http://www.guardian.co.uk/commentisfree/2013/jun/12/turkish-protest-what-it-is-not
Gezi Park was the site of an Armenian cemetery?
Gezi Park was the site of an Armenian cemetery?
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in Vienna we have 70 000 turks. and thats fine but last sunday 8000 of them protested for erdogan.
so basicaly they had a huge demonstration in another country to demonstrate against the right of their countrymen in turkey to demonstrate.
and if you demonstrate for a goverment politicians are supr happy but if you protest against it your a terrorist and get beat half dead
so basicaly they had a huge demonstration in another country to demonstrate against the right of their countrymen in turkey to demonstrate.
and if you demonstrate for a goverment politicians are supr happy but if you protest against it your a terrorist and get beat half dead
Directive banning headscarf in public service to be canceled
http://todayszaman.com/news-320507-directive-banning-headscarf-in-public-service-to-be-canceled.html
10 July 2013 /ALİ ASLAN KILIÇ, ANKARA
A directive that was adopted after the Sept. 12, 1980 coup d'état is being abolished after more than three decades, in a move that will allow women wearing the headscarf to serve in public office.
The directive, which stipulates public servants should not cover their head, was prepared by the National Security Council (MGK) after the 1980 coup. It was adopted on Oct. 25, 1982. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has recently taken steps to completely remove the directive. AK Party Deputy Chairman Mehmet Ali Şahin said work to abolish the directive was nearing completion.
Legal experts say that the directive is actually in violation of Article 70 of the Turkish constitution. They also note that the directive can be removed with a single cabinet decision. The abolishment of the directive also effectively ends many other dress code rules for both men and women, which includes instructions even on grooming.
Public support for the planned move has also been growing. A signature campaign that was launched by 57 women -- including journalists, artists, academics and politicians who don't wear headscarves -- demanding headscarf freedom has received significant backing from the society, with 5,700 people having signed it.
Earlier this month, the 57 women prepared a petition titled “End injustice: We want a solution, not postponement!” that says: “The biggest victims of the politics that marked Turkey's last 20 years on the Muslim-secular axis have always been women. We oppose every kind of practice that creates inequality for women who wear headscarves. We demand the removal of all legal and non-legal obstacles that impede headscarved women's employment in the public sector and election into general and local offices. We don't make any distinction between those receiving a public service and those offering one.”
The petition calls on all political parties inside and outside Parliament to take immediate and unconditional action in order to change legislation that prevents headscarved women from enjoying their rights.
After it was posted online, the petition received 5,700 signatures.
Professor Yasemin İnceoğlu, a lecturer at the communications faculty of Galatasaray University, who is among the 57 women that launched the campaign, told Today's Zaman that “this is an initiative which welcomes different political tendencies and rejects cultural polarization.”
According to İnceoğlu, there should not be any differentiation between headscarf-wearing women offering a public service and those receiving a public service and they should all be allowed to wear headscarves.
She also said if political parties are sincere about their discourse on gender equality, then they should ensure that all women are represented in Parliament without any discrimination.
“While there are headscarf-wearing deputies in Europe, it is very ironic that there are none in Turkey whose population is said to be 99 percent Muslim. As the people who launched this campaign, we don't propose a solution, we want a solution. We are the demanding party,” she said.
According to the professor, there is no problem in having headscarf-wearing academics at universities.
“Just as we have headscarf-wearing students, we can have headscarf-wearing lecturers,” she added.
Turkey's ban on headscarves dates back to the 1980s. After the 1980 coup d'état, a regulation clearly defined the permissible clothing and appearance of staff working in state offices, including the stipulation that the hair of civil servants must be uncovered. Women who wear headscarves were then denied the right to be employed by the state.
The ban was significantly tightened after Feb. 28, 1997, when the military ousted a government it deemed too religious. Currently, state offices do not hire women who wear a headscarf. Covered women are also denied employment at most private companies despite the fact that there is no law that prohibits the wearing of a headscarf in private businesses. Headscarved women are not allowed to be elected to Parliament. A ban on headscarves imposed for many years on university campuses was only removed in 2010.
http://todayszaman.com/news-320507-directive-banning-headscarf-in-public-service-to-be-canceled.html
10 July 2013 /ALİ ASLAN KILIÇ, ANKARA
A directive that was adopted after the Sept. 12, 1980 coup d'état is being abolished after more than three decades, in a move that will allow women wearing the headscarf to serve in public office.
The directive, which stipulates public servants should not cover their head, was prepared by the National Security Council (MGK) after the 1980 coup. It was adopted on Oct. 25, 1982. The Justice and Development Party (AK Party) has recently taken steps to completely remove the directive. AK Party Deputy Chairman Mehmet Ali Şahin said work to abolish the directive was nearing completion.
Legal experts say that the directive is actually in violation of Article 70 of the Turkish constitution. They also note that the directive can be removed with a single cabinet decision. The abolishment of the directive also effectively ends many other dress code rules for both men and women, which includes instructions even on grooming.
