We wish him Good-luck, and we will support his actions  in the coming years and with all membership and with all available means of Turkish Forum.

We also wish good-luck to ATAA’s sister organization FTAA . FTAA is now led by President Ali Cinar who is supported by wast majority of membership during the last months election. we  recognize the wast amount work with Mr. Ali Cinar has to face. Similarly, Our support will also be with FTAA  if he so desires.

Dr. Kayaalp Buyukataman, President

Turkish Forum -Dunya Turkleri Birligi

==============================================

President Message By Ergün Kırlıkovalı

Dear Members of the Turkish American Community coast-to-coast:

I hope you and your family have adjusted to the hustle and bustle of the New Year after having a wonderful holiday season.

The month of January has passed with fury and left me wondering where the whole month went.  When you take a look at what was achieved, you will see why.

What a start to the New Year!

ATAA component associations were busy arranging local events and our TABAN and Student Outreach programs were on the road, visiting Colorado, Nevada and Canada. Membership drive and fundraising were in full swing.  ATAA Türk Evi hosted the visiting graduate students from Bahcesehir University (İstanbul, Türkiye),  where distinguished lecturers like Mark Meirowitz, David Saltzman, and Gunay Evinch, have addressed the students, explaining to them how the U.S. Government operates and the U.S. legal system works.

ATAA leadership paid an official visit to the brand new headquarters of the Turkish Coalition of America only steps from the White House.  Joint programs were discussed.

ATAA leadership visited the offices of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus to sign the book of condolences for the legendary Turkish Cypriot leader and the founder of TRNC, Rauf Denktash, who passed away on January 13, 2012.

ATAA leadership also paid a courtesy visit to the Turkish Embassy to show our community’s deep respect and love for our motherland, Türkiye.

ATAA leadership met with Dr. Elizabeth W. Shelton, executive director of American Friends of Turkey, to coordinate the upcoming events.  AFOT will be bringing to the U.S. Dr. Ufuk Kocabas, the Project Director of the Yenikapi, Istanbul Project (the Byzantine Port of Constantinople). As you know, the Istanbul University group undertaking the excavations has unearthed 36 vessels and cargoes, going back to the Fifth Century. It has been an amazing find. As you may well know, his trip will be the first time any information about this project will be presented to American audiences, and by all indications, the audiences will be packed to see his presentation and hear him lecture.

Congratulations FTAA President Ali Çınar!

On behalf of the Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), I congratulate Mr. Ali Çınar for his election to the presidency of the Federation of Turkish American Associations (FTAA). Established in 1956, FTAA is one of America’s leading national Turkish American organizations in a critical part of the country, New York and New Jersey. Ali Çınar comes to the FTAA Presidency with vast knowledge and experience in public advocacy and community empowerment. A former Vice President of ATAA (2009-11) and as Chief Advisor to the ATAA President since June 2011, Mr. Çınar a much loved, hard-working, creative, and energetic community leader. Mr. Cinar was also the founder of the Istanbul University Mezunlari US (IUMEZUS) and its first president.

ATAA looks forward to continued excellence in solidarity and cooperation with FTAA. I wish President Ali Çınar and the FTAA Team all the success.

Elections at ATAA

The ATAA Board of Directors resolved on January 18, 2012 to start a Nominating Committee to oversee the upcoming elections where one third of the Board will be up for election.

I am grateful to Lale Iskarpatyoti for accepting to chair the Nominating Committee and members Gunay Evinch (Past President, ATAA), Tunca Iskir (Past President, ATAA), Nurten Ural (Past President, ATAA) and Mehmet Celebi (President Elect, ATAA) for accepting to serve on this very important committee.

The positions up for election are the following: Treasurer (Esra Ugurlu), Vice President Midcentral (Feridun Bek), Vice President Southwest (Sibel Pakdemirli), Vice President Northwest (Sevgi Baran), West (Maria Cakiraga). Please note that all incumbents can run again for their seats as this is their first term in office and that the race is wide open to all other qualified candidates. I would be delighted, therefore, if you kindly participate in this democratic process by nominating candidates and/or voting.

We will issue a CIS on this immediately with more election information and specifics. Due to time limitations and in the interest saving paper and labor, a separate paper mass-mailing via USPS will not be done. We will try to reach every member via this monthly e-Newsletter and a separate CIS, as well as press releases, media coverage, and www.ataa.org site. We hope, with your support, to complete the nominating process by February 15, 2012, so that the elections may be completed by March 15, and the approved by the AOD on April 15, 2012. Your cooperation and participation is, again, greatly appreciated.

Damnation Without Representation:  French Memory Law

We all know what “taxation without representation” led to in 1776: Expulsion of the British from colonial America.

And now we will see what “damnation without representation” will lead to in 2012: expulsion of the French culture from the Turkish/Turkic world.

I am, of course, referring to the draconian French memory law that cleared the French Senate on January 23, 2012, which criminalizes the denial of the so-called “Armenian genocide”, allegedly carried out in Ottoman Empire during World War I.  The passage of the measure, adopted a month earlier by a mere 50 out 577 deputies in the lower chamber of the French Parliament, makes a mockery of the notion of “participatory democracy”, not to mention the freedom of speech.

The WW I era atrocities in Eastern Anatolia were never tried by a “competent tribunal” as the 1948 United Nations Convention on Prevention and Punishment of genocide stipulates. “Intent” to exterminate was never proven, leaving the discredited political claim as just that.  “No court verdict” was issued characterizing these events a genocide. This historical controversy has become fodder to election year politics in France, destroying the freedom of expression along with it.  No law can be used retroactively, 1948 UN convention on genocide included. And yet, these rock solid facts, values, and concepts,  which are foundations of modern life cherished by humanity were respected by only 86 courageous French Senators who tried to stop that shameful memory law with their “No” votes.  The law passed by the “Yes” votes of 127 Senators, despite the rejection of the same law by the Constitution Sub-Committee a few days earlier.  Now it looks like it is heading for the Constitution Committee for a final verdict on whether it is constitutional to criminalize thought.

Some French parliamentarians, it seems, felt compelled by ethnocentric political agenda in an election year, to play the judge, the jury, the executioner, and while at it, the expert historian. We all know they are none of these.  The harsh memory law, reminiscent of those in the defunct Soviet Empire, places a severe limitation on the French democracy, curbs free speech, undermines dialogue, destroys scholarly research, and discourages scholarly dissent.

France currently serves as a co-chair country of the OSCE Minsk Group on the resolution of Armenian-Azerbaijani Nagorno-Karabakh conflict. Adoption of a law upholding the victims of one ethnicity over another on a historically controversial issue would question the practicality of French role as a mediator on an issue, which both Azerbaijan and Turkey view as directly linked to Turkish-Armenian reconciliation.

This law might also be considered the epitaph of the Nabucco pipeline and the European energy security, if not also anything French in the culture of the people of the vast geography that stretches from the Balkans to the Caucasus, from the Middle East to North Africa, and from Anatolia to Central Asia.

Armenians have a cause, not a case

Armenians took up arms against their own government. They joined the invading enemy armies. They wreaked havoc among the unprotected Muslim villages of Anatolia with their Huncak, Dashnak, Ramgavar, and other bands and thugs. They demanded territory for what can only be described as the first apartheid  of the 20th Century (i.e. the Greater Armenia.)  These and other such aspects are grouped under the “NINE T’s OF THE TURKISH ARMENIAN CONFLICT”.   If one ignores these, one ignores half the story gets no closure.

The assertion of Armenian genocide is based on a racist and dishonest version of history. Racist because Turkish suffering is deliberately ignored; and dishonest because the 9 T’s are ignored.

Just look at this 1906 photo of Cadets at an Armenian Military Academy, established in Bulgaria, with all in uniforms and their Russian “Mosin” weapons brandished. This single frame of an old photo destroys the entire Armenian narrative: that Armenians were peaceful; that they were poor, starving, and helpless; that all happened one day in 1915 without provocation; and that Armenians never killed any Turks.  How much evidence does one need to wake up and smell the Armenian deception? Didn’t Armenians die?  Didn’t they suffer?  Yes, of course, but along with many more Muslims, mostly Turks.  Wartime suffering? Yes.  Genocide? No, not by even a long shot.

Social construction of Memory

This is a term used by sociologists to describe the process of rebuilding a group memory by social acts, not history’s facts. In order to make the long discredited political claims of Armenian genocide stick, Armenian propaganda, agitation, terror, raids, revolts, treason, territorial conflicts and the Turkish victims resulting from them, are all swept under the rug. Novels, letters, exhibits, parliamentary resolutions, films, rallies, political pressure, in short, anything but facts are employed in “social reconstruction” process. Such dramaturgical approaches and ethno-methodology, unfortunately shape most perceptions, feelings and behaviors. People soon start thinking “All this hype cannot be without justification.” French politicians or American columnists or others are not immune to such symbolic and seemingly humane interactions. Before long, one is consumed by “social construction of reality”, i.e. defining reality through social interactions, not objective realities, just like in the case of the alleged Armenian genocide today. Consider this: until 1990s, most media reports used the qualifier “alleged” before genocide, but now they dropped it. Why? Did new research unearth heretofore unknown information? Did a “competent court” determine Ottoman “intent” to exterminate? No and no. What happend is, the Armenians have since increased the dose of pressure to intimidation and harassment levels. That’s social construction at its worst !

