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A VIEW FROM ISRAEL: TURKISH CHUTZPA
By Israel Kasnett
Jerusalem Post
Sept 8 2011
Turkey is guilty of the very crimes it accuses Israel of committing -
yet no one has called it out on its ludicrous hypocrisy.
In a column I wrote in October 2010, I commented on Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman's rebuke of French Foreign Minister Bernard
Kouchner and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos after they
arrived to promote an initiative under which the European Union would
recognize a Palestinian state even before Israel and the Palestinian
Authority reach a final settlement through negotiations. Lieberman
responded by telling his counterparts that before coming to solve the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they should concentrate on the problems
in their own backyards.
I argued that if Kouchner insisted on focusing on Israel, then why
not, as Lieberman suggested, review Turkey's occupation of Northern
Cyprus as well? In 1974, the Republic of Cyprus was invaded by the
Turks, resulting in continued occupation and considerable violations
of internationally guaranteed human rights. During and after this
period, Turkey committed ethnic cleansing in occupied Cyprus, and,
according to human rights groups, deliberately violated the European
Convention and the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention.
In 2004, after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proposed
by Arab states demanding that Israel stop and reverse the construction
of the barrier in the "occupied Palestinian territory," it sought
the international court's opinion.
The court said the barrier was "contrary to international law"
because it infringed on the rights of Palestinians.
The court urged that Israel remove it from occupied land.
Of course, Turkey was among the 150 states that voted in favor of the
resolution, but nobody present thought twice about Turkey's occupation
of Northern Cyprus.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned, hypocritically,
Israel's construction of the West Bank security barrier. As a matter of
fact, unlike Israel's legal security barrier, which protects against
terrorist infiltration, Turkey's similarly named illegal "Green Line"
barrier has separated the island's Greeks from the Turkish population
since 1974.
On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the
occupation in Gaza and the West Bank was illegal and that such an
occupation was strengthened by an illegal blockade of Gaza. Nobody
in the international arena appears to have acknowledged that it is
Turkey that is an illegal occupier of foreign lands to which it has
no rights - not Israel.
Turkey also refuses to take full responsibility for the Armenian
Genocide.
According to United Human Rights, "the Armenian Genocide, the first
genocide of the 20th century, occurred when two million Armenians
living in Turkey were eliminated from their historic homeland through
forced deportations and massacres between 1915-1918."
In July, Erdogan even demanded an apology from Armenian President
Serzh Sarksyan for calling on schoolchildren to occupy eastern Turkey.
Turkey continues to commit crimes against humanity in Northern Cyprus,
including ethnic cleansing and forcible expulsion. It is a fairly
obvious conclusion at this point that Turkey is guilty of the very
crimes it accuses Israel of committing - yet no one has called it
out on its ludicrous hypocrisy.
THIS PAST week, Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador, downgraded its
diplomatic relations to the lowest level, suspended all defense ties
and some trade ties and strip-searched a group of Israeli passengers
flying through Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport.
Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel have been severely
strained since the release of the Palmer Commission report, which
determined that the raid on the Gaza flotilla ship Mavi Marmara was
"excessive and unreasonable," but also that Turkey and the flotilla
organizers contributed to the deaths of nine activists on board.
Israel has refused to heed Ankara's demand that it issue an apology
for the incident.
Since Erdogan's AK Party's rise to power in 2002, relations with
Israel have become increasingly strained. Over the years, Erdogan
has accused Israel of committing "state terrorism," and in 2009,
after Israel launched Operation Cast Lead to halt indiscriminate
rocket fire into the country from Gaza, Erdogan called to bar Israel
from the United Nations.
That same year, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
Erdogan described Gaza as an open-air prison and accused Israel
of murder.
And yet, even though it acts with open hostility, Turkey is currently
considered a candidate for full membership in the EU. Some experts
predict it will take a few more years until Turkey's inclusion in
the body is complete. While many people support the move as soon as
possible, others warn that it will be impossible to achieve unless
Turkey adopts significant reforms and meets certain standards. It
must demonstrate that it deserves to be an EU member.
Human Rights Watch is often misguided when it comes to Israel, but
it got it right in June when director Kenneth Roth sent a letter to
Erdogan in which he stated, "If the Justice and Development Party
is serious about Turkey being a regional power, it needs to show
leadership on rights and the rule of law. A new constitution based
on proper consultation with opposition and civil society is the right
place to start."
