Thursday, June 26, 2008

WRITE AN OPEN LETTER TO THE 'LAROUSE Encyclopaedia'

A sample letter to the 'LAROUSE Encyclopaedia'
livres-larousse@larousse.fr ; editorial@aique.com.ar

Dear Editor,

I am informed that the fanaticism of the Argentina and other diaspora members, have reached the dimension of a new “Genocide mythomania”, smearing dirt and lies on everything, even Mustafa Kemal ATATURK, for which I understand that a chapter is being prepared. Please permit me to express that: Ataturk’s reputation is well established by too many sources, and your esteemed Encyclopedia, can not write history, based on readers’ suggestions or objections! If you wish, you may view attachment (A)!
What more, at the time of 1914-1915 deportations, Mustafa Kemal was a Lt.Col. officer of the army, first stationed in Damscus and later at Gallipoli and had absolutely nothing to do with the decisions and actions taken by the Government. Moreover, all documentation show that there was no reason, time, numbers, places, neutral eyewitnesses, tools of crime, corpses, mass graves, benefit from murders, no court decision, no historical debate, not even a single page of valid document!
This is a “world wide lie and swindle”.
For more information please read the attached “Reno Evening Gazette”Nov.14, 1915. (Attach.B)


Details:
Konu: “Atatürk” hakkındaki “Larousse ansiklopedi” yazısına yapılmakta olan SALDIRIYA TEPKİ VER! (Açık Mektup)

Değerli “Atatürk borçluları”,
Bizi idare (?) edenlerin nemelazımcılığı nedeniyle, “olmamış, olmasına da imkân bulunmayan” bir soykırım yalanını, birçok parlamentoya da tasdik ettiren Ermeni diasporası, dur durak bilmediğinden, cüretini artırarak bu kez ATATÜRK’ün ansiklopedik yazısına tasallut etmişlerdir. Arjantin’e gidenler, oradaki Ermenilerin fanatizmine belki şahit olmuşlardır. (Osmanlı 1914’te dünya savaşına katıldığı zaman, 300 Arjantinli Ermeni’nin oradan Petrograd’a gelerek Rus ordusu saflarında Türklere karşı savaştığı kaynakları ile sabittir). Arjantinli Ermeniler bu kez, Larousse Ansiklopedisinde Atatürk için bir yeni bölüm hazırlanmakta olduğunu duyarak, bütün dünya Ermenilerini, Larousse’a e-posta göndermeye davet etmiştir. İddialarına göre, Atatürk Ermeni Soykırımından sorumludur, lehine bir şey yazılamaz.
Türk basını, her zamanki gibi, bu patırtıyı duymamakta ve kamuoyuna duyurmamaktadır! Bu nedenle:
A- Ek-1’de bu duyuru ve Türkleri uyarmayı yapan, “http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2008/06/2494-actionalert-petition-against.html ” (benim de yazılarımı yayınlayan) Türk Ermenilerinin sirküler ilanı vardır. İngilizce bilenler okuyabilir.

B- Ek-2’de (eski bakan) Sayın Bülent Akarcalı’nın ilgili Larousse sitesine yazdığı Fransızca tepki mesajı okuyabilirsiniz. Akarcalı, Arjantin Ermenilerinin “Taliban”ın muadili olduğunu uyarmaktadır. İçinizden Fransızca bilenler içlerinden geldiği gibi (ek 2) yazsınlar da, ne isterlerse yazsınlar!

C- Ek-3’te bir Fransız’ın Andre Dupont’un, Ek-4’te bir Hollandalı M.vander Galien’in yazdıkları uzun İngilizce tepki mesajları var. (Biz Atatürk’ü müdafaa etmiyoruz, elin Fransız’ı, Hollandalısı savunmakta ve Türk Ermenileri de bize diye seslenmektedir.) Atatürk sevgisi ve doğrular, rozet takmak ve bayrak sallamakla yetmiyor! Adamlar, en büyük saygınlığımıza saldırıyorlar, bizde TIK yok!
D- Ek-5’te (Fransızcam iyi olmadığından) İngilizce hazırladığım bir (asker mektubu gibi) Atatürk mektubu var. İçinizden Fransızca (İngilizce) bilenler kendileri yazsınlar veya tanıdıklarına yazdırsınlar. Yazdırmak imkanı olmayanlar da, Ek-5’teki mektubun altına adlarını yazarak lütfen adrese yollasınlar!
Ermeni diasporası, en ufak bir işarette, karınca sürüsü gibi saldırır! Bizleri karıncalar yese, keneler kanımızı emse… farkında olmayız, sonra kendimizden başka herkese kızarız! Hodri E-postalar…

Şükrü S. Aya

MATEM NOTU: İçimize ve Meclise girmiş bulunan guya temsilcilerimizin Atatürk düşmanlığını itiraf sözlerine tepkiyi, içimizdeki daha gençlere bırakıyorum.
Dışardan ve içerden kemirilmekteyiz... Atatürk Cumhuriyeti gençlere emanet etmişti...nerelerdesiniz?