May love and peace win over hate, bigotry and discrimination one day . . .

Ergün Kırlıkovalı
President
Assembly of Turkish American Associations

Dink protestolari, Dink yuruyusleri, Dink panelleri, Dink makaleleri, Dink kitaplari, Dink filmleri, Dink odulleri, Dink internet siteleri, Dink muzeleri, Dink…Dink…Dink…

Dink, yani bir Ermeni binlerce Turkten daha mi degerli?

***

Biraz acayim:

Ermeni teroristleri (ASALA, JCAG, ve digerleri) 1973-1993 arasi, dunyanin her yerinde, ve hatta Turkiye’de, binlerce teror eylemi yaptilar. Bu bombali, kursunlu saldirilarda yuzlerce Turk’u
katlettiler. Binlerce insan yaralandi. Binalar, evler, arabalr, okullar, havaalanlari, bankalar, devlet binalari … onbinlerce bina hasar gordu. Yuzbinlerce insan degisen yogunlukta travmalar yasadi. Bugun Ermeni terorunun Turk kurbanlarindan hangisinin ismini hatirliyorsunuz?

Eger bir tanesinin adini soyleyebilirseniz, ben bu yaziyi geri cekecegim ve siz de okumanizi burada
kesebilirsiniz.

Ermeni teroru kurbanlarindan hangisi icin yuruyusler, paneller, basin toplantilari, internet siteleri, surekli TV programlari, belgeseller, filmler, yapildi?

Hangisi icin makaleler, kitaplar, agitlar, siirler, sarkilar yazildi? Oduller, paralar, serefler, burslar dagitildi? Avukatlar ordusu tutuldu? Muzeler, binalar insa edildi?

Oyleyse soruyorum: Dink, yani bir Ermeni onlarca, yuzlerce, binlerce Turkten daha mi degerli?

Kandirilmis bir Turk gencinin yaptigi tek bir teror eylemi, Ermenilerin son yuzelli yildir yaptigi binlerce teror eylemini siler mi? Unutturur mu?

Birak 150 seneyi, bir Dink, bir Arikan’i unutturur mu?

Unutturdu.

Suc bizde, cunku buna biz izin verdik…

***

Arikan’i ozellikle sectim. Eminim ki cogu okurun Arikan’in kim oldugundan haberi yoktur. Iste sorun da zaten burada ya.

Bazilarinin Turkiye’de Dink’e olan yaklasimi bir insan haklari ya da demokrasi yaklasimi degil; bilgisizlige dayali bir asagilik kompleksinin tezahuru, disavurumu. Bu yuzden de bu tip “Dink’ciler” e hem kiziyorum, hem de aciyorum…

Zavallilar, kendi ulkelerini, vatanlarini, insanlarini, kulturlerini, tarihlerini, geleneklerini, goreneklerini, ruhlarini, benliklerini, kimliklerini azar azar sattiklarini goremiyorlar… Oylesine, futbol takimi tutar gibi, kӧrü kӧrüne, bilgisizce ama arsizca bir itaat icindeler… Dink de Dink… Ille de Dink…

Hani bebeler vardir ya “cok, cok, cok, cok” boyuna emzik emerler… Bos ama mutlu gozlerle dunyaya bakarlar … Iste bu zavallilar da “dink, dink, dink, dink” diye sesler cikararak Turkiye-dusmani propagandalari emiyorlar…

***

Karsilastirma oldukca ogretici:

Arikan 1982 de Los Angeles’te bir genc tarafindan vurulmustu, adi Sasunyan. Dink’i 2007 de Istanbul’da vuran da bir Turk genciydi, adi Ogun Samast.

Turk genci bazi soylemler ve vaatlerle o anlik kandirilmisti ama simdi pismandi. Arikan’i vuran Ermeni gencinin ise beyni sistematik olarak uzun yillar icinde Turk nefreti ile yikanmisti ve sucunu tekrarlamaya her an hazirdi…

Arikan’da Dink te olduruldugunde 52 yasindaydi.

Ikisi de kursunlara hedef oldugunda evliydi.

Ikisinin de kizlari vardi ve onlar da benzer yaslardaydi.

Ama Dink icin butun Turkiye ayaga kalkti, terore lanet okudu, yuruyusler yapti, “Hepimiz Ermeniyiz” diye bile sacmaladi…

Arikan icin Los Angeles’te tek Ermeni bile yurumedi. Birak yurumeyi, yuzlercesi, binlercesi zil takip oynadi. Bir seytan daha gitti diyenler bayram yaptilar. Ermeni kiliselerinde Ermeni teroristler icin paralar toplandi. Bunlardan bihaber Turk magandalar ise 25 sene sonra Istanbul’da 2007 de bir pankart tasiyordu: “Hepimiz Ermeniyiz.” Soruyorum: asagilik kompleksi bu degidir de nedir?

***

Dink’in katilini babasi polise yakalatti. Yani kendi babasi bile Turk katili desteklemedi. Sasunyan’i ise bazi Ermeni aileler gunlerce Los Angeles polisinden sakladi. Sonunda Amerikali gorgu sahitleri ortaya cikti da Sasunyan yakalanabildi. Yoksa o da bugun hala yakalanmamis olurdu, tipki suc ortagi gibi (o simdi Lubnan’daymis.)

Halbuki Samast hemen yakalandi, yargilandi, 22 yila hapis cezasinamahkum oldu… Bu bile bazi Ermenilerin Turk-dusmanligini, kinini, nefretini dizginleyemedi… Neymis efendim, derin devletmis! Fransa’nin serbest biraktigi ASALA katili bugun Ermenistan’da kahraman muamelesi goruyor. Derine de lluzum yok, bunlar sig devletler… ve vapacik hareketler… Ama bu onlari ilgilendirmiyor, cunku olenler Turk ve Musluman… Yani “harcanabilir” turden… Dink lobisi ve onun bazi tanidik-bildik Turk isbirlikcileri bastiriyorlar: derin devlet de derin devlet…

Dink’in oldurulmesini Turkiye Cumhurbaskani, Basbakani, Bakanlari, Valileri, Belediye Baskanlari, toplum liderleri, kanaat onderleri, sanayiciler, isadamlari, sanatcilar, sporcular, halk herkese
kinadi… Bu Turkiye icin cok buyuk bir artidir. Tarihi bir hosgoru belgesidir…

Arikan’in ӧlümünü ise, birkac soguk diplomatik aciklama disinda, kimse kayitsiz sartsiz olarak kinayamadi. Ne Ermeni diasporasi, ne Ermenistan politikacilari, ne Ermeni yazarlari, sanatcilari, aydinlari… Hic kimse! Hepsinde de kayitlar sartlar vardi. “Efendim, oldurme yanlisti ama bu yerde kanlar icinde yatan Turk diplomat, kanli tarihi nedeniyle olumu bir sekilde haketmisti…Zaten bunlar derin devletciydi… ” demeye getiren affettirici soylemler denediler.

Turkler ve Ermeni Diasporasi aradaki bu “derin” davranis, hissiyat, ve ahlak farkini hala goremeyeniniz kaldi mi?

***

Amerikali tarihci Justin McCarthy’nin “Turks In America” diye yeni bir kitabi var. Tavsiye ederim. Mutlaka okuyun. Turkcesi de yakinda cikiyormus galiba–cikmiyorsa da cikmali diye dusunuyorum. Dusunun ki, 500 sayfalik bir kitap ama 200 sayfasi kaynaklara, aciklayici notlara ayrilmis. Yani boylesine zengin ve ayrintili bir arastirma urunu.

Kitap okuyacak vaktiniz yoksa, lutfen hic olmazsa sadece ikinci bolumunu okuyun. Bostonlu Protestan Misyonerlerin Batida yarattigi olumsuz Turk imajini anlayin, gorun, hissedin…

Amerika’da son ikiyuz yilda Osmanli ve Turkiye hakkinda yazilanlari, soylenenleri bir okusaniz, kaniniz damarinizda donar. Benimki dondu.

O kitapta 1819 yilinda bir Boston Kilisesinde Potestan misyoner Pliny Fisk’in vaazini bir okuyun. Yazar McCarthy, o gunlerden baslayip bugune kadar inatla gelen anti-Turk soylemlerin izini adeta usta bir izci surmus.

Hangi mektup, hangi hutbe, hangi kilise, hangi okul, hangi kitap, hangi gazete, ne zaman, nerede… Kim neler soylemis, yazmis… Reaksiyonlar ne olmus… Bugunlere nerelereden gecilerek, hangi evrimler yasanarak gelinmis… Bunlari tek tek okuyun. Gorun. Nalinci keseri Dinkcilerin iste bu gelenegi nasil surdurdugunu anlayacaksiniz… Onlar icin Dink arac; Turkiye’ye saldirmak, Turk’u karalama amac…

Bu kitap kadar yazdiktan sonra size biraz tattirmazsam bir belki yeriniz siser. O yuzden, izninzile, sadece ikinci bolumun cok kisa bir ozetini sunayim. Bu kitabin, “Dink’ciler” in bugunku davranislarinin ardindaki karanlik ve nefret dolu zihniyeti nasil aciga vurdugunu goreceksiniz.