Dr. Van Coufoudakis - dean emeritus, and professor emeritus of
political science, at Indiana University- Purdue University - has
condemned Turkey, stating that "the Cyprus problem was, and remains,
a problem of invasion, occupation and continuing violations of
internationally guaranteed human rights."
Additionally the European Court of Human Rights has denounced the
failure of Turkish authorities to "conduct an effective investigation
into the whereabouts and fate of Greek-Cypriot missing persons who
disappeared in life-threatening circumstances."
It also accused Turkey of refusing to "allow the return of any
Greek-Cypriot displaced persons to their homes in northern Cyprus."
Unsurprisingly the United Nations has failed to deliver a promising
solution. The Annan Plan was a proposal to settle the Cyprus dispute.
The plan was named after then-UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, who
ultimately failed to implement it, as the Greek Cypriots felt the
plan would not fully resolve the issue and thus voted against it.
So why promote entrance to the EU if Turkey represses basic freedoms,
refuses to apologize for the Armenian Genocide, purposely sent
activists to attack Israel (knowingly placing their lives in danger)
and occupies Northern Cyprus? Turkish rejection of Western values
should be sufficient reason for its exclusion from the EU.
CLEARLY WE are witnessing Turkey's slide towards Islamism and rejection
of Westernization.
With the latest hostilities this week and Erdogan's remark that Israel
acts like a "spoiled child," it may seem that Turkey is focused on
attacking Israel, but in reality, it is taking advantage of the Arab
Spring and flexing its muscles to demonstrate its role as an important
player in the Middle East.
Turkey's continued vilification of Israel and refusal to acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide is part of a larger effort to promote its own
image as an unapologetic central player in the region.
Islamists want to revive the glorious days of their Ottoman past, when
the Empire stretched over three continents. In this "neo-Ottomanism"
effort, Israel is simply being used as a pawn.
Unfortunately the day is too distant, if at all existent, when Erdogan
will find the courage to embrace Western values, reject Islamization,
apologize for the Armenian Genocide, end its illegal occupation of
Northern Cyprus and make amends with Israel.
http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Opinion/Article.aspx?id=237214
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress
By Israel Kasnett
Jerusalem Post
Sept 8 2011
Turkey is guilty of the very crimes it accuses Israel of committing -
yet no one has called it out on its ludicrous hypocrisy.
In a column I wrote in October 2010, I commented on Foreign Minister
Avigdor Lieberman's rebuke of French Foreign Minister Bernard
Kouchner and Spanish Foreign Minister Miguel Moratinos after they
arrived to promote an initiative under which the European Union would
recognize a Palestinian state even before Israel and the Palestinian
Authority reach a final settlement through negotiations. Lieberman
responded by telling his counterparts that before coming to solve the
Israeli-Palestinian conflict, they should concentrate on the problems
in their own backyards.
I argued that if Kouchner insisted on focusing on Israel, then why
not, as Lieberman suggested, review Turkey's occupation of Northern
Cyprus as well? In 1974, the Republic of Cyprus was invaded by the
Turks, resulting in continued occupation and considerable violations
of internationally guaranteed human rights. During and after this
period, Turkey committed ethnic cleansing in occupied Cyprus, and,
according to human rights groups, deliberately violated the European
Convention and the 1949 Fourth Geneva Convention.
In 2004, after the UN General Assembly adopted a resolution proposed
by Arab states demanding that Israel stop and reverse the construction
of the barrier in the "occupied Palestinian territory," it sought
the international court's opinion.
The court said the barrier was "contrary to international law"
because it infringed on the rights of Palestinians.
The court urged that Israel remove it from occupied land.
Of course, Turkey was among the 150 states that voted in favor of the
resolution, but nobody present thought twice about Turkey's occupation
of Northern Cyprus.
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan condemned, hypocritically,
Israel's construction of the West Bank security barrier. As a matter of
fact, unlike Israel's legal security barrier, which protects against
terrorist infiltration, Turkey's similarly named illegal "Green Line"
barrier has separated the island's Greeks from the Turkish population
since 1974.
On Monday, Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu said that the
occupation in Gaza and the West Bank was illegal and that such an
occupation was strengthened by an illegal blockade of Gaza. Nobody
in the international arena appears to have acknowledged that it is
Turkey that is an illegal occupier of foreign lands to which it has
no rights - not Israel.
Turkey also refuses to take full responsibility for the Armenian
Genocide.
