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Cameron's Despicable Toadying To Turkey
Thursday, 29 July 2010 11:29
Written by Daniel Greenfield
Eurasia Review

It is sadly unsurprising that Prime Minister Cameron's highly
publicized trip to Turkey went with no mention of that country's
continued denial of the Armenian Genocide, and its suppression

of Kurdish and Armenian minorities. Indeed when Turkish leader

Erdogan discussed his threats of ethnically cleansing Armenians

in the UK, Gordon Brown made no more comment on the matter

than if Erdogan had been discussing his favorite television

programs.

It is in keeping with that conspiracy of silence, that Cameron made no
mention of the thousands of political prisoners in Turkish jails,
there often for merely expressing an opinion at odds with the state,
for singing a folk song, or delivering an official speech in Kurdish.
Naturally Cameron did not think to raise the issue of Leyla Zana, the
first Kurdish woman elected to the Turkish parliament and a winner of
the Sakharov Prize, who is still in jail today. Cameron could have at
least raised the subject of Aysel Tuğluk, a member of the Turkish
Human Rights Association, who was illegally stripped of her
parliamentary immunity and sent to jail for handing out leaflets in
the Kurdish language, and is now due to be sent to jail yet again.

But rather than standing up for human rights, Cameron instead

pandered to the radical Islamists who were his hosts, by feeding

their appetite for hate directed at Israel. And it did not begin or

end with Israel.

Instead Cameron sold out the rest of Europe, declaring that he was
"angry" at how long the negotiations to bring Turkey into the EU were
taking, and declaring himself the "strongest possible advocate for EU
membership". He slammed France and implicitly Germany, for refusing

to rush forward to support bringing Turkey into the EU. Cameron sided
with Turkey, over France and Germany, betraying allies for enemies.
And worse was yet to come.

Not only did Cameron ignore Turkey's ongoing occupation of

Cyprus, but he signed a strategic agreement with Turkey that

calls for ending the"isolation" of the Turkish Cypriots by upholding

their "right to representation" in the European Parliament, and

promoting political and cultural contacts with the Turkish Cypriots.

What that means is that Cameron committed himself to supporting Dervis

Eroglu from the radical National Unity Party, which calls for Turkish annexation

of occupied Cyprus. The strategic agreement signed by Cameron, moves

the UK closer to recognizing the Turkish occupation of Cyprus, which
currently only Turkey itself recognizes.

Again Cameron makes no criticism whatsoever of Turkey's illegal
occupation of Cyprus. He does not mention the fact that he signed

an agreement promoting the flow of goods from occupied Cyprus to

the UK, while Turkey refuses to accept goods from Greek Cyprus.

Of course not. No more than his predecessor was willing to.

Did Cameron do any of this out of principle? Nonsense. Cameron knows
as well as anyone about Turkey's state of domestic terror, its
persecution of the political opposition, and how unworkable Turkish
membership in the EU would be. Instead like Brown before him, Cameron
pandered to the Turkish thug-in-chief for a few pounds, hoping to
boost British exports to Turkey. In the hope of a few million pounds,
Cameron betrayed fellow European nations, signed off on Turkey's
occupation of Cyprus, ignored the thousands of political prisoners in
Turkish jails, and whitewashed Turkey's real record on Islamic
terrorism. And while he and his businessmen friends beamed and shook
hands with Turkey's chief terrorist-- others were left to stand up
against the violence and brutality of the Turkish regime on their own.

In his rambling speech, Cameron praised Turkey for fighting against
terrorism. The reality however is that the only "terrorism" that
Turkey fights against, is Kurdish guerrillas, from its large Kurdish
minority who want to have their own state, or at least some basic
human rights. And when Cameron shook hands with Erdogan, he was
shaking hands with a man whose patron, Yassin Qadi, funneled millions
of dollars to Al Queda, and whose own advisor, Cuneyt Zapsu, donated
300,000 dollars to Al Queda. Al Queda operates its magazine freely in
Istanbul, which is convenient because Erdogan claims there's no such
thing as Islamic terrorism.

If Turkey, as Cameron says, is guarding the flank of Europe... then
who in G-d's name is guarding Europe from Turkey? Certainly not
Cameron.

Cameron's despicable toadying to Turkey's Thug-in-Chief was one long
collection of lies. In his speech, he claimed that "Europe will draw
fresh vigour and purpose from a Turkey that embraces human rights

and democracy". Turkey's democracy is such that its opposition is
routinely jailed. Its human rights has sent 12 year olds to prison for
singing folk songs. It has no concept of democracy or human rights.
Its 10,000 political prisoners could testify to that. Almost a 1000 of
them opposition politicians.

