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TURK VS. TURK
http://asbarez.com/112035/turk-vs-turk/
Friday, July 26th, 2013
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
Turkey simmering. Will it end up tasting good, or just turn out to
be an insipid hash we'll be forced to chew on and digest for another
few generations?
No one can possibly make that call. But one thing is certain, Turkey
will not continue unhindered on its present trajectory of increased
economic strength which emboldens its foreign adventurism, the worst
case example of which is Syria. But it's even worse there than you
might think, at least according to a July 5th posting on Sibel Edmonds'
"Boiling Frogs" website. Uyghurs from China are being trained in Turkey
and sent to fight in Syria. Then, they take their experience back
home to use against the Chinese government. Two groups are involved
in this process in some way, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement
(ETIM)- a terrorist group that aims to create an Islamist state in
Xinjiang -working alongside the East Turkistan Education and Solidarity
Association (ETESA)- an Istanbul-based exile group. (So much for the
"we're not pan-Turanists" plaints).
Entering this type of internationally high-risk fraught arena is
something that makes sense from a racist, pan-Turanist perspective
which the Young Turk cum secularist/Ataturkist sector of Turkish
society would naturally engage in... but wait, the current government
of Turkey is Islamist/Ottomanist... but wait, that also represents
an expansionist mindset. So one is tempted to believe there is no
difference between the two sides of Turkish society.
Yet, at the same time, there are observable differences. The
Islamist/Ottomanists have presided over a decade during which
rapprochement with Kurds has commenced, Armenian issues are somewhat
more easily discussed within Turkey (while externally, Genocide
denialist and anti-Republic of Armenia policies are vehemently
pursued), progress on the reform of Turkey's constitution and laws
has been made, and simultaneously the religious impetus and its
attendant societal constraints have slowly manifested themselves. The
secularists/Ataturkists represent a period of military coups, rabid
internal and external anti-Armenianism, a bloody war against the
country's Kurdish population, and simultaneously the more modernist-
at least on a social issues level- mindset in the country. And,
for good measure, mix in the human-rights circles (who seem to stand
apart from both of the other two and are small in number).
I've just described a country with a seriously divided and subdivided
polity. And, the two major sectors are going at it. The Ataturkists
are now in the position of protesting against the Ottomanists who are
in power. Interestingly, there has been a spillover of this clash into
the Turkish communities outside the country. In the U.S. there have
been three demonstrations in just the last two weeks by the secular
side against the Islamist side. The latter is manifested in the
activities of the Gulen movement. The demos were held in Oakland at a
Gulenist-operated charter school where some 20-25 people participated,
at Gulen's massive compound in the Poconos, and in New York.
Armenians are naturally interested in this since the outcome will
impact us no matter what it is. Some are tempted to "join" one side or
the other for some logical sounding reasons. But this Turk vs. Turk
(T v. T) battle is not our fight, at the very least, not yet. It is
part of the maturation process of Turkish society. Armenian involvement
might well damage that fledgling process which seems to hold out the
hope of the right kind of progress in Armeno-Turkish relations.
Interestingly, this T v. T clash even extends to Azerbaijan for whom
the Gulenists also like to engage in propaganda, but they are not very
appreciated by Azeri authorities who are pretty staunchly secularist.
Perhaps the fact that most Azerbaijanis are Shia and the Gulenists
are Sunni plays a role in this. Which is part of the reason why
it will be interesting to learn about how an event at the Levantine
Cultural Center in Los Angeles titled "Azerbaijan: an Evening of Arts,
Culture & Citizen Diplomacy" will turn out. The Levant doesn't include
Azerbaijan, to my understanding, but it sure includes a good chunk
of the Mediterranean coast that logically falls within the scope of
any Ottomanist's pipe dream. The event is happening as these lines
are written and will be attended by Azerbaijan's Consul General in
Los Angeles, which puts the lie to the innocuous sounding title.
