Turkish News

Armenian Weekly
Breaking News:
Obama Hails ‘Vibrancy’ of Turkish Democracy after Referendum
Posted By Weekly Staff On September 12, 2010

WASHINGTON (AFP)—On Sept. 12, President Barack Obama hailed the
“vibrancy of Turkish democracy” after almost 80 percent of voters turned
out for a constitutional referendum, with some 58 percent of them backing
measures to reshape the judiciary and curb the military’s powers.

The White House said Obama had called Turkish Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan and congratulated him on Turkey’s hosting of the World
Basketball Championship, the final of which will be competed between the
two countries.

“The president [Obama] said he is rooting for the American team but that
whoever wins both teams have played great basketball,” a statement said.

“The president also acknowledged the vibrancy of Turkey’s democracy as
reflected in the turnout for the referendum that took place across Turkey
today.”

The outcome came as a huge boost for Erdogan’s Justice and Development
Party (AKP) ahead of general elections next year, in which the party, the
moderate offshoot of a banned Islamist movement, will seek a third straight
term in power.

The secularist opposition had campaigned against the amendments, charging
that they masked an AKP quest to take control of the judiciary and assert an
authoritarian grip on power.


POLITICALLY PERSECUTED, BECAUSE HE SPOKE AND WROTE
THE TRUTH: DOGAN AKHANLİ (b. 1957)

On 10 August 2010 the writer and human rights defender Doğan Akhanlı from
Cologne was arrested at an Istanbul airport in the attempt of entry to Turkey; this
trip was intended to D. Akhanlı’s sick father. According to Akhanlı’s lawyer
Haydar Erol he has been detained in a prison in the Tekirdağ province since
20 August 2010 on the pretext of alleged involvement in a 1989 robbery at an
exchange office in Istanbul. “This accusation was based on witness statements,
one of which had been made under torture,"said Erol. The supposed second
witness - the son of the slain - later denied having ever identified Akhanlı in a
photograph. "This scenario was produced by the police," said lawyer Erol, in
order to try a late accounting with the political left. Despite the relief provided
by lawyer Erol at the two habeas corpus dates, a prosecutor requested an
indictment against Doğan Akhanlı for robbery and homicide. Three prison
complaints have so far failed.

It must also be assumed that the arrest D. Akhanlıs and the double rejection of
his release by the prosecutor are directly related to the author’s commitment
for the recognition of the still officially in Turkey denied genocide against the
Ottoman Christians. This view is shared by the known German writer Guenther
Wallraff (Cologne): "Certain sections of the Turkish judiciary try to take
revenge on an incommodious author, who has addressed the genocide
against the Armenians for years." The Jewish novelist Edgar Hilsenrath, who
has been friends for years with Doğan Akhanlı and represents his literary model,
said after a meeting with the Deputy Turkish ambassador on 27 August 2010,
he, Mr. Hilsenrath assumes, that in fact D. Akhanli’s literary activity is the underlying
cause of his arrest. He asked the Ambassador to investigate the clear references
to the non-law approach in this case and called for the immediate release of
his friend Dogan Akhanli. E. Hilsenrath is the author of the novel "The Tale
of the Last Thought" (1989) about the genocide of the Armenians.

With the human rights NGO Working group Recognition - Against Genocide,
for International Understanding e.V. Akhanlı Doğan maintains close contact since
the spring of 2000, when AGA introduced a petition into the German
Bundestag, demanding the legislative recognition of the genocide against
the Armenians, Arameans/Assyrians and Greeks of Asia Minor. Doğan
Akhanlı was among the first signatories of this petition. In subsequent years his
public readings, cross-cultural study tours and participation in panel discussions
significantly contributed to the enhancement of a critical view on history among the
Turkish diaspora in Germany.

For current and continuously updated information, visit the website of the Kulturforum
TürkeiDeutschland:
http://www.das-kulturforum.de/archiv/presseschau-dogan-akhanli-verhaftung/

Biography and Achievements: Akhanli Dogan was born in 1957 in the northeastern
Turkish town Şavşat and lived after the military coup of 1980 in the underground.
1985-1987 he was imprisoned as a political prisoner in a military prison in Istanbul
where he was tortured. He fled to Germany in 1991, has been recognized here as
a political refugee and later deprived of Turkish nationality. Since 1992 D. Akhanlı
is living as a freelance writer in Cologne; since 2001 he has German citizenship.

