevatan.com/basbakana-don-kisot-kitabini-gonderecegim/424474/9/Siyaset#
U.S. Reluctant to Share Defense Technology, Defense Minister Says
The world's biggest economies and not regional neighbors are Turkey's new rivals, Defense Minister İsmet Yılmaz has said, citing the United States' hesitation to share technology with Ankara as an example of the new situation.
"Our rivals are no longer the neighboring towns or provinces. The new competitors for the Turkish people are today those in Germany, France and the United States," Yılmaz said during the opening ceremony of a school in the Central Anatolian province of Konya's Ilgın district. "During a recent visit to America, when asked about technology transfer to Turkey, [the officials] openly said that we were their rival. 'Why should we transfer technology to you?' they asked," the minister said.
Yılmaz's remarks come only days after news reports that Turkey was still bargaining for the software of F-35 fighter jets that it has decided to acquire from the U.S.
"When it comes to the plane's software, we aren't talking about purchasing all the codes, but just those that are the most essential for the plane's freedom of operation. These are the codes that we are interested in acquiring," Murad Bayar, undersecretary of the Defense Industry, said in an interview Friday, a reference to the decisions from the most recent Defense Industry Executive Committee.
Turkey plans to buy two F-35s from the U.S. in 2015.
http://www.aa.com.tr/tr/manset/111133-artik-rakibimiz-avrupa-ve-abd
Obama, Erdogan Discuss Iran, Syria
President Barack Obama spoke by telephone Friday with Turkey's Prime Minister Recip Erdoğan about the situation in Syria and Iran's nuclear program, the White House said.
"They agreed that the U.S. and Turkey should continue to support the legitimate demands for democracy for the Syrian people and condemned the brutal action of the al-Assad regime," it said in a statement. "The two leaders discussed Iran's nuclear program and how Iran should engage with the international community in this regard."
The conversation -- their first of the New Year -- comes amid escalating tensions with Iran over its nuclear programs and diplomatic efforts to step up the pressure on the Syrian regime of President Bashar al-Assad to stop the killing of anti-government protesters.
The White House said Obama and Erdoğan also discussed the democratic transition in the Middle East and North Africa.
http://www.afp.com/afpcom/fr/taglibrary/thematic/politic
Iraq Tells Turkey to Not Meddle in Affairs
Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki criticized Turkey's "interventions" into Iraqi affairs, warning that Ankara itself could suffer if its actions sparked conflict in the Middle East.
"We ... did not expect the way [Turkey to] interfere in Iraq," al-Maliki said in a Friday interview with the Al-Hurra satellite television channel.
His remarks come amid a political row in Iraq, with authorities charging Sunni Vice President Tariq al-Hashemi with running a death squad. Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan expressed his concerns over the deadlock to al-Maliki in a telephone conversation on Jan. 10.
Al-Hashemi, who is currently holed up in semi-autonomous northern Iraq, has mooted the possibility of going to Turkey, although officials have already barred him from overseas travel.
"Recently, we noticed their surprise interventions with statements, as if Iraq is controlled or run by them," he said. "Their latest statements interfered in domestic Iraqi affairs and we do not allow that absolutely. If it is acceptable to talk about our judicial authority, then we can talk about theirs, and if they talk about our disputes, we can talk about theirs."
Al-Maliki warned that "Turkey is playing a role that might bring disaster and civil war to the region, and Turkey itself will suffer because it has different sects and ethnicities."
Erdoğan voiced concern over Iraq's political stand-off to al-Maliki in a Jan. 10 telephone conversation.
Turkey's Opposition Mobilizes over Genocide Row with France
Turkey's main opposition party said Friday it had appealed to France's socialist leader over French plans for a law that reinforces the view of Turkey's Ottoman-era massacre of Armenians as genocide.
In a letter to Francois Hollande, the social democratic Republican People's Party, or CHP, denounced the French bill, which would outlaw denial that the 1915-17 massacres of Armenians by Ottoman Turk forces amounted to genocide.
Hollande is the Socialist Party's contender in the French presidential elections later this year.
"If the French parliament insists on voting through anti-Turk and unconstitutional 'laws,' it could cause serious damage, not just to France's image, but also that of the European Union," the letter said.
CHP Chief Kemal Kilicdaroglu wrote directly to Hollande amid a growing diplomatic row between the countries over the bill. Passing it into law "would provoke an unprecedented crisis" between the two countries, he wrote.
Copies of the letter were also sent to other leading socialists, including the president of the Senate, Jean-Pierre Bel.
French senators will debate the bill on January 23 and, if passed, it would go to President Nicolas Sarkozy for approval. France's lower house, the national assembly, approved the bill last month.
"The Turks cannot believe that the country of Voltaire and Diderot would want to trample over freedom of expression," said the letter, a copy of which was obtained by the AFP.
The planned law was drawn up by right-wing politicians and proposes penalties of up to a year in prison and a 45,000-euro fine for denial of any genocide recognized under French law.
France recognized the killings as genocide in 2001, to the outrage of Turkey.
Bel said most socialist senators would vote for the bill. A majority of right-wing deputies also back it and it has Sarkozy's support.