Let's keep watching these activities and more deeply acquaint ourselves
with the elements of societies whose fabric we were once a part of
but have lost touch with because of murderous policies.
http://asbarez.com/112035/turk-vs-turk/
Friday, July 26th, 2013
BY GAREN YEGPARIAN
Turkey simmering. Will it end up tasting good, or just turn out to
be an insipid hash we'll be forced to chew on and digest for another
few generations?
No one can possibly make that call. But one thing is certain, Turkey
will not continue unhindered on its present trajectory of increased
economic strength which emboldens its foreign adventurism, the worst
case example of which is Syria. But it's even worse there than you
might think, at least according to a July 5th posting on Sibel Edmonds'
"Boiling Frogs" website. Uyghurs from China are being trained in Turkey
and sent to fight in Syria. Then, they take their experience back
home to use against the Chinese government. Two groups are involved
in this process in some way, the East Turkistan Islamic Movement
(ETIM)- a terrorist group that aims to create an Islamist state in
Xinjiang -working alongside the East Turkistan Education and Solidarity
Association (ETESA)- an Istanbul-based exile group. (So much for the
"we're not pan-Turanists" plaints).
Entering this type of internationally high-risk fraught arena is
something that makes sense from a racist, pan-Turanist perspective
which the Young Turk cum secularist/Ataturkist sector of Turkish
society would naturally engage in... but wait, the current government
of Turkey is Islamist/Ottomanist... but wait, that also represents
an expansionist mindset. So one is tempted to believe there is no
difference between the two sides of Turkish society.
Yet, at the same time, there are observable differences. The
Islamist/Ottomanists have presided over a decade during which
rapprochement with Kurds has commenced, Armenian issues are somewhat
more easily discussed within Turkey (while externally, Genocide
denialist and anti-Republic of Armenia policies are vehemently
pursued), progress on the reform of Turkey's constitution and laws
has been made, and simultaneously the religious impetus and its
attendant societal constraints have slowly manifested themselves. The
secularists/Ataturkists represent a period of military coups, rabid
internal and external anti-Armenianism, a bloody war against the
country's Kurdish population, and simultaneously the more modernist-
at least on a social issues level- mindset in the country. And,
for good measure, mix in the human-rights circles (who seem to stand
apart from both of the other two and are small in number).
I've just described a country with a seriously divided and subdivided
polity. And, the two major sectors are going at it. The Ataturkists
are now in the position of protesting against the Ottomanists who are
in power. Interestingly, there has been a spillover of this clash into
the Turkish communities outside the country. In the U.S. there have
been three demonstrations in just the last two weeks by the secular
side against the Islamist side. The latter is manifested in the
activities of the Gulen movement. The demos were held in Oakland at a
Gulenist-operated charter school where some 20-25 people participated,
at Gulen's massive compound in the Poconos, and in New York.
Armenians are naturally interested in this since the outcome will
impact us no matter what it is. Some are tempted to "join" one side or
the other for some logical sounding reasons. But this Turk vs. Turk
(T v. T) battle is not our fight, at the very least, not yet. It is
part of the maturation process of Turkish society. Armenian involvement
might well damage that fledgling process which seems to hold out the
hope of the right kind of progress in Armeno-Turkish relations.
Interestingly, this T v. T clash even extends to Azerbaijan for whom
the Gulenists also like to engage in propaganda, but they are not very
appreciated by Azeri authorities who are pretty staunchly secularist.
Perhaps the fact that most Azerbaijanis are Shia and the Gulenists
are Sunni plays a role in this. Which is part of the reason why
it will be interesting to learn about how an event at the Levantine
Cultural Center in Los Angeles titled "Azerbaijan: an Evening of Arts,
Culture & Citizen Diplomacy" will turn out. The Levant doesn't include
Azerbaijan, to my understanding, but it sure includes a good chunk
of the Mediterranean coast that logically falls within the scope of
any Ottomanist's pipe dream. The event is happening as these lines
are written and will be attended by Azerbaijan's Consul General in
Los Angeles, which puts the lie to the innocuous sounding title.
Let's keep watching these activities and more deeply acquaint ourselves
with the elements of societies whose fabric we were once a part of
but have lost touch with because of murderous policies.