Ridiculous News

[Reincarnated Am]

Turkish FM: France is Alone in Armenian Issue

* Gul lashes out at French recognition of Armenian 'genocide'

The Turkish foreign minister Abdullah Gul yesterday lashed out at the French decision to recognize the Armenian claims of genocide, saying, "The only EU member state to sign a decision or agreement concerning the Armenian genocide claims is France."

Answering an official question on the controversial Armenian issue, Gul stated that although the Parliaments of some EU member states have made some decisions on the controversial issue, they aren't legally binding on the activities of the governments.

"No EU governments, except the French one, have recognized the Armenian genocide claims. Also such political decisions aren't legally binding on Turkey," Gul added.

There is a strong Armenian diaspora in France and the Armenians are very active in French politics. Also about 400,000 Turkish people live in France.

France argues that the 1915 events was genocide. However France does not accept the Algerian Genocide. The Algeria urged the French politicians to recognise the massacres committed by the French. France says the events should be left to the historians.

JTW with the New Anatolian
22 November 2005

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=21962

[Reincarnated Am]

Armenian Church Foundation Chairman: It was not genocide, it was relocation

“It was not genocide. It was relocation which caused painful events,” Dikran Kevorkyan, chairman of Kandilli Armenian Foundation, said on Saturday. Speaking at a conference in Istanbul on the Armenian issue, Kevorkyan said, “it was not genocide. It was relocation which caused painful and tragic events. We should underline the fact that political, psychological and economic developments led to the relocation.”


Highlighting importance of mutual tolerance and understanding, Kevorkyan noted, “several countries approved some resolutions about genocide in order to get votes of the Armenian diaspora. All those are political matters. France, Germany, Britain, Russia and indirectly the United States have always used the Armenians.

Today, they are trying to pay its price. They approve those resolutions to cover their
mistakes. I do not approve politicians' inciting hatred among people for their own political purposes.”

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/3546854.asp?gid=74

[Gavur]

Baxter: The Turkey-Texas Accords result in historic name change

Tri State News: Country Living
By Baxter Black
Monday, November 21, 2005 2:08 PM CST




The latest in the civilized world’s need to right old wrongs is the country of Turkey’s objection to the use of the name turkey to describe a rather intellectually-challenged bird with a snood.

“It casts us in an unflattering light, offends our ancestors and we are not getting any royalties!” they stated fictitiously.

The objection is ironic considering they were embroiled in a similar argument with the foot stool industry when they started calling themselves The Ottoman Empire. The self-appointed quasi Federal Politically Correct Commission, (FPCC) is forcing the United States Turkey Taxonomic Team (TTT) to rename their beloved beast.

In response, the team submitted the general sounding Big White Bird, but were immediately attacked by Sesame Street for copyright infringement and by the Color Discrimination League (CDL). The CDL is objecting to the use of colors for names, as insensitive to the colorless. No longer can we paint the town beige, sing the blues or name citrus fruits after colors. Songs like “Yellow Submarine,” “Red River Valley” and “Green Sleeves” must be re-recorded as “The Opaque Submarine,” “The Muddy River Valley” and “The Grass-Stained Sleeves.” I personally have been asked to change my name to Baxter Dark.


As Thanksgiving approaches the FPCC continues to put pressure on the TTT. TTT proffered the idea of using outdated or extinct names, thinking they would gain sympathy by recycling words.

The Dodo, Ivory Billed Woodpecker, Pterodactyl and Tyrannosaurus Bigfoot were put up, then rejected. Moses, Mohammed, Billy Graham and NFL Football also got a thumbs down because of issues regarding separation of church and state.

Maybe, they thought, we could name the bird after an unsympathetic character that even the most sensitive PC commissioner could not help but enjoy demeaning; Hitler, Charles Manson, Newt Gingrich or Sen. Edward Kennedy. But the ACLU objected to all except Newt Gingrich. Alas, the name ‘newt’ was already taken by a hairless lizard!

