Pytanie #1:
Is it within camel-riding distance of Ankara?
Pytanie #2:
The PKK has laid down their arms and declared a unilateral ceasefire. As part of the agreement, they will not use their weapons unless the Turkish government fires on them. However, the Turkish government has said in the past that it will continue to fight with the PKK until they surrender, but the government has failed to understand that for 30 years Turkey’s powerful military could not eliminate nor bring about surrender from the PKK.
I think peace bargaining is the answer for the PKK and for the Turkish government. I believe that there are Kurdish problems, and they should be ended. The killing of the innocent people must stop also. If the Turkish government now finally realizes that the Kurdish problems cannot be solved with F16 airplanes and heavy machine guns and if Ankara wants to end this problem and to have a leadership role in the Middle East as well as in the international arena, then before the Americans leave Iraq, Turkey has to act. Otherwise, terror will become a business for some external power in the region, just as in the past some countries have used the Kurdish people for their hidden agenda and for their national interest. The Turkish government should talk to the BDP, the PKK and other Kurdish groups and give them some kind of political incentive to continue their struggle in the Turkish Parliament rather than going to the mountains. The Turkish government and leaders should not engage in sincere politics talks, but rather, for the interest of its citizen, should seriously talk and put an end to this problem. Peace negotiations are undertaken with foes not with friends. For a long time the Turkish government, the military, and the public did not want these peace negotiations. This is the time; the Turkish government should talk about Kurdish rights.
Today Islamic camps like the Gulenists and the AKP claim to be for democratizing Turkey, but are they actually more democratic than other factions?
Are the freedoms they are talking about the same for everybody? Also, do Mr. Gülen and the AKP believe that democracy will come to Turkey and that, as a result, all of the Turkish problems will be washed way? Is that true?
Why should Kurds believe this government, when in the past the Turkish government and the military oppressed them and conducted illegal activities? Have they changed now?
Will the new Constitution provide benefits for the Kurds or it is just that the name of the master will be changed?
What will the Kurds get in response when the PKK lays down their arms?
Will a new civilian liberal and democratic Constitution create an opportunity for the solution to the suppressed Kurdish problem of oppression?
How will a new Constitution define citizenship? Will it give the Kurds an opportunity to define themselves as Kurds without going to court or jail?
Will the Judiciary keep harassing Kurdish politicians because they are defending the rights of their constituencies?
Will the displaced Kurdish people go back to their villages and will the government pay them compensation?
Will the Turkish government give the PKK members general amnesty?
Will the Turkish government and the military open their archives to western academic researchers, so that they could see their past policies toward the Kurds and educate the public about their past mistakes?
Will the Turkish government decide who can do the research and what part of polices can be revealed?
How will Ankara respond to this conciliatory act on the part of the PKK?
Dr. Aland Mizell is with the MCI. You may reach the author via email at: aland_mizell1@hotmail.com
Pytanie #3:
Click Here
thanks!!!
Pytanie #4:
Just wanted to see what the RHH section thinks, and who's gonna watch it.
Which teams will make it to the 2nd round and wich team will take the Cup?'
Group A (Kayseri)
Angola, Argentina, Australia, Germany, Jordan & Serbia
Group B (Istanbul)
Brasil, Croatia, Iran, Tunisie, Slovenia & USA
Group C (Ankara)
China, Ivory Coast, Greece, Russia, Puerto Rico & Turkey
Group D (Izmir)
Canada, France, Lebanon, Lithuania, New Zealand & Spain
My Predictions are
A: Argentina, Australia, Serbia Angola
B: USA, Brasil, Slovenia, Croatia
C: Turkey, Greece, Russia, Puerto Rico
D: Spain, Lithuinia, Canada, Lebanon( Yeh i'm Lebanese... In 06 we beat france and venzuela + we beat canada like a week ago (88-76) in a friendly game, so my hopes are up)
I pick spain to repeat
Pytanie #5:
Could you tell me suhur time for Ankara (Turkey) wrto your country's religious authority for today (I mean al fajr time)?
It says 04:32 but I have suspicions about it.
hi juliet I know it but I talked to my gf in cairo and she said she was drinking water a very long time after my suhur. Turkish religious authority says its 4.00 am for suhur time for Cairo. So either Egypt or Turkey is wrong about that time :S
ohhhhhhhh wait. I didnt know Turkey and Egypt are in different time zones!!!!!! We are 1 hour later than Egypt.
Sorry for misunderstanding ......
Pytanie #6:
Hi I am a 28 year old Turkish male citizen, I am currently working in North Cyprus , I am hoping to travel to England for a holiday over the Christmas and new year period. I earn between 2500ytl -3000ytl per month (have payslips to prove income) I have 6000ytl in savings in the bank(have bank statements) and I have paid insurance contributions since working here which are held with the government here until I request them..the amount I have is shown in my passport. I also have a letter from my employer to say that I work for him and I have permission for a short holiday. My British girlfriend also has sent me an invitation stating that she wishes for me to join her and her family for the festivities( not mentioned our relationship staus in the letter) My girlfriend as also sent me a photocopy of her passport to prove that she has the right to reside in the Uk legally. She doesnt have much money but will send me her a bank statement to show that she has £600 available for our holiday together. I also have a hotel reservation booked DOES ANYBODY KNOW IF THIS SHOULD BE ENOUGH FOR A TOURIST VISA??/ if I am granted a 6 month visa does this mean I can come in and out of the Uk as many times as I wish in this period? And also does this mean that whilst im in the Uk on a tourist visa do I have permission to search for a business and if successfull apply from the Uk for a 1 year visa under the ankara agreement? Or would I be expected to go back to Turkey and apply from there? Any information on this would be greatly appreciated..I dont want to sponge off my girlfriend I want to be able find my way to her and make a future with her.
Pytanie #7:
Pick ONE name of a place from around the world from EACH line that you would use as a girls name.
