How Civilizations Die (and Why Islam is Dying, Too) | David P. Goldman

David Goldman: "In the long term, Turkey is not a viable ally, because it is not a viable country. In the short term, Turkey has become another problem to be contained. ... Turkey has become a prospective enemy, and there are a number of things we might do, for example with the Kurds, to impose a high penalty for misbehavior. Covert action to support dissident movements, human rights initiatives, religious reforms, and so forth is an important component of managing instability, ... The United States must act like a superpower, rather than an NGO with a humanitarian agenda. That means standing by friends like Israel, preempting real threats like Iran, and punishing wayward allies like Turkey."

ROS-LEHTINEN: Time for Turkey to leave Cyprus in peace

ROS-LEHTINEN: Time for Turkey to leave Cyprus in peace
Long-standing occupation amounts to annexation | By By Rep. Ileana Ros-Lehtinen | Friday, June 15, 2012

Since its invasion of Cyprus in 1974, Turkey has claimed that it was acting as a protector and guarantor of the island’s security. But a closer examination of its actions on Cyprus indicates motivations of a very different character. Turkey’s invasion resulted in hundreds of thousands of Greek Cypriot refugees, who have been unable to return to their homes for almost 40 years. The international community has repeatedly condemned the illegal military occupation of Cyprus by Turkish troops. The United Nations Security Council has passed 75 resolutions calling for Turkey to allow Greek Cypriots to return to their homes and to withdraw its troops from Cyprus. Yet Turkey continues its occupation.

Speak to Turks in a language they understand!

Name the Problem

The UK has a Cyprus problem. "Turkey" has a Cyprus problem. The USA has a Cyprus problem. The UN has a Cyprus problem.

Cyprus has a BRITISH-TURKISH problem.

To solve our problem we must first learn to call it by its actual name.

With all due respect, and all things considered ...

With all due respect, and all things considered, fuck you!

From Cyprus with Love

Unless the British undertake their share of responsibility I am afraid things will get messy. The period of Parasitic Pontiuspilatism is over.

There is a possinility they will again take us to racist referenda. Becauseof incompetence or "realities", does it matter really? Make up your mind now. To say NO. To any plan. Because 'bizonality' is exclusively for idiots. Let us give an even more massive response to the scheming British. Let us make the 76% look like a small and insignificant number. 

Welcome to the Middle East, Cyprus!

Listen for a few minutes to the speech of the president of the Middle East Forum, Daniel Pipes as he talks on Cyprus (go to minute 28). I apologise the minor mistakes in the quoted text below, but the audio is of bad quality. In the Q&A session he speaks about "Turkey" being suspended from NATO, or even rejected, and he also thinks it possible that "Turkey" could split into two, but not more pieces. He also finds Antifon's idea of renaming "Turkey" proper.

God's Greater Design

"All Denktash really did was to show Kurds of northern Kurdistan the way to freedom, freedom from slavery and cultural genocide. Cyprus's 40 year or so temporary ordeal was just a necessary sacrifice in God's far greater plan to emancipate the Kurds." - Antifon

Downer by name, disaster by nature | www.mathaba.net

Former Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has waded into his old patch in a characteristically obnoxious and hamfisted way. Alan Austin takes a look at the Downer ``resume``. (Image screenshot from ABC TV News.)

AS IF AUSTRALIA’S foreign policy isn’t precarious enough already. Tony Abbott is Prime Minister, Julie Bishop is Foreign Minister, Andrew Robb is Minister for Trade and all seem well out of their depth.

Now failed former Australian Foreign Minister Alexander Downer has gone on television to lecture Indonesia’s Foreign MinisterMarty Natalegawa on its foreign policy. In a monumental blunder, he accused the Indonesians of breaching Australian sovereignty.

Kurdish Response to Erdogan's latest "Presents"

Kurdistan Democratic Communities Union (KCK) | To the Kurdish Peoples and democratic public opinion

9 October 2013

The Kurdish question emerged as a result of the Turkish state's policy of Turkification through its denial of the Kurds' existence and subjecting them to cultural genocide. All the Kurds' objections to this policy have been violently crushed. Once the Kurds had been silenced and reduced to a state where they could not protest, the cultural genocide was accelerated using economic, social and cultural policies. By the 1970s the Kurds had been left with no option but to become Turkish in order to perpetuate their lives. A political, social, economic, cultural and psychological environment had been created that drove Kurds away from Kurdishness, putting it on the path to extinction.

