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The following is a selection of entries from daily reports over the last month.
Turkish Opposition Calls "Ergenekon" Political Tool Of AKP Government; CHP Likens Detentions To Hitler and Stalin Era Operations
The new wave of detentions of retired high-ranking military officers and journalists known for their opposition to the AKP government was condemned yesterday by all political parties except by the ruling AKP. Most opposition parties argued that the government was heavily involved, even saying that the AKP was directing the case to suppress political dissidents. Main opposition CHP leader Deniz Baykal likened the detentions to Hitler and Stalin era operations, saying that Hitler too had been elected by over 47% of voters. Baykal called the "Ergenekon case" was nothing but PM Tayyip Erdogan’s "personal case." Baykal recalled that PM Erdogan had announced, following the detentions, the imminent issue of an indictment, acting like the spokesman of "Ergenekon" case. Baykal said, "I told you that the staffing of all state positions by AKP partisans was completed. Now they are taking over the judiciary and the police". DSP leader Sezer said that the AKP was building an "empire of fear."
Sources: TDN, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Turkey, July 2, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8280.htm
Turkish Business Leader Slams Large Scale "Ergenekon" Detainments
Rifat Hisarciklioglu, chairman of the Union of Chambers and Commodity Exchanges of Turkey (TOBB) who is known to have close links with the AKP government and especially with Turkish President Abdullah Gul, slammed the detainments carried out under the so-called "Ergenekon Operation" and said that it dealt a blow to "human dignity". Retired commanders, journalists and opponent politicians are being accused of suspected links to an illegal "Ergenekon" gang [they define as a terrorist organization] which was allegedly paving the way to a military coup. In his speech at an extraordinary meeting of Ankara Chamber of Commerce (ATO) Hisarciklioglu said, "I condemn the detainment of ATO chairman Sinan Aygun on no charges. Had he been summoned to the police station to give a statement, he would go to the station to give it".
Source: Hurriyet, Turkey, July 2, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8279.htm
Turkey Shaken With Arrests; Is The AKP The AKGB?
Turkey woke up today to shocking arrests of two dozen prominent personalities known for their fierce opposition to the AKP government. Among the detained are retired full generals and force commanders, ret. brigadier and major generals, an admiral, a colonel, a university professor, prominent journalists from Cumhuriyet and Tercuman dailies, Chairman of Ankara Chamber of Commerce, chairman of Ataturkist Thought Association and members of other NGOs. This is the first time in Turkish Republic's history that top commanders are taken into custody of the police.
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: Hurriyet, Milliyet, Vatan, Turkey, July 1, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8268.htm
Was Turkish Media Manipulated To Report That Fethullah Gulen Lost Lawsuit in The U.S.?
Immediately following the June 24 acquittal of Fethullah Gulen by Turkey's Supreme Court, the Turkish media widely reported on the status of Fethullah Gulen's case that is pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania. Reports in mainstream Turkish media stated that the federal court had ruled against Fethullah Gulen and in favor of the U.S. government agencies and that he faced imminent deportation. Court records reveal that the action remains pending and the court has not yet entered a decision on the claims filed by Gulen. In fact, briefs were submitted by both parties as recently as June 25, 2008. Many of the press reports purported to summarize the court's reasoning in denying Gulen's claims, whereas a ruling is not expected for several months. These misrepresentations raise questions as to which circles were feeding this news to the media and to serve what purpose. A more detailed report on Fethullah Gulen's legal case in the U.S. will soon be published by MEMRI.
Source: Fethullah Gulen v. Michael Chertoff, Secretary, U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security, et al. [Case 2:07-cv-02148-SD]
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8256.htm
Turkish Military Defends Itself In Harsh Statement Against Constant Attacks
On June 28, 2008, the Turkish General Staff posted on its official website a harsh statement slamming reports by some Islamist and pro-AKP media organs that are conducting a defamation campaign against the military. The seven-point statement said: "1.The smear campaign conducted for a long time by certain circles against the Turkish Armed Forces [TSK] has recently escalated through attacks in the print and broadcast media, including the internet. Turkish Armed Forces anticipate that these multi-dimensional and systematic activities against the TSK will continue in the future, and all the developments are being monitored closely. 2. A daily newspaper [i.e. Taraf] published on June 20 a document called 'Information Plan' [...]
