Türkmeneli Kerkük Kalesi
samedi 15 novembre 2008
Chart of the Persian Gulf to Baghdad
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“Chart of the Persian Gulf to Baghdad” Printed in color by the Naval Academy in 1865.
Drawn by the schoolmaster Ali Bey of the War Academy, the chart includes the monogram of Sultan Abdülaziz (1861-1876) and is made to an Ottoman scale.
Dimensions: 55 x 134 cm.
Photograph © Turkish Naval Museum
For larger image click on:
http://jottoc.blogspot.com/2007/04/chart-of-persian-gulf-to-baghdad.html
http://jottoc.blogspot.com/2007/04/chart-of-persian-gulf-to-baghdad.html
vendredi 14 novembre 2008
Turkey and Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation?
http://www.crisisgroup.org/library/documents/middle_east___north_africa/iraq_iran_gulf/81_turkey_and_iraqi_kurds___conflict_or_cooperation.pdf
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW REPORT
INTERNATIONAL CRISIS GROUP - NEW REPORT
Istanbul/Brussels, 13 November 2008:
Turkey’s newly adroit management of its relationship with Iraqi Kurds has resulted in a tentative victory for pragmatism over ultra-nationalism, but many obstacles remain before relations can be normalised.
Turkey and Iraqi Kurds: Conflict or Cooperation?,* the latest background report from the International Crisis Group, examines the study in contrasts that has been Ankara’s policy:
Turkey periodically sends jets to bomb suspected hide-outs of the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in northern Iraq and expresses alarm at the prospect of Kurdish independence, yet it has now significantly deepened its ties to the Iraqi Kurdish region.
“Both Turkey and Iraq’s Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) have made a breakthrough in challenging ultra-nationalism”, says Oytun Çelik, Crisis Group’s Istanbul-based analyst. “They should continue to invest in a relationship that, though fragile and beset by uncertainties over Iraq’s future, has become more pragmatic and potentially very fruitful”.
Ankara’s policy toward Iraq is based on two core national interests: preserving that country’s territorial integrity and fighting the PKK, whose rebels use remote northern Iraqi border areas as staging ground for attacks inside Turkey. From Turkey’s perspective, Iraq’s disintegration would remove a critical counterweight to Iranian influence and, more ominously, herald the birth of an independent Kurdish state in northern Iraq that could inspire Kurdish nationalist passions inside Turkey. As a result, it has sought to prevent the sectarian conflict in Iraq’s centre from escalating, Iraqi Kurds from seceding and the PKK from prospering.
Political divisions as to how this should be achieved have yielded a measure of confusion, but the result has been a largely effective compromise, combining military pressure, politics, diplomacy and economic incentives. While it has mounted limited cross-border operations against the PKK, Turkey has begun meeting with Iraqi Kurdish leaders and deepened economic ties with their federal region.
There have been real benefits for the KRG as well. The warming relationship is based on its realisation that U.S. forces may draw down significantly in the next two years, leaving the Kurds increasingly dependent on the federal government and neighbouring states. Turkey can be a useful partner as a bridge to Europe, its suitability as a trans-shipment country for Kurdish oil and gas, its investment capabilities and the relatively better quality of the goods it has to sell.
“More is required to lay the foundations of a lasting, stable relationship, including a peaceful, consensus-based solution to the Kirkuk question”, states Joost Hiltermann, Crisis Group’s Middle East Deputy Program Director. “But, amid the many uncertain prospects facing Iraq, this at least is one development to be welcomed and nurtured”.
jeudi 13 novembre 2008
Bir Ocak Turkmen Cultural Association – Chicago
( Not For Profit Organization )
Bir Ocak Türkmen Kültür Derneği – Şikago
( Kâr Amacı Gütmeyen Bir Kurumdur )
6334 N. Kedzie Avenue
Chicago , IL. 60659
Tel : (773) 764 3479
e-mail : birocakyilmaz@yahoo.com
Nov.12, 2008
Dear President-elect Barack Obama,
On behalf of the Iraqi Turkmen community in the United States, we would like to congratulate you on your election as the 44th President of the United States. In these troubling times, we understand that your presidency will undoubtedly face tough policy decisions at home and abroad – especially in Iraq.
Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Turkmens (the third largest ethnic group in Iraq) have struggled to have their voices heard in the formation of the new Iraqi government. While the mainstream public has come to recognize Iraq as a nation comprised of only Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, ethnic minorities of Iraq have become invisible in the eyes of U.S and Iraqi policymakers.
Thus, as the next President of the United States, we hope that you and your newly formed administration makes a conscious effort to include Iraqi Turkmens in any rhetoric regarding the future of Iraq and consider our people as an integral piece to a complex puzzle. We look forward to communicating regularly with you regarding matters pertaining to Iraqi Turkmens. Again, we send you our sincerest congratulations.
Thank you,
Ahmad Yilmaz
M.A – International Relations, University of Chicago
Member, Bir Ocak Turkmen Cultural Association – Chicago
( Not For Profit Organization )
Bir Ocak Türkmen Kültür Derneği – Şikago
( Kâr Amacı Gütmeyen Bir Kurumdur )
6334 N. Kedzie Avenue
Chicago , IL. 60659
Tel : (773) 764 3479
e-mail : birocakyilmaz@yahoo.com
Nov.12, 2008
Dear President-elect Barack Obama,
On behalf of the Iraqi Turkmen community in the United States, we would like to congratulate you on your election as the 44th President of the United States. In these troubling times, we understand that your presidency will undoubtedly face tough policy decisions at home and abroad – especially in Iraq.
Since the invasion of Iraq in 2003, the Turkmens (the third largest ethnic group in Iraq) have struggled to have their voices heard in the formation of the new Iraqi government. While the mainstream public has come to recognize Iraq as a nation comprised of only Sunnis, Shiites and Kurds, ethnic minorities of Iraq have become invisible in the eyes of U.S and Iraqi policymakers.
Thus, as the next President of the United States, we hope that you and your newly formed administration makes a conscious effort to include Iraqi Turkmens in any rhetoric regarding the future of Iraq and consider our people as an integral piece to a complex puzzle. We look forward to communicating regularly with you regarding matters pertaining to Iraqi Turkmens. Again, we send you our sincerest congratulations.
Thank you,
Ahmad Yilmaz
M.A – International Relations, University of Chicago
Member, Bir Ocak Turkmen Cultural Association – Chicago
Presidential Council ratifies Electoral Law
No change in quotas for minorities
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13715&size=A
Presidential council ratifies electoral law. No change in quotas for minorities
Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The Iraqi presidential council has ratified the law, approved by parliament on Monday, November 3, with 106 votes out of 150, reserving a quota of seats for minorities, in view of the elections for the renewal of the provincial councils, scheduled for January 31, 2009.
The law sets aside six seats out of a total of 440: three go to Christians (Baghdad, Nineveh, and Basra), one each to the Yazidi and the Shabak in Nineveh, and one to the Sabians, in the capital. On Saturday, November 8, President Jalal Talabani (Kurdish) and vice-presidents Tareq Al Hashemi (Sunni) and Adel Abdul-Mahdi (Shiite) ratified the decree into law, despite the opposition of the Christian community, which had called for a presidential veto.
On Wednesday, November 5, in an interview with AsiaNews, Shlemon Warduni, the auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, called the concession a "token" that does not truly take into account the rights of Iraqi Christians.
On Saturday, November 8, Naseer Ani, head of the presidential staff, released a statement on the "extensive discussions" between the presidential council and Vatican representatives, which examined the invitation of the United Nations to reintroduce article 50. The first draft, which was ultimately rejected, gave 15 seats in six different provinces to the minorities, including 13 for Christians and one each for the Shabak and Yazidi. The head of the presidential cabinet says that in the end, it was decided to ratify the law without introducing any changes, in order to "respect" the role and functions of parliament.
