On Saturday, November 21, 2009, UK’s special prosecutor Helen Garlick, now installed in the Turks and Caicos Islands‘ interim government, announced UK’s intention to, “have a permanent presence [in Turks and Caicos].” The UK had abolished Turks and Caicos’ right to self determination in August, citing local government corruption.

In August, the UK assured Turks and Caicos and the world that new elections would be held in June 2011, restoring governance back to the people at that time. However, based on Saturday’s announcement and UK’s actions since taking governance of the islands, it is evident that the UK has no intention to return the islands’ autonomous constitution back to the people at any given time.

The corruption allegations, causing the UK’s take over, emerged from a small group of Turks and Caicos Islanders and expatriate who have since been revealed as a political group backed by a developer who reportedly has a grudge against the former premier over denied building development contracts and Crown land favors. This political activist group (TCI Journal and backers) accuse many developers in the islands of being corrupt while being financed by a competing developer. Their well orchestrated letters and complaints to the mother land (UK) of last year was admittedly designed to bring down the islands’ government with a goal to create better “fairness” (to namely Hartshorn).

The UK was all too eager to jump on board and support the claims of corruption (many anonymous) in Turks and Caicos by calling for a very bizarre one-sided inquiry that failed to explore the whistle blower’s motives and which documented a skewed perspective of foreign resort developers who duly invested in Turks and Caicos. The inquiry was also conducted by a known activist judge from the UK, Sir Robin Auld, who made sole determinations in the investigation and resulting inquiry.

Even more bizarre, the people’s right to trials by jury was abolished as to the entire Turks and Caicos population.

In Helen Garlick’s announcement Saturday, she states that in addition to Sir Robin Auld’s report, new and more far reaching charges will be explored and prosecuted. Ms. Garlick then made a most alarmingly statement following her vow of continued corruption inquiries: “I continue to encourage members of the public to contact us, if they have information that they wish to give, or if they have any concerns that they want to take up with us.”

To understand why these announcements by UK are particularly dangerous, it is necessary to explore police state regimes and their resulting oppressive powers over their citizens.

The term “police state” is described as an overpowering government implementing oppressive and repressive controls “over the social, economic and political life of the population … and … there is usually little or no distinction between the law and the exercise of political power by the executive.”

The source of the totalitarian action, “is often established by an internal whistleblower or an external critic or activist group.”

In 1933, Nazi Germany adopted the Malicious Practices Act which called for ordinary citizens to volunteer information on citizens’ “suspected infringements of the letter or spirit of the laws”. This had a crucial role in the Nazi’s terrorizing citizens under Hitler’s dictatorship and gave particular power to those who were willing to report their neighbors. This cooperation, by means of the Nazi’s incentive to oppress citizens, by using threats of reports by other citizens, is called Nazi Denunciations.

According to Nazi historian Robert Gellately, these lessons from the past, “impel us to rethink … willingness, consent, and support when these concepts are applied to modern dictatorships.”

What is in it for the denouncers, besides power over the other citizens? Nazi’s took advantage of denouncers as these complainants usually had “selfish purposes” that could be politically exploited by the Nazis. The denouncers received a leveling or settling of a conflict or removal of the conflicting party to the complainant. “In all of these systems, citizens lost many of the traditional means for resolving conflicts, and soon adapted and relied on unmediated access to the means of coercion” and ultimately a fundamental loss of justice.

In addition, according to Gellately:
“In the last two decades, corruption has become a key concern throughout the world. Most of what we know about corruption comes from those instances in which misdeeds become public, usually generating a scandal. Why do some acts of corruption become corruption scandals and others do not? In addressing this question, this argues that scandals are not triggered by corruption per se, but that the emergence of corruption scandals is caused by political competition dynamics within the party or coalition in government. Government insiders leak information on misdeeds in order to gain power within the coalition or party in power.”

There is also sometimes a racial component to the totalitarian and supreme right over another culture. As in a more extreme example, in the case of Nazi Germany, governance was considered absolute and it reserved the highest power over, “Jewish and/or eastern workers” as Hitler was particularly racist of that group. But it is not uncommon for a totalitarian regime to exhibit prejudice over the group in which it feels supremecy over and thus forcibly takes governance. In the case of Turks and Caicos, the UK might have a special prejudice over an island culture that it could see as less sophisticated or worse.

This could explain the British’s take over of the island’s government and its “firing” of Belongers (Islanders) elected officials who might have influence over other Belongers.

In the United States, the government-sanctioned program called “Wetip” called for citizens to report child abuse; it has had similar problems. Wetip has been deeply criticized as it rewards citizens for helping a government by reporting crimes against each other. This was called denunciation because crime reports skipped usual reporting channels, and on the other hand motives and incentives were not called into question or investigated by the government.

In the Turks and Caicos, an oppressive UK regime has been proven. This is evidenced by UK’s initial use of denunciation and encouragement of denunciation of citizens going forward. This is particularly true because the complainants are rewarded with the removal of their offending party without an investigation into the complainants’ motives. The right to jury trials for the citizens have been taken, taking typical justice away from the citizens. Local government officials have been all but replaced entirely. Residents of Turks and Caicos are readily terrorized by the threat of denunciation by a group who has been exploited and incentivized to report “crimes” to the interim government. The usual process of justice is now easily foregone with this practice of denunciation labeling this island now as a police state with the denouncers as the terrorists working for the supreme and ultimate leader, the UK.