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: TSK official website, Hurriyet, Vatan, Turkey, June 28, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8243.htm
Fethullah Gulen: "I Will Return Like Myself - Not Like Khomeini"
Following the confirmation of his acquittal by Turkey's Supreme Court, Fethullah Gulen has been in the center of Turkish media's attention. According to media reports Fethullah Hocaefendi ["Master Lord"], as he is referred to by his followers, is preparing for his return to Turkey. Soon after the court's acquittal, Gulen responded to the opinions of many in the mainstream media that describe him as "Ayatollah Fethullah" and liken his return to Khomeini's return to Iran, by saying that he would "return like himself".
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: Herkul.org, Zaman, Turkey, June 26, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8222.htm
Turks 'Conquer' Vienna, Celebrate In Much-Needed Unity
In the quarter finals of Euro2008 soccer cup played in Vienna, Austria, the Turkish national team won 4-2 against Croatia, leading to massive celebrations all over Turkey, with millions of Turks united in joy. Turkish Prime Minister Tayyip Erdogan flew to Vienna today to watch the match. Chief of General Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit watched the game with army veterans, wearing the jersey of the national team. Turkey will play against Germany in the semi-finals next week.
Sources: Milliyet, Hurriyet, Vatan, Turkey, June 20, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8092.htm
Pro-AKP Daily Claims To Have Military's Plan; Turkish General Staff Denies Paper's Report
As part of an ongoing campaign against Turkish military by the pro-AKP and Islamist media, the pro-AKP daily Taraf published today a full front-page story about an "action plan to shape Turkey" allegedly formulated by the General Staff that the paper called "psychological warfare." Taraf claimed that the 11-page document that they obtained from inside the General Staff listed the goals of the military as follows:
· To bring public opinion to the same line of thought as the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) on issues sensitive to the military
· To prevent the development of a wrong [unfavorable] image of TSK among the public
· To attain unity in the ranks of the military
Taraf claimed that the following statements were found in the document:
· The AKP government is preparing the grounds for and directing fundamentalist [Islamist] activities
· Opinion makers should be used in order to fend off the anti-TSK campaigns and attempts at showing the military as 'anti-religion'
· To neutralize groups that target the TSK by supporting some persons inside these groups
· To support artists and writers sympathetic to the TSK
According to Taraf, the TSK will use the following actors:
· Reliable names
· NGOs
· Influential academicians
· Justices
· Media figures
· Artists
Taraf says that the following unusual methods will be used in order to support the action plan:
· Production/financing of films, series and documentaries [about the military]
· Composition of musical works
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Sources: Taraf, habervaktim.com, furkanhaber.com, iyibilgi.com, Zaman, Hurriyet, Turkey, June 20, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8088.htm
Turkish Islamist Websites: "Israel Interpreting The Koran"
Turkish Islamist websites are reporting that Israel is instituting a Koran interpretation project over the Internet, with the help of Israeli Arabs. The websites say that many Muslim organizations around the world are issuing warnings about this project. Palestinian Islamic Jihad spokesman Sheikh Zakhi Nujeida said that the Israeli initiative was a dangerous plot, and emphasized that the real purpose of this project was "to raise a Muslim generation that would understand the Koran in a way that Israel and the U.S. want them to understand it."
Source: TimeTurk.com, Sutunhaber.com, Turkey, June 19, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8069.htm
'Yeni Safak' Columnist: "Pentagon Coup In Ankara!"
Columnist Ibrahim Karagul of the Islamist, close-to-AKP daily Yeni Safak wrote about the new RAND Corp. report "The Rise of Political Islam in Turkey," which was written for Pentagon. Karagul speculated that U.S. circles planning to attack Iran are creating the political unrest in Turkey. Karagul wrote that the RAND report foresees four possible scenarios for Turkey: a) the AKP following a path in line with the EU; b) covert Islamization; c) shutting down of the party by the judiciary; or d) a military coup. He also says that the "so-called U.S. experts" conducting the anti-Iran campaign are campaigning for the removal of the AKP, so as to force the AKP to distance itself from Islam and to condone an attack on Iran.
Source: Yeni Safak, Turkey, June 17, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8068.htm
'Vakit': Law To Protect Ataturk The Work Of A Jew!