LETTERS WRITTEN:
1)From: Andre Dupont
To: livres-larousse@larousse.fr ; editorial@aique.com.ar
Sent: Sunday, June 22, 2008 10:38 AM
Subject: Larousse - Armenian negacionist - Petition
Dear Sir / Madam,It has come under my attention that certain Armenian organizations have set up a campaign against your encyclopedia because, in it, you are (planning to be) quite positive about Turkey's first President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. They have gone online, sending e-mails to every Armenian in the Diaspora they know, arguing that they should try to stop you, because Atatürk is responsible for the events of 1915.I feel forced to react to their campaign, because I believe that what they are doing amounts to a hate campaign. Those who know history, and especially the history of Turkey and the Middle East / Ottoman Empire, know that Atatürk was not a political leader back in 1915. He was not a leader of the Young Turks. He was a military leader, who did not fight against Armenians but against the Great Powers who tried to divide the Ottoman Empire between themselves. Additionally, many historians argue that what did happen in 1915, did not constitute genocide. To label him a 'genocider doer,' then, would be dishonest on two different levels. More importantly though, whether one believes that what happened was genocide or not, has nothing to do with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. After the first World War, Atatürk even promised to protect the Armenians, despite the ongoing fighting for decades. As Stanford Shaw explained in 'The Armenian Legion and the Destruction of Cilicia,' Atatürk was serious about this; he did indeed protect them once he was in power.Atatürk became Turkey's President in 1923. That was 8 years after the events of 1915. He is considered, by many, to be one of the greatest leaders in history. Below I will give you some quotes of important people who praised Atatürk for all that he did. This man believed in "peace at home, peace in the world." He believed in nations and peoples living side by side, regardless of race or religion. That was what his revolution was all about. He has been praised by great leaders and journalists everywhere for his progressive reforms in Turkey; women gained equal rights, Islamist rules were abandoned, religious in the public sphere was replaced with rationalism / secularism, old beliefs and habits with enlightenment thinking... This man transformed a country so radically, and so positively, that it's difficult if not impossible to think of any other 20th century leader who earns the respect and appreciation Atatürk earns.The Armenians, then, who try to attack you because you praise him / basically give the facts about his political and military achievements, are not acting rationally, nor honestly. They are blinded by their hatred for Turkey. In the past they have falsified photos of Atatürk (one with so-called dead Armenian people laying at his feet; while in fact it were his dogs, and they had put the dead bodies in there artificially), now they still continue to smear this man's great name. I ask you not to let them get away with this. Be honest and truthful to history. And to mankind. Include Atatürk, and give him the respect he deserves. He modernized a country, he brought a people into the 20th century. He transformed an Islamic state, into a modern and secular... peaceful and tolerant one. Here are the quotes:

2)From: Michael van der Galien
Sent: Sat Jun 14 22:30:39 EEST 2008Subject: Armenians Go After AtatürkIt's the same once again, Armenians go after Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. I believe it is our responsibility to stop them this time.You can read about what this is all about here:http://armenians-1915.blogspot.com/2008/06/2494-actionalert-petition-against.htmlI wrote an e-mail to this encyclopedia in English, hopefully a friend will translate it for me as well so that I am sure that the people who receive it will understand it.Here is my e-mail. Please tell people about this, and make sure Turks WRITE. If necessary, they can simply copy my letter and write their own name below it. I am not even a Turk, and I'm defending Atatürk; I can then expect Turksto do the same, no?Dear Sir / Madam,It has come under my attention that certain Armenian organizations have set up a campaign against your encyclopedia because, in it, you are (planning to be) quite positive about Turkey's first President Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. They have gone online, sending e-mails to every Armenian in the Diaspora they know, arguing that they should try to stop you, because Atatürk is responsible for the events of 1915.I feel forced to react to their campaign, because I believe that what they are doing amounts to a hate campaign. Those who know history, and especially the history of Turkey and the Middle East / Ottoman Empire, know that Atatürk was not a political leader back in 1915. He was not a leader of the Young Turks. He was a *military leader*, who did not fight against Armenians *but against the Great Powers who tried to divide the Ottoman Empire between themselves*. Additionally, many historians argue that what *did* happen in 1915, did not constitute genocide. To label him a 'genocider doer,' then, would be dishonest on two different levels.More importantly though, whether one believes that what happened was genocide or not, has *nothing* to do with Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. After the first World War, Atatürk even promised to *protect* the Armenians, despitethe ongoing fighting *for decades*. As Stanford Shaw explained in 'The Armenian Legion and the Destruction of Cilicia,' Atatürk was serious about this; he did indeed protect them once he was in power.Atatürk became Turkey's President in 1923. That was 8 years after the events of 1915. He is considered, by many, to be one of the greatest leaders in history. Below I will give you some quotes of important people who praised Atatürk for all that he did.This man believed in "peace at home, peace in the world." He believed in nations and peoples living side by side, regardless of race or religion. That was what his revolution *was all about*. He has been praised by great leaders and journalists everywhere for his progressive reforms in Turkey; women gained equal rights, Islamist rules were abandoned, religious in the public sphere was replaced with rationalism / secularism, old beliefs and habits with enlightenment thinking... This man transformed a country so radically, and so positively, that it's difficult if not impossible to thinkof any other 20th century leader who earns the respect and appreciation Atatürk earns.The Armenians, then, who try to attack you because you praise him / basically give the facts about his political and military achievements, are not acting rationally, nor honestly. They are blinded by their hatred for Turkey.In the past they have falsified photos of Atatürk (one with so-called dead Armenian people laying at his feet; while in fact it were his dogs, and they had put the dead bodies in there artificially), now they still continue to smear this man's great name. I ask you *not* to let them get away with this. Be honest and truthful to history. And to mankind. Include Atatürk, and give him the respect he deserves. He modernized a country, he brought a people into the 20th century. He transformed an Islamic state, into a modern and secular... peaceful and tolerant one.Here are the quotes: Encyclopedia Britt.: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40411/Kemal-Ataturk "He modernized the country's legal and educational systems and encouraged the adoption of a European way of life, with Turkish written in the Latinalphabet and with citizens adopting European-style names."
Middle East Expert Daniel Pipes: http://www.danielpipes.org/article/837 "Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), one of the great political figures of the twentieth century..."Historian Andrew Mango in his book "Atatürk" the biography: Atatürk was a competent commander, a shrewd politician, a statesman of supreme realism. But above all he was a man of the Enlightenment. And the Enlightenment was not made by saints." "Atatürk was often described as a dictator - a description he hated above all others. It was, in fact, inappropriate, for he behaved not like a modern dictator, but like a latter-day king, who had delegated government to his chief minister, and then sought to amuse himself as best he could." Atatürk emerges from this biography as resolute yet contradictory. He forwarded women's rights but in his private life "could not accept women as equals." He was a devoted rationalist but invented "fantastic historical and linguistic theories."... "Atatürk's message is that East and West can meet on the ground of universal secular values and mutual respect, that nationalism is compatible with peace, that human reason is the only true guide in life. It is an optimistic message and its validity will always be in doubt. But it is an ideal that commands respect."US President John F. Kennedy (Washington D.C., November 10, 1963 on the 25th Commemoration of Ataturk's death): "The name of Atatürk reminds mankind of the historical accomplishments of one of the greatest men of this century: His leadership gave inspiration to the Turkish nation, farsightedness in the understanding of the modern world, and courage and power as a military leader. It is without a doubt that another example can not be shown indicating greater successes than the birth of the Turkish Republic, and ever since then Atatürk's and Turkey's broad and deep reforms undertaken, as well as the confidence of a nation initself."General Douglas MACARTHUR, Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Forces, U.S.A.:"He was a soldier-statesman, one of the greatest leaders of our era. He ensured that Turkey got its rightful place among the most advanced nations of the world. He has given to Turks the sense of self-confidence and endurance to the Turks, that forms the foundation stone of a nation's greatness. I take great pride in being one of Atatürk's loyal friends."US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1928)"During a conversation with the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Soviet Union, Litvinov, I asked him who was, according to him, the most valuable and remarkable statesman of Europe. He replied that, the most valuable and interesting leader in the world was the President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk."Charles de GAULLE, President of France:"Because of the 25th year of Atatürk's death, I want to express the feelings of loyal friendship felt for the Turkish nation by the French nation. Today, Turkish history even more than ever is inseparable from Western and European history. Atatürk's efforts in this direction were not left without results. The friendship between our countries that has surpassed hundreds of years, has formed the foundation for this development."Maurice Baumant (Professor):"While the Old Ottoman Empire disappears like an illusion, the foundation of the national Turkish State is the most impressive success of this era. Mustafa Kemal has exposed a monumental piece of work. Atatürk's brilliant success has been an example for all the colonies."Le Jour-Echo de Paris:"One of the world's modern, greatest figures."Claude Farrere:"In the great man standing in front of me... there could be no doubt in his words."President of France Albert LEBRUN:"The work that Ataturk has achieved, with intelligent and peaceful methods, will leave traces in the history of mankind."Gerrad Tongas (Writer):"This could be presented to mankind as an example of untested philosophy. Atatürk has done in ten years, the work that could take centuries."French Prime Minister BRIAND (1921):"After the signing of the Ankara Treaty with the new Turkish State, French Prime Minister stated to the Assembly, "he has betrayed us, he has come to terms with wild brigands, with Mustafa Kemal followers: The ones that you named wild brigands the hero Mustafa Kemal and all his soldiers, had they been here, we would have erected their statues one by one. I'm proud to have signed such an heroic treaty."L'IIIustration Newspaper, France:"History has seen many great people. It has seen Alexander the Great's, Napoleon's, Washington's. However, in the twentieth century the record for greatness was broken by Atatürk, this Turkish son of a Turk."Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom:"Atatürk's death is not only a loss for the country, but for Europe is the greatest loss, he who saved Turkey in the war and who revived a new the Turkish nation after the war. The sincere tears shed after him by all classes of people is nothing other than an appropriate manifestation to this great hero and modern Turkey's Ata."Vladimir llyich Lenin, Leader of the Russian Revolution (1921)"Mustafa Kemal was not a socialist. But it can be perceived that he is a good organizer, with great understanding, progressive, with good thoughts and an intelligent leader. He is carrying out a war of independence against those plunderers. I am believing that he will break the pride of the imperialists and that he will beat the Sultan together with his friends."Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America:"In connection with the permanent memorial facility for Kemal Atatürk, I take pride in presenting my congratulations to Turkey. Your great country that is advancing on the course that he demonstrated has obtained very significant successes. This ceremony that is being held to commemorate the memory of Atatürk, the architect of progress and Turkish unity, is a very appropriate respect to a person who became a source of inspiration to free peoples throughout the world."Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister of Japan"We feel a great admiration for Atatürk in his efforts towards ensuring the modernization of Turkish society by separating religion and politics from each other and by carrying out the Turkish Language Reforms."Joseph Luns, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands:"In our times, it is Atatürk who brought Turkey to its current status as a modern republic with his farsighted and courageous political, social and economic reforms. At the same time, it was also he that prepared the foundation of the modern economy that will ensure today Turkey's attaining the strength to be able to enter the European Economic Community."Ernest Hemingway, American Journalist and Novelist:"The West and the East came face to face at the second class coastal town of Mudanya on a crooked road covered with dust on the hot Marmara coast. Despite the English flag ship "Iron-Duke's" ash-colored deathly turrets that transported the Allied generals for negotiations with Ismet Pasha, the Westerners had come here to beg for peace, not to ask for peace or to dictate the conditions... These negotiations demonstrate the end of Europe's dominance over Asia, because as everyone knows, Mustafa Kemal got rid of allthe Greeks."Daily Telegraph Newspaper, England:"In no other country have women advanced this rapidly. It is truly an unique event in history for a nation to change to this degree."Kindest regards,Michael van der GalienEditor-in-Chief of PoliGazette (http://poligazette.com/)[personal information deleted]-- Michael van der Galiënco-founder and editor of PoliGazette (http://poligazette.com/) and DutchCorrespondent for Pajamas MediaThe Netherlandsmailto:Netherlandsmpfvandergalien@gmail.com

