IVOS 2: ΚΕΙΜΕΝΑ,ΕΙΚΟΝΕΣ

Στιγμιότυπο από τον τουρκικό στρατό.  Photo via Twitter, @tcsavunma     Στις 8 Φεβρουαρίου 2001 ο αείμνηστος Μεχμέτ Αλι Μπιράντ ρωτούσε- απευθυνόμενος στους αναγνώστες- στην Turkish Daily News (μετάφραση της κανονικής του στήλης στην Χουριέτ) το εξής, υπό τον τίτλο “Έχουν όλοι έχθρα απέναντι μας;”   “Όταν κοιτάμε το σκηνικό (γύρω στη γειτονιά μας) προκύπτει, αναπόφευκτα, μια ερώτηση στο μυαλό ενός ατόμου: Ίσως χώρες να έχουν προβλήματα με τους μακρινούς ή κοντινούς γείτονές τους, ακόμη και με συμμάχους τους. Ωστόσο καμιά χώρα δεν έχει τόσες διαφορές με τους γείτονές της όσες έχουμε εμείς. Κάτι υπάρχει λανθασμένο. Είτε όλοι οι γείτονες νοιώθουν έχθρα απέναντι μας ή κάτι εμείς κάνουμε λάθος. Τί νομίζετε; ποιος είναι σωστός!”    Ο Μεχμέτ Αλι Μπιράντ (Mehmet Ali Birand, 1941-2013) υπήρξε ένας από τους πιο αξιόλογους και ίσως και ο πιο έγκυρος Τούρκος δημοσιογράφος με πλουσιότατο δημοσιογραφικό και συγγραφικό έργο. (Το 2006 το Τουρκικό “βαθύ κρά...

(...) The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) must get ready. The economy must get ready.  We are in the middle of such a hot spot that escaping it will not be easy. Over the next 10-15 years, we will experience huge crises and one or several wars. We don’t have any other solutions than making plans to protect our selves from such a hot spot. (...) ''The Colossus''  By Francisco de Goya  (*) Getting ready for a possible regional war  Today, I would like to highlight the impending dangers in the Middle East and “toll the alarm bells.”  We have had so many inner fights and wasted so much time in the vicious corridors of interior policies that we cannot see the things around us. However, the condition is really critical.  Everyone is in fear except us. We, on the other hand, pay no attention. However, we have to show concern and be alert.  The Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) must get ready. The economy must get ready.  We are in the mi...

The Gaza ceasefire has ruined our self-imposed reputation in the region as “the playmaker country,” especially domestically.  Those who closely monitored the Turkish media last week are aware of it. The government tried to explain the exceptionally significant role Turkey has played in the ceasefire talks. While the person who stayed in Cairo on behalf of Turkey tried to explain the importance of this contribution by telling us that they informed the prime minister hourly, and Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğu explained in even more technical terms the role we played.  Middle East experts though, citing international media, said peace was reached through the Unites States-Egypt duo and Turkey’s role was pale in comparison. While some said, “Peace was formed thanks to us,” others said “We were no more than assistants.”  Actually, the truth is that the U.S.-Egypt duo facilitated peace and Turkey supported them behind the scenes.  Sometimes, we are at...

I will mention a topic that you may not like at all today. Or, maybe, on the contrary, this topic is on your mind but you have not been able to mention it.  I want to mention the gate and the camps opened for refugees coming from Syria. So much strange information started coming that I told myself: “Why did we make this facilitation? Let’s say we did it for the sake of humanity, do we know who is coming? Do we know whether they are truly in need of this?”  I can give you an example: The number of those coming has exceeded 100,000, and looks as if it is going to increase more. A portion of them are actually people who are in need. Their houses have been destroyed; they are poor Syrians who are guiding their families away from death.  Another portion, though, is constituted of those who are in Turkey just to find a job. Visit the big cities in the region and you will immediately notice them.  There is also another portion who have come with...

The longer the Syria crisis continues, the bigger the harm it causes in the region.  Ankara has used whatever pressure it could. It has changed gears and it has come to the forefront on the issue, but it has not been able to topple Bashar al-Assad. Given the present state of affairs, it is obvious that it would be difficult to topple him. Up until now, the burden of the Syrian crisis has been manageable, but this load has been increasing and becoming more and more serious in recent weeks.  Before going into the details, I have these important points for you:  The number of Syrian refugees has exceeded 100,000. One year ago, the figure 100,000 was seen as the limit of this matter. After 100,000, it was said that a buffer zone would come into effect. Today, this buffer zone looks as if it cannot be formed. The money spent has reached 400 million Turkish Liras and it will constantly increase. No aid is coming from the European Union or the United...

(...) T he biggest advantage the PKK has in the region is that it is enjoys the full support of a segment of society. (...) Another great advantage the PKK has is that regardless of the extent of its losses, there is no drop in new recruits. Neither the security forces nor the state can do anything about this. Moreover, because the new recruits come not only from Turkey but also from among the Kurds of Iraq, Iran and Syria, the PKK is becoming an international force. PKK hits Turkish military convoy  : 10 killed, 70 injured It will soon have been almost two months, and the attacks by the outlawed Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) are not coming to an end. More precisely, they cannot be made to come to an end. Tens of thousands of troops have been deployed in the region, enormous firepower is being used; however, not a day passes when the PKK does not strike. Moreover, the intelligence capability of the Turkish security forces is extremely strong. The National Inte...

Journalists, too, are criticized. We are not immune to criticism. There are also some in our media who have accumulated too much evil on their plates. For some, “criticism” only means swearing, insulting and slandering. Now, we have started a quarrel within the media. I am talking about the debate that stated right after the prime minster’s “hired pens” speech. This debate is extremely important and is the essential question of the “freedom of the press.” The question is whether journalists can criticize official policies during a state of war or in tense situations? Or should they, in the name of national unity, simply support official policies? The incident that provoked these questions was that some columnists were questioning, during the recent Syria crisis, why the Turkish plane was actually flying out there in the first place. According to some colleagues, in such cases the interests of the country come first and nobody can have a stance justifying “the enemy.” This c...

TURΚΕΥ:Kurdish  ...Political and Human Rights   There was havoc in Istanbul and Diyarbakır yesterday. Both cities turned into fire balls. Molotov cocktails, fires, stones, batons. Those looking from the outside thought there was a war in Turkey. Our daily life went upside down. Why? The Peace and Democracy Party (BDP) wanted to start celebrating Nevruz, a festival marking the beginning of spring, one week early, but our state said: “No, Nevruz is on March 21. You too should celebrate it on March 21. Otherwise it is forbidden.” There is no such law. There is no rule that a celebration has to be done on its exact day and no other day. Yes, the BDP had its own intention, but when the state scorned: “No, I am the state, I have a say on this and not you,” it was then that these incidents happened. For God’s sake, was it worth it? What did the state prove? Nothing was proved beyond creating an environment of war. In fact, the BDP demonst...