Submissions were received by the TTT from its members - the Flightless Bird, the Feathered Stump, the Walking Wishbone, the Gobbling Dunce, the Winged Zucchini, the Pilgrim’s Gizzard on a Stick. Finally, since no new name for the turkey had been deemed politically correct, talks were held with the United Nations Fresh Poultry Committee to see if the Turkish ambassador could convince his country to change its name.

Willie Nelson and Ross Perot served as negotiators and an agreement was reached in what will forever be known as the Turkey-Texas Accords. The snooded national symbol of Thanksgiving will still be called the turkey.

And the big country, America’s ally in Asia Minor, will now go by the name of Hank and become the 52nd state of the Union, right after Israel.

[Reincarnated Am]

Turkey criticizes Edinburgh's Armenian bill

ANKARA - Speaking at a weekly press briefing on Wednesday, Turkish Foreign Ministry Spokesman Namik Tan has criticized the approval by the Edinburgh City Council (United Kingdom) last week of an Armenian bill concerning the so-called genocide allegedly committed by the Ottomans calling the decision "groundless and divorced from reality".

Tan stressed that in spite of Turkish officials’ efforts and the Turkish people’s campaign to prevent such an initiative, the council had still passed the bill supporting biased Armenian allegations.

The Armenian lobbying groups made a strong pressure on the Council while the Turkish British opposed the decision.

The Armenians name the ethnic conflicts in 1915 'genocide'. Turkey has trejected the allegations. The Armenian Ottomans rioted during the First World War and massacred more than 520,000 Turkish and Kurdish people in 1915. The Istanbul Government decided to relocate some of the Armenian population in the Eastern provinces. Thosands of Armenians were killed in the communal clashes and many more died due to the war and weather conditions.

JTW and news agencies

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=22338

[Reincarnated Am]

Stone: Armenian Diaspora Uses Fake Documents

ANKARA (JTW) - The Gazi Universty organized an Armenian Conference in Ankara. Historian Norman Stone argued that the Armenian Diaspora rewrite the past by using fake documents.

Prof. Dr. Norman Stone: “Diaspora makes the past romantic and makes everything more difficult. It rewrites the history on fake documents, yet the serious scientists are aware of the reality.”

Prof. Dr. Hikmet Ozdemir: “There are reasons of the relocation (tehcir) campaign. The Ottomans did not decide once with no reason to force the Armenians to immigrate. The reasons were the Armenian riots and the Armenian collaboration with the enemies.”

Prof. Dr. Yusuf Halacoglu: “Till now no one applied to the science. The genocide is to make such a great pressure on a nation (Turkish nation)”

Prof. Dr. Baskin Oran: “The Armenian Diaspora has made the Armenian issue incurable.”

JTW

http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=22329

[Gavur]

Elekdag: Armenian Diaspora's Accusing Turkey Of Genocide Is A Legal Crime

Published: 11/25/2005
Latest wire from AFP


ANKARA - ''Armenian diaspora's accusing Turkey of genocide is a legal crime,'' Sukru Elekdag, MP of the main opposition party --Republican People's Party (CHP)-- said on Thursday.

Speaking at an international symposium held at Ankara's Gazi University on ''Turkish-Armenian Relations and 1915 Incidents'', Elekdag said, ''those who advocate Armenian thesis, cannot prove their allegations within the context of the United Nations Conventions on the Prevention and Punishment of the Crime of Genocide. The Article 4 of the Convention says that only persons and public officials can be accused of genocide, not juristic persons or states. Also, Article 6 of the same convention says that those allegations should be determined by competent tribunals.''

''Parliaments of several countries decided to recognize so-called Armenian genocide by violating the United Nations Convention. A decision made by violating international laws does not have any legal ground. The law does not define the 1915 incidents as crime of genocide. Therefore, an undefined act cannot be considered crime. This is the principle of 'there is no crime without law'. Under all these principles, it is impossible to describe the 1915 incidents as genocide, and to accuse the Ottoman Empire and Turkey of genocide. Those allegations have both political and legal dimensions. Therefore, a court of arbitration should be formed to deal with the issue,'' he said.