Amerika kuruldugu yillarda (1776-1818) Hristiyanlik, daha dogru bir deyimle Protestanlik, one cikiyor. Gerci anayasa ve yasalar var tabii ama yasam genellikle dini degerler uzerinden duzenleniyor.

Inanislardan biri ise Yahudilerin Isa peygamber’e ihanet edip kotu yola saptiklari, dunyadaki tum kotuluklerinin kaynaginin bu oldugu, ve eger bu Yahudilerin tekrar Hristiyanliga dondurulmesi saglanabilirse Isa’nin yeryuzune tekrar geri gelecegi ve tum sorunlarin bitecegidir. Inanclari bu. Seversin, sevmezsin. Inanirsin, inanmazsin. Inanclar tartisilmaz ki.

Hatta bu yuzden Protestanlar ve Presbyteryanlar Kudus’e buyuk ilgi duyuyorlar. Derken misyonerler gonderiyorlar. Ilk giden misyonerler raporlarinda Protestan yapilmasi gerekenleri siraliyorlar: once Yahudiler, sonra Muslumanlar, sonra Ortodokslar (Rum), sonra diger sapmis Hristiyanlar (Ermeni, Nasturi, Asuri, vs) ve sonra da Katolikler.

Bunlardan ilk ucunde hicbir yol katedemeyince de Ermeniler uzerine yogunlasiyorlar ve anti-Turk,
anti-Musluman soylemlerle, Anadolu’ya yuzlerce okul ve hastane yapip egitim ve saglik hizmetleri goturerek Ermeniler arasinda hatiri sayilir bir Protestan kesim yaratiyortlar. Iste sorun bu calismalardaki
anti-Turk, kin dolu ve bolucu soylemlerde. Tamamen hurafe ve nefrete dayali bu soylemlerden bazilari aynen, bazilar hafifleyerek gunumuze kadar gelmisler.

Iste ABD deki anti-Turk soylemlerin, makale ve kitaplarin, belgesel ve filmlerin, ve hatta politikalarin ardinda bu ikiyuz yillik misyoner edebiyati cikabiliyor.

Bostonlu Protestan Misyonerlere gore Muslumanlik sahte bir dindir, gelenekleri sapiktir, tum Muslumanlar Hristiyan olmadikca dunyada huzur yoktur. Turkler de Muslumanlarin en birincil temsilcisidir. Tembeldir, sakindir,kafasi calsimaz, reform yapamaz, kendisini yenilemesi, gelistirmesi mumkun degildir, ama kizdigi zaman cok kotu seyler yapan bir canavardir. (Misyonerlik merkezinin, soykirim iddialarini kabul ettigini ilk defa 2003 yilinda beyan eden Globe gazetesinin ve Ermeni Devrimci Orgutu merkezinin hepsinin de Boston’da bulunmasi bir tesaduf mudur?)

Ondikuzuncu yuzyilda koskoca Osmanli imparatorlugu icin sadece bir veya iki paragraf vardir lise tarih kitaplarinda ve onlarda yukarida yazdigim yalan ve hakaret dolu seylerdir. Bu kitaplara gore Turk’te sanat ve bilim yoktur, varsa mutlaka Hristiyan kokenliler tarafindan yapilmistir. Turk’un mimarisi, han, hamam, kopru, cesme, yol, cami ve diger eserleri, sanati, siiri, felsefesi, Mevlana’si, Yunus’u, Nasreddin
Hoca’si, Dede Korkut’u, cinisi, halisi, minyaturu, muzigi, hic ama hic yoktur.)

Binlerce yillik Turk, Amerika’nin Tarih kitaplarinda iki paragraftir ve ikisi de cok kotudur. Haritada zor bulacaginiz Karayip adalarina bile sayfalarca yer veren bu tarih kitaplari, uc kitaya 623 hukmetmis bir dunya imparatorlugu icin sadece iki paragraph ayirmistir… ve orada bile hakaret etmistir.

Boylece, Pazar okullarinda anti-Turk soylemler ile tanisan minnacik cocuklar, orta okulda ve lisede birkac paragraf ta olsa bu nefret ve onyargi soylemini tekrar duymaktadir. Universiteye gelen genc
Turk hakkinda fazla birsey bilmez ama bildigi cok kotu seylerdir.

Universitede ise anti-Turk soylem bilimsel bir havaya sokulur. 1453 Istanbul’un fethi ve onun etkilerinden soz edilirken Turklerin nasil yakip yiktigi belgelenmeye calisilir. Bizans yasami, sanati ve teknolojisi one cikarilir. Dogal olarak, bunu okuyan genc te Turkiye’ye karsi, en hafif deyimiyle,
endiseli ve mesafeli olur. Seni sever, dost olursun, tanisirsin, Turk oldugunu ogrenince ilk lafi su olur: “Hic Turk’e benzemiyorsun?” Cunu kafasinda pala biyikli, kilicindan kan damlayan bir katil imaji var. (Boylelerine genellikle esprili cevap veririm: Eger devemi ne yaptigimi ima ediyorsan hemen soyleyeyim, onu binanin arkasina parkettim.)

85 milyonluk Almanya’dan 4-5 milyon turist ceken Turkiye’nin, 330 milyonluk ABD den yarim milyon turist bile cekememesinin ardinda yatan etken sadece cografi uzaklik degildir; yukarida anlattigimiz bu tarihi, dini, ahlaki boyutlardaki uzakliktir. Onyargidir. Haydi nefret demeyeyim de antipatidir. Derin kizginlik ve sevgisizliktir…

***

Bu onyargilarin isiginda, ben Dinkciler’i degerlendiriyorum:

1) Dink ailesi ve yakinlari – bunlarin acisi gercektir ve tabii ki anlasilabilir. Bunlar zaten grubun binde biri bile degildir.

2) Ozurcu aydinlar – Yani Dink’i Turkiye’yi surekli karalamak icin bir arac ve/veya bir platform olarak kullananlar. Bunlar genellikle 70 li yillarin eli kanli solculari, bugunlerin ise liberal veya dinci yazarlari. Kimse aldanmasin: bunlarin meselesi Turkiye’ye duyduklari kindir ve saldirmak icin her araci kullanirlar: Dink, demokrasi, insan haklari, AB, inanc ozgurlugu… Ben bunlara karsi degilim ama bunlari yaparken Turkiye’ye insafsizca hucum edilmesine karsiyim. Bunlar bence yuzde biri ikiyi gecmez… Azdir ama cok yaygara yaparlar.

3) Gizli Turk dusmanlari ile bazi asagilik kompleksliler : Bunlar Arikan’i bilmezler. Ermeni terorunun 70 den fazla Turk kurbani icin tek damla goz yasi dokmus degildirler, zaten hatirlamazlar. Tarihteki Ermeni isyanlari, ihanetleri, teroru, bombali kursunlu saldirilari, apartheid icin toprak istekleri, Islamofobyasi ve Turkofobyasi konusunda pek bilgisiz olduklari icin de Ermeni soykirim iddialarina karsi “aman canim, ver-kurtul” yaklasimina siginirlar. Boylece demokrasi, insan haklari, ve AB cephesine tasindiklarini , yani aklandiklarini dusunurler. Zavallidirlar ama buyuk cogunluk da bunlardadir. Merak ediyorum, acaba “Hepimiz Ermeniyiz” pankartlarini tasiyanlar bunlar olabilir mi? Sorunun yanitini okura birakiyorum.

***

Eger teror kurbanlari icin adam gibi, Insanca uzuleceksen, o zaman hepsi icin uzul; “Bu Dink, bu degil” diye ayirma. Biraz da sen insan ol. Bu arada biraz oku ve ogren ki seni bu kadar kolayca manipule edemesin “Ozurculer” ve “Dinkciler”. Bunlara karsi en iyi mucadele bilgi ile olur. Onlarin ezberi ancak bilgi ile bozulur.

Son soz: Onlarin Dink’i varsa benim de Arikan’im var… Ve Arikan’imin yaninda 70 tane Alim, Velim, Mehmedim, Ahmedim var. Dinkciler ve Ozurculer hatirlamak istese de var… istemese de var!

Yeter artik gozumuzun icine baka baka yaptiginiz bu kadar irkcilik, ayrimcilik, ve hakaretler; hepsini ama hepsini sizlere gerisin geri iade ediyorum. Tepe tepe kullanin!