3)
Encyclopedia Britt.: http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/40411/Kemal-Ataturk"He modernized the country's legal and educational systems and encouraged the adoption of a European way of life, with Turkish written in the Latin alphabet and with citizens adopting European-style names."Middle East Expert Daniel Pipes: http://www.danielpipes.org/article/837"Mustafa Kemal Atatürk (1881-1938), one of the great political figures of the twentieth century..."Historian Andrew Mango in his book "Atatürk" the biography:Atatürk was a competent commander, a shrewd politician, a statesman of supreme realism. But above all he was a man of the Enlightenment. And the Enlightenment was not made by saints." "Atatürk was often described as a dictator - a description he hated above all others. It was, in fact, inappropriate, for he behaved not like a modern dictator, but like a latter-day king, who had delegated government to his chief minister, and then sought to amuse himself as best he could." Atatürk emerges from this biography as resolute yet contradictory. He forwarded women's rights but in his private life "could not accept women as equals." He was a devoted rationalist but invented "fantastic historical and linguistic theories."..."Atatürk's message is that East and West can meet on the ground of universal secular values and mutual respect, that nationalism is compatible with peace, that human reason is the only true guide in life. It is an optimistic message and its validity will always be in doubt. But it is an ideal that commands respect."US President John F. Kennedy (Washington D.C., November 10, 1963 on the 25th Commemoration of Ataturk's death):"The name of Atatürk reminds mankind of the historical accomplishments of one of the greatest men of this century: His leadership gave inspiration to the Turkish nation, farsightedness in the understanding of the modern world, and courage and power as a military leader. It is without a doubt that another example can not be shown indicating greater successes than the birth of the Turkish Republic, and ever since then Atatürk's and Turkey's broad and deep reforms undertaken, as well as the confidence of a nation in itself."General Douglas MACARTHUR, Commander-in-Chief of the Far East Forces, U.S.A.:"He was a soldier-statesman, one of the greatest leaders of our era. He ensured that Turkey got its rightful place among the most advanced nations of the world. He has given to Turks the sense of self-confidence and endurance to the Turks, that forms the foundation stone of a nation's greatness. I take great pride in being one of Atatürk's loyal friends."US President Franklin D. Roosevelt (1928)"During a conversation with the Foreign Affairs Minister of the Soviet Union, Litvinov, I asked him who was, according to him, the most valuable and remarkable statesman of Europe. He replied that, the most valuable and interesting leader in the world was the President of the Turkish Republic, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk."Charles de GAULLE, President of France:"Because of the 25th year of Atatürk's death, I want to express the feelings of loyal friendship felt for the Turkish nation by the French nation. Today, Turkish history even more than ever is inseparable from Western and European history. Atatürk's efforts in this direction were not left without results. The friendship between our countries that has surpassed hundreds of years, has formed the foundation for this development."Maurice Baumant (Professor):"While the Old Ottoman Empire disappears like an illusion, the foundation of the national Turkish State is the most impressive success of this era. Mustafa Kemal has exposed a monumental piece of work. Atatürk's brilliant success has been an example for all the colonies."Le Jour-Echo de Paris:"One of the world's modern, greatest figures."Claude Farrere:"In the great man standing in front of me... there could be no doubt in his words."President of France Albert LEBRUN:"The work that Ataturk has achieved, with intelligent and peaceful methods, will leave traces in the history of mankind."Gerrad Tongas (Writer):"This could be presented to mankind as an example of untested philosophy. Atatürk has done in ten years, the work that could take centuries."French Prime Minister BRIAND (1921):"After the signing of the Ankara Treaty with the new Turkish State, French Prime Minister stated to the Assembly, "he has betrayed us, he has come to terms with wild brigands, with Mustafa Kemal followers: The ones that you named wild brigands the hero Mustafa Kemal and all his soldiers, had they been here, we would have erected their statues one by one. I'm proud to have signed such an heroic treaty."L'IIIustration Newspaper, France:"History has seen many great people. It has seen Alexander the Great's, Napoleon's, Washington's. However, in the twentieth century the record for greatness was broken by Atatürk, this Turkish son of a Turk."Winston Churchill, Prime Minister of the United Kingdom:"Atatürk's death is not only a loss for the country, but for Europe is the greatest loss, he who saved Turkey in the war and who revived a new the Turkish nation after the war. The sincere tears shed after him by all classes of people is nothing other than an appropriate manifestation to this great hero and modern Turkey's Ata."Vladimir llyich Lenin, Leader of the Russian Revolution (1921)"Mustafa Kemal was not a socialist. But it can be perceived that he is a good organizer, with great understanding, progressive, with good thoughts and an intelligent leader. He is carrying out a war of independence against those plunderers. I am believing that he will break the pride of the imperialists and that he will beat the Sultan together with his friends."Dwight D. Eisenhower, President of the United States of America:"In connection with the permanent memorial facility for Kemal Atatürk, I take pride in presenting my congratulations to Turkey. Your great country that is advancing on the course that he demonstrated has obtained very significant successes. This ceremony that is being held to commemorate the memory of Atatürk, the architect of progress and Turkish unity, is a very appropriate respect to a person who became a source of inspiration to free peoples throughout the world."Hayato Ikeda, Prime Minister of Japan"We feel a great admiration for Atatürk in his efforts towards ensuring the modernization of Turkish society by separating religion and politics from each other and by carrying out the Turkish Language Reforms."Joseph Luns, Minister of Foreign Affairs, the Netherlands:"In our times, it is Atatürk who brought Turkey to its current status as a modern republic with his farsighted and courageous political, social and economic reforms. At the same time, it was also he that prepared the foundation of the modern economy that will ensure today Turkey's attaining the strength to be able to enter the European Economic Community."Ernest Hemingway, American Journalist and Novelist:"The West and the East came face to face at the second class coastal town of Mudanya on a crooked road covered with dust on the hot Marmara coast. Despite the English flag ship "Iron-Duke's" ash-colored deathly turrets that transported the Allied generals for negotiations with Ismet Pasha, the Westerners had come here to beg for peace, not to ask for peace or to dictate the conditions... These negotiations demonstrate the end of Europe's dominance over Asia, because as everyone knows, Mustafa Kemal got rid of all the Greeks."Daily Telegraph Newspaper, England:"In no other country have women advanced this rapidly. It is truly an unique event in history for a nation to change to this degree."Kindest regards,