In novels, essays, interviews and in his various projects in Germany, D. Akhanlı
promoted the open handling of historic violence and the indivisibility of human rights.
The focus of his civic commitment are the commemoration the genocides of
the 20th Century (including the genocide of the Armenians) and the
interculturally oriented dialogue on reconciliation. Among others, D. Akhanlı’s
projects were sponsored by the Federal Foundation Remembrance, Responsibility
and Future and awarded by the Alliance for Democracy and Tolerance.
Dogan Akhanli has been intensively committed for solving the murder of
Hrant Dink and points to the reconciliatory significance of this journalist
and author.

Dogan Akhanli is actively committed to memory and human rights. He is a volunteer
manager at the Nazi Documentation Center, initiator of Raphael Lemkin Library at the
Allerweltshaus (Cologne) as well as an employee of the nonprofit organization
"Inter-national research”. The association is concerned with the educational work on
genocidal experiences of violence and the project "The third World in the second World
War "(http://www.3www2.de).

D. Akhanlı processed the experience of his generation with state violence and political
persecution in his 1998/99 published in Turkish contemporary trilogy Kayip Denizler
(The disappearance of the sea), whose last volume Kıyamet Günü Yargiçlari (The judges
of the Last Judgment) deals with the genocide of the Armenians in 1915 (German
translation by Hülya Engin 2007, Klagenfurt). His last novel Madonna'nin Hayali Son
(The last dream of the Madonna) was published in 2005 in Istanbul. The book is about
the Romanian vessel "Struma", which was sunk in 1942 in the Black Sea and ripped
769 Jewish refugees to their death. Akhanli’s novels were selected among the most
important novels in. In 2009, he received the Literature Prize of the newspaper "Hürriyet".
D. Akhanlı also translated and edited the Turkish edition of the 1921 court
proceedings against Soghomon Tehliryan, who assassinated the erstwhile
Turkish Home Minister and main responsible for the genocide against the
Armenians (Talat Paşa Davası, vol. 1 and 2, Istanbul 2003).

In April 2005 he visited Armenia on the occasion of the 90th Commemoration of
the Armenian Genocide.

HOW YOU CAN HELP DOGAN AKHANLİ: Eight steps
1).
Write to the Minister of Justice of the Republic of Turkey and request the immediate
release of the German citizen, author and human rights defender Doğan Akhanlı. The
reasons for his detention and prosecution are unfounded and have been refuted by his
lawyer as unfounded. The repeated refusal of the release applications suggests that this
is a revenge campaign of parts of the Turkish judiciary against a politically incommodious
author that may seriously damage the international reputation of Turkey as a candidate
to EU accession. Point also out to the fact that each day in custody causes unnecessary
pain for the author, who has already traumatized by earlier imprisonment and torture
experiences:

Minister of Justice of the Republic of Turky, Mr Sadullah Ergin, 06669 Kizilay / Ankara,
Fax 90/312 419 33 70

(2).
Send copies of your letter to the Turkish Embassy in Berlin and at the Foreign Office
of the Federal Republic of Germany:

Turkish Embassy in Berlin, Excellency Ahmet Acet, Rungestr. 9, 10179 Berlin,
Fax 49/30/27590915, Email: turkemb.berlin @ mfa.gov.tr

Federal Foreign Office of the Federal Republic of Germany, Mr. Minister Guido
Westerwelle, 11013 Berlin, Email:
http://www.auswaertiges-amt.de/diplo/de/Infoservice/service/AllgemeinesKontaktformular.jsp

(3).
Mention in your letter to the Turkish Embassy in Berlin your concern for the plight of
Mr Doğan Akhanlı and ask for further information.

(4).
Ask in your letter to the German Foreign Office for active and prompt support efforts
to secure the immediate release of the German citizen and human rights activist Doğan
Akhanlı! Ask for specific information on the recent steps of the German FO on the release
of Mr Akhanlı. Until now, the Foreign Office has not forwarded any sharp protest to the
Turkish government in this matter!

(5).
Sign the online petition on the website of the AGA!

(6).
Make your friends and acquaintances to support these activities and spread the word!

(7).
Send copies of your letters also to the supporting group at the "Recherche International"
Association, which coordinates the efforts of D. Akhanlı’s release:

recherche international e.V, Merowingerstr. 5-7, D-50677 Köln.