Ergun KIRLIKOVALI
Hem babasi ve hem annesi Balkan Savaslarindan sag cikabilmislerin oglu

Not: Ingilizce argumanlar icin:

http://www.turkla.com/2007/01/24/turkey%E2%80%99s-compassionate-reaction-to-hrant-dink%E2%80%99s-murder-shatters-myths-about-turks/

Posted by Ergun Kirlikovali on January 6, 2011

To: Honorable Councillor Julian Bell, Leader of the Ealing Council
c/o Labour Group Members’ Room, Ealing Town Hall, New Broadway,
London, W5 2BY, England, email: julian.bell@ealing.gov.uk <

Copy: All councilors, as listed below –

shahbaz.ahmed@ealing.gov.uk ; jasbir.anand@ealing.gov.uk ; justin.anderson@ealing.gov.uk ; sitarah.anjum@ealing.gov.uk ;mohammad.aslam@ealing.gov.uk ; tej.bagha@ealing.gov.uk ; nigel.bakhai@ealing.gov.uk ; jon.ball@ealing.gov.uk ; julian.bell@ealing.gov.uk ;william.brooks@ealing.gov.uk ; theresa.byrne@ealing.gov.uk ; ann.chapman@ealing.gov.uk ; colm.costello@ealing.gov.uk ;john.cowing@ealing.gov.uk ; daniel.crawford@ealing.gov.uk ; katherine.crawford@ealing.gov.uk ; joanna.dabrowska@ealing.gov.uk ;benjamin.dennehy@ealing.gov.uk ; tejinder.dhami@ealing.gov.uk ; ranjit.dheer@ealing.gov.uk ; kamaljit.dhindsa@ealing.gov.uk ;susan.emment@ealing.gov.uk ; john.gallagher@ealing.gov.uk ; yoel.gordon@ealing.gov.uk ; isobel.grant@ealing.gov.uk ;abdullah.gulaid@ealing.gov.uk ; eileen.harris@ealing.gov.uk ; ara.iskanderian@ealing.gov.uk ; yvonne.johnson@ealing.gov.uk ;swarn.kang@ealing.gov.uk ; anita.kapoor@ealing.gov.uk ; ashok.kapoor@ealing.gov.uk ; harbhajan.kaur@ealing.gov.uk ;mohammed.kausar@ealing.gov.uk ; wendy.langan@ealing.gov.uk ; bassam.mahfouz@ealing.gov.uk ; gary.malcolm@ealing.gov.uk ;gurmit.mann@ealing.gov.uk ; rajinder.mann@ealing.gov.uk ; shital.manro@ealing.gov.uk ; mohinder.midha@ealing.gov.uk ;david.millican@ealing.gov.uk ; karam.mohan@ealing.gov.uk ; tim.murtagh@ealing.gov.uk ; Zahida.Abbas.Noori@ealing.gov.uk ;swaran.padda@ealing.gov.uk ; diana.pagan@ealing.gov.uk ; john.popham@ealing.gov.uk ; ian.potts@ealing.gov.uk ; roz.reece@ealing.gov.uk ;mark.reen@ealing.gov.uk ; brian.reeves@ealing.gov.uk ; edward.rennie@ealing.gov.uk ; harvey.rose@ealing.gov.uk ; mik.sabiers@ealing.gov.uk ;atallah.said@ealing.gov.uk ; david.scott@ealing.gov.uk ; jason.stacey@ealing.gov.uk ; gregory.stafford@ealing.gov.uk ; andrew.steed@ealing.gov.uk; chris.summers@ealing.gov.uk ; nigel.sumner@ealing.gov.uk ; hitesh.tailor@ealing.gov.uk ; philip.taylor@ealing.gov.uk ;surinder.varma@ealing.gov.uk ; patricia.walker@ealing.gov.uk ; lauren.wall@ealing.gov.uk ; ray.wall@ealing.gov.uk ; anthony.young@ealing.gov.uk

Re: Decision of Ealing Council to officially recognize the long discredited political claim of Armenian ‘genocide’ as settled history

Dear Honorable Councillor Julian Bell,

It is difficult and painful for me, the son of Turkish survivors on both maternal and paternal sides, to hear of Ealing Council’s unfortunate resolution, based on an Armenian’s misrepresentations—i.e. Councillor Iskendarian—where Armenian war crimes, Armenian hate crimes, and their Muslim, mostly Turkish, victims, are curiously missing. If one excludes half the story, well, even the American civil war can be made to look like a genocide.

I realize that this was not a unanimous decision and that some prudent members considered the motion tabled by an Armenian (Cllr Iskanderian) one sided, without input from responsible opposing views and hence, judged it ill-advised and divisive. I am also aware of at least one councillor saying “…I have never come across a motion in my nine years on the council that so blatantly sought to pitch one community against another – especially on a subject which is highly sensitive and where no member of the council is really able to make a proper and considered judgment…” I truly appreciate those members who thought that way, but I wish they took the trouble to stay on and vote no so that this blatant and malicious fraud could be thwarted.

Those terrible “War Years” of 1912-1922 (known in Turkish as “Seferberlik Yillari”) brought five consecutive wars—Tripoli (North Africa,) Balkan Wars (twice,) World War I, and the Turkish Independence War, in that order— along with wide spread death and destruction on to ALL Ottoman citizens. No Turkish family was left untouched, mine included. Those nameless, faceless Turkish victims are killed for a second time today with politically motivated and baseless charges of Armenian genocide.

Genocide claims are racist because they ignore the Turkish dead: about 3 million during WWI; more than half a million of them at the hands of Armenian ultra-nationalists; and dishonest because genocide charges blatantly dismiss the six T’s of the Turkish-Armenian conflict.

Historians reject the genocide label: This may explain why more than 69 North American scholars categorically rejected Armenian characterizations of genocide, noting that the non-partisan and reliable evidence unearthed so far points to “…inter-communal warfare fought by Christian and Muslims irregulars…” A majority of European historians who specialize on this topic also reject or criticize this label.

The Malta Trials refuted Armenian claims 90 years ago: If you had heard about the Malta Trials by the Crown Courts in 1919-1921, that never got off the ground due to lack of evidence to support the outrageous Armenian claims, you would not have signed that deceptive edict. ( For your information, the British exiled 144 Ottoman leaders to Malta as war crimes suspects, while scouring the Ottoman, British and American archives for proof and came up empty handed. This paper might explain more: The Armenian Issue: Why The “Genocide” Label Doesn’t Fit )

Britain does not recognize Armenian claims as genocide: You would do well to, at least, heed the advice and policy of Her Majesty’s Government when this same issue was raised in the same biased manner, again with total disregard for the other side of the story.

Here is a journey down the history, a collection of brief educational glimpses into the past:

1894

“…The aim of the Armenian revolutionaries is to foment outbreaks, firstly to induce the Ottomans to react to their violence and secondly to encourage the foreign powers to intervene…” Source: Letter of the British Ambassador Currie to the Foreign Office, on March the 28th of 1894, British Blue Book, N°6, p 57

1896

” …The Dashnaks and Hunchaks have terrorized their own countrymen, they have stirred up the Muslim people with their thefts and insanities, and have paralyzed all efforts made to carry out reforms; all the events that have taken place in Anatolia are the responsibility of the crimes committed by the Armenian revolutionary committees…” Source: Williams, The British vice-consul, writing from Van. (March 4, 1896, British Blue Book, Nr. 8 1896, p.108

1915

“…Concerning the Armenian revolutionaries’ tactics, one cannot expect to think up something more diabolic. Killing Moslems in order to punish innocents, robbing in the middle of the night villages that have just paid, the same day, their taxes. (…) The Armenian revolutionaries prefer robbing their own coreligionists rather than fighting against their enemy ; it’s in order to make their compatriots murder that the Armenian anarchists in Constantinople do bomb attacks…” Source: Sir Mark Sykes, “The Caliph’s Last Heritage”, London, 1915, p 409-418

1922

“…I was being employed by His Majesty’s Government to compile all available documents on the present treatment of the Armenians by the Turkish Government in a ‘Blue Book,’ which was duly published and distributed as war-propaganda!…” Source: Arnold Joseph Toynbee, “The Western Question in Greece and Turkey: a Study in the Contact of Civilizations,” Boston, Houghton Mifflin, 1922, p. 50.

1923

“…In some towns containing ten Armenian houses and thirty Turkish houses, it was reported that 40,000 people were killed, about 10,000 women were taken to the harem, and thousands of children left destitute; and the city university destroyed, and the bishop killed. It is a well-known fact that even in the last war the native Christians, despite the Turkish cautions, armed themselves and fought on the side of the Allies. In these conflicts, they were not idle, but they were well supplied with artillery, machine guns and inflicted heavy losses on their enemies…” Source: George M. Lamsa, a missionary known for his research on Christianity, “The Secret of the Near East,” The Ideal Press, Philadelphia (1923), page 133

1928

“…A circular was prepared by the War ministry asking the officers to report on the misdeeds of the enemy. According to this circular, exactness was not an essential condition: probability was enough. (…) The most popular lies in England and in America were those concerning atrocities. No war can do without it. One considers that to libel the enemy is a patriotic duty…” Arthur Ponsoby (British Deputy from 1910 till 1918, his book published in 1928 describes propaganda methods used during First World war), Falsehood in War-Time, New York, 1971, p 20-22

1928

“Few Americans who mourn, and justly, the miseries of the Armenians, are aware that till the rise of nationalistic ambitions, beginning with the ‘seventies, the Armenians were the favored portion of the population of Turkey, or that in the Great War, they traitorously turned Turkish cities over to the Russian invader; that they boasted of having raised an army of one hundred and fifty thousand men to fight a civil war, and that they burned at least a hundred Turkish villages and exterminated their population…It is at least time that Americans ceased to be deceived by propaganda…” Source: John Dewey, American professor, The Turkish Tragedy, The New Republic, November 12, 1928

1936

“…Those who in England are loudest in their sympathy with the aspirations of a(n Armenian) people ‘rightly struggling to be free’ can hardly have realized the atrocious methods of terrorism and blackmail by which a handful of desperados, as careful of their own safety as they are reckless of the lives of others, have too successfully coerced their unwilling compatriots into complicity with an utterly hopeless conspiracy…” Source: Lord Warkworth, after paying a visit to Van. ( William Langer, The Diplomacy of Imperialism.)