ANDRE DUPONT
Email : adupont@market-fit.com
Web : www.market-fit.com
Fax and Voice mail : + 32 2 7062432
Skype : adupont75
Mobile: EUR : + 32 475 750099
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Wednesday, May 28, 2008

Turkey is selling licenses to operate infrastructure to the Australia's second-largest investment company...

B&B plans $1b Turkey fund
May 28, 2008 - 7:47AM

Turkey is selling licenses to operate infrastructure, including ports and roads, as part of an International Monetary Fund-backed program of disposals to reduce budget deficits and debt, and curb the state's role in the economy.

Babcock & Brown, Australia's second-largest investment company, plans to raise more than $US1 billion ($A1.04 billion) for a fund to invest in Turkish infrastructure as the government steps up asset sales, two people with knowledge of the matter said.

Babcock is approaching investors and will target assets such as airports, roads, utilities and ports, said the people, who declined to be identified because the plans are private.

The Sydney-based firm expects to finish raising the money for the closely-held fund next year, they said.

Turkey is selling licenses to operate infrastructure, including ports and roads, as part of an International Monetary Fund-backed program of disposals to reduce budget deficits and debt, and curb the state's role in the economy.

Babcock earns about 36% of its revenue in Europe and in 2006 bought a 5.2% stake in TAV Havalimanlari Holding AS, which runs Istanbul's Ataturk Airport.`

`There is a bigger pipeline of infrastructure deals that may come to fruition in Turkey than anywhere else in Europe,'' said David Simpson, head of infrastructure mergers and acquisitions at KPMG International in London. With greater competition for assets, investors should expect lower fund returns than in the past few years, he said.Babcock oversaw $72 billion of assets at the end of 2007, including $41 billion in publicly traded funds and $15 billion in closely-held investment vehicles.

