Biden’s Pier Is a Gift to Hamas Terrorists

Biden’s Pier Is a Gift to Hamas Terrorists

There are mounting concerns that the Biden administration’s pier plan could ultimately boomerang, especially, as Netanyahu himself has warned, if the US aid and the port itself end up in the hands More »

Ubwami bw’Ubupersi na bamedi (Persian’s Kingdom and Med’s Kingdom)

Ubwami bw’Ubupersi na bamedi (Persian’s Kingdom and Med’s Kingdom)

‘Yoseri’ Museveni ari kumwe n’ababyeyi be, Kuki Museveni yanga u Rwanda akomokamo? Umugambi w’Abatutsi bo munzu (y’Abasinga, Abashambo. Abega, Abashingwe) mu karere kibiyaga bigari uhereye mu gihugu cy’Ubuperesi (Uganda) aho bafashe ubutegetsi More »

Hamas’s Industrial Murder: Why Is Senator Chuck Schumer Not Demanding a Change of Leadership in Hamas and Iran?

Hamas’s Industrial Murder: Why Is Senator Chuck Schumer Not Demanding a Change of Leadership in Hamas and Iran?

When the terrorist organization Hamas murders, tortures, rapes and abducts Jews in Israel, do not be surprised that the Jews of today will respond with the righteous might of a nation that More »

Israel’s Strategic Game of Survival

Israel’s Strategic Game of Survival

“They wanted Israel’s counterattack, and then they wanted to hold in the tunnels and use the hostages just to buy time for the international community namely, the United States to stop the More »

“Biden’s actions are a violation of Israel’s sovereignty.”

“Biden’s actions are a violation of Israel’s sovereignty.”

  Israel Betrayed? It seems clear that the Biden administration would like to see the rapid creation of a Palestinian state or at least a “Palestinian unity government” — unfortunately composed of More »

 

Twagiramungu Faustini,yigishije FDLR,icenga rya politike.

Amakuru agera ku nyangeNews.com aturuka muri FDLR,aya makuru tukaba tuyafitiye gihamya,aravuga yuko ingabo za FDLR nyuma yokubona abanyapolitiki nk’ishyaka ry’ingabo ryari rimaze hafi imyaka (2); ritagira abanyapolitiki babasevlle biravugwa ko,bamaze kubona abo banyapolitiki barimo uwigeze kuba ministiri w’Intebe Twagiramungu Faustini,noneho ngo yaba yabigishije icenga rya politiki ryo kurambika hasi kandi nyamara batazirambitse,ahubwo aramayeri ya za 600 zo muri CND nabo bashaka kugeraho.intwaro


Nkuko tubikesha ushinzwe gutanga amakuru muri FDLR,yemeza yuko ngo uhereye 1996,FDLR yarifite ibihumbi bigera kuri 40,000 byabasirikare bo mu bwoko bw’Abahutu “KIGA batavangiyemo Nduga cyangwa Tutsi”.Nkuko baca umugani ko uburo bwinshi butagira umusururu ninako byaje kugendekera ingabo za FDLR zashiriye mu mashyamba ya Congo maze baza kwisanga basigaye umubare bafite ubu ubarirwa hagati y’ibihumbi 5700 na 4500 byabasirikare bo mu bwoko bw’Abahutu.

Kuba FDLR yarifite umubare mu nini cyane ujya kungana hafi ningabo FPR yarifite 1994 ugera kubihumbi 60,000 byabasirikare byari byoroshye ko, bibahesha gufata igihugu,usibye ko,banabigerageje bakagarukira hafi ku giti kin yoni bagasubira inyuma icyabiteye ngirango nabo barakizi ni uko zimwe mu nagbo za FPR ziyeje gutera itabi ahitwaga Muruhengeri bityo batsemba igiti n’ibuye maze FDLR itsindwa gutyo!.

Nyuma ya Twagiramungu Faustini uzwiho cyane kuba ar’umunyamoko,kandi akaba azwiho kuba igisambo muri politike,agendana nibigezweho aho ubu yifatanije n’Abakiga kandi aribo yagamabaniye mbere ya 1994 akifatanya na FPR,azwiho ubuhanga bwo kumenya aho bihiye bityo akajyayo hakiri kare mbere yuko babigabura akifatanya nababiteguye maze byamara gushya bikamwitirirwa ariko mubyukuri nta nakimwe aba yakoze gihambaye usibye gutanga amacenga ya politiki y’ubugambanyi kugirango abone umuryango yinjiriramo bityo yigaragaze nk’umunyapolitike wokurwego rwo hejuru muri politike.

Ni muri urwo rwego FDLR nyuma yokwifatanya na Twagiramungu leta y’Urwanda yahise igira ubwoba bw’ibigiye kuyibaho,aho bisanze babwirwa yuko FDLR yemeye kurambika intwaro hasi ingabo zitagera ku ijana kuko iabazwe zari 95,mu gihe imibare amahanga yatangaga yerekanaga ingabo 105,zabasirikare.