1. Florence, Lima, Madrid, Jeddah.
2. Asia, Paris, London, Ankara.
3. Lourdes, Jakarta, Dehli, Manila.
4. Sicily, Alexandria, Ellesmere, Romania.
5. Barcelona, Andorra, Jamaica, Latvia.
6. Estonia, Rwanda, Samoa, France.
BQ: Would you use any of these names for your child? Any other world countries names you like for a girl that didn't make the list?
Pytanie #8:
Click Here
thnxx!!! =)
Pytanie #9:
I'm planning to go to Ankara and live there, also i want to study there for master. I was wondering how is life there and is it possible for students to work too?! do i have to learn Turkish or not?
Pytanie #10:
I'm planning to go to Ankara and live there, also i want to study there for master. I was wondering how is life there and is it possible for students to work too?! do i have to learn Turkish or not?
Pytanie #11:
I need to take a high speed train between Istanbul and Ankara on Sept 12. I am very confused. Do I want the Ankara Ekspresi, the Anadolu Ekspresi, the Bogozici Ekspresi? Please help. Any advice would be so appreciated. Thank you.
Pytanie #12:
i ve recently got my ILR (18/08/2010) ankara agreement ..
so i could apply for British passport next year mid July however i ve heard government ll introduce a new system for applying for citizenship and ILR s in JULY 2011
in this new system you might have to wait for up 5 years,,,,
so will this effect me or i ll be able to apply it with current system ?
thanks for reading...
Pytanie #13:
i want to find a "water park" (in turkish means "su parki") in Ankara Turkey. Please tell me its name, address(or its website) and how much i should pay? (su parki some thing like this:
Click Here )
Pytanie #14:
I have 2 option
1. Wirtschaft Universitat (Wien, Austria)
2.Tobb Economy and Technology University (Ankara, Turkey) If you were me what did you choose?
Pytanie #15:
free ticket to Istanbul. So let me know some interesting place that must be visited and some national foods and most common and popular????
Let me know about Ankara that how far it is from istanbul and how to go there from istanbul and what place to visit and food to eat???
I will be very thankful for your answers :)
Pytanie #16:
Isn't it a ONE BIG HYPOCRISY of all time?
Israel’s raid on the Gaza aid flotilla that left nine dead has prompted international outrage, including harsh criticism from the Turkish Prime Minister. Erdoğan announced from Chile, ‘this action, totally contrary to the principles of international law, is inhumane state terrorism. Nobody should think we will keep quiet in the face of this.’
What then, Mr Erdoğan, do you call Ankara’s policies against the Kurds? How is it not also state terrorism? How do you not see that what you are doing in your own backyard is state terrorism? It is ‘contrary to the principles of international law’ and ‘inhumane.’ And nobody should ‘keep quiet in the face of’ Turkey’s state terrorism either.
1 - Arbitrary arrests of Kurdish students;
2 - Torture of Kurdish prisoners;
3 - Attacks on Kurdish journalists;
4 - Detention of innocent Kurdish children;
and the list goes on....
Why not use some of that outrage for the way Turkey mistreats the Kurds? Sure, the Gazans are in a desperate situation and what happened to the flotilla is atrocious. But why aren’t you sending aid to the Kurds? That is also ‘inhumane.’
On the other story, the excellent young American journalist Jake Hess – who is a good friend of mine – has just been imprisoned in Turkey in extremely worrying circumstances. Hess has been factually reporting from Southern Turkey for over a year now on way the Kurdish civilian population is being treated. Here’s a sample of his excellent reporting:
“Compared to most internally displaced Kurds in northern Iraq, Shamal Qadir is almost lucky. Since the Turkish army devastated his village, Kuzine, in a bombing raid Jul. 1, he’s been living in a schoolhouse, where room temperatures are comfortable and basic amenities are accessible.
“Our family bought land and started building houses in Kuzine in 1996. We did it for our children, so they’d have a place to live in the future,” Qadir tells IPS. “Now, our dreams have been destroyed.”
Qadir is one of roughly 6,500 people who have been driven from their homes by Turkish and Iranian bombings of Kurdish border villages in northern Iraq since May 24.”
For rigorously and compassionately reporting on a horrifying situation, Hess has been jailed.
AOL has the full story here :
Click Here
Pytanie #17:
Isn't it a ONE BIG HYPOCRISY of all time?
Israel’s raid on the Gaza aid flotilla that left nine dead has prompted international outrage, including harsh criticism from the Turkish Prime Minister. Erdoğan announced from Chile, ‘this action, totally contrary to the principles of international law, is inhumane state terrorism. Nobody should think we will keep quiet in the face of this.’
What then, Mr Erdoğan, do you call Ankara’s policies against the Kurds? How is it not also state terrorism? How do you not see that what you are doing in your own backyard is state terrorism? It is ‘contrary to the principles of international law’ and ‘inhumane.’ And nobody should ‘keep quiet in the face of’ Turkey’s state terrorism either.
1 - Arbitrary arrests of Kurdish students;
2 - Torture of Kurdish prisoners;
3 - Attacks on Kurdish journalists;
4 - Detention of innocent Kurdish children;
and the list goes on....
Why not use some of that outrage for the way Turkey mistreats the Kurds? Sure, the Gazans are in a desperate situation and what happened to the flotilla is atrocious. But why aren’t you sending aid to the Kurds? That is also ‘inhumane.’
On the other story, the excellent young American journalist Jake Hess – who is a good friend of mine – has just been imprisoned in Turkey in extremely worrying circumstances. Hess has been factually reporting from Southern Turkey for over a year now on way the Kurdish civilian population is being treated. Here’s a sample of his excellent reporting:
“Compared to most internally displaced Kurds in northern Iraq, Shamal Qadir is almost lucky. Since the Turkish army devastated his village, Kuzine, in a bombing raid Jul. 1, he’s been living in a schoolhouse, where room temperatures are comfortable and basic amenities are accessible.
