12
August 2004
2. "Cardinal: Turkey cannot join EU", the Catholic Church's' most senior theologian says Turkey should not attempt to join the European Union beacuse it is a majority Mulsim country with Mulsim roots.
3. "IMF issues both warnings and praise for Turkey", Turkey has a large stock of short-term, foreign currency debt, leaving it open to an exchange-rate or interest-rate shock, the International Monetary Fund warned.
4. "Armenian lobbyists are facing a lost cause", activists again failed to obtain U.S. congressional recognition of the Armenian genocide. The obstacles they face include America's ties with Turkey and the Jewish lobby.
5. "Syria urged to probe death of Kurds", Amnesty International called yesterday for an investigation into the deaths of two Kurds held by Syrian authorities, saying it had reports both had died after being tortured.
6. "Arabs Encounter Prejudice in Kurdistan", visitors from the south of the country increasingly viewed with suspicion.
1. - AFP - "Kurdish group threatens more attacks
on tourists, economic targets in Turkey":
ANKARA / 12 August 2004
A Kurdish group which claimed responsibility for deadly
bombings at two Istanbul hotels and a gas complex this week warned
tourists and foreign businessmen on Thursday to leave the country saying
it was planning further attacks.
"Taking account of the fact we shall particularly target the tourism sector, we call on all tourists to leave Turkey and those who are intending to come to change their plans," the Kurdistan Freedom Falcons said in a statement.
The group also urged "those who invest in Turkey, locals and foreigners, and who benefit from the war (against the Kurdish people) to withdraw and suspend their investments."
The statement was made available to AFP by the Germany-based MHA news agency, a pro-Kurdish institution which often carries statements by Kurdish rebels.
The previously unknown Kurdistan Freedom Falkons claimed responsibility Tuesday for near simultaneous pre-dawn bomb attacks at two hotels in downtown Istanbul, in which a Turk and an Iranian were killed and 11 others, mostly foreign tourists, injured.
The group also claimed responsibility for two explosions at a gas complex on the city's outskirts, which caused no casualties.
The Turkish media has suggested the group is linked to
the former Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK), whose violent campaign for
self-rule in mainly Kurdish southeast Turkey started 20 years ago. 
2. - Al Jazeera / Reuters - "Cardinal: Turkey cannot join EU":
12 August 2004
The Catholic Church's' most senior theologian says Turkey should not
attempt to join the European Union beacuse it is a majority Mulsim country
with Mulsim roots.
Mainly Muslim Turkey should seek its future in an association of Muslim nations rather than try to join a European community with Christian roots, the Vatican's top theologian said in an interview distributed on Wednesday.
Cardinal Joseph Ratzinger, doctrinal head of the Roman Catholic Church, said Turkey had always been "in permanent contrast to Europe" and linking it to Europe would be a mistake.
He also told a French magazine that the European Union should continue to debate the issue of its Christian heritage, a discussion that appeared to be closed in June when the EU adopted a constitution that avoided any mention of Christianity.
Islamic heritage
A secular state with a majority Muslim population, Turkey has been introducing political reforms to bolster its bid to open entry negotiations with the EU, which is due to decide in December whether to launch accession talks.
"In the course of history, Turkey has always represented a different continent, in permanent contrast to Europe," Ratzinger said, noting that the Ottoman Empire once threatened Vienna and fought wars in the Balkans.
Turkey is trying to improve its human rights record
for EU entry
"Making the two continents identical would be a mistake,"
he said. "It would mean a loss of richness, the disappearance of
the cultural to the benefit of economics."
The German-born cardinal said Turkey "could try to set up a cultural continent with neighbouring Arab countries and become the leading figure of a culture with its own identity".
Ratzinger, who heads the Vatican's Congregation for the Doctrine of the Faith, said this would not exclude cooperation between such a Muslim community and the European Union.
Both could work together to fight "fundamentalism", he added.
European Constitution
The cardinal said the Vatican supported the separation of church and state but thought the EU was wrong to ignore what he said was the historical fact that its heritage was Christian.
"We should continue the debate on this question because I fear that behind this opposition (to mentioning Christianity in the European constitution) hides a hatred Europe has against itself and its great history," he said.
Asked about the force of secularism in France, which has recently banned Muslim headscarves in state schools, Ratzinger said "aggressive secularism" would provoke Muslims to become more religious, rather than counter it.