The radical Islamist Turkish daily Vakit's website again attacks Jews, and blaming the penalty for insulting Ataturk on a Jewish law professor who arrived in Turkey after escaping Hitler's Germany. The paper alleges that Prof. Ernst Hirsch, who taught law at Ankara University between 1933 and 1952, formulated the law at the request of the then-ruling Democrat Party.
Source: habervaktim.com, Turkey, June 18, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8049.htm
Alevis Accuse AKP Of Double Standard
Following the recent resignation of AKP's Alevi MP Reha Camuroglu from his post as advisor to PM Tayyip Erdogan, Alevi leaders and associations blamed the government for insincerity in addressing the grievances of Alevis. Prof. Izzettin Dogan, president of the Cemevi Foundation said, "Saudi Wahhabism has a very different look to Islam from Alevis. Director of Religious Affairs [Diyanet] Ali Bardakoglu has always had one foot in Riyad or Jiddah. They conduct religious services per directives taken from the Saudis".
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: Turkish Daily News, June 14, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8024.htm
AKP Submits Its Defense, Attacks Prosecution, Calls The Case A "Google Case"
AKP submitted on Monday, ahead of the deadline, its final written defense in the closure case filed against it in the Constitutional Court. The 402-page defense said that the indictment contains no rightful justification to close down the party, and went on to accuse the chief prosecutor of seeking secularism as a "way of life," for being against freedoms, for preparing a sloppy and inaccurate indictment, and for working even on weekends to conduct Google and newspaper archive searches to collect evidence. It said that the case could therefore be called a "Google case."
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: Anatolia News Agency, Zaman, Hurriyet, Aksam, June 16-17, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/8019.htm
Islamist Columnist: "Secular Turkey Is A Jewish State"
Columnist Mehmet Sevket Eygi of the Islamist daily Milli Gazete wrote that the current storm and the ongoing war in Turkey are not about secularism or laws, or to prevent Turkey from becoming like Iran or Malaysia. He lists 11 reasons for the current rifts, crisis, storms and hurricanes in the country, including the following:
· "The fighting is about who will eat the largest part of the Turkish cake"
· "In the 20th century, two Jewish states were founded [i.e. modern secular Turkey, and Israel]"
· "There are about 1.5 million crypto-Jews, and the same number of crypto-Armenians in Turkey – who do not want to let go of Turkey".
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: Milli Gazete, Turkey, June 15, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/7998.htm
'Vakit': "Jews Are Allowed To Pray At Ataturk Airport"
Radical Islamist, pro-AKP Turkish daily Vakit published as "shocking news" the photographs and an amateur video recording of a group of Jewish tourists praying at Istanbul's Ataturk airport, complaining that airport security did not intervene. Vakit wrote that a group of about 60 religiously dressed Jews conducted prayers in public space, and slammed the mainstream media for reporting on every Muslim who prays but not about this incident.
Source: Vakit, Turkey, June 15-16, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/7997.htm
'Vakit' Continues To Violate Privacy, Questions Gen. Basbug's Membership In Social Club
The radical Islamist Vakit published a personal letter of acceptance of membership from Turkey's oldest and revered social club, Grand Club, to Gen. Ilker Basbug. The letter was dated last year. The Grand Club was founded in 1882 by British Ambassador Sir Alfred Sandison and French dignitaries, including Baron de Hirschfeld, as Cercle d'Orient, and today it has 6,000 members, mostly industrialists, high-ranking bureaucrats, MPs, former government ministers, and retired generals. Vakit claims the club's membership includes about 160 Freemasons and asks why Gen. Basbug sought membership in such a club.
Sources: Vakit, Zaman, June 14-15, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/7996.htm
Turkish Military Reacts Strongly To Relentless Attacks By Islamist Media
The Turkish General Staff posted a harshly worded statement on its official website in reaction to the news stories regarding the meeting between Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Ilker Basbug and Vice President of the Constitutional Court Osman Paksut, as well as to medical reports of Gen. Ergin Saygun. The statement said, "An intentional and worthless defamatory campaign is being conducted against the Turkish Armed Forces (TSK) and its commanders, who have dedicated their lives to their country and nation." It added that the General Staff would seek legal action against those attempting to defame TSK and its members.