“Our family bought land and started building houses in Kuzine in 1996. We did it for our children, so they’d have a place to live in the future,” Qadir tells IPS. “Now, our dreams have been destroyed.”
Qadir is one of roughly 6,500 people who have been driven from their homes by Turkish and Iranian bombings of Kurdish border villages in northern Iraq since May 24.”
For rigorously and compassionately reporting on a horrifying situation, Hess has been jailed.
AOL has the full story here :
Click Here
Pytanie #18:
Pytanie #19:
Pytanie #20:
Is Turkish Airlines only way?
is there a ship journey from cyprus or antalya??
Pytanie #21:
solving Turkey's persistent Kurdish problem will take more than simply opening a 24-hour Kurdish language station -- Erdogan's one concrete achievement to date. To encourage Ankara to negotiate, the PKK announced a cease-fire on April 13, 2009. Erdogan did not respond -- but the security forces did. A day after the PKK's announcement, police rounded up 53 executives and members of the legal pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party on suspicion of aiding the rebel group. To Kurds, the timing looked suspicious. The PKK had said it wanted to give Kurds and Turks a chance to solve the conflict peacefully, but in response the state arrested leading Kurdish politicians. Kurds also assumed the arrests were the prime minister's way of getting back at the Kurdish party, which had thoroughly trounced Erdogan's Islamist-oriented AKP in March 29 local elections.
Turkey must accept that the Kurdish problem is not primarily the result of inadequate economic development, or meddlesome foreign powers using the Kurds to weaken Turkey, as is often claimed in Ankara. Erdogan, so pleased with the foreign accolades he has received for standing up for the Palestinians in Gaza, would do well to show the same courage when it comes to Turkey's Kurdish citizens.
Pytanie #22:
How would you describe your life in Istanbul or Ankara? I have a desire to move to either city, I love Turkey!
Pytanie #23:
To encourage Ankara to negotiate, the PKK announced a cease-fire on April 13, 2009. Erdogan did not respond -- but the security forces did. A day after the PKK's announcement, police rounded up 53 executives and members of the legal pro-Kurdish Democratic Society Party on suspicion of aiding the rebel group. To Kurds, the timing looked suspicious. The PKK had said it wanted to give Kurds and Turks a chance to solve the conflict peacefully, but in response the state arrested leading Kurdish politicians. Kurds also assumed the arrests were the prime minister's way of getting back at the Kurdish party, which had thoroughly trounced Erdogan's Islamist-oriented AKP in March 29 local elections.
Pytanie #24:
Actully i want to find a "turkish buffet" (resturant with "turkish" foods which you pay "one time" and eat as much as you like) in ANKARA Turkey.please tell me about their names, addresses and if there is any about the websites.
Pytanie #25:
Are Humans the most logical of species on the planet?
Humans have proved that they do not know the knowledge no less control the knowledge of Good and Bad.
updated 2 hours 28 minutes ago by AP Wire
ANKARA, Turkey — The state-run news agency says a groom has killed his father and two aunts after opening fire into the air with an automatic weapon to celebrate his wedding.
The Anatolia news agency says eight other relatives were injured during Sunday's celebration in the southeastern province of Gaziantep.
It says the groom lost control of the weapon and accidentally aimed at guests. He was arrested.
It is tradition in Turkey to shoot into the air to celebrate weddings, circumcisions or sports victories. Turkey has failed to curb the practice despite imposing harsher punishments to cut down on stray bullet accidents.
Police in Gaziantep were not available for comment.
.
Pytanie #26:
Hi I am a Turkish national who is engaged to a British citizen. I am a genuine guy who wants to do right, I dont want to be dependant on my fiance to get me to the Uk. I want to go there by my own means. I want to go there to her and be able to marry her in our own time without being forced to put in a marital visa application from Turkey. She deserves the best wedding in England with her family present. Hoewever I am finding the whole visa issue a nightmare. I have heard that there is a new rule regarding the Ankara agreement where Turks can apply from Turkey. If so what do I need, How much money will I need and are these visas difficult to get?I dont know how to go about it or where to start. I want to go there to my fiance so that we can live a normal life I want to be able to work hard and provide for her and any children that we may have. Any info would be very much appreciated thank you
Pytanie #27:
Please forgive me, if in any way I offend any of you but I really would like to know the answer to my question. I understand that Turkey is a Muslim country and so of course virginity is sacred. However, after speaking to many people.. I have been given many different answers as to whether a Turkish man would marry a non-virgin?
I know that in the smaller towns, amongst more religious families.. they would say no because of how important virginity is. But quite a few people have told me that in the cities in the West, amongst youngsters who are becoming more and more westernized.. it is not such a big problem and that some young Turkish couples even live together before marriage.
After speaking to one person and telling him what I have just mentioned. He replied,
"ohhh, I don't believe in that guy sweety, he must have been told lie or something. Not really a turkish guy wants to marry a girl who is not virgin. If so, they are really so rare.
Virginity is an important manner in our culture, the woman keeps herself from having sex till marriage, and don't let it go. And men want to see them virgin on their first night. This is a tradition and a lot of people were killed due to this in the past. Still in some areas/villages there are strict traditions. For example there are some people want their bride/daughter to give them a rag with blood after the first night, if there is no blood then she would be killed. This was tragic in the past."
I was really looking forward to travelling to the Western cities and please don't misunderstand me, I am not the type of girl looking for one-night stands or anything like that- that is not what this question is about at all. I am merely trying to learn and understand the morals of the Turkish people in the cities. I know that in the East and the smaller towns, they are significantly more conservative but I am more interested in what happens in the West.
I have a friend who lives in Ankara and he was saying how he wouldn't tell a woman if her fiancee cheated on her and would let her marry him without knowing.
I fully understand you can't stereotype the whole country and tell me how exactly the whole country feels. Because I understand that in Turkey, like all over the world- there are good people, there are bad people and morals vary from person to person.
I'm just wondering, how western is Turkey's West actually becoming?