Helen Garlick article: http://www.suntci.com/index.php?p=story&id=545http://hsr-trans.zhsf.uni-koeln.de/hsrretro/docs/artikel/hsr/hsr1997_439.pdf
Although the was an implementer of violence and intimidation within the Nazi state 1933r
Balan, Manuel. “Competition by Denunciation: The Political Dynamics of Corruption Scandals in Argentina and Chile” Paper presented at the annual meeting of the Midwest Political Science Association 67th Annual National Conference, The Palmer House Hilton, Chicago, IL, Apr 02, 2009 . 2009-11-10 
Historical Social Research, Vol. 22 – 1997 – No. 3/4, 228-239 
Denunciations and Nazi Germany: New Insights and 
Methodological Problems

By 667 BC, a Greek ruler by name of Byzas, from Megara, established his kingdom here, on the advice of an oracle of Delphi, and named it Byzantium. But it was besieged by the Romans in AD 196, and became part of the Roman Empire. The ravaged city was rebuilt by the Roman Emperor, Septimus Severus, and temporarily given the name of ‘Augusta Antonina’. But in 306 AD, Emperor Constantine the Great made Byzantium the capital of the entire Roman Empire, and from then on, the city was called Constantinople. The Byzantium Empire was more or less influenced by Greek culture, and was also a hub of Greek Orthodox Christianity, which resulted in the construction of several magnificent Christian architectural wonders, the prominent among them being the Hagia Sophia, which remained the world’s largest cathedral till 1850.

The Roman Empire passed through much turmoil due to attack from various sources, especially the Barbarians, not to mention their internal problems, and finally, in 532 AD, during the reign of Justinian I, the city was totally destroyed due to anti government riots. Though much favored for its ideal location, that made trade and transport between continents an easy affair, this very factor also proved to be the doom of Constantinople. For several hundred years hence, it had to face a lot of assault from the Arabs, Nomadic, Persians, as well as the Fourth crusaders, who periodically occupied it.

At last, in 1453, Constantinople was attacked and conquered by the courageous Ottoman Turks led by Sultan Mehmet II, who renamed it Istanbul. It continued to function not just as an important cultural, political and commercial hub, but also as their main centre for military operations too, till World War I, after which it was occupied by the Allies.

Sultan Mehmet II was supposed to have given the city a cosmopolitan social outlook. After deporting the remaining Byzantine population, a great many changes were made to the existing architecture in general. The old world Christian city was gradually transformed into a Muslim conurbation as the Emperor started rebuilding all churches so as to convert them to mosques. The great mosque and the Fatih College were built on the old burial grounds of the erstwhile Byzantine Emperors at the Church of the Holy Apostles. The Hagia Sophia too was converted to a mosque. But to his credit, the Sultan held a cosmopolitan outlook and for the greater part, allowed people of all faiths to settle in the vast city, and made effective use of their varied skills. Tolerance was a great virtue that was practiced by Sultan Mehmet II, and it was reflected all over the empire.Istanbul acquired a status of great importance in the eyes of all Muslims, after the conquest of Egypt, and its glory increased from leaps and bounds in the hands of its various rulers, many of whom were great patrons of art and architecture.

Although the capital of Turkey was changed from Istanbul to Ankara by Kemal Ataturk, in 1923, Istanbul still retained its attractions and continued to expand majestically. But gradually, due to the mass exodus of the various nationalities, especially after the war between Greece and Turkey, it became a prominent Muslim nation.

The many historic monuments of yesteryears, that are to be found there, like the various museums, castles, palaces, mosques, churches, etc contribute greatly to the increase in the tourism industry today. In fact, many of its historic architectures have been added to the UNESCO’s list of world heritage sites. Though no more a capital city, Istanbul, which is considered to be Turkey’s cultural and financial center, still retains its old world attraction and continues to generate its own individual history through out the ages.

sumber: http://www.hagia-sophia.net/history.htm

http://id.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hagia_Sophia

There are more heartbreaking stories from the Caribbean island of Turks and Caicos concerning so-called “squatters” forcibly removed from their homes by the British interim government.

These are people who have (unwittingly) built their homes on what the British say is Crown land. I sat shaking my head as I read the accounts of now homeless families that had sunk their life savings into building homes that are purported to be on Crown land. Their homes have all been demolished. One account of a worker suggesting he had orders to take their lives if they didn’t comply, was alarming. There was nowhere for these people to go. The British did not care.

The British also failed to make important resort developments whole by declaring their land bonafide transfers causing resort developments to collapse.

The British announced an increase of 1% tax on hospitality, as if the tourism industry needed that blow on top of everything else.

The British then announced revocation of many islander benefits whereby subjecting islanders to the high cost of living from living in a resort community.

The British announced a mandatory health care tax on all citizens. The British government has announced police force for those who do not comply.

The British announced an amendment to the financial banking sector of Turks and Caicos, thereby damaging that resource of the economy.

The British took the autonomous constitution from the people and declared an abolishment of “the citizens’ right to a jury trial” for the entire population of the islands. Not just those accused of corruption, but all people. This is almost unprecedented for the British, even in Northern Ireland this didn’t happen. Their reason is that the citizens of Turks and Caicos are all corruptible.

The police are now angry for UK’s failure to give them certainty about their jobs and their duties as law enforcement personnel with the new government.

Important record keepers and island officials have been dismissed from their jobs or forced out. New pink faces replace the distinguished islander law makers of yesterday.