"There is a rejection of a world that refuses to
recognise God or respect the sacred," he said. "This loss
of the sense of the sacred and respect for others provokes a reaction
of self-defence in the Arab and Islamic world."
3. - The Daily Star (Lebanon) - "IMF issues both
warnings and praise for Turkey":
WASHINGTON / 12 August 2004
Turkey has a large stock of short-term, foreign currency debt, leaving it open to an exchange-rate or interest-rate shock, the International Monetary Fund warned.
In an annual review of the Turkish economy, IMF directors commended the country for cutting inflation to single digits and curbing government budget deficits.
"The adherence to a strict monetary program under the floating exchange rate regime helped establish the Central Bank's credibility and facilitate a dramatic decline in real interest rates as confidence recovered," said the report. "In this environment, real GDP grew by close to 8 percent in 2002 and 6 percent in 2003, and it is projected to grow by at least 5 percent in 2004. At the same time, inflation has fallen to its lowest levels in decades, and is on track to reach its annual target of 12 percent in 2004."
But vulnerabilities remain. "Domestic demand has started to increase rapidly, and the current account deficit is widening as a result. The high size of the government debt, its short maturity, and its currency composition is also a major source of vulnerability," warned the IMF.
In the short run, the IMF said domestic demand growth was "exceptionally strong," widening the broadest measure of the Turkish trade deficit. The Fund praised efforts to dampen domestic demand.
Fiscal policy had been kept tight, the directors said, with lower tax incentives for consumer spending, curbed state bank lending, and targets exceeded for the "primary surplus" - the budget surplus not counting debt payments.
"Despite these efforts, directors saw the need to continue to monitor the rising current account deficit carefully," it said.
"Against this background, directors urged the authorities
to save this year's fiscal overperformance, at least until the outlook
for the current account stabilizes, and to stand ready to tighten fiscal
policy further if domestic demand continues to be strong."
4. - Haaretz - "Armenian lobbyists are facing
a lost cause":
Activists again failed to obtain U.S. congressional recognition of
the Armenian genocide. The obstacles they face include America's ties
with Turkey and the Jewish lobby.
WASHINGTON / 12 August 2004 / by Nathan Guttman
For a moment it seemed to Armenian activists in the U.S.
that they had made progress toward obtaining U.S. congressional recognition
of the massacre perpetrated by the Turks against the Armenian people
98 years ago. U.S. Congressman Adam Schiff, a California Democrat, succeeded
on July 15 in getting approval from the House of Representatives for
an amendment to the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill, which would
bar Turkey from using the annual American aid it receives to hire political
lobbyists in Washington to lobby against the decision recognizing the
Armenian genocide. Ostensibly, a marginal amendment and not terribly
important, but in the eyes of supporters of the Armenian cause in the
U.S., even approval of a minor amendment is considered an achievement.
The battle to gain recognition of the Armenian genocide by the U.S.
Congress is transformed annually into a fight between the small group
of Armenian supporters in Congress and the rest of the world - the Turkish
representatives and the lobbyists working on their behalf, the administration,
the supports of the administration in Congress, and also several of
the large Jewish organizations. When the U.S. tries to maintain good
relations with Turkey, the price is paid by those who want to see the
American Congress include the Armenian genocide in the decision denouncing
such actions, Resolution 193, which also recognizes the Armenian genocide
as such, approval of which has been delayed.
The minor achievement in Congress, which is now referred to as the Schiff Amendment, did not last long. Republican leaders in the House of Representatives - Speaker J. Dennis Hastert, House Majority Leader Tom DeLay and House Majority Whip Roy Blunt - issued an especially sharply worded statement the day after the amendment was approved, in which they made it clear that the amendment was unacceptable to them and that they would seek to annul it when the Foreign Operations Appropriations bill came before the conference committee that attempts to bridge the gap between the Senate and House of Representatives positions, before a bill is sent to the president for his signature. When the House leadership mobilizes to kill a bill, chances are the effort will be successful and therefore it seems that despite the Schiff Amendment, no one will deduct from U.S. aid to Turkey the sums it uses to finance activities against the resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide.