Again, I'm really sorry if I have offended anyone in the slightest but I would really like to know the answer.
Pytanie #28:
any info?
Pytanie #29:
i got accepted at metu university in ankara.does anyone know how students dress there?can i wear shorts,dresses,heels?i just dont know what to pack :D
Pytanie #30:
Murat Karayilan, one of the senior PKK commanders, said if Turkey does not agree to PKK’s terms, his party will consider the option of unilaterally proclaiming “democratic autonomy” in the Kurdish regions of south-east Turkey, irrespective of Turkey’s concerns.
His avowal sounds as a rational resolution to end the ongoing conflict in Turkey, and it should have long been pursued by Kurdish political parties in that country.
Since its foundation in 1978, PKK resorted to every non-violent measure to seek a practical solution for the 25 million marginalized Kurds in Turkey. From independence demands to less autonomy, from just seeking greater cultural and political rights to disarming completely, from cease-fires to dialogues to peace convoys, Ankara missed out every single leeway and portrayed no willingness whatsoever to strike up a deal with the Kurds.
Like its antecedent non-democratic governments, the incumbent AKP party lacks belief in pursuing constructive dialogue initiatives to peacefully settle its widening dissonances with the Kurdish minority. In lieu of introducing more constitutional reforms, it has lessened Kurdish political representation by banning legitimate Kurdish parties, stepped up incarceration of democratic opponents, even school-going underage children, and denied granting cultural rights of the Kurds.
There has not been the slightest improvement or amendment in Turkish foreign policy and intolerant attitude toward the Kurds. With Turkish military having sought to oust the alienated ruling AKP party through coups, things could have even gone to rack and ruin.
Pytanie #31:
from ankara to istanbul?
Pytanie #32:
British prime minister David Cameron, who has often described himself as a "friend of Israel," harshly criticized Israel's blockade of the Gaza Strip on Tuesday, telling a group of Turkish businessmen in Ankara that the strip was "a prison camp."
"The situation in Gaza has to change," he said. "Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp."
Pytanie #33:
I remember when I was still living in Ankara that Abdullah Öcalan was considered by many of people a terrorist, by many others leader of an oppressed people.We all knew that free of expressions of Turkish citizens were not existed at that time.
By the way, Many people in Turkey now believe that He's a decent man. In Turkey, people all know that He fought for his people later peacefully and even in prison he's working for a peace initiative. God Save Him.
Someday he will be out of prison as a "Second Nelson Mandela".
Upon just reading other question, I find some useful notes about him from World Intellectuals about his recent book "The Roots of Civilization" as well:
'Very readable. It is a tour-de-force.'
Ghada Talhami, D.K. Pearsons Professor of Politics, Lake Forest College, Illinois
--------------------------------------…
'We would expect Abdullah Öcalan to write a political treatise. Instead, he has penned a monumental history of the ancient Near East that offers a grand vision. His well-informed and highly original synthesis has the additional advantage of transcending academic fields. This is the first truly postcolonial history of Mesopotamia.'
Randall H. McGuire, Professor of Anthropology, Binghamton University, New York
--------------------------------------…
Abdullah Ocalan has written an extremely important book which everyone concerned with the politics of the Middle East, the Kurdish question, ancient history or socialist ideas should read and digest. Whatever the view taken of his previous stance as a guerrilla leader, his erudite and thought-provoking thesis is of outstanding interest and I recommend it without reservation.' (Full review...)
Stan Newens, former MP and MEP, United Kingdom.
--------------------------------------…
'It can be read with profit by anyone who seeks to forge a modern secular future of peace and progress for the Middle East built upon the best offered by previous world civilizations.' (Full review...)
Michael M. Gunther, Professor of political science, Tennessee Technological University, USA
--------------------------------------.
'While it is about terrorism or global violence more broadly, it is a radical departure from most interpretations on the subject because of its attention to the long-term, cultural and material roots of the problem in a Gramscian mould. The book will be indispensable for educators and concerned citizens attempting to understand political violence.' (Full review...)
Tamir Bar-On, Professor of Humanities and International Relations, Monterrey Institute of Technology and Higher Education, Mexico
--------------------------------------…
Click Here
Pytanie #34:
i got accepted at METU university in Ankara and i heard that Ankara is a boring and uninteresting city for students to live.is it true?are there any good places,clubs,parks etc. to hang out?any info will be helpful
Pytanie #35:
Pytanie #36:
I really don't mean to stereotype but I have recently come back from a holiday in Turkey and the behaviour of the Turkish men has really made me think twice. I was hoping to study Spanish and Turkish at university because I really love the country and am interested in the language but now I have second thoughts because what happened if I learnt Turkish and maybe lived there one day and I just get treated like a cheap, easy girl.
I'm only 16 and everytime one of the men started to try and flirt etc, i told him my age and he would say he was 24 for example and STILL try and kiss me! Even knowing that I was only 16.
To be fair, I was in quite a touristy area and so I can understand that maybe the Turkish men there just have a certain impression of Western Girls but I wasn't even dressed bad either! I had long white linen trousers on!!
Are all Turkish men like this? Even in cities like Istanbul and Ankara?
I did actually meet quite a few really nice Turkish men that weren't pervy at all and were really genuine and kind and didn't try anything with any of the girls.
I know it seems like I'm stereotyping all Turkish men but I really don't mean to. Its just, people always say you shouldn't stereotype which is true... but Turkish men really do have a bad reputation so it's not like its just the odd guy... its like 98% of the men working in the tourist places!
I met a really nice Turkish family and I do know some really nice Turkish people. They're always welcoming and helpful and never rude. Much friendlier than western men but they just seem so obsessed with sex!!
Pytanie #37:
I really don't mean to stereotype but I have recently come back from a holiday in Turkey and the behaviour of the Turkish men has really made me think twice. I was hoping to study Spanish and Turkish at university because I really love the country and am interested in the language but now I have second thoughts because what happened if I learnt Turkish and maybe lived there one day and I just get treated like a cheap, easy girl.
