Turkey is not a Muslim Country ?

[New Yorker]

An Average Turk Discribes Himself a Person with Muslim Heritage But
Not currently Practicing Islam.

Can we consider Turkey an Islamic Country?

I think not, we should Consider Removing Turkey from The UN's Islamic
Countries Alliance.

Comments ?

[TURK66]

Turkey has a rich Islamic heritage; however, it does not mean that.
Turkey is an Islamic country. Turkey recognizes the "freedom of
religion." There are many christians, jewish, atheists and even satanic
cults/worshipers living in Turkey. However, consider the fact that
majority of population living in Turkey are Muslims. In Turkey, the state
and the mosque/church/synagogue are separate. The state officials are
elected through democratic elections. There are no religious requirements
for a state official. I don't recall reading anywhere that you have be a
muslim to be elected. The condition is same as anywhere else: you have to
be a Turkish citizen to serve in any branch of the gov't. There is
however, heavy Islamic tradition in the country and among the Turkish
people. Iran for years now has been funding Islamic fudamentalist movment
in Turkey. They even funded the political party "Refah Party (RP)" which
is now disolved. The goal of this political party was to demolish the
current democratic gov't and establish (actually impose) an Islamic
regime instead. They have failed. However, Iran does not stop (just like
Europeans keeping their promise to keep Turkey "the sick man of Europe")
their effort.

It would be correct to say that "Turkey has a Muslim population" than
calling Turkey "an Islamic country." It is Europeans who would like world
to see Turkey as an Islamic country so that they can undermine any
economic growth in Turkey to stop foreign investment coming in.

New Yorker wrote:

--
************************************
GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
for the freedom, liberty and justice it
provides for us all and for the protection
of democracy and human rights around the world.

GOD BLESS TURKEY and PROTECT IT
from the evil hearted Europeans,
Kurds (only the separatist ones),
Armenians (never met a good one),
Greeks (some are good & O.K),

Syrians (The Home of the world terrorist trainers),
Iranians (only the fundamentalist SOBs),

(more may be added later depending on the
economic condition of Turkey.. :-)

TURK66 // Ilerici Turk Gencligi
Ne Mutlu Turk'um Diyene
YASASIN ATATURK
YUCE ALLAH TURKIYE'mizi Guclendirsin
*************************************

[Neo Asteri]

>From: TURK66

>Turkey has a rich Islamic heritage; however, it does not mean that.
>Turkey is an Islamic country. Turkey recognizes the "freedom of
>religion." There are many christians, jewish, atheists and even satanic
>cults/worshipers living in Turkey. However, consider the fact that
>majority of population living in Turkey are Muslims. In Turkey, the state
>and the mosque/church/synagogue are separate. The state officials are
>elected through democratic elections. There are no religious requirements
>for a state official. I don't recall reading anywhere that you have be a
>muslim to be elected. The condition is same as anywhere else: you have to
>be a Turkish citizen to serve in any branch of the gov't. There is
>however, heavy Islamic tradition in the country and among the Turkish
>people. Iran for years now has been funding Islamic fudamentalist movment
>in Turkey. They even funded the political party "Refah Party (RP)" which
>is now disolved. The goal of this political party was to demolish the
>current democratic gov't and establish (actually impose) an Islamic
>regime instead. They have failed. However, Iran does not stop (just like
>Europeans keeping their promise to keep Turkey "the sick man of Europe")
>their effort.
>
>It would be correct to say that "Turkey has a Muslim population" than
>calling Turkey "an Islamic country." It is Europeans who would like world
>to see Turkey as an Islamic country so that they can undermine any
>economic growth in Turkey to stop foreign investment coming in.
>

You say Turkey has the freedom of religion huh, read this:
The Plunder of Cyprus

Massive Plundering of Early Christian Art Exposed

By JUDITH MILLER and STEPHEN KINZER

New York Times 1/4/98

<Picture: Monastery of Antiphonitis. Credit: Yves Sieur/Agence-France Presse,
for The New York Times>KALOGREA, Cyprus -- Nestled among rugged hills
overlooking the sea near this ancient village, the Monastery of Antiphonitis
once held some of the world's finest Orthodox frescoes and icons. But today the
monastery is deserted, and there is no trace of the masterpieces that once
graced its walls.

To the northeast, at the Church of the Virgin of Kanakaria in the village of
Lythrangomi, the scene is even more stark. Almost every window has been broken,
and as a result rain and dust have poured into a building that once possessed
some of the most important and beautiful works of early Christian art. Pigeons
and rodents now make their homes where the faithful worshiped for centuries
amid works of mystic beauty.

These scenes reflect what European police investigators now say is one of the
most systematic art-looting operations since the Nazis plundered the countries
they occupied during World War II. The looting of Greek Orthodox churches in
northern Cyprus, since the region was placed under Turkish military occupation
in 1974, has brought hundreds of magnificent artworks onto the international
art market and, in recent months, resulted in a series of spectacular raids by
the police in Germany.

For years, the whereabouts of many stolen artifacts from northern Cyprus has
been a subject of rumor and speculation. The answer to some of these mysteries
may now be found in a locked room behind the antique statuary and Renaissance
paintings that fill the salons of the Bayerischer Landesmuseum in Munich.

That room holds one of the world's most impressive collections of stolen Greek
Orthodox icons. Some are less than a foot square, while others are nearly
life-size images of Jesus, the apostles, saints and other holy figures. All
reflect the spiritual beauty that has made such pieces treasured not only by
the Orthodox clergy and faithful, but also by art collectors around the world.

This collection was recovered in October by the Bavarian police in the course
of arresting Aydin Dikman, a 60-year-old Turkish citizen who has lived in
Germany since 1961. German authorities say he is one of Europe's most prolific
art thieves. The trove includes more than 140 icons, as well as 10 fragments of
Byzantine frescoes depicting Jesus' disciples, carved wooden portals, silver
crosses, prayer books and 250 other treasures from Orthodox churches on Cyprus.

The Munich collection, which the German police showed to a reporter, is part of
a hoard of art treasures that officers found when they closed in on Dikman, who
is accused of systematically plundering the churches' heritage. Appraisers have
told the police that the fresco fