Turkey At Crossroads

A modern young couple take a sightseeing tour on the Bosphorus which symbolically divides east and west, in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday, May 17, 2007. The secular Turkish state was founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923 and is seen as proof that Islam and democracy can coexist. Recent developments in Turkish politics, along with tensions with the West concerning Kurdish terrorism and EU membership, have threatened to destabilize the balance between government and religion. PM Erdogan's recent attempt to become president, after the retirement of secularist Ahmet Necdet Sezer, was met with uproar and Erdogan's offer to place Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a devout Muslim, in the presidency instead has caused large but peaceful demonstrations to take over the larger cities. The military, which has staged four coups in the past five decades, has warned against Gul's candidacy. In the midst of this political turmoil more than 600 people, many of them soldiers, have died from Kurdish terrorist attacks staged by groups living just across the border in Iraq. Coalition forces inability or unwillingness to curb these attacks and European reluctance to accept Turkey as a member of the EU have pushed Turkey to the boiling point. Turkey's stability is key for stability in the entire region and it is unclear how crisis will be averted. **Scandinavia Out**

A large demonstration takes place in Izmir, Turkey on Sunday, May 13, 2007. The secular Turkish state was founded by Mustafa Kemal Ataturk in 1923 and is seen as proof that Islam and democracy can coexist. Recent developments in Turkish politics, along with tensions with the West concerning Kurdish terrorism and EU membership, have threatened to destabilize the balance between government and religion. PM Erdogan's recent attempt to become president, after the retirement of secularist Ahmet Necdet Sezer, was met with uproar and Erdogan's offer to place Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, a devout Muslim, in the presidency instead has caused large but peaceful demonstrations to take over the larger cities. The military, which has staged four coups in the past five decades, has warned against Gul's candidacy. In the midst of this political turmoil more than 600 people, many of them soldiers, have died from Kurdish terrorist attacks staged by groups living just across the border in Iraq. Coalition forces inability or unwillingness to curb these attacks and European reluctance to accept Turkey as a member of the EU have pushed Turkey to the boiling point. Turkey's stability is key for stability in the entire region and it is unclear how crisis will be averted. **Scandinavia Out**













A farmer plows the land in Kayseri, Turkey on Saturday, May 12, 2007.




A young girl walks by the Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey on May 10, 2007.


The Suleymaniye Mosque in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday, May 10, 2007.



Locals make their way around the Fatih mosque in Istanbul, Turkey on Thursday, May 10, 2007

Market vendors pack up their wares and head home after a long day of business in Istanbul, Turkey on Wednesday, May 9, 2007.

Iraq Daily Sectarian Strife

US Iraq Baquba Offensive U.S. Army soldiers of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division based out of Fort Hood, Texas detain a suspected insurgent during a joint operation with Iraqi Army soliders and members of the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade, a Sunni Arab insurgent group that has recently allied themselves with U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baquba, Iraq on Sunday, July 8, 2007.

raqi Army soliders detain suspected insurgents during a joint operation with U.S. forces and members of the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade, a Sunni Arab insurgent group that has recently allied themselves with U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baquba, Iraq on Sunday, July 8, 2007.










Iraq Daily Sectarian Strife U.S. Army soldiers of Charlie Company, 4th Squadron, 9th Cavalry Regiment, 2nd Brigade Combat Team, 1st Cavalry Division based out of Fort Hood, TX walk past a dead body, with multiple gunshot wounds, near Haifa Street in Baghdad, Iraq on Friday, Feb. 16, 2007. Despite the security crackdown, authorities continue to discover dead bodies of men dumped around the city. Sectarian fighting kills an average of 100 residents a day and threatens to push the country into all out civil wa










U.S. Army soldiers of Bravo Company, 1st Battalion, 12th Cavalry Regiment, 1st Cavalry Division based out of Fort Hood, TX detain suspected insurgents during a joint operation with Iraqi Army soliders and members of the 1920s Revolutionary Brigade, a Sunni Arab insurgent group that has recently allied themselves with U.S. and Iraqi forces in Baquba, Iraq on Sunday, July 8, 2007.



U.S. soldiers stand next to a baby in a house in Baquba, Iraq on July 3, 2007. A major offensive in Baquoba, Iraq, involving over 10,000 troops and a tight cordon around the western part of the city has left thousands of trapped civilians without food, water, and electricity.

Welcome to the WPN Features Section. Here we showcase some of the best photographic journalism from around the world

Protestors shout slogans against the outlawed Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK) in the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak, bordering Iraq, on Tuesday, October 23, 2007. They protested against the killing of Turkish soldiers by Kurdish rebels earlier in the week. Iraq pledged on Tuesday to crack down on Kurdish separatists launching attacks on Turkey from hideouts in northern Iraq. (Ozan Koseoglu/SeskimPhoto/WpN)**TURKEY OUT**

A Turkish soldier patrols the southeastern Turkish province of Sirnak, on Wednesday, October 24, 2007. Turkish warplanes and troops have attacked Kurdish rebels inside Iraq and forces are being built up on the border, but Ankara, the Turkish capital and center of Turkish government, is holding back from any major strike for now, military sources said on Wednesday. (Ozan Koeoglu/SeskimPhoto/WpN) **TURKEY OUT**