[Reincarnated Am]

Halacoglu: I Won't Give Testimony In Switzerland

BODRUM - Chairman of the Turkish Historical Society Yusuf Halacoglu has indicated today that he will not give testimony in Switzerland.
Halacoglu was called to appear at a Swiss court after his remarks on the so-called Armenian genocide. Halacoglu's remarks carried comments that disproved all Armenian allegations.

''Even if I get arrested, I refuse to testify at the Swiss court,'' said Halacoglu.

Halacoglu added that he made certain remarks on the so-called Armenian genocide by using his right to freely express his thoughts. ''I used my freedom in expressing my thoughts.''

http://www.turkishpress.com/news.asp?id=82567

[Reincarnated Am]

Retired professor slams Armenian claims of genocide

Speaking at a conference in Mugla called "Turks, Armenians, and the Truth in History," Professor Turkkaya Ataov, noting that many Turkish intellectuals have been killed for their stance on the so-called Armenian genocide, said "We have put on our grave shrouds. We are determined to go down this path, and whatever happens doesn't matter, since we'll die anyway. We might as well fall as fighters for our country."

"1,000 years of peace with Armenians"

Grabbing the microphone out of turn during the symposium to speak to the audience, retired Professor Ataov also said the following: "I want to bring the end point to the beginning in what I say: The Turks did not commit genocide against the Armenians either before or after World War I. The truth is that Turks, beginning from the time of the Selcuks, have had peaceful relations with the Armenians for one thousand years. The reason for the tension in 1915 was that the Armenians, despite promises that had been made, joined in the Russian army in attacks on Muslim villages."

Comments greeted by applause from audience members

Speaking further, Professor Ataov said "We continue our struggle against these allegations. In 40 years, we have published 137 books on this subject; only a madman would attempt this. We are determined to go down this path." Noting that Turkey had only recently awoken to the severity and seriousness of the Armenian claims of genocide, Professor Ataov's comments were applauded at length by the approximately 700 audience members filling the salon.

http://www.hurriyet.com.tr/english/3601241.asp?gid=74

[Gavur]

We Need A 'turkish Republic Information Service'

Suat Kınıklıoglu

TDN
Tuesday, December 6, 2005

Public diplomacy has become a significant aspect in terms of the
execution of a country's foreign policy. There is no doubt that
the reason for the centrality of public diplomacy stems from the
changing character of the foreign policy field as well as the growing
significance of information technologies. Needless to say, the fact
that individuals around the globe are able to access information easier
and thus are better equipped to form opinions about state policies
also plays an important role. There are different descriptions of
what public diplomacy really is, but I will quote a definition I
tend to agree with. According to this description, "Public diplomacy
seeks to promote the national interest of a given country through
understanding, informing and influencing foreign audiences." Central
to public diplomacy is the transnational flow of information and
ideas. Turkey is in dire need of doing just that.

There are two aspects to the question. Firstly, there is the exercise
of professional public diplomacy to be carried out by our diplomats.

This requires the proper training of new diplomats as well as of
the mid-career and senior ranks of our foreign service. In fact, our
diplomats are already engaging in some public diplomacy activities,
albeit not in a concerted or conceptualized manner. The second aspect
of the issue concerns the dissemination of information and ideas to
foreign audiences. Here we lack considerable expertise and again suffer
from a lack of coordination and conceptual approach to the issue.

Turkey needs to address the issue not only because we want our Ministry
of Foreign Affairs to be on an equal footing with its counterparts
but also because some of the challenges facing our nation today need
urgent attention. The Armenian issue, the Cyprus issue and Turkey's
European Union aspirations as well as managing the quality and
format of information pertaining to the Kurdish issue are critical
for Turkey. We see that preconceived ideas and views dominate the
field on all these fronts. Hence, it is clear that it is going to be
an uphill battle. The good news is that a growing number of members
of our foreign service have come to understand the significance of
the matter and want to do something about it. I also know that our
General Staff understands the centrality of the issue.