Important resort developments have collapsed, causing a loss of jobs and tourism revenue.

Secret meetings are being conducted by the British government excluding island government personnel.

Turks and Caicos is being run as a dictatorship; Gordon Wetherell is making all decisions solely.

The former Premier Williams and new opposition party leader Doug Parnell both oppose the British direct rule and its poor governance of the islands.

International blocs, The United Nations, Caricom and European Union have all condemned this hostile take over of the islands and have called it illegal.

But wait! I also read an opinion from a chap called Carlos Simons published in the Turks and Caicos Sun Times, albeit buried a bit. Here is his opinion boiled down after you edit the verbose subtext:

1. Dissenters are causing further turmoil at a time when islanders need to be moving on in this tough economy.
2. Dissenters are peddling dangerous myths.
3. There has been no overthrow of the government or recolonisation.
4. There is no difference since the British took over governance.
5. The British are restoring good governance.

Mr. Simons, to your opinions as set forth in items 1 through 5, I refer you back to the facts above.

http://www.suntci.com/index.php?p=story&id=542

Turks and Caicos, a scarcely known group of islands in the Caribbean, had been enjoying the good life for the last 6 years. The economic windfall came from foreign resort developments and the financial banking sector known to be a tax haven.

In August 2009, the government and its autonomous constitution was over-thrown by the British. UK, purportedly having been told by a group of islanders (led by TCI Journal) that corruption existed between the government and foreign investors, conducted an investigation into these claims.

Since the UK’s take-over in August, the people of Turks and Caicos have grown mutinous over UK’s reported mismanagement of the island’s economy. Increased taxes, cuts in benefits, loss of jobs and amendments of the financial sector have caused many islanders alarm of the loss of prosperity that they once enjoyed. Many islanders claim that if UK is there to “bail them out” then why are they penalizing the people and what are they doing with the revenue.

Newly elected Peoples Democratic Movement leader (a political party in Turks and Caicos), Doug Parnell says that UK leadership in Turks and Caicos is now “akin to Cuba”, a dictatorship. The governor, Gordon Wetherell, makes all decisions solely.

Furthermore, all rights to a jury trial have been abolished by the UK as to the entire population. This has raised many eyebrows calling into question a witch hunt with a supreme decision already mapped.

When the UK took over governance of the islands in August, a newly elected Premier, Gallmo Williams, had been already elected and in office for nearly six months following the accused Premier Michael Misick’s resignation. Mr. Williams calls UK’s move, a coup.

How did these claims of wrong doing in Turks and Caicos come about? It was not an organic grass root’s effort as once reported. It is now known to have been caused by the accusations and orchestration of a web blog in the islands called TCI Journal which has been shrouded in controversy since early 2008.

TCI Journal is run by Shaun Malcolm, who the national main stream media calls a “political opportunist.” However, he is rumored to have several backers. The site is known to use fictitious letters to the editors and pseudonyms to make allegations and innuendo against the local government officials and foreign businessmen in the islands.

Some twelve months ago, TCI Journal wrote to UK parliament making claims of impropriety of then Premier, Michael Misick. However, once Misick left office under a cloud of suspicion, the accusations did not stop by TCI Journal.

It now turns out that the target of TCI Journal and Shaun Malcolm is ultimately UK’s Lord Michael Ashcroft, a major investor in Turks and Caicos.

Yesterday, TCI Journal and Shaun Malcolm wrote another letter to Parliament and Queen Elizabeth claiming to speak on behalf of “thinking citizens” of Turks and Caicos. It stated that islanders are grateful for UK’s intervention, which has islanders hopping mad. But the letter also asks Westminster the following:

“We respectfully and sincerely ask for your written assurance that Lord Ashcroft will not be influencing, directly or indirectly, decisions regarding the Turks and Caicos Islands should the Conservatives win the next election, and if you are willing to give us these assurances then we kindly ask for you to work with us now to establish tangible safeguards towards this goal.” The letter goes on with specific allegations of cronyism with Michael Misick’s government.

It is now reported that on Monday, Lord Michael Ashcroft will be required to face questions in the parliament with respect to these claims of alleged impropriety. These are allegations which Lord Michael Ashcroft flatly denies. Lord Ashcroft released a statement today stating that the accusations by Shaun Malcolm are false.

European nations must help resolve disputes between Greece and Turkey that are holding up a deal for improved security cooperation in Afghanistan, NATO Secretary-General Anders Fogh Rasmussen said Monday. “We need to find pragmatic solutions for that,” Fogh Rasmussen said. Frustrated in its attempts to join the EU, Turkey does not allow formal relations between NATO and the EU, making it impossible for NATO to provide protection for EU trainers in Afghanistan. NATO member Turkey also does not recognize the Greek Cypriot-led government on the divided island of Cyprus, a member of the EU. Turkey retains 35,000 troops in the breakaway Turkish Cypriot north. NATO has deployed about 71,000 troops in Afghanistan, nearly half of them Americans, while most of the others come from European allies including Turkey. And the EU has deployed a police training mission whose goal is to professionalize and eliminate corruption within the 90,000-strong Afghan National Police. NATO and EU commanders have complained about the lack of formal ties between the two organizations due to the Turkish veto, although they say that the military and police missions collaborate well on an ad hoc basis. In August, the new NATO chief traveled to Athens and Ankara to urge their governments to end the political deadlock because it was having an adverse effect on allied operations in Afghanistan. “It is really one of my priorities to improve the relations between NATO and the EU. We desperately need that,” said Fogh Rasmussen, who was attending a rare joint meeting of all European Union foreign and defense ministers. He said that both NATO and the EU urgently needed a formal security arrangement that would regulate their cooperation in Afghanistan. “It would be natural to conclude such a security agreement. But we can’t under present circumstances,” he said.