Vienna then, Keryneia today!

The battle of Vienna 330 years ago stopped the Ottomans' miltary advance to Europe. Today's demographic/cultural advance of the neo Ottomans must be fought diplomatically at the gates of Keryneia. Keryneia, Christian and/or Greek throughout history for millennia until 39 years ago, today hosts no Greek Christians, ethnically cleansed or killed in 1974, and populated instead mostly by illegal Turkish settlers and a minority of Turkish Cypriots.

When is not a good time to deal?

Although I shall not expand on it now, the necessary serenity is absent, there is an important reason for which there cannot be, and there should not be, any deal with today's "Turkey" for Cyprus's British-Turkish problem. That is because in "Turkey" there is authentic fascism, some Turkish liberals like Nuray Mert, call it authoritarian nationalism. It's the same thing that persists since its birth in 1923, first under the Kemalist veil that the west approved of, now under a "mildly" Islamic one.

It starts going awfully wrong right about here!

Do you by any chance have a minute and a half to become suspicious about why we are so different? Millions of children in Neoottomania recited their national oath (different than the anthem) every morning for the past 80 years, in an identical manner. In Occupistan as well. Abolished just in 2013.

President Makarios: "This was the course dictated to me by necessity"

The Constitution of the Republic of Cyprus, in its present form, creates many difficulties in the smooth government of the State and impedes the development and progress of the country.

It contains many sui generis provisions conflicting with internationally accepted democratic principles and creates sources of friction between Greek and Turkish Cypriots.

Report Exposes Kurdish Torment at Turkish Schools | Rudaw

A Kurdish boy listening to a Turkish class. Photo: AFP

Rudaw | By Uzay Bulut | ANKARA, Turkey – A report released by the Helsinki Citizens’ Assembly about the role of schools in Ankara’s peace process with the country’s oppressed Kurdish minority exposes the racism and difficulties Kurdish children and teachers face in Turkish state schools.

The report, titled The role of teachers in societal peace building - how the Kurdish issue is reflected in schools, exposes the bullying, discrimination and violence that Kurdish students and teachers experience at schools in Turkey, often resulting in life-long traumas.

How the EU directly funds settlements in occupied territory | Jerusalem Post

How the EU directly funds settlements in occupied territory | By EUGENE KONTOROVICH | 09/28/2013

Photo: reuters: GIANT Turkish flag is seen displayed on the side of a mountain near Nicosia in Turk-occupied Cyprus

The EU knowingly and purposefully provides substantial direct financial assistance to settlements in occupied territory – in Turkish-occupied northern Cyprus, that is.

A delegation of European Union officials arrived in Israel weeks ago to discuss the European Commission’s proposed regulations for discretionary funding to Israeli entities.

Nothing less than Kurdish as an official language is a solution

24-9-2013 | ORHAN KEMAL CENGİZ | TODAY'S ZAMAN

A democratization package is expected to be announced on Monday by the prime minister. If there are no major last-minute changes, then the package will obviously not meet the expectations of the country's Kurds.

What we understand from what has been leaked about the package is that it will include a few reforms that address the Kurdish question. Kurdish names will be given back to places for which they had been replaced with Turkish names; Kurdish citizens will receive some services in Kurdish (the scope of which is not clear yet: whether this services include “petitions” and official replies or just verbal services, whether this will include “judicial services,” and so on); and Kurdish lessons will be included in the curriculum, most probably as electives.

Striking the Right Level of Submission?

Our collective political behaviour is self-defeating to say the least. Instead of courageously stating what would be a fair and functional solution, our politicos try to convince us of the right level of submission to illogical, unhistorical, apartheid demands of our enemies, namely Britain and "Turkey". A paradigm shift is needed.

Only Britain Stands In the Way of a Cyprus Solution

A piece of news made the headlines about two British fighters flying over occupied Cyprus, much like Israeli jets did a while back, causing the Turks headaches. A foreign friend asked me whether it is good to have the British on Cyprus after all. The answer is, it might be. Based on a new agreement between two independent nations, after we agree that Britain has no inherent rights in Cyprus, no rghts other than those Cypriots agree to give her.