Sources: Hurriyet, Sabah, Turkey, June 15, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/7987.htm
High Court Condemns Attacks On Judiciary
In another episode of the ongoing quarrel between the AKP government and the judiciary, the country's top court responded harshly to attacks by government circles and the AKP media, describing the denigrations as "inhuman and unethical." On Friday, the High Constitutional Court issued a written statement calling the prosecutors to duty and said, "Despite the fact that any action or statement made about an ongoing case is recognized as the commission of a crime according to our penal code, it is worrisome to witness the inaction of the responsible authorities."
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Sources: TDN, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Turkey, June 14-15, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/7965.htm
Campaign Against Gen. Ilker Basbug
During the period preceding the August Supreme Military Council (YAS) meetings, when top military commanders are assigned to new duties or retire, Islamist circles intensify their efforts to discredit top ranking military officers, especially the one expected to become the new chief of general staff. Two years ago, Gen. Yasar Buyukanit was the target of ongoing smear campaigns, and now it is the turn of Land Forces Commander Gen. Ilker Basbug.
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Sources: Taraf, Vakit, Hurriyet, Milliyet, Vatan, Radikal, June 14-15, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/7964.htm
Radical Islamist Vakit: "A Bureaucrat At The Jewish Wailing Wall"
On Friday, June 13, the radical Islamist Turkish daily Vakit published on its front page three photographs of a man believed to be Turkish Land Forces Commander Gen. Ilker Basbug "praying" at the Western Wall in Jerusalem, "the Jewish holy site." The general's name, omitted by Vakit, was attached to the photos when they were picked up by numerous Islamist websites. It is widely believed that Vakit's was an attempt to smear Gen. Basbug, who is expected to become the next chief of general staff in August. A similar campaign was waged by Islamists against current Chief of Staff Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, with claims that he had "Jewish roots" prior to his appointment two years ago.
Source: Vakit, Turkey, June 13, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/7962.htm
Turkish Finance Minister Warned Arabs Against Investing In the U.S.
Turkey's Finance Minister Kemal Unakitan has called on Arab businessmen to invest in Turkey, warning them that the money they invest in the West could be lost because Western countries are preoccupied with channeling money from the oil-rich Arab world to deal with ongoing financial turbulence. Speaking at the Third Turkish Arab Economic Forum, Unakitan said, "Your money is your money; you can do whatever you want with it. But these guys will leave you bankrupt. Is there any point in taking the money to the U.S. investing there? Turkey is here, right next to you. Nobody's money will be lost here. Failure to repay debts has never happened here."
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Sources: Zaman, Hurriyet, Turkey, June 12, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/7941.htm
PM Erdogan To His MPs: "Anyone Who Gets Off This Train Cannot Reboard It"
Turkish PM Recep Tayyip Erdogan warned AKP MPs about divisions in the party due to the closure case, and said, "Your unity is the most important thing. This train will continue to go on its path. Anybody who gets off this train cannot reboard it. All of us will be here together." Speaking to AKP MPs who had showed low morale and expressed doubts about the party's plans Erdogan said, "Don't worry, we have alternative plans. We have not only plans A, B, C, but also plans D and E. However we will not make those plans public."
Source: Hürriyet, Turkey, June 11, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7912.htm
Islamist Turkish Student On TV: "I Love And Respect Khomeini; I Don't Love Ataturk," Shari'a Desired
On his TV show Teke Tek ("One to One), Turkish journalist Fatih Altayli hosted last night four female university students, two of them Islamist activists defending their right to wear the Islamic scarf on campus. What the two girls said in the program shocked many Turks. During the program the girls said they loved and respected Ayatollah Ruhollah Khomeini and, to Fatih Altayli's question on whether they loved Ataturk, said they did not.
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Sources: Haberturk, Vatan, Milliyet, June 10, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7886.htm
Turkish High School Teacher Beaten For Not Allowing Islamic Headscarf
Bekir Himmetoglu, a high school teacher in the Black Sea city of Trabzon, filed a legal complaint about being beaten for warning some girls wearing the Islamic headscarf in his class not to do so at school. He said that he was called out from his residence in the evening and beaten in the dark by unknown individuals who said that the girl's headscarves were none of his business. Himmetoglu was taken to hospital with head injuries. The school administration denied that the school was not enforcing attire regulations and allowing girls to attend school wearing Islamic headscarves.