`The resolution is dead'
Even the chances of House Resolution 193 now seem slimmer than ever, given that at the conclusion of their statement, the House majority leaders declared that "Furthermore, we have no intention of scheduling H.Res. 193, as reported out of the Judiciary Committee in April, during the remainder of this Congress." The practical significance of that is the resolution is a lost cause. Elizabeth Chouldjian, of the Armenian National Committee of America (ANCA), believes there is a still a chance for getting the amendment passed. The organization is currently urging its supporters to call and write to the House of Representatives in order to overturn the decision of the House leadership and nevertheless schedule a vote on the resolution. "We're getting good response in the House of Representatives and have 40 co-sponsors on a similar resolution in the Senate," she said, but history teaches that even interest groups that are stronger than the Armenian lobby have no chance when the administration and the Congressional leadership are working against them. Another Armenian activist openly admitted that "the resolution is dead" and this year again there is no chance of passing the resolution that recognizes the Armenian genocide.
Don't upset Turkey
The main obstacle facing supporters of the Armenian cause in the U.S. and their attempts to gain recognition for the Armenian genocide is the administration's basic position and that of many others, whereby friendship with Turkey is more important than anything else. The Turkish government, via its diplomatic representatives and lobbyists, has made it very clear to the Americans that any recognition of the Armenian genocide will be perceived in Ankara as a slap in the face and will adversely affect ties between the two countries.
So, for example, when France was considering a similar law, the Turks threatened a series of sanctions and in the end recalled their ambassador from Paris for six months. In the U.S., the situation is much more sensitive - the Americans need Turkey as a crucial ally in its region, as a base for U.S. forces and primarily, to maintain relative quiet in northern Iraq. "Our relationship with Turkey is too important to us to allow it to be in any way damaged by a poorly crafted and ultimately meaningless amendment," said senior House leaders in their reaction to the Schiff Amendment. The administration maintains a similar position. The debate does not revolve around the question of whether there was an Armenian genocide or its scope, but around contemporary politics and Turkey's possible reaction if someone upsets them with regard to this issue.
The Jewish community in the U.S. and the Israel issue are also entwined in the pressure campaign preventing approval of the resolution. "The community is certainly a player on this issue," said a key Jewish activist in Washington, who like many others involved in the issue, asked to remain off the record. Representatives of Jewish organizations reported "a sense of discomfort," as one described it, when coming to explain their position on the Armenian resolution; on one hand, the Jews as a community are sensitive to the tragedy experienced by the Armenian people, but on the other hand, there are Israel-Turkey relations to consider. "We have always had a level of uncertainty regarding the balance that should be kept between the moral factors and the strategic interests," one Jewish organization official cautiously explained.
Last year, Jewish organizations, primarily the American Jewish Committee (AJC), have been more active in thwarting the resolution acknowledging the Armenian genocide. This year the politicians managed of their own accord and the resolution will be postponed even without the involvement of Jewish organizations. But a central activists in a Jewish organization involved in this matter clarified that if necessary, he would not hesitate to again exert pressure to ensure the resolution is not passed and the Turks remain satisfied. The same activist said he had received numerous requests in the past to work against the Armenian cause in Congress. "The State Department asked us, other people in the administration did, even the Turkish Jewish community asked us to act on this issue," he said. The prevailing opinion among the large Jewish organizations is that "Turkey's relations with the United States and Israel are too important for us to deal with this subject," according to one community activist who was involved in blocking Resolution 193 last year. The more expansive explanation, offered in meetings and discussions, is that "the Armenian genocide is a matter for historians, not for legislators."
Even though ties between Israel and Turkey are the determining factor in decision-making in the Jewish community, there is also some weight to the matter of definition. The American term proposed in the resolution refers to "genocide" of the Armenians, while the Nazis' acts against the Jews during World War II are defined as "Holocaust." The distinction does indeed exist, but according to many Jewish activists, there are some who feel discomfort over the mention of the Armenian genocide alongside the Jewish Holocaust, for fear of cheapening the concept of a holocaust.
The Jewish community's involvement in the issue of the Armenian genocide is affected by the status of Israel-Turkey relations. One senior organizational official related that during the honeymoon years of Turkish-Israeli ties, the Jewish organizations were more enthusiastic about openly helping Turkey thwart previous Armenian-related resolutions in Congress. Now, he adds, since ties have cooled off somewhat, many Jewish activists are trying to lower their profile in this matter. The organized Jewish community in the U.S. has close ties with the Turkish government and one of Turkish Prime Minister Racep Tayep Erdogan's senior advisers even promised recently at a Washington meeting with a Jewish audience that Erdogan's criticism of Israel was misunderstood and that Turkey will do everything to restore ties to the way they were.
