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Turkish Ambassador Speaks To Canberra Group

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  • Turkish Ambassador Speaks To Canberra Group

    TURKISH AMBASSADOR SPEAKS TO CANBERRA GROUP

    J-Wire Jewish Australian News Service
    March 17 2010

    Turkey's ambassador to Australia Oguz Ozge has addressed the Capital
    Jewish Forum.

    More than thirty CJF members, from diverse professional backgrounds,
    watched a tourism film on the sights and sounds of Turkey and then
    heard Ambassador Ozge speak on the 'Turkey-Israel relationship in
    the Middle East and global context' at the Turkish Embassy in Canberra.

    The Embassy also generously offered CJF members local Turkish
    delicacies, including Turkish delights, beer and coffee.

    It gives me great pleasure to welcome members of the Capital Jewish
    Forum. I am delighted to address such a distinguished audience. I
    believe the discussions we are about to hold will contribute to a
    better understanding of our respective views on matters of interest
    to us.

    I intend to make a short introductory statement and later shall be
    ready to take your questions.

    At the outset I wish to make a few remarks: The Turkish-Israeli
    relations are based on a long-lasting friendship between the Turks
    and Jews. Actually the relationship precedes the establishment of the
    State of Israel. At present Turkey and Israel are natural partners in
    the Middle East. They uphold the same universal values and ideals. Our
    countries are in fact the only true liberal democracies in the region
    with market economies in place. We in Turkey attach importance to
    the security. We are aware that a comprehensive peace in the region
    would be the best security guaranty for Israel.

    The developments that take place in the Middle East usually have an
    effect on our bilateral relationship. We may expect this correlation
    to continue for as long as the problems in the Middle East persist
    I am convinced that the periodic ups and downs that occur in the
    Turkish-Israeli relations will in no way cause any harm to the essence
    of our friendly ties, nor will alter the course of our deep-rooted
    partnership in the region. The two nations have so far been able to
    overcome those periodic difficulties. I can say therefore that the
    ties between the two communities have stood the test of time well.

    Over the centuries the Ottoman Empire, to which the Turkish Republic
    is a successor state, served as a major place of refuge for people
    suffering from persecution, Muslims and non-Muslims alike. Starting in
    the fourteenth century , the Ottomans captured lands of the Byzantine
    empire in Anatolia. Curiously, the Jewish minorities, who survived
    centuries of Byzantine persecution, helped the Ottomans so that their
    administration would offer the Jewish a better life and in particular
    more freedom and tolerance. In later centuries the Ottoman Empire
    received approximately 150 thousand Jewish refugees who were under the
    threat of Christian attacks in western Europe. This includes above all,
    those Jews who fled from persecution at the hands of the inquisition
    in the Iberian Peninsula and Italy during the 15th century. In
    the 16th and 17th centuries the Ottomans gave refuge to thousands
    of Marranos. Actually they were Jews converted to Christianity in
    Spain under the force of the Inquisition, but who had continued to
    be subject to persecution because of suspicions that they had not in
    fact abandoned their former religions. In the 17th and 18th centuries
    the Ottomans provided refuge for many Jews who survived the Habsburg
    invasion of Serbia and Bulgaria following the failure of the second
    siege of Vienna in 1683 by the Ottomans. Lastly, I would like mention
    that after the establishment of the Turkish Republic and particularly
    during the 1930's, the Turkish authorities took in hundreds of Jewish
    refugees from Nazi persecution, including leading professors, teachers,
    physicians, and artists and given senior positions. Most were appointed
    to major professorships in Istanbul and Ankara Universities. Others
    were given the opportunity to found and direct important scientific
    institutes. In addition, during the same period a number of Turkish
    diplomats helped a few thousand Jews, mostly former Turkish nationals,
    in order to rescue them through consular intervention from persecution
    in several European countries.

    During the 19th century, jewish immigration to Palestine and
    eventually to establish a Jewish homeland there was a topic on which
    intense debate raged in Europe, particularly in the British and French
    public. From the late 19th century, the Ottoman Empire adopted a policy
    of allowing a reasonable amount of jewish immgration to Palestine
    despite the opposition of its Arab subjects. Thus, from 1882 to1903
    some 25.000, 1904 to 1914 roughly 30000 and 1919 to 1922 nearly 40000
    jews, mainly from Russia and Poland were able to settle in Palestine.

    The Turkish Parliament formally recognised the state of Israel on 28
    March 1949, being the first muslim state to do so just after one year
    ot Israel's establishment. Since then bilateral relations between the
    two countries have developed consistently, with interaction in the
    political, economic, scientific and military fields having priority.