The sham continued as Cameron congratulated Turkey on "its efforts to
achieve the ambition of zero problems with all its neighbours,
including Iraq". This after Turkish troops repeatedly invaded Iraq
just just last month, murdering a 15 year old girl, among others. The
Iraqi government protested, to no effect. Cameron, who is supposed to
be committed to guaranteeing Iraq's security, instead shamelessly
praises the invaders. The only casualties he mentions are those of the
Turkish invading forces, not their victims. Never their victims.

And so it goes. Cameron babbles on about Turkey's religious tolerance,
while the level of hateful incitement spirals out of control. He talks
about the true tolerant Islam, to a man who was at one point
imprisoned for his own Islamic radicalism. He takes up arms against
all those damned obstructionists who are preventing a lovely regime
like Erdogan's Turkey from joining the EU. He vows to fight them
everywhere, like a latter day Churchill, proclaiming not, "There will
always be an England", but rather, "There will always be a Turkey in
the EU".

If there was any Turk in that room who had the slightest respect for
England before Cameron began to speak, it was sure to have vanished in
a whiff of contempt. Cameron's speech reminds one of English
socialists visiting the Soviet Union and heaping praise on Stalin and
the wonderful revolution, before going off to collect their blood
money. And now Cameron has done them one better, demanding that a
radical Islamist regime share open borders with the EU.

In a speech given while Erdogan prepares to round up political
opponents before the election on fraudulent charges of "inciting"
Kurdish riots-- Cameron made only one criticism of human rights. Not
of Turkey of course. Or of Erdogan, who has jailed about as many of
his opponents as Saddam Hussein. No, Cameron courageously blasted
Israel, for standing up to Erdogan's IHH thugs, after they beat and
stabbed Israeli soldiers inspecting their flotilla carrying aid to
Hamas run Gaza.

Cameron blasted the response of Israeli soldiers who fired back after
they Turkish Islamist thugs tried to murder them, as "completely
unacceptable" and called Gaza, a "prison camp". He demanded a "swift,
transparent and rigorous" inquiry. No such demand was of course issued
to his hosts for their 10,000 political prisoners, their illegal
invasion of Iraq and murder of civilians-- or that Armenian genocide
matter. Of course no inquiries are demanded there.

Let us be clear what Cameron has done. He has sold out Europe

and the free world by signing on the dotted of an agreement which

explicitly trades English support for EU membership for increased

exports. This is about money, pure and simple. There are no principles

of any kind here. And what does Europe get out of all this? Here is a brief
preview of coming attractions;

It is mainly young people who take to the streets, with Turkish flags
in their hands, whistles in their mouths and hatred in their eyes.

"We have waited long enough," reads one poster. "Allah wants this
war," is the message on another.

European tolerance Islamized Turkey. The pandering of unprincipled
leaders like Cameron will take it to the brink and beyond.

Daniel Greenfield

Daniel Greenfield is a columnist born in Israel and currently living
in New York City. He is a contributing editor at Family Security
Matters and writes a daily blog column on Islamic Terrorism, Israeli
and American politics and Europe's own clash of civilizations which
can be found at Sultanknish.blogspot.com

Turkey Steps Up Support for Strategic Azerbaijani Exclave of

Nakhchivan
July 26, 2010 - 11:06am, by Shahin Abbasov
http://www.eurasianet.org/node/61610
Azerbaijan
Turkey

Longtime Azerbaijani ally Turkey appears to be taking on a larger role in

supporting the Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic, an Azerbaijani exclave

sandwiched between Armenia and Iran. The first steps in this intensified

cooperation are taking shape just months after plans for rapprochement

between Turkey and Armenia went into cold storage.

Turkey, which shares an 11-kilometer border with the exclave, has long

acted to provide support to ensure that the isolated exclave of 40,000

people survived. Both Ankara and Baku cite the 1921 Treaty of Kars,

which defined Nakhchivan as part of Azerbaijan, as the basis for this

support.

But with Baku now an influential regional economic power, that relationship

has become less about Nakhchivan’s immediate survival, and more about

long-term, strategic projects for the exclave, which shares a 246-kilometer

-long border with Armenia.

The new role centers on the critical Azerbaijani-Turkish tie of energy as well

as on transportation access to Istanbul, a regional trading hub, and eastern

Turkey.

Under a July 17 contract between the Turkish government and the State Oil

Company of the Azerbaijani Republic (SOCAR), Turkey will transport 500

mullion cubic meters of Azerbaijani natural gas to Nakhchivan each year

transit-free. SOCAR will finance construction of a new, 50-kilometer-long

pipeline from the Turkish town of Igdir, near Erzurum, to provide the gas.