The reply from the Christians is blunt: member of parliament Younaam Kanna says that the community is ready to "boycott the elections," and calls the ratification of the law "an insult." On the Sunni side, involved in a bitter dispute with its Kurdish counterparts in the region of Nineveh, the firm opposition continues to the concession of a quota for minorities. The Sunnis are afraid of an alliance of Christians and Kurds that would increase Kurdish influence in northern Iraq.
Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has also dashed the expectations of the Kurds, emphasizing the need for a "strong federal state," at a moment in which constitutional modifications are proceeding. It is a new signal from the central government on the ambitions of autonomy in certain areas of Iraq, especially the autonomous region of Kurdistan, which has extensive oil reserves. Baghdad is afraid that an eventual referendum could bring an expansion of Kurdish territories.
The provincial elections scheduled for January 31, 2009, will take place in 14 of the 18 provinces of Iraq. Excluded from the elections are Kirkuk and the three provinces of Arbil, Dohuk, and Sulaimaniyah.
Tuesday, 11 November 2008
http://www.asianews.it/index.php?l=en&art=13715&size=A
Presidential council ratifies electoral law. No change in quotas for minorities
Baghdad (AsiaNews/Agencies) - The Iraqi presidential council has ratified the law, approved by parliament on Monday, November 3, with 106 votes out of 150, reserving a quota of seats for minorities, in view of the elections for the renewal of the provincial councils, scheduled for January 31, 2009.
The law sets aside six seats out of a total of 440: three go to Christians (Baghdad, Nineveh, and Basra), one each to the Yazidi and the Shabak in Nineveh, and one to the Sabians, in the capital. On Saturday, November 8, President Jalal Talabani (Kurdish) and vice-presidents Tareq Al Hashemi (Sunni) and Adel Abdul-Mahdi (Shiite) ratified the decree into law, despite the opposition of the Christian community, which had called for a presidential veto.
On Wednesday, November 5, in an interview with AsiaNews, Shlemon Warduni, the auxiliary bishop of Baghdad, called the concession a "token" that does not truly take into account the rights of Iraqi Christians.
On Saturday, November 8, Naseer Ani, head of the presidential staff, released a statement on the "extensive discussions" between the presidential council and Vatican representatives, which examined the invitation of the United Nations to reintroduce article 50. The first draft, which was ultimately rejected, gave 15 seats in six different provinces to the minorities, including 13 for Christians and one each for the Shabak and Yazidi. The head of the presidential cabinet says that in the end, it was decided to ratify the law without introducing any changes, in order to "respect" the role and functions of parliament.
The reply from the Christians is blunt: member of parliament Younaam Kanna says that the community is ready to "boycott the elections," and calls the ratification of the law "an insult." On the Sunni side, involved in a bitter dispute with its Kurdish counterparts in the region of Nineveh, the firm opposition continues to the concession of a quota for minorities. The Sunnis are afraid of an alliance of Christians and Kurds that would increase Kurdish influence in northern Iraq.
Prime Minister Nouri al Maliki has also dashed the expectations of the Kurds, emphasizing the need for a "strong federal state," at a moment in which constitutional modifications are proceeding. It is a new signal from the central government on the ambitions of autonomy in certain areas of Iraq, especially the autonomous region of Kurdistan, which has extensive oil reserves. Baghdad is afraid that an eventual referendum could bring an expansion of Kurdish territories.
The provincial elections scheduled for January 31, 2009, will take place in 14 of the 18 provinces of Iraq. Excluded from the elections are Kirkuk and the three provinces of Arbil, Dohuk, and Sulaimaniyah.
mardi 11 novembre 2008
An Initiative to Create the Federal Region of Basra Is Launched
By Reidar Visser (www.historiae.org)
11 November 2008
The Basra parliamentarian and former member of Wifaq Wail Abd al-Latif has announced that a petition requesting a referendum for the creation of the federal region of Basra (Iqlim al-Basra) as a standalone entity has been submitted to the Iraqi electoral commission, featuring 34,800 signatures. The petitioners believe that this number is sufficient to meet the requirement that at least 2% of the governorate population should sign the initial petition (this would correspond to a total Basra population of 1,740,000).