Email: Albrecht.Kieser@RJB-koeln.de

(8).
Donate to Recherche International e.V. for the coverage of legal fees, making note of
the keyword "Doğan Akhanlı”: Bank Account No. 23812043 - Stadtsparkasse Köln - BLZ 370 501 98!


Downloads:
AGA Dogan Akhanli - Letter Minister of Justice ( 42 kb)
AGA Dogan Akhanli - Letter EP HeidHautala ( 53 kb)


Turks largest foreign group in EU in 2009, data shows
Tuesday, September 7, 2010
BRUSSELS - The Associated Press

Turkish citizens were the largest group of non-European Union citizens
living in the EU at the start of 2009, while the biggest group of EU
citizens living in another member state were from Romania, the EU
statistics office said Tuesday.

In total, 31.9 million foreigners were recorded in the 27-member bloc
beginning 2009, or 6.4 percent of the total EU population, said
Eurostat.

The largest contingent of foreigners chose Germany as home - 7.2
million people - followed by Spain with 5.7 million.

But the country with the highest percentage of foreigners was tiny
Luxembourg with 44 percent, followed by Latvia (18 percent), and Greek
Cyprus and Estonia (16 percent).

That proportion fell to 1 percent in Poland, Romania and Bulgaria.

Of the total number of foreigners, 11.9 million (2.4 percent) were
citizens of another EU state, and 19.9 million (4 percent) came from
countries outside the EU - Africa (4.9 million), Asia (4 million) and
the American continent (3.3 million).

Citizens of Turkey were the largest group of non-EU citizens with 2.4
million or 8 percent, followed by Morocco (1.8 million or 6 percent)
and Albania (1 million or 3 percent).

But more than a third of foreigners in the EU bloc came from another
member state.

The largest groups were from Romania, with 2 million or 6 percent of
the total, followed by Poland (1.5 million or 5 percent) and Italy
(1.3 million or 4 percent).


PanARMENIAN.Net -
Cross on dome of Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar island to be set until
September 19
September 11, 2010 - 18:16 AMT 13:16 GMT

A cross on the dome of Holy Cross Church on Akhtamar island will be
set until September 19, Chairman of Van Chamber of Commerce and
Industry Zahir Kandasoglu told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter.

According to him, the placing of cross was postponed due to the
September 12 referendum. However, a cross will definitely be set prior
to the liturgy.

The first liturgy in 95 years will be offered in Holy Cross Church on
Akhtamar Island on September 19.

The Mother See of Holy Etchmiadzin, Catholicosate of the Great House
of Cilicia and Jerusalem Patriarchate of the Armenian Apostolic Church
have rejected their participation in the liturgy.


7thSpace Interactive (press release)
Sept 11 2010
Historical Akdamar Island and Akdamar Church will be illuminated by
Erinc Protect every night


Akdamar Island and historical Akdamar church is located VAN, which has
very good sunshine area in Middle of Anatolia. Estern Anatolia
Development Agency had invitation for bids and Ezinc completed bids
very successfully. Ezinc was signed its name "The biggest Solar
Illumination Project in Turkey" once again.

Leader solar components manufacturer Ezinc was achieved to illuminate
historical Akdamar Church in Van. This project is very important for
Turkey as project is the biggest Solar Illumination project in Turkey.

Before this project, Akdamar island was illuminated with generator as
working 3 hours daily and this generator is operation with diesel.
Cost for illumination was nearly 25.000 Euros annually with generator.
Ezinc is aiming to produce 25.000 KWh energy annually with this
project. Also, payback period is very short such a big system, it is
only 3 years.

Ezinc Metal A.S. General manager Mr. Hakan Alas mentioned that " After
installing this system we will need only sunshine and our country is
very advantage about that raw material. There will be very big
ceremony in the Akdamar Church on 19th September 2010. Armenian and
Turkish presidents will be there for this ceremony, so we worked very
self-sacrificing to completed project and we completed within 25 days.
We are very proud of for completing this project with satisfactorily."

Van has the 3. highest solar radiaton city in Turkey so in the ancient
time Van is named "Tusba" which is meaning " Sun City". City has over
1.100 years old and during 90 years there weren't any ceremony in
Akadamar Church. Church will has Ceremony this year after 90 years.
Starting from 19th September 2010 there will be ceremony in Akdamar
island once a year. So, Akdamar island and Akdamar church are
important cultural places for Van.

