Friday, August 23, 2013
Questions about alleged gas attack in Syria
This morning Reuters reported that according to Syrian activists, regime forces attacked a suburban Damascus area with nerve gas, killing nearly 500 people, many of them women and children. The dead are said to have signs of nerve gas poisoning.
Other opposition groups are claiming even higher casualty figures, including the Syrian National Coalition, which put the number at 650.
The attacks, which allegedly came in a hail of regime rockets at dawn today, are said to have affected residents in the areas of Ain Tarma, Zamalka, and Jobar.
A few hours ago, the opposition Syrian Observatory for Human Rights reported heavy regime bombardments in a number of Damascus suburbs today, and also stated that: "Areas in the cities of Zamalka and Saqba and the towns of Jisreen and al-Mleiha are under regime forces' violent bombardment, using mortar and rocket launchers, and news were received about tens of casualties in Zamalka due to the bombardment, which an activist said it was toxic gases, midst warplanes hovering over the area."
Several hours earlier, SOHR reported:
Reef Dimashq: Tens of people, including children, have been killed by violent regime bombardment on the eastern and western Ghouta. Syrian Government forces are using multiple rocket launchers to bombard since dawn today the towns cities of Erbin, Zamalka, Ein Terma as well as other parts of the Eastern Ghouta. Activists in the area of East Ghouta have said that the regime used poisonous gasses during their bombardment on the area, causing dozens of deaths and hundreds of injuries. In the Western Ghouta the airforce was used to bombard parts of Mou'adamiya city and its surrounding area, which is also under bombardment by multiple rocket launchers; this is considered the heaviest bombardment inflicted on the city since the beginning of the regime attack and attempt to regain control over it. Activists in Mou'adamaiya have also accused the regime of using poisonous gasses in their bombing of Mou'adamiya.
We at the SOHR call on the UN investigation team on the use of chemical weapons in Syria, as well as all international organisations such as the Red Cross , to head directly to these devastated areas in order to verify and investigate these reports and pinpoint the body responsible for the use of the weapons, as well as to immediately provide the badly needed aid and medical treatment to the people in these areas.
The Syrian Government has denied the allegations, the New York Times reported, and a number of countries have called for an immediate investigation.
The UN chemical weapons investigation team is already in Syria, having entered a few days ago to look into 13 previous reports of the use of chemical weapons in Syria. Note that the UN team is planning to determine simply whether the weapons have been used, not who used them.
A few questions come to mind at this point:
1. Why would the Syrian Government conduct a chemical weapons attack right under the noses of the UN investigators?
2. Is it possible that the recent intense Syrian Government bombardments in the Damascus suburbs have hit rebel stocks of chemical weapons? In that regard, note that Zamalka, a suburb where the toxic chemical is said to have been released, was also allegedly targeted in a gas attack in June. If the Syrian Government were trying to avoid the accusation that it was using chemical warfare, would it return to the scene of a previous crime and repeat it?
3. Another possibility is that the rebels themselves used chemical weapons in the area earlier today. The objections to this possibility are similar to those in #1; why would a party use them when a UN inspection team is in country.... But it is also conceivable that rebels used the chemical weapons in an effort to frame the Syrian Government.
4. While the casualties have been extensively displayed, little or no evidence has yet emerged of the delivery methods of the toxic material. Should this be more readily available?
It is perhaps noteworthy that the Syrian army reportedly targeted al Qaeda-linked forces in the Damascus suburbs of Zamalka and Dariyah in early December.
While most of the fingerpointing over alleged chemical weapons use has been directed at the Assad's Syrian Government, there is reason to believe that Syrian rebels also have access to such weapons.
In June 2012, a Turkish jihadist site mentioned that the Free Syrian Army (which now is known to fight alongside al Qaeda forces from the Al Nusrah Front and the Islamic State of Iraq in the Levant) had obtained chemical weapons equipment from a military base in Aleppo that belonged to President Bashar al Assad's army. [See Threat Matrix report, Jihadist site claims FSA has obtained chemical weapons equipment. http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2012/07/jihadi_site_claims_fsa_has_obt.php]
In early December, the Al Nusrah Front and allied foreign Islamist battalions seized Sheikh Suleiman base, or Base 111, in Aleppo after a months-long siege. The military facility is rumored to be involved in the Syrian Government's chemical weapons program. The base "contained a clandestine scientific research whose purpose was unknown even to the rank and file," AFP reported in late November, based on a claim from a soldier who defected. [See LWJ report, Al Nusrah Front, foreign jihadists seize key Syrian base in Aleppo. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/al_nusrah_front_alli.php]
On May 30 this year, the Turkish media reported that 12 individuals from the al Qaeda-linked Al Nusrah Front had been captured in anti-terror operations in Adana, along with a total of two kilos (4,5 lb) of sarin gas. Five of the 12 suspects were later released. [See Threat Matrix report, Reports claim Al Nusrah Front members in Turkey were planning sarin gas attacks. http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2013/05/on_may_30_the_turkish.php]
And in early June, the Iraqi military broke up an al Qaeda in Iraq cell in Baghdad that was seeking to manufacture chemical weapons. The Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant (formerly al Qaeda in Iraq), one of two al Qaeda affiliates that operate in Syria, is the dominant rebel force in Syria, along with the Al Nusrah Front, which is also an al Qaeda group. [See LWJ report, Iraq breaks up al Qaeda chemical weapons cell. http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2013/06/iraq_breaks_up_al_qa.php]
Even Rolf Ekeus, a retired Swedish diplomat who headed a team of UN weapons inspectors in Iraq in the 1990s, commented that it would be "very peculiar" and at least "not very clever" for the Assad regime to perpetrate a large chemical weapons attack at the very time the UN team is in Syria.
The timing, location, and scale of this attack raise many questions indeed.
Update:
According to Agence France Presse, several experts in the field of chemical weapons are questioning the rebels' claims about the use of sarin gas in the alleged attack.
By LISA LUNDQUIST | August 21, 2013
http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2013/08/questions_about_alleged_gas_at.php#ixzz2cqHFENUm
Büyük tehlike | ( Kemal Okuyan)
23 Ağustos 2013
Bugün Ortadoğu’da olup bitenleri başı sonu belli bir emperyalist planla açıklamaya kalkarsak, her bir gelişmeye olmadık anlamlar yükler, tek tek olaylar arasındaki bağlantıyı, gerçek olmayan bir zeminde kurmaya kalkarız.
ABD’nin 2000’lerin başından beri sabit bir stratejiye sahip olduğu düşüncesini bu kapsamda değerlendirmek mümkün. Bu düşünce Vaşington’un 13-14 yılda değiştirdiği, değiştirmek zorunda kaldığı yöntemlerin, araçların, ittifak sistemlerinin tümünü birden aynı ortak hedefin içine yerleştirdiği oranda temelsizdir. Amerikan emperyalizmini bütün bu dönem boyunca tanımlayan, her şeyden önce hegemonyasını sürdürme kaygısıdır. İran’ın kuşatılması, Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti’nin bir rakip olarak ortaya çıkmasının engellenmesi gibi altbaşlıklar da sıralanabilir. Ancak daha fazlasını içine alan bir master plandan söz etmek yanıltıcıdır.
Bölmek, etnik çatışmaları kışkırtmak ne kadar hedeftir, ne kadar araçtır bu son derece tartışmalı. Bizim için önemli olan, başat emperyalist ülkenin her istediğini yapabilme yeteneğine sahip olmaması, gelişmelere göre hedeflerini, araçlarını ve müttefiklerini yeniden belirlemesidir.
Böyle baktığımızda, ABD’nin stratejisinde Obama’yla birlikte belli bir değişim olduğunu kabul etmemiz gerekiyor. Bu değişim AKP’yi cesaretlendirmiş, AKP de ABD yönetimini cesaretlendirmiştir.
ABD’nin bazı İslamcı güçlerle nikah tazelemesi bu dönemin ürünüdür. İslam coğrafyasını topyekün karşıya almak yerine, Sünni eksenli bir gerici koalisyona bölgeyi kontrol ettirme fikri, 2000’lerin başındaki ABD politikasına cuk oturmamaktadır.
AKP’nin desteklenmesi, kuşkusuz çok öncesinde, AKP 2002’de hükümet olmadan önceki bir hesabın ürünüydü. Ancak bu destek Obama’yla birlikte çok kapsamı bir bölgesel stratejiyi de içine aldı.
Bugün yaşananlar, sözü edilen stratejinin çıkmaza girmesinin ürünüdür.
Erdoğan bu stratejinin tıkanmadığını, hâlâ tutma şansı olduğunu kanıtlama uğraşındadır. Mısır başlığınde yedi düvelle kavga etmeyi göze alması, Suriye’de ise ardı ardına provokasyonlar yaratması bu nedenledir.
Öyle ki, içeride gözü dönen, halka saldıran ve saldırmaya devam edeceğini ilan eden hükümet, dış politikada da çılgınlığa devam etmektedir.
Bütünüyle aptallık olarak görülmemeli. Evet, Yeni Osmanlıcılık bir fiyaskoya dönüşmektedir ama sürecin en azından AKP’yi topyekun süpürmesini engellemek için, Erdoğan-Davutoğlu ikilisi hiç değilse durumu kurtaracak bir “başarı”ya gereksinim duymaktadır.
Ancak çöküntü o kadar büyüktür ki, AKP’yi rahatlatacak küçük bir bölgesel başarı için bile ortalığı yangın yerine çevirecek girdilerde bulunmak gerekiyor.
Erdoğan, ABD’nin de açmazını gördü, bu açmazdan yararlanarak son kozlarını oynuyor.
En tehlikeli kozlarını…
Kimyasal silah iddiası böyledir, Mursi’ye “diren” mesajı böyledir.
Uzun vadede asla tutmaz. Çünkü dediğimiz kanıtlanmış, AKP boyunu aşan işlere kalkışmıştır. Kısa vadede ise AKP bölgeyi ateşe verecek güce sahiptir. Uyanıklık, kararlılık tam da bu dönemde gerekir.
Bugün Ortadoğu’da olup bitenleri başı sonu belli bir emperyalist planla açıklamaya kalkarsak, her bir gelişmeye olmadık anlamlar yükler, tek tek olaylar arasındaki bağlantıyı, gerçek olmayan bir zeminde kurmaya kalkarız.
ABD’nin 2000’lerin başından beri sabit bir stratejiye sahip olduğu düşüncesini bu kapsamda değerlendirmek mümkün. Bu düşünce Vaşington’un 13-14 yılda değiştirdiği, değiştirmek zorunda kaldığı yöntemlerin, araçların, ittifak sistemlerinin tümünü birden aynı ortak hedefin içine yerleştirdiği oranda temelsizdir. Amerikan emperyalizmini bütün bu dönem boyunca tanımlayan, her şeyden önce hegemonyasını sürdürme kaygısıdır. İran’ın kuşatılması, Çin Halk Cumhuriyeti’nin bir rakip olarak ortaya çıkmasının engellenmesi gibi altbaşlıklar da sıralanabilir. Ancak daha fazlasını içine alan bir master plandan söz etmek yanıltıcıdır.
Bölmek, etnik çatışmaları kışkırtmak ne kadar hedeftir, ne kadar araçtır bu son derece tartışmalı. Bizim için önemli olan, başat emperyalist ülkenin her istediğini yapabilme yeteneğine sahip olmaması, gelişmelere göre hedeflerini, araçlarını ve müttefiklerini yeniden belirlemesidir.
Böyle baktığımızda, ABD’nin stratejisinde Obama’yla birlikte belli bir değişim olduğunu kabul etmemiz gerekiyor. Bu değişim AKP’yi cesaretlendirmiş, AKP de ABD yönetimini cesaretlendirmiştir.
ABD’nin bazı İslamcı güçlerle nikah tazelemesi bu dönemin ürünüdür. İslam coğrafyasını topyekün karşıya almak yerine, Sünni eksenli bir gerici koalisyona bölgeyi kontrol ettirme fikri, 2000’lerin başındaki ABD politikasına cuk oturmamaktadır.
AKP’nin desteklenmesi, kuşkusuz çok öncesinde, AKP 2002’de hükümet olmadan önceki bir hesabın ürünüydü. Ancak bu destek Obama’yla birlikte çok kapsamı bir bölgesel stratejiyi de içine aldı.
Bugün yaşananlar, sözü edilen stratejinin çıkmaza girmesinin ürünüdür.
Erdoğan bu stratejinin tıkanmadığını, hâlâ tutma şansı olduğunu kanıtlama uğraşındadır. Mısır başlığınde yedi düvelle kavga etmeyi göze alması, Suriye’de ise ardı ardına provokasyonlar yaratması bu nedenledir.
Öyle ki, içeride gözü dönen, halka saldıran ve saldırmaya devam edeceğini ilan eden hükümet, dış politikada da çılgınlığa devam etmektedir.
Bütünüyle aptallık olarak görülmemeli. Evet, Yeni Osmanlıcılık bir fiyaskoya dönüşmektedir ama sürecin en azından AKP’yi topyekun süpürmesini engellemek için, Erdoğan-Davutoğlu ikilisi hiç değilse durumu kurtaracak bir “başarı”ya gereksinim duymaktadır.
Ancak çöküntü o kadar büyüktür ki, AKP’yi rahatlatacak küçük bir bölgesel başarı için bile ortalığı yangın yerine çevirecek girdilerde bulunmak gerekiyor.
Erdoğan, ABD’nin de açmazını gördü, bu açmazdan yararlanarak son kozlarını oynuyor.
En tehlikeli kozlarını…
Kimyasal silah iddiası böyledir, Mursi’ye “diren” mesajı böyledir.
Uzun vadede asla tutmaz. Çünkü dediğimiz kanıtlanmış, AKP boyunu aşan işlere kalkışmıştır. Kısa vadede ise AKP bölgeyi ateşe verecek güce sahiptir. Uyanıklık, kararlılık tam da bu dönemde gerekir.
Suriye hukumetini kimyasal silah kullanmakla suclayanlar okusun
Longwarjournal: Suriye’deki Kimyasal Saldırı Hakkında Sorular (23 Ağustos 2013 )
CIA'ye yakınlığıyla bilinen site bile Şam'daki son kimyasal saldırı hakkındaki yorumlara şüpheci yaklaşıyor...
(not: Kimyasal zehirli gazlarin, Ayn Tarma, Zamalka ve Cobar bölgelerinde yasayan insanlari etkilediği söyleniyor)
1) Suriye Hukumeti BM soruşturma ekibinin burnunun dibinde neden bir kimyasal silah saldırısı gerçekleştirsin?