Public support for the planned move has also been growing. A signature campaign that was launched by 57 women -- including journalists, artists, academics and politicians who don't wear headscarves -- demanding headscarf freedom has received significant backing from the society, with 5,700 people having signed it.
Earlier this month, the 57 women prepared a petition titled “End injustice: We want a solution, not postponement!” that says: “The biggest victims of the politics that marked Turkey's last 20 years on the Muslim-secular axis have always been women. We oppose every kind of practice that creates inequality for women who wear headscarves. We demand the removal of all legal and non-legal obstacles that impede headscarved women's employment in the public sector and election into general and local offices. We don't make any distinction between those receiving a public service and those offering one.”
The petition calls on all political parties inside and outside Parliament to take immediate and unconditional action in order to change legislation that prevents headscarved women from enjoying their rights.
After it was posted online, the petition received 5,700 signatures.
Professor Yasemin İnceoğlu, a lecturer at the communications faculty of Galatasaray University, who is among the 57 women that launched the campaign, told Today's Zaman that “this is an initiative which welcomes different political tendencies and rejects cultural polarization.”
According to İnceoğlu, there should not be any differentiation between headscarf-wearing women offering a public service and those receiving a public service and they should all be allowed to wear headscarves.
She also said if political parties are sincere about their discourse on gender equality, then they should ensure that all women are represented in Parliament without any discrimination.
“While there are headscarf-wearing deputies in Europe, it is very ironic that there are none in Turkey whose population is said to be 99 percent Muslim. As the people who launched this campaign, we don't propose a solution, we want a solution. We are the demanding party,” she said.
According to the professor, there is no problem in having headscarf-wearing academics at universities.
“Just as we have headscarf-wearing students, we can have headscarf-wearing lecturers,” she added.
Turkey's ban on headscarves dates back to the 1980s. After the 1980 coup d'état, a regulation clearly defined the permissible clothing and appearance of staff working in state offices, including the stipulation that the hair of civil servants must be uncovered. Women who wear headscarves were then denied the right to be employed by the state.
The ban was significantly tightened after Feb. 28, 1997, when the military ousted a government it deemed too religious. Currently, state offices do not hire women who wear a headscarf. Covered women are also denied employment at most private companies despite the fact that there is no law that prohibits the wearing of a headscarf in private businesses. Headscarved women are not allowed to be elected to Parliament. A ban on headscarves imposed for many years on university campuses was only removed in 2010.
Turkey fourth biggest donor country
Turkey was the fourth-largest donor of humanitarian assistance last year, according to an annual report by Global Humanitarian Assistance.
The report says that Turkey contributed more than $1bn (£665m) - 0.13% of its national income.
"It is likely" that much of this went to the surrounding region, especially due to the escalating Syrian crisis, the report says.
The United States remained the largest donor by volume, providing $3.8bn.
This amounts to 29% of all the humanitarian assistance provided by governments.
Sweden and Luxembourg were the most generous donor countries, giving the most aid in proportion to their gross national income.
The Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) report shows that 76 million people were identified by the UN as needing humanitarian assistance - compared with 93 million people in 2011.
The amount of international humanitarian assistance in 2012 totalled $17.9bn, more than 70% of which was provided by governments.
That was a fall of 8% on the year before.
GHA says the decrease might in part be driven by the absence of any "mega-disasters", in terms of fatalities, on the scale of previous years - such as the Japanese tsunami in 2011 or the Haiti earthquake in 2010.
Giver and receiver
According to the GHA report, the top five donors were: the United States, European Union institutions, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Sweden.
Top five donors
United States $3.8bn
EU institutions $ 1.9bn
United Kingdom $1.2bn
Turkey $1bn
Sweden $784m
The most surprising finding is that Turkey ranks fourth on the list.
GHA says it is possible that a significant volume of the humanitarian assistance provided by Turkey might have been spent on housing Syrian refugees within Turkey's own borders.
There are almost 350,000 Syrian refugees registered in Turkey.
Turkey is also a recipient of international aid.
In 2011 it received its highest volume of aid to date, amounting to $3.2bn.
Almost 90% of this aid was from EU institutions.
Preventive action
The report also reveals the impact of the famine crisis in Somalia.
The data show that the famine is estimated to have claimed more than 275,000 lives in Somalia between 2010 and 2012, half of which were children under the age of five.
GHA says the crisis in Somalia was not solely caused by a shortage of food as a result of drought, but rather by a food shortage combined with market failure caused by conflict in the country.
The GHA report advises the donors to act earlier, take more preventative action, make better use of cash transfers and provide multi-year humanitarian funding cycles in areas of persistent need.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23341189
Turkey was the fourth-largest donor of humanitarian assistance last year, according to an annual report by Global Humanitarian Assistance.
The report says that Turkey contributed more than $1bn (£665m) - 0.13% of its national income.