From Holding Hands to Giving The Finger!

Holding hands just two years ago!

Erdogan talks tough. He says a limited strike is not enough. He wants Assad to capitulate. How does Assad return the favor? By attacking "Turkey" of course. But how does he do so without risking an all out NATO retaliation? It attacks the illegally occupied, by "Turkey", northern part of Cyprus, which is recognized by noone as being part of "Turkey", but it is neither under the control of the Cyprus government or the EU.

North Kurdistan 101

In light of the upcoming pan Kurdish conference I wish to share this tiny bit of wisdom with Kurds. Given Turks' thinking and actions in Cyprus over the last several decades, the north Kurdistani position cannot possibly be different than: EITHER we rule all of "Turkey" together, a fully bilingual "Turkey" on an equal basis, OR we rule north Kurdistan on our own. After all, north Kurdistan always was, without the need for an invasion, ethnic cleansing, division or colonisation. This is a position all permanent members of the UNSC can appreciate fully, given that they have dealt with Turkish demands on Cyprus and understand deeply the principles Turks invoke for their positions.

An Unexpected Geopolitical Giant

Cyprus has quite a few things going in its favor. First, international law. Unless the UN member Republic of Cyprus decides to cancel itself, and why should it, that's all there is in as far as the law is concerned, a Cyprus spanning all corners of the island, legally speaking. Second, the same legal entity, legal as per the highest law of the earth, the UN charter, is also a member of the European Union, the greatest and most tightly knit intranational grouping since the end of WWII, and a member of EU-17, the hard European core that uses the same currency.

"My" Kurdistan

Kurdistan deserves to be. Period. The question is, will it manage to be Muslim but not Islamic? Will its women be free? If Kurdistan were to be just another backward, sexist, gagged society, then I would care not for it. But if, as I hope and expect, Kurdistan will be a truly free, truly democratic, truly open Muslim society then the west has a historical obligation to help it be.

Cypriot Fools

If Turkish Cypriots cannot find the strength to admit to themselves that 1960 was too one-sided in their favour and the real source of the ensuing problems or that the bizonality basis is unnatural for Cyprus and the tainted product of an illegal war, then they are fools. If the Greek Cypriot left wishes to continue patronising the so called Turkish Cypriot progressives, a minority among the minority inbued with a unique leftist nationalism a-la-Turca, then they are doubly so.

Thinking in Occupistan

Who do these people of Occupistan think they are trying to fool?

Freedom Kurdistan

Sculpture (without the flag photoshop addition) by Greek American Zenos Frudakis . Without realizing it, he created the national sculpture of Kurdistan.

Not Meddling Back Proves Incompetency Mr President!

"Turkey" meddles in just about everyone else's affairs, more recently Egypt, Syria, Israel, etc. No other country has been meddled more in than Cyprus. I want to see the Cyprus government return the favor by offering Turks advice about their impasse with Kurds. As a matter of fact I demand it. Turks' own ideas in the 50s, 60s, 70s, 80s and 00's for balancing the rights of a majority and ethnic minority circa 15% have been plenty. It is time we start reminding Turks of their own ideas and how they could help address their Kurdish conundrum. The right time is now, while their constitutional upgrade is being debated.

Kurdish ‘nationhood’ | by Nuray Mert

Antifon: If northern Kurds are to remain within "Turkey", they will accept NO LESS rights than Turkish Cypriots, and "Turkey" ostensibly on their behalf, have been demanding in Cyprus, and Turkish Cypriots do not even have either a historical or ethical claim to a contiguous part of Cyprus as Kurds do in northern Kurdistan. When will ethnic Turks finally face this reality? Which reporter will break the ground first? Perhaps Nuray Mert.

Article by Nuray Mert: The main problem with Turkish politics concerning Kurds is that “Turks” cannot accept any prospect of Kurds ruling themselves. Turks in general and the present government in particular resist the idea of Kurdish “nationhood” and that is it. The Kurds may be latecomers but the Kurdish problem is a “national problem,” and first of all, this reality has to be acknowledged. Otherwise, Turkey’s domestic and regional politics concerning the Kurds will not lead anywhere positive.