Ankara has already hit back by freezing political and military ties with Paris.
Turkey has also accused France of hypocrisy for the thousands of killings it carried out in its then overseas territory Algeria in 1945 and during its struggle for independence between 1954 and 1962.
Armenians and their supporters say up to 1.5 million of their forebears were killed in a coordinated campaign of genocide by what was then the Ottoman Empire.
Turkey disputes the figure, saying 500,000 died, and denies this was genocide, ascribing the toll to wartime fighting and starvation and accusing the Armenians of siding with Russian invaders.
http://www.afp.com/afpcom/fr/taglibrary/thematic/politic
Davutoglu Offers Turkish Perspective on Arab Spring in UN Address
Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu has addressed regional issues and offered his views on Turkey's take on the social movements of the Arab Spring at a United Nations conference in Lebanon, where he stayed over the weekend to exchange views with the UN chief, as well as domestic politicians and political and religious leaders in Lebanon.
Davutoğlu delivered a speech on his country's perspective regarding the sociological developments in the Middle Eastern and North African region, popularly dubbed the Arab Spring, at a UN conference titled "Reform and Transitions to Democracy," organized by the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Western Asia, or ESCWA, the Anatolia news agency reported on Sunday.
Davutoğlu also met UN Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon on the sidelines of the conference to discuss regional issues, with Syria being the major issue of the meeting, UN sources informed the press. In the meeting between Davutoğlu and Ban, the crisis in Syria was mentioned as "a source of grave concern" for both parties, as Ban told Davutoğlu that the Syrian case was moving in a direction that was becoming increasingly dangerous, Anatolia reported. They also discussed the Cyprus issue as negotiation talks between Turkish and Greek communities of the Cypriot island are set to resume at a UN meeting next weekend in the hope to sew the final stitches of a reunification deal.
Speaking to reporters in Beirut, Davutoğlu offered his views on an amnesty issued in Syria, but dismissed the measure as "an old move with many precedents in history," the Cihan news agency reported on Sunday. "Emergency rule was abandoned in Syria last April, which also coincided with my visit to Syria, but a more repressive rule replaced it in the aftermath," Davutoğlu said, disillusioned by attempts at democratic reform in Syria. "If this [amnesty] is applied sincerely, we will evaluate it accordingly, but our experience says such great pledges usually go unfulfilled," he added, while at the same time hinting that the move might be a strategy "to gain more time."
During his stay in Lebanon, Davutoğlu also held a meeting with Lebanon-based Hezbollah's parliamentary group chairperson Mohammad Raad on Saturday, as developments in Syria dominated the leaders' gathering. Davutoğlu stressed again that a clash among sects should be avoided vehemently and that everybody should seek an end to the bloodshed in Syria.
The Turkish minister also met Christian Maronite Patriarch Beshara al-Rahi on Saturday on a first time high-level visit to a Maronite patriarch from Turkey, Anatolia reported. Davutoğlu was also scheduled to meet Lebanese civil society organizations and domestic party leaders and politicians on Sunday before leaving for Turkey.
Alevis Not Hopeful On Turkey's New Charter
Alevi leaders have expressed pessimism over Parliament trying to produce a truly democratic constitution, charging that the ruling Justice and Development Party, or AKP, was not sincere in pledges to respect all religious and ethnic groups.
Speaking at the Second Grand Alevi Congress Sunday, Ercan Geçmez, chairman of the Hacı Bektaşi Veli Anatolia Culture Association, stressed that the government had failed to meet basic Alevi demands despite initial promises of reconciliation.
"We would have expected that the issue of cemevis be resolved before the new constitution is drafted. They have not done that; they do not want to do it. Those who are holding us in contempt are now shouting at rallies that they will bring democracy and a new constitution to this country," he said.
The cemevi, or house of gathering, is the main Alevi place of worship, but they are not officially recognized as such and, therefore, lack the state assistance that mosques receive.
Geçmez also urged Parliament to issue a formal apology for the killing of thousands of Alevis in Dersim in the 1930s. Other participants underlined the need for the Alevi faith to be included in school textbooks, while others expressed worries of lingering divisions among the Alevi community.
In a final declaration issued at the end of the Congress, the participants stressed that the constitution-making process should go hand-in-hand with government efforts to reconcile with Alevis, Kurds, Armenians and other ethnic groups, including the restoration of the original names of their settlements and permission for relocated people to repair properties they had left behind. The declaration also called for an end to judicial onslaughts on Kurdish politicians, journalists and civic activists.
"All legislation pertaining to the freedoms of thought, speech and organization must be urgently reviewed, and preclusive reforms should be undertaken in the democratic and liberal spirit that the constitution is said it will have," it said.
Members of Alevi associations from Europe and representatives of Syrian Alevis participated in the congress, along with Republican People's Party, or CHP, lawmakers Hüseyin Aygün, Kamer Genç, Ali Hatipoğlu and Refik Eraslan.
In comments on the unrest in Syria, Geçmez said the turmoil was part of the United States' Greater Middle East project and intended to drive a rift between Alevis and Sunnis.
"We won't allow such a conflict to happen in Turkey," he said.
Related Topics: AK Group
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