According to the framework for the creation of federal regions adopted by the Iraqi parliament with a tiny majority in October 2006, the next step now is for the petition to be published in local newspapers by the electoral commission which should then give supporters of the project at least one month to add their names to the petition to meet the required total of one tenth of the voter population necessary to call a referendum on the formation of a federal region (50% of the votes and 50% participation is required to win). If a region is formed it cannot join with any other federal region, only with additional governorates (the first draft of the October 2006 law said, “a federal region consists of one or more governorates or one or more federal regions”; this was subsequently changed to read “a federal region consists of a governorate or more” which clearly seems to suggest a desire on the framers of the law to exclude the possibility of two regions joining together).
The further process towards a final decision on the fate of the Basra federal initiative will be influenced by political struggles as well as numerous legal ambiguities. Politically, the idea of Basra as a separate federal entity has been under consideration since late 2003, but for a time coexisted with a scheme of joining Basra with the two neighbouring governorates of Maysan and Dhi Qar (Iqlim al-Janub). Then, from around 2006 onwards, the idea of Basra as a one-governorate federal region emerged as the most prominent of the local federal schemes, with supporters both among secularists (Wail Abd al-Latif), tribal leaders (such as Amr al-Faiz) and Islamists (the Fadila party).
Political aspects and legal ones are connected to each other with respect to what this initiative means in terms of a challenge to the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), one of the Shiite parties that both the United States and Iran consider as one of their main partners in Iraq. Their competing idea of creating a huge nine-governorate sectarian Shiite region from Basra to the border of Baghdad has failed to create popular enthusiasm since its launch in August 2005. The formation of Basra as a federal region would entail additional difficulties for ISCI, which would face a more complicated roadmap in case they should wish to create a scheme for additional Shiite governorates to join the oil-rich Basra in a super-region. They do have the option of launching a competing initiative locally in Basra (this would be followed by a pre-referendum poll that would decide which of the schemes should go to a referendum); however the modalities for this and in particular the timeline is poorly specified in the October 2006 law, and ISCI seems to enjoy far less support in Basra than in Najaf (where there is almost no oil). This lack of legal clarity, along with the general trend towards more national attitudes in the Iraqi parliament as a whole (witness ISCI’s gradual retreat from its pro-federal propaganda and Nuri al-Maliki’s recent renewed call for a more centralised state), means that the future of the Basra federal initiative is far from certain. Some Iraqi nationalists consider it to be less harmful than federal schemes that are explicitly sectarian (such of that of ISCI), whereas others (including many in Basra itself) think that any extension of the federal principle south of Kurdistan remains objectionable.
Also on this topic:
Suffering, Oil, and Ideals of Coexistence: Non-Sectarian Federal Trends in the Far South of Iraq
Iraq Federalism Bill Adopted Amid Protests and Joint Shiite–Sunni Boycott
The Draft Law for the Formation of Regions: A Recipe for Permanent Instability in Iraq?
11 November 2008
The Basra parliamentarian and former member of Wifaq Wail Abd al-Latif has announced that a petition requesting a referendum for the creation of the federal region of Basra (Iqlim al-Basra) as a standalone entity has been submitted to the Iraqi electoral commission, featuring 34,800 signatures. The petitioners believe that this number is sufficient to meet the requirement that at least 2% of the governorate population should sign the initial petition (this would correspond to a total Basra population of 1,740,000).