2. Suriye Hukumeti Şam banliyölerindeki son yoğun bombardımanları isyancıların kimyasal silah stoklarını vurmuş olabilir mi? Bu açıdan, zehirli kimyasalın yayıldığı söylenen bir banliyö olan Zamalka'nın Haziran ayındaki bir gaz saldırısında da hedef alındığının iddia edildiğini belirtmek gerekir. Eğer Suriye Hukumeti kimyasal silahlar kullandığı suçlamasından kaçınmaya çalışıyorsa, bir önceki bir suçun sahnesine dönüp onu tekrar eder mi?
3. Bir diğer olasılık, bölgede kimyasal silahların isyancıların kendisi tarafından kullanıldığıdır. Bu olasılığa karşı 1. maddedeki itiraz ileri sürülebilir; BM soruşturma ekibi ülkedeyken neden bir tarafın bu silahları kullanacağı sorulabilir… Fakat isyancıların, Esad'in Suriye Hukumetine komplo kurmak için kimyasal silah kullanmış olması akla yatkındır.
4. Ölümler kapsamlı bir şekilde gösterilirken, zehirli maddelerin kullanılma yöntemlerine dair kanıt ortaya çıkmadı veya çok az kanıt ortaya çıktı. Bunların daha kolay bulunabilir olması gerekmez mi?
Belki, Suriye ordusunun Aralık başlarında Şam'ın Zamalka ve Dariye banliyölerinde El Kaide bağlantılı güçleri hedef aldığının aktarıldığını not etmek de önemli olabilir.
Varsayılan kimyasal silah kullanımına dair parmaklar genelde Varsayılan kimyasal silah kullanımına dair parmaklar genelde Esad rejimini işaret etse de, Suriyeli isyancıların bu tür silahlara erişiminin olduğuna inanmamız için de nedenler var.
Haziran 2012'de bir Türk cihadçı sitesi, Özgür Suriye Ordusu'nun (ki El Nusra Cephesi ile Irak ve Biladüşşam İslam Devleti'nden El Kaide güçleriyle yan yana savaştığı biliniyor), önceden Başkan Beşar Esad'ın ordusuna ait olan, Halep'teki bir askeri üsten kimyasal silah donanımı elde ettiğinden bahsetmişti. [Threat Matrix'in 'Cihadçı site ÖSO'nun kimyasal silah donanımı ele geçirdiğini iddia etti' başlıklı haberine bakınız. (http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2012/07/jihadi_site_claims_fsa_has_obt.php)]
Aralık başlarında El Nusra Cephesi ve onun müttefiki olan yabancı İslamcı tugaylar, aylar süren kuşatma sonucunda Halep'te bulunan ve Üs 111 de denilen Şeyh Süleyman üssünü ele geçirmişti. Askeri tesisin Esad hukumetinin kimyasal silah programına dahil olduğu söylentileri dolaşıyordu. AFP'nin Kasım ayı sonunda, zarar görmüş bir askerin iddiasına dayanarak söylediğine göre üste “amacının alt kademe askerler tarafından bile bilinmediği gizli bir bilimsel araştırma yapılıyordu”. [LWJ'nin 'El Nusra Cephesi ve yabancı cihadçılar, Halep'teki önemli bir Suriye askeri üssüne el koydu' başlıklı haberine bakınız - http://www.longwarjournal.org/archives/2012/12/al_nusrah_front_alli.php]
Bu yıl 30 Mayıs tarihinde Türk medyası, Adana şehrindeki terör operasyonunda El Kaide bağlantılı El Nusra Cephesi'nden 12 kişinin, toplam iki kilo (4,5 lb) sarin gazıyla yakalandığını yazdı. 12 şüpheliden beşi daha sonra serbest bırakıldı [Threat Matrix'in Haberler Türkiye'deki El Nusra üyelerinin sarin gazı saldırıları planladığını aktarıyor başlıklı haberine bakınız.]
Haziran başında ise Irak ordusu, Bağdat'ta kimyasal silah üretmeye çalışan bir Irak El Kaidesi hücresini çökertmişti. Irak ve Biladüşşam İslam Devleti (eski adıyla Irak El Kaidesi), yani Suriye'de faaliyet yürüten El Kaide bağlantılı iki gruptan biri, bir diğer El Kaide grubu olan El Nusra Cephesi ile birlikte Suriye'deki baskın isyancı güç konumunda. [LWJ'nin 'Irak El Kaide kimyasal silah hücresini çökertti' başlıklı haberine bakınız. http://www.longwarjournal.org/threat-matrix/archives/2013/05/on_may_30_the_turkish.php]
1990'larda Irak'taki bir BM silah denetçileri ekibine başkanlık etmiş olan emekli İsveçli diplomat Rolf Ekeus bile, BM ekibinin Suriye'de olduğu sırada Esad hukumetinin büyük bir kimyasal silah saldırısı gerçekleştirmesinin “çok tuhaf” olacağını ve en azından “pek zekice olmayacağını” söyledi.
Saldırının zamanlaması, yeri ve ölçeği gerçekten de pek çok soruya yol açıyor.
(Alinti burdan) > http://medyasafak.com/haber/1032/longwarjournal--suriye-deki-kimyasal-saldiri-hakkinda-sorular
Tuesday, August 20, 2013
Is Islam Compatible With Democracy?
8 July 2013 | By Alon Ben-Meir
The question raised by the ouster of Egypt's President Morsi is whether Islam is compatible with democracy or any form of government that empowers the people and limits the power of leaders to hold merely representative offices with limited terms of public service.
Islam is the most recent of the Abrahamic religions to emerge on the world stage. Monotheism in general, and specifically as it developed in the Dark and Middle Ages, in principle reflects extremely authoritarian regimes.
Theologically, it posits a cosmic or heavenly hierarchy with absolute authority in God, angels in go-between positions, and a fallen humanity in need of salvation at the base of the pyramidal power structure.
It is no surprise then that in the centuries wherein the Catholic Church was at its zenith of influence in the West, political power was held by kings, popes, emperors, and powerful nepotistic and despotic elite with huge economic chasms between the people and their rulers.
Obviously, these structures were not compatible with democracy.
Christianity and Judaism, being monotheistic, are no less inheritors of this stratified and centralized power paradigm, but unlike Islam these religions were effectively secularized and toned down during the century of the European Enlightenment.
Thinkers like Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, Kant, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hume, and Hegel paved the way for Marx, Schopenhauer, Buber, and Sartre to challenge conventional approaches to religious ideologies and political formations.
Traditional monotheism, with its highly categorized view of man and God, may not in itself be wholly compatible with democracy, but modern Western monotheism gradually molded itself to new ways of thinking during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, and was certainly forced to do so amid rapid scientific and technological advances.
The Islamic world enjoyed its own renaissance during the Islamic Golden Age (mid-8th to mid-13th century) with advances in the sciences, mathematics, and literature, yet the period declined and has never been restored to its former glory.
Where are Islam's corresponding great modern philosophers and scientists who can pave the way for a similar transformation of both radical and even secular Islam in the Arab world?
In the Arab world today, the majority of its intellectuals are clerics, imams, and thinkers emerging from the core of Islamic values. Radical Islam simply does not routinely nurture free thinkers willing to brave the fires of what might otherwise become an Islamic Inquisition.
Is it even possible to transition from hierarchical religious authoritarianism to a modernized and even secularized form of Islamic democracy - one that accepts the separation of church and state?
While the possibility and harsh eventuality remains, this is a tall order since Islam, perhaps more than other monotheistic religions, invites itself into every aspect of social life. More specifically, Islam is inherently and by definition inconsistent with the separation of church and state.
It is instructive that the seeming separation between the two occurred under ruthless secular dictators such Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Hafez Assad's family in Syria, and Qaddafi's Libya. In all these instances, the authoritarianism seen in the rule of the Islamist Morsi was still there.
The Middle East is not the only place where religious ideology might compel people to vote against their own social, economic, and political interests. But history teaches that if there is any prospect in wedding Islam to democratic ideals, efforts to do so must concurrently work on religious, economic, and political levels.
Religiously, the concept of the separation of church and state has practically no hold in Islamic thinking. The idea is entirely foreign to most Islamic orthodoxy, and even if a political party were secular in name, they dare not forsake the basic tenets of Islam.
The strong religious identity currently imposed on the average citizen would effect a transposition of Islamic views on political affairs, thus nullifying this vital separation of powers and coloring political discourse.
Turkey provides us with a perfect example of the failure to wed Islam to democracy. While Erdogan was supporting economic advances and paying lip service to liberty, he was imprisoning journalists and drawing to himself more and more power, leading the country increasingly by Islamic ethos rather than democratic principles.
As such, Turkey under Prime Minister Erdogan's stewardship, who claims to have found the perfect formula that balances Islam and democracy, provides a poor model that deeply disappointed the liberal-minded Arab youth who are now fighting against Islamic despotism in Egypt.
Citizens of the Arab world first require a change from the ground up in the way their religion is approached and instituted socially, politically, and economically.
With the rise of free-thinking youth and exposure to new ways of interpreting Islam, a secularized and modernized Islam adapted to modern democratic principles must emerge.
Second, the Arab world needs egalitarian economic development that distances itself from tribal, clannish, and centralizing hegemonic models and seeks to build a strong middle class provided with basic social support in education and health care.
Third, the Arab world needs, perhaps more than anything, time. We must bear in mind that it took centuries for the Western world to free itself from the bondages of religious ignorance and the divine right of kings.
But it won't take centuries for Arab states to emerge from the past and grow into functioning democracies because unlike the West, it does not need to wait for the concurrent advances in social, physical, and political sciences that paved the way for the industrial revolution and the information age.
The Arab youth are already exposed to new technologies, thus accelerating their ascent to democracy and the supremacy of reason, not revelation, in political discourse.
But that acceleration comes with its own pitfalls, making the current situation doubly serious and potentially calamitous for millions of innocent men, women, and children who are already suffering heavy fallout.
Hence, it is not enough, in the long term, for a country to have just economic development, like Saudi Arabia, or just elections, like Egypt and Iraq. Without balanced development, extremism in even one of the three social institutions will, left unchecked, color the other two.
Even if elected democratically, radical Islamic parties invariably presume upon themselves forms of power reminiscent of tyrannical kings. They simply have few other models for their political might or personal manliness other than monarchical rule. Egypt's Morsi and Iraq's Maliki provide telling examples.
I disagree with the notion that the ouster of the freely-elected Morsi will encourage opposition Islamic parties throughout the Arab world to dismiss democratic forms of governing and violently pursue their socio-political agenda in the streets as they lose faith in a free electoral system.
On the contrary, Islamic parties that seek power will do well to learn from the Egyptian experience. Being elected democratically does not bestow authoritarian powers, and governing must be inclusive, representing all the people while equally caring about their welfare, regardless of any political affiliations.
Morsi was not ousted because he is a devout Muslim; everyone who voted for him knew that only too well. Rather, by acting from a radical Islamic bent, he betrayed the premise of a freely-elected leader, which requires accountability, inclusiveness, and the responsibility to live up to the spirit of the revolution.
Moreover, Morsi failed to separate between his Islamic instincts and the democratic principles by which he was empowered to govern.
Morsi repeatedly rejected appeals from the military, the U.S., and even the Salafists to form a new inclusive government to end the crisis.
Intellectuals as well as ordinary Egyptians want their country to be modern, pluralistic, and outward-looking, and do not wish to replace one dictator with another, albeit elected.
Indeed, the blame falls squarely on Morsi's shoulders; he subordinated politics to religion and succumbed to the conservative and religious branch of Islamists who view political Islam as the answer to centuries of deprivation and of injustice.
He worked tirelessly to consolidate his powers while doing next to nothing to save the economy from pending collapse. He placed himself above judicial review and largely appointed fellow Brothers into key posts while allowing Brotherhood hooligans to beat up liberal opponents.
If this was not enough, he undermined the core of freedom of speech by intimidating the media and failing to build democratic institutions. Moreover, he pushed for a new constitution fully reliant on Sharia law, expanded blasphemy prosecutions, and supported discrimination against women.
To be sure, Morsi surrendered to Islamic siege mentality and authoritarianism in a time when the nation was demanding inclusiveness and political freedom, which was the essence of the revolution against his predecessor in the first place.
Yes, political Islam and democracy can work, but not by pushing for early elections. A transitional government, led by a respected leader who is not shackled by a strong ideology and who can cultivate consensus and has wide public appeal, must take at least two years to allow secular and Islamic parties to develop their political platforms and make the public fully aware of their socio-economic policy and other urgent issues facing their nation.
In the interim, a new constitution should be written based on freedom, democracy and equality with separation of church and state constitutionally enshrined. Any new constitution written in Egypt that does not clearly separate church and state will be doomed to fail, potentially ushering in yet another revolution.1
Brighter days will yet come to Egypt as long as Tahrir Square remains true to its name, 'Liberation Square.' The Egyptian people have now acquired the ultimate weapon that prevents despotism--be that military, religious, or secular--from rising to power. Those who seek to lead will do well to remember that.
1. This point will be expanded in a following article, which will model a separation of church and state in Egypt that still provides a prominent role for religion in daily life.
The question raised by the ouster of Egypt's President Morsi is whether Islam is compatible with democracy or any form of government that empowers the people and limits the power of leaders to hold merely representative offices with limited terms of public service.
Islam is the most recent of the Abrahamic religions to emerge on the world stage. Monotheism in general, and specifically as it developed in the Dark and Middle Ages, in principle reflects extremely authoritarian regimes.
Theologically, it posits a cosmic or heavenly hierarchy with absolute authority in God, angels in go-between positions, and a fallen humanity in need of salvation at the base of the pyramidal power structure.
It is no surprise then that in the centuries wherein the Catholic Church was at its zenith of influence in the West, political power was held by kings, popes, emperors, and powerful nepotistic and despotic elite with huge economic chasms between the people and their rulers.
Obviously, these structures were not compatible with democracy.
Christianity and Judaism, being monotheistic, are no less inheritors of this stratified and centralized power paradigm, but unlike Islam these religions were effectively secularized and toned down during the century of the European Enlightenment.
Thinkers like Descartes, Locke, Spinoza, Kant, Voltaire, Rousseau, Hume, and Hegel paved the way for Marx, Schopenhauer, Buber, and Sartre to challenge conventional approaches to religious ideologies and political formations.