Tekereza mubihumbi bigera kuri 5700, hakagaragara ingabo 105, zemera gutanga ibirwanisho kumugaragaro,kugirango zinjire mu mu Rwanda zisaba imishyikirano,maze bahanganire na FPR,mu gihugu.Kuko ntabwo bazapfa gutaha gutya gusa,ahubwo hazabaho ubwumvikane icyo gihe leta ya FPR,niyanga ibe iguye mu mutego,niyompamvu FPR yahise ishimuta umusirikare wa Congo ndetse bagerekaho kumwica bibwira yuko har’icyo byabafasha mu ikoni rya politike yo kurwanya amacenga ya FDLR.

Ariko amakuru dufite agaragaza yuko ntacyo leta ya Kigali yabyungukiyemo kuko yanze ikunze nk’uko ubuhanuzi bubivuga FPR na FDLR bigambo kugirana imishyikirano kuko ntayindi nzira yamahoro ihari,bitaba ibyo izo ngabo zikazashyirwa kubutaka bw’Urwanda kugirango zive kubutaka bwa Congo no neho tuzarebe ko Umwakagara atazemera ko bumvikana kuko nawe Habyara yemewe kumvikana nawe atar’uko,amukunze ahubwo ni uko yari yarafashe agace kamwe kubutaka bw’Urwanda kandi bakaba bari batangaje ko badashobora gusubira mu gihugu cy’Uganda,ahubwo ko,bagomba kugirana imishyikirano.

Amakuru agera ku nyangeNews.com aturuka muri FDLR,aya makuru tukaba tuyafitiye gihamya,aravuga yuko ingabo za FDLR nyuma yokubona abanyapolitiki nk’ishyaka ry’ingabo ryari rimaze hafi imyaka (2); ritagira abanyapolitiki babasevlle biravugwa ko,bamaze kubona abo banyapolitiki barimo uwigeze kuba ministiri w’Intebe Twagiramungu Faustini,noneho ngo yaba yabigishije icenga rya politiki ryo kurambika intwaro hasi kandi nyamara batazirambitse,ahubwo aramayeri ya za 600 zo muri CND nabo bashaka kugeraho.

Nkuko tubikesha ushinzwe gutanga amakuru muri FDLR,yemeza yuko ngo uhereye 1996,FDLR yarifite ibihumbi bigera kuri 40,000 byabasirikare bo mu bwoko bw’Abahutu “KIGA batavangiyemo Nduga cyangwa Tutsi”.Nkuko baca umugani ko uburo bwinshi butagira umusururu ninako byaje kugendekera ingabo za FDLR zashiriye mu mashyamba ya Congo maze baza kwisanga basigaye umubare bafite ubu ubarirwa hagati y’ibihumbi 5700 na 4500 byabasirikare bo mu bwoko bw’Abahutu.

Kuba FDLR yarifite umubare mu nini cyane ujya kungana hafi ningabo FPR yarifite 1994 ugera kubihumbi 60,000 byabasirikare byari byoroshye ko, bibahesha gufata igihugu,usibye ko,banabigerageje bakagarukira hafi ku giti kin yoni bagasubira inyuma icyabiteye ngirango nabo barakizi ni uko zimwe mu nagbo za FPR ziyeje gutera itabi ahitwaga Muruhengeri bityo batsemba igiti n’ibuye maze FDLR itsindwa gutyo!.

Nyuma ya Twagiramungu Faustini uzwiho cyane kuba ar’umunyamoko,kandi akaba azwiho kuba igisambo muri politike,agendana nibigezweho aho ubu yifatanije n’Abakiga kandi aribo yagamabaniye mbere ya 1994 akifatanya na FPR,azwiho ubuhanga bwo kumenya aho bihiye bityo akajyayo hakiri kare mbere yuko babigabura akifatanya nababiteguye maze byamara gushya bikamwitirirwa ariko mubyukuri nta nakimwe aba yakoze gihambaye usibye gutanga amacenga ya politiki y’ubugambanyi kugirango abone umuryango yinjiriramo bityo yigaragaze nk’umunyapolitike wokurwego rwo hejuru muri politike.

Ni muri urwo rwego FDLR nyuma yokwifatanya na Twagiramungu leta y’Urwanda yahise igira ubwoba bw’ibigiye kuyibaho,aho bisanze babwirwa yuko FDLR yemeye kurambika intwaro hasi ingabo zitagera ku ijana kuko iabazwe zari 95,mu gihe imibare amahanga yatangaga yerekanaga ingabo 105,zabasirikare.

Tekereza mubihumbi bigera kuri 5700, hakagaragara ingabo 105, zemera gutanga ibirwanisho kumugaragaro,kugirango zinjire mu mu Rwanda zisaba imishyikirano,maze bahanganire na FPR,mu gihugu.Kuko ntabwo bazapfa gutaha gutya gusa,ahubwo hazabaho ubwumvikane icyo gihe leta ya FPR,niyanga ibe iguye mu mutego,niyompamvu FPR yahise ishimuta umusirikare wa Congo ndetse bagerekaho kumwica bibwira yuko har’icyo byabafasha mu ikoni rya politike yo kurwanya amacenga ya FDLR.

Ariko amakuru dufite agaragaza yuko ntacyo leta ya Kigali yabyungukiyemo kuko yanze ikunze nk’uko ubuhanuzi bubivuga FPR na FDLR bigambo kugirana imishyikirano kuko ntayindi nzira yamahoro ihari,bitaba ibyo izo ngabo zikazashyirwa kubutaka bw’Urwanda kugirango zive kubutaka bwa Congo no neho tuzarebe ko Umwakagara atazemera ko bumvikana kuko nawe Habyara yemewe kumvikana nawe atar’uko,amukunze ahubwo ni uko yari yarafashe agace kamwe kubutaka bw’Urwanda kandi bakaba bari batangaje ko badashobora gusubira mu gihugu cy’Uganda,ahubwo ko,bagomba kugirana imishyikirano.

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Turks’ Unrequited Love for Palestinians by Burak Bekdil

  • The flag the Turkish prime minister proudly witnessed while being hoisted at the United Nations is an inspiration of the flag used by the Arab Palestinian nationalists in the first half of the 20th century, which was the flag of the 1916 Arab Revolt against Prime Minister Davutoglu’s beloved Ottoman Empire.

  • In his speech, Abbas did not forget to “convey our best wishes to our beloved Armenian brothers in Palestine, in Armenia and in the entire world,” and invited Armenian President Serzh Sarghsyan “to visit Palestine and we hope he will accept the invitation.”

Although it came as no surprise, Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, in his weekly parliamentary group speech last December, spoke like a Palestinian politician, not a Turkish one:

“The most oppressed people of the 20th and 21st centuries is the Palestinian people … Our support will continue until Jerusalem becomes the capital of independent Palestine … No one should doubt our devotion to the Palestinian cause … We won’t forget Palestine, Gaza, Jerusalem, not even in our dreams … We do politics for this holy way.”

He then narrated an anecdote:

“We were in the front rows when three months ago the Palestinian flag was hoisted at the United Nations. In November 2012, I was the only representative, as [then] foreign minister, from the Islamic world when Palestine was given non-member status at the United Nations general assembly. I sat with [Palestinian leader] Mahmoud Abbas when the Palestinian flag was hoisted recently and we hugged … That’s why I felt honored on behalf of my nation to witness the hoisting of the Palestinian flag at the United Nations. Inshallah [God willing] that flag will one day be waved in Jerusalem … Whatever is wrong for Palestine is wrong for us too.”

What generous Turkish affection for the Palestinian flag and leader! But both history and present times would forcefully remind one that the Turks’ love affair for the Arabs in general, and the Palestinians in particular, is quite unrequited.

Turkish Prime Minister Ahmet Davutoglu (pictured left with Fatah leader Mahmoud Abbas and right with Hamas leader Khaled Mashaal) now finds his affection and emotional support for the Palestinian cause unrequited.

First, the flag. The colors of the Palestinian flag (red, white, green and black) are pan-Arab colors. The Palestinian flag is almost identical to that of the Arab Socialist Ba’ath Party. It is also very similar to the flags of Jordan and Western Sahara. Before being the Palestinian flag, it was the flag of the short-lived Arab Federation of Iraq and Jordan. All of these flags draw their inspiration from the Arab Revolt against Ottoman Turkey (1916-1918).

In short, the flag the Turkish prime minister proudly witnessed while being hoisted at the UN is an inspiration of the flag used by the Arab Palestinian nationalists in the first half of the 20th century, which was the flag of the 1916 Arab Revolt against Davutoglu’s beloved Ottoman Empire. The Arabs, including Palestinians, joined the Allies to fight the Turks during the war.

Similarly, Davutoglu’s emotional encounters with Mahmoud Abbas do not sound as if they are being shared by the Palestinian leadership. Abbas’s Christmas message, which went unnoticed in Turkey, contained references to the Armenian genocide (still largely a taboo topic in Turkey) that would have caused a small political earthquake in Turkey, along with fits of anger and threats, had they been spoken by an Israeli or European politician. Displaying the usual hypocrisy, Turkish leaders preferred not to hear what the Abbas said:

“We, Palestinians, have gone through similar experiences as the Armenians; both of us have been repressed, terrorized and banished. As the Armenian people emigrated from their country to ours and then to another place, we too are experiencing the same struggle; we emigrated in 1948 and the refugees in Syria are migrating to the sea, into exile and to places only God knows about.”

In his speech, Abbas did not forget to “convey our best wishes to our beloved Armenian brothers in Palestine, in Armenia and in the entire world,” and invited Armenian President Serzh Sarghsyan “to visit Palestine and we hope he will accept the invitation.”