UNIVERSITY OF ESSEX 

RECRUITMENT PACK

This document includes the following information:

• Job Description
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Making an application:

Please complete the short on-line application form, which includes some standard questions, and attach the following documents. (Shortlisting is undertaken by a panel after the closing date on the basis of information provided.)

• a covering letter – explaining why you are interested in this post, and giving examples to demonstrate how you meet the requirements of the job as outlined.
• a curriculum vitae – giving full details of your qualifications and experience to date;

NB. Please do not provide reference or other non-requested documents.

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We are proud to have received Two Ticks accreditation and guarantee an interview to any candidate with a disability who meets the essential criteria for the post. For further information please use the Diversity button on our website.

If you are invited to attend an interview, you will receive an email with details of the arrangements.  If you have provided us with a mobile telephone contact number, you will also be notified via a text message telling you to visit your email account for further information.

Please note:  We are only accepting on-line applications for this post.  However, if you have a disability that makes it difficult for you to provide us with information in this way, please contact the Recruitment Team (01206-874588/873521) for help.

Closing Date: 30 November 2009

Interviews are likely to be held in the second half of December 2009.

Produced by:

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University of Essex

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Tel: +44 (0)1206 873521/874588

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University of Essex

JOB DESCRIPTION – Job ref RE946

Duties of the Post:

1. Coordinating and managing the LineUp project as a whole but in particular the international data collection (under the supervision of the Principal Investigator and other research partners).
2. Contributing to the development of the questionnaires.
3. Managing the screening of the regions in Turkey to find immigrant and non-immigrant families.
4. Collecting contact information of the family members of the 500 Turkish families in all European countries and Turkey.  
5. Liaising with organizations and associations in Turkey and European countries in order to increase the response rates in the screening and surveying.
6. Finding bilingual interviewers from European countries and assisting them with their interview training and interview.
7. Taking notes in the meetings and writing evaluation reports about them.
8. Writing annual reports.
9. Preparing proposals for funding purposes.

10.  Attending relevant conferences, workshops, and meetings.

11.  Doing literature review on the Turkish migration to Europe.

12.  Contributing to collaborative decision making with colleagues in the research team.

13.  Planning and managing own research activities in collaboration with other team members.

14.  Any other duties as may be assigned from time to time by the Head of Sociology or his/her nominee.

These duties are a guide to the work that the post holder will initially be required to undertake. They may be changed from time to time to meet changing circumstances and do not form part of the contract of employment.

Terms of Appointment:

For a full description of the terms of appointment for this post please visit: http://www.essex.ac.uk/personnel/CondServ/default.htm

As we know the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus (TRNC) Kuzey Kýbrýs Türk Cumhuriyeti commonly called Northern Cyprus or North Cyprus is a de facto independent republic located in the north of Cyprus. The TRNC declared its independence in 1983, nine years after a Greek Cypriot coup attempting to annex the island to Greece triggered armed action by Turkey. The Turkish Army maintains a large force in the TRNC with the approval of the Turkish Cypriot population. The history of the TRNC begins with the gaining of independence of a united Cyprus from British rule in August 1960. The agreement involved Cyprus being governed under a constitution which apportioned Cabinet posts, parliamentary seats and civil service jobs on an agreed ratio between the two communities. Within three years, tensions between the two communities in administrative affairs began to show. In particular, disputes over separate municipalities and taxation created a deadlock in government. In 1963 President Makarios proposed unilateral changes to the constitution via thirteen amendments, which some observers viewed as an unconstitutional attempt to tilt the balance of power in the Republic. Turkey and the Turkish Cypriots rejected the proposed amendments as an attempt to settle constitutional disputes in favor of the Greek Cypriots.

In 1963, the Greek Cypriot wing of the government created the Akritas plan which outlined a policy that would remove Turkish Cypriots from the government and ultimately lead to union with Greece. The plan stated that if the Turkish Cypriots objected then they should be “violently subjugated before foreign powers could intervene”. On December 21, 1963, a Turkish Cypriot crowd clashed with the plainclothes special constables of Yorgadjis. Almost immediately, intercommunal violence broke out with a major Greek Cypriot paramilitary attack upon Turkish Cypriots in Nicosia and Larnaca. Seven hundred Turkish hostages, including women and children, were taken from the northern suburbs of Nicosia. Nikos Sampson, a nationalist and future coup leader, led a group of Greek Cypriot irregulars into the mixed suburb of Omorphita and attacked the Turkish Cypriot population. By 1964, 193 Turkish Cypriots and 133 Greek Cypriots had been killed, with a further 209 Turks and 41 Greeks missing and presumed dead. Turkish Cypriot members of the government had by now withdrawn, creating an essentially Greek Cypriot administration in control of all institutions of the state. Widespread looting of Turkish Cypriot villages prompted 20,000 refugees to retreat into armed enclaves, where they remained for the next 11 years, relying on food and medical supplies from Turkey to survive. Turkish Cypriots formed paramilitary groups to defend the enclaves, leading to a gradual division of the island’s communities into two hostile camps. The violence had also seen thousands of Turkish Cypriots attempt to escape the violence by emigrating to Britain, Australia and Turkey. On July 15, 1974, the Greek military junta of 1967-1974 backed a Greek Cypriot military coup d’état in Cyprus. President Makarios was removed from office and Nikos Sampson took his place.