Traditional monotheism, with its highly categorized view of man and God, may not in itself be wholly compatible with democracy, but modern Western monotheism gradually molded itself to new ways of thinking during the Renaissance and the Enlightenment, and was certainly forced to do so amid rapid scientific and technological advances.
The Islamic world enjoyed its own renaissance during the Islamic Golden Age (mid-8th to mid-13th century) with advances in the sciences, mathematics, and literature, yet the period declined and has never been restored to its former glory.
Where are Islam's corresponding great modern philosophers and scientists who can pave the way for a similar transformation of both radical and even secular Islam in the Arab world?
In the Arab world today, the majority of its intellectuals are clerics, imams, and thinkers emerging from the core of Islamic values. Radical Islam simply does not routinely nurture free thinkers willing to brave the fires of what might otherwise become an Islamic Inquisition.
Is it even possible to transition from hierarchical religious authoritarianism to a modernized and even secularized form of Islamic democracy - one that accepts the separation of church and state?
While the possibility and harsh eventuality remains, this is a tall order since Islam, perhaps more than other monotheistic religions, invites itself into every aspect of social life. More specifically, Islam is inherently and by definition inconsistent with the separation of church and state.
It is instructive that the seeming separation between the two occurred under ruthless secular dictators such Iraq's Saddam Hussein, Hafez Assad's family in Syria, and Qaddafi's Libya. In all these instances, the authoritarianism seen in the rule of the Islamist Morsi was still there.
The Middle East is not the only place where religious ideology might compel people to vote against their own social, economic, and political interests. But history teaches that if there is any prospect in wedding Islam to democratic ideals, efforts to do so must concurrently work on religious, economic, and political levels.
Religiously, the concept of the separation of church and state has practically no hold in Islamic thinking. The idea is entirely foreign to most Islamic orthodoxy, and even if a political party were secular in name, they dare not forsake the basic tenets of Islam.
The strong religious identity currently imposed on the average citizen would effect a transposition of Islamic views on political affairs, thus nullifying this vital separation of powers and coloring political discourse.
Turkey provides us with a perfect example of the failure to wed Islam to democracy. While Erdogan was supporting economic advances and paying lip service to liberty, he was imprisoning journalists and drawing to himself more and more power, leading the country increasingly by Islamic ethos rather than democratic principles.
As such, Turkey under Prime Minister Erdogan's stewardship, who claims to have found the perfect formula that balances Islam and democracy, provides a poor model that deeply disappointed the liberal-minded Arab youth who are now fighting against Islamic despotism in Egypt.
Citizens of the Arab world first require a change from the ground up in the way their religion is approached and instituted socially, politically, and economically.
With the rise of free-thinking youth and exposure to new ways of interpreting Islam, a secularized and modernized Islam adapted to modern democratic principles must emerge.
Second, the Arab world needs egalitarian economic development that distances itself from tribal, clannish, and centralizing hegemonic models and seeks to build a strong middle class provided with basic social support in education and health care.
Third, the Arab world needs, perhaps more than anything, time. We must bear in mind that it took centuries for the Western world to free itself from the bondages of religious ignorance and the divine right of kings.
But it won't take centuries for Arab states to emerge from the past and grow into functioning democracies because unlike the West, it does not need to wait for the concurrent advances in social, physical, and political sciences that paved the way for the industrial revolution and the information age.
The Arab youth are already exposed to new technologies, thus accelerating their ascent to democracy and the supremacy of reason, not revelation, in political discourse.
But that acceleration comes with its own pitfalls, making the current situation doubly serious and potentially calamitous for millions of innocent men, women, and children who are already suffering heavy fallout.
Hence, it is not enough, in the long term, for a country to have just economic development, like Saudi Arabia, or just elections, like Egypt and Iraq. Without balanced development, extremism in even one of the three social institutions will, left unchecked, color the other two.
Even if elected democratically, radical Islamic parties invariably presume upon themselves forms of power reminiscent of tyrannical kings. They simply have few other models for their political might or personal manliness other than monarchical rule. Egypt's Morsi and Iraq's Maliki provide telling examples.
I disagree with the notion that the ouster of the freely-elected Morsi will encourage opposition Islamic parties throughout the Arab world to dismiss democratic forms of governing and violently pursue their socio-political agenda in the streets as they lose faith in a free electoral system.
On the contrary, Islamic parties that seek power will do well to learn from the Egyptian experience. Being elected democratically does not bestow authoritarian powers, and governing must be inclusive, representing all the people while equally caring about their welfare, regardless of any political affiliations.
Morsi was not ousted because he is a devout Muslim; everyone who voted for him knew that only too well. Rather, by acting from a radical Islamic bent, he betrayed the premise of a freely-elected leader, which requires accountability, inclusiveness, and the responsibility to live up to the spirit of the revolution.
Moreover, Morsi failed to separate between his Islamic instincts and the democratic principles by which he was empowered to govern.
Morsi repeatedly rejected appeals from the military, the U.S., and even the Salafists to form a new inclusive government to end the crisis.
Intellectuals as well as ordinary Egyptians want their country to be modern, pluralistic, and outward-looking, and do not wish to replace one dictator with another, albeit elected.
Indeed, the blame falls squarely on Morsi's shoulders; he subordinated politics to religion and succumbed to the conservative and religious branch of Islamists who view political Islam as the answer to centuries of deprivation and of injustice.
He worked tirelessly to consolidate his powers while doing next to nothing to save the economy from pending collapse. He placed himself above judicial review and largely appointed fellow Brothers into key posts while allowing Brotherhood hooligans to beat up liberal opponents.
If this was not enough, he undermined the core of freedom of speech by intimidating the media and failing to build democratic institutions. Moreover, he pushed for a new constitution fully reliant on Sharia law, expanded blasphemy prosecutions, and supported discrimination against women.
To be sure, Morsi surrendered to Islamic siege mentality and authoritarianism in a time when the nation was demanding inclusiveness and political freedom, which was the essence of the revolution against his predecessor in the first place.
Yes, political Islam and democracy can work, but not by pushing for early elections. A transitional government, led by a respected leader who is not shackled by a strong ideology and who can cultivate consensus and has wide public appeal, must take at least two years to allow secular and Islamic parties to develop their political platforms and make the public fully aware of their socio-economic policy and other urgent issues facing their nation.
In the interim, a new constitution should be written based on freedom, democracy and equality with separation of church and state constitutionally enshrined. Any new constitution written in Egypt that does not clearly separate church and state will be doomed to fail, potentially ushering in yet another revolution.1
Brighter days will yet come to Egypt as long as Tahrir Square remains true to its name, 'Liberation Square.' The Egyptian people have now acquired the ultimate weapon that prevents despotism--be that military, religious, or secular--from rising to power. Those who seek to lead will do well to remember that.
1. This point will be expanded in a following article, which will model a separation of church and state in Egypt that still provides a prominent role for religion in daily life.
--
Tuesday, August 6, 2013
Silivri’de ağırlaştırılmış intikam
6. Agustos . 2013
Hüküm duruşmasını izlemek için gelen tutuklu yakınları da dahil olmak üzere protesto için Silivri’ye gitmek isteyen insanlara izin verilmedi. Şehir dışından dava için gelmek isteyenler engellendi. Cezaevi ve çevresindeki yerleşkelerin çatılarına keskin nişancılar yerleştirildi. TEM Otoyolu'ndan Silivri Ceza İnfaz Kurumları Yerleşkesi'ne giderken kullanılan Kınalı yol ayrımı iki yönlü olarak trafiğe kapatıldı. Akşam saatlerinden itibaren polis ekipleri plastik bariyer ve dubalarla yolu kapattı. D-100 Karayolu'nda Çorlu-İstanbul istikametinden cezaevine giden Kınalı Cezaevi yolu da kapatılırken, bu iki yoldan hiçbir araç ve yaya geçişine izin verilmedi. D-100 Karayolu İstanbul-Çorlu istikametinden gelen vatandaşların ise yola girişlerine kontrollü olarak izin verildi. Silivri'den Cezaevi'ne kalkan minibüsler ise davanın görüleceği kampüse uzak bir noktada yolcularını indirmek zorunda bırakıldı. E-5 Karayolu üzerindeki kavşakta Silivri'ye doğru gidenlere biber gazı ve plastik mermi ile sert şekilde saldırdı.
VEKİLLERE BARİYER
Milletvekillerine duruşma salonuna girerken engellerle karşılaştı. CHP'li Emine Ülker Tarhan jandarma bariyerlerinden geri dönmek zorunda kalırken CHP Grup Başkanvekili Akif Hamzaçebi ancak jandarma servis aracıyla Silivri'ye girebildi. Jandarma, Silivri çevresindeki çayırlarda yürüyen ve dinlenmek için oturanlara anonsla uyarıda bulundu. Silivri'de mahkemeye girmeye çalışan avukatlar ayakkabılarını çıkartmak zorunda kaldıkları aramayla karşılaştı. Türkiye Barolar Birliği Başkanı Metin Feyzioğlu tepkisini Twitter üzerinden, "Silivri'de mahkemeye girmeye çalışan avukatlara uygulanan hukuksuzluğu reddediyoruz!" diyerek gösterdi. Tutuksuz sanıkların dava başlamadan önce "listede adları olmadığı" gerekçesiyle içeri alınmadığı bildirildi.
'TARİHTE BİR İLK'
Hamzaçebi, herkesin mahkeme salonuna girişinin engellendiğini belirterek şöyle dedi:
"Böylesi terörü, hak, hukuk engellemeyi, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin çok partili hayatımızda ilk kez görüyoruz. Bunun kabul edilmesi mümkün değildir. Sonucu önceden belirlenmiş olan bir kararı, mahkemeyi bugün izleyeceğiz. Silivri’de insan hakları, evrensel hukukun temel ilkeleri ayaklar altına alınmıştır. Adil yargılama, masuniyet karinesi çiğnenmiştir. Anayasa’mıza, kanunlarımıza göre, hiç kimse hükmen sabit oluncaya kadar, mahkeme kararıyla kesinleşene kadar suçlu ilan edilemez. Ama Silivri’de yapılan mahkeme karar vermeden, tutuklu kişilerin suçluluğudur. Onlar suçlu ilan edilmiştir. 12 Eylül döneminin işkencelerinin o dönemin sert uygulamalarının yerini bugün, savcı iddianameleri almıştır."
***
Uçuşa kapalı alan
AlInan en sıradışı ise Silivri bölgesindeki hava sahasının uçuşa kapatılması oldu. Devlet Hava Meydanları İşletmesi (DHMİ) Genel Müdürlüğü, Silivri semalarını kapsayan özel bir NOTAM yayınladı. Bölge özel görev dışındaki tüm hava araçlarına kapatıldı. Havacılar için bilgi notu olarak adlandırılan NOTAM’a göre, 02:00’den akşam saat 18:00’e kadar Silivri Cezaevi merkezli 7 deniz mili (12,9 kilometre) çapındaki bir hava sahasında uçak ve helikopterler dahil tüm hava araçlarının uçuşu yasaklandı. Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü’ne bağlı hava araçlarının yanı sıra Sağlık Bakanlığı’na hizmet veren hava ambulansları ile yangın söndürme uçak-helikopterleri bu karardan muaf tutuldu.
***
Kararlar protesto edildi
Ergenekon Davası, karar açıklandıktan sonra bir çok şehirde protesto edildi. İstanbul, Ankara ve izmir başta olmak üzere gösterilerin düzenlendiği yerlerde, yargılanan isimlere verilen cezalara tepki gösterildi. Ankara’da kararlara tepki gösterenler Güvenpark’ta toplanırken İstanbul’da Kadıköy Rıhtım’da biraraya geldi.
***
AKP’den alkış, CHP’den tepki
Ergenekon davasında İstanbul 13. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi tarafından kararın açıklamasının ardından siyasilerden de tepki geldi. AB Bakanı Egemen Bağış kararı iddiaların tescili olarak yorumlarken bir başka AKP’li isim Şamil Tayyar ise Mehmet Haberal’ın tahliyesini eleştirdi. CHP Genel Başkan Yardımcısı Akif Hamzaçebi ise kararın 5 yıl önce verilip duruşmada açıklandığını ifade etti.
Siyasilerden gelen tepkiler şöyle:
‘KARARLAR GAYRİMEŞRUDUR’
CHP Genel Başkanı Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu , Ergenekon Davası kapsamındaki cezaların özel yetkili mahkemeler tarafından alındığına dikkat çekerek, “Bu mahkemelerin verdiği kararlar gayrimeşrudur” dedi.
Mahkeme kararlarına ilişkan yazılı açıklama yapan Kılıçdaroğlu şöyle dedi:
“Demokrasilerde insanlar, siyasi otoriteye bağımlı özel yetkili mahkemelerde değil, bağımsız, hukukun üstünlüğüne inanan normal mahkemelerde yargılanırlar. Bu nedenle özel yetkili mahkemelerin verdiği kararlar; hukuken, siyaseten ve ahlaken meşru kararlar değildir. Bu mahkemelerin verdiği kararlar gayrimeşrudur. Bu mahkemeler adalet dağıtmaz. Çünkü bunlar adından da anlaşılacağı üzere “özel yetkili mahkeme”lerdir. Bu mahkemeler siyasal gücün emrinde olan ve onun buyruklarını yerine getiren mahkemelerdir. “Hukukun üstünlüğü” kavramı bu mahkemeler için geçerli değildir. Bu mahkemelerin temel işlevi “üstünlerin hukukunu” yani siyasal iktidarın buyruklarını egemen kılmaktır.“
‘TESCİLLENDİ’
AB Bakanı Egemen Bağış, Twitter hesabında “Ergenekon diye bir örgütün varlığı ve bu örgütün meşru hükümeti devirmek için darbe planladığı tescillendi. Şimdi savunanları görelim!” diye yazdı.
‘KARAR 5 YIL ÖNCE VERİLDİ’
CHP Grup Başkanvekili Akif Hamzaçebi ise “Beş yıl önce verilmiş olan bir karar bu gün taraflara ve kamuoyuna tebliğ edildi. Hukukun en temel ilkeleri bu yargılamada ayaklar altına alınmıştır, evrensel ilkeleri çiğnenmiştir. Bu davada bir araya gelmesi mümkün olmayan bir çok kişi aynı örgütün üyesi olarak bir araya getirilmiştir. Öyle bir dava ki sözü edilen örgütün bir numaralı kişisi halen belli değildir. Dava tamamen siyasi bir davadır.” dedi.