Denktash admits Turks initiated Cyprus intercommunal violence

Excerpt from UK TV programme, Britain's Grim Legacy, in which Turkish Cypriot terrorists' leader Rauf Denktash admits that Turks initiated the intercommunal violence between Greek Christians and Muslim Turks on the island in the 1950s. Denktash reveals that Turkish Cypriots planted a bomb to provoke the anti-Greek riots of June 1958. The incident which provoked the riots on 7 June was the explosion of a small bomb outside the Turkish Information Office (part of the Turkish consulate) in Nicosia, alleged to have been thrown from a passing car. Even at the time it was suspected that the Turks had planted the bomb to provoke the riots.

"Occupied Territories": What About Cyprus, Kashmir, Tibet? | Gatestone Institute

What about Cyprus? That is just one of the questions that Israelis and Europeans should be pondering now that the European Union has again decided that it should dictate Israeli border and security policy.

Last week the European Union issued a ban on funding of, or cooperation with, any Israeli institutions that
are shown to operate in what it calls the "occupied territories" – meaning the West Bank, or Judea and Samaria. Never mind that -- as Palestinian groups have already admitted -- the ban will affect Palestinians as much as Israelis. In its perpetual rush to find new double-standards to enforce, the EU has rushed straight in, regardless.

Active Petitions

Cyprus, Greek and Christian for 3.200 and 2.000 years respectively. Its northern part stolen in 1974 by "Turkey", a theft engineered by British and American asshole policy makers. Help undo this absurd violation of historical, cultural and human integrity.

Save Cyprus Petition (3.605 signatures as of 21/7/2013, goal 10.000)
Free Cyprus Petition (720 signatures as of 21/7/2013, goal 1.000)
Αίτηση Απαιτώ Δημοψήφισμα για τη "ΔΙΖΩΝΙΚΗ" (503 signatures by 21/7/2013, goal 10.000)

Sovereign State or Base?

"But is it a Treaty establishing a sovereign state or a treaty establishing a sovereign base in the end?" Dr. Yiorghos Leventis 21/3/2013

The most succinct, insightful, caustic argument ever made, eloquently unveiling Britain's malevolent role in Cypriot affairs, unabated to this date as the British are desperate to secure their colonial interests in Cyprus through the apartheid concotion of a so called bizonal bicommunal federation, aiming to perpetuate the first version they envisioned in 1960, "upgraded" with geographical and ethnic division. The Cypriot "aboriginals'" patience is running out.

Hypocrisy

Hypocrisy is when you understand POLITICAL EQUALITY between majority and minority (circa 15-20%) one way at home and differently abroad, and you use military means to enforce your different
interpretations.

Cypriot Truths Noone Ever Mentions

There are two ugly truths about Cyprus nobody ever mentions. First, had it not been for the demand of Britain to maintain a sovereign presence on Cyprus no apatheid and no political deadlock provisions would have been incorporated into the Cyprus constitution, a constitution never approved by the Cypriot people meant to prolong Britain's colonial presence on Cyprus via a constitutional "divide and conquer" design. Second, had it not been for the British sovereign bases and their importance for wider western strategies, "Turkey" would have attempted to gobble up the entire island long ago.

NATO Loses One, Wins Two

I know all of us are busy, thus I shall be brief. Mayhem breaks out in "Turkey" between Kemalists and Islamists. Kurds draw their own "green line" and declare a de-facto North Kurdistan autonomy. Erdogan prevails militarily in the west and attempts to recapture the east. South Kurdistan declares its secession from Iraq and unites with North Kurdistan. The USA and various western followers support the new marriage and recognize the new Republic of Kurdistan. Kurdistan joins NATO, while at the same time Islamic "Turkey" is thrown out. The Republic of Cyprus immediately joins NATO too. NATO warns "Turkey" to remove its troops from Cyprus. Egypt, Turkey, Iraq and possibly Iran challenge NATO on the Israeli, Cypriot, Iraqi and Mediterranean fronts (EEZ).

Democracy's Power

Long ago I likened Erdogan to Gorbachev. Both unleashed the forces of democracy without truly understanding either its nature or its power. Democracy is beautiful, just like a sailboat crossing the waters, but few people appreciate the magnitiude of the forces that make up that beautiful image. The disintegration process is now visible in "Turkey", with just the tip of the tip of the iceberg discernible to the common eye.