Source: Milliyet, Turkey, June 10, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7863.htm
Mainstream Media Calls For Calm, Common Sense As Islamist Media Threatens Action
Since last week's ruling by Turkey's Constitutional Court to annul the AKP's constitutional amendments to lift the ban on the Islamic headscarf on university campuses, the Islamist, pro-AKP media has raised the level of hostility in its rhetoric towards constitutional institutions that safeguard the secular nature of the country. Columnist Hakan Albayrak of the AKP's unofficial mouthpiece Yeni Safak wrote, "This is when the words end and action starts." He suggested "total liquidation of the Constitutional Court," and rapid preparation of all necessary 'radical reforms' as part of a new constitution that should leave no room for the [secular] bureaucracy to move again. He said that there should be readiness to 'fight' certain forces if they attempted to stop this "change," and that "for this reason the security forces [i.e. police] must be mobilized."
Source: Yeni Safak, Turkey, June 9, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7860.htm
Turkey's Islamist Media Declares War On Constitutional Court
Columnist for the radical Islamist daily Vakit Hasan Karakaya wrote: "This is a coup. This is an assault! These nine members [of the 11 members] of the [Constitutional] Court must be prosecuted right away. According to Article 311 of Turkey's Penal Code, 'those who attempt to prevent parliament from carrying out its duties, completely or partially, are to be sentenced to life in prison.' Therefore these nine judges can be prosecuted, with a demand for a life sentence. Otherwise, parliament must be shut down and its key sent to the judges. These judges have challenged Allah's commandment. The Constitutional Court must be eliminated. This is rape..."
Source: Vakit, Turkey, June 7, 2008
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7859.htm
Turkey Cooperates With Iran Against PKK
A senior Turkish general said yesterday that Turkey's military is cooperating with Iran by sharing information and coordinating strikes against the outlawed PKK based in northern Iraq. "We haven't coordinated strikes for the last couple of months, but we would do it, if necessary," Gen. Ilker Basbug, land forces commander and the second most powerful man in the Turkish military, told reporters on the sidelines of an international security conference held in Istanbul. Turkey and Iran have long been fighting terrorist activities by both the outlawed PKK and PJAK, the PKK's breakaway faction in Iran.
Sources: AA – Anatolia News Agency, Zaman, Hurriyet, Turkey, June 5, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7823.htm
Important Decision By Turkey's Supreme Court On Countrywide Communications Taps
Turkey's Supreme Court of Appeals (Yargitay) cancelled a lower court decision that gave authority to Turkish military police to monitor all communications in the country. The Ministry of Justice had taken the case to the high court to appeal the authority given to the military police. With its decision, the court created a precedent to be applied to all similar cases to be brought to higher court. According to the decision, the high court said that no institution can be given the authority to monitor the entire country, treating the citizens of the democratic and constitutional state of Turkey as suspects.
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Sources: Milliyet, Hurriyet, Vatan, Turkey, June 4, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7796.htm
Strong Reactions In Turkey To Tapping Of Private Communications
Big Ears in Turkey: "Epidemic of mumps!" (Milliyet, May 30, 2008)
The news on the authority given to Turkish police and to the national intelligence agency to listen in on anyone's phone conversations and monitor all communications in the country has caused an outrage, and is being called a "scandal" by both media and the public. Turks feel threatened by the state's intrusion into their privacy and are wary of communicating. Turkish Bar Association president Ozdemir Ozok said that if a state ignores the freedoms of its citizens in the name of providing public security, such an approach will pave the way for the establishment of a police state.
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Sources: Milliyet, Radikal, Turkey, June 4, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7795.htm
Turkish Diyanet Responds To 'Newsweek': "We Have No Interest In Moderate Islam"
The head of Turkey's Directorate of Religious Affairs (Diyanet), Prof. Ali Bardakoglu, told Milliyet that the work conducted on hadith by Turkish theologians has nothing to do with any "moderate Islam" project. Responding to a recent Newsweek article that claimed that a new vision for Islam was being developed in Turkey against radical Islam, Bardakoglu said, "Some Westerners are relating our work to 'moderate Islam.' We have no interest in 'moderate Islam.'