‘YETERLİ BULMUYORUM’
BDP Hakkari Milletvekili Adil Zozani de kararr “Sadece hükümete karşı işlenmiş suçlardan dolayı ceza verilmesini yeterli bulmuyorum. Bu davada yargılanan bazı isimlerin insanlık suçu sayılabilecek olaylara karıştığına dair bilgiler davanın ek dosyalarında yer alıyor. Örneğin Veli Küçük’ün, Diyarbakır Koşuyolu Parkı’nda 2006 yılında yaşanan patlamayla ilgili el yazısı notları var. Bunların da yargılama konusu yapması gerekiyordu.” cümleleriyle değerlendirdi.
***
Davada malumun ilanı!
Ergenekon Danası’nın dün görülen duruşmasında yargılanan isimler hakkında kararlar açıklandı. Birçok isim müebbet başta olmak üzere ağır cezalar alırken Yurt Gazetesi genel Yayın Yönetmeni Merdan Yarnardağ hakkında yakalama kararı çıkarıldı.
HABERAL TAHLİYE EDİLDİ
CHP’nin tutuklu milletvekili Mehmet Haberal ise cezaevinde kaldığı süre göz önüne alınarak tahliye edildi. Haberal haricinde Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu, Hıfzı Çubukçu, Osman Yıldırım, Mehmet Perinçek, Ziya Göktaş tahliye edildi. Tahliye sebebi olarak sanıkların hapiste yattıkları süre ve kaçma şüpheleri olmaması gösterildi. Osman Yıldırım, Danıştay saldırısı ve Cumhuriyet Gazetesi’ne molotof atılması suçlamalarından beraat etti.
Kemal Alemdaroğlu’nun da aralarında bulunduğu 15 kişi hakkında yakalama kararı çıkarıldı. Bedrettin Dalan'ın da aralarında bulunduğu firari sanıkların dosyası ise ayrıldı.
VERİLEN CEZALAR
Açıklanan kararlara göre bazı isimler ve aldıkları cezalar şöyle:
»İlker Başbuğ (Eski Genelkurmay Başkanı emekli Orgeneral): Müebbet
»Şener Eruygur (Eski Jandarma Komutanı): Müebbet
»Hurşit Tolon (Eski Birinci Ordu Komutanı): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Alparslan Arslan (Danıştay saldırısı faili): İki kez ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Muzaffer Tekin (Emekli Yüzbaşı): İki kez ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis ve 117 yıl
»Veli Küçük (Emekli Tuğgeneral): İki kez ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis ve 99 yıl
»Doğu Perinçek (İşçi Partisi Genel Başkanı): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Tuncay Özkan (Gazeteci): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis ve 15 yıl
»Dursun Çiçek (Emekli Albay): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Hasan Iğsız (Eski 1. Ordu Komutanı): Müebbet
»Nusret Taşdeler (Emekli Orgeneral): Müebbet »Mustafa Özbek (Türk Metal Sendikası eski başkanı): Müebbet
»Mehmet Eröz (Emekli Korgeneral): Müebbet
»Kemal Kerinçsiz (Avukat): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Sevgi Erenerol (Eski Türk Ortodoks Patrikhanesi Basın Sözcüsü): Müebbet
»İbrahim Şahin (Eski Özel Harekat Dairesi Başkan Vekili): 30 yıl 2 ay
»Arif Doğan (Emekli Albay): 25 yıl hapis (Toplamda 47 yıl 2 ay)
»Mehmet Haberal (CHP Milletvekili): 12 yıl 6 ay »Mustafa Balbay (CHP Milletvekili): 34 yıl 8 ay
»Sinan Aygün (CHP Milletvekili): 13 yıl 6 ay
»Hikmet Çiçek (Aydınlık gazetesi yazarı): 21 yıl 9 ay hapis
»Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu (Koramiral): 20 yıl 6 ay hapis
»Adil Serdar Saçan (Eski Emniyet Müdürü): 14 yıl
»Yalçın Küçük (Yazar): 22 yıl 6 ay
»Hıfzı Çubuklu (Emekli Tümgeneral): 9 yıl 6 ay »Mehmet Perinçek: 6 yıl
»Osman Yıldırım: 8 yıl 9 ay
»Sedat Peker: 10 yıl
»Semih Tufan Gülaltay: 12 yıl
»Levent Temiz (Eski İstanbul Ülkü Ocakları Başkanı): 10 yıl
»Deniz Yıldırım (Eski Aydınlık Dergisi Genel Yayın Yönetmeni): 16 yıl 10 ay
»Ferit Bernay (Eski 19 Mayıs Üniversitesi Rektörü) : 10 yıl
»Kemal Alemdaroğlu (Eski İstanbul Üniversitesi Rektörü): 15 yıl 8 ay
»Sami Hoştan: 10 yıl
»Tuncer Kılınç (Eski MGK Genel Sekreteri): 13 yıl 2 ay
»Ferit İlsever (İşçi Partisi Genel Başkan Yardımcısı): 15 yıl
»Vedat Yenerer (Gazeteci): 7 yıl 6 ay
»Ünal İnanç (Gazeteci): 19 yıl hapis 1 ay
»Güler Kömürcü: 7 yıl
»Nusret Senem (Avukat): 20 yıl 3 ay
»Ergun Poyraz: 29 yıl 9 ay hapis
»Serhan Bolluk (Eski Aydınlık Gazetesi Genel Yayın Yönetmeni): 7 yıl 6 ay
»Prof. Dr. Erol Manisalı: 9 yıl 8 ay
»Gürbüz Çapan: 1 yıl 3 ay
»Kemal Gürüz (Eski YÖK Başkanı):
13 yıl 11 ay
***
Duruşmadan notlar
İstanbul 13. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi'nce Silivri Ceza İnfaz Kurumları Yerleşkesinde oluşturulan salonda görülen duruşmaya, CHP milletvekilleri Mustafa Balbay ve Mehmet Haberal, İlker Başbuğ, Tuncay Özkan, emekli orgeneraller Hurşit Tolon ve Hasan Iğsız ile Veli Küçük'ün de aralarında bulunduğu 63 tutuklu sanık katıldı. CHP Milletvekili İsa Gök, mahkemeye hitaben, heyetin buradakileri 3,5 saat beklettiğini ifade ederek, "Mahkeme millet adına karar verir, bu kadar kişiyi bu kadar saat bekletmeye hakkınız yok" dedi. Mahkeme Başkanı Özese, Gök'ü, "Sayın milletvekili yerinize oturur musunuz" diyerek uyardı.
BALBAY: KABUL ETMİYORUZ!
Tutuklu sanık Mustafa Balbay, salondakilere hitaben "Biz, kendimizi halkın adaletine teslim ediyoruz, bizi bugün halktan kopardılar, ama başaramayacaklar. Sıcak bir sonbahar geliyor, herkes hazırlansın. Bugün verilecek hüküm, mahkemenin hükmüdür, biz bunu kabul etmiyoruz. Artık halkına karşı miting düzenleyen bir iktidar var. Şu anda kendi yarattıkları korkudan korkuyorlar. Şu anda Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi, hükümet ve Anayasa Mahkemesi, hukuku katletmektedir. Biz 4-5 yılda nasıl direniyorsak, öyle direnmeye devam edeceğiz. İnanıyorum ki, artık gelecek bizimdir. Mahkemenin hükmünü kabul etmiyoruz" diye konuştu.
Bu sözlerinin ardından Balbay, eşi Gülşah Balbay ile sohbet etmeye başladı. Bunu fark eden jandarma görevlileri, Gülşah Balbay'ın salonun dışına çıkmasını istedi.
***
Bu arada, bazı avukatlar, jandarmayı protesto ederek, masaların üzerine çıktı. Mahkeme salonuna gelen avukatlar, girişte X-Ray cihazında aranmalarına tepki gösterdi.
Mahkeme heyetinin kararını açıklamaya başladıktan bir süre sonra Türkiye Barolar Birliği (TBB) Başkanı Metin Feyzioğlu, İstanbul Barosu Başkanı Ümit Kocasakal'ın da aralarında bulunduğu bir grup avukat salonu terk etti.
‘TEK MAHKUMİYET VAR’
Çıkışta basın mensuplarının sorularını yanıtlayan Türkiye Barolar Birliği (TBB) Başkanı Metin Feyzioğlu, sabahtan duruşma salonuna ulaşana kadar eziyetin başladığını belirterek, şöyle konuştu:
"Özel görevli mahkeme bugün her noktada görevini kendi belirlediği şekilde yaptı. Bize göre bir tek mahkumiyet vardır. Özel yetkili mahkeme bu hükmüyle kendini milletin vicdanında mahkum etmiştir. Bunun dışında bir mahkumiyeti biz duymadık, dinlemedik ve yapılanları daha fazla görmemek ve reddettiğimizi topluca bildirmek üzere bütün avukatlarda biraz önce dışarı çıktık."
Feyzioğlu, mahkeme başkanının "DHKP-C terör örgütünün tehdidinden dolayı olağanüstü güvenlik önlemleri alındığına" dair iddialara ilişkin ise, "Bunların tamamı yapılan büyük saygısızlığa mazeret üretme çabasıdır. Ve kapıdan girerken avukatları ayakkabılarını çıkar, kemerini çıkar diye saygısızlıklalar başlamıştır. Bu yargılamanın başından sonuna kadar Türkiye'de avukatlar, avukatlığını ne olduğunu sadece Türkiye'ye değil tüm Dünyaya göstermiştir. " dedi.
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Bir yargı muammasının tarihi
Ergenekon Davası, 2007 yılında Ümraniye’deki bir gecekonduda bulunan 27 el bombasının ardından açılan soruşturma ile başladı. Davada, ilk dalga olarak adlandırılan operasyonlarda Türk Ortodoks Kilisesi sözcüsü Sevgi Erenerol, Avukat Kemal Kerinçsiz, Gazeteci-Yazar Güler Kömürcü, Sedat Peker, Taner Ünal, Fuat Turgut, Sami Hoştan ve daha pek çok kişi gözaltına alındı.
Davanın 2500 sayfalık ilk iddianamesi 14 Temmuz 2008’de hazırlandı. Davada, aralarında Şile Kazıları, İnternet Andıcı, Fener Rum Patriği’ne Suikast, Cumhuriyet Gazetesi Saldırısı, Danıştay Saldırısı olan toplam olarak 19 iddianame birleştirildi. İddianamede, Ergenekon’un amacı "Ergenekon terör örgütünün, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükümetine karşı halkı silahlı isyana tahrik ettiği gibi, cebir şiddet kullanmak sureti ile Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükümeti'ni cebren ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüste bulunduğu, amaçlarına ulaşmak için kontrolü altında bulunan medya ve sivil toplum kuruluşları vasıtasıyla ülkede kaos ve iç çatışma ortamı oluşturmaya çalıştıkları, oluşacak gerginlik ortamından faydalanarak, görevde bulunan hükümetleri çalışamaz hale getirip, nihai olarak ordu içerisinde kendilerine destek vereceklerini umdukları askeri şahısların yardımı ile yönetimi değiştirmek amacıyla hükümeti yıkmaya teşebbüs ettikleri..." şeklinde tanımlandı.
Davadaki gizli tanıklar büyük tartışmalara konu oldu. Yargılama sürecinde delil değerlendirme aşaması atlandı. Savunma makamının “sahte olduğunu veya hiç olmadığını” söylediği delillere ilişkin bir araştırma ve inceleme yapılmadı. Özellikle dijital verilere yönelik güvensizlik davaya damgasını vurdu.
Ergenekon’un MİT’te uzantısı olduğu öne sürülen bir şemanın varlığı, dönemin MİT Müsteşarı Şenkal Atasagun tarafından reddedildi. Mahkeme Atasagun’un tanık olarak dinlenmesi talepleri reddetti.
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Rakamlarla Ergenekon
Ergenekon davasında yargılanan sanıkların ve avukatlarının yaptığı ortak çalışma sonucunda, Kasım 2012’de açıkladıkları raporda yer verilen rakamlar şöyle:
»60.000 telefon dinlendi.
»1.360 kişi ifade verdi.
»588 kişi tutuklandı.
»7 sanık ifadesini veremeden öldü.
»7 sanık kansere yakalandı.
»Dava ile toplam 19 iddianame, 50’nin üzerinde dosya birleştirildi.
»Davanın ek klasör arşivi 5 terabayt büyüklüğüne ulaştı. Bu ise toplam 9.000.000 sayfa doküman denk geliyor.
»Davada toplam 44 gizli tanık yer aldı.
»600’ü aşkın duruşma yapıldı. Bu sayı, normal bir ağır ceza yargılamasında yaklaşık 150 yıllık bir zaman dilimine denk geliyor.
...
Ergenekon Davası hüküm duruşması için Silivri Ceza ve İnfaz Kurumu'nda dün olağanüstü önlemler alındı. Silivri'ye çıkan tüm yollar polis ve jandarma tarafından tutulurken hava sahası uçuşa yasak alan ilan edildi. Günler öncesinden Silivri Cezaevi’ne çıkan yollar, jandarma barikatları ile çevrelendi. Çift sıra şeklindeki barikatlar asfalta monte edildi. İzleyiciler polis müdahalesiyle tarlalara sürüldü ve atılan gaz sonucu tarlalarda yangın çıktı. Sıradışı önlemlere DHKP-C’nin eylem yapacağı iddiası gerekçe gösterildi.
İZLEYİCİYE PLASTİK MERMİ
İZLEYİCİYE PLASTİK MERMİ
Hüküm duruşmasını izlemek için gelen tutuklu yakınları da dahil olmak üzere protesto için Silivri’ye gitmek isteyen insanlara izin verilmedi. Şehir dışından dava için gelmek isteyenler engellendi. Cezaevi ve çevresindeki yerleşkelerin çatılarına keskin nişancılar yerleştirildi. TEM Otoyolu'ndan Silivri Ceza İnfaz Kurumları Yerleşkesi'ne giderken kullanılan Kınalı yol ayrımı iki yönlü olarak trafiğe kapatıldı. Akşam saatlerinden itibaren polis ekipleri plastik bariyer ve dubalarla yolu kapattı. D-100 Karayolu'nda Çorlu-İstanbul istikametinden cezaevine giden Kınalı Cezaevi yolu da kapatılırken, bu iki yoldan hiçbir araç ve yaya geçişine izin verilmedi. D-100 Karayolu İstanbul-Çorlu istikametinden gelen vatandaşların ise yola girişlerine kontrollü olarak izin verildi. Silivri'den Cezaevi'ne kalkan minibüsler ise davanın görüleceği kampüse uzak bir noktada yolcularını indirmek zorunda bırakıldı. E-5 Karayolu üzerindeki kavşakta Silivri'ye doğru gidenlere biber gazı ve plastik mermi ile sert şekilde saldırdı.