According to United Human Rights, "the Armenian Genocide, the first
genocide of the 20th century, occurred when two million Armenians
living in Turkey were eliminated from their historic homeland through
forced deportations and massacres between 1915-1918."
In July, Erdogan even demanded an apology from Armenian President
Serzh Sarksyan for calling on schoolchildren to occupy eastern Turkey.
Turkey continues to commit crimes against humanity in Northern Cyprus,
including ethnic cleansing and forcible expulsion. It is a fairly
obvious conclusion at this point that Turkey is guilty of the very
crimes it accuses Israel of committing - yet no one has called it
out on its ludicrous hypocrisy.
THIS PAST week, Turkey expelled Israel's ambassador, downgraded its
diplomatic relations to the lowest level, suspended all defense ties
and some trade ties and strip-searched a group of Israeli passengers
flying through Istanbul's Ataturk International Airport.
Diplomatic relations between Turkey and Israel have been severely
strained since the release of the Palmer Commission report, which
determined that the raid on the Gaza flotilla ship Mavi Marmara was
"excessive and unreasonable," but also that Turkey and the flotilla
organizers contributed to the deaths of nine activists on board.
Israel has refused to heed Ankara's demand that it issue an apology
for the incident.
Since Erdogan's AK Party's rise to power in 2002, relations with
Israel have become increasingly strained. Over the years, Erdogan
has accused Israel of committing "state terrorism," and in 2009,
after Israel launched Operation Cast Lead to halt indiscriminate
rocket fire into the country from Gaza, Erdogan called to bar Israel
from the United Nations.
That same year, at the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland,
Erdogan described Gaza as an open-air prison and accused Israel
of murder.
And yet, even though it acts with open hostility, Turkey is currently
considered a candidate for full membership in the EU. Some experts
predict it will take a few more years until Turkey's inclusion in
the body is complete. While many people support the move as soon as
possible, others warn that it will be impossible to achieve unless
Turkey adopts significant reforms and meets certain standards. It
must demonstrate that it deserves to be an EU member.
Human Rights Watch is often misguided when it comes to Israel, but
it got it right in June when director Kenneth Roth sent a letter to
Erdogan in which he stated, "If the Justice and Development Party
is serious about Turkey being a regional power, it needs to show
leadership on rights and the rule of law. A new constitution based
on proper consultation with opposition and civil society is the right
place to start."
Dr. Van Coufoudakis - dean emeritus, and professor emeritus of
political science, at Indiana University- Purdue University - has
condemned Turkey, stating that "the Cyprus problem was, and remains,
a problem of invasion, occupation and continuing violations of
internationally guaranteed human rights."
Additionally the European Court of Human Rights has denounced the
failure of Turkish authorities to "conduct an effective investigation
into the whereabouts and fate of Greek-Cypriot missing persons who
disappeared in life-threatening circumstances."
It also accused Turkey of refusing to "allow the return of any
Greek-Cypriot displaced persons to their homes in northern Cyprus."
Unsurprisingly the United Nations has failed to deliver a promising
solution. The Annan Plan was a proposal to settle the Cyprus dispute.
The plan was named after then-UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, who
ultimately failed to implement it, as the Greek Cypriots felt the
plan would not fully resolve the issue and thus voted against it.
So why promote entrance to the EU if Turkey represses basic freedoms,
refuses to apologize for the Armenian Genocide, purposely sent
activists to attack Israel (knowingly placing their lives in danger)
and occupies Northern Cyprus? Turkish rejection of Western values
should be sufficient reason for its exclusion from the EU.
CLEARLY WE are witnessing Turkey's slide towards Islamism and rejection
of Westernization.
With the latest hostilities this week and Erdogan's remark that Israel
acts like a "spoiled child," it may seem that Turkey is focused on
attacking Israel, but in reality, it is taking advantage of the Arab
Spring and flexing its muscles to demonstrate its role as an important
player in the Middle East.
Turkey's continued vilification of Israel and refusal to acknowledge
the Armenian Genocide is part of a larger effort to promote its own
image as an unapologetic central player in the region.
Islamists want to revive the glorious days of their Ottoman past, when
the Empire stretched over three continents. In this "neo-Ottomanism"
effort, Israel is simply being used as a pawn.
Unfortunately the day is too distant, if at all existent, when Erdogan
will find the courage to embrace Western values, reject Islamization,
apologize for the Armenian Genocide, end its illegal occupation of
Northern Cyprus and make amends with Israel.
http://www.jpost.com/Magazine/Opinion/Article.aspx?id=237214
From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress