The Terrorist Devil in a Militant Detail

I wrote about the inconsistency of several Western media outlets on the labelling of violent actions many times before.

Some newspapers or televisions, which don't hesitate to label ETA, IRA or Hamas militants as terrorists, opt to use a double standard when it comes to anti-Turkish terrorism, namely of PKK, EOKA or ASALA.

Here is a recent example, which seems very innocent at first:

The Mail on Sunday has published yet another story about Boris Johnson's Turkish roots. And there is a shameful paragraph deep in the article:

"We found Boris had an eminent great-uncle, Zeki Kuneralp, who became the Turkish Ambassador to Britain and then Madrid. Tragically, he was assassinated in 1978 by Armenian militants."

* * *

Since when we have been using the term "militants" for the murderers who kill an unarmed diplomat?

They were not "Armenian militants" (after all, their act is imporant here, not their nationality), they were basicly and simply "ASALA terrorists".

If you want to be N-POV as a honest journalist who can't use words like terrorist, then you still should prefer words like "assailants", not "militants".

Why? Because"a militant" means "a person who engages in warfare or combat," according to dictionaries. Militare, the Latin root of the word, means "a soldier."

Don't you legitimise ASALA terrorism by such wordings? Yes, but who cares?

As Malcolm X once warned:

"If you're not careful, the newspapers will have you hating the people who are being oppressed, and loving the people who are doing the oppressing."

You can't make the swap for terrorist/militant, but you can do it here for oppressed/terrorized.

A Broken Clock and the Correct Time

President Abdullah Gul, a person that I rarely agree with, said something very right to Kronen, an Austrian daily. His recent words succesfully summarize my own point of view on the Armenian issue:

"Armenian issue is not a taboo in Turkey. We are very sorry about the things that had happened in the past and we share the pain of those who have died back then. However, this event was not a genocide, like the one that has experienced by the Jews in Europe. The events were the results of the large-scale uprising, which were organized by some Armenians, with the influence of some foreign powers. We shouldn't forget that all churches in Istanbul had remained open even during the conflict and Armenian public officers in the Ottoman state had continued working."

Copenhagen Criteria For All and Always?

The current "integration" laws in some European countries have been condemned by Human Rights Watch.

The latest HRW report, named "The Discrimination Under the Name of Integration," concentrates on the current practice of the Dutch government.

In the Netherlands, the latest bill about the integration issue had made it compulsory to pass a language test, if a Turkish bride/groom in Turkey wants to marry a Turkish counterpart in the Netherlands.

The "discriminatory" law, which has already been duplicated by German, Danish and French governments, is singling out Turks and Moroccans, calling them "non-Westerners". The same law states that the test would not be compulsory for some non-EU citizens, namely those from the "preferred countries" of the USA, Canada, Switzerland, Norway, Iceland, Lichtenstein, Australia, New Zealand, Japan and Surinam.

In its 44-pages report, Human Rights Watch concluded that the law is against the fundamental rights of a person, as well as the international agreements between states.

I'd like to remind some Eurocons who preach Turkey about human rights principles of the Copenhagen criteria, while they keep passing already-xenophobic and soon-to-be-racist laws in their own countries.

A Media Disclaimer

Beware, if you are still reading Zaman or Today's Zaman!

After reading several manipulations in these newspapers before, I had become suspicious; but now it is official that AKP politicians, not neutral journalists, directly control these news outlets. Why?

The Century Foundation in Washington has organized a panel today. The subject of the meeting was a rhetoric question: "Is AKP a Model for the Arab World?"

AKP member Murat Mercan was supposed to participate the panel to represent his party. And do you know what happened?

After Mercan couldn't arrive on time, Abdulhamit Bilici from Zaman newspaper has taken his place.

During the panel, Bilici defended the cause of AKP very well, suggesting that the party is "a source of inspiration" for the Arab world!

After learning about this travesty, I promised myself once again that I will never be a government clown, -at least- as long as I am a journalist.

In parrhesia, I trust.