VEKİLLERE BARİYER
Milletvekillerine duruşma salonuna girerken engellerle karşılaştı. CHP'li Emine Ülker Tarhan jandarma bariyerlerinden geri dönmek zorunda kalırken CHP Grup Başkanvekili Akif Hamzaçebi ancak jandarma servis aracıyla Silivri'ye girebildi. Jandarma, Silivri çevresindeki çayırlarda yürüyen ve dinlenmek için oturanlara anonsla uyarıda bulundu. Silivri'de mahkemeye girmeye çalışan avukatlar ayakkabılarını çıkartmak zorunda kaldıkları aramayla karşılaştı. Türkiye Barolar Birliği Başkanı Metin Feyzioğlu tepkisini Twitter üzerinden, "Silivri'de mahkemeye girmeye çalışan avukatlara uygulanan hukuksuzluğu reddediyoruz!" diyerek gösterdi. Tutuksuz sanıkların dava başlamadan önce "listede adları olmadığı" gerekçesiyle içeri alınmadığı bildirildi.
'TARİHTE BİR İLK'
Hamzaçebi, herkesin mahkeme salonuna girişinin engellendiğini belirterek şöyle dedi:
"Böylesi terörü, hak, hukuk engellemeyi, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti’nin çok partili hayatımızda ilk kez görüyoruz. Bunun kabul edilmesi mümkün değildir. Sonucu önceden belirlenmiş olan bir kararı, mahkemeyi bugün izleyeceğiz. Silivri’de insan hakları, evrensel hukukun temel ilkeleri ayaklar altına alınmıştır. Adil yargılama, masuniyet karinesi çiğnenmiştir. Anayasa’mıza, kanunlarımıza göre, hiç kimse hükmen sabit oluncaya kadar, mahkeme kararıyla kesinleşene kadar suçlu ilan edilemez. Ama Silivri’de yapılan mahkeme karar vermeden, tutuklu kişilerin suçluluğudur. Onlar suçlu ilan edilmiştir. 12 Eylül döneminin işkencelerinin o dönemin sert uygulamalarının yerini bugün, savcı iddianameleri almıştır."
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Uçuşa kapalı alan
AlInan en sıradışı ise Silivri bölgesindeki hava sahasının uçuşa kapatılması oldu. Devlet Hava Meydanları İşletmesi (DHMİ) Genel Müdürlüğü, Silivri semalarını kapsayan özel bir NOTAM yayınladı. Bölge özel görev dışındaki tüm hava araçlarına kapatıldı. Havacılar için bilgi notu olarak adlandırılan NOTAM’a göre, 02:00’den akşam saat 18:00’e kadar Silivri Cezaevi merkezli 7 deniz mili (12,9 kilometre) çapındaki bir hava sahasında uçak ve helikopterler dahil tüm hava araçlarının uçuşu yasaklandı. Türk Silahlı Kuvvetleri, Emniyet Genel Müdürlüğü’ne bağlı hava araçlarının yanı sıra Sağlık Bakanlığı’na hizmet veren hava ambulansları ile yangın söndürme uçak-helikopterleri bu karardan muaf tutuldu.
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Kararlar protesto edildi
Ergenekon Davası, karar açıklandıktan sonra bir çok şehirde protesto edildi. İstanbul, Ankara ve izmir başta olmak üzere gösterilerin düzenlendiği yerlerde, yargılanan isimlere verilen cezalara tepki gösterildi. Ankara’da kararlara tepki gösterenler Güvenpark’ta toplanırken İstanbul’da Kadıköy Rıhtım’da biraraya geldi.
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AKP’den alkış, CHP’den tepki
Ergenekon davasında İstanbul 13. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi tarafından kararın açıklamasının ardından siyasilerden de tepki geldi. AB Bakanı Egemen Bağış kararı iddiaların tescili olarak yorumlarken bir başka AKP’li isim Şamil Tayyar ise Mehmet Haberal’ın tahliyesini eleştirdi. CHP Genel Başkan Yardımcısı Akif Hamzaçebi ise kararın 5 yıl önce verilip duruşmada açıklandığını ifade etti.
Siyasilerden gelen tepkiler şöyle:
‘KARARLAR GAYRİMEŞRUDUR’
CHP Genel Başkanı Kemal Kılıçdaroğlu , Ergenekon Davası kapsamındaki cezaların özel yetkili mahkemeler tarafından alındığına dikkat çekerek, “Bu mahkemelerin verdiği kararlar gayrimeşrudur” dedi.
Mahkeme kararlarına ilişkan yazılı açıklama yapan Kılıçdaroğlu şöyle dedi:
“Demokrasilerde insanlar, siyasi otoriteye bağımlı özel yetkili mahkemelerde değil, bağımsız, hukukun üstünlüğüne inanan normal mahkemelerde yargılanırlar. Bu nedenle özel yetkili mahkemelerin verdiği kararlar; hukuken, siyaseten ve ahlaken meşru kararlar değildir. Bu mahkemelerin verdiği kararlar gayrimeşrudur. Bu mahkemeler adalet dağıtmaz. Çünkü bunlar adından da anlaşılacağı üzere “özel yetkili mahkeme”lerdir. Bu mahkemeler siyasal gücün emrinde olan ve onun buyruklarını yerine getiren mahkemelerdir. “Hukukun üstünlüğü” kavramı bu mahkemeler için geçerli değildir. Bu mahkemelerin temel işlevi “üstünlerin hukukunu” yani siyasal iktidarın buyruklarını egemen kılmaktır.“
‘TESCİLLENDİ’
AB Bakanı Egemen Bağış, Twitter hesabında “Ergenekon diye bir örgütün varlığı ve bu örgütün meşru hükümeti devirmek için darbe planladığı tescillendi. Şimdi savunanları görelim!” diye yazdı.
‘KARAR 5 YIL ÖNCE VERİLDİ’
CHP Grup Başkanvekili Akif Hamzaçebi ise “Beş yıl önce verilmiş olan bir karar bu gün taraflara ve kamuoyuna tebliğ edildi. Hukukun en temel ilkeleri bu yargılamada ayaklar altına alınmıştır, evrensel ilkeleri çiğnenmiştir. Bu davada bir araya gelmesi mümkün olmayan bir çok kişi aynı örgütün üyesi olarak bir araya getirilmiştir. Öyle bir dava ki sözü edilen örgütün bir numaralı kişisi halen belli değildir. Dava tamamen siyasi bir davadır.” dedi.
‘YETERLİ BULMUYORUM’
BDP Hakkari Milletvekili Adil Zozani de kararr “Sadece hükümete karşı işlenmiş suçlardan dolayı ceza verilmesini yeterli bulmuyorum. Bu davada yargılanan bazı isimlerin insanlık suçu sayılabilecek olaylara karıştığına dair bilgiler davanın ek dosyalarında yer alıyor. Örneğin Veli Küçük’ün, Diyarbakır Koşuyolu Parkı’nda 2006 yılında yaşanan patlamayla ilgili el yazısı notları var. Bunların da yargılama konusu yapması gerekiyordu.” cümleleriyle değerlendirdi.
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Davada malumun ilanı!
Ergenekon Danası’nın dün görülen duruşmasında yargılanan isimler hakkında kararlar açıklandı. Birçok isim müebbet başta olmak üzere ağır cezalar alırken Yurt Gazetesi genel Yayın Yönetmeni Merdan Yarnardağ hakkında yakalama kararı çıkarıldı.
HABERAL TAHLİYE EDİLDİ
CHP’nin tutuklu milletvekili Mehmet Haberal ise cezaevinde kaldığı süre göz önüne alınarak tahliye edildi. Haberal haricinde Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu, Hıfzı Çubukçu, Osman Yıldırım, Mehmet Perinçek, Ziya Göktaş tahliye edildi. Tahliye sebebi olarak sanıkların hapiste yattıkları süre ve kaçma şüpheleri olmaması gösterildi. Osman Yıldırım, Danıştay saldırısı ve Cumhuriyet Gazetesi’ne molotof atılması suçlamalarından beraat etti.
Kemal Alemdaroğlu’nun da aralarında bulunduğu 15 kişi hakkında yakalama kararı çıkarıldı. Bedrettin Dalan'ın da aralarında bulunduğu firari sanıkların dosyası ise ayrıldı.
VERİLEN CEZALAR
Açıklanan kararlara göre bazı isimler ve aldıkları cezalar şöyle:
»İlker Başbuğ (Eski Genelkurmay Başkanı emekli Orgeneral): Müebbet
»Şener Eruygur (Eski Jandarma Komutanı): Müebbet
»Hurşit Tolon (Eski Birinci Ordu Komutanı): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Alparslan Arslan (Danıştay saldırısı faili): İki kez ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Muzaffer Tekin (Emekli Yüzbaşı): İki kez ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis ve 117 yıl
»Veli Küçük (Emekli Tuğgeneral): İki kez ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis ve 99 yıl
»Doğu Perinçek (İşçi Partisi Genel Başkanı): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Tuncay Özkan (Gazeteci): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet hapis ve 15 yıl
»Dursun Çiçek (Emekli Albay): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Hasan Iğsız (Eski 1. Ordu Komutanı): Müebbet
»Nusret Taşdeler (Emekli Orgeneral): Müebbet »Mustafa Özbek (Türk Metal Sendikası eski başkanı): Müebbet
»Mehmet Eröz (Emekli Korgeneral): Müebbet
»Kemal Kerinçsiz (Avukat): Ağırlaştırılmış müebbet
»Sevgi Erenerol (Eski Türk Ortodoks Patrikhanesi Basın Sözcüsü): Müebbet
»İbrahim Şahin (Eski Özel Harekat Dairesi Başkan Vekili): 30 yıl 2 ay
»Arif Doğan (Emekli Albay): 25 yıl hapis (Toplamda 47 yıl 2 ay)
»Mehmet Haberal (CHP Milletvekili): 12 yıl 6 ay »Mustafa Balbay (CHP Milletvekili): 34 yıl 8 ay
»Sinan Aygün (CHP Milletvekili): 13 yıl 6 ay
»Hikmet Çiçek (Aydınlık gazetesi yazarı): 21 yıl 9 ay hapis
»Mehmet Otuzbiroğlu (Koramiral): 20 yıl 6 ay hapis
»Adil Serdar Saçan (Eski Emniyet Müdürü): 14 yıl
»Yalçın Küçük (Yazar): 22 yıl 6 ay
»Hıfzı Çubuklu (Emekli Tümgeneral): 9 yıl 6 ay »Mehmet Perinçek: 6 yıl
»Osman Yıldırım: 8 yıl 9 ay
»Sedat Peker: 10 yıl
»Semih Tufan Gülaltay: 12 yıl
»Levent Temiz (Eski İstanbul Ülkü Ocakları Başkanı): 10 yıl
»Deniz Yıldırım (Eski Aydınlık Dergisi Genel Yayın Yönetmeni): 16 yıl 10 ay
»Ferit Bernay (Eski 19 Mayıs Üniversitesi Rektörü) : 10 yıl
»Kemal Alemdaroğlu (Eski İstanbul Üniversitesi Rektörü): 15 yıl 8 ay
»Sami Hoştan: 10 yıl
»Tuncer Kılınç (Eski MGK Genel Sekreteri): 13 yıl 2 ay
»Ferit İlsever (İşçi Partisi Genel Başkan Yardımcısı): 15 yıl
»Vedat Yenerer (Gazeteci): 7 yıl 6 ay
»Ünal İnanç (Gazeteci): 19 yıl hapis 1 ay
»Güler Kömürcü: 7 yıl
»Nusret Senem (Avukat): 20 yıl 3 ay
»Ergun Poyraz: 29 yıl 9 ay hapis
»Serhan Bolluk (Eski Aydınlık Gazetesi Genel Yayın Yönetmeni): 7 yıl 6 ay
»Prof. Dr. Erol Manisalı: 9 yıl 8 ay
»Gürbüz Çapan: 1 yıl 3 ay
»Kemal Gürüz (Eski YÖK Başkanı):
13 yıl 11 ay
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Duruşmadan notlar
İstanbul 13. Ağır Ceza Mahkemesi'nce Silivri Ceza İnfaz Kurumları Yerleşkesinde oluşturulan salonda görülen duruşmaya, CHP milletvekilleri Mustafa Balbay ve Mehmet Haberal, İlker Başbuğ, Tuncay Özkan, emekli orgeneraller Hurşit Tolon ve Hasan Iğsız ile Veli Küçük'ün de aralarında bulunduğu 63 tutuklu sanık katıldı. CHP Milletvekili İsa Gök, mahkemeye hitaben, heyetin buradakileri 3,5 saat beklettiğini ifade ederek, "Mahkeme millet adına karar verir, bu kadar kişiyi bu kadar saat bekletmeye hakkınız yok" dedi. Mahkeme Başkanı Özese, Gök'ü, "Sayın milletvekili yerinize oturur musunuz" diyerek uyardı.
BALBAY: KABUL ETMİYORUZ!
Tutuklu sanık Mustafa Balbay, salondakilere hitaben "Biz, kendimizi halkın adaletine teslim ediyoruz, bizi bugün halktan kopardılar, ama başaramayacaklar. Sıcak bir sonbahar geliyor, herkes hazırlansın. Bugün verilecek hüküm, mahkemenin hükmüdür, biz bunu kabul etmiyoruz. Artık halkına karşı miting düzenleyen bir iktidar var. Şu anda kendi yarattıkları korkudan korkuyorlar. Şu anda Avrupa İnsan Hakları Mahkemesi, hükümet ve Anayasa Mahkemesi, hukuku katletmektedir. Biz 4-5 yılda nasıl direniyorsak, öyle direnmeye devam edeceğiz. İnanıyorum ki, artık gelecek bizimdir. Mahkemenin hükmünü kabul etmiyoruz" diye konuştu.
Bu sözlerinin ardından Balbay, eşi Gülşah Balbay ile sohbet etmeye başladı. Bunu fark eden jandarma görevlileri, Gülşah Balbay'ın salonun dışına çıkmasını istedi.