1964

“…(The Dashnaks)’ aim was by crimes and assassinations to invite Turkish reprisals and massacres, and thus create an international scandal that would attract the intervention of the other powers…” Source: David Thompson, “Europe Since Napoleon” (Alfred A. Knopf, 1964, 2nd. Ed.)

1976

“… The deafening drumbeat of the propaganda, and the sheer lack of sophistication in argument which comes from preaching decade after decade to a convinced and emotionally committed audience, are the major handicaps of Armenian historiography of the diaspora today…” Source: Dr. Gwynne Dyer, a London-based independent journalist with global exposure, 1976

1999

“…The British Government had condemned the massacres at the time. But in the absence of unequivocal evidence that the Ottoman administration took a specific decision to eliminate the Armenians under their control at that time, British governments have not recognized those events as indications of genocide… Nor do we believe it is the business of governments of today to review events of over 80 years ago, with a view to pronouncing on them. The events of 1915-16 remain a painful issue in relation to two states with which we enjoy excellent relations…” Source: Foreign Office spokesman, Baroness Ramsay of Cartvale, AP News, April14, 1999

2001

“…The Government, in line with previous British Governments, have judged the evidence not to be sufficiently unequivocal to persuade us that these events should be categorised as genocide as defined by the 1948 UN Convention on Genocide, a convention which was drafted in response to the Holocaust and is not retrospective in application. The interpretation of events in Eastern Anatolia in 1915-16 is still the subject of genuine debate amongst historians.” Source: Baroness Scotland of Asthal, expressing the position of the British Government’s on the alleged Armenian genocide in a written response to a question at the House of Lords, February 7, 2001

2001

“…The British government of that time and those that followed considered the massacres of 1915-1916 as a horrifying tragedy. We understand the strong feelings for this problem, given the human losses of both parties. But we do not believe that proofs put forward give evidence that those events must be classified as “genocide” as defined by the 1948 Convention of the United Nations on genocide. (…) The events of 1915-1916 constitute a big tragedy, during which the two parties underwent very heavy losses…” Source: Official Statement by the Embassy of Great Britain in Ankara, July 23, 2001.

…

The Armenian claims of genocide were never brought to court and, therefore, a court verdict a la Nuremberg does not exist. By voting yes on a controversial claim that totally ignores Armenian revolts, terrorism, treason, territorial demands and their Turkish victims during WWI, you are lending credence to unsubstantiated, exaggerated, falsified, and fabricated accusations.

Do you really believe a political body is the place to resolve historical conflicts?

Do you think academia with its research capability and/or legal realm with its “due process” expertise would be better equipped to handle such controversies ?

Do you agree that taking one side in a complex historical conflict is offensive, and unfair to the other side?

Do you see now how grave a mistake it is to honor one side of the story with an official stamp of approval, while totally ignoring the other? Would you like such “lynching” done to your country?

In a democracy, history is made by political institutions but written by historians. The Blois Appeal of 2008 in France, signed by several hundreds of historians, from Europe, North America, and elsewhere, says: “… History must not be a slave to contemporary politics nor can it be written on the command of competing memories. In a free state, no political authority has the right to define historical truth and to restrain the freedom of the historian with the threat of penal sanctions… ”

Muslim, mostly Turkish, victims of Armenian revolutionaries and the treasonous Armenian volunteers of Russian, French and Greek armies are documented in Ottoman archives, Russian archives , American archives (and also Niles & Sutherland,) French archives (Paul Bernard, Six mois en Cilicie, Aix-en-Provence: éditions du Feu, 1929,) and even in Armenian sources
(Haig Shiroyan, an Ottoman Armenian wrote in his Memories: “…The Russian victorious armies, reinforced by Armenian volunteers, had slaughtered every Turk they could find, destroyed every house they penetrated…” Smiling Through the Tears, New York, 1954, p. 186).

The alleged “Armenian genocide” was popularized by Armenian terrorism of 1973-1991. The ARF controlled one of the two principal Armenian terrorist groups:

a) “Justice Commandos for the Armenian Genocide/Armenian Revolutionary Army”

(Francis P. Hyland, Armenian Terrorism: the Past, the Present, the Prospects, Boulder-San Francisco-Oxford: Westview Press, 1991, pp. 61-62; br>
Gaïdz Minassian, Guerre et terrorisme arméniens, Paris: Presses universitaires de France, 2002, pp. 28-37 and 106-109; br>

Yves Ternon, La Cause arménienne, Paris: Le Seuil, 1983, pp. 218-224.)

Scotland Yard banned Hrair Maroukian, the leader of ARF from 1972 to 1994, from entering British soil in Autumn 1984, because British police considered him as the real chief of JCAG/ARA (Michael M. Gunter, “Pursuing the Just Cause of their People”. A Study of Contemporary Armenian Terrorism, Westport-New York-London, Greenwood Press, 1986, p. 111.)

The JCAG/ARA killed around thirty innocent victims and bombed the offices of Turkish Airlines in London airport, on May 24, 1978 and even the offices of British airways in Madrid airport, on January 20, 1980.

The ARF continues to glorify its terrorists, including Hampig Sassounian, jailed since 1982 for the assassination of the Turkish general consul in Los Angeles, Kemal Arikan.

Vicken Hovsepian, sentenced in 1984 by an US court to six years of prison for an attempt of bombing is a member of ARF the leader of the party in USA.

b) Another Armenian terrorist group, Armenian Secret Army for the Liberation of Armenia (ASALA), was actively supported by the Union of Armenian students of UK, who published a pro-ASALA newspaper in London, from 1978 to 1988: Kaytzer.

ASALA killed around forty innocent victims (including at least eight Turkish diplomats), and wounded many more;

ASALA terrorist Zaven Bedrosian was sentenced to eight years of prison by a British court in August 1983, for illegal possession of explosives and weapons, and conspiracy. Mr. Bedrosian admitted during his trial that he wanted to take the Turkish ambassador in London hostage with the hope of exchanging him with the ASALA murderer Levon Ekmekjian, one of the two perpetrators of attack in Ankara airport, in August 1982 (nine tourists were killed, more than 70 wounded.)

ASALA claimed his solidarity with Irish Republican Army (IRA) against “British fascism” (sic).

Ara Toranian, former spokesman of ASALA from 1976 to 1983, who shows no remorse for his violent past, is currently co-chairman of Coordination Council of France’s Armenian Associations.

I hope that you will realize what a grave mistake you have made by taking the words of Armenian propagandists, falsifiers, crooks and terrorists at face value.

…

In summary, if I could manage to raise a grain of doubt in your mind that the Armenian narrative may not be the whole story and that there might be another side, equally ghastly and genuine, where Armenians are the victimizers not the victims, then I consider my mission is accomplished. Thank you for reading.

Respectfully Yours,

ergun kirlikovali

Dear Readers, Friends , and Fair-Minded, Truth-Promoting, Peace-Lovers,

As long as there are Armenian falsifiers and Turk-haters  around the world,  with or without their white robes and matching conical hats, bent on demonizing all things Turkish at all opportunities real or imagined,  our work seems to remain incomplete.

We need to be alert and react instantly to all kinds of attempts to defame and misrepresent our proud heritage.  We need to remain in constant vigilance and continue to educate the public about our thousands of year old culture, history, and heritage.

This time, the unprovoked, unjustified, and unfair attack came from France’s  Le Monde newspaper.  Le Monde editors, incredibly, are providing access to the former speaker of a notorious Armenian terrorist organization, ASALA.  The blood of Turkish (and Fench) citizens have not dried on the hands of these Armenian terrorists who loved to grin to the TV cameras with their ugly faces, flashing victory signs after every bombing, assassination, and other such premeditated murder and planned carnage.

What’s more, Le Monde editors seem to lack the decency to at least give the appearance of seeking  responsible opposing views in order to balance this terrorist’s sick and hateful message and to present a more objective and fair coverage of a historical controversy.