That was “From Palestine with Love” — to Turkey. Without caring much about whether the Palestinians love the Turks, the Turks keep on loving to love the Palestinians. Political Islam has its many prerequisites. If one of them is unconditionally to hate Israel and the Jews; the other is an unconditional devotion to the “Palestinian cause.” Turkey’s leaders successfully fulfill both prerequisites.

Burak Bekdil, based in Ankara, is a Turkish columnist for the Hürriyet Daily and a Fellow at the Middle East Forum.

Turkish Professor: “Those Who Do Not Do Islamic Daily Prayers Are Animals” by Robert Jones

  • “Salah [prayer] is not done by animals. Those who do not do salah are animals.” — Turkish Professor Mustafa Askar, School of Divinity, Ankara University.

  • Intimidation by Muslim extremists against those who do not follow a strict Islamist lifestyle does indeed produce “results.” Physical or verbal attacks against those who do not fast during Ramadan are commonplace all across Turkey. If you happen to find yourself there during Ramadan, stay indoors if you would like to eat, drink or smoke.
  • “If the faith of those who do not do salah is different from that of the professor, murdering them could even bring sawab [reward for Islamic good deeds]. Such are the views that feed the perverse faith and doctrinal background of Muslim terrorists. … Is this professor aware of the fact that with this claim of his, he could cause the murder of so many innocent people?” — Yasin Ceylan, professor of philosophy, Middle East Technical University, Ankara.

Many Muslims claim that the Islamic month of Ramadan is not simply an exercise in fasting during the day. It is, they say, a chance for “a spiritual boost,” “mental peace” or “a moral awakening.”

During Ramadan, however, it often seems as if hate speech and intolerance are as rampant as ever, possibly even more — especially with the “Ramadan TV programs,” which are popular.

With the advent of Ramadan, Turkey has not opened only the season of fasting; it has also opened the season of “Ramadan Intolerance.”

This frequently consists of statements which threaten or dehumanize those who do not fast. During this season, many national television channels and social media users in Turkey disgorge hatred against those who do not carry out the strictest Islamic requirements.

Turkish professor Mustafa Askar, at Ankara University’s School of Divinity, said on the “Joy of Ramadan” program, aired on the state-funded TRT channel: “Those who do not do Islamic daily prayers are animals.”

Askar proclaimed, on June 12, that “no beings other than humans touch the ground with their foreheads [to do sujud, the position of worship in which the forehead, nose, both hands, knees and all toes touch the ground together]. Human beings, he said, were created in a “salah [worship] ergonomic” way, and that is why “humans do sujud.”

“Let me put it straight,” the professor said. “Salah is not done by animals. Those who do not do salah are animals.”

Yasin Ceylan, a professor of philosophy at Ankara’s Middle East Technical University, reacted to Askar’s statements on his social media account:

“If the claim that ‘those who do not do salah are animals’ comes from a professor, that could serve as an excuse for the massacres carried out by a terrorist organization such as ISIS. If killing an animal is not considered murder, those who do not do salah may be killed, too.

“Moreover, if the faith of those who fail to do salah is different from that of the professor, murdering them could even bring sawab [a reward for Islamic good deeds]. Such are the views that feed the perverse faith and doctrinal background of Muslim terrorists. The main source of violence is the judgments of minds. Is this professor aware of the fact that with this claim of his, he could cause the murder of so many innocent people?”

Askar, after being criticized by many for his remarks, told the pro-government daily newspaper, Akit:

“My words have been distorted by the enemies of Islam who almost every day hurl insults at Islam and Muslims. I have not strayed from the views I expressed. I am not taking a step back from my words. This is a scholarly evaluation. … I said what I think is right. But I made a mistake in my choice of words. If there are those offended by my mistake, we apologize.”

When journalists asked Nurettin Canikli, Deputy Prime Minister of Turkey, during a press conference in Ankara on June 13, about his views on Askar’s statements, Canikli said, “I shall pass on this topic.”

Meanwhile, on the June 13 edition of the “Blessing of Ramadan” television program, broadcast on the pro-government Star TV, a viewer asked, “Is it vacip [a religious obligation] to kill those who do not do salah [Islamic daily prayers]?”

“Decrees about giving certain punishments do not rest with individuals,” answered Fatih Citlak, the presenter of the program and also a columnist for the pro-government daily, Haberturk.

Later, on Ahsen TV — an Islamist internet outlet that usually conducts interviews about Islamic issues with the public — broadcast a video clip shows a child become panic-stricken after seeing his cat eat in the kitchen during Ramadan. He leaves home and starts frantically looking for his father. “Dad!” says the child upon finding him, “the cat has broken the fast!”

The father, played by Bulent Yapraklioglu, an Ahsen TV reporter, replies:

“So what is wrong with that? Don’t you know, son? Animals do not fast. Animals do not do salah. Animals do not pay zakat [Islamic religious tax]. Animals do not go on the Hajj [pilgrimage to Mecca] … So now you know.”

Social media, of course, is also used to spread the spirit of Ramadan — and the hatred of non-Muslims and Muslims who may be not-as-observant.