    I would like to touch upon the so-called Genocide allegations against
    Turkey as, the term of genocide may be of interest to you. The
    Armenian diaspora alleges that in 1915, during World War I, 1.5
    million Armenians living across the Ottoman lands were subjected to
    genocidal treatment. The documents and photos that they pass around
    as evidence are largely exagerated or manipulated. We have made
    available to those of you who are interested, a copy of an article
    by an Australian scholar Mr. Jeremy Salt, about a forged photo in
    a book titled, published by Oxford University Press, a renowned
    British publishing house.

    We must remember the circumstances in which the Turkish army wages a
    fierce war Armenian against the Russian army on its Eastern territories
    and the Armenian bands armed with the Russia attacked the Turkısh
    army on one hand and rose in rebellion on the other with a view to
    establishing their own state on Turkish soil. In war conditions the
    Imperial government saw no other choice but to move the Armenians
    towards south coast of Turkey, away form the war theatre.

    During the movement of Armenians to the southern region there happened
    tragic events. But we are convinced that those tragic events never
    amounted to genocide. There was no intention of killing Armenians
    just for their being of Armenian origin. Clashes between Armenians and
    Turks and other subjects of the Empire mainly for revenge, epidemics,
    shortage of food caused casualties on both sides. We estimate the
    Armenian causalties to be 200 to 600 thousand. On the basis of
    British Empire and League of Nations figures, the total population
    of Armenians in the Ottoman Empire at the beginning of World War I
    was about 1.3 million. The Armenian claims that 1.5 million Armenians
    were subjected to the so-called genocide are therefore baseless.

    The Holocaust was formally recognised by a judgment of the Nuremberg
    Tribunal. The members of the Armenian diaspora must realise that
    they will also have to obtain a competent court's judgment for their
    alleged genocide to be recognised. Resolutions obtained through
    parliaments largely on threat of witholding votes in constituences
    where Armenaians carry some weight in the electorate, cannot be
    sufficient. Yet the Armenians have so far refrained from to refer
    thier claims to court. Because they know well that their position is
    weak. The UN Convention of 1948 which deals with genocide does not
    make any allowance for political groups that rose in rebellion or
    resort to arms, against the central authority.

    Some of the points raised by Ambassador Ozge in the ensuing Q&A
    session include:

    Turkey has good-neighbourly relations with Iran but is concerned with
    its attempts to obtain nuclear weapons. Turkey may feel threatened if
    Iran should have nuclear weapons, and believes Iran should abide by
    all United Nations resolutions. However, Turkey does not object to Iran
    operating a nuclear programme for peaceful purposes (i.e. energy use).

    · While there is a religious movement at the political level
    in Turkey, there has long been a robust secular base, which will
    make it very difficult for any political force to change the status
    quo. There are still issues to overcome but Turkey has been a beacon
    of multiculturalism since the days of the Ottoman Empire. Dialogue
    is important in the process of bridging the gap between the religious
    and secular movements.

    · Advocates of the secular movement greatly desire European
    integration, predominantly because of perceived benefits in relation to
    prosperity, intellectualism etc. But there are two important movements
    which do not support this integration, namely the extreme religious
    and nationalist movements. Their reluctance to integrate with Europe
    must not be under-estimated. Similarly, the European Union's demand of
    Turkey to demonstrate a non-interventionist approach by the military
    in the political affairs will not happen overnight - the military's
    influence in Turkish society is pervasive mainly due to the role it
    played in the founding of the Turkish republic.

    · Turkey is considered a model state for undemocratic Muslim
    countries in the Middle East.

    · There are no prejudices against Israelis or Jews in Turkey.

    While anti-Semitism might occur in Turkey, much as it happens
    throughout the world, it is not particularly visible in Turkey and
    is not considered an issue. Turkish people accept members of other
    faiths, cultures and ethnicities with acceptance and respect.

    · Turkish citizens of Kurdish descent are protected by the
    Constitution. They do not face any discrimination. In fact around one
    fifth of Turkey's parliamentarians are of Kurdish descent. While the
    Kurdish community is predominantly located in the South East of Turkey,
    they are well integrated with the rest of Turkish society in the main
    cities throughout Turkey. There are indeed some Kurdish groups calling
    for autonomy. While the Turkish Government is willing to consider a
    range of requests from Kurdish groups, under no circumstances is it
    willing to consider requests for autonomy or any other resolution
    that would lead to an independent Kurdish state within Turkey.

    · Turkey of course supports peace negotiations between Israel and
    Syria and would be willing to act as mediator should the parties
    request this.

    CJF founder and director Manny Waks told J-Wire: " It should be
    noted that the event ran an hour over time - a great indication of
    the level of enjoyment by all those in attendance."

    Watch the video at
    http://www.jwire.com.au/news/turkish-ambassador -speaks-to-canberra-group/8010
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