3
Several wives and family members cry after they said goodbye to their loved ones deploying to Iraq with the 4th Brigade Combat Team, 3rd Infantry Division Wednesday, Oct. 24, 2007 at the Army post at Fort Stewart, Georgia. The brigade is the last of the division's four brigades to deploy since it led the drive into Baghdad and was the first to reach the Iraqi capital in 2003. **China Out**

A student stands in front of Turkish soldiers on the 84th anniversary of the Turkish Republic in the town of Sirnak, Turkey near the Turkey-Iraq border, on Monday, October 29, 2007. Massive patriotic parades were held in Turkish cities as fighting continues between the military and separatist Kurdish rebels. (Ozan Koseoglu

Children approach Turkish soldiers on patrol near the Iraq border, in the province of Sirnak, southeast Turkey, Tuesday, October 30, 2007. Turkish attack helicopters fired rockets into Kurdish rebel positions in mountains near the Iraq border, one of several clashes as government forces kept up the pressure on the guerrillas. Two Turkish soldiers were killed in the fighting, according to reports. (Ozan Koseoglu/SeskimPhoto/WpN)

A Turkish soldier observes the terrain while patrolling the mountains near the Iraq border, in the province of Sirnak, southeast Turkey, on Tuesday, October 30, 2007. Turkish attack helicopters fired rockets into Kurdish rebel positions in mountains near the Iraq border, one of several clashes as government forces kept up the pressure on the guerrillas. Two Turkish soldiers were killed in the fighting, according to reports.

A barren staircase leads up to the sky where a home that used to be standing is now burnt to the ground, after wildfires ravaged Lancashire St. in Rancho Bernardo, Calif., on Thursday, Oct. 25, 2007. The San Diego wildfires devastated thousands of homes across Southern California, in many neighborhoods certain homes were completely destroyed, while others remained untouched.

Salinas, CA firefighter Roy Hunley prepares to extinguish a brush fire in a residential area of Ramona, California on Monday, October 22, 2007. As of Monday morning, the Witch fire in Ramona has burned approximately 8,000 acres and the entire town was evacuated.




Portrait of Elvison Khriam (right) in Cherrapunjee, India on Friday, Aug. 18, 2006. Children often work within the lime kilns and coal mines in Cherrapunjee.A girl and her little brother sell afghan bread, called nan, on the streets of Kabul, Afghanistan. Because of the deep poverty, child laborers are an indispensable part of country's economy.

n a sweatshop in south Delhi an eight year old child and a young boy use a special tool to sew crystals into saris on Friday, March 23, 2007.

A boy sells afghan bread, called "nan," at a bakery in Kabul, Afghanistan. Because of the deep poverty in Afghanistan, child laborers are an indispensable part of the economy.




A child worker from the brick factory in Mattni, Peshawar, Pakistan on Wednesday, Dec. 1, 2004. Two million Afghans escaped to Peshawar, which is on the Pakistani border, during the war. The Pakistanis refuse to take jobs like these because of the poor wages and the highly dangerous pollution. The kiln owners lend families money, about two hundred dollars, placing them into indentured servitude. For 1,000 bricks, the family receives two dollars. This day rate is just enough to feed the family. If, for any reason, for example, illness, or weather, the 1,000 bricks are not made, the workers are not paid. The debt is transferred to the following generation, and therefore, some families at the brick factories in Mattni are five generations in debt, with no hope of paying it off.


Tanzania Brick-making Traditional brick-making in the Kigoma region of Tanzania, June 28, 2003.

Philippines Scavenger Children Children stand on a landscape of garbage in a dump near Pier 18 in Manila, Philippines, on Nov. 4, 2005

Sierra Leone Child Labor A little boy sells water in street of Freetown, capital city of Sierra Leone, Wednesday, August 8, 2007. More than 70% of the country's population still live on the poverty line. Children from impoverished households have to make their own living at early age.

Indonesia Child Labor In the Citalang village of Purwakarta, Indonesia, two young girls work at a roof factory on Saturday, March 26, 2005.

erdal inönü

zarif centilmen görgülü nazik =erdal inönü

görgü nezaket centilmenlik ve devlet adamlığı : ERDAL İNÖNÜ Fotoğraf: OZAN GÜZELCE

Öğrencilerle aynı yemekhanede aynı tepsiyi taşıyan bir lider... Milli Şef'in oğlu... Dünyaca ünlü fizikçi... Eski Başbakan Yardımcısı ve Dışişleri Bakanı... Sosyal demokratların Onursal Başkanı... Fotoğraf makinemize takılan bu karenin tek bir adı vardı: Erdal İnönü...