Turkey said that, under the 1960 Treaty of Guarantee, the coup was sufficient reason for military action to protect the Turkish Cypriot populace. Following Turkey’s military intervention, the coup failed and Makarios returned to Cyprus. Turkish forces proceeded to take over the northern third of the island (about 37% of Cyprus’s total area). In 1975 the “Turkish Federative State of Cyprus” (Kýbrýs Türk Federe Devleti) was declared as a first step towards a future federated Cypriot state, but was rejected by the Republic of Cyprus. After eight years of failed negotiations with the leadership of the Greek Cypriot community, the north declared its independence on November 15, 1983 under the name of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus. Politics of the Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus takes place in a framework of representative democratic republic, whereby the President is head of state and the Prime Minister head of government, and of a multi-party system. Executive power is exercised by the government. Legislative power is vested in both the government and the Assembly of the Republic. The Judiciary is independent of the executive and the legislature. In wake of the April 2004 referendum on the United Nations Annan Plan, and the support of the Turkish Cypriot community for the plan, the European Union made pledges towards ending the isolation of northern Cyprus. These included measures for trade and 259 million euro in aid.

The Organization of the Islamic Conference gave the TRNC the status of a constituent state, making the “Turkish Cypriot State” an observer member of the organization. A number of high profile formal meetings have also taken place between President Mehmet Ali Talat and various foreign leaders and politicians including the former US Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, the then British foreign minister, Jack Straw and former Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf. The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus has an indigenous Turkish Cypriot Security Force (TCSF), which is primarily made up of conscripted Turkish Cypriot males between the ages of 18 and 40.

In addition, the mainland Turkish Armed Forces maintain a Cyprus Turkish Peace Force (CTPF). The Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus is divided into five districts. The winter in Northern Cyprus is cold and rainy, particularly between December and February, with 60% of annual rainfall. These rains produce winter torrents that fill most of the rivers, which typically dry up as the year progresses. Snow may fall on the Kyrenia Range, but seldom elsewhere in spite of low night temperatures. The short spring is characterized by unstable weather, occasional heavy storms and the “meltem”, or westerly wind. Summer is hot and dry.

The education system in Northern Cyprus consists of pre-school education, primary education, secondary education and higher education. Five years of primary education is mandatory. There are six universities in Northern Cyprus, including Near East University, Girne American University, Middle East Technical University, European University of Lefke, Cyprus International University, and Eastern Mediterranean University (EMU). Despite the constraints imposed by the lack of international recognition, the TRNC economy turned in an impressive performance in the last few years. Between 2002 and 2007, Gross National Product per capita more than tripled (in current US dollars) from US $ 4,409 to 14,047. The number of tourists visiting the TRNC during January-August 2006 was 380,000, up from 286,901 during January-August 2003. According to a census carried out in the beginning of 2006 by the Turkish Cypriot administration, the TRNC has a population of 265,100 of which majority is composed of indigenous Turkish Cypriots. The TRNC is almost entirely Turkish speaking. English, however, is widely spoken as a second language. Many of the older Turkish Cypriots speak and understand Greek. The republic wants to ensure safeguards for the Turkish Cypriots which was the spirit of original constitution of the united island. Over the years the leadership of TRNC tried to reach an agreement with the Greek Cypriots but the desire has not been fulfilled. The Turkish Cypriots are determined to safeguard their independence and working for their progress. Turkey fully supports TRNC in its efforts to reach an honourable settlement with Greek Cypriots and has been cooperating with it in all vital fields. Greek Cypriots and Greece cannot ignore the aspirations of the Turkish Cypriots any more.

The northeastern Greek town of Drama has been experiencing a tourism boom as Turkish citizens head to the region to trace their historical roots, report local and national Greek newspapers. Prior to 1912,  the Drama region’s population consisted of  24,640 Turks 19,600 Macedonians and 4,600 Greeks. The majority of the returning Turkish citizens’ ancestors left their homeland when Macedonia was occupied by Greece as a result of the Balkan Wars of 1912-13. “I came from Istanbul just to take some soil from Drama,” said visitor Husammetin Dalyan. “It was my father’s dream to come here and to take some soil.” The area surrounding Drama is the site of many Ottoman legends. Among these, it was said to be the birthplace of Hasan, known as the “Robin Hood” of the Ottoman Empire, who robbed the rich to give money to the poor. According to locals, many tourists from Turkey explore the area in search of the bridge that Hasan used as his hideout. The majority of tourists, however, characterize their trip as a “pilgrimage to their homeland” in which they seek to unravel family secrets or verify long-held myths. Today, the population of the municipality of Drama is more than 55,000, and members of the local community embrace this unique return of their compatriots. Greeks and Turks participate together in the daily activities on offer there. Municipality officials readily acknowledge the increasing interest of Turkish citizens in Drama and have even re-formulated the official Web site, www.drama.gr, translating it into both Greek and Turkish, making it the first official Greek Web site to publish information in Turkish.