"It is likely" that much of this went to the surrounding region, especially due to the escalating Syrian crisis, the report says.
The United States remained the largest donor by volume, providing $3.8bn.
This amounts to 29% of all the humanitarian assistance provided by governments.
Sweden and Luxembourg were the most generous donor countries, giving the most aid in proportion to their gross national income.
The Global Humanitarian Assistance (GHA) report shows that 76 million people were identified by the UN as needing humanitarian assistance - compared with 93 million people in 2011.
The amount of international humanitarian assistance in 2012 totalled $17.9bn, more than 70% of which was provided by governments.
That was a fall of 8% on the year before.
GHA says the decrease might in part be driven by the absence of any "mega-disasters", in terms of fatalities, on the scale of previous years - such as the Japanese tsunami in 2011 or the Haiti earthquake in 2010.
Giver and receiver
According to the GHA report, the top five donors were: the United States, European Union institutions, the United Kingdom, Turkey and Sweden.
Top five donors
United States $3.8bn
EU institutions $ 1.9bn
United Kingdom $1.2bn
Turkey $1bn
Sweden $784m
The most surprising finding is that Turkey ranks fourth on the list.
GHA says it is possible that a significant volume of the humanitarian assistance provided by Turkey might have been spent on housing Syrian refugees within Turkey's own borders.
There are almost 350,000 Syrian refugees registered in Turkey.
Turkey is also a recipient of international aid.
In 2011 it received its highest volume of aid to date, amounting to $3.2bn.
Almost 90% of this aid was from EU institutions.
Preventive action
The report also reveals the impact of the famine crisis in Somalia.
The data show that the famine is estimated to have claimed more than 275,000 lives in Somalia between 2010 and 2012, half of which were children under the age of five.
GHA says the crisis in Somalia was not solely caused by a shortage of food as a result of drought, but rather by a food shortage combined with market failure caused by conflict in the country.
The GHA report advises the donors to act earlier, take more preventative action, make better use of cash transfers and provide multi-year humanitarian funding cycles in areas of persistent need.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-europe-23341189
@Tomice Here goes your coup d'etat hope
Turkish court announces Ergenekon verdicts, ex-army chief gets life
5 August 2013 /REUTERS WITH TODAYSZAMAN.COM, SİLİVRİ
A Turkish court passed judgment on Monday on nearly 300 defendants accused of plotting to topple the government in a battleground case in the decade-long conflict between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey's secularist establishment.
The court sentenced suspects former miliatry chief Gen. İlker Başbuğ, retired Brig. Gen. Veli Küçük, journalist Tuncay Özkan, retired Col. Dursun Çiçek, lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz, Workers' Party leader Doğu Perinçek, retired Col. Fuat Selvi, Hasan Ataman Yıldırım, former Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ, retired generals Hurşit Tolon, Nusret Taşdeler and Hasan Iğsız to aggravated life imprisonment.
Among some of the verdicts are as follows:
- The court acquitted 21 suspects
- The court separated the cases of two fugitive suspects, Turan Çömez and Bedrettin Dalan.
- Former legal counsel of the General Staff, retired Gen. Hıfzı Çubuklu sentenced to 9 years in prison.
- Well-known gang leader Sedat Peker sentenced to 10 years in prison.
- Lt. Gen. İsmail Hakkı Pekin gets 7 years six months imprisonment.
- Former police chief Adil Serdar Saçan gets 14 years six months.
- Ferda Paksüt gets two years six years.
- The court sentences Vice Adm. Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu to 20 years six months in prison.
-Osman Yıldırım, who was among the suspects of the 2007 Council of State attack, gets 8 years 9 months.
- Retired Col. Arif Doğan, who recently admitted to establishing JİTEM -- a clandestine and illicit unit within the gendarmerie, gets 47 years.
- Ali Yasak, a well-known gangster linked to the figures in the Susurluk incident, gets six years three months.
- Mafia boss Semih Tufan Gülaltay gets 12 years.
- Workers' Party Secretary-General Ferit İlsever gets 15 years.
- Writer Ergun Poyraz gets 29 years and nine months.
- Retired Gen. Veli Küçük, who is a key suspect in the trial, gets life sentence.
- Former Higher Education Board (YÖK) President Kemal Gürüz gets 13 years eleven months.
- Workers’ Party (İP) leader Doğu Perinçek gets 117 years.
- Workers' Party Press Secretary Hikmet Çiçek gets 21 years nine months.
- Key suspect Professor Yalçın Küçük gets 22 years six months.
- Journalist Tuncay Özkan sentenced to life imprisonment.
- Former army commander Hurşit Tolon gets life sentence.
- Retired Maj. Fikret Emek gets 41 years four months.
- Retired Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez sentenced to 49 years 2 months.
- Bedirhan Şinal, a suspect of the attack on the Cumhuriyet daily, sentenced to 18 years eight months in prison.