Armenians for Kerry
The insistence of the administration and Congressional Republicans to bar the resolution on Armenian genocide does not make President George Bush very popular among Armenians on the eve of elections. One of the large Armenian organizations in the U.S. has already publicly endorsed Kerry and the Democrats have two groups of Armenians for Kerry working for them. So far, no Armenian group has voiced support for Bush. But the Armenian community's electoral power is not significant. There an currently an estimate 1-1.5 million Americans of Armenian descent, but most are second, third or fourth-generation immigrants and therefore, not all of them vote based on the candidates' views on faraway Armenia. "There are those who base their decision on the Armenian issue, those who vote only based on their political views and those who vote based on different reasons altogether," explained Ross Vartian, the executive director of the Armenian Assembly of America.
However, the Armenian community has also kept track of President Bush's record. He promised in his 2000 election campaign to recognize the Armenian genocide and after his election worked to thwart such resolutions; he allocated a smaller amount of foreign aid to Armenia than he had recommended to Congress and favored issues relating to Azerbaijan over Armenian ones; and the Armenians in the U.S. were insulted when Bush's administration announced that Armenians residing in the U.S. would be required to register at the offices of the Immigration and Naturalization Service, as foreigners from Arab and Muslim countries were required to do after September 11. Following pressure from the community, the decision was retracted after 48 hours.
Next year, the world will mark the 90th anniversary of
the Armenian genocide. Activists in the U.S. hope the international
pressure and perhaps also the results of the U.S. election will enable
them to obtain approval of the resolution recognizing the Armenian genocide
in the next session of Congress. Past experience shows that the chances
of that happening are slim.
A memorial ceremony for the Armenian genocide, L.A. 1995. Any recognition
of the massacre will be perceived in Ankara as a slap in the face.
5. - Reuters - "Syria urged to probe death of
Kurds":
BEIRUT / 12 August 2004
Amnesty International called yesterday for an investigation into the deaths of two Kurds held by Syrian authorities, saying it had reports both had died after being tortured.
The London-based rights group said one of the Kurds was reported to have died on August 3 from a brain haemorrhage caused by severe beatings.
Ahmad Mamu Kenjo was beaten by a security patrol in northeastern Syria in late March, and again while detained incommunicado in an unknown location during April and May, Amnesty said.
"The initial head wound – reportedly perpetrated by officers of Military Intelligence – was said to have caused severe head pains and serious brain damage, as a result of which he was released. He died at home," an Amnesty statement said.
The 37-year-old father of three had never been charged with an offence, according to Amnesty's information. His brother Hussain is still in prison on charges connected with his alleged involvement in ethnic riots earlier this year.
The Amnesty statement said a second Syrian Kurd, Hussain Hassan, died at the beginning of August in the custody of military intelligence in northeastern Syria.
"Hassan, a father of four, was from Al Malikiye near the borders with Iraq and Turkey, and is believed to have died due to torture," the statement said.
"Military Intelligence offers told Hassan's family that his body was buried at Tel Mateb cemetery without allowing anyone to see the body or to have a post-mortem conducted. It is believed Hassan was never charged with an offence."
Amnesty said the two cases fitted a consistent pattern
of torture by Syrian security forces. The group said it had information
about the death of eight Syrians in custody in 2004, five of them Syrian
Kurds.
6. - IWPR - "Arabs Encounter Prejudice in Kurdistan":
Visitors from the south of the country increasingly viewed with suspicion.
SULAIMANIYAH / 11 August 2004 / by Sarhang Hama Salih*
The sight of Iraqi Arabs in their traditional dishdash and cars with license plates from central and southern governorates like Baghdad, Dyala and Anbar has become commonplace on the streets of Sulaimaniyah since the war.
Some Arabs visit Kurdistan as tourists; some come seeking jobs; others just want respite from the often dangerous conditions in the rest of the country.
Three Kurdish governorates have been semi-independent since 1992 when central government withdrew from the area and left the Kurds to govern themselves under the protection of US and UK warplanes.
But Iraqi Arabs who visit Iraqi Kurdistan increasingly claim they experience hostility and unfair treatment at the hands of their Kurdish hosts.