Sydney-based Macquarie Group Ltd., Babcock's larger competitor, has $232 billion under management.Anthony Kennaway, a London-based spokesman for Babcock, declined to comment on the new fund.Macquarie, CitigroupBabcock has declined 54% this year, compared with a 23% drop in the 50-member S&P/ASX 200 Finance Index.

The firm said last week it may help Babcock & Brown Power, Australia's biggest publicly traded electricity producer, with financing if the company fails to secure additional debt funding from banks. Babcock & Brown in the second-biggest shareholder in the power company after Deutsche Bank AG.Investment firms are targeting stable returns from infrastructure investments in Europe.

Macquarie is seeking to raise more than 5 billion euros ($8.2 billion) for its third European infrastructure fund, four people with knowledge of the matter said April 10. The firm will use the money to buy assets across the continent.New York-based Citigroup Inc., the largest US bank by assets, is seeking as much as $US5 billion for its first infrastructure fund as the company targets utility and airport assets, three people with knowledge of the plan said last month.

Pressing AheadCredit Suisse Group, Goldman Sachs Group Inc. and UBS AG are among banks that started such funds in the past two years as the pace of infrastructure mergers almost doubled to $US340 billion between 2005 and 2007, according to data compiled by Bloomberg.

The head of Turkey's state asset sales agency, Metin Kilci, expects to invite bids for the national lottery and a network of bridges and roads at the end of this month or early in June, he said on May 16. Turkey is pressing on with asset sales, even as global credit markets dry up, to lure foreign currency and narrow a widening trade deficit.Legal challenges have delayed some asset sales, adding to the ``risk factor'' for companies wanting to invest in Turkey, Kilci said.

The payment of $US1.28 billion from the sale of Izmir port to Hong Kong-based Hutchison Whampoa, the world's biggest port manager, and Global Yatirim Holding AS hinges on a court ruling and is likely to be made before the end of the year, Kilci said.The government sold 15% of Turk Telekomunikasyon AS, the main fixed-line telephone company, for $US1.9 billion this month in the nation's biggest initial public offering. Tenders to sell four electricity distributors have been started.Bloomberg

http://business.theage.com.au/bb-plans-1b-turkey-fund-20080528-2ita.html

Friday, May 16, 2008

Timing for the queen’s visit ...-1920'de olmadı, şimdi tam zamanı !!İngiliz Kraliyet Uluslararası İlişkiler Enstitüsü (Chatham House) raporu, 2007


Chatham Report
Report of the International Studies the United Kingdom December 2007

The Kurdish Policy Imperative
Gareth Stansfield, Chatham House and Exeter University,
Robert Lowe, Chatham House and
Hashem Ahmadzadeh, Exeter University
[ Full Details: Download Paper here ]
[Map reproduced with permission from David Romano The Kurdish Nationalist Movement, Cambridge University Press, 2006.Gareth Stansfield is Professor of Middle East Politics at Exeter University. Robert Lowe is Manager of the Middle Programme at Chatham House. Hashem Ahmadzadeh is Lecturer in Kurdish Studies at Exeter University. ]

Brief: ·
• Kurds have struggled for decades to mobilize and gain international attention. Now, for the first time, some Kurdish interests are converging with the regional designs of prominent members of the international community.
• The consolidation of the Kurdistan Regional Government (KRG) in Iraq is of huge importance. Kurds in Iraq now have an unprecedented opportunity to define their own future and influence other Kurds in the region.

• Another Turkish incursion into Iraq is likely to be futile but the threat has been raised because of the poor state of Turkish–US relations, the tension between the AK Party and the Turkish military, and Turkish opposition to a successful KRG.

• Kurdish political demands remain limited, but there has been a notable strengthening of Kurdish self-perception and aspirations at a mass level.

• The intricate web of relationships between Kurds and regional states means that the future of the Middle East is closely tied to Kurdish futures.

• Regional and Western policy-makers need to reappraise the role of the Kurds in Iraq and Turkey and how Kurds in Syria and Iran interact with their governments and are influenced by Kurdish developments in neighbouring states.
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/files/10685_bp1207kurds.pdf
http://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/584/

Kurds has been the continued existence of the Kurdistan Region of Iraq. The legalization of this region in post-2003 Iraq has strengthened the commitment of many Kurds to what they see as their innate national rights.

For many, these equate to independence. Whatever happens in the short to medium term, some Kurds are now able to influence outcomes in a manner that the Kurdish negotiators of the 1920s failed to achieve. There is no imminent prospect of an independent Kurdish state but it is possible that one may in time emerge as a late addition to the post-1918 political map of the Middle East.
These trends mean that the Kurdish situation has to be reappraised and reconsidered with reference to new political dynamics in Turkey, Syria, Iran, and of course Iraq, and more importantly, the new political and economic outlook of the Kurds themselves.International policy-makers find it difficult to deal with non-state actors and minorities, but this should not prevent them engaging seriously on Kurdish issues.

The recent stand-off between Turkey, the PKK, and the Iraqi Kurds has opened a window onto the intricate web of relations that link different actors together, and has exposed the new interactions caused by domestic political complexities in Turkey and Iraq and the increasing effectiveness of political actors among the Kurds.


1920'de olmadı, şimdi tam zamanı !

İngiliz Kraliyet Uluslararası İlişkiler Enstitüsü (Chatham House) raporu, Aralık 2007.
Raporun başlığı: "Kürt Politikası Buyruğu"Rapora göre: "1920 lerde Kürtler bölünmüş ve kendi içlerinde çatışır durumda oldukları için, Kürt devleti kurulamadı.""Şimdi durum değişti. 1918 sonrası sınırların kalıcılığını tartışmalı hale getiren gelişmeler oldu.""Türkiye, İran, Irak ve Suriye'de eş zamanlı olarak yükselen Kürt ayrılıkçılığı, kendi içlerindeki çatışmalara son verdi.""Tarihte ilk kez Kürt çıkarları ile uluslararası topluluğun AB gibi, daha önemlisi ABD gibi önde gelen üyelerinin bölge düzenlemeleri ile çakıştı"
http://www.acikistihbarat.com/Haberler.asp?haber=7660

Cumhurbaskani Abdullah Gül29 Ekim 1950’de Kayseri’de doğdu. Orta öğrenimini Kayseri Lisesinde tamamladıktan sonra İstanbul Üniversitesi İktisat Fakültesi’ne girdi. Aynı fakültede mezuniyet sonrası doktorasını aldı. Lisan ve doktora çalışmalarını yürütmek için burslu olarak iki sene Londra ve Exeter’de kaldı. Türkiye dönüşünde Sakarya Üniversitesi Endüstri Mühendisliği Bölümü’nün kuruluşunda çalıştı ve İktisat dersleri verdi.