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Bu arada, bazı avukatlar, jandarmayı protesto ederek, masaların üzerine çıktı. Mahkeme salonuna gelen avukatlar, girişte X-Ray cihazında aranmalarına tepki gösterdi.
Mahkeme heyetinin kararını açıklamaya başladıktan bir süre sonra Türkiye Barolar Birliği (TBB) Başkanı Metin Feyzioğlu, İstanbul Barosu Başkanı Ümit Kocasakal'ın da aralarında bulunduğu bir grup avukat salonu terk etti.
‘TEK MAHKUMİYET VAR’
Çıkışta basın mensuplarının sorularını yanıtlayan Türkiye Barolar Birliği (TBB) Başkanı Metin Feyzioğlu, sabahtan duruşma salonuna ulaşana kadar eziyetin başladığını belirterek, şöyle konuştu:
"Özel görevli mahkeme bugün her noktada görevini kendi belirlediği şekilde yaptı. Bize göre bir tek mahkumiyet vardır. Özel yetkili mahkeme bu hükmüyle kendini milletin vicdanında mahkum etmiştir. Bunun dışında bir mahkumiyeti biz duymadık, dinlemedik ve yapılanları daha fazla görmemek ve reddettiğimizi topluca bildirmek üzere bütün avukatlarda biraz önce dışarı çıktık."
Feyzioğlu, mahkeme başkanının "DHKP-C terör örgütünün tehdidinden dolayı olağanüstü güvenlik önlemleri alındığına" dair iddialara ilişkin ise, "Bunların tamamı yapılan büyük saygısızlığa mazeret üretme çabasıdır. Ve kapıdan girerken avukatları ayakkabılarını çıkar, kemerini çıkar diye saygısızlıklalar başlamıştır. Bu yargılamanın başından sonuna kadar Türkiye'de avukatlar, avukatlığını ne olduğunu sadece Türkiye'ye değil tüm Dünyaya göstermiştir. " dedi.
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Bir yargı muammasının tarihi
Ergenekon Davası, 2007 yılında Ümraniye’deki bir gecekonduda bulunan 27 el bombasının ardından açılan soruşturma ile başladı. Davada, ilk dalga olarak adlandırılan operasyonlarda Türk Ortodoks Kilisesi sözcüsü Sevgi Erenerol, Avukat Kemal Kerinçsiz, Gazeteci-Yazar Güler Kömürcü, Sedat Peker, Taner Ünal, Fuat Turgut, Sami Hoştan ve daha pek çok kişi gözaltına alındı.
Davanın 2500 sayfalık ilk iddianamesi 14 Temmuz 2008’de hazırlandı. Davada, aralarında Şile Kazıları, İnternet Andıcı, Fener Rum Patriği’ne Suikast, Cumhuriyet Gazetesi Saldırısı, Danıştay Saldırısı olan toplam olarak 19 iddianame birleştirildi. İddianamede, Ergenekon’un amacı "Ergenekon terör örgütünün, Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükümetine karşı halkı silahlı isyana tahrik ettiği gibi, cebir şiddet kullanmak sureti ile Türkiye Cumhuriyeti Hükümeti'ni cebren ortadan kaldırmaya teşebbüste bulunduğu, amaçlarına ulaşmak için kontrolü altında bulunan medya ve sivil toplum kuruluşları vasıtasıyla ülkede kaos ve iç çatışma ortamı oluşturmaya çalıştıkları, oluşacak gerginlik ortamından faydalanarak, görevde bulunan hükümetleri çalışamaz hale getirip, nihai olarak ordu içerisinde kendilerine destek vereceklerini umdukları askeri şahısların yardımı ile yönetimi değiştirmek amacıyla hükümeti yıkmaya teşebbüs ettikleri..." şeklinde tanımlandı.
Davadaki gizli tanıklar büyük tartışmalara konu oldu. Yargılama sürecinde delil değerlendirme aşaması atlandı. Savunma makamının “sahte olduğunu veya hiç olmadığını” söylediği delillere ilişkin bir araştırma ve inceleme yapılmadı. Özellikle dijital verilere yönelik güvensizlik davaya damgasını vurdu.
Ergenekon’un MİT’te uzantısı olduğu öne sürülen bir şemanın varlığı, dönemin MİT Müsteşarı Şenkal Atasagun tarafından reddedildi. Mahkeme Atasagun’un tanık olarak dinlenmesi talepleri reddetti.
***
Rakamlarla Ergenekon
Ergenekon davasında yargılanan sanıkların ve avukatlarının yaptığı ortak çalışma sonucunda, Kasım 2012’de açıkladıkları raporda yer verilen rakamlar şöyle:
»60.000 telefon dinlendi.
»1.360 kişi ifade verdi.
»588 kişi tutuklandı.
»7 sanık ifadesini veremeden öldü.
»7 sanık kansere yakalandı.
»Dava ile toplam 19 iddianame, 50’nin üzerinde dosya birleştirildi.
»Davanın ek klasör arşivi 5 terabayt büyüklüğüne ulaştı. Bu ise toplam 9.000.000 sayfa doküman denk geliyor.
»Davada toplam 44 gizli tanık yer aldı.
»600’ü aşkın duruşma yapıldı. Bu sayı, normal bir ağır ceza yargılamasında yaklaşık 150 yıllık bir zaman dilimine denk geliyor.
Saturday, July 20, 2013
The uprising against Brother Erdogan
"BEFORE OUR VERY EYES"
The uprising against Brother Erdogan | by Thierry Meyssan
VOLTAIRE NETWORK | 10 JUNE 2013
In ten days, the crackdown on the anti-Erdogan protests has already claimed three lives and injured 5,000 people.
The Turkish uprising is rooted in the inconsistencies of the Erdogan government. The latter—after having billed itself as "Muslim Democrat" (based on the "Christian Democratic" model)— suddenly revealed its true nature with the advent of the Arab Spring "color revolutions."
In terms of domestic and foreign policy, there is a before and after the volte face. The previous stage involved the infiltration of institutions. The aftermath has been characterized by sectarianism. Before, Ahmed Davutoğlu’s theory of "zero problems" with Turkey’s neighbors took center stage. The former Ottoman Empire seemed to be coming out of its slumber and returning to reality. After that, the opposite happened: Turkey fell out with each of her neighbors and went to war against Syria.
The Muslim Brotherhood
Piloting this shift is the Muslim Brotherhood, a secret organization that Erdogan and his team have always been affiliated to, despite their denials. Even if this shift is subsequent to the one involving Qatar—the financier of the Muslim Brotherhood—it bears the same implication: authoritarian regimes that claimed to be foes of Israel suddenly act like close allies.
It is important to remember that the label "Arab Spring" given by the West is a deception to make people believe that the Tunisian and Egyptian governments were overthrown by a mass movement. While there was a popular revolution in Tunisia, its goal was not to change the regime, but to achieve economic and social changes. It was the United States, not the street, that ordered Zinedine el Abidine Ben Ali and Hosni Mubarak to step down. Then it was NATO that toppled and lynched Muammar al-Gaddafi. And it is again NATO and the GCC that have fueled the attack against Syria.
Across North Africa—with the exception of Algeria—the Muslim Brotherhood have been placed in power by Hillary Clinton. Everywhere, Turkish communications advisors are on board, courtesy of the Erdogan government. Everywhere, "democracy" was a facade which allowed the Brothers to Islamize firms in exchange for embracing the pseudo-liberal capitalism of the United States.
The term "Islamize" reflects the rhetoric employed by the Brothers, not reality. The Brotherhood intends to control the privacy of individuals based on principles which are outside the scope of the Quran. It calls into question the role of women in society and imposes an austere lifestyle without alcohol or cigarettes, and without sex...at least for others.
Over the past ten years, the Brotherhood has stayed under the radar, leaving the transformation of public education in the hands of the sect run by Fethullah Gülen, of which President Abdullah Gül is a member.
Although the Brotherhood flaunts its hatred for the American way of life, it thrives under the protective wing of the Anglo-Americans (UK, USA, Israel) who have always been able to use its violence against those who resisted them. Secretary of State Hillary Clinton had appointed to her cabinet her former "body woman," Huma Abedin (wife of former Zionist Congressman Anthony Weiner), whose mother Saleha Abedin presides the women’s division of the Brotherhood. It was through this channel that Clinton stirred up the Brotherhood.
The Brothers purveyed the ideology of Al-Qaeda, through one of their members: Ayman al-Zawahiri, the organizer President Sadat’s assassination and currently the leader of the terrorist organization. Al-Zawahiri, like Bin Laden, has always been an agent of U.S. services. Although officially listed as a public enemy, from 1997 to 2001 he met regularly with the CIA at the U.S. Embassy in Baku in the context "Operation Gladio B," as testified by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds [1].
A progressive dictatorship
During his imprisonment, Erdogan claimed to have broken with the Brothers and to have quit the party. Then, he got himself elected and gradually imposed a dictatorship. He ordered the arrest and incarceration of two thirds of the generals accused of involvement in Gladio, the secret network under U.S. influence. In addition, he put behind bars the highest number of journalists for an individual counry. This fact has been obscured by the Western media, unwilling to criticize a NATO member.
The army is the traditional custodian of Kemalist secularism. However, after the September 11 attacks, senior officers were concerned about the totalitarian drift of the United States, and made contact with their counterparts in Russia and China. To nip these unwelcome initiatives in the bud, certain judges pointedly reminded them about their historical ties with the U.S.
If, like in any other profession, journalists can be rascals, the world’s highest incarceration rate is indicative of a policy: intimidation and repression. With the exception of Ululsal, television turned into an official eulogy, while the press followed the same path.
"Zero problems" with its neighbors
The foreigh policy of Ahmed Davutoğlu was equally laughable. After seeking to tackle the unresolved problems left over from the Ottoman Empire one century earlier, he tried to play Obama against Netanyahu by organizing the Freedom Flotilla to Palestine [2]. However, less than two months after Israel’s act of piracy, he accepted the international commission of inquiry created to cover it up and resumed in secret his collaboration with Tel Aviv.
As a token of the cooperation between the Brotherhood and Al-Qaeda, the Brotherhood had placed on the Marvi Marmara al-Mahdi Hatari, the second in command of Al Qaeda in Libya and a likely British agent [3].
Economic disaster
How did Turkey squander not only a decade of diplomatic efforts to restore its international relations, but also its economic growth? In March 2011, she participated in the NATO operation against Libya, one of its major economic partners. With Libya devastated by the war, Turkey lost its market. At the same time, Ankara embarked on a war against neighboring Syria, with whom a year earlier she had signed a trade liberalization agreement. The impact was swift: the growth in 2010 was 9.2%, in 2012 it fell to 2.2% and continues to fall [4].
Public Relations
The rise to power of the Muslim Brotherhood in North Africa went to the Erdogan government’s head. By brandishing his Ottoman imperial ambition, he disconcerted the Arab public to begin with, and then turned the majority of his people against him.
On one hand, the government is funding Fetih 1453—a film that gobbled up an astronomic budget for the country—which is supposed to celebrate the conquest of Constantinople, albeit historically flawed. On the other hand, it attempts to ban the most popular television series in the Middle East, The Sultan’s Harem, because the truth does not project a peaceful image of the Ottomans.
The real reason for the uprising
In the present context, the Western press has focused on specific details: a housing project in Istanbul, ban on late-night sales of alcholol, or statements encouraging population growth. All this is true, but it doesn’t add up to a revolution.
By showing its true nature, the Erdogan government has cut itself off from the population. Only a minority of Sunnis can identify with the backward and hypocritical programme of the Brothers. As it happens, about 50% of Turks are Sunni, 20% Alevi (that is to say Alawites), 20% are Kurds (mostly Sunni), and 10% belong to other minorities. It is statistically clear that the Erdogan government can not hold out against the uprising that its own policies helped to ignite.
By overthrowing him, the Turks would be solving not only their own problems, but would also be putting an end to the war against Syria. I have often pointed out that the war would stop the day one of its foreign sponsors exits the scene. This will soon be the case. Thus, the Turkish people will also halt the Brotherhood’s expansion. Erdogan’s fall foreshadows that of his friends; Ghannouchi in Tunisia and Morsi in Egypt. It is in fact most unlikely that these artificial governments, imposed via rigged elections, can survive their powerful sponsor.
Translation
-----------------------------------------[1] "Al Qaeda Chief was US Asset," by Nafeez Ahmed, 21 May 2013.
[2] "Why did Israel attack civilians in the Mediterranean?" and "Freedom Flotilla: The detail that escaped Netanyahu," by Thierry Meyssan, Voltaire Network, 1 and 8 June 2010.
[3] "Free Syrian Army commanded by Military Governor of Tripoli," by Thierry Meyssan, Voltaire Network, 19 December 2011.
[4] "Turkey’s Economic Growth Slows Sharply," by Emre Perer and Yeliz Candemir, The Wall Sreeet Journal, 1 April 2013.
---
SOURCE OF THE ARTICLE | http://www.voltairenet.org/article178848.html
Sunday, July 14, 2013
EDUCATION JIHAD comes to America via Turkish Gulen charter schools funded by you!
EDUCATION JIHAD comes to America via Turkish Gulen charter schools funded by you!
Although under investigation by the FBI, these Islamist-linked, American-taxpayer-funded Gulen charter schools continue to open and expand all over the U.S. Now, the Harmony Schools in Texas have been accused of indoctrinating Muslim religious beliefs in their curriculum.
GulenNews In the past, the Ottoman Empire could not defeat the West by the sword, so now Fethullah Gulen’s community systematically employs very different tactics to bring the West under Islamic rule. For profoundly anti-democratic goals they use America’s democratic values-freedom of speech, political correctness, tolerance, and multiculturalism-as tools for disseminating Gulen’s ideology. “You move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers…until the conditions are ripe… If you do something prematurely, the world will crush our heads. The time is not yet right. You must wait until such time as you have gotten all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey… The work to be done is in confronting the world.
A group of charter schools with innocuous names like Chicago Math and Science Academy are currently educating as many as 35,000 students in 100 publicly funded schools, make up the largest charter school network in the US. They promote an Islamic agenda, but receive government money, unlike other religious schools in the United States. These are the schools that are part of what is called Fethullah Gülen Community (FGC), also known as “the Gülen Movement.”
