A shame for Turkey

[Gavur]

UPDATE 1-Turkey must play next six games at neutral venue

Tue Feb 7, 2006 6:07 PM GMT


LONDON, Feb 7 (Reuters) - Turkey have been ordered to play their next six home matches at a neutral ground and behind closed doors following a fracas at their World Cup qualifier against Switzerland in Istanbul.

FIFA said in a statement on Tuesday that two Turkish players, Alpay Ozalan and Emre Belozoglu, would be banned for six matches as would Switzerland's Benjamin Huggel who admitted kicking Turkish assistant coach Mehmet Ozdilek.

The sanctions, which apply to official matches and not friendlies, are among the most severe handed out to a national association and will hit Turkey's chances of qualifying for the next European championship in 2008.

Huggel will be suspended for all of Switzerland's World Cup matches in Germany, unless they reach the final, and is also likely to miss games at Euro 2008.

Switzerland won the two-legged playoff to qualify for this year's World Cup starting in June at the expense of Turkey, semi-finalists in 2002.

Ozdilek has been ordered to stay away from soccer for 12 months for his part in the incidents last November. He resigned after television pictures showed him attempting to trip a Swiss player as they left the pitch.

Television pictures showed defender Alpay kicking Swiss forward Marco Streller in the players' tunnel after the game.

Turkey were also fined 200,000 Swiss francs ($154,200). A number of other players and coaches from both teams also received fines and suspensions.

"I describe this decision as unacceptable. This is a political decision rather than a sports decision," Turkey's sports minister Mehmet Ali Sahin told NTV news channel.

FIFA held a meeting on Monday and Tuesday at their Zurich headquarters to decide the punishments. FIFA president Sepp Blatter, a Swiss, said at the time he was hopping mad at the damage to soccer's image caused by the fracas.

Turkey won the game in Istanbul, played on Nov. 16, 4-2 but went out of the World Cup on the away goals rule after losing the first leg 2-0 in Bern four days earlier.

Mayhem followed the final whistle as players and officials from both sides were involved in a mass brawl in the players' tunnel.

Swiss substitute defender Stephane Grichting came off worst after receiving a kick in the groin that required hospital treatment.

[imported_RUDO]

A new shame.A new day always come with a new shame here Turkey.

[Casper]

The Turks are use to shame aren't they?

[imported_RUDO]

The Turks are use to shame aren't they?

I think they are in a bad time.

[imported_RUDO]

They have a lot of political problems(Kurd Problem,Armenian Genocide,North Cyprus,Secularism which I fear most,and so ......).Also they have a lot of financial problems.(Having a big debt to IMF,...)

[Casper]

They have a lot of political problems(Kurd Problem,Armenian Genocide,North Cyprus,Secularism which I fear most,and so ......).Also they have a lot of financial problems.(Having a big debt to IMF,...)

I think there are 30 million Kurds in Turkey. This is considering that the Kurds are having the largest families. What do you think?

Secularism will be the downfall of societies. I envisage a point where the Christians and Muslims who all have large families will be the two dominant societies in the world. I cant predict which one of the two will have control of the world in the end.

[imported_RUDO]

I think there are 30 million Kurds in Turkey. This is considering that the Kurds are having the largest families. What do you think?

Secularism will be the downfall of societies. I envisage a point where the Christians and Muslims who all have large families will be the two dominant societies in the world. I cant predict which one of the two will have control of the world in the end.

I know that there are 25-30 million Kurds in Turkey at least.But we can't know exact number.Because there are children whose one parent is Turk and the other is Kurd.

[Gavur]

Anti-bribe clause in Japanese agreement draws Turkish ire

Published: 3/10/2006







ANKARA - Turkish lawmakers rejected a 2.4 million dollar (two million euro) grant agreement with Japan because of a clause demanding that Turkey ensure the deal will be corruption-free, a senior parliamentarian said Friday.
The clause is in an annex to a 2005 agreement under which Japan will grant Turkey funds to build an archaeological research institute, a museum and a Japanese garden in the central Turkish town of Kaman.

It calls on Ankara to "take the necessary measures to prevent any proposals, gifts, payments or benefits which may be interpreted as bribes" in the execution of the project.

Angered by the clause, the parliament foreign affairs committee, which reviews international agreements before they are voted by the assembly, Thursday sent the document back to the foreign ministry for amendment, the commission's chairman Mehmet Dulger told the Anatolia news agency.

"This is like an insult. How could we adopt or sign this text?" Dulger said.

Following the commission's rejection, the foreign ministry said in a statement Friday that the article would be removed "in consideration of the sensitivity it has caused".

The Japanese embassy in Ankara said it was "astonished" by the controversy surrounding the article, which has been included in every international economic agreement Japan has signed since 1996.

"It is out of the question for Japan to have any intention of discrediting Turkey with whom it has traditional friendly ties," the embassy said in a written statement.

The incident was front-paged Friday in major Turkish newspapers, which saw it as international recognition of rampant corruption in the country.

"Document of shame," bannered the popular daily Aksam, while the mass-circulation Hurriyet, tongue-in-cheek, headlined: "We promise we won't take bribes!"

Corruption is widespread in Turkey and is seen by many as a major reason for the economic woes that forced Ankara to seek financial aid from the International Monetary Fund in 2001.


03/10/2006 16:48 GMT

[Gavur]

Turkey Not "ashamed" Of Past Treatment Of Armenians - Foreign Monster

TURKEY NOT "ASHAMED" OF PAST TREATMENT OF ARMENIANS - FOREIGN MINISTER

Anatolia news agency, Ankara
15 Mar 06

Istanbul, 15 March: "Turkey is at peace with its past. There is no page
in our history that we will be ashamed of," Turkish Foreign Minister
and Deputy Prime Minister Abdullah Gul said on Wednesday [15 March].

Sending a message to the opening of an international conference on "New
Approaches to Turkish-Armenian Relations" at the Istanbul University,
Gul said many conferences and symposiums were held in Turkey recently
on baseless Armenian allegations.

"There has been an increase in number of scientific researches,
articles and books published about the last period of the Ottoman
Empire and the Armenian issue. Thanks to the studies in question,
we have the opportunity to see the facts and to make the voice of
the truth heard against the biased publications by the Armenians of
the diaspora."

"Furthermore, we bequeath detailed data to next generations about a
period of Turkish history. I would like to emphasize that the number
of impartial publications in the United States and Europe towards
this issue increases. Serious steps are being taken to make public
the facts," the message said.

Gul reiterated that archives of the Ottoman and Republican period
were open to all researchers.

Gul urged that not only Turkish archives but also all the archives
that will shed light to a specific period of history should be
opened to researchers. "Last year we had proposed to the Armenian
government to form a commission to examine controversial episodes of
Turkish-Armenian relations. However, we haven't yet got a positive
response from the Armenian party," he indicated.

On the other hand, Istanbul University's President Prof Dr Mesut
Parlak said: "Genocide is a crime against humanity. Such a heavy
accusation must have a legal basis. The international law defining
genocide was adopted in 1948, and does not cover past incidents.

Therefore, it is impossible and illegal to qualify 1915 incidents
as genocide."

According to Parlak, the conference aims to reveal historical
realities.