More:
h
ttp://www.chathamhouse.org.uk/publications/papers/view/-/id/584/ http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/europe/article3489107.ece

The queen’s visit and Turkey’s vicious circle
http://www.turkishweekly.net/news.php?id=55327

Saturday, May 10, 2008

Washington Tribune " The sacrifices of the Turks will eternally remain in our minds."

Echoes of the Kunuri Battle

" The American public understands that the United Nations Forces in Korea were saved from encirclement and from falling in to the hands of the communists by the heroism shown by the Turks."


"4500 soldiers in the middle of the firing line have known how to create miracle. The sacrifices of the Turks will eternally remain in our minds." - Washington Tribune

"The courageous battles of the Turkish Brigade have created a favorable effect on the whole United Nations Forces."
- Time

"The surprise of the Korean battles were not the Chinese but the Turks. It is impossible at this moment to find a word to describe the heroism which the Turks have shown in the battles." - Abent Post

"The Turks have shown in Kunuri a heroism worthy of their glorious history. The Turks have gained the admiration of the whole world through their glorious fighting in the battles."
- Figaro

"The Turks who have been known throughout history by their courage and decency, have proved that they have kept these characteristics, in the war which the United Nations undertook in Korea." - Burner - U.S. Congressman

"There is no one left who does not know that the Turks, our valuable allies, are hard warriors and that they have accomplished very great feats at the front." - Claude Pepper, U.S. Senator
"I now understand that the vote I gave in favor of assistance to Turkey was the most fitting vote I gave in my life. Courage, bravery and heroism are the greatest virtues which will sooner or later conquer. In this matter, I know no nation superior to the Turks."

- Rose - U.S. Senator

"While the Turks were for a long time fighting against the enemy and dying, the British and Americans were withdrawing. The Turks, who were out of ammunition, affixed their bayonets and attacked the enemy and there ensued a terrible hand to hand combat. The Turks succeeded in withdrawing by continuous combat and by carrying their injured comrades on their backs. They paraded at Pyongyang with their heads held high." - G.G. Martin - British Lieutenant General

"The Turkish forces have shown success above that expected in the battles they gave in Korea." - General Collings - Commander US Army

"We owe the escape of thousands of United Nations troops out of a certain encirclement to the heroism of the Turkish soldiers. The Turkish soldiers in Korea have added a new and unforgettable page of honor to the customs and legends of heroism of the Turkish nation." - Emanuel Shinwell - U.K. Minister of Defense

"The heroic soldiers of a heroic nation, you have saved the Eighth Army and the IX'th Army Crops from encirclement and the 2nd Division from destruction. I came here today to thank you on behalf of the United Nations Army." - General Walton H. Walker, Commander, Eighth Army

"The Turks are the hero of heroes. There is no impossibility for the Turkish Brigade." -

General Douglas MacArthur - United Nations Forces Commander in Chief

"The military situation in Korea is being followed with concern by the whole American public. But in these concerned days, the heroism shown by the Turks has given hope to the American nation. It has inculeated them with courage.

The American public fully appreciates the value of the services rendered by the Turkish Brigade and knows that because of them the Eighth American Army could withdraw without disarray.

The American public understands that the United Nations Forces in Korea were saved from encirclement and from falling in to the hands of the communists by the heroism shown by the Turks." - 2
...

THE TURKISH BRIGADE
The advance party of the Turkish Brigade or Turkish Armed Forces command, arrived in Pusan on 12 October 1950. The main body numbering 5190 troops arrived five days later, on 17 October. Brigadier General Tahzin Yazici commanded the brigade. Colonel Celal Dora was assistant Brigade Commander. When the main body arrived the brigade went into bivouac near Taegu where it underwent training and received U.S. equipment. The brigade was attached to the U.S. 25th infantry division so after limited training the brigade moved north to the Kaesong area to join the division.

Friday, May 9, 2008

Australian journalist Harry Gordon: The Turks were small and shy and gentle ...

Gordon recalled a particular meeting in Korea of Australian and Turkish soldiers:

“ If the seeds of this joint respect were planted at Gallipoli; it ripened in the dust and snow of Korea.

The Turks' relish for hand-to-hand fighting, their first-class leadership, their discipline under fire… these were attributes the Australians in Korea possessed themselves and admired in others.”


“I went, and found Norm O'Neill, whose pals in the Field Ambulance used to call him Peggy, entertaining a bunch of stocky, dark-jowled young men. They stood and listened as O'Neill (with the help of a young Lt. who could speak a few words of English) told them about his father, who had been a machine-gunner at Gallipoli. We gave them packets of chewing gum, and they handed in return hunks of something that looked like a pancake and tasted like rubber… Their ready acceptance of us, their eagerness to make us feel at home among them, weren't just standard behaviour for newfound allies. They, too, had had the Gallipoli story drummed into them during their childhood.



“For the Aust'ns, many illusions were shattered. Somehow the ANZAC Day speeches of their youth had built the Turks up in their imagination as massive, heavily moustached fighters who carried daggers in their belts and remained sullen and aloof. Nothing could have been further from the truth; the Turks were small and shy and gentle … sometimes even a little comical in their oversized greatcoats. There were moustaches, certainly, but they were soft, boyish, kitten-tailed affairs with the texture and quality of those that 19-year old Australian soldiers were managing to cultivate.”