I'm only 16 and everytime one of the men started to try and flirt etc, i told him my age and he would say he was 24 for example and STILL try and kiss me! Even knowing that I was only 16.
To be fair, I was in quite a touristy area and so I can understand that maybe the Turkish men there just have a certain impression of Western Girls but I wasn't even dressed bad either! I had long white linen trousers on!!
Are all Turkish men like this? Even in cities like Istanbul and Ankara?
I did actually meet quite a few really nice Turkish men that weren't pervy at all and were really genuine and kind and didn't try anything with any of the girls.
I know it seems like I'm stereotyping all Turkish men but I really don't mean to. Its just, people always say you shouldn't stereotype which is true... but Turkish men really do have a bad reputation so it's not like its just the odd guy... its like 98% of the men working in the tourist places!
I met a really nice Turkish family and I do know some really nice Turkish people. They're always welcoming and helpful and never rude. Much friendlier than western men but they just seem so obsessed with sex!!
@The Sorceress: the way i behaved? I was walking down the street...
@iph: thanks for the insight :D but.. i really dont think he was kurdish.. he was quite pale.
Pytanie #38:
Abdullah (Apo) Öcalan is the founder and leader of the Partiya Karkaren Kurdistan (PKK) or Kurdistan Workers Party, an organization the U.S. government deems to be terrorist. Born around 1948 in southeastern Turkey, Öcalan was a sometime student in political science at Ankara University in 1966-78, where he began to form his ideas on
Kurdish nationalism. Öcalan created the PKK in November 1978, moved to Syria in May 1979, and began the current war against Turkey in August 1984. By the spring of 1998, the PKK's activities had led to more than 3,000 villages partially or totally destroyed, 27,000 deaths, and up to 3 million people displaced.
Michael M. Gunter, professor of political science at Tennessee Technological University and author of three books on Kurdish issues, interviewed him in Damascus on March 13-14, 1998.
MEQ: What foreign support do you get?
Öcalan: Of course, we would like the world to support us. If the United States were objective, it must have a moral code, a sense of honor, and support us. But if we wait for some government to help us, we will be finished. The PKK is self-reliant. It is financed through voluntary donations from Kurds, not through extortion or drug trafficking, as the Turks' propaganda claims. Turkey receives a great deal of foreign help from many different sources to use against the Kurds. Turkey is like the woman married to seven different men, satisfying them all at the same time.
MEQ: In the time of Mulla Mustafa Barzani, Israel gave covert support to the Kurds. Now, however, Turkey has close relations with Israel. Your thoughts?
Öcalan: The Turks made an agreement with Israel to kill Kurds. This time the Turks are
getting the green light from Israel; earlier it was from the United States.
MEQ: Your thoughts on the United States?
Öcalan: The United States is a great power. It is a very objective country, but it does not have positive knowledge about us. Turks look upon the United States as a child beside their own thousand-year-old history of running their own empire. Before you kill somebody, you should ask him. We don't want too much. I don't think the United States and NATO will accept massacres against the Kurds. Why does the United States become so concerned as soon as a few people are killed in Kosovo, while it ignores that Kurdistan has become an extreme killing ground? The recent visits of [assistant secretary of state for democracy, human rights and labor John] Shattuck to Turkey's prisoners including Leyla Zana is a positive development, but just stressing human rights is not enough.
The United States helped Çiller without any conditions. The Americans believed that Çiller was one of them because she had a U.S. passport and had been educated in the United States. The Turks killed many Kurds under the cover of Çiller. When Çiller was killing those people, she was sitting on America's shoulders. Now the Turks are saying
Çiller was responsible for Susurluk, that Çiller is a spy for the Americans. It's a big
game. [laughs] This is also very dangerous politics.
MEQ: What do you say to the U.S. charge that the PKK is a terrorist organization?
Öcalan: The Americans have a blind spot on the PKK; they act as Turkey's mouthpiece. I am the real victim of terrorism. The United States is hanging me without judging me. This is an ignorant, blind policy without rational terms. It is extrajudicial killing. Let them bring me the proof. Once Arafat and Mandela were called terrorists, but look at them now.
When I offer to negotiate, I am called weak, and when I show my strength I am called a terrorist. This is enormously illogical. The PKK has made mistakes. This is true. But compared to what Turkey has done to the Kurds over the years, it should be obvious who is the real terrorist. Susurluk has the facts. Everything is said in the Susurluk report.
MEQ: What one message would you direct to Americans?
Öcalan: [hesitates] The Kurds want the conditions the United States wants for itself—democracy, equality. We don't want anything else. Have respect for life.
MEQ: Should the United States or the European Union be diplomatically more aggressive on the Kurdish issue, perhaps as the United States has been in the former Yugoslavia and Cyprus? For example, should they take a more active role to bring about a cease-fire, then push for Government of Turkey-PKK negotiations?
Öcalan: Of course, they should—it's the only solution, but only if America doesn't play games. Recent German willingness finally to talk to the PKK is a good model. But Germany does not see itself as having an international role; the United States is the main protagonist. A dialogue between the United States and the Kurds is most important, and it should begin sooner rather than later. It would open the way to a most important change in U.S. policy.
This dialogue, by the way, would be a risk not just for the United
Pytanie #39:
Imprisoned PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan also thinks the AKP's Kurdish initiative aims to eliminate the PKK and its affiliates. In one of his weekly meetings with his lawyers, Ocalan stated that he would withdraw from being a peacemaker between the Kurds and Turkish state on May 31. From that time on it has been up to the PKK leaders in the field to decide whether or not to intensify the war.
The real reason behind the PKK's recent attacks is related to the police crackdown on the PKK's support bases in the city centers. Since April 2009, police have regularly launched operations against the KCK network.