From an Indulgence printed by Johann Gutenberg in 1455 for the King of Cyprus.  One acquired the indulgence for fighting the Turks in Cyprus:

Form of Fullest Absolution and Remission in Life

May Almighty God have mercy upon you, and after your sins are sent away, lead you to eternal life.  May our Lord Jesus Christ, through his most holy and most piteous compassion, as well by his own authority as by that of blessed Peter and Paul his apostles and by the apostolic authority committed to me and granted to you, absolve you.  I absolve you from all your sins worn away, confessed, and forgotten, as well as from all misfortunes, excesses, crmes, and offenses however weighty they may be, reserved for the Apostolic See, and even from any excommunications, suspensions, and interdict, and from other decrees, censures, and ecclesiastical penalties promulgated by law or by man.  If you have run into such matters, I give you fullest indulgence and remission of all your sins, inasmuch as the keys of the Church of Saint Mary extend themselves in this part.  In the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.  Amen.

And now you know what I’ve been doing with all those years of Latin!

Real Estate has been one of the major money makers for the Turks and Caicos Islands and although the market has somewhat slumped since last year’s economic slump local real estate agents are not prepared to roll over and play dead just yet.

The island of Cyprus is ethnically divided into the Turkish north and Greek south

Turkish and Greek Cypriots have responded cautiously to an offer by Britain to hand over half of its sovereign land on the island in an attempt to revive peace talks.

Gordon Brown, Britain’s prime minister, is to meet Dimitris Christofias, the Greek Cypriot president, in London on Wednesday to make the offer, which would see 45 square miles handed over.

The offer is conditional on Christofias and Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader, on reaching a peace accord.

But Markos Kyprianou, Cyprus’s foreign minister, said the UK should be exerting influence with Turkey in an effort to reace an agreement.

“What Britain can do if it wants to effectively help this process is to exert influence and encourage Turkey to be more accomodating on the talks,” he said.

Talat said it was “not possible to make an extensive assessment on the subject” without further discussion.

He added: “This [British offer] could probably be understood as an initiative to put an end to the lack of will on this subject on the part of the Greek Cypriot side”.

Ethnic divisions

Britain, which was once a colonial power on the island, offered on Tuesday to give up two pockets of militarily strategic, undeveloped real estate in the south of the island.

The land was split in a Turkish invasion, triggered by a brief Greek inspired coup, in 1974.

The offer is contingent on a long-elusive peace deal between Cyprus’s estranged Greek and Turkish Cypriots engaged in reunification negotiations for more than a year.

It was made to the United Nations, which is overseeing the peace talks.

Cyprus’s ethnic division is one factor affecting Turkey’s bid to join the European Union, and is a source of tension between Nato allies Greece and Turkey.

Britain’s latest offer to hand over territory is similar to one made in 2003, when a UN reunification blueprint was being discussed by the two sides.

Rosen Markov, the eccentric leader of the “Party of Bulgarian Men” set himself on fire this evening in front of the Bulgarian National TV in protest against the broadcasting of news in the Turkish language. Markov, who is a native of Varna and is known for his weird and unconventional public initiatives, set a table on the San Stefanov street earlier today with a banner saying, “No to the news in Turkish on the BNT. They are an outrage. Who needs them?”

At one point, the man just set himself on fire in front of the main entrance of the state-owned TV station. He was saved by the policemen on duty who took off his coat immediately and put it off with a fire extinguisher. After the incident, the man returned to his table.

For one week in August 2009, Markov collected 20 000 signatures in the city of Varna against the broadcasting of news in Turkish on the Bulgarian National TV.

The ten-minute afternoon broadcast of news in Turkish on the Bulgarian National TV was introduced by the UDF government of PM Ivan Kostov in the late 1990s. It usually follows the Bulgarian-language news at 4 pm every weekday afternoon. The broadcast is a courtesy to the ethnic Turkish minority in Bulgaria but has been violently opposed by nationalists over the years, many of whom even claim the Bulgarian Turks don’t understand the literary Turkish language spoken in the broadcast.

A ten-minute afternoon broadcast of news in Turkish was introduced in the late 1990s as a courtesy to Bulgaria’s Turkish minority. Nationalists have opposed it ever since.

Scholars and journalists have argued that Turkey’s new foreign policy vision is a result of the country’s geopolitical significance, in addition to its Muslim population and cultural and historical ties with neighboring countries, and that this change cannot be viewed as the country giving up its long-standing European Union membership bid, in interviews with the Aksiyon weekly.
Muhammed Nureddin, the director of Beirut Strategic Research Center, considered the old foreign policy strategy as one challenging its past, but says that with the new vision, Turkey is becoming a regional power. “With the Turkey’s new foreign policy, the world is now closer to peace. The attitude of Turkey in international politics is based on the idea of justice. The moral principles pursued by Turkey make its image better in the eyes of the people,” he added.The director of Turkey’s Marshall Fund, Özgür Ünlühisarcıklıoğlu, underlined the risks stemming from the new foreign policy understanding and noted that there should be a clear definition of the close relations with Iran so as not to disturb the West. He also noted that Turkey’s cooperative stance with Hamas and Sudan’s leader Omar al-Bashir could produce trouble in its relations with the West and Israel. Secondly, the zero problems with neighbors strategy could create tensions with other neighbors.