The Turks proved tough soldiers. Gordon continues:
“The Turks continued to fight with a ferocity which made them something of a legend in Korea. In one action they are on record as having complained bitterly that the artillery barrage put in to soften up an enemy before their charge was too heavy … there weren't enough live Chinese left to make a decent fight. "
Harry Gordon, another Australian journalist who frequently worked alongside Alan Dower, was one of the youngest Australian reporters in Korea.
http://www.awm.gov.au/korea/faces/journalists/journalists.asp

see the pictures of Tirkish soldiers in Korea..
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GXX1Y_X9ZUs&feature=related

Tuesday, May 6, 2008

Armenians were belligerents

Letters Blog
( An answer from Turkish Prof. Atatov for Vicken Babkenian's below comment titled: 'Armenia's angels' - 25, 2008 )

May 03, 2008 7
by Prof.Dr. Turkkaya Ataov (Emeritus of international relations)
Comments

Armenians were belligerents

VICKEN Babkenian (Armenia’s angels’’, Opinion, 25/4) states that “at the time the Australian troops landed at Gallipoli another event of historical importance was taking place in Turkey’’.

It’s true that a tragedy occurred in Turkey then, but in a way much different than the one stressed by Babkenian.British authors Stephen Pope and Elizabeth-Anne Wheal, in their joint military classic Dictionary of the First World War, state that between 1 and 1.5 million Armenians were living in Turkey in 1914, that the Armenian nationalists ``slaughtered an estimated 120,000 non-Armenians while the Turkish Army was preoccupied with mobilisation’’, that ``2500 rebels took (the city of) Van in April 1915 and proclaimed a provisional government’’, and that armed Armenians ``resumed control in late 1917 killing perhaps another 50,000 non-Armenians’’.

The commanders of the Armenians, such as Armen Garo Pasdermadjian, confess in their published memoirs that they bore arms, organised large forces and fought against the Turks in several fronts. The title of Pasdermadjian’s book proudly asserts thatArmenian participation was ``A Leading Factor in the Winning of the War’’ by the Allies.Published documents prove, beyond reasonable doubt, that Armenians committed violent assaults, armed terrorism, destruction, rape, assassinations and wholesale murder of various Muslim groups.

Such misdeeds were condemned as contrary to the rules of war even by the Tsarist Russian and French officers who had provided them with uniforms,weapons and all kinds of support.Many Armenian, British, US, French, Russian and Turkish sources indicate that the Armenians were not as helpless,unprotected, un-armed and non-belligerent as mainstream opinion claims them to have been.Turkkaya AtaovProfessor emeritus of international relationsAnkara University, TurkeyCopyright 2007 News Limited. All times AEST (GMT

+10).http://blogs.theaustralian.news.com.au/letters/index.php/theaustralian/comments/armenians_were_belligerentsVicken


Armenia's angels
Babkenian
April 25, 2008

AT the same time as Australian troops landed at Gallipoli on April 25, 1915, another event of historical importance was taking place in Turkey: the Armenian genocide. The Gallipoli landing took place one day after the mass arrest of Armenian leaders in Istanbul, which is known as the beginning of the genocide. "Who, after all, remembers the annihilation of the Armenians?" were Adolf Hitler's famous words before he embarked on his heinous crime of the Holocaust. One group who remember the Armenians are a handful of Australians who were at the forefront of the relief effort, yet their stories have been largely hidden. Not one Australian historian has devoted any attention to these remarkable Australians, who have been forgotten along with the "forgotten genocide". For example, Edith Glanville from Haberfield, Sydney, lost her son Leigh, from the 1st Battalion, who died in battle at Gallipoli.

Thus began her extraordinary journey with the Armenian people.Glanville was the first woman justice of the peace in NSW and founded both the Quota and Soroptimist clubs in Australia. Most notably she was honorary secretary of the Armenian Relief Fund of NSW from 1922, and became a driving force in raising more than $100,000 worth of supplies (about $19 million in today's value) within months. Other members of the relief fund included Charles Lloyd Jones, the first chairman of the ABC; and Oscar Lines, the general manager of the Bank of NSW. Glanville was so concerned about the plight of the Armenians that she ended up adopting an Armenian orphan. Former Menzies cabinet minister and British high commissioner Thomas White was a prisoner of war during World War I in Turkey. As a witness to the Armenian genocide, he later returned home and joined the Armenian relief effort. Another prominent Australian, the Rev J.E.Cresswell from Adelaide's Congregational Church (now the Uniting Church), was national secretary of the Armenian Relief Fund of Australasia in the 1920s.

Witnessing the plight of Armenian refugees in Syria in 1923, Cresswell said: "Over 6000 are here. The sights within these caves are beyond words. No words seem adequate to describe the misery that must be the portion of these poor people." He oversaw relief programs from port to destination, including setting up an Australian-funded orphanage for 1700 children who survived the genocide in Antelias, Lebanon.

That site is now one of the holiest for Armenians, the Catholicosate of Cilicia. In 1918, Sydney mayor James Joynton Smith set up the Armenian Relief Fund, which included prominent philanthropists and business people such as the Griffith brothers, one of the largest suppliers of tea and coffee in Australia, and the Elliot brothers, one of the nation's biggest pharmaceutical groups. This fund, with the help of many Sydneysiders, raised hundreds of thousands of dollars to help the Armenians, all when Australians were already sacrificing so much during World War I. Even prime minister Billy Hughes promised that free freight would be provided by commonwealth steamers for any contribution to the fund.

These are just some of the hundreds of Australian stories of generosity, hope and moral decency that have been unearthed. In the words of Robert Manne: "In world history there is an intimate connection between the Dardanelles campaign and the Armenian genocide." So, as we reflect on the sacrifices of brave Australians who landed on those distant shores, let's also remember those Australians who lost loved ones and, through the kindness of their hearts, were able to save others.

Vicken Babkenian is director of the Australian Institute for Holocaust and Genocide Studies.' http://www.theaustralian.news.com.au/story/0,25197,23594423-21147,00.html

Wednesday, April 30, 2008

Turkish Ambassador Mr.Murat Ersavci "A coming of age and of solidarity" April 25, 2008

" Perhaps this epic heroism is the reason the Gallipoli campaign is one of those rare historical conflicts that brought reconciliation and a spirit of togetherness and peace in its aftermath.


IN LESS than another decade we will be marking the centenary of the conflict at Gallipoli. One hundred years is a significant time. The last survivors of those who fought on both sides have now gone to their rest. Yet each year during March and April, in Turkey and in Australia and New Zealand, ceremonies are still held to mark the anniversary of the various stages of the Gallipoli landing, and to mourn all the suffering and cruelty of war.

In all three countries there is strong public interest in the anniversary and commitment to ensuring that the annual commemoration continues. Even though the witnesses have gone, we see these past events as sharply as if we had experienced them ourselves.