Work on the pipeline will begin in August, with a launch slotted for the end

of 2011, state news agency AzerTAJ reported SOCAR President Rovnag

Abdullayev as saying.

Nakhchivan currently relies on gas shuttled via Iran, which charges a

15-percent transit fee for about 300 mcm per year. The Turkey pipeline

deal “will allow [Baku] to almost double the gas supplies to Nakhchivan for

lower prices,” commented energy expert Ilham Shaban.

With stronger energy ties, come better transportation options for trade as

well. In late June, Turkish Airlines’ discount subsidiary, Anadolu Jet, started

offering direct flights from Nakhchivan to Istanbul three times a week for

about $175. In July, Turkish Energy Minister Taner Yildiz promised that the

number of flights to Istanbul would increase still further, Azerbaijani news

sources reported.

Air travel is currently the only option for reaching Nakhchivan from the rest

of Azerbaijan, but plans also exist to restore the land connection to

Azerbaijan with Turkey’s help.

Azerbaijan’s Ministry of Transportation has opened a tender for a feasibility

study on connecting the planned Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad to Nakhchivan via

Igdir, a ministry spokesperson said. The Baku-Tbilisi-Kars railroad has a

planned finish date of mid-2011; work on the Nakhchivan offshoot would begin

subsequently, the head of the ministry’s Department of Transportation Policy

and Economy, Sadraddin Mammadov, stated in May, ANS TV reported.

Both the flights and the promised rail link could make a critical economic

difference for Nakhchivan’s population, commented one freelance journalist

based in Nakhchivan.

“[P]etty trade is the only way to earn a living for many residents,” said Elman

Abbasov, who is no relation to this EurasiaNet.org reporter. “People take

cigarettes and alcohol, which are cheaper in Nakhchivan than in Turkey, and

bring back money or various goods.” Many Nakhchivan families also depend

on remittances from relatives who have gone to Turkey for work, he added.

Most Azerbaijanis take Turkey’s support for Nakhchivan as a matter of course,

but the latest assistance projects were preceded with a clear message to

Yerevan from Turkey.

Six days after Armenian President Serzh Sargsyan froze the reconciliation

process with Turkey on April 22, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu

underlined that the territory’s security is “one of Turkey’s foreign policy

priorities.” [For details, see the EurasiaNet.org archive.] The comments

coincided with an April 28 visit to Ankara by Nakhchivan Autonomous

Republic Parliamentary Chairperson Vasif Talybov.

Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan went still further, noting that

“Nakhchivan is exposed to various threats from the Armenian state.”

“Therefore, military cooperation between Turkey and Azerbaijan and the

NAR [Nakhchivan Autonomous Republic] is one of the major components

of our relations,” Erdogan said.

Azerbaijan maintains a base in Nakhchivan that has received heavy Turkish

support in the past, but no official information is available about the current

scope of military cooperation between the two countries in the exclave.

Political analyst Rasim Musabekov, though, does not see “anything new” in

the plans for Turkey’s increased presence in Nakhchivan.

“Now Azerbaijan is much stronger economically and the cooperation has

moved to a higher level -- to the construction of a new pipeline and new

railroad. There is an international airport in Nakhchivan now and, thus, there

is a flight to Istanbul. It is a natural process,” he said.

Editor's note:
Shahin Abbasov is a freelance correspondent based in Baku. He is also a

board member of the Open Society Institute

Armenian Army Rocked By Deadly Shootings
29.07.2010
Karine Simonian, Hasmik Smbatian

Six Armenian army servicemen have been reportedly shot dead this week
in two separate non-combat incidents highlighting lingering abuse and
other serious problems within the country’s armed forces.

The Armenian Defense Ministry reported on Thursday evening that an
“incident” involving “use of firearms” and resulting in an unspecified
number of casualties took place at one of its military bases on
Wednesday. It gave no details, saying only that military investigators
have received “strictest orders” to clarify all circumstances of the
incident.

A source close to the Armenian government told RFE/RL’s Armenian
service that it occurred at an Armenian army unit in Nagorno-Karabakh.
The source said a soldier serving there shot dead four officers before
turning his gun on himself.

Artur Sakunts, an Armenian human rights campaigner, gave similar
information to the Lragir.am news service. But he cautioned that it is
“preliminary and unconfirmed.”

Armenia -- A photograph of Artak Nazarian, an army officer found dead
in Tavush region.

The shooting was reported two days after another officer was found
dead in at an army outpost on Armenia’s border with Azerbaijan. Citing
“preliminary information,” the Defense Ministry said Lieutenant Artak
Nazarian shot himself for unknown reasons.