Headscarf Fetishism

There is something wrong with "AKP's turban" (not the traditional Turkish headscarf) and it is not about the religion.

I feel that I am honest enough to admit that there should be a limit for all rights, if we don't want to sacrifice the equality for sake of the freedom. This is the pre-requisite of a democratic state, which has to be secular as well.

I accept myself as a liberal person. For instance: I don't use drugs, but I support their legalisation. My religious evaluation suggests that God has created people with their own free will. If He didn't restrict us, why should we restrict each other?

Hence, I am consistent about headscarves, too. I believe that this is not an order from God, but if anyone believes so, let them wear anything they want. But there are two important points, which are also valid for the drug issue: 1) You should be an adult to fulfil your right and you can't advertise it to the children. 2) You can't force other people to live like you do and you must be completely neutral if you hold a public office.

* * *

There are many, many proofs that the headscarf is not about the religious belief. Now it is clearly a political symbol. Only a political one...

Check these photos:

A political symbol that you can raise supporters even from their childhood, thanks to their stupid parents. Targeting children, apart from its reasoning (whether political or religious), is just sick.

You can give a passionate kiss publicly to someone that you are not married (definitely a sin, according to Quran), but you can't show anyone your hair because it's not religious (no mention in Quran).

You can even drink alcohol (definitely a sin, according to Quran), but don't let anyone to tell anything critical about your headscarf.

* * *

Turkey is a democratic country with a very delicate balance. And we're losing this balance because of the political agenda of the government and the blind support from the West.

I can understand Americans or Europeans who passionately support the right of Turkish women to cover their heads in any public office.

But I will check if they will still do it after their very own states would face the threat of a possible theocracy, after more and more women with headscarves appear around them. Here in Turkey, we have been facing it for decades.

Defending the right of belief or the right of free speech is something else. I also support these principles, but I am not a hypocrite to change my opinions according to the demographics of my country.

From Obesity to Obscenity

The nude portrait of an overweight woman (above) has become the most expensive work by a living artist to be sold at auction in New York.

The posture of Sue Tilley, the model of the Lucian Freud's painting, reminds me of Ibrahim Calli pieces (below). As one of the few world-class painters of Turkey, he was the first Turkish artist to depict the completely naked woman body (which were almost always slightly overweight).

Besides his remarkable art, Calli's wisdom was also fabulous. Here is an examplary anectode:

Ibrahim Calli was playing poker in an Istanbul club once. One of his opponents made a mistake and offered to take back his move. Another opponent, an Armenian, refused the offer and responded in a sarcastic manner: "A Turk comes to his senses only after it is too late."

Calli was obviously angry. While standing up, he yelled: "That is an Armenian, not a Turk!"

The Armenian player, who was already afraid of the increasingly xenophobic moves of the Democratic Party government (one of the forefathers of AKP) of 1950s, was panicked. However, Calli finally comforted his opponent with his self-critical wit, while sitting down back to his seat:

"To speak honestly, dear, a Turk never comes to his senses."

Apocalyptic Istanbul

It was four years ago that I had climbed the 250 stairs of Beyazit Fire Tower to take a photo of the Golden Horn.

While scanning my picture archive, I have found a work of my brother. An apocalyptic manipulation of that photo with a Quranic quotation about the End of Days:

"And there is not a town but We will destroy it before the day of Resurrection or chastise it with a severe chastisement. That is written in the Book." (17, 57)

Why Not Another Privatisation?

I am still against the banning of the ruling party in Turkey...

I have a word for the Turkish court:

Don't ban AKP!

Just sell it to foreigners...

After all, now it is clear that the real leaders of this party are not from Turkey, considering the harm that they have caused...

Intelligenz

I always believe that the Austrians are one of the smartest nations of the world. Hiding many amazing secrets for a long time requires such a talent...

The horrible example of Josef Fritzl story reminded me of The Austrian Soul, a book by Erwin Ringel. It seems that I am not the only one who remembers it.

Forget that they had Nazi presidents and prime ministers... We must applaud the Austrians who have been convincing the world that Adolf Hitler was German, and Beethoven was Austrian.