According to the framework for the creation of federal regions adopted by the Iraqi parliament with a tiny majority in October 2006, the next step now is for the petition to be published in local newspapers by the electoral commission which should then give supporters of the project at least one month to add their names to the petition to meet the required total of one tenth of the voter population necessary to call a referendum on the formation of a federal region (50% of the votes and 50% participation is required to win). If a region is formed it cannot join with any other federal region, only with additional governorates (the first draft of the October 2006 law said, “a federal region consists of one or more governorates or one or more federal regions”; this was subsequently changed to read “a federal region consists of a governorate or more” which clearly seems to suggest a desire on the framers of the law to exclude the possibility of two regions joining together).
The further process towards a final decision on the fate of the Basra federal initiative will be influenced by political struggles as well as numerous legal ambiguities. Politically, the idea of Basra as a separate federal entity has been under consideration since late 2003, but for a time coexisted with a scheme of joining Basra with the two neighbouring governorates of Maysan and Dhi Qar (Iqlim al-Janub). Then, from around 2006 onwards, the idea of Basra as a one-governorate federal region emerged as the most prominent of the local federal schemes, with supporters both among secularists (Wail Abd al-Latif), tribal leaders (such as Amr al-Faiz) and Islamists (the Fadila party).
Political aspects and legal ones are connected to each other with respect to what this initiative means in terms of a challenge to the Islamic Supreme Council of Iraq (ISCI), one of the Shiite parties that both the United States and Iran consider as one of their main partners in Iraq. Their competing idea of creating a huge nine-governorate sectarian Shiite region from Basra to the border of Baghdad has failed to create popular enthusiasm since its launch in August 2005. The formation of Basra as a federal region would entail additional difficulties for ISCI, which would face a more complicated roadmap in case they should wish to create a scheme for additional Shiite governorates to join the oil-rich Basra in a super-region. They do have the option of launching a competing initiative locally in Basra (this would be followed by a pre-referendum poll that would decide which of the schemes should go to a referendum); however the modalities for this and in particular the timeline is poorly specified in the October 2006 law, and ISCI seems to enjoy far less support in Basra than in Najaf (where there is almost no oil). This lack of legal clarity, along with the general trend towards more national attitudes in the Iraqi parliament as a whole (witness ISCI’s gradual retreat from its pro-federal propaganda and Nuri al-Maliki’s recent renewed call for a more centralised state), means that the future of the Basra federal initiative is far from certain. Some Iraqi nationalists consider it to be less harmful than federal schemes that are explicitly sectarian (such of that of ISCI), whereas others (including many in Basra itself) think that any extension of the federal principle south of Kurdistan remains objectionable.
Also on this topic:
Suffering, Oil, and Ideals of Coexistence: Non-Sectarian Federal Trends in the Far South of Iraq
Iraq Federalism Bill Adopted Amid Protests and Joint Shiite–Sunni Boycott
The Draft Law for the Formation of Regions: A Recipe for Permanent Instability in Iraq?
IRAQI TURKMEN FRONT COMMUNIQUE
الدائرة الاعلامية
العدد:81
التاريخ:11 /11/2008
بيان
الجبهة التركمانية العراقية تؤكد على تعديل الدستور