Nazarian’s relatives swiftly rejected the official theory and accused
the military of a cover-up. “He believed in God and knew that suicide
is a great sin,” his grief-stricken mother, Hasmik Hovannisian, told
RFE/RL on Thursday. “He could not have committed suicide. They
savagely slaughtered my boy.”

“He was safe and sound when I gave him [to the army,]” she cried.
“What are they giving me back?”

Nazarian’s elder sister, Sona, was convinced that the 30-year-old was
either forced to commit suicide or killed by fellow servicemen. “If it
was a suicide, just imagine how much suffering and humiliation he
endured before resorting to that,” she said. “If it was a murder, just
imagine what predators live among us.”

Nazarian’s cousin Narek Gharibian was present at a forensic
examination of his body that was conducted at a Yerevan morgue on
Wednesday. Gharibian told RFE/RL that forensic medics found numerous
injuries on the dead officer’s face, hands, shoulders and feet and
believe that they were inflicted several hours before his death.

The medics will formally present their finding within a month, added
Gharibian. An official death certificate given to the family on
Thursday contains no definitive cause of the death. Nazarian’s face
was heavily made up when his body was brought home and lay in state
later on Thursday.

The relatives also said that Nazarian complained of having difficult
relations with his commanders and other officers shortly after
enrolling in contractual military service and being sent to an army
unit in the northeastern Tavush region last November. They said he was
treated as a “weak” officer who can not impose his will on soldiers.

Armenia -- Hasmik Hovanisian, mother of Artak Nazaian, the officer
found dead in Tavush region.

“The death of our Artak must be a lesson to others,” said Sona
Nazarian. “We’ll go to the end in order to identify the guilty and
have them punished with all the strictness of the law so that there is
no repeat of such cases.”

Sources told RFE/RL that military investigators, who are subordinated
to Defense Minister Seyran Ohanian, have questioned several officers
from Nazarian’s unit. None of them has been arrested or charged so
far.

The Armenian Armed Forces have been plagued with hazing and other
abuses resulting in at least a dozen non-combat deaths each year ever
since their establishment in 1992. Senior and mid-ranking army
officers have rarely been prosecuted in connection with those crimes.
Those who are put on trial usually get off with short prison
sentences.

In a June 2008 statement cited by the U.S. State Department earlier
this year, families of soldiers who died during military service
between 2005 and 2008 accused authorities of systematically conducting
false investigations into those deaths and destroying or tampering
with evidence in order to disguise homicides as accidents, suicides,
or the results of sniper attacks.

The Armenian military insists that it is doing its best to address the
problem in earnest. It says the number of such incidents has steadily
and significantly declined since the late 1990s. According to Defense
Ministry data, at least seven Armenian soldiers died due to abuse and
mistreatment and eleven others committed suicide last year.

Death in the Ranks: Army says lieutenant killed himself, family says

murder
News | 29.07.10 | 17:16
Thirty-one-year-old Nazaryan died in the military unit under
questionable circumstances
By Gayane Abrahamyan
ArmeniaNow reporter

A 31-year old lieutenant has become the latest Armenian soldier to die
under questionable circumstances while serving in a combat post.

Artak Nazaryan died Tuesday at his base in the Tavush province. The
Ministry of Defense says Nazaryan – who joined the army for contract
service eight months ago – used a machine gun to commit suicide.


His family, however, says the MOD is lying.

According to Nazaryan’s mother, forensic investigation found traces of
violence from a blunt instrument on her son’s body.

“A few days ago, when I talked to him, I felt that he was very worried
about something, he was confused. It is an evident murder case. My son
was killed in the morning, and we were informed about it only at 5
p.m. It means that they were trying to clean the murder traces by
then,” says Nazaryan’s mother Hasmik Hovhannisyan.

Nazaryan’s friends say that he was a very even tempered and quiet
person, who could have never commit suicide, moreover he was not a
simple conscript - he was a commander.

Nazaryan served as a conscript in 2000-2001, but later, because he was
a specialist of oriental studies and fluent in Persian, he served one
year in Tehran, Iran, as an ambassador attaché, translator.

Human rights defender Arthur Sakunts, Head of Helsinki Citizens'
Assembly Vanadzor Office, says that it was an evident murder case.

“This is a horrible tragedy, which at the same time registers another
terrible tendency that not only conscripts but also officers and
commanders are being subject to violence and killed in army during the
recent two-three years,” Sakunts told ArmeniaNow. According to
official data, this is the first death registered in the army this
year attributed to non-military actions. Over the years, however,
Armenia’s army has had dozens of cases of soldier-on-soldier violence
and officer-to-conscript violence that resulted in death.