- Emcet Olcayto, lawyer for the Workers' Party, gets 13 years two months.
- Retired NCO Oktay Yıldırım gets 33 years 10 months.
- Drug lord Sami Hoştan sentenced to 10 years.
- Former National Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General Tuncer Kılınç sentenced to 13 years.
- Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez gets 49 years two months.
- Journalist Mustafa Balbay gets 34 years eight months.
- Former Ankara Chamber of Commerce President Sinan Aygün gets 13 years six months.
Turkish court announces Ergenekon verdicts, ex-army chief gets life
5 August 2013 /REUTERS WITH TODAYSZAMAN.COM, SİLİVRİ
A Turkish court passed judgment on Monday on nearly 300 defendants accused of plotting to topple the government in a battleground case in the decade-long conflict between Prime Minister Tayyip Erdoğan and Turkey's secularist establishment.
The court sentenced suspects former miliatry chief Gen. İlker Başbuğ, retired Brig. Gen. Veli Küçük, journalist Tuncay Özkan, retired Col. Dursun Çiçek, lawyer Kemal Kerinçsiz, Workers' Party leader Doğu Perinçek, retired Col. Fuat Selvi, Hasan Ataman Yıldırım, former Chief of General Staff İlker Başbuğ, retired generals Hurşit Tolon, Nusret Taşdeler and Hasan Iğsız to aggravated life imprisonment.
Among some of the verdicts are as follows:
- The court acquitted 21 suspects
- The court separated the cases of two fugitive suspects, Turan Çömez and Bedrettin Dalan.
- Former legal counsel of the General Staff, retired Gen. Hıfzı Çubuklu sentenced to 9 years in prison.
- Well-known gang leader Sedat Peker sentenced to 10 years in prison.
- Lt. Gen. İsmail Hakkı Pekin gets 7 years six months imprisonment.
- Former police chief Adil Serdar Saçan gets 14 years six months.
- Ferda Paksüt gets two years six years.
- The court sentences Vice Adm. Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu to 20 years six months in prison.
-Osman Yıldırım, who was among the suspects of the 2007 Council of State attack, gets 8 years 9 months.
- Retired Col. Arif Doğan, who recently admitted to establishing JİTEM -- a clandestine and illicit unit within the gendarmerie, gets 47 years.
- Ali Yasak, a well-known gangster linked to the figures in the Susurluk incident, gets six years three months.
- Mafia boss Semih Tufan Gülaltay gets 12 years.
- Workers' Party Secretary-General Ferit İlsever gets 15 years.
- Writer Ergun Poyraz gets 29 years and nine months.
- Retired Gen. Veli Küçük, who is a key suspect in the trial, gets life sentence.
- Former Higher Education Board (YÖK) President Kemal Gürüz gets 13 years eleven months.
- Workers’ Party (İP) leader Doğu Perinçek gets 117 years.
- Workers' Party Press Secretary Hikmet Çiçek gets 21 years nine months.
- Key suspect Professor Yalçın Küçük gets 22 years six months.
- Journalist Tuncay Özkan sentenced to life imprisonment.
- Former army commander Hurşit Tolon gets life sentence.
- Retired Maj. Fikret Emek gets 41 years four months.
- Retired Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez sentenced to 49 years 2 months.
- Bedirhan Şinal, a suspect of the attack on the Cumhuriyet daily, sentenced to 18 years eight months in prison.
- Emcet Olcayto, lawyer for the Workers' Party, gets 13 years two months.
- Retired NCO Oktay Yıldırım gets 33 years 10 months.
- Drug lord Sami Hoştan sentenced to 10 years.
- Former National Security Council (MGK) Secretary-General Tuncer Kılınç sentenced to 13 years.
- Lt. Col. Mustafa Dönmez gets 49 years two months.
- Journalist Mustafa Balbay gets 34 years eight months.
- Former Ankara Chamber of Commerce President Sinan Aygün gets 13 years six months.
You got me all wrong mate, again.
I wasn't hoping for a full on military coup, I know already that erdogan started with his political witch-hunt a long time ago so this isn't even news.
I still belive most turkish pepole are intelligent and capable of understanding the dangers of the country becoming a muslim country where the state is no longer seperated from the religion. Pepole will realise eventually that by letting a party like AKP remain in power it will only throw the country back to the stone age. It might be doable to lead uneducated masses a stray using simplistic religions ideas, but I want to belive that an educated, modern and open minded country like turkey won't go back without a fight.
The world keeps evolving and pepole like you who just can't let go are what's holding it back
A sad day for Turkey in my opinion, but I still have hope.
I wasn't hoping for a full on military coup, I know already that erdogan started with his political witch-hunt a long time ago so this isn't even news.
I still belive most turkish pepole are intelligent and capable of understanding the dangers of the country becoming a muslim country where the state is no longer seperated from the religion. Pepole will realise eventually that by letting a party like AKP remain in power it will only throw the country back to the stone age. It might be doable to lead uneducated masses a stray using simplistic religions ideas, but I want to belive that an educated, modern and open minded country like turkey won't go back without a fight.