Therefore, I ask you to please sign the protest letter below with your name, city, country, and day-phone, and email it to these addresses :

mediateur@lemonde.fr

courrier-des-lecteurs@lemonde.fr

kauffman@lemonde.fr

courtois@lemonde.fr

frachon@lemonde.fr

bozonnet@lemonde.fr

greislamer@lemonde.fr

Fax:   (00 33) 1 57 28 21 21

Street address :  Le Monde, 80, boulevard Auguste-Blanqui, 75 507 Paris Cedex 13 France

***************

Madam/Sir,

In a shocking move, Le Monde allowed, one more time, Ara Toranian to publish an opinion in its pages. The promotion, without any warning, of the views of the former spokesman of a terrorist group (ASALA) is simply unacceptable in a respectable and democratic newspaper.

France was, with Turkey, the country of the world where Armenian terrorists, especially ASALA, killed and wounded the greatest number of persons.  Mr. Toranian’s newspaper, Hay Baykar, glorified the murder of Turkish diplomats, justified the bombing of the Marmara travel agency (which bomb also killed a French secretary) and slammed the verdict sentencing the perpetrators of Orly attack (8 deaths, 90 wounded, including around 60 seriously).

In the U.S.A., ASALA attempted to assassinate a UCLA history professor, Prof. Stanford Jay Shaw, and his family in 1977 by planting a bomb in his HOME !

ASALA’s inspiration, Gourgen Yanikian, murdered in an ambush the general consul in Los Angeles Mehmet Baydar and his deputy Bahadır Demir, in 1973. Mr. Toranian’s newspaper presented the terrorist Yanikian as a hero.

Another Armenian terrorist group, JCAG/ARA assassinated Mehmet Baydar’s successor, Kemal Arıkan, in 1982.

The same attacked by bombs the cultural night celebrating the Turkish culture (including dance) in California and New York.

Both ASALA and JCAG/ARA assaulted  even moderate Armenians, like the Dashnak and the Hunchak murderers did in the Ottoman Empire since 1890s and the USA since 1930’s.

Mr. Toranian’s opinion was seen as an insult to the silent memory of the many victims of terrorism, whatever their nationality or ethnicity may be.

Please accept our expressions of profound disappointment, outrage,  and sadness,

[Signatory : Please provide full name, city, state, country, and day-phone]

************

If you wish to quote some more striking facts or figures, please read this interview:

http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2010/12/3194-turkish-armenian-conflict-what-now.html?utm_source=feedburner&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Feed%3A+ArmenianGenocideResourceCenter+%28Armenian+Genocide+Resource+Center%29

A leading lawmaker in Flanders deliberately insults Turks and Turkey during a live TV program with unsolicited racist remarks.

President of the Flemish parliament in Belgium, Jan Peter Peumans  (59,)  causes a scandal with his arrogant and bigoted comments during a quiz show, ”De Pappenheimers,”  by VRT (Flemish Public Radio and Television Broadcasting Federated) on Wednesday, December 1, 2010.   (watch video:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aQFqcaqiJi0 )

The question the organizers of the quiz show haplessly considered amusing and proper for a competition watched by general public, including children, was a related to  a comment by the famous French philosopher:  “Who did Voltaire think was the most disgusting nation?”  The potential answers offered were Flemish, Jews and Turks.  Peumans replied: “ Turks.”

After a loud laughter, he was reminded that the correct answer was “the Jews”.  Peumans said he knew the right answer but was scared to say it because of possibly very strong Jewish reaction.  Laughter in the audience grew.  When asked “Wouldn’t the Turks do react equally strongly?”  Peumans replied with a negative.

Film director Jan Eelen, another contestant, told Peumans later that the Turkish Embassy had been informed of the incident by Güler Turan — a Flemish parliament member of Turkish heritage.  Turkish Ambassador Murat Ersavcı  called Peumans to convey Turkey’s disappointment by the racist question and comment.  The remarks also drew strong reactions from Turks  in and out of Belgium.

All of this unfortunate episode took only a few minutes.  But its reverberations promise to take more than that… much more!

First, it is, indeed, a sad day in Belgium if a major entertainment industry executive there thinks racist questions are fun for the entire family.  A sensitization course in Belgium on issues of diversity and tolerance seems appropriate and even urgent.

Second, it must be especially ironic for such a bigoted question to surface in a country which suffered terribly under the racist persecution the Nazis (perhaps Peumans is too young to remember or too ignorant to know.)  Such a question should never have been asked in the first place.  How would the audience who cheered on the racist questions and response if the next question in the live quiz show was about the feelings of the German Nazis about Belgians and if the potential answers offered were  A) cowards     B)cheap skates    C) both?   Would they consider that to be “family fun?”

Third, if a Belgian politician publicly declares that he deliberately provides false answers for political correctness or expediency, and cheered on by millions in and around Belgium, and arguably around Europe, what does that tell one about the state of affairs and mind in Europe?  Are prejudice, humiliation, intimidation, discrimination, and racism accepted norms of thought and/or conduct in Belgium and/or Europe?

Fourth, Voltaire was a crusader against tyranny and bigotry, which is probably why he could not keep out of trouble.  Almost every person of importance was Voltaire’s enemy at some period of his life.  Voltaire, the Renaissance man of the Enlightenment, was no pussycat , either, as he struck back with bitter, mocking, poignant sarcasm whenever he was attacked.

Voltaire often scrutinized the political and philosophical controversies of the 18th century and campaigned tirelessly on behalf of the oppressed.

You, Mr. Peumans, badly need to learn the tragic plight of Jean Calas, a Protestant in Toulouse, which illustrates the passion in Voltaire.  Calas had a son who wanted to study law but he was denied access because he was not a Catholic. The son got very depressed and killed himself, a fatal sin then. His family decided to conceal the suicide as they did not want to see his body dragged in the streets and fed to dogs as was the common practice for those who took their own lives.  A rumor started that Jean Calas had murdered his son because he wanted to convert to Catholicism. The old man was convicted of murder on the basis of the flimsiest hearsay evidence by lynch mobs. Rejecting confession even after terrible torture, Calas was tied to a wooden cross, had his arms and legs broken.  Then he was strangled  by the executioner and burned at the stake. The state confiscated his property, leaving his widow homeless, penniless, and childless,  as the latter were forced into Catholic institutions.

Voltaire heard about this and set out to clear Calas. He wrote many letters to powerful people throughout Europe, hired a lawyer, and raised money for the family. eventually securing a unanimous vote in the parliament of Paris declaring Calas innocent.  Calas himself was dead but the reversal of his conviction meant that his estate was returned to his family and the children returned to their mother.   That was Voltaire!

I told you this story for two reasons:

1)  You and your supporters are doing to Turks today what the Catholic Church did to Protestant merchant Jean Calas of Toulouse in 1762.

2)  If Voltaire was alive today, he would fight you and your kind for the same reasons he fought for Jean Calas of Toulouse

Last but not least, here is what Voltaire really said about the Turks:

“ The great Turk is governing in peace twenty nations from different religions. Turks have taught the Christians how to be moderate in peace and gentle in victory.”

It is never too late to learn new facts and proper manners.

Sincerely,

(Name, full street address, and phone)

=========================================================

attention to our members

DIKKAT – DIKKAT

jan.peumans@vlaamsparlement.be

jan.peumans@riemst.be

mail adreslerine simdilik ingilizce veya almanca veya yukardaki mesaji kopyaliyarak protesto mesajlarinizi parlemenetere gonderebilirsiniz.

2010/12/1 Birol Kilic <forum@turkischegemeinde.at>

Federe yapılı Belçika’da Flamanca yayın
yapan devlet radyo ve televizyonu VRT’nin birinci kanalında “De Pappenheimers” adlı bilgi yarışmasına katılan, bağımsızlık yanlısı Yeni Flaman İttifakı (N-VA)
partisinin Başkan Yardımcısı ve Flaman Parlamentosu Başkanı Jan Peter Peumans (59), doğru cevabı bildiği halde “Yahudilere bir şey söyleyecek cesareti olmadığı
için” Türklere hakareti tercih etti.

Yarışmada ünlü Fransız düşünür Voltaire’in, “Dünya yüzündeki en iğrenç halk” olarak hangi milleti tanımladığı sorusunda bildiğini itiraf ettiği doğru
şık “Yahudiler” yerine “Türkler” şıkkını tercih eden Peumans’la sunucu Tom Lenaerts ve diğer yarışmacı olan Yönetmen Jan Eelen arasında şu diyalog yaşandı:

Lenaerts: “Türkler cevabını verdiniz ama doğrusu Yahudiler idi. Bunu gerçekten biliyor muydunuz?”

Peumans: “Gerçekten biliyordum ama Yahudiler hakkında yeni birşey söyleyecek cesaretim yok. Çok hassas insanlar. Bir zamanlar onların sözde
liberalizmi hakkında bir şeyler söyledim ama çok çektim. Bu nedenle..” Eelen: “Fakat Türkler hakkında söylemek meğer sorun değilmiş”

-BÜYÜKELÇİLİKTEN TEPKİ-

Skandal yarışmaya tepki gösteren Türkiye’nin Brüksel Bürükelçisi Murat Ersavcı, rahatsızlığını ilettiği Peumans’tan Türk toplumuna yönelik açıklama sözü
aldı.