Fayyaz Chaudhry, the editor of foreign policy news at a Pakistani news agency, regarded the improving relations of Turkey and Asian countries as helpful in Turkey’s EU bid and stated that Turkey’s initiatives to reach a settlement between Afghanistan and Pakistan are a result of the new foreign policy vision. “Both of the countries need a new actor apart from the US for the achievement of reconciliation attempts. If Turkey can boost relations between these two countries, this will be a great success for Turkish diplomacy.”

“So far Turkey has been defined as the bridge between East and West. However, this definition is not enough to give a clear description of Turkey. It is now an active diplomatic player in both East and West,” said Fehmi Hüveydi, a journalist from Egypt and underlined the mediation efforts of Turkey, mainly in Middle East, and recalled that  Egypt was uneasy about the active role of Turkey in the region. However, it was appeased by Turkey’s remarks that convinced Egypt that Turkey should not be seen as its rival in the region.

The weekly Aksiyon  devoted its latest cover issue to a current debate on whether a change concerning Turkish foreign policy priorities in international politics, which are based on an alliance with the West, the US and western European countries, has been undertaken which will ultimately result in a closer stance with eastern countries.

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan announced on Tuesday in the AK party group meeting that “our foreign policy is directed towards the West but it does not mean that Turkey will turn its back on its neighbors in the north, south or east.”

Aksiyon claims that Erdoğan’s remarks show that the greatest ambition for Turkish foreign relations is being an EU member which the prime minister thinks will not constitute an obstacle to developing better relations with other countries. Some EU member’s voicing their rejection and discontent of Turkey’s EU bid has created a deceleration in the process. However, Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoğlu advocates that as an EU member, Turkey will be instrumental in bridging the EU and Gulf countries.

Despite some arguments that the new strategy for Turkish foreign policy is neo- Ottomanism, Turkey has been quite successful in establishing promising relations with countries that were not under Ottoman rule like Afghanistan and Pakistan.

The “zero problems with neighbors” strategy produced and pursued by Davutoğlu has facilitated the dialogue with close neighbors and is considered a courageous step in demolishing barriers to resolve Turkey’s long-lasting problems of like the Armenia and Cyprus issues.

Gökhan Bacık from Gaziantep Zive University stated that Turkey has got over the psychology of the Cold War era recently and underlined the importance of the perception of Turkey to its close neighbors. “When the country does not obey the rules set by the established elites, a field of opportunities waits for Turkey because of its Ottoman history and Islamic background.”

Turkey is now emerging as a fair broker due to its tough mediation efforts in problems and conflicts in Eurasia. The West sees Turkey’s role as essential and helpful in the domestic conflicts in Leb anon and the disputes between Syria and the US. Moreover, Turkey has been able to bring together hostile countries like Afghanistan with Pakistan along with Bosnia and Herzegovina and Serbia. In addition, Turkey has been playing a very active role in easing the tensions between Russia and Georgia and Armenia and Azerbaijan. Therefore, with a record number of votes Turkey was able to be elected to permanent membership of the UN Security Council with the votes of 151 countries.

One of the loudest claims the communists used to make was that the unity of proletarian internationalism would render obsolete any national or ethnic prejudice. It was supposed that the brotherhood of workers would consign all ethnic strife to the proverbial “dustbin of history”.

Bulgaria under communist rule provided a stark example of the resilience of bigotry under Marxism.

In 1984, the Bulgarian government under Todor Zhivkov began a bizarre and brutal campaign to forcibly assimilate Bulgaria’s Turks, who comprised about 10% of the population. During a period of two months, the entire Turkish population was forced to take on Bulgarian names. Villages were cordoned off and people were assigned new names. Often, brothers from the same family found that they now had different last names. The Turkish Weekly describes the brutality and chaos of this period as follows.

“The Bulgarian totalitarian state started an assimilation act towards the Turkish minority at the end of 1984 and the beginning of 1985. More than 1 million Turks were renamed by force within two months. The Bulgarian totalitarian state literally started a war against these undefended and poor people. The totalitarian regime mobilized all of its force: army, police troops, special soldiers, armed volunteers, even an organization of children. The authorities of the totalitarian state began persecuting the Turkish population in all of the regions [under its control]. Many people were detained in the police station for days and beaten to death. During this act of the totalitarian state, 517 people were arrested and sent to the concentration camp on Belene Island, and nearly 400 people were exiled or imprisoned by fake courts. Before being sent to the concentration camp, exiled or imprisoned we were subjected to unbearable cruelties and brutalities. We were made to live in conditions which can’t be described. Our families were persecuted and put under psychological pressure again and again. In 1989 the Bulgarian totalitarian state launched [a campaign of] ethnic cleansing. Within 72 days 350,000 Turks were deported from the country.”

In addition to those who were forcibly deported, there were those who found the pressure of living hated and hunted in Bulgaria to be unbearable. To the lasting credit, the Turkish republic opened its borders and its heart to its Turkish brothers in Bulgaria. It offered them the right of return and the opportunity to take Turkish citizenship. For thousands of Turks who had literally had their very names stolen, the kindness of the Turkish government and people was priceless. Many sold their property at great loss to save their lives. In Turkey, many were bewildered by a capitalist system that was alien to them as well as a form of spoken Turkish quite different from what they knew in Bulgaria.

Many people know of ethnic Germans driven from their homes at the end of World War Two. Many remember the images of streams of ethnic Germans trudging hundreds of miles on foot to an uncertain future in a new country that was in a state of physical and economic ruin.