تؤكد الجبهة التركمانية العراقية دعوة دولة رئيس الوزراء بأن الدستور كتب على عجل و بأنه بحاجة إلى تعديل. و قد أكدت سابقا بأن الدستور الذي كتب في ظرف غير طبيعي هو دستور لا يشكل وثيقة عهد بين الشعب و الحكومة، انما دستور املته مصالح طرف تعاون مع قوات الغزو التي و هو الطرف الذي كان و ما يزال يرفض اية تعديلات عليه بالرغم من يقين الكتل السياسية التي تحكم العراق بأن بضعة الاف من الأصوات فقط كانت قد ادت الى رفض الدستور، و ان تمريره في كركوك كان من خلال التزوير . ان الدستور بحاجة الى تعديل بعد قراءات متأنية و عميقة. لا يوجد دستور شفهي او مكتوب في العالم لا يقبل بالتعديل، و لا يوجد دستور في العالم فيه مادة مرتبطة بتاريخ، فالدستور وثيقة عهد و ليس قانون. ان السيد رئيس الجمهورية و في حواره ألاخير مع العراقية اكد بأن العراق ما يزال بسيادة ناقصة و اعطى أمثلة على قوله و اشار الى الاحتلال مرارا، اذن لا يجيز اي قانون دولي الاعتراف بقانون او دستور كتب تحت قوات الاحتلال في اي بلد، اذن لماذا يتم الغاء القانون الدولي في العراق؟
ان الدستور الذي اكدت منظمات و مراكز أبحاث دولية و منها مجموعة الأزمة الدولية بانه كتب على عجل، لم يكتب لأجل حقوق العراقيين، انما دستور يعمق اسلوب الحكم الذي ادخله بول بريمر الى العراق و اساسه المحاصصة الطائفية و الاثنية و كاد ان يتسبب بجر العراق الى حرب بين الاشقاء. ان الدستور يضمن حق الجميع و يؤكده فعلا و ليس من خلال منح حصص، و ما يحدث مع الأقليات في قانون انتخاب مجالس المحافظات، يؤكد وجوب تعديل الدستور، و ما يحدث في ادارة الشمال يؤكد وجوب هذا التعديل أيضا. لا يوجد دستور يضعف الحكومة المركزية لأجل طرف واحد، في اي بلد في العالم، لماذا يقبل في العراق؟
ان الدستور، اي دستور، يضمن وحدة البلد، اي بلد، و يضمن حقوق الجميع و يقضي على الفروق بين الطوائف و الأثنيات. على ممثلي الشعب في مجلس النواب ان ينحازوا الى الأصوات التي انتخبتهم مرة أخرى إن يؤيدوا دعوة المالكي إلى تعديل الدستور الذي كتب على عجل و تحت سلطات الاحتلال
و من أجل دستور يؤكد وحدة العراق أرضا و شعبا و يحافظ عليها
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العنوان: كركوك- طريق بغداد- قرب بناية المحافظةـــــــــــــــــــــ
Adres:Kerkük. Bağdat yolu. Valilik binası yanında
E.mail:itc_media@yahoo.com
Turkey remembers Atatürk on 70th Anniversary of his death
Ceremonies were held across Turkey yesterday to commemorate Mustafa Kemal Atatürk, the founder of the Republic of Turkey, on the 70th anniversary of his death.
An official ceremony held at Anıtkabir, Atatürk's mausoleum, was attended by President Abdullah Gül and other officials. Gül laid a wreath of white and red carnations at Atatürk's tomb. At exactly 9:05 a.m., the time of Atatürk's death 70 years ago, flags flew at half-mast and car horns and sirens were sounded. The entire country observed a two-minute period of silence, after which the national anthem was played.
Signing the official Anıt-kabir memorial book at Misak-ı Milli (National Pact) Tower, President Gül wrote: "Great Atatürk, we commemorate you with respect on the 70th year of your death... We are determined to follow developments in the world, continue our process of democratization and leave a more prosperous and strong country to future generations. We present you our gratitude and love. May your soul rest in peace."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at a memorial ceremony organized by the Atatürk Supreme Council for Culture, Language and History. He stressed that Turkey has covered a significant distance on the path toward integration with the modern world. "Turkey has been elected to the UN Security Council and is taking determined steps towards EU membership. We have become a country which assumes an active role in the solution of regional and global problems and the elimination of rifts between civilizations," said Erdoğan.
Memorial events were held in such other countries as Greece, Hungary and Kosovo to remember Atatürk. In the meantime, on Sunday evening Turkish police discovered about 2 kilograms of explosives that had been left in a package under a platform in the eastern city of Hakkari, where speakers would address participants of a ceremony commemorating Atatürk. Bomb disposal experts defused the explosives, and police launched an investigation to find out who had planted the explosives.