The world keeps evolving and pepole like you who just can't let go are what's holding it back
A sad day for Turkey in my opinion, but I still have hope.
So you wish best for us, that's good. Then you must be happy, we'll keep evolving and people like them those who found guilty today, were the ones holding us back from becoming a regional power. Because of their unrivalled bigotry and hatred against Islam and its followers. Like someone said ''As if Kemalists sent a shuttle to space but it is blocked by headscarf.''
Don't worry about ignorant masses and education. Things may look like religious = ignorant. Inside story is different. It is mostly because of wealth inequality. Because of your precious laicists did not let people to prosper. With the change in balance of power, kids from religious families, with better possibilities, are doing so far so good.
Don't worry about ignorant masses and education. Things may look like religious = ignorant. Inside story is different. It is mostly because of wealth inequality. Because of your precious laicists did not let people to prosper. With the change in balance of power, kids from religious families, with better possibilities, are doing so far so good.
A special coup: Ergenekon
The Ergenekon case was the most politically motivated case in the history of this country, because the court has tried an ideological center that attempted to stage a coup against a government with Islamic sensitivities that did not hide its intention to reshape the center of Turkish politics.
The Ergenekon supporters, including those from some bar associations, media organizations and academic institutions, have done their best to politicize the Ergenekon trial. On the other hand, the prosecutor's carelessly prepared indictment and the court's unacceptable decision to proceed with the case secretly have undermined the principle of a fair trial and make the case susceptible to political manipulation. In the end, it can be claimed that the sentences imposed by the court on some of the suspects are heavier than they deserve. But it is hard to claim that the senior executives of the Ergenekon terrorist organization were sentenced to longer prison terms than they deserve.
Many people have difficulty understanding the Ergenekon case because they think an organization that attempted to stage a coup has to have a leader and center. However, what we have before us is a structure that has been frequently employed by the Turkish deep state in order to stage all coups, including the May 27, 1960 coup. First of all, the target of both the Ergenekon coup plot and the May 27, 1960 coup were the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Democrat Party governments that were trying to expand the scope of their influence within the state. And both of them started to organize immediately after elections brought these two parties to power. These parties received great support from the public. Thus, the coup plotters tried to create a chaotic environment and accused the governments of becoming authoritarian in order to legitimize military interventions.
The Ergenekon terrorist organization needed to establish three sub-organization to legitimize a military intervention: The first one was a semi-official gang structured as an extension of the gendarmerie and that was tasked to commit murders and assassinations; the second was an internal structure that ensured the coordination between action plans and the senior executives of Ergenekon and the military; the last one is a loose support network that consists of NGOs run by retired generals and media organizations tasked to legitimize the coup in the eyes of people.
Throughout the process, Ergenekon never had one leader, but several high-ranking military officials acted as a leader and ensured the coordination among the sub-organizations. The reason for this is that the real leader of a coup is determined among the influential figures of the organization just before the coup is staged via coalitions and negotiations. But, the existence of the Ergenekon terrorist organization, which sets traps or arranges conspiracies against the nation and destroys the government, was exposed before they moved on to the final stage.
It is very likely that the Ergenekon coup attempt will be recorded as an organized and far-reaching resistance of the old regime. It is true that the indictment was weak and insufficient. But during the case, which lasted five years, the authenticity of the information and documents uncovered in the Ergenekon investigation were verified by the senior executives of Ergenekon and witnesses confessed to the unknown angles of the incidents organized by Ergenekon and the random relationships among its members.
During the proceedings, Ergenekon supporters continued their attempts to stop AK Party through the high judiciary. They tried to prevent the election of an AK Party member as president in 2007, and filed a case to shut down the AK Party in 2008. The fact is that they were going to reach their goal in 2004, but they had to delay their plans since then-Chief of General Staff Hilmi Özkök had distanced himself from the coup plotters. Özkök eventually started bringing lunch from home out of fear of being poisoned.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in 2011 that there is “strong evidence” regarding the existence of the clandestine Ergenekon terrorist organization. On the other hand, there is not any question about the existence of the clandestine Ergenekon terrorist organization in the minds of the Turkish public. For Turkish people, the problem only consists of being a member of a pro-coup or anti-coup camp. This was so in the past and is still so today.
http://todayszaman.com/columnist-323524-a-special-coup-ergenekon.html
The Ergenekon case was the most politically motivated case in the history of this country, because the court has tried an ideological center that attempted to stage a coup against a government with Islamic sensitivities that did not hide its intention to reshape the center of Turkish politics.