Well, we have the powder, sugar and milk and need to mix them
together and make helva, as we say in Turkish. In other words, all
of the ingredients for making this a reality are there. That said,
there is a need to figure out the institutional details as well as
the funding and human resources issues.

Public diplomacy differs from traditional diplomacy in that public
diplomacy deals not only with governments but also primarily with
nongovernmental individuals and organizations. Furthermore, public
diplomacy activities often present many differing views that should
be seen as complimenting the official views of a given government. I
am well known for my views on engaging nongovernmental organizations
in the foreign policy game. I am also a strong proponent of the
establishment of a "Turkish Republic Information Service" (TRIS), along
the lines of the United States Information Service (USIS) before it
was dismantled. A key dimension of my proposal is that the TRIS would
coordinate the strategy of Turkey's information initiatives. TRIS would
define the contours of the strategy, help identify the content and
would be responsible for determining the human resources involved. TRIS
would have to be complimented by a "Public Diplomacy Division" created
within the Ministry of Foreign Affairs that would concentrate on the
training and exercise of Turkey's diplomats. There are, of course,
some significant challenges as well. First of all, it is necessary to
convince our conservative bureaucracy that it needs to open up and
employ modern information tools in order to succeed in its public
diplomacy efforts. Secondly, the institutional design would need to
involve government business as well as NGOs and, most importantly,
would allow for internal independence so that the TRIS could function
without political or other interference.

In today's world the battle of ideas is taking place on Web sites
and blogs, in newsgroups and journals, etc. It is taking place over
news channels and radio broadcasts as well as in movies. Turkey is
often not present on these platforms. When it is, it is usually
not well coordinated, lacks purpose and often is not durable. A
well-designed TRIS could be the answer. I often underline that when
it comes to foreign policy issues, Turkey plays with seven players on
the football field while its counterparts engage think tanks, NGOs,
information services, etc., and have a full team of 11 players on the
pitch. It is difficult to conceive of how much longer we can sustain
the apparent imbalance. Is it not time that we also put 11 players
on the field and play a respectable game?

[Gavur]

Former Ambassador Of Turkey To France Complains

ARMENIANS ARE SO STRONG IN FRANCE THAT MAY DO WHAT THEY WANT, FORMER AMBASSADOR OF TURKEY TO FRANCE COMPLAINS

Noyan Tapan
Armenians Today
Dec 5 2005

ISTANBUL, DECEMBER 5, NOYAN TAPAN - ARMENIANS TODAY. "France sold
Turkey for 280 thousand Armenians living on its territory," Uluj
Eozulker, the Ambassador of Turkey finished his diplomatic mission
on the territory of France stated at the interview to the Turkish
"Huriet" daily.

According to the Istanbul "Marmara" daily, Eozulker said that France is
"a pugnacious country" and displayed a similar "pugnacious" attitude in
the issue of membership of the Great Britain and Spain to the European
Union. On the occasion of Turkey's possible membership to the EU the
Turk diplomat stated: "It's supposed that France must be a friendly
country for Turkey: Jacques Chirac is sure that Turkey is an European
country: this confidence comes from the period of De Golle. That means
that Chirac also believes in Turkey's membership but there is a small
confusion when and how will this membership be," Eozulker mentioned.

The Turk diplomat emphasized that Armenians are so strong in France
that they are able to implement everything they want: They contituously
make the anti-Turkish propaganda an issue on the agenda. In spite of
their being already Frenchmen they are afraid of danger of assimilation
and that's why they remind the younger generation about their being
Armenians and attempt to gather young people around the idea of the
Genocide. They are present in all spheres.

The Armenian issue in France is nothing but a problem of selling
Turkey for 280 thousand Armenian votes," he stated.

The former Ambassador of Turkey to France also mentioned that in France
Armenians have a great influence on the mass media. "Armenians are well
organized. Armenians enter local administrations in cities like Lyons,
Marseilles or Paris. Our influence on such a situation is still weak,"
Eozulker emphasized.