Two individuals who disrupted ceremonies in Erzincan and İstanbul were taken out of parade areas by security forces. Nurettin Tanrıverdi in eastern Erzincan province started to shout as sirens were blown to mark the moment of Atatürk's death. "If we had followed Atatürk's path, Europe would be in need of us now. The governor tried to have me arrested three times," he screamed. Tanrıverdi was reported to be mentally challenged. Another person whose name was not released, similarly, started to yell toward the end of a memorial ceremony in İstanbul's Taksim Square. "I invite you all to Islam," he shouted.
Atatürk was born in 1881 in Thessalonica, in present-day Greece. While his wartime record in the Balkan Wars, World War I and the War of Independence is outstanding, he is chiefly remembered for founding the Turkish Republic and the modernizing reforms that he instituted.
Atatürk died at Dolmabahçe Palace, in İstanbul, on Nov. 10, 1938, finally succumbing to a liver disease from which he suffered. His body was first taken to a temporary resting place at the Ethnography Museum in Ankara on Nov. 21, 1938. When his mausoleum was completed, he was interred with a grand ceremony on Nov. 10, 1953.
11 November 2008, Tuesday
TODAY'S ZAMAN WITH WIRES İSTANBUL
http://www.todayszaman.com/tz-web/detaylar.do?load=detay&link=158356
An official ceremony held at Anıtkabir, Atatürk's mausoleum, was attended by President Abdullah Gül and other officials. Gül laid a wreath of white and red carnations at Atatürk's tomb. At exactly 9:05 a.m., the time of Atatürk's death 70 years ago, flags flew at half-mast and car horns and sirens were sounded. The entire country observed a two-minute period of silence, after which the national anthem was played.
Signing the official Anıt-kabir memorial book at Misak-ı Milli (National Pact) Tower, President Gül wrote: "Great Atatürk, we commemorate you with respect on the 70th year of your death... We are determined to follow developments in the world, continue our process of democratization and leave a more prosperous and strong country to future generations. We present you our gratitude and love. May your soul rest in peace."
Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan delivered a speech at a memorial ceremony organized by the Atatürk Supreme Council for Culture, Language and History. He stressed that Turkey has covered a significant distance on the path toward integration with the modern world. "Turkey has been elected to the UN Security Council and is taking determined steps towards EU membership. We have become a country which assumes an active role in the solution of regional and global problems and the elimination of rifts between civilizations," said Erdoğan.
Memorial events were held in such other countries as Greece, Hungary and Kosovo to remember Atatürk. In the meantime, on Sunday evening Turkish police discovered about 2 kilograms of explosives that had been left in a package under a platform in the eastern city of Hakkari, where speakers would address participants of a ceremony commemorating Atatürk. Bomb disposal experts defused the explosives, and police launched an investigation to find out who had planted the explosives.
Two individuals who disrupted ceremonies in Erzincan and İstanbul were taken out of parade areas by security forces. Nurettin Tanrıverdi in eastern Erzincan province started to shout as sirens were blown to mark the moment of Atatürk's death. "If we had followed Atatürk's path, Europe would be in need of us now. The governor tried to have me arrested three times," he screamed. Tanrıverdi was reported to be mentally challenged. Another person whose name was not released, similarly, started to yell toward the end of a memorial ceremony in İstanbul's Taksim Square. "I invite you all to Islam," he shouted.
Atatürk was born in 1881 in Thessalonica, in present-day Greece. While his wartime record in the Balkan Wars, World War I and the War of Independence is outstanding, he is chiefly remembered for founding the Turkish Republic and the modernizing reforms that he instituted.
Atatürk died at Dolmabahçe Palace, in İstanbul, on Nov. 10, 1938, finally succumbing to a liver disease from which he suffered. His body was first taken to a temporary resting place at the Ethnography Museum in Ankara on Nov. 21, 1938. When his mausoleum was completed, he was interred with a grand ceremony on Nov. 10, 1953.
11 November 2008, Tuesday
TODAY'S ZAMAN WITH WIRES İSTANBUL
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