Today these Germans have been absorbed into German society. Their grandchildren preserve the memory of the injustice done to their grandparents, but do so from established and comfortable homes and not refugee camps.

Bulgaria’s Turks were as forlorn and desperate in the 80s as the Germans were in the 40s. The idea of jus sanguinis, the right to citizenship by virtue of ancestry was critical to minimising loss of life. As noble as the idea is of a nation of laws such as we enjoy in the US, states such as Germany, Turkey and Greece as well as Israel with their legal principal of jus sanguinis occupy a critical and essential place in the family of nations.

Turkey has had dark chapters in its history. Kurds and Armenians as well as Assyrians are all too well acquainted with this fact. It badly needs to develop legal and constitutional safeguards for its own national minorities. But it deserves respect and recognition for its humanitarian assistance to its Turkish compatriots in Bulgaria.

How does a nation preserve its language, its culture and its way of life and at the same time accommodate its national minorities? Turkey has taught the world valuable lessons, both in the failures of its history and in its successes. It is a nation to be studied by a world that sees new crises unfolding every day .

In the post communist era, the situation of Bulgaria’s Turks has improved. With difficulty, names taken away have been returned, if not the property that was lost. The history of Bulgaria’s Turks stands as stark testimony to the moral bankruptcy of communism and the fragility of human decency. I wish Bulgaria’s Turks peace and tranquility, wherever they may choose to live.

ISTANBUL // After strengthening relations with Syria, Iraq and Iran and opening the way for healing historic wounds with Armenia, the Turkish government is preparing to take the initiative on another diplomatic front: Cyprus. Ankara is about to present new proposals to solve the conflict on the divided island, an effort also designed to remove one of the biggest hurdles to Turkey’s EU membership, reports say.

The British foreign secretary, David Miliband, is expected to visit Ankara for talks on the Cyprus issue tomorrow. Like Turkey and Greece, the UK is a guarantor power for Cyprus, which was a British colony before becoming independent in 1963. While Mr Miliband meets officials in Ankara, Egemen Bagis, Turkey’s top EU negotiator, will travel to Greece for talks on Cyprus. Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the prime minister, will take up the Cyprus conflict at a meeting with the US president Barack Obama in Washington on November 7, media reports have said.

Ankara’s decision to get more involved in the Cyprus issue comes after Turkey launched initiatives designed to repair or improve relations with neighbours Syria, Iraq, Iran and Armenia. Ahmet Davutoglu, the foreign minister, has said he wants Turkey to have “zero problems” with its neighbours, something he thinks is necessary before the country can claim a role as a leading power in the region.

“Our constructive position on the Cyprus problem, our attitude towards the Armenian problem, and our dialogue with Iran, Iraq and Syria are concrete expressions of our peaceful policies,” Mr Erdogan told a meeting on Turkish foreign policy organised by several think tanks in Istanbul last month. “A Turkey that knows the Middle East, the Balkans and the Caucasus very well and is European at the same time will not be a burden for the EU. In other words, it is not a country that will place a burden on the EU, but one of the countries that can ease the burden of the EU.”

Turkey’s “Cyprus opening” took shape in talks between Mehmet Ali Talat, the Turkish Cypriot leader, and Turkish officials, including Abdullah Gul, the president, in Ankara last week. Mr Talat also met Mr Davutoglu, who only recently asked his diplomats for fresh ideas on Cyprus.

Two weeks ago, Mr Davutoglu called about 40 Turkish ambassadors to Ankara for a two-day “brain-storming” session on the Cyprus conflict, a foreign ministry spokesman, Burak Ozugergin, told reporters in Ankara. Mr Bagis also participated. The meeting ended with a resolve to “push through peace” on Cyprus, Mr Ozugergin said. Turkey would be conducting an “active” policy on Cyprus from now on. According to media reports, Ankara wants to find a solution before next April, when Mr Talat, seen as a pro-EU reformer, faces a difficult election.

Cyprus has been divided since 1974, when a Greek Cypriot coup aimed at making the island a part of Greece triggered a Turkish military intervention. The internationally recognised Greek republic on the island has been an EU member since 2004, but the Turkish sector is isolated and recognised only by Ankara.

The unsolved Cyprus problem has slowed Turkey’s EU accession. The EU has frozen eight of 35 chapters of membership negotiations with Turkey because Ankara refuses to open its ports for ships from the Greek republic of Cyprus. Brussels gave Turkey until the end of this year to comply.

Ankara says the EU has not honoured a promise to improve the situation for Turkish Cypriots, who voted in favour of a reunification plan put forward by the United Nations in 2004. The plan fell through because it was rejected by Greek Cypriots. Mr Talat and the Greek Cypriot president, Demetris Christofias, have met in almost 50 sessions since the start of unification talks last year, but have so far failed to reach an agreement.

“There has to be a solution over there, a durable solution,” Mr Gul said after his talks with Mr Talat. According to Turkish media reports, the two men agreed that Mr Talat would show more flexibility in negotiations with Mr Christofias.

Bulent Aras, a political scientist at Istanbul’s Isik University, told the NTV news channel that the Turkish government was speeding up things on Cyprus to make progress on several fronts.
Mr Davutoglu “wants a result [by] the end of the year”, Mr Aras said. Ankara was asking the EU to drop trade restrictions for Turkish Cypriots and to open the Turkish sector of the island for international air travel, he added. In return, Turkey would be willing to open its ports for the Greek Cypriots, press reports have said. There was no official confirmation.