"Bizonal" Absurdity

The current Cyprus talks are based on the "BIZONAL" philosophy. Unless I voice my objection, does it not

mean I indirectly endorse these talks? Or at the very minimum that I expect out of this process a solution that respects human rights to the fullest?

But isn't "BIZONALITY" by definition incapable to deliver a solution that FULLY RESPECTS HUMAN RIGHTS and a model that maintains the apartheid logic of 1960?

Photo of the Century: Fascism vs Stoicism

Fascism vs Stoicism

I love this photo (Taksim square, Constantinople, 01.06.2013)! I adore the lady's (in red) stoicism and calmness, in facing fascism. I bet this photo will remain eternal, a reminder for all Turkish liberals and democrats of what they had to endure on their path to true democracy and western freedom. I am also reminded of how upsetting it is to have "Turkey", at its level of maturity, barely grasping the fundamentals of western values, to be preaching Cypriots about how things should be, and the mix of apathy, self-interest, and hypocrisy of so-called Europeans, who have not the courage to stand up for European principles in Cyprus, an island that is an integral part of Europe's soul!

Turkish Dreams

Comment by cemal ahmet on 5/28/2013 4:46:03 PM on article in Hurriyet Daily News

"Mr.YETKIN,you are still in a very deep sleep.I kindly suggest you to do your own research before publishing an article and don't just sit back and rely on what Mr.YILDIZ is promoting / presenting rosy image to your eyes and rosy words to your ears which are not more than a roadshow. GEOLOGY - TECHNOLGY is a reality here and is a great deal. NO PIPELINES via TURKEY, not 1 million years coz the geology is not going to change.LNG project will take place anyhow even if reunification (reintegration of the minority into the Republic of Cyprus) is to be agreed."

Who hates who?

This is a brief public comment I liked about a Turkish Cypriot's accusation that Cypriots hate the minority.

Matt Mattheou | 5/28/2013 9:04:04 AM | Hatred? What do you base this on?I am a Cypriot (Greek Cypriot) who has been ethnically cleansed, seen his church turned into a mosque and prevented from returning to his looted ancestral home that has now collapsed. You will site the farcical Annan plan, 'TC genocide' arguments usually put forward to counter the GCs challenge to Turkey's human rights abuses. You have a short memory regarding the 1974 events or obviously are unaware of what really happened. Consult an independent source if you can take it. Who hates who?

Islamism Vs Kemalism through Wikileaks and mild Islamic eyes

April 2011 in Today's Zaman: "One of the most striking sections of the US diplomatic cables from Turkey

(Wikileaks), published continuously these days by the Taraf daily, is about the “monster” -- a deadly mixture of ultranationalism and racism in Turkey -- ... “but subsequent nationalist backlash indicates the depth of the divide in Turkish society.” ... It points at dangers inherent in Article 301 of the Penal Code (TCK), which criminalizes “insulting Turkishness” ... AKP risks a more volatile electorate and helps to revive a nationalist hydra that could prove exceedingly difficult to put back in the box once the elections are behind them.”"

Turkey-PKK Peace Will Fail by Michael Rubin

"Whether the talks succeed or, more likely, fail, Öcalan is now the undisputed leader of Turkey’s Kurds. The

reaction of his followers to the fact that Erdoğan is unwilling to implement all but the most superficial reconciliation will probably neither be non-violent nor limited to the traditional Kurdish cities of Diyarbakir, Van, or Urfa. Erdoğan may soon discover that the price of insincere talks is quite high indeed." - MICHAEL RUBIN

Are You Mad Yet?

Turks insist on a bilingual Cyprus for the sake of 75.000 Turkish Cypriots, yet they refuse 20 million Kurds to learn their language.

Turks insist on all citizens of "Turkey" to learn Turkish, necessary to maintain the country's unity they say, yet they object to the Turkish Cypriots learning Greek.

Cyprus Is Like An Onion

Cyprus is like an onion - layer upon layer of British lies and Turkish cruelty, wrapped tightly round the truth that brings tears to your eyes.

SAVE CYPRUS petition | Do not ignore, sign & share with friends and family. It is hugely important. Thank you.