Hakan Arslanbenzer, a Turkish publisher and poet, declared on his Twitter account in June 2015: “There is no religious inconvenience in beating those who do not fast.”

A Twitter user asked him in response: “Did our Prophet beat anyone? Was there such a practice during his lifetime?”

“He is asking me,” Arslanbenzer repeated, “if they beat people who did not fast during the time of Mohammed. First show me the courageous munafiq [hypocrite] who would publicly violate fasting during the time of the Prophet!”

On June 17, Seogu Lee, the Korean owner of an Istanbul record store, Velvet Indieground, invited people to his store for a worldwide “live-streaming” event to celebrate of the release of the latest album of the band Radiohead. They were attacked by a group of men, apparently angry that they had been drinking alcohol during Ramadan — a double sin, as Muslims are not supposed to drink alcohol altogether. It is tantamount to declaring a desire for death. If people learn you are drinking alcohol during Ramadan, they could well threaten, beat or kill you. The men, in fact, raided the store, beat those inside and drove them out. One of the attackers was heard yelling, among other threats, “we will burn you inside!”

Seogu Lee was also beaten by the assailants. The next morning, he was seen in tears, locking the door of his store as he left.

On June 17, a group of men attacked the Velvet Indieground record store in Istanbul, because they were angry that several people in the small shop were drinking alcohol during Ramadan. At right, Seogu Lee, the shop’s Korean owner, is seen being beaten by some of the attackers.

Record stores all over the world had participated in this event, but Muslim assailants did not allow young people in Istanbul to enjoy a few hours of music and drink in the store of a Korean. Apparently it is an attempt to “throw terror into the hearts of those who disbelieve.” (Quran 3:151).

Intimidation by Muslim extremists against those who do not follow a strict Islamist lifestyle does indeed produce “results” — so they keep on doing it. Physical or verbal attacks against those who do not fast during Ramadan are commonplace all across Turkey. If you happen to find yourself there during Ramadan, stay indoors if you would like to eat, drink or smoke.

Turkey is — ironically and unbelievably — a candidate for European Union membership and a member of NATO, as well as other Western institutions. But culturally and sociologically, the impact of religious intolerance seems to have become so institutionalized that no amount of time, or so-called relations with the West or with the rest of the world, seems to change the situation appreciably. Despite all those military, commercial and diplomatic deals Turkey has made with the West, the country still appears to promote the same historical Islamic pressures against non-Muslims — and even secular Muslims — as it always did.

Many Muslims nevertheless claim that other religions are just as violent as theirs, and indeed 600 years ago, during the Inquisition, some were. At present, however, there would seem no other religion that not only promotes, but carries out the violence prescribed in it to the extent of extremist Islam. If, however, one points out a discernible fact such as that, one is accused of Islamophobia, which many extremist Muslims still insist is the main threat, even though the frequency and degrees of violence against Muslims are nowhere near comparable.

Little mention is ever made — dismayingly even in the West — of the justifiable rationality of being alarmed by people mass-slaughtering in the name of religion, and who are promising to continue doing so.

To people who are concerned about protecting freedom, the author Daniel Greenfield asks: “We are learning to be tolerant of Islam. Perhaps, it’s time to ask that rarely asked of questions, when are Muslims going to finally learn to be tolerant of others?”

Robert Jones, an expert on Turkey, is currently based in the UK.

Turkish Professor Suspended over Tweet by Robert Jones

  • Professor Bardakcioglu is under a disciplinary investigation launched by the university’s rector for his tweet, in which he criticized the conquest of Constantinople in 1453.

  • After losing his job and being condemned and ostracized by his community, Bardakcioglu defined his deleted tweet as “an ugly and wrong expression that was not my own view.” The professor, sadly, apologized for telling the truth.
  • Publicly debating historical events recognized by most scholars in free societies is, in Turkey, a criminal offense. You can lose your job, your freedom or even your life.
  • Turkish state officials constantly claim there is nothing in Turkey’s history that they should be ashamed of, so they continue persecuting and jailing journalists or professors who express differing ideas, and slaughtering non-Muslims and non-Turks.

Erbay Bardakcioglu, a professor at Adnan Menderes University (AMU) in Aydin Province in western Turkey, was suspended after posting a tweet, in which he criticized the conquest of Constantinople, present-day Istanbul, in 1453.

Professor Bardakcioglu’s tweet, on May 29, read, “Today is the anniversary of the invasion of Constantinople, the capital of the Eastern Roman Empire, a magnificent civilization, by a barbaric and fanatic tribe.”

After the tweet caused outrage on social media, Bardakcioglu deleted it.

The professor is now under a disciplinary investigation launched by the university’s rector for his tweet. The university’s rector, Cavit Bircan, on his Twitter account, also condemned the professor and declared that he was laid off from his job.

Describing Bardakcioglu’s tweet as “unacceptable,” Bircan wrote:

“After our terrorism-loving academics, we now have Byzantium-loving academics. Let them know that the sons of the Hira Mountain [where Muslims believe Muhammad received his first revelations from Allah] will definitely and once again defeat the sons of the Olympic Mountain.”