There is the bitterness of a futile invasion which cost around half a million lives and blighted a generation. In several countries, including Australia and Turkey, there are untold numbers of families, including my own, who to this day mourn a young member killed at Gallipoli. World War I was a war in which it was extraordinarily painful to be a combatant: everyone knows of the mud of Flanders and the trenches, but the discomfort to both sides was at least as great at the Dardanelles, or Canakkale as we call it in Turkish.

For the Anzac troops who took part, it was also a meaningless conflict. Their lives were sacrificed in a cause which had little or no relevance to the countries they came from. Yet they still carried out their duties in a heroic spirit which has won the admiration of later generations.
For the Turkish people, it was the opposite. The struggle at Gallipoli was a matter of life or death. For the previous hundred years, Western powers had been trying to partition the Ottoman Empire and their designs upon it would have left little or no room for an independent Turkey. If the Gallipoli landings had succeeded, Turkey would quickly have lost its capital and control of the land and sea. It is pretty clear what would have followed such a disaster.

So it is perhaps less surprising that such a desperate national situation on the Turkish side gave rise to great heroism and saw the emergence of a remarkable military genius in Mustafa Kemal Ataturk, the first divisional commander at Gallipoli, the future founder of the Turkish Republic and its first president. Who of us can remember his command to soldiers —"I order you to die" — without a shudder?
Of course, in practice, millions of young men in World War I received exactly this order, but in the case of the soldiers at the Dardanelles they were not being asked to waste their lives. Without their sacrifice, and Mustafa Kemal's leadership, I think it is unlikely that we would have a Turkish Republic today.

So during this terrible and pointless conflict, all three countries discovered deep reserves of courage and heroism in their soldiers and came of age as countries.

Around 3000 years earlier, a few miles south of the area of the landings, on the other side of the Straits, the city of Troy witnessed a war that became an epic in human history with the same mixture of brutality, nobility, heroism, suffering, and wretchedness as the Gallipoli campaign.

Perhaps this epic heroism is the reason the Gallipoli campaign is one of those rare historical conflicts that brought reconciliation and a spirit of togetherness and peace in its aftermath.

For as everyone knows, within a few years of the end of World War I in 1918, and the international recognition of the new Turkey with the 1924 Treaty of Lausanne, there was a remarkable new attitude on both sides to the Gallipoli campaign. A spirit of mutual respect and understanding has bound Turks and Australians ever since.

It is, I think, not just a matter of national pride, though that is undoubtedly part of the story. It is also a spirit of respect for the sacrifice that all those heroic young men made and a determination to show that later generations not only honour their memory but are determined to build a better world. And we do that by commemorating them together and sharing our pride and grief.

Things have been that way since at least the early 1930s when Ataturk urged the mothers of the fallen soldiers of Turkey's erstwhile enemies to wipe away their tears because "they have become the sons of this country". It is a familiar quotation, but I suspect it is one which wakens at least a little emotion in all of us, no matter how often we hear it.

Is all this relevant to today's world? Clearly it is. For a start, though we tend to overlook the fact, Gallipoli was a conflict between nations of different faiths. But the spirit of reconciliation, heroism and mutual respect with which we remember Gallipoli enables all involved to transcend a division which in other times and places has been deep and painful.

Second, Gallipoli means inspiration for international co-operation. I am very conscious of this because the various associations and groups in our countries that work together each year do so in a rare spirit of goodwill and mutual harmony.

Finally, like all epics, Gallipoli shows us how to be noble and good, qualities we do not hear too much about in our hyperactive, modern, market-driven societies.

So I am proud that the commemorations continue and that there is no sign that the Gallipoli spirit is flagging even though the veterans are no longer among us. Long may it continue to do so.

Those 500,000 men died largely in vain, yet something immensely valuable was born as a result. I salute the memory of all who fought on whatever side. May they rest in peace.
Murat Ersavci is the Turkish ambassador to Australia.

So during this terrible and pointless conflict, all three countries discovered deep reserves of courage and heroism in their soldiers and came of age as countries.

Around 3000 years earlier, a few miles south of the area of the landings, on the other side of the Straits, the city of Troy witnessed a war that became an epic in human history with the same mixture of brutality, nobility, heroism, suffering, and wretchedness as the Gallipoli campaign.

Perhaps this epic heroism is the reason the Gallipoli campaign is one of those rare historical conflicts that brought reconciliation and a spirit of togetherness and peace in its aftermath. For as everyone knows, within a few years of the end of World War I in 1918, and the international recognition of the new Turkey with the 1924 Treaty of Lausanne, there was a remarkable new attitude on both sides to the Gallipoli campaign. A spirit of mutual respect and understanding has bound Turks and Australians ever since.

It is, I think, not just a matter of national pride, though that is undoubtedly part of the story. It is also a spirit of respect for the sacrifice that all those heroic young men made and a determination to show that later generations not only honour their memory but are determined to build a better world. And we do that by commemorating them together and sharing our pride and grief.

Things have been that way since at least the early 1930s when Ataturk urged the mothers of the fallen soldiers of Turkey's erstwhile enemies to wipe away their tears because "they have become the sons of this country". It is a familiar quotation, but I suspect it is one which wakens at least a little emotion in all of us, no matter how often we hear it.

Is all this relevant to today's world? Clearly it is. For a start, though we tend to overlook the fact, Gallipoli was a conflict between nations of different faiths. But the spirit of reconciliation, heroism and mutual respect with which we remember Gallipoli enables all involved to transcend a division which in other times and places has been deep and painful.

Second, Gallipoli means inspiration for international co-operation. I am very conscious of this because the various associations and groups in our countries that work together each year do so in a rare spirit of goodwill and mutual harmony.

Finally, like all epics, Gallipoli shows us how to be noble and good, qualities we do not hear too much about in our hyperactive, modern, market-driven societies.

So I am proud that the commemorations continue and that there is no sign that the Gallipoli spirit is flagging even though the veterans are no longer among us. Long may it continue to do so. Those 500,000 men died largely in vain, yet something immensely valuable was born as a result.

I salute the memory of all who fought on whatever side. May they rest in peace.
Murat Ersavci is the Turkish ambassador to Australia."


http://www.theage.com.au/news/opinion/a-coming-of-age-and-of-solidarity/2008/04/24/1208743145811.html?page=2