Cyprus, the ISLAND OF SAINTS!

Broadcast Cyprus's Turkey Problem to The World!

By Caroline S. Charalambides | ATTENTION - Let's put Cyprus on the world map regarding the continued

occupation of our country by Turkey, not just the banking crisis | Cyprus recently has featured on the world map because of our financial crisis. For many (particulary non European countries) the name Cyprus merely rang some vague distant bell and difficulties in located it on the world map ensued.Since our banking crisis many articles have appeared that convey just how ignorant some of the word is over the situation in Cyprus vis-à-vis the Cyprus problem or more accurately Cyprus’s Turkey problem.

The Kurds' Last Battle in Turkey: Teaching Kids Kurdish | PIOTR ZALEWSKI | THE ATLANTIC | MAY 9 2013

As Turkey's biggest minority makes peace with the Erdoğan government, the classroom turns into a

nationalist battlefield. Ever since they were allowed a voice on the national stage, the Kurds have demanded one thing more often than anything else -- the right to educate their children in Kurdish.

Antifon: Turks insisted since the '50s full educational rights for the Turkish Cypriot minority of Cyprus but have pursued the annihilation of the Kurdish identity for the last century. If this isn't fascism, what is?  

Simple, But Not Simpler!

Everything should be as simple as it can be, said Einstein, but not simpler. For Cypriots it means fixing 1960,

not replacing it. Remove apartheid, foreigners' rights, fascistic divisions, colonial remnants. Restore the historic, cultural and demographic integrity of Cyprus. Safeguard every legal citizen's human rights. Protect those that need (or feel they need) protection. One person, one vote. EU, eurozone member. Europe's energy pillar & diplomacy/education regional center for the promotion of western values in a neighborhood searching for answers to fundamental societal questions.

Simple. But not simpler.

My referendum

The solution in Cyprus can only be a unitary state, without geographical division based on race, without 1960's apartheid (rule of the minority over the majority, and separation based on race), without foreign intervention rights and either "Turkey" 's or Britain's colonial logic. In essence, fixing the 1960 constitution is the only way out. Not replacing it.

The Heart of the Matter is Properly Defining Islam

Why are the "experts" not able to highlight a simple truth? That religion tells an individual how to behave,

whereas political ideology tells societies how they should be structured. And that Islam claims to be both. If Islam cannot be disassociated from its political aspect, then it cannot be innocently grouped together with other religions whose purpose is the salvation of the soul. Islam, the ideology, should be treated as any other political ideology, one with extreme tendencies, one that condones terrorism as a means to an end.

Crime Against Humanity

It is not so much the illegal occupation of Cyprus that should not be forgotten & condemned, but the ongoing illegal colonization & cultural destruction instead. Eradicating from illegally occupied northern Cyprus one of the oldest and most cherished cultures and pillar civilization in a mere four decades, a land that has documented historical non-stop Christian and/or Hellenic presence spanning almost four millenniums is certainly a crime against humanity. In a sense an equal a crime to a genocide, be it the Holocaust or the Armenian genocide (which we commemorated yesterday) or the hideous cultural suppression against the Kurdish people over the last century in all four corners of the middle east.

In the Interest of Peace

90% of illegally occupied northern Cyprus's indigenous population, circa 200.000 people, was forcibly expelled in 1974. Many want Cyprus to negotiate based on such "reality on the ground".

But if regional peace is the ultimate goal, as every player in the conflict claims, then perhaps a new, much less dramatic reality, should be envisioned and implemented:

A single mention in the Turkish press in decades. That's news in itself!

"Could peace with Kurds resonate on the island of bitter lemons? The Turkish government is walking on eggshells to resolve one of modern Turkey’s most pressing disputes. Could the same idea apply to another pressing dispute? Would Ankara agree that a reunited Cyprus grants the Turkish Cypriot minority the same constitutional recognition and sovereign rights it plans to grant the Kurdish minority" - Burak Bekdil

Uncover Turkish Cypriot Hypocrisy By Asking These Five Simple Questions

If any of you know any Turkish Cypriots with answers (a rare species), by all means, ask them these five simple questions (you may ask "trnc" 's pimps as well, but they are in general less intelligent):