The association of veterinary surgeons of the city of Aydin also issued a written statement that “strongly condemned” Bardakcioglu, who used to teach at the school of veterinary medicine. The association’s officials said that “they cannot even call Bardakcioglu their colleague.”

After losing his job and being condemned and ostracized by his community, Bardakcioglu defined his deleted tweet as “an ugly and wrong expression that was not my own view.” He went on to apologize: “Before the great Turkish nation, I apologize to the people whose sentimental values I have offended, and to my university.”

The professor, sadly, apologized for telling the truth.

Byzantium (330-1453 AD) was a great civilization. And the Byzantine ideas on legislation, literature, theology, philosophy, art and architecture, among others, greatly influenced Western civilization.

Constantinople also did witness barbaric and fanatic actions at the hands of the invaders after the city fell.

“They slew everyone that they met in the streets, men, women and children without discrimination,” according to the historian S. Runciman in The Fall of Constantinople 1453.

“The blood ran in rivers down the steep streets from the heights of Petra towards the Golden Horn. But soon the lust for slaughter was assuaged. The soldiers realized that captives and precious objects would bring them greater profit.”

“They looted whatever they considered valuable,” wrote the scholar Constantine Tzanos,

“and they destroyed or burned whatever treasures could not appreciate including valuable library books, icons and mosaics.

“What was the motive of the conquest? It was the lust for power and riches by slaughtering, enslaving and taking the belongings of others.

“Why a people would celebrate today, and with such a passion, an event like the conquest of Constantinople which not only by itself was a great human catastrophe, but it was also the precursor to many such catastrophes up to the very recent past?”

Meanwhile, at a public meeting in Istanbul on May 29, 2016, to celebrate the 563rd anniversary of the fall of Constantinople, Turkey’s President Recep Tayyip Erdogan once again shared with his supporters his admiration for the “conquest”:

“The conquest is to climb over mountains that the West thought were impassable. The conquest is for a 21-year-old Sultan to bring the millennial Byzantium to its knees. The conquest is the peak of military genius and technology of the time. The conquest is to take root in a continent, which was thought that it would not be possible to be permanent there even if one set foot there. The conquest is to escalate the fire of a civilization, which was savagely put out in Al-Andalus [Muslim Spain], on the other side of the continental Europe, in the East again.”

Apparently, the norm in Turkey is to praise the “achievements” of the Ottomans, which included massacres, rapes, plundering and sexual slavery of their victims. But publicly debating historical events recognized by most scholars in free societies is, in Turkey, a criminal offense. You can lose your job, your freedom or even your life.

Discussing these incidents in a way that contradicts the official ideology of the Turkish state is a deadly “taboo.”

As Turkey has never faced its history of bloodshed, ethnic cleanings — and has even excused these crimes — they continue to commit them. Turkish state officials constantly claim there is nothing in Turkey’s history that they should be ashamed of, so they continue persecuting and jailing journalists or professors who express differing ideas, and slaughtering non-Muslims and non-Turks.

The author Speros Vryonis Jr. described the 1955 Istanbul pogrom against Christians:

“On the evening of September 6, and in the early hours of September 7, 1955, the Turkish government carried out the most destructive pogrom that had been enacted in Europe since the infamous Kristallnacht which Hitler and the Nazis inflicted upon the Jewish communities, businesses and synagogues on the eve of World War II.

“The Turkish government had unleashed the mobs on the Greek community of Istanbul, on its churches, houses, businesses, schools, and newspapers… This resulted in the ultimate destruction of Turkey’s oldest historical community, about 100,000 Greek Orthodox Christians who were the heirs of Byzantium.”

In this photo from September 1955, a government-instigated mob of Muslim Turks in Istanbul is destroying stores owned by Greek Christians.

According to Professor Alfred de Zayas:

“The Istanbul pogrom can be considered a grave crime under both Turkish domestic law and international law. In the historical context of a religion driven eliminationist process accompanied by many pogroms before, during, and after World War I within the territories of the Ottoman Empire, including the destruction of the Greek communities of Pontos and Asia Minor and the atrocities against the Greeks of Smyrna in September 1922, the genocidal character of the Istanbul pogrom becomes apparent.”

What is criminal is murdering and raping people, destroying their neighborhoods, pillaging their property and driving them out of their homes.

Robert Jones, an expert on Turkey, is currently based in the UK.

Turkish Justice: ISIS Walks Free; Peace Activists Jailed by Uzay Bulut

  • Belonging to ISIS or trafficking in slavery evidently do not constitute serious crimes in Turkey. But signing petitions calling for peace and non-violence, or requesting political equality for Kurds, are unspeakable offenses.