The Ergenekon supporters, including those from some bar associations, media organizations and academic institutions, have done their best to politicize the Ergenekon trial. On the other hand, the prosecutor's carelessly prepared indictment and the court's unacceptable decision to proceed with the case secretly have undermined the principle of a fair trial and make the case susceptible to political manipulation. In the end, it can be claimed that the sentences imposed by the court on some of the suspects are heavier than they deserve. But it is hard to claim that the senior executives of the Ergenekon terrorist organization were sentenced to longer prison terms than they deserve.
Many people have difficulty understanding the Ergenekon case because they think an organization that attempted to stage a coup has to have a leader and center. However, what we have before us is a structure that has been frequently employed by the Turkish deep state in order to stage all coups, including the May 27, 1960 coup. First of all, the target of both the Ergenekon coup plot and the May 27, 1960 coup were the Justice and Development Party (AK Party) and the Democrat Party governments that were trying to expand the scope of their influence within the state. And both of them started to organize immediately after elections brought these two parties to power. These parties received great support from the public. Thus, the coup plotters tried to create a chaotic environment and accused the governments of becoming authoritarian in order to legitimize military interventions.
The Ergenekon terrorist organization needed to establish three sub-organization to legitimize a military intervention: The first one was a semi-official gang structured as an extension of the gendarmerie and that was tasked to commit murders and assassinations; the second was an internal structure that ensured the coordination between action plans and the senior executives of Ergenekon and the military; the last one is a loose support network that consists of NGOs run by retired generals and media organizations tasked to legitimize the coup in the eyes of people.
Throughout the process, Ergenekon never had one leader, but several high-ranking military officials acted as a leader and ensured the coordination among the sub-organizations. The reason for this is that the real leader of a coup is determined among the influential figures of the organization just before the coup is staged via coalitions and negotiations. But, the existence of the Ergenekon terrorist organization, which sets traps or arranges conspiracies against the nation and destroys the government, was exposed before they moved on to the final stage.
It is very likely that the Ergenekon coup attempt will be recorded as an organized and far-reaching resistance of the old regime. It is true that the indictment was weak and insufficient. But during the case, which lasted five years, the authenticity of the information and documents uncovered in the Ergenekon investigation were verified by the senior executives of Ergenekon and witnesses confessed to the unknown angles of the incidents organized by Ergenekon and the random relationships among its members.
During the proceedings, Ergenekon supporters continued their attempts to stop AK Party through the high judiciary. They tried to prevent the election of an AK Party member as president in 2007, and filed a case to shut down the AK Party in 2008. The fact is that they were going to reach their goal in 2004, but they had to delay their plans since then-Chief of General Staff Hilmi Özkök had distanced himself from the coup plotters. Özkök eventually started bringing lunch from home out of fear of being poisoned.
The European Court of Human Rights (ECtHR) ruled in 2011 that there is “strong evidence” regarding the existence of the clandestine Ergenekon terrorist organization. On the other hand, there is not any question about the existence of the clandestine Ergenekon terrorist organization in the minds of the Turkish public. For Turkish people, the problem only consists of being a member of a pro-coup or anti-coup camp. This was so in the past and is still so today.
http://todayszaman.com/columnist-323524-a-special-coup-ergenekon.html
Here are your Gezi Park protesters, kemalist and/or marxist butterflies filled with love. Allah forbid, if they were in power and protesters were Muslims, it would be all Tiananmen.
Verbal attack against headscarved students at campus sparks outrage
5 September 2013 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL
A video that appeared on the Internet on Thursday showing a bigoted attack against a number of headscarved students at the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) campus in Ankara sparked public outrage and led to concerns over lingering discrimination despite a government move to remove a long-standing regulation that prohibited students from wearing the headscarf on university campuses.
The incident took place at the ODTÜ campus this week.
New students eligible to enter ODTÜ after succeeding at the university entrance exam had thronged the campus to enroll during the registration period.
A group of new students carrying banners that read “Cemaate karşı” (meaning Against Hizmet -- a movement known for its activities in the field of education and culture) harassed a number of headscarved students who were awaiting registration on the campus.
While the group chanted slogans against Hizmet, they intensified their harassment of the headscarved students until finally the victims of the verbal attack decided to leave the site.
When the victims began to leave the site of the attack, the aggressive students followed them amid thunderous applause from their friends.
The incident exploded on social media and sparked outrage as it indicates that polarization in the country has reached a dangerous level.
Headscarved students had been subjected to a long-standing discriminatory regulation at universities banning the headscarf.
The government moved to remove the ban three years ago and the Higher Education Board (YÖK) was tasked to introduce a new regulation, paving the way for wearing the headscarf at universities. The board circulated a notice of the lifting of the ban that year.
Despite the move by YÖK, many universities resisted lifting the old regulation until last year, and the ban has persisted in practice on some campuses despite the lack of a legal basis.
In the meantime, the ODTÜ Alumni Association (ODTÜ-MEBİVA) strongly condemned the attack in a statement released on its website on Thursday.
The statement called on university officials to investigate the incident.