In those operations, hundreds of alleged PKK supporters were arrested, including elected mayors and heads of the local chapters of the pro-PKK Peace and Democratic Party (Baris ve Demokrasi Partisi - BDP). The local people did not welcome the arrests. KCK operations temporarily limited the PKK's activities in the city centers until a new KCK appointee could take over. The PKK's self-perceived role as the guardian of Kurdish political institutions and municipalities against the operations of Turkish security forces created pressure on the group to take revenge.
According to Cemil Bayik, the AKP-ordered operations closed all doors and removed all opportunities for Kurdish political participation. In a written statement, the KCK claims:
Our leader, Abdullah Ocalan, is not responsible for the removal of the unilateral ceasefire. The AKP government, which is responsible for the intensification of war and loss of lives, is obscuring the reality through demagogy ... Holding our leader responsible for this process is a conscious distortion. This attempt is the indication of a new process of oppression and pressure on Ocalan.
The PKK hopes to introduce a new political model in the Kurdish region, described as "democratic autonomy". Abdullah Ocalan created the model based on the example of Northern Cyprus, where Turkic Cypriots have their own government, parliament, president and other institutions.
Cemil Bayik described it as "a model that aims to mobilize the Kurdish people to make their own decisions and have their own governing institutions. It is a model that aims to organize Kurdish people in the political, social, cultural, economic and security areas and solve their own problems through their free will." Bayik thinks that this model will lessen the influence of the Turkish state on the Kurds.
At the same time as Bayik's endorsement of "democratic autonomy", BDP mayors organized a meeting in the southeastern Turkish city of Diyarbakir to declare that they would launch a political campaign in support of democratic autonomy.
According to the statement, the mayors referred to the European Charter of Local Self-Government (ECLSG), which Turkey signed in 1988 and with certain conditions adopted in its law in 1991. Indeed, the protocol allows local municipalities to function as semi-autonomous governments, but because of the conditions placed on it by the Turkish government they are not able to exercise as much freedom as they wish. [1]
Bayik claims that the PKK is fighting this time to protect "democratic autonomy" from Turkish state suppression. It seems the PKK is developing a strategy to bring Turkey into confrontation with the European Union (EU).
Pro-PKK institutions and politicians hope that the ECLSG protocol provides them enough room to establish some level of autonomy in which they can escape from the central government's Turkish nationalist policies.
Yet, they first need to highlight the conditions that Ankara put in place when it adapted the agreement for its domestic law and bring Turkey into confrontation with the EU to seek removal of these conditions. The PKK calculates that Turkey will not want to remove the conditions. Therefore, it justifies its violence and presents Turkey as a violator of international agreements.
Despite the PKK's new strategy, the leaders of Turkey imply that intensified PKK attacks are somehow related to Israel. Erdogan, for instance, sparked domestic controversy when he argued that the PKK was a "subcontractor" of foreign powers.
In response, the opposition Republican People's Party (Cumhuriyet Halk Partisi) asked Erdogan to reveal the power behind the PKK. What is interesting about the theory of Israeli involvement in the PKK's recent attacks is that even military generals believe that Israel is supporting the PKK.
Three renowned journalists in Ankara confirmed that Deputy Chief of the General Staff General Aslan Guner, an Ankara veteran known for his expertise in the intelligence world, had invited journalists to his office directly following a December 2009 PKK attack in Resadiye (Tokat province) to inform them of a link between Israel and the attacks. A TSK spokesman later denied the journalists' claims.
Given the fact that conspira
Given the fact that conspiracy theories sometimes run rampant in Ankara, it is likely that even high-ranking generals may buy into the conspiracy theories. However, a journalist revealed (under the condition of anonymity) that when he visited Minister of Interior Besir Atalay, the minister informed him that Chief of the General Staff Ilker Basbug also thought that Israel was behind the PKK's attack on Resadiye that killed seven soldiers.
It seems that in the past 25 years nothing has changed in Ankara. Instead of examining the causes of the problem and trying to understand what motivates the PKK to increase its use of violence, leaders in Ankara develop conspiracy theories and blame foreign states.
In the 1990s it was Syria, European countries, Russia and even the United States that were to blame, but now, soured Turkish-Israeli relations provide a perfect reason to point the finger at Israel.
The blame-games of Turkish leaders, civilian and military alike, are usually related to domestic politics and are used to find an easy escape from responsibilities. This time, however, the Turkish public is asking its leaders to do something to end the violence, which leaves the Erdogan government on shaky ground.
Pytanie #40:
or Japanese? I need some stuff for Sushi
None of you give an answer. I know Sushi is Japanese food but Chinese marketi also sell Sushi staff and if you cant find a Chinese market, Japanese is much more difficult :)
I dont care Chinese politics and I dont compare Chinese and Turkish cousin :)
They have great dishes as well I tasted.
Pytanie #41:
Turkish Government is actively opposing the sending of the “ Lebanon humanitarian flotilla” to Israel.
After the incident with the Turkish “flotilla of lie”, the Turks declared that they “broke the siege” and that sending of other ”humanitarian flotillas” is senseless and dangerous.Of course, thisclumsy attempt not to lose face will not deceive anyone, but ...What else can Turkey say?
The true reason why Ankara all of a sudden became “dovish” is simple. Turkey sees that the scandal around “Mavi Marmara” is damaging her image and her relationships with Europe and Washington. The evidences given by Israel about the links of the Turkish government with the terrorist organization and of the role of the Turkish government in the provocative sending of the flotilla with the labelled terrorists and criminals on board are irrefutable and Turks have practically nothing to say.
The economic losses Turkey is suffering from the boycott by Israeli tourists,some of the biggest Israeli supermarkets and importers also made Turkey understand that a bad peace is better than a good fight.
In the result of these factors, Turkey informed Israel through the European and American diplomats that it is interested in the normalization of the relationships with Israel. There are no doubts, said one of these diplomats, that Turkey is interested in passing the scandal to “low profile”. In order not to lose face, Turkey will not quit officially its demand of the offical apologies and compensations on the part of Israel, but it will not pedal them anymore.