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: Milliyet, Turkey, June 4, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7793.htm
Islamic Prayer During Class On Roof Of Public High School
The Turkish media provided photographs of about a dozen students at an Adana high school performing the namaz (Islamic prayer) on the roof of their school, while cutting their classes. Residents in neighboring buildings said that they often saw students praying on the roof. Adana's education director said that the matter would be investigated. Guven Boga, head of the Adana branch of Egitim-Sen (educators union), claimed that many schools had been infiltrated by Islamist sects and that prayers were being conducted in many schools. Boga said that since 1923, prayers had been banned in schools, but that since the AKP came to power, Islamist sects had infiltrated the schools and prayers in schools had increased.
Sources: Milliyet, Cumhuriyet, Vatan, Turkey, June 3, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7774.htm
Poll Shows Decline In Public Support For AKP; Many Turks Undecided
According to a new poll conducted by A&G Research for Credit Suisse, the AKP is losing votes and the support for the ruling party is now under 40%, down from the 47% it received in the July 2007 elections. A&G held face-to-face interviews with 2,386 people from 33 Turkish provinces, and found that 28.1% of those polled said they would re-elect the AKP if elections were held now. CHP also lost support at the rate of 3.3% and was supported by 13.7%. To the question "Who would you vote for if the elections were today?" 12.1% said the MHP. Small parties such as the SP (Happiness Party), the DP (Democrat Party), and the DSP (Democratic Left Party) were supported by 3.4%, 3.3% and 3.1%, espectively.
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Sources: Milliyet, Radikal, Turkey, June 3, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7773.htm
Turkish Islamist in Malatya II: "Hey Zionists, Occupiers Of Al_Quds And Al_Aqsa! We Will Wipe Your Cancerous Existence From The Bosom Of Islamic Lands And From Earth!"
Youth Association [AGD] of the Milli Gorus Islamist movement organized another one of the frequent Palestine nights in Malatya. In the program, pro-Hizbullah/Hamas activist Nureddin Sirin spoke about "the treason, cruelty and rabid aggression of the Jews throughout history" and said that the biggest treachery of the Jews towards the Islamic umma had been the destruction of the Ottoman empire and added that "as the Ottoman's children, as the descendents of Sultan Abdulhamid, we [the Turks] will make them pay for all this." He said that in more recent times than Abdulhamid's, only five, 10, or 15 years ago, the February 28 [1997] post modern coup that toppled Islamist Refah [Welfare] Party, the intervention that attacked Muslims and all Islamic values, and especially the Islamist Milli Gorus movement, that wicked, satanic plot was planned by Zionist gangs in Tel Aviv and in Washington. The orders to humiliate Muslims and all they deem holy were given in Washington.
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: Islamist website Velfecr.com, May 28, 2008
http://www.thememriblog.org/turkey/blog_personal/en/7745.htm
Radical Islamists In Malatya I: "5700-Year-Old Bacteria Jews Are Muslim's Worst Enemies; Jews Destroyed the Ottoman Empire"
The Anatolia Youth Association (AGD), which belongs to the Islamist Saadet (Happiness) Party and the Milli Gorus movement, held an event last week in Malatya. Among the speakers was radical jihadist pro-Hizbullah Islamist Nureddin Sirin. In his virulently anti-Semitic speech, he said: "Allah tells us in the Holy Koran that of all men in the world, the Jews are the worst enemies of Muslims. This is not true only for the cancer virus, illegitimate Zionist entity that appeared only 60 years ago. As our Erbakan Hoca [master] also said, this is a 5700-year-old virus!"
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: Islamist websites Velfecr.com, Kudusyolu.com
http://www.thememriblog.org/blog_personal/en/7744.htm
Pro-Hizbullah, Pro-Hamas Islamists Hold "Free Al-Quds, World Without Israel" Events
Radical Turkish Islamists are holding night events in many Turkish cities under the slogan "A Free Al-Quds, A World Without Israel." At these events, Hamas and Hizbullah are glorified, Israel and Western countries are demonized, and jihadist speeches are delivered. The frequency of similar events in the mainly Kurdish southeast and east of Turkey, and the high attendance, are attributed to intense efforts to Islamize the population in these areas. Following are excerpts from a speech by radical Islamist activist Nureddin Sirin in Van, in which he targeted Saudi Arabia, Egypt, and Jordan along with the U.S. and Israel:
[To read the rest of the article, visit the full blog post]
Source: Velfecr.com, Turkey, May 15, 2008