Expressing outrage and frustration over the indifference of university officials regarding fascist acts, the association says the university's name is being tarnished.
Verbal attack against headscarved students at campus sparks outrage
5 September 2013 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM, İSTANBUL
A video that appeared on the Internet on Thursday showing a bigoted attack against a number of headscarved students at the Middle East Technical University (ODTÜ) campus in Ankara sparked public outrage and led to concerns over lingering discrimination despite a government move to remove a long-standing regulation that prohibited students from wearing the headscarf on university campuses.
The incident took place at the ODTÜ campus this week.
New students eligible to enter ODTÜ after succeeding at the university entrance exam had thronged the campus to enroll during the registration period.
A group of new students carrying banners that read “Cemaate karşı” (meaning Against Hizmet -- a movement known for its activities in the field of education and culture) harassed a number of headscarved students who were awaiting registration on the campus.
While the group chanted slogans against Hizmet, they intensified their harassment of the headscarved students until finally the victims of the verbal attack decided to leave the site.
When the victims began to leave the site of the attack, the aggressive students followed them amid thunderous applause from their friends.
The incident exploded on social media and sparked outrage as it indicates that polarization in the country has reached a dangerous level.
Headscarved students had been subjected to a long-standing discriminatory regulation at universities banning the headscarf.
The government moved to remove the ban three years ago and the Higher Education Board (YÖK) was tasked to introduce a new regulation, paving the way for wearing the headscarf at universities. The board circulated a notice of the lifting of the ban that year.
Despite the move by YÖK, many universities resisted lifting the old regulation until last year, and the ban has persisted in practice on some campuses despite the lack of a legal basis.
In the meantime, the ODTÜ Alumni Association (ODTÜ-MEBİVA) strongly condemned the attack in a statement released on its website on Thursday.
The statement called on university officials to investigate the incident.
Expressing outrage and frustration over the indifference of university officials regarding fascist acts, the association says the university's name is being tarnished.
God forbid beard loving islamists like your self are in power I shudder to think what would happen to Muslims who want to move forward as opposed to beardies dying to go back to the stone age. Where they can control people using there corrupted understanding of scripture. Add to the mix there sexual frustration (they need rehabilitation after jail time) that brings us grown up men marrying little girls or even better having Syrian wives in what is called jihad marriage.... How sick can you lot be to take advantage of people's simple mind due to piss poor education and off course putting religion into the mix.
Interesting but that doesn't explain the fact how those 'beardies' achieved more in 10 years than anti-Islamic kemalist regime achieved in 80 years. Maybe they couldn't find enough time because of playing with the genetics of the nation.
''As if Kemalists sent a shuttle to space but it is blocked by headscarf.''
On the other hand, we are witnessing where your illuminated pharaohs, fully absorbed the 'values of west', took you. Your people living in a cesspool thanks to them. Muslims aka 'beardies'' never had a chance to rule, so it's your folk who fucked everything up in this region.
''As if Kemalists sent a shuttle to space but it is blocked by headscarf.''
On the other hand, we are witnessing where your illuminated pharaohs, fully absorbed the 'values of west', took you. Your people living in a cesspool thanks to them. Muslims aka 'beardies'' never had a chance to rule, so it's your folk who fucked everything up in this region.
Assadist tools...
Turkey says suspect killed after rocket attack in Ankara
21 September 2013 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM WITH WIRES, İSTANBUL
Turkish authorities have said they killed a suspected assailant and injured another after a rocket attack on two police buildings in Ankara.
A police compound in the Turkish capital Ankara was struck by three rockets on Friday, Interior Minister Muammer Güler said. No one was hurt in the attacks.
Two buildings belonging to the national police directorate in the district of Dikmen were hit, but no one was hurt, Güler said. A third rocket fell into the grounds.
Dikmen is one of the places across Turkey where anti-government protests have flared in recent months.
The television station NTV said it was not yet known who was behind the attack. Güler said police had found a rocket launcher and material belonging to "an illegal organization" near the scene of the attack.
Left-wing radicals, Islamist extremists and Kurdish militants have all staged attacks in Turkish cities in the past.
The far-left terrorist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) in February claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at the US Embassy in Ankara that killed a security guard.
Turkey blamed groups linked with the Syrian government for a car bombing in May in the town of Reyhanlı, near the Syrian border, that killed more than 50 people. As civil war rages in Turkey's neighbor, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
Turkey says suspect killed after rocket attack in Ankara
21 September 2013 /TODAYSZAMAN.COM WITH WIRES, İSTANBUL
Turkish authorities have said they killed a suspected assailant and injured another after a rocket attack on two police buildings in Ankara.
A police compound in the Turkish capital Ankara was struck by three rockets on Friday, Interior Minister Muammer Güler said. No one was hurt in the attacks.
Two buildings belonging to the national police directorate in the district of Dikmen were hit, but no one was hurt, Güler said. A third rocket fell into the grounds.