Ezinc is very glad to being important part of this project. It is
really important project for keeping historical place and environment
together with renewable energy. Ezinc believe that it will be sample
for other cities of Turkey and they will adapt renewable energy in
historical places easily. Ezinc demonstrate that its leader position
in every part of solar energy one more time with Akdamar project. Now,
all Ezinc staffs, managers and technicians are very glad to support
Akdamar Solar Illumination Project and highlighting that Ezinc success
will continue as always.


Hurriyet Daily News, Turkey
Sept 12 2010
Park on Istanbul's islands named in slain journalist Dink's honor
Sunday, September 12, 2010
ÖZGÜR ÖÐRET
ISTANBUL - Hürriyet Daily News

Hrant Dink's widow Rakel Dink (L) and Adalar Mayor Mustafa Farsakoðlu
(R) stand in front of the playground named in honor of the slain
journalist.

Local authorities on Istanbul's Princes' Islands have named a
playground in honor of Hrant Dink, making it the first public space in
the country to be officially given the name of the assassinated
journalist.

The unanimous decision, unveiled Saturday, was approved by both the
ruling party and the main opposition despite the tension between the
parties in the run-up to Sunday's constitutional referendum.

"Here we are remembering a friend of ours, an island-lover, a precious
and important man," Adalar Municipality Mayor Mustafa Farsakoðlu said
at a ceremony dedicating the park Saturday on Kýnalýada, one of the
Princes' Islands.

Municipal authorities decided to name the park after Dink, a Turkish
journalist of Armenian origin murdered in 2007, in a unanimous
decision approved by the opposition Republican People's Party, or CHP,
which controls the municipality, the ruling Justice and Development
Party, or AKP, and independent members of the municipal assembly.

Addressing the crowd, the journalist's widow, Rakel Dink, said she
wanted everyone who saw the sign bearing the park's name to remember
the insults and slanders Hrant Dink was subjected to when he was
alive. She added that racism and discrimination were responsible for
his death. "Hrant used to say, 'My weapon is my sincerity,'" Rakel
Dink said. "I want you to remember this sincere man."

Sounding another mournful note, publisher and human-rights activist
Ragýp Zarakolu said he wished there had never been a reason to give
Dink's name to a park.

"Let us remember Hrant as a person. May his name not be left only on
signboards, and let us not forget who he is," Zarakolu said,
criticizing the lack of progress by the "so-called judiciary" in the
ongoing murder trial.

Dink's family and friends have been critical of the conduct of the
trial, saying it has not gone further than revealing the triggerman
and has failed to prosecute the alleged masterminds behind the
assassination plot.

Inter-ethnic harmony on islands

When asked by the Hürriyet Daily News & Economic Review whether it
seemed odd that the CHP and AKP had come together to name the park
after Dink during a tense political time, daily Radikal columnist Oral
Çalýþlar said: "This is not about the referendum; the islanders have
been allied on the matter of Hrant Dink for a long time." The
columnist added that Dink was "a son of the islands" and said the
islanders took a positive step to ease their grief.

Raffi Herman Araks, chief consultant of the Adalar mayor for
international relations and cultural affairs, highlighted the islands'
multicultural nature.

"Here is the last Istanbul; the salvation of Istanbul is on the
islands," he said, noting that the it was one of the only Istanbul
municipalities in which one could find a synagogue, church, mosque and
cemevi - a place of worship for Alevis - in close proximity.

Araks recalled a comment Dink once made that children learning to read
and write would always read sentences like "Ali throws the ball to
Ahmet," but would never encounter any non-Muslim names like Agop or
Miþon. "Here, we are throwing the ball to Hrant," Araks said.

Speaking to the Daily News, local resident Aram Çaðlýuzun said the
islanders were happy Dink had been honored with a park in his name.
"We are experiencing the happiness of living all together [here]," he
said.

"We thought it very natural [to name the park after Dink]," said
Karabet Üçkardeþ, who has resided on Kýnalýada for 50 years. "We all
live very comfortably here. We do not have any problems with Turkey. I
love Turkey."

Farsakoðlu added that the heterogeneity of the Princes' Islands is a
sign not of discord, but of richness.