  • “We are not shocked that the defendants have been acquitted. This lawsuit has become one of the hundreds of other lawsuits in our country in which the criminals have been protected even though the evidence against them is obvious.” — Association of Progressive Women, on the acquittal of six people charged with having ties with ISIS and trading in Yazidi sex slaves.
  • “Requesting peace has become a crime in this country. The state of Turkey has committed the gravest rights violations against those who struggle for human rights, against the Kurds and against free thought.” — Sebnem Korur Fincanci, President of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey.
  • Turkish politics has therefore not been able to go beyond a clash between assorted Islamists whose worldviews are foreign to democratic values, and non-Islamist but still extremely oppressive political parties that operate under the shadow of a tyrannical military, whose worldview is also foreign to democratic values.

Turkey’s “fight” against the Islamic State (ISIS) continues. On March 24, Turkey released seven suspects who had been arrested in a case involving the Turkish branch of ISIS.

Halis Bayancuk, alleged to be the “Emir,” or commander-in-chief, of ISIS, is among the suspects. This was the fourth hearing of the trial known as the “Istanbul ISIS trial.” A total of 96 suspects are on trial. Only seven had been jailed; the others had not. Although those seven were released on March 24 at the end of the hearing, their trial is still ongoing; the final verdict has not been given. All of them are now outside jail, free, and living their lives as they wish.

The indictment prepared by the chief public prosecutor’s office of Istanbul stated that the suspects

“engaged in the activities of the terrorist organization called DAESH [Arabic acronym of ISIS]. The suspects had sent persons to the conflict zones; they applied pressure, force, violence and threats by using the name of the terrorist organization, and they had provided members and logistic support for the group. Ilyas Aydin, the leader [of the ISIS cell], gave verdicts at a so-called sharia court about killing people.”

At the end of the hearing, the seven defendants on trial being ISIS members were released. They left the courtroom shouting “Allahu akbar!” [Allah is the Greatest!”]

This means that all 96 defendants in the ongoing case are walking the streets freely.

Unfortunately, this is not the first case in which the Turkish judiciary has turned a blind eye to ISIS or al Qaeda suspects. The indictment prepared by the prosecutors apparently contains serious accusations and ample evidence, including videos and statements by Bayancuk, also known as Abu Hanzala. In 2014, he was arrested for being the head of the al Qaeda network in Turkey. Some of the accusations directed against him and other al Qaeda suspects were “beheading a Christian priest in Syria, kidnapping a Turkish journalist in Syria and planning an assassination of Barack Obama…”

In a video recording from a camp in Syria, Bayancuk was heard saying: “After we conquer Syria, we will conquer Istanbul, insh’allah, [if Allah wills] and then Turkey.”

In 2014, in another video uploaded on YouTube, Bayancuk said:

“They [ISIS] are our Muslim brethren. And we accept any attack against them as an attack against us. … I am, insh’allah, on the side of my Muslim brothers through my prayers and my support. Whoever attacks our brothers, I consider it an attack against me.

“I ask Allah to reward those in Syria and many other places, who are fighting and striving in the name of jihad, with a state ruled by sharia.”

In July 2014, the affiliates of the Islamist magazine “Tawhid” (“Oneness of Allah”) — known to be close to ISIS — organized a public event in Istanbul where they performed salah (Muslim prayer) together to celebrate the Islamic Ramadan festival.

In July 2015, at a public event was held to celebrate the Ramadan festival, the public prayers were led by Halis Bayancuk who afterwards delivered a speech entitled, “A warning to the heads of the regime of the Republic of Turkey.”

“Those who have faith fight for Allah,” he said, “the kafirs [infidels], however, fight for those who engage in taghut [“idolatry”].

Bayancuk also called on Muslims not to vote in elections because “Whoever is the Creator has the right to rule. … “We do not have guns, bombs or action plans to scare you with, but there is Allah with whom we can scare you.”

In December, 2015, the German public television consortium, ARD, produced a show documenting the slave trade being conducted by ISIS through a liaison office in the province of Gaziantep in Turkey, near the Syrian border.

Some human rights groups in the region filed a criminal complaint, calling for the prosecutors to investigate the allegations and hold the perpetrators to account. One of them was the Gaziantep branch of the Association of Progressive Women (IKD).

All six people, who allegedly have ties with ISIS and have engaged in the sexual slavery of Yazidi women in Antep, were acquitted during the first hearing.

The IKD Association issued a written statement about the ruling:

“We learned yesterday that all of defendants were acquitted at one hearing, in a double-quick trial on January 15.

“We are not shocked that the defendants have been acquitted. This lawsuit has become one of the hundreds of other lawsuits in our country in which the criminals have been protected even though the evidence against them is obvious.

“The indictment of the prosecutor stated that the office in the footage has been found, and that all of the evidence in the news reports have been seized. Six people were caught in the process of investigation but were released after a judicial hearing. Despite all of the evidence at hand, the court acquitted the defendants on the grounds that there was no evidence.”

One cannot know if those allegations were true or not, because no state authority has made any effort to refute the allegations or vindicate themselves.

In December, 2015, two members of parliament from the pro-Kurdish Peoples’ Democratic Party (HDP) — Feleknas Uca and Mahmut Togrul — asked Interior Minister Efkan Ala about the office where ISIS members engage in slavery and sex trade.

