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Radikal, Turkey
Aug 11 2012
Shame on You!
by Cengiz Candar
They announced it one day in advance. They said that Akit would
publish Semdin Sakik's "bombshell" letter and that the letter would
contain important PKK-related disclosures about Cengiz Candar and
Hasan Cemal.
Yesterday, Akit published the letter it allegedly received from Semdin
Sakik under the front-page headline "Bombshells from Sakik." One of
the four photographs under the heading was mine and one was Cemal's.
According to Sakik, I have been "praising and glorifying the PKK
[Kurdistan People's Congress, KGK] and its leader more than the most
fanatical PKK members." Apparently, I did this in the TESEV [Turkish
Foundation for Economic and Social Studies] report entitled "Coming
Down from the Mountains: How May the PKK Disarm?" I was the author of
the said report, which was published last year.
What else?
[According to Sakik's letter,] I have been "inducing the PKK to
establish a state in Syrian Kurdistan, which is a tiny and flat
region."
No Limits to Lying
At first glance, these all sound like incoherent absurdities that do
not deserve any attention. Anyone interested can get a copy of the
said report and read it. No one needs Sakik's "bombshells" dropped
through Akit.
There seems to be no limit to lying. "Inducing the PKK to establish a
state in Syrian Kurdistan, which is a tiny and flat region..." Every
word I have written about Syria has been published in Radikal. Anyone
who reads my articles knows that I have not written a single line to
support this "allegation." One wonders how anyone might serve as
"trigger man" in such a foolish way?
Consequently, one might think that Akit's headline, "Bombshell from
Sakik," does not need to be taken seriously. Last month, the same
newspaper wrote that Ali Bayramoglu has been "concealing his Armenian
ancestry" and suggested that this has created strong indignation among
Yeni Safak readers. That led to a public outcry against Akit's "hate
speech" practices.
I was with Bayramoglu overseas when Akit published its repugnant
story. He became very upset. He was upset because he could sense
"certain elements" of the "state security bureaucracy" behind the
allegation. He interpreted the story as a harbinger of dark
initiatives that might put the security of his life in jeopardy.
Not First Time
I am well aware that Bayramoglu's sense and concern are not unfounded.
For nearly a year now, Akit has waged a systematic campaign of lies to
suggest that the DPI (Democratic Progress Institute) is an "auxiliary
organization of the PKK." The DPI is the address of the joint work we
have been conducting with several parliamentary deputies. One website
that is known to be associated with this newspaper published a false
news story with a picture of me alleging that I was entering "a
Masonic lodge to receive instructions." The photograph that was
allegedly taken in front of the Masonic lodge was in truth taken
before the Cezayir restaurant, which is located one block away.
When I investigated why they were publishing these lies, sources I
trust very much told me that certain people in Akit - they named them
- were serving as the "trigger men of police and military
intelligence."
This information was quite disturbing in itself. However, what [Akit]
did yesterday goes beyond that and is shameful. It is shameful for the
so-called "civil servants" who are using Akit. Could you not find a
"source" better than Semdin Sakik to engage in a "character
assassination" and "discrediting" campaign against me? Shame on you!
It has now been 14 years since your ploys of 28 February. Fourteen
years ago, the infamous "Memorandum" [Andic] was published in Hurriyet
and Sabah under the rubric of Confessions of Semdin Sakik." Mehmet Ali
Birand, Akin Birdal, and myself were subjected to the same lies and
"dirty schemes" at that time. Ten days after that publication, Akin
Birdal was attacked by TIT (Turkish Revenge Squads) and was shot by a
full clip of bullets.
Signatures Under 'Memorandum'
Soon afterward, it became known that the "Memorandum" was drafted at
the General Staff headquarters and that it was approved by Generals
Cevik Bir and Fevzi Turkeri. Both of these men are now under arrest
within the scope of the investigation of 28 February.
It is not that difficult to identify correctly the source of this
"new" simplistic, uncouth, and vulgar ploy. Indeed, in a tweet sent
yesterday, our colleague Faruk Mercan wrote: "Vakit has put Semdin
Sakik on its front page to declare Hasan Cemal and Cengiz Candar as
virtual PKK members. This is very similar to the General Staff
'memorandum' of the old days."
The two tweets Faruk Mercan sent subsequently go as follows:
"I have read everything Cemal and Candar have written about the
Kurdish problem. Anyone who has not read these works would not be
properly informed."
"It is incumbent upon the government and the state to protect Cemal
and Candar whose pictures have been placed on the front page of a
newspaper as virtual PKK members."
The real problem at this point is the following: If the "source" is
Sakik and the "intermediate channel" is Akit, it is possible that "the
government or the state" is behind this new "character assassination"
and "discrediting" campaign. Let us not forget that we have a
government in which Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin serves as a
cabinet member. The "memorandum" that was supposedly based on "Sakik's
confessions" during the 28 February period was the work of the state.
This latest shameless and insolent "ploy" based on "Sakik's
bombshells" may again be the work of the state even if it has been
staged by a group that is different from those who were responsible
for the 28 February version.
I cannot think of anything to say other than "shame on you" in the
face of this infamy and treachery perpetrated against us.