AFP: İnönü tam bir centilmendi Fransız haber ajansı AFP, Erdal İnönü'nün ölümünü duyurduğu haberinde, "Neşeli, alçakgönüllü ve tam bir centilmen olan İnönü, geniş bir siyasi yelpazeden saygı gören nadir bir figürdü" diye yazdı. ** Ne zarif adamdı..melih asık

Siyasetin nezaketle, zarafetle, hoşgörüyle, en önemlisi koltuk hırsı olmadan da yapılabileceğini gösteren... En ağır eleştirilere tebessümle karşılık verebilen... Bir salon adamı olsa da her kesimden insanımızla kolayca diyalog kurabilen... Dürüst, içten, sempatik bir liderdi Erdal İnönü...
Tabii ciddi ve başarılı bir bilim adamıydı aynı zamanda. Dün, arkasından binlerce hoş anı bırakarak ayrıldı aramızdan.
Kendisini o şahsına münhasır esprilerinden bir demetle ve de saygıyla selamlıyoruz...
* * *
Erdal Bey'e, hiç sıcak bakmadığı siyasete yıllar sonra neden girdiğini sorarlar. Yanıt müthiştir:
- Ülkemi benden daha kötüleri yönetmesin diye!
* * *
Hikmet Çetin anlattı... Erdal İnönü'ye hakaret eden bir partilinin ihracı konuşulmaktadır.. Yardımcıları partilinin ihracında ısrar ederler... Erdal İnönü ise karara karşı çıkmaktadır... Sonunda dayanamaz, tartışmayı şu sözlerle bitirir:
- Adam size küfretmemiş ki, bana etmiş... Size ne oluyor?
* * *
Erdal Bey fanatik bir sigara düşmanıdır, Parti Meclisi toplantılarında duman altı olmaktan fena halde rahatsızdır. Bir Parti Meclisi toplantısında ilk sözü:
- Bundan böyle bu toplantılarımızda sigara içilmeyecek,
olunca arka sıralardan bir üye:
- Bu kararınızı oylamaya sunsak efendim, diye itiraz etmeye kalkışır. İnönü'nün cevabı:
- Antidemokratik isteklerde oylama olmaz!
* * *
Seçim otobüsüyle bir yere gidiliyor. Otobüsün kornası aniden bozulmuş, ötüp duruyor. Şoför otobüsü sağa çekip durdurmuş, arızayı gidermeye çalışıyor ama nafile. Yolculardan birinin şoföre:
- Kablosunu kopar, diye akıl verdiğini duyan İnönü itiraz ediyor:
- Durun yav, koparmayın. Bir derdi var ki inliyor. Meselenin köküne inelim...

MERAK EDİYORUM ŞİMDİKİLER İÇİN ÖLDÜKLERİNDE NE DİYECEGİZ ACABA?

bekir çoşkun yazıları/hürriyet

Meydanlarda niye türbanlı yok?..



BİR okurum not atarak sordu:

"Meydanlarda niye türbanlı yok..."

Ben de baktım; yoklar...

Çünkü onlar meydanlardaki tepkili-coşkulu kalabalıktan hoşnut değiller, ondandır.

Televizyonlarda olsun, gazetelerde olsun, Fethullahçı-ikinci cumhuriyetçi koalisyon "Devlet öyle duygusal hareket edip de acele etmez" gibi safsatalarla üzerini örtmeye kalksalar da, türbanlılar gelmese de, meydanların dili vardır.

İnsanlar kırılan gururlarını haykırıyorlar.

Kişiliksiz-sinik-bağımlı dış politikalara canı sıkılıyordur elbette insanların.

Bu bu yüzden meydanlardaki kalabalıklar AKP ve yandaşlarını rahatsız ediyordur.

Ve meydanlarda onlar yoklar.

*

Terörün bu hale gelmesinin sorumlusudur iktidar.

Kimse 5-6 yıl öncesine kadar tükenip-bitmiş PKK’nın niye toparlanıp güçlendiğini sormuyor.

Kimse Başbakan’ın o bölgeye gidip "alt kimlik-üst kimlik" çağrıları yaptığını... Kimse terör örgütünü övmenin suç olmaktan çıkartıldığını hatırlamıyor.

Ele geçirilmiş PKK’lıların, "eve dönüş yasası" adı altında cezaevlerinden bu dönemde salındığını, şimdi askere silah sıkanların çoğunun içerden çıkanlar olduğunu da kimse sorgulamıyor.

Değil sınır ötesi takip, askerlerin kendi topraklarımızda dahi, bir ilin sınırından öbür ilin sınırına geçerken izin almaları şartını bu iktidarın getirdiğini de kimse ağzına almıyor.

Dahası:

Laik cumhuriyete sahip çıkan askerleri köşeye sindirmek için (Şemdinli iddianamesi gibi) kurulan tuzakları... Diyelim ki o tuzaklar tutsaydı, şimdi umutla izlediğimiz Genelkurmay Başkanı Büyükanıt’ın dahi belki askeri cezaevinde olabileceğini kimse hatırlamak istemiyor.

*

Terörün bu hale gelmesinin sorumlusudur bunlar.

Bu nedenle meydanlardaki kalabalıklardan rahatsızlar.

İşlerine gelmiyordur.

Çığlık çığlık dolan meydanlar, onlara iktidarlarının beceriksizliğini ve bir milletin kırılan gururunu hatırlatıyordur.

Bu yüzden...

Meydanlarda yoklar...