Harmony Charter Schools are being accused of ties to Islamic movements in Turkey
KTSM The Harmony Schools are charter schools in Texas that (claim to) focus on Math and Science. There are two in the El Paso area which have been attracting attention for their success rates with the students.
The Cosmos Foundation is the parent organization to the Harmony Schools. It is a charter school operator founded a decade by a group of professors and businessmen from Turkey. Cosmos has moved quickly to become the largest charter school operator in Texas, with 33 schools receiving more than $100 million a year in taxpayer funds.There are about 120 schools across the country that teach over 20,000 students.
In the last few years, the schools have been garnering negative attention for their supposed link to the Gulen Movement, a Muslim following. Many of the staff and some of the founders of the schools are from Turkey and happen to be followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher of a moderate brand of Islam.
The Superintendent of the schools and one of the Co-founders, Soner Tarim, is a Turkish-American and came to the United States in the early 90′s to study at Texas A&M. He says the schools do not reach religion at the schools. ” Because I’m the head of the school people should not look at me and label the school…all of our teachers and parents know that we do not teach religion obviously, this is a public school.”
CBN News takes an exclusive look at Turkish imam Fetullah Gülen — a man who some have called the world’s most dangerous Islamist. Gülen directs his global Islamic movement not from the Middle East, but from Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.
Not everyone in the school system is happy with Harmony. Donna Garner, a former teacher in Texas, has been studying these schools for years. She says the schools are a front for an Islamic movement. “They have brought in all these teachers from Turkey, how are they going to teach students about being a good solid American patriot, to learn about the U.S. Constitution, to honor our forefathers, to study the declaration of independence.”
Tarim refutes this and says that some of the teachers are international, but 85% are hired locally. (But how many of those are Muslims?)
Garner also recalled a situation at a Harmony School performance in Texas, when students stomped on an American Flag. Whether this is true or not, Harmony Schools insist that they do not teach any Anti-American beliefs.
The Gulen Movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Muhammed Fethullah Gülen [in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania]. His teachings about hizmet (altruistic service to the “common good”) have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey and Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world, estimates vary from hundreds of thousands to 4 million. The movement consists primarily of students, teachers, businessman, journalists and other educated professionals, arranged in a flexible organizational network. It has founded schools, universities, an employers’ association, as well as charities, real estate trusts, lobby groups, student bodies, radio and television stations, and newspapers.
Gulen’s grandiose vision is the restoration of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of a universal caliphate. In his public statements, Gulen espouses a liberal version of Sunni/Hanafi Islam and promotes the Muslim notion of hizmet – - altruistic service to the common good. In private, Gulen has stated that “in order to reach the ideal Muslim society ‘every method and path is acceptable, [including] lying to people.’” With assets in excess of $30 billion, Gulen has wielded political allegiances in Washington that have resulted in the placement of Turkish Muslims in the CIA, NSA, FBI, and other national security organizations. He has created well-heeled lobbies to promote the cause of Islam and to develop Islamic candidates for political office. He has formed close friendships with Bill and Hillary Clinton, former Secretaries of State James Baker and Madeleine Albright, and George W. Bush.
FBI Investigating Gulen Charter Schools, parents pulling kids out
HFP Fethullah Gulen is a major Islamic political figure in Turkey, but he lives in self-imposed exile in a Poconos enclave and gained his green card by convincing a federal judge in Philadelphia that he was an influential educational figure in the United States. Followers of Gulen have opened the network of charter schools across the U.S., and that federal authorities are investigating claims that school workers are donating portions of their salaries to a Muslim movement founded by Gulen.
As evidence, his lawyer pointed to the charter schools, now more than 120 in 25 states, that his followers – Turkish scientists, engineers, and businessmen – have opened, including Truebright Science Academy in North Philadelphia and another charter in State College, Pa.
Although under investigation by the FBI, these Islamist-linked, American-taxpayer-funded Gulen charter schools continue to open and expand all over the U.S. Now, the Harmony Schools in Texas have been accused of indoctrinating Muslim religious beliefs in their curriculum.
GulenNews In the past, the Ottoman Empire could not defeat the West by the sword, so now Fethullah Gulen’s community systematically employs very different tactics to bring the West under Islamic rule. For profoundly anti-democratic goals they use America’s democratic values-freedom of speech, political correctness, tolerance, and multiculturalism-as tools for disseminating Gulen’s ideology. “You move in the arteries of the system without anyone noticing your existence until you reach all the power centers…until the conditions are ripe… If you do something prematurely, the world will crush our heads. The time is not yet right. You must wait until such time as you have gotten all the state power, until you have brought to your side all the power of the constitutional institutions in Turkey… The work to be done is in confronting the world.
A group of charter schools with innocuous names like Chicago Math and Science Academy are currently educating as many as 35,000 students in 100 publicly funded schools, make up the largest charter school network in the US. They promote an Islamic agenda, but receive government money, unlike other religious schools in the United States. These are the schools that are part of what is called Fethullah Gülen Community (FGC), also known as “the Gülen Movement.”
Harmony Charter Schools are being accused of ties to Islamic movements in Turkey
KTSM The Harmony Schools are charter schools in Texas that (claim to) focus on Math and Science. There are two in the El Paso area which have been attracting attention for their success rates with the students.
The Cosmos Foundation is the parent organization to the Harmony Schools. It is a charter school operator founded a decade by a group of professors and businessmen from Turkey. Cosmos has moved quickly to become the largest charter school operator in Texas, with 33 schools receiving more than $100 million a year in taxpayer funds.There are about 120 schools across the country that teach over 20,000 students.
In the last few years, the schools have been garnering negative attention for their supposed link to the Gulen Movement, a Muslim following. Many of the staff and some of the founders of the schools are from Turkey and happen to be followers of Fethullah Gulen, a Turkish preacher of a moderate brand of Islam.
The Superintendent of the schools and one of the Co-founders, Soner Tarim, is a Turkish-American and came to the United States in the early 90′s to study at Texas A&M. He says the schools do not reach religion at the schools. ” Because I’m the head of the school people should not look at me and label the school…all of our teachers and parents know that we do not teach religion obviously, this is a public school.”
CBN News takes an exclusive look at Turkish imam Fetullah Gülen — a man who some have called the world’s most dangerous Islamist. Gülen directs his global Islamic movement not from the Middle East, but from Pennsylvania’s Pocono Mountains.
Not everyone in the school system is happy with Harmony. Donna Garner, a former teacher in Texas, has been studying these schools for years. She says the schools are a front for an Islamic movement. “They have brought in all these teachers from Turkey, how are they going to teach students about being a good solid American patriot, to learn about the U.S. Constitution, to honor our forefathers, to study the declaration of independence.”
Tarim refutes this and says that some of the teachers are international, but 85% are hired locally. (But how many of those are Muslims?)
Garner also recalled a situation at a Harmony School performance in Texas, when students stomped on an American Flag. Whether this is true or not, Harmony Schools insist that they do not teach any Anti-American beliefs.
The Gulen Movement is a transnational civic society movement inspired by the teachings of Turkish Islamic theologian Muhammed Fethullah Gülen [in Saylorsburg, Pennsylvania]. His teachings about hizmet (altruistic service to the “common good”) have attracted a large number of supporters in Turkey and Central Asia and increasingly in other parts of the world, estimates vary from hundreds of thousands to 4 million. The movement consists primarily of students, teachers, businessman, journalists and other educated professionals, arranged in a flexible organizational network. It has founded schools, universities, an employers’ association, as well as charities, real estate trusts, lobby groups, student bodies, radio and television stations, and newspapers.
Gulen’s grandiose vision is the restoration of the Ottoman Empire and the creation of a universal caliphate. In his public statements, Gulen espouses a liberal version of Sunni/Hanafi Islam and promotes the Muslim notion of hizmet – - altruistic service to the common good. In private, Gulen has stated that “in order to reach the ideal Muslim society ‘every method and path is acceptable, [including] lying to people.’” With assets in excess of $30 billion, Gulen has wielded political allegiances in Washington that have resulted in the placement of Turkish Muslims in the CIA, NSA, FBI, and other national security organizations. He has created well-heeled lobbies to promote the cause of Islam and to develop Islamic candidates for political office. He has formed close friendships with Bill and Hillary Clinton, former Secretaries of State James Baker and Madeleine Albright, and George W. Bush.
FBI Investigating Gulen Charter Schools, parents pulling kids out
HFP Fethullah Gulen is a major Islamic political figure in Turkey, but he lives in self-imposed exile in a Poconos enclave and gained his green card by convincing a federal judge in Philadelphia that he was an influential educational figure in the United States. Followers of Gulen have opened the network of charter schools across the U.S., and that federal authorities are investigating claims that school workers are donating portions of their salaries to a Muslim movement founded by Gulen.
As evidence, his lawyer pointed to the charter schools, now more than 120 in 25 states, that his followers – Turkish scientists, engineers, and businessmen – have opened, including Truebright Science Academy in North Philadelphia and another charter in State College, Pa.
The schools are funded with millions of taxpayer dollars. Truebright alone receives more than $3 million from the Philadelphia School District for its 348 pupils. Tansu Cidav, the acting chief executive officer, described it as a regular public school. ”Charter schools are public schools,” he said. “We follow the state curriculum.”
FETULLAH GULEN
But federal agencies – including the FBI and the Departments of Labor and Education – are investigating whether some charter school employees are kicking back part of their salaries to a Muslim movement founded by Gulen known as Hizmet, or Service, according to knowledgeable sources. In Turkey, Gulen’s followers have been accused of pushing for an authoritarian Islamic state.
Religious scholars consider the Gulen strain of Islam moderate, and the investigation has no link to terrorism. Rather, it is focused on whether hundreds of Turkish teachers, administrators, and other staffers employed under the H1B visa program are misusing taxpayer money.
Aksoy, president of the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center in Saylorsburg, Pa., where Gulen lives, said Gulen, who is in his early 70s, “has no connection with any of the schools,” although he might have inspired the people who founded them. (That’s a total lie, he is the founder and leader)
Another aim of the Gulen schools, a federal official said, is fostering goodwill toward Turkey, which is led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the pro-Islamic fundamentalis prime minister, whose government recently detained journalists after they alleged that Gulen followers were infiltrating security agencies.
Gulen schools are among the nation’s largest users of the H1B visas. In 2009, the schools received government approvals for 684 visas – more than Google Inc. (440) but fewer than a technology powerhouse such as Intel Corp. (1,203).
The visas are used to attract foreign workers with math, science, and technology skills to jobs for which there are shortages of qualified American workers. Officials at some of the charter schools, which specialize in math and science, have said they needed to fill teaching spots with Turks, according to parents and former staffers.
Ruth Hocker, former president of the parents’ group at the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School in State College, began asking questions when popular, certified American teachers were replaced by uncertified Turkish men who often spoke limited English and were paid higher salaries. Most were placed in math and science classes.
“They would tell us they couldn’t find qualified American teachers,” Hocker said. That made no sense in Pennsylvania State University’s hometown, she said: “They graduate here every year.”
Other school parents described how uncertified teachers on H1B visas were moved from one charter school to another when their “emergency” teaching credentials expired and told of a pattern of sudden turnovers of Turkish business managers, administrators, and board members.
An English translation of Gulen’s speech to his followers. Gulen has two faces…the one he wants you to see and the one with his true Islamist agenda.
The charter school application that Truebright filed with the Philadelphia School District in 2005 mentioned that its founders helped start similar schools in Ohio, California, and Paterson, N.J.
Further evidence of the ties comes from a disaffected former teacher from Turkey who told federal investigators that the Gulen Movement had divided the United States into five regions, according to knowledgeable sources. A general manager in each coordinates the activities of the schools and related foundations and cultural centers, he told authorities.
Ohio, California, and Texas have the largest numbers of Gulen-related schools. Ohio has 19, which are operated by Concept Schools Inc., and most are known as Horizon Science Academies. There are 14 in California operated by the Magnolia Foundation. Texas has 33 known as Harmony schools, run by the Cosmos Foundation.
FETULLAH GULEN
But federal agencies – including the FBI and the Departments of Labor and Education – are investigating whether some charter school employees are kicking back part of their salaries to a Muslim movement founded by Gulen known as Hizmet, or Service, according to knowledgeable sources. In Turkey, Gulen’s followers have been accused of pushing for an authoritarian Islamic state.
Religious scholars consider the Gulen strain of Islam moderate, and the investigation has no link to terrorism. Rather, it is focused on whether hundreds of Turkish teachers, administrators, and other staffers employed under the H1B visa program are misusing taxpayer money.
Aksoy, president of the Golden Generation Worship & Retreat Center in Saylorsburg, Pa., where Gulen lives, said Gulen, who is in his early 70s, “has no connection with any of the schools,” although he might have inspired the people who founded them. (That’s a total lie, he is the founder and leader)
Another aim of the Gulen schools, a federal official said, is fostering goodwill toward Turkey, which is led by Recep Tayyip Erdogan, the pro-Islamic fundamentalis prime minister, whose government recently detained journalists after they alleged that Gulen followers were infiltrating security agencies.
Gulen schools are among the nation’s largest users of the H1B visas. In 2009, the schools received government approvals for 684 visas – more than Google Inc. (440) but fewer than a technology powerhouse such as Intel Corp. (1,203).
The visas are used to attract foreign workers with math, science, and technology skills to jobs for which there are shortages of qualified American workers. Officials at some of the charter schools, which specialize in math and science, have said they needed to fill teaching spots with Turks, according to parents and former staffers.
Ruth Hocker, former president of the parents’ group at the Young Scholars of Central Pennsylvania Charter School in State College, began asking questions when popular, certified American teachers were replaced by uncertified Turkish men who often spoke limited English and were paid higher salaries. Most were placed in math and science classes.
“They would tell us they couldn’t find qualified American teachers,” Hocker said. That made no sense in Pennsylvania State University’s hometown, she said: “They graduate here every year.”
Other school parents described how uncertified teachers on H1B visas were moved from one charter school to another when their “emergency” teaching credentials expired and told of a pattern of sudden turnovers of Turkish business managers, administrators, and board members.
An English translation of Gulen’s speech to his followers. Gulen has two faces…the one he wants you to see and the one with his true Islamist agenda.
The charter school application that Truebright filed with the Philadelphia School District in 2005 mentioned that its founders helped start similar schools in Ohio, California, and Paterson, N.J.
Further evidence of the ties comes from a disaffected former teacher from Turkey who told federal investigators that the Gulen Movement had divided the United States into five regions, according to knowledgeable sources. A general manager in each coordinates the activities of the schools and related foundations and cultural centers, he told authorities.