[Translated from Turkish]
From: Baghdasarian
Aug 11 2012
Shame on You!
by Cengiz Candar
They announced it one day in advance. They said that Akit would
publish Semdin Sakik's "bombshell" letter and that the letter would
contain important PKK-related disclosures about Cengiz Candar and
Hasan Cemal.
Yesterday, Akit published the letter it allegedly received from Semdin
Sakik under the front-page headline "Bombshells from Sakik." One of
the four photographs under the heading was mine and one was Cemal's.
According to Sakik, I have been "praising and glorifying the PKK
[Kurdistan People's Congress, KGK] and its leader more than the most
fanatical PKK members." Apparently, I did this in the TESEV [Turkish
Foundation for Economic and Social Studies] report entitled "Coming
Down from the Mountains: How May the PKK Disarm?" I was the author of
the said report, which was published last year.
What else?
[According to Sakik's letter,] I have been "inducing the PKK to
establish a state in Syrian Kurdistan, which is a tiny and flat
region."
No Limits to Lying
At first glance, these all sound like incoherent absurdities that do
not deserve any attention. Anyone interested can get a copy of the
said report and read it. No one needs Sakik's "bombshells" dropped
through Akit.
There seems to be no limit to lying. "Inducing the PKK to establish a
state in Syrian Kurdistan, which is a tiny and flat region..." Every
word I have written about Syria has been published in Radikal. Anyone
who reads my articles knows that I have not written a single line to
support this "allegation." One wonders how anyone might serve as
"trigger man" in such a foolish way?
Consequently, one might think that Akit's headline, "Bombshell from
Sakik," does not need to be taken seriously. Last month, the same
newspaper wrote that Ali Bayramoglu has been "concealing his Armenian
ancestry" and suggested that this has created strong indignation among
Yeni Safak readers. That led to a public outcry against Akit's "hate
speech" practices.
I was with Bayramoglu overseas when Akit published its repugnant
story. He became very upset. He was upset because he could sense
"certain elements" of the "state security bureaucracy" behind the
allegation. He interpreted the story as a harbinger of dark
initiatives that might put the security of his life in jeopardy.
Not First Time
I am well aware that Bayramoglu's sense and concern are not unfounded.
For nearly a year now, Akit has waged a systematic campaign of lies to
suggest that the DPI (Democratic Progress Institute) is an "auxiliary
organization of the PKK." The DPI is the address of the joint work we
have been conducting with several parliamentary deputies. One website
that is known to be associated with this newspaper published a false
news story with a picture of me alleging that I was entering "a
Masonic lodge to receive instructions." The photograph that was
allegedly taken in front of the Masonic lodge was in truth taken
before the Cezayir restaurant, which is located one block away.
When I investigated why they were publishing these lies, sources I
trust very much told me that certain people in Akit - they named them
- were serving as the "trigger men of police and military
intelligence."
This information was quite disturbing in itself. However, what [Akit]
did yesterday goes beyond that and is shameful. It is shameful for the
so-called "civil servants" who are using Akit. Could you not find a
"source" better than Semdin Sakik to engage in a "character
assassination" and "discrediting" campaign against me? Shame on you!
It has now been 14 years since your ploys of 28 February. Fourteen
years ago, the infamous "Memorandum" [Andic] was published in Hurriyet
and Sabah under the rubric of Confessions of Semdin Sakik." Mehmet Ali
Birand, Akin Birdal, and myself were subjected to the same lies and
"dirty schemes" at that time. Ten days after that publication, Akin
Birdal was attacked by TIT (Turkish Revenge Squads) and was shot by a
full clip of bullets.
Signatures Under 'Memorandum'
Soon afterward, it became known that the "Memorandum" was drafted at
the General Staff headquarters and that it was approved by Generals
Cevik Bir and Fevzi Turkeri. Both of these men are now under arrest
within the scope of the investigation of 28 February.
It is not that difficult to identify correctly the source of this
"new" simplistic, uncouth, and vulgar ploy. Indeed, in a tweet sent
yesterday, our colleague Faruk Mercan wrote: "Vakit has put Semdin
Sakik on its front page to declare Hasan Cemal and Cengiz Candar as
virtual PKK members. This is very similar to the General Staff
'memorandum' of the old days."
The two tweets Faruk Mercan sent subsequently go as follows:
"I have read everything Cemal and Candar have written about the
Kurdish problem. Anyone who has not read these works would not be
properly informed."
"It is incumbent upon the government and the state to protect Cemal
and Candar whose pictures have been placed on the front page of a
newspaper as virtual PKK members."
The real problem at this point is the following: If the "source" is
Sakik and the "intermediate channel" is Akit, it is possible that "the
government or the state" is behind this new "character assassination"
and "discrediting" campaign. Let us not forget that we have a
government in which Interior Minister Idris Naim Sahin serves as a
cabinet member. The "memorandum" that was supposedly based on "Sakik's
confessions" during the 28 February period was the work of the state.
This latest shameless and insolent "ploy" based on "Sakik's
bombshells" may again be the work of the state even if it has been
staged by a group that is different from those who were responsible
for the 28 February version.
I cannot think of anything to say other than "shame on you" in the
face of this infamy and treachery perpetrated against us.
[Translated from Turkish]
From: Baghdasarian