So, this round is definitely won by Israelis.
Pytanie #42:
YES! I thought Cameron will be a completely crappy PM BUT:
UK Prime Minister David Cameron has condemned the blockade of the Gaza Strip, describing the territory as a "prison camp". He also criticised Israel for launching an attack on a convoy transporting Turkish activists and aid to Gaza. Nine Turkish citizens died in the raid. "Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp," Mr Cameron said. "People in Gaza are living under constant attacks and pressure in an open-air prison," he said. The British government's policy has been to call for an end to the blockade, but never before has a British prime minister been so blunt, says the BBC's Jonny Dymond in Ankara. - BBC News
A very small step but at least we are going somewhere with this.
Pytanie #43:
Click Here
"David Cameron used a visit to Turkey to make his strongest intervention yet in the intractable Middle East conflict today when he likened the experience of Palestinians in the blockaded Gaza strip to that of a "prison camp".
Although he has made similar remarks before, his decision to repeat them on a world stage in Turkey, whose relations with Israel have deteriorated sharply since it mounted a deadly assault on the Gaza flotilla, gave them much greater diplomatic significance.
Cameron's comments, in a speech to business leaders in Ankara, prompted the Turkish prime minister, Recep Tayyip Erdogan, to issue another strong condemnation of how Israel dealt with the flotilla.
Erdogan likened the behaviour of Israeli commandos, who shot dead nine Turkish pro-Palestinian activists, to Somali pirates.
Cameron's criticism of Tel Aviv came when he called for Israel to relax its restrictions on Gaza. "The situation in Gaza has to change," he said. "Humanitarian goods and people must flow in both directions. Gaza cannot and must not be allowed to remain a prison camp."
Pytanie #44:
I will be covering Istanbul, Ankara, Cappadocia, Antalya, Konya, Canakkale, Pamukkale, Izmir. So i wanna know if the weather will b hot or cold or what will b the temperature like? I am planning to go around 10th September. can short clothes be comfortable during that time or i need to carry some woolen with me? Thanks in advance
Pytanie #45:
my mom says we might be moving to turkey ankara !
and if she doesnt have enough money ill be going to public school and if she has enough money ill go to a private school with english :) .
im 12 and going to grade eight in september and i lived in canada since i was 2 and i was born in turkey !
i can speak turkish ( like 70% :P ) annd i can somewhat read turkish but i cant really spell out words or write them like i can in english and french.
im worried i might forget english and no one will accept me there :(
annd also how are schools in turkey ? do kids speak english in ankara ?
thaanks <3
annd yee i asked this question before ! :$
Pytanie #46:
Mr. Barack Obama, President
United States of America
The White House
1600 Pennsylvania Ave NW
Washington, DC 20500
July 13, 2010
Honorable President Obama:
Change for the better was the motto of your campaign and you proved that it is possible with perseverance and dedication.
Since the collapse of the Ottoman Empire after the WWI, and the re-division of Kurdistan among Iran, Turkey and two newly established states, Iraq and Syria, the people of Kurdistan have been struggling for their national identity and dreaming for a change in the Middle East, where they could have the same linguistic, cultural, and national rights as other ethnic groups. They have persevered and dedicated their lives to fulfill this dream. However, the controlling states have been using all the means available to them to prevent the people of Kurdistan from achieving their dream.
In response to state terror, and as a result of the imposed internal wars, displacements, bombings, assassinations, imprisonments, and tortures, the Kurdish resistance was born. The Kurdish people have defended their land and sought a peaceful political dialogue with the central governments to arrive at a peaceful solution. In return, the governments in Ankara, Tehran, Damascus, and Baghdad have labeled them as bandits, terrorists and foreign agents. They even convinced Washington at times to use such labels against them unjustly. These governments have used the same tactics that the British Empire used against the American Colonies or against the members of Indian National Congress. The Apartheid government of South Africa used the same methods against the members of the African National Congress. Fortunately those labels did not stop the Americans, nor the Indians, or the South Africans from fighting for their just goal, and finally the world accepted the fact that they deserve freedom.
Unfortunately, due to the division of Kurdistan, the Kurds have not been able to unite in a Kurdish National Congress in their homeland and together fight for their rights. Fortunately, the Kurdish citizens in the North America have taken some steps in that direction. In 1988 in the aftermath of the genocide in Iraqi Kurdistan, a group of intellectuals created the Kurdish National Congress of North America (KNCNA). For the past 22 years KNCNA has done everything in its capacity to promote a peaceful and just solution to the Kurdish conflict in the Middle East. However, it still has not been able to fulfill its dream because of the lack of genuine support by the free world.
We appeal to you, as a powerful leader of the free world, to side with the Kurds and help them to achieve their national rights. We understand that it is a difficult task to solve the Kurdish issue in all parts of Kurdistan, but it has to start somewhere, as they say, the journey of thousand miles starts with a single step. At present the Kurds of Iraq enjoy a stronger, more equal position with the Arabs than ever before. As a man of peace, we hope that you support the Kurds in their peaceful struggle for freedom and democracy.
The Iranian and the Syrian governments are unreliable, still in denial about the most basic Kurdish human rights, and have not shown any sign of resolving the Kurdish issue. However, some Turkish authorities have shown such signs, and we ask you to encourage them to resolve the Kurdish issue and make peace between the two peoples and return harmony to Anatolia.
Further, we ask you to make the recognition of the Kurdish cultural rights/identity in Anatolia and the amendment of the Turkish Constitution a moratorium to the Turkish membership in the European Union. We at KNCNA are committed to work for promoting justice, democracy, and equality for all. We are willing to approach the Kurdish people and leaders in Anatolia to continue using the same method that the American Founding Fathers, Mahatma Gandhi, Nelson Mandela, and Martin Luther King used for justice. Like Cesar Chavez, you said, "yes, we can". We too are assuring you that "yes, we can".
Finally, we hope that you continue to encourage the Turkish authorities to accept the reality in which they live, which is, that Anatolia is a multi-ethnic society. Thus, they cannot talk about democracy while denying the national rights of those who carry a different national badge. We hope you encourage the Turkish authorities to use peaceful methods and come to a negotiating conference in Washington, DC, to solve the Kurdish conflict in Anatolia. Such an undertaking is consistent with American moral principles, with promoting human rights, and with change that was your motto.
Sincerely,
Kamal Artin, President
Kurdish National Congress of North America
Pytanie #47:
turkey has recently attacked israel, and then also polls show that the majority of turks hate jews, so is turkey really a safe ally? are they a lost cause? they might turn to arabs and attack israel or do something, so should we defend ourselves early?
as a jew i dislike the iranian regime, but i have to admit they are clever in some regards. its interesting how they can go to war with israel without having to directly attack us, but instead create a group called hezbollah which is 100% controlled by them and use that to attack us with. now should we do the same thing. there are the kurds who are a just a people waiting to be freed, and i do not understand why the israeli government has not taken advantage of the plight of the kurdish people yet. it is so easy just to help the kurds create their own resistance group so that they can attack both turkey and iran. kurds are 20% of turkey and you think if we fund and arm them we wont be able to help them wipe out istanbul and ankara? i completely support helping the kurds in this fight, as both jews and kurds have a shared interest and a common enemy.
if you want to speak financially, it is a very good investment and is in fact a lot cheaper than directly going to war. look how much money we and the USA have spent in attacking iraq and gaza. compare that to how much money iran has spent in attacking israel and america through the use of hezbollah. you cant even compare. iran's expenditure is hundreds of billions of $ cheaper.
as an israeli we must create a group just like hezbollah that will enable us to attack both turkey and iran, because both countries are a threat to the jewish people and nation. and we can use the kurds in this respect. as i said before, jews and kurds have a common enemy and we have a shared interest in the middle east.
Pytanie #48:
his chart
Click Here
mine
Click Here
Pytanie #49:
Some commentators say that the refusal of the European Union to give Ankara full membership of its institutions has had an impact, thus the Turks do not want to become a member of the EU anymore. On the contrary, they now develop strategic alliances and affiliations with Russia, Iran and Arabs. Are there any other factors you can think of that might have impacted the relations?
Pytanie #50:
According to the World Factbook, in 2010 approximately 25 percent of Turkey's population consists of Kurdish ethnic minority. Turkey's Constitution provides a single nationality designation for all Turks and thus does not recognize Kurdish ethnic group as national, racial, or ethnic minorities. Therefore a true census has been historically unavailable.
Citizens of Kurdish origin have constituted a large ethnic and linguistic group in Turkey. Millions of the country's citizens identified themselves as Kurds and spoke Kurdish. Kurds who publicly or politically asserted their Kurdish identity or publicly espoused using Kurdish in the public domain risked public censure, harassment, or prosecution. However, Kurds who were long-term residents in industrialized cities in the west were in many cases assimilated into the political, economic, and social life of the nation, and much intermarriage has occurred over many generations.
The Kurds have been the minority group with the greatest impact on Turkish national politics.In Turkey, the Kurdish national movement dates back to at least 1925, when Atatürk ruthlessly suppressed a revolt against the new Turkish republic motivated by the regime's renunciation of Muslim religious practices. Uprisings in the 1930s and 1940s prompted by opposition to the modernizing and centralizing reforms of the Turkish government in Ankara also were also put down by the Turkish army. The majority of Kurds, however, continued to participate in Turkish political parties and to assimilate into Turkish society.
Since the 1930s, Kurds have resisted government efforts to assimilate them forcibly, including an official ban on speaking or writing Kurdish. Since 1984 Kurdish resistance to Turkification encompassed both a peaceful political struggle to obtain basic civil rights for Kurds within Turkey and a violent armed struggle to obtain a separate Kurdish state. The leaders of the nonviolent struggle have worked within the political system for the recognition of Kurdish cultural rights, including the right to speak Kurdish in public and to read, write, and publish in Kurdish. Prior to 1991, these Kurds operated within the national political parties, in particular the SHP, the party most sympathetic to their goal of full equality for all citizens of Turkey. President Özal's 1991 call for a more liberal policy toward Kurds and for the repeal of the ban on speaking Kurdish raised the hopes of Kurdish politicians. Following the parliamentary elections of October 1991, several Kurdish deputies, including Hatip Dicle, Feridun Yazar, and Leyla Zayna, formed the HEP, a party with the explicit goal of campaigning within the National Assembly for laws guaranteeing equal rights for the Kurds.
The government's main strategy for assimilating the Kurds had been language suppression. Yet, despite official attempts over several decades to spread Turkish among them, most Kurds have retained their native language. In Turkey two major Kurdish dialects are spoken: Kermanji, which is used by the majority of Kurds, as well as by some of the Kurds in Iran and Iraq; and Zaza, spoken mainly in a triangular region in southeastern Turkey between Diyarbakir, Ezurum, and Sivas, as well as in parts of Iran. Literate Kurds in Turkey have used Kermanji as the written form of Kurdish since the 17th century. However, almost all literary development of the language since 1924 has occurred outside Turkey. In 1932 Kurds in exile developed a Latin script for Kermanji, and this alphabet continued to be used in the mid-1990s.
Prior to the 1980 military coup, government authorities considered Kurdish one of the unnamed languages banned by law. Use of Kurdish was strictly prohibited in all government institutions, including the courts and schools. Nevertheless, during the 1960s and again in the mid-1970s, Kurdish intellectuals attempted to start Kurdish-language journals and newspapers. None of these publications survived for more than a few issues because state prosecutors inevitably found legal pretexts for closing them down. Between 1980 and 1983, the military government passed several laws expressly banning the use of Kurdish and the possession of written or audio materials in Kurdish.
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