Büyükelçilikten yapılan yazılı açıklamada, “Bir bilgi yarışması programına yakışmayan bu tür bir sorunun sorulmuş olması ve verilen yanıttan
duyduğumuz memnuniyetsizlik Büyükelçi Ersavcı tarafından Peumans;a telefonla iletilmiştir. Peumans, ön bilgisi dışında gelişen bu durumun amacını aşan
sonuçlara yol açmasından üzüntü duyduğunu; sitayişle bahsettiği ve hiçbir şekilde rencide etmek istemediğini vurguladığı Türk toplumuna bir açıklamada
bulunacağını; anılan televizyon kanalı nezdinde de gerekli girişimi yapacağını ifade etmiştir” denildi.

-SKANDALLARLA GÜNDEMDE-

Belçika’da cumhuriyetçi olduğu gerekçesiyle Kral’ın resepsiyonlarını boykot etmesiyle tanınan ve saldırgan uslubu nedeniyle Fransızca konuşan Valon
toplumunun tepkisini çeken Peumans, eşiyle gezintiye çıktığı Valon sınırındaki Vise kasabasında, “Yeni Flaman İttifakı üyesi bir politikacının Valon bölgesinde
ne işi olduğunu sorgulayan” bir gençten dayak yerken polis ekiplerince kurtarılmıştı.

http://www.boston.com/news/education/k_12/articles/2010/08/12/schools_can_exclude_materials_disputing_armenian_genocide/

Court ruled on 1999 case
By Peter Schworm , Boston Globe Staff / August 12, 2010
In a closely watched case, a federal appeals court yesterday ruled that statewide public school guidelines on teaching human rights history can exclude materials disputing that the mass slaying of Armenians in the First World War era constituted genocide.
The decision, written by retired Supreme Court justice David Souter, who occasionally hears cases with the First Circuit Court of Appeals, found that state education officials did not violate public school students’ free speech rights in 1999, when they excluded all “contra-genocide’’ sources calling the Armenian genocide into question.
Van Z. Krikorian, a professor at Pace University Law School who filed a brief defending the state’s move, said he was thrilled by the ruling, equating those who dispute the genocide designation to Holocaust deniers.
“It would have put human rights education in reverse,’’ he said. “It’s a major defeat for genocide denial.’’
Upholding a lower-court decision, the court ruled that although state guidelines were advisory, and “not meant to declare other positions out of bounds in study and discussion,’’ they were part of the official curriculum and therefore under the discretion of state authorities.
Requiring that officials include references to dissenting viewpoints, Souter wrote, “might actually have the effect of foreclosing future opportunities for open enquiry in the classroom.’’
Harvey Silverglate, a Boston civil rights lawyer representing the Assembly of Turkish American Associations, had argued that removing the references amounted to government censorship and prevented students from hearing both sides.
“It always is a sad day when a court constricts First Amendment rights rather than expand them,’’ he said. “I think they made a mistake.’’ Silverglate said his clients will consider whether to appeal.
The Turkish-American group disputes that the Muslim Turkish Ottoman Empire committed genocide against its Christian Armenian minority population. Over 1.5 million Armenians died at the hands of Turkish forces, but Turkish activists maintain it was not the result of a policy.
In 1998, the Legislature ordered the state Board of Education to prepare an advisory curriculum guide for teaching about genocide and human rights, and a draft of the guide initially included a section on the “Armenian Genocide.’’ Under pressure from Turkish advocacy groups, the commissioner of education, David P. Driscoll, revised the draft to include references to opposing views, said the ruling.

When officials filed the guide with legislators in March 1999, the state’s Armenian community protested the inclusion of “contra-genocide’’ viewpoints, and the education commissioner removed the references.
Peter Schworm can be reached at schworm@globe.com.
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ARMENIAN PROPAGANDA WINS, FOR NOW
Jewish Holocaust is supported by due process and a court verdict by a competent tribunal (Nuremberg, 1945.) What due process and court verdict support Armenian claims of genocide? The answer might surprise you: none! That’s right, Armenian claims are based on a racist and dishonest version of history, not law or the truth. They are racist because they ignore the Turkish victims at the hands of Armenian revolutionaries (120,000 in the year 1914 alone, according to the dictionary of World War One, by Stephen Pope and Elizabeth-Anne Wheal, 2003, page 34.) And they are dishonest because they simply dismiss the six T’s of the Turkish-Armenian conflict. Too bad, our children in Boston will never know that the Armenians took up arms against their own government. Too bad the “poor, starving Armenians myth” will be ingrained in their brains like zombies, never seeing the photos of the Armenian ultra-nationalists armed to the teeth (www.ethocide.com ) They’ll never hear about the Armenians revolts, terrorism, treason, territorial demands and more. Just because a “sundown town” ruling by a misinformed judge said so. The decision must be appealed in the spirit of independence in 1776, anti-slavery in 1862, and civil rights of 1960s.

BIAS & BIGOTRY IN THE TERM “ARMENIAN GENOCIDE”
If one cherishes values like fairness, objectivity, truth, and honesty, then one should really use the term “Turkish-Armenian conflict”. Asking one “Do you accept or deny Armenian Genocide” shows anti-Turkish bias. The question should be re-phrased “What is your stand on the Turkish-Armenian conflict?”
Turks believe it was an inter communal warfare mostly fought by Turkish and Armenian irregulars, a civil war which is engineered, provoked, and waged by the Armenian revolutionaries, with active support from Russia, England, France, and others, all eyeing the vast territories of the collapsing Ottoman Empire, against a backdrop of a raging world war.
Armenians, on the other hand, totally ignoring Armenian agitation, raids, rebellions, treason, territorial demands, and Turkish victims killed by Armenians, unfairly claim that it was a one way genocide.

GENOCIDE ALLEGATIONS IGNORE “THE SIX T’S OF THE TURKISH-ARMENIAN CONFLICT”
While some in unsuspecting public may be forgiven for taking the blatant and ceaseless Armenian propaganda at face value and believing Armenian falsifications merely because they are repeated so often, it is difficult and painful for the children of Turkish survivors of hate crimes committed by Armenian nationalists and other Christians. Those seemingly endless “War years” of 1912-1922 brought wide-spread death and destruction on to all Ottoman citizens. No Turkish family was left touched, mine included. Those nameless, faceless Turkish victims are killed for a second time today with politically motivated and baseless charges of Armenian genocide. Those six T’s which are censored by an ill-informed judge are:
1) TUMULT (as in numerous Armenian armed uprisings between 1894 and 1920)
2) TERRORISM (by well-armed Armenian nationalists and militias victimizing Ottoman-Muslims between 1882-1920)
3) TREASON (Armenians joining the invading enemy armies as early as 1914 and lasting until 1921)
4) TERRITORIAL DEMANDS (where Armenians were a minority, not a majority, attempting to establish Greater Armenia, the would-be first apartheid of the 20th Century with a Christian minority ruling over a Muslim majority )
5) TURKISH SUFFERING AND LOSSES (i.e. those caused by the Armenian nationalists: 524,000 Muslims, mostly Turks, met their tragic end at the hands of Armenian revolutionaries during WWI, per Turkish Historical Society. This figure is not to be confused with about 2.5 million Muslim dead who lost their lives due to non-Armenian causes during WWI. Grand total: more than 3 million, according to Prof. Justin McCarthy.)
6) TERESET (temporary resettlement) triggered by the first five T’s above and amply documented as such; not to be equated to the Armenian misrepresentations as genocide.)

VERDICT WITHOUT DUE PROCESS AMOUNTS TO LYNCHING
Those who take the Armenian “allegations” of genocide at face value seem to also ignore the following:
1- Genocide is a legal, technical term precisely defined by the U.N. 1948 convention (Like all proper laws, it is not retroactive to 1915.)
2- Genocide verdict can only be given by a “competent court” after “due process” where both sides are properly represented and evidence mutually cross examined.
3- For a genocide verdict, the accusers must prove “intent” at a competent court and after due process. This could never be done by the Armenians whose evidence mostly fall into five major categories: hearsay, mis-representations, exaggerations, forgeries, and “other”.
4- Such a “competent court” was never convened in the case of Turkish-Armenian conflict and a genocide verdict does not exist (save a Kangaroo court in occupied Istanbul in 1920 where partisanship, vendettas, and revenge motives left no room for due process.)
5- Genocide claim is political, not historical or factual. It reflects bias against Turks. Therefore, the term genocide must be used with the qualifier “alleged”, for scholarly objectivity and truth.

HISTORY IS A MATTER OF SCHOLARSHIP, NOT CONSENSUS
History is not a matter of “conviction, consensus, political resolutions, political correctness, or propaganda.” History is a matter of research, peer review, thoughtful debate, and honest scholarship. Even historians, by definition, cannot decide on a genocide verdict, which is reserved for a “competent court” with its legal expertise and due process.