After the war, they were initially welcomed by hotel and restaurant managers who saw them as tourists with money to spend, but now Arabs are increasingly viewed with suspicion, especially by Kurdish security forces.
Those security forces are intent on keeping suicide bombers off their streets and they view Arab citizens as possible enemies.
"This my first visit in Kurdistan," said Tariq Ismail, 52, from Baquba. "But I regret coming here. The Kurds think every Arab is a Saddam Hussein."
Arab visitors increasingly find they are singled out as potential security risks.
Arabs who register at hotels must first get permission from local security, while Kurds and foreigners in Kurdistan do not have to obtain such a permit.
In other parts of Iraq, no one is even asked for security clearance.
Ismail said that when he and his wife and children tried to park their car in a garage, they were told they could not because as Arabs their car was suspect.
Another 25-year-old Baghdadi Arab, who shared a hotel in Sulaimaniyah with Ismail, said his experience with the Kurds was worse than under the Baath regime.
When he stopped at a security checkpoint, Sulaimaniyah officials thought his name was on a list of suspects. They took him into custody for several hours where he says he was treated "badly".
When he asked to use the toilet, he was told to urinate in his trousers. "Human beings should not be treated that way," he said.
Some Arab visitors submit to the additional scrutiny as an understandable, and even welcomed, precaution.
"Only Arabs are inspected at the checkpoints," said Ahmed Rasheed, 31, a Baghdadi, explaining that "the Kurds want to protect their security".
He surmises that the long-time Arab persecution has left the Kurds hostile. "Judging by their Baathist experience, the Kurds think all Arabs are occupiers," he said.
Not all Arab visitors feel hostility from Kurdish hosts.
"There is no discrimination," said Salah Kaduri, 35, from Baghdad, who often travels to Sulaimaniyah with his wife.
Kaduri says that Kurdish checkpoint officials are courteous, and he appreciates the safety and security in the Kurdish streets.
Some Arabs who have made Kurdistan their home think there are Kurds who harbour a deep-rooted animosity towards Arabs, and that it is increasingly articulated.
Jamal Abdul Kareem, 42, has lived in Kurdistan for 18 years and speaks Kurdish fluently.
He points to a complex of factors that leave the Kurds with a distrust of their Arab compatriots, including "the effect of Baath, cultural differences, and the Kurdish fear of the future".
He speculates that the Kurdish claim for concern for their security is "only a cover for the old grudge they bear".
Ala Najmadeen, 37, a dentist, recently left Baghdad because of the "bad security situation" and moved to Kurdistan to set up a practice.
He tried to rent a house for his family but found that Arabs must pay an additional security deposit on top of already high rental rates.
Frustrated, he returned to Baghdad after one month.
Najmadeen is one of scores of professionals who have moved to Kurdistan seeking a safer environment.
More than 250 university professors have been killed since the fall of the regime, and another 1,000 have fled the country. Many other professionals, doctors in particular, have also been targeted.
The problems encountered by Iraqi Arabs in Kurdistan are in many ways typical of newcomers anywhere. And many Kurds welcome Arab visitors.
"I believe in living together and accepting each other," said Abdullah Ahmed, 26, a Sulaimaniyah Kurd who works for the Patriotic Union of Kurdistan.
But it's not hard to find Kurdish voices who admit to a strong sense of animosity towards their compatriots.
"When I see an Arab walking in Sulaimaniyah, I cannot help hating him," said Rebaz Hama Salih, 24. He admits this feeling is not rational but said he cannot control his emotions.
All he can think about, he says, is the extensive suffering of the Kurds at the hands of Arab-majority Iraqi regimes.
But others say their antagonism is also directed towards the Arabs as a nationality.
"When Kurds were persecuted, it was the fault of the Arab nation not only the Iraqi government," said Wrya Sofi, 20, a Kurd from Kalar.
For Sofi, the recent expulsion of Kurds from several majority Arab cities in central Iraq is another reason for the Kurdish hatred towards the Arabs.
Thousands of Kurds have been forced out of cities like Fallujah and Samara simply because they are Kurds.
"When I see displaced Kurds who did not leave from fear of the Baath but rather from fear of the people of area," Sofi said, "I realise I hate Arabs, not the Baath."
* Sarhang Hama Salih is editor-in-chief of Liberal Education, a youth-oriented newspaper in Sulaimaniyah.