Dikmen is one of the places across Turkey where anti-government protests have flared in recent months.
The television station NTV said it was not yet known who was behind the attack. Güler said police had found a rocket launcher and material belonging to "an illegal organization" near the scene of the attack.
Left-wing radicals, Islamist extremists and Kurdish militants have all staged attacks in Turkish cities in the past.
The far-left terrorist Revolutionary People's Liberation Party-Front (DHKP-C) in February claimed responsibility for a suicide bombing at the US Embassy in Ankara that killed a security guard.
Turkey blamed groups linked with the Syrian government for a car bombing in May in the town of Reyhanlı, near the Syrian border, that killed more than 50 people. As civil war rages in Turkey's neighbor, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan has repeatedly called for Syrian President Bashar al-Assad to step down.
CHP allegedly behind machete attack
27 September 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
Fashion designer Barbaros Şansal has claimed that the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) masterminded a machete attack carried out by a shopkeeper in İstanbul's Taksim neighborhood against Gezi Park protestors in early July.
In a move which caused outrage in the country, shopkeeper Sabri Çelebi injured demonstrators during a Gezi Park protest on July 6. Reports of the attacks were followed by media outlets broadcasting video footage showing the man brandishing a machete and striking a woman with the flat of the blade.
The Gezi Park protests began in late May in protest of government plans to demolish Gezi Park in İstanbul's Taksim Square. The demonstrations went nationwide due to the police's use of excessive force against the demonstrators.
According to Şansal, several people from the CHP's İstanbul provincial branch knew about the machete attacker beforehand. Şansal made these remarks in a video obtained by Timeturk.
Speaking to a group of mostly CHP supporters, he claimed that the machete attack was planned by the CHP and that the party attempted to put the blame on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
In the video, Şansal is heard saying: “I am not going to give his name. But I will do so if necessary. I can give the name only in a legal platform. One night at a restaurant in Taksim, one of the advisers at the CHP İstanbul provincial branch told me that a machete attacker will come out very soon and that the blame will be put on the AK Party. I was not alone. [CHP Deputy Chairman] Gürsel Tekin was with me. I also have other witnesses.”
Several members of the audience are seen reacting to Şansal's remarks, saying, “How can you say this here?”
Çelebi was first detained on July 7 and then released pending trial. He later left the country and, upon his return on Aug. 29, was released pending trial after being taking into custody upon entering the country at İstanbul Atatürk Airport.
A local prosecutor is seeking nine to 27 years in prison for Çelebi for assaulting Gezi protesters.
Şansal's remarks prompted AK Party spokesperson Hüseyin Çelik to call on prosecutors to take action about the allegations.
Writing on his Twitter account, Çelik said: “I call on prosecutors to take action, citing as evidence the allegations and statements about the machete attacker posted on the Internet by Barbaros Şansal.”
27 September 2013 /TODAY'S ZAMAN, İSTANBUL
Fashion designer Barbaros Şansal has claimed that the main opposition Republican People's Party (CHP) masterminded a machete attack carried out by a shopkeeper in İstanbul's Taksim neighborhood against Gezi Park protestors in early July.
In a move which caused outrage in the country, shopkeeper Sabri Çelebi injured demonstrators during a Gezi Park protest on July 6. Reports of the attacks were followed by media outlets broadcasting video footage showing the man brandishing a machete and striking a woman with the flat of the blade.
The Gezi Park protests began in late May in protest of government plans to demolish Gezi Park in İstanbul's Taksim Square. The demonstrations went nationwide due to the police's use of excessive force against the demonstrators.
According to Şansal, several people from the CHP's İstanbul provincial branch knew about the machete attacker beforehand. Şansal made these remarks in a video obtained by Timeturk.
Speaking to a group of mostly CHP supporters, he claimed that the machete attack was planned by the CHP and that the party attempted to put the blame on the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party).
In the video, Şansal is heard saying: “I am not going to give his name. But I will do so if necessary. I can give the name only in a legal platform. One night at a restaurant in Taksim, one of the advisers at the CHP İstanbul provincial branch told me that a machete attacker will come out very soon and that the blame will be put on the AK Party. I was not alone. [CHP Deputy Chairman] Gürsel Tekin was with me. I also have other witnesses.”
Several members of the audience are seen reacting to Şansal's remarks, saying, “How can you say this here?”
Çelebi was first detained on July 7 and then released pending trial. He later left the country and, upon his return on Aug. 29, was released pending trial after being taking into custody upon entering the country at İstanbul Atatürk Airport.
A local prosecutor is seeking nine to 27 years in prison for Çelebi for assaulting Gezi protesters.
Şansal's remarks prompted AK Party spokesperson Hüseyin Çelik to call on prosecutors to take action about the allegations.
Writing on his Twitter account, Çelik said: “I call on prosecutors to take action, citing as evidence the allegations and statements about the machete attacker posted on the Internet by Barbaros Şansal.”