Ohio, California, and Texas have the largest numbers of Gulen-related schools. Ohio has 19, which are operated by Concept Schools Inc., and most are known as Horizon Science Academies. There are 14 in California operated by the Magnolia Foundation. Texas has 33 known as Harmony schools, run by the Cosmos Foundation.
Report reveals that some Horizon Science Academy schools across Ohio used nearly $13,000 of taxpayer money for immigration and legal fees for teachers recruited overseas — many of them from Turkey. State auditors found some who received immigration and legal fees were never employed at the schools. In 2008 and 2009, immigration records show at least 53 H-1B immigration visas were issued to Horizon Schools.
In their investigation, federal authorities have obtained copies of several e-mails that indicate the charter schools are tied to Hizmet and may be controlled by it:
One activist sent an e-mail Aug. 30, 2007, to administrators at four schools and the president of Concept Schools in which he mentioned “Hizmet business” and several problems that needed to be addressed so that “Hizmet will not suffer.” And the disaffected teacher who described the five regions gave authorities a document called a tuzuk, which resembles a contract and prescribes how much money Turkish teachers are supposed to return to Hizmet.
In their investigation, federal authorities have obtained copies of several e-mails that indicate the charter schools are tied to Hizmet and may be controlled by it:
One activist sent an e-mail Aug. 30, 2007, to administrators at four schools and the president of Concept Schools in which he mentioned “Hizmet business” and several problems that needed to be addressed so that “Hizmet will not suffer.” And the disaffected teacher who described the five regions gave authorities a document called a tuzuk, which resembles a contract and prescribes how much money Turkish teachers are supposed to return to Hizmet.
State auditors in Ohio found that a number of schools had “illegally expended” public funding to pay legal, immigration, and air-travel fees for nonemployees and retained teachers who lacked proper licenses. Audited records from the Horizon Science Academy in Cincinnati in May 2009 also say that “for the period of time under audit, 47 percent (nine of 19) of the school’s teachers were not properly licensed.”
The same records show that the founder of Horizon Cincinnati was listed as the CEO of the school’s management firm and as president of the school’s property owner.
The American charter schools were a central part of Gulen’s argument that won him a green card after the Department of Homeland Security ruled that he did not meet the qualifications of an “alien of extraordinary ability” to receive a special visa.
In a lawsuit Gulen filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia in 2007 challenging the denial, his attorneys wrote: “In his position as the founder and head of the Gulen Movement, Mr. Gulen has overseen the establishment of a conglomeration of schools throughout the world, in Europe, Central Asia, and the United States.” His attorneys also referred to a letter of support from a theology professor in Illinois who described Gulen as “a leader of award-winning schools for underserved children around the world, including many schools in the major cities in America.”
Gulen Charter Schools use a lot of deception a false marketing practices in the advertisements of these schools.
On July 16, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled that Gulen met the requirements for a green card. Hocker, the State College parent, said the current CEO had assured her the school had no ties to Gulen. Rather, he told her that Gulen had inspired him to go into education and that Turkey “wanted to be known for teaching, the way you would think of India” for information technology, Hocker said.
But she noted that when the school’s founding CEO disappeared, his successor arrived from the Buffalo Academy of Science, another Gulen school. The dean of academics came from a related school in New Jersey. Ulker, Truebright’s, CEO, was one of the school’s founders and is a board member.
“If you start looking at their names, you can connect them back to all the other charter schools and Gulen groups,” Hocker said. She later withdrew her three children over concerns about secrecy and finances. A sister school – Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania – is scheduled to open outside Pittsburgh in the fall.
Donna Garner
Donna Garner’s personal accounts of the Gulen Harmony Schools:
LIBERTY LINKED ”A mother called me last week to tell me about her middle-school daughter. I guess because I was a teacher for so long and write education articles, people tend to turn to me with their concerns. The mother (I will call her “Annie”) said her daughter (“Suzie”) went to a Harmony School in Texas. Annie thought the schools would be good because they advertised their well-disciplined approach and high science and math scores.
Annie allowed her daughter to remain in the school for a year but became very concerned as the school year progressed. Annie described the Harmony School as being decorated all in Turkish furnishings, wall hangings, memorabilia. Many of the students were Muslims, Pakistanis, Turks, Asians, etc. Low-income Afro-American and Hispanic students also went there. Suzie is dark-skinned, and that is one reason Annie thought her daughter would fit in well at Harmony.
Annie said there were four American teachers who spoke good English; the rest were Turks who came from Albania. The e-mails that Annie received from the school were written in such broken English that she could hardly understand the content. Suzie received almost no instruction on English grammar/usage, and her ability to write in good English decreased in proficiency while she was there.
The same records show that the founder of Horizon Cincinnati was listed as the CEO of the school’s management firm and as president of the school’s property owner.
The American charter schools were a central part of Gulen’s argument that won him a green card after the Department of Homeland Security ruled that he did not meet the qualifications of an “alien of extraordinary ability” to receive a special visa.
In a lawsuit Gulen filed in U.S. District Court in Philadelphia in 2007 challenging the denial, his attorneys wrote: “In his position as the founder and head of the Gulen Movement, Mr. Gulen has overseen the establishment of a conglomeration of schools throughout the world, in Europe, Central Asia, and the United States.” His attorneys also referred to a letter of support from a theology professor in Illinois who described Gulen as “a leader of award-winning schools for underserved children around the world, including many schools in the major cities in America.”
Gulen Charter Schools use a lot of deception a false marketing practices in the advertisements of these schools.
On July 16, 2008, U.S. District Court Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled that Gulen met the requirements for a green card. Hocker, the State College parent, said the current CEO had assured her the school had no ties to Gulen. Rather, he told her that Gulen had inspired him to go into education and that Turkey “wanted to be known for teaching, the way you would think of India” for information technology, Hocker said.
But she noted that when the school’s founding CEO disappeared, his successor arrived from the Buffalo Academy of Science, another Gulen school. The dean of academics came from a related school in New Jersey. Ulker, Truebright’s, CEO, was one of the school’s founders and is a board member.
“If you start looking at their names, you can connect them back to all the other charter schools and Gulen groups,” Hocker said. She later withdrew her three children over concerns about secrecy and finances. A sister school – Young Scholars of Western Pennsylvania – is scheduled to open outside Pittsburgh in the fall.
Donna Garner
Donna Garner’s personal accounts of the Gulen Harmony Schools:
LIBERTY LINKED ”A mother called me last week to tell me about her middle-school daughter. I guess because I was a teacher for so long and write education articles, people tend to turn to me with their concerns. The mother (I will call her “Annie”) said her daughter (“Suzie”) went to a Harmony School in Texas. Annie thought the schools would be good because they advertised their well-disciplined approach and high science and math scores.
Annie allowed her daughter to remain in the school for a year but became very concerned as the school year progressed. Annie described the Harmony School as being decorated all in Turkish furnishings, wall hangings, memorabilia. Many of the students were Muslims, Pakistanis, Turks, Asians, etc. Low-income Afro-American and Hispanic students also went there. Suzie is dark-skinned, and that is one reason Annie thought her daughter would fit in well at Harmony.
Annie said there were four American teachers who spoke good English; the rest were Turks who came from Albania. The e-mails that Annie received from the school were written in such broken English that she could hardly understand the content. Suzie received almost no instruction on English grammar/usage, and her ability to write in good English decreased in proficiency while she was there.
Students had uniforms and T-shirts from Turkey. The school held cooking classes for parents and taught them Turkish recipes. Trips to Turkey were advertised early in the year, and students and other people went on these trips for a two-week spring break. If students could not afford the trips, they were provided the money to go. The summer trip to Turkey was for one month. Students participated in the Science Olympiad that was held within the Cosmos Foundation across the United States — Cosmos students competed with other Cosmos students.
When worried Texas parents try to warn of the dangers of the Gulen schools, liberal CBS News, in its typical left wing condescending way, moves in to demonize the parents and defend the School Administrators without any investigation of their own.
The video says, “CBS 7 first reported Tuesday, a West Texas group is claiming that a charter school coming to Odessa this fall has ties to radical Islam in Turkey. But tonight’s statements from school administrators and new information seem to indicate that claim is not true.” (Seem to indicate? How about doing your own research instead of taking people working for Gulen’s word for it?)
The Harmony students took very frequent field trips during the school year and constantly put their students on display. They almost always went to places and had luncheons where elected officials could see them and did frequent performances for Congressmen, state board of education members, Texas legislators, city councils, judges, police chiefs, fire chiefs, etc.
The mother said Suzie received overly generous grades the whole time that she was in Harmony and that students whom Suzie knew were mediocre students also received inflated grades. In January students who had received F’s for the first semester were bumped up to B’s.
When worried Texas parents try to warn of the dangers of the Gulen schools, liberal CBS News, in its typical left wing condescending way, moves in to demonize the parents and defend the School Administrators without any investigation of their own.
The video says, “CBS 7 first reported Tuesday, a West Texas group is claiming that a charter school coming to Odessa this fall has ties to radical Islam in Turkey. But tonight’s statements from school administrators and new information seem to indicate that claim is not true.” (Seem to indicate? How about doing your own research instead of taking people working for Gulen’s word for it?)
The Harmony students took very frequent field trips during the school year and constantly put their students on display. They almost always went to places and had luncheons where elected officials could see them and did frequent performances for Congressmen, state board of education members, Texas legislators, city councils, judges, police chiefs, fire chiefs, etc.
The mother said Suzie received overly generous grades the whole time that she was in Harmony and that students whom Suzie knew were mediocre students also received inflated grades. In January students who had received F’s for the first semester were bumped up to B’s.
To prepare the students for the TAKS, Suzie told her mother that they were drilled on dates (e.g., 1492), but there was no explanation or teaching about the historical background of such dates. When they were taught history, they studied such things as a story about a Japanese (or Chinese) man who lived in California and invented “the first airplane.” Nothing was ever taught about the Wright Brothers.
Multicultural historical figures were emphasized, but the Founding Fathers had little if anything said about them. There were three mentions of Paul Revere in a textbook, but they were short sentences. The students did read a book that was supposed to be about Paul Revere and the historical figures of the time but ended up being a book about the female author. The books were dry, unengaging, and contained no traditional history with stories of American heroes and heroines.
Suzie did have textbooks, but the literary selections were about dark, depressing, negative,and disturbing subjects that referenced America with frequent examples of drugs, alcohol, and violence. Suzie and her mother both felt the literary selections did not represent wholesome American life. Because Suzie became increasingly depressed while attending Harmony, Annie decided to remove her from the school after a year.
While the Gulen Movement works to censor the Turkish internet, Gulen’s organization is involved in the internet porn industry:
What we need to remember is nobody monitors these Harmony Schools during the administration of tests. What is to prevent these H-1 visa teachers who are from Turkey and who have no commitment to the American value system to give their students the answers? The Wikileaks cable from the U. S. Ambassador several years ago revealed that the Gulenists are taking over the Turkish Security Forces by giving applicants the answers to the tests. If this is their mode of operation in Turkey, it very well could be the way they operate here. Dr. Ed Fuller’s research showed that over half of the students who start at Harmony leave. This would certainly be a major factor in raising their TAKS scores — weed out the weak students.
A friend wrote to me a few weeks ago and told me of an incident at Indian Springs Park in Waco, Texas. The Harmony Science Academy students from Waco performed at a community art festival. As reported by my friend, the students were dressed in their attractive Turkish costumes and were waving bright-colored Turkish flags. The audience was impressed with the students’ graceful movements as they flourished their Turkish flags throughout the dance; but at one point, the students took a large American flag, put it on the stage floor, and began to dance upon the flag.
When the members of the audience realized that the students were treading upon our nation’s flag, various people rose to their feet to object to this lack of respect. The dance finished up about that time, and the children hurriedly left the stage. My friend said she felt the incident demonstrated that there is a type of subtle, anti-American indoctrination that is occurring at Harmony Science Academy.
Watch out Canada, since the FBI investigations, many Turkish Gulen teachers are heading for Canada.
RELATED STORIES/VIDEOS:
the-most-dangerous-islamist-in-the-world-has-been-lauded-by-bill-and-hillary-clinton
Multicultural historical figures were emphasized, but the Founding Fathers had little if anything said about them. There were three mentions of Paul Revere in a textbook, but they were short sentences. The students did read a book that was supposed to be about Paul Revere and the historical figures of the time but ended up being a book about the female author. The books were dry, unengaging, and contained no traditional history with stories of American heroes and heroines.
Suzie did have textbooks, but the literary selections were about dark, depressing, negative,and disturbing subjects that referenced America with frequent examples of drugs, alcohol, and violence. Suzie and her mother both felt the literary selections did not represent wholesome American life. Because Suzie became increasingly depressed while attending Harmony, Annie decided to remove her from the school after a year.
While the Gulen Movement works to censor the Turkish internet, Gulen’s organization is involved in the internet porn industry:
What we need to remember is nobody monitors these Harmony Schools during the administration of tests. What is to prevent these H-1 visa teachers who are from Turkey and who have no commitment to the American value system to give their students the answers? The Wikileaks cable from the U. S. Ambassador several years ago revealed that the Gulenists are taking over the Turkish Security Forces by giving applicants the answers to the tests. If this is their mode of operation in Turkey, it very well could be the way they operate here. Dr. Ed Fuller’s research showed that over half of the students who start at Harmony leave. This would certainly be a major factor in raising their TAKS scores — weed out the weak students.
A friend wrote to me a few weeks ago and told me of an incident at Indian Springs Park in Waco, Texas. The Harmony Science Academy students from Waco performed at a community art festival. As reported by my friend, the students were dressed in their attractive Turkish costumes and were waving bright-colored Turkish flags. The audience was impressed with the students’ graceful movements as they flourished their Turkish flags throughout the dance; but at one point, the students took a large American flag, put it on the stage floor, and began to dance upon the flag.
When the members of the audience realized that the students were treading upon our nation’s flag, various people rose to their feet to object to this lack of respect. The dance finished up about that time, and the children hurriedly left the stage. My friend said she felt the incident demonstrated that there is a type of subtle, anti-American indoctrination that is occurring at Harmony Science Academy.
Watch out Canada, since the FBI investigations, many Turkish Gulen teachers are heading for Canada.
RELATED STORIES/VIDEOS:
the-most-dangerous-islamist-in-the-world-has-been-lauded-by-bill-and-hillary-clinton
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