Neither the interior minister nor any other government official has made a single statement regarding the motions of the MPs, the footage of the German TV channel or the allegations of the region’s human rights groups.

However, when it comes to academics or activists who demand peace with the Kurds and human rights for all in Turkey, the Turkish judiciary takes a completely different stand.

On January 11, 2016, a group of academics and researchers from Turkey and abroad called “Academics for Peace” signed and issued a petition entitled, “We will not be a party to this crime.” In it, they criticized the Turkish government for its recent curfews and massacres in Kurdish districts, and demanded an end to violence against Kurds and a return to peace talks.

Since then the 1128 signatories of the declaration have been subjected to sustained attacks and threats from the Turkish government and nationalist groups. Four of the academics are now under arrest.

The jailed academics are Esra Mungan, a lecturer in psychology at Istanbul Bogazici University; Muzaffer Kaya, a lecturer at the Department of Social Services at Istanbul Nisantasi University (who after signing the petition was fired from his job); Kıvanc Ersoy, a mathematics lecturer at Istanbul Mimar Sinan University; and Meral Camci, a lecturer of translation and interpreting studies at Istanbul Yeni Yuzyıl University.

On March 24, the same day when ISIS suspects were released in Istanbul, Academics for Peace issued an open letter about the situation of the arrested academics:

“Yesterday, Esra Mungan was taken to another cell which is smaller, filthier, and stuffier for no valid reason. Also, Muzaffer Kaya and Kıvanc Ersoy were transferred to the Silivri Prison.

“One of our lawyers visited the Silivri Prison. Muzaffer Kaya and Kıvanc Ersoy say that they are strictly segregated, they stay alone in the cells for three people, they are not allowed to see each other or any others; all their books were taken from them with the promise that they would be given back later, their rooms are completely empty except for a pen and a notebook, they were searched naked when they were first taken to Silivri and kept naked for twenty minutes which is an utterly dishonoring situation, and that their first request is to stay together in the same cell.”

In Turkey, signatories of the “Academics for Peace” petition (pictured above) have been subjected to sustained attacks and threats from the Turkish government and nationalist groups. Four of the signatories were arrested. Meanwhile, 96 suspected terrorists currently standing trial on charges of belonging to an ISIS cell in Istanbul are not under arrest, and walk the streets freely.

The academic Meral Camci was fired from her job after signing the petition. A warrant was also issued against her — along with the three other academics — but she could not be interrogated because she was then outside Turkey. She returned to Turkey on March 30 — and was arrested the next day.

In the meantime, Kurdish lawyer Eren Keskin, who is also the vice-president of the Human Rights Association (IHD) and the executive editor of the pro-Kurdish newspaper Ozgur Gundem, has been investigated and banned from traveling abroad on charges of “terrorism propaganda.”

Dr. Sebnem Korur Fincanci, the President of the Human Rights Foundation of Turkey (TIHV), said that Keskin has been one of the key symbols of the human rights struggle in Turkey. “Requesting peace has become a crime in this country. The state of Turkey has committed the gravest rights violations against those who struggle for human rights, against the Kurds and against free thought,” Fincanci added.

The gravest human rights violations are committed against Kurds. The Kurdish town of Silopi was under military siege and attacks from December 14 to January 19, when the curfew was partly removed. Many people were murdered by state security forces, and the town has largely been destroyed.

The Diyarbakir Bar Association and several human rights groups recently went to the town to observe what is left of it. Sidar Avsar, a lawyer with the Diyarbakir Bar Association, reported that the police threatened them: “You know how Tahir Elci was killed, don’t you?” the police had told him.

Tahir Elci, a leading Kurdish lawyer and the head of the Diyarbakir Bar Association, was murdered in broad daylight in the city of Diyarbakir on November 28, 2015.

So, in Europe’s newest “best friend forever,” Turkey, a candidate country for EU membership, those who rape and sell Yazidi women, or have alleged ties with al-Qaeda or ISIS, are set free to walk around with impunity. Belonging to ISIS or trafficking in slavery evidently do not constitute serious crimes in Turkey. But signing petitions calling for peace and non-violence, or requesting political equality for Kurds, are unspeakable offenses. This also demonstrates the tragic fact that Turkey still prefers the Islamic State (ISIS) to Kurds.

Turkey seems bound by traditional misconceptions of what is terrorism and what is not, or who should enjoy free speech and who should not, or be punished for real crimes and who should not.

Turkish politics has therefore not been able to go beyond a clash between assorted Islamists whose worldviews are foreign to democratic values, and non-Islamist but still extremely oppressive political parties that operate under the shadow of a tyrannical military, whose worldview is also foreign to democratic values.

Recent political and judicial developments are further indicators that a third alternative — a Turkish pro-democracy movement to transform Turkey into a diverse, tolerant and pluralistic society — is not on the horizon.

Uzay Bulut, a Turkish journalist, is currently based in Washington D.C.

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