POLITICAL LYNCHING OF THE TURKS BY ARMENIANS TODAY
What we witness today amounts to lynching of the Turks by Armenians to satisfy the age old Armenian hate, bias, and bigotry. Values like fairness, presumption of innocence until proven guilty, objectivity, balance, honesty, and freedom of speech are stumped under the fanatic Armenian feet. Unprovoked , unjustified, and unfair defamation of Turkey, one of America’s closest allies in the troubled Middle East, in order to appease some nagging Armenian activists runs counter to American interests.
Those who claim genocide verdict today, based on the much discredited Armenian evidence, are actually engaging in “conviction and execution without due process”. Last time I looked in the dictionary, that was the definition of “lynching”.
FREEDOM OF SPEECH? WHAT FREEDOM?

This unfortunate and racist decision promoting Armenian propaganda over honest scholarship and civil dialogue, turns Boston into a SUNDOWN TOWN. Remember those towns, thousands of them coast to coast that sprang up during the NADIR PERIOD OF RACE RELATIONS in America, i.e. roughly 1890-1940, where signs told so-called COLORED PEOPLE TO LEAVE TOWN BY SUNDOWN or else live with the consequences, which meant death by lynching?
Freedom of speech is dealt such a terrible blow by this SUNDOWN TOWN DECISION by an ill-informed judge today: 11 August 2010. What a sad day for America, , indeed….

On August 4, 2010, the California Prison Parole Board denied Armenian terrorist, Hampig Sassounian, parole. The Assembly of Turkish American Associations (ATAA), representing over 500,000 Turkish and Turkic Americans nationwide, participated in the hearing, submitting a Statement in Opposition to the Parole of Sassounian. Click here to read the ATAA’s statement and supporting documents.

The ATAA actively participates in judicial processes to support the conviction and sentencing of terrorists with a view toward achieving complete justice for the victims. ATAA is pleased that Sassounian was denied parole, as he and his followers continue to be a threat to the public. ATAA will appear at Sassounian’s next parole hearing in 2013 to make sure that he remains behind bars for life.

ARMENIAN TERRORIST HAD TRIED TO SNEAK TO LEBANON

Sassounian is serving a life sentence for the racist and political assassination of Turkish Consul General Kemal Arikan on January 28, 1982 in Los Angeles. The first attempt on Mr. Arikan’s life occurred on October 6, 1980, when Hampig Sassounian’s older brother, Harout Sassounian, fire-bombed the Consul General’s home. Harout Sassounian was convicted of the attempted killing.

Two years later, Hampig Sassounian and his accomplice Krikor Saliba massacred Mr. Arikan just outside of his residence as he waited in his vehicle at a traffic light. Their reason was that they hate Turks. LAPD captured Sassounian shortly after the killing. Sassounian’s father stated on national television that he was glad that a Turk was killed. LAPD searched Sassounian’s automobile, seizing a .357 caliber bullet and a one-way airline ticket from Los Angeles to Beirut. LAPD also searched Sassounian’s home, where they seized a gun receipt, pistol targets, and a manifesto of “The Armenian Youth Federation.”

TERORIST CAMPS ROUTED OUT

Federal authorities connected Sassounian and Saliba to the Justice Commandos of the Armenian Genocide (JCAG) terrorist group, which recruited members from the Armenian Youth Federation. JCAG serves as the militant wing of the Armenian Revolutionary Federation (ARF) political party in Armenia, whose foreign agent in the United States is the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA). ANCA is represented in California by ANC Western Region in Glendale. Hampig Sassounian bears an ARF tattoo on his chest. It should be noted that Sassounian’s partner, Saliba, fled to Beirut shortly after the assassination, in response to which Turkish and Israeli intelligence joined efforts to uproot Armenian terrorist camps in Lebanon.

ATAA’S VICTIM IMPACT STATEMENT: A FIRST

The ATAA’s statement was the first appearance of a Turkish American organization at a parole hearing of an Armenian terrorist. In 2000, the ATAA also appeared at the criminal sentencing of Mourad Topalian, the former chairman of ANCA who was convicted of weapons and explosives charges which federal authorities connected to at least four terror attacks on American soil.

NAMELESS, FACELESS WARRIORS BEHIND THE SUCCESS STORY

On behalf of the ATAA Board of Directors, I thank ATAA Western Region VP Maria Cakırağa for submitting the ATAA’s statement on behalf of the citizens of California. I thank ATAA legal intern, Lale Eskicioğlu, and research assistant, Duygu Ozcan, for their tireless research and technical support.

The LAPD required the provision of bullet-proof vehicles, followed and lead by several secret service vehicles during the trip to San Luis Obispo Prison, indicating the threat level of modern Armenian political violence.

Though Sassounian’s lawyer, Michael Geragos degraded ATAA at the hearing, Parole Commissioner Peppler expressed that the ATAA’s Statement provided a much necessary history of Armenian terrorism and political violence.

I take special note here that based on ATAA’s information and belief, the Armenian Republic submitted to the Parole Board a statement in support of Hampig Sassounian, including providing him Armenian citizenship and a residence in Armenia. By doing so, the Armenian Republic supported terrorism and undermined rapprochement.

DINK MARTYRIZED, ARIKAN FORGOTTEN

On behalf of Turkish Americans nationwide, ATAA expresses its deepest condolences and respects to Mrs. Arikan and her family for their loss and for their sacrifices. We have not forgotten you. You will always be in our hearts.

Respectfully submitted,

Gunay Evinch
President
Assembly of Turkish American Associations

———————–

PS: For exhibits provided to the parole board, please log on to www.ataa.org.

PPS: The paragraphs heading above added for emphasis by the columnist; they do not appear on the original letter.

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Here is how JOHN M. VANDER LIPPE put it in his “Forgotten Brigade of the Forgotten War: Turkey’s Participation in the Korean War.” (Middle Eastern Studies, January 1, 2000 )

THE TURKS IN THE KOREAN WAR
The advance party of the Turkish Brigade or Turkish Armed Forces command arrived in Pusan on 12 October 1950. The main body numbering 5190 troops arrived five days later, on 17 October. Brigadier General Tahzin Yazici commanded the brigade. Colonel Celal Dora was assistant Brigade Commander. When the main body arrived the brigade went into bivouac near Taegu where it underwent training and received U.S. equipment. The brigade was attached to the U.S. 25th infantry division so after limited training the brigade moved north to the Kaesong area to join the division.
The Turkish Brigade has been the subject of the world’s praise, by showing a very superior combat capability which provided our state with honor through the successes it won one after another during the three year period of blood and fire starting from the hardest and most critical moment it entered the battlefield until the signing of the “Ceasefire” agreement.
Turkey was one of the larger participants in the U.N. alliance, committing nearly 5,500 troops. The Turkish Brigade, which operated under the U.S. 25th Infantry Division, assisted in protecting the supply lines of U.N. forces which advanced towards North Korea. However, it was the Battles of Kunu-ri and Kumyanjangni that earned the Turkish Brigade a reputation and the praise of U.N. forces. Because of their heroic actions and sacrifice in these battles, a monument was created in Seoul in the memory of the Turkish soldiers who fought in Korea.
BILL ALLI, A TURKISH-AMERICAN WHO SERVED AT THE KOREAN WAR
Bill Alli, a Turkish-American who served at the Korean War and who is a member of the Korean War Veterans Armistice Day Coordinating Committee in Washington, DC said:
Korean Veterans Memorial is the only Memorial in the National Mall with Turkey’s name on it. It symbolizes the American-Turkish friendship and the sacrifices that both Nations did to protect a democratic nation that needed help. Therefore it is very special for us and we cannot emphasize it enough.
Heart-wrenching words from an old soldier, especially made poignant when one thinks how that great friend and ally of the United States, Turkey, after all its sacrifices, is mistreated by some viciously anti-Turkish lobbies and hate groups in Glendale and Boston and their proxies in the U.S. Congress. Think about it: when Turkish boys were fighting shoulder to shoulder with Americans and dying in Korea and elsewhere, Armenia was on the Soviet camp, its soldiers shooting bullets and lobbing bombs at Turkish and American boys. Those Armenians are now the darling of some politicians with little or no memory or scruples. Go figure!

It took me years and years of scientific research.

Read, learn!

Killers: Muslims
Victims: Christians
Definiton: It’s definitely a Genocide

Killers: Christians
Victims: Muslims
Definiton: It’s definitely not a Genocide. Please refer to such events as “War” or “Civil Conflict”

Killers: Germans, French, Dutch, Poles, Greeks, Armenians, Slavs etc.
Victims: European Jews
Definiton: It’s a Genocide – But only the Germans are guilty.

Killers: Muslims
Victims: Muslims
Definiton: It’s a Genocide (If the victims are the West’s allies or the killers are the West’s enemy)
It’s not a Genocide (If the killers are the West’s allies or the victims are the West’s enemy)

Killers: Christians
Victims: Christians
Definiton: Incomplete data. Unable to make a judgment. Please provide the skin color of the killers and the victims.

Killers: The West
Victims: Peoples of the 3rd World
Definiton: Definitely not a Genocide. Use terms like Anti-Terrorism, Overseas conflict, War against oppressive

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By Midas

Copied from: http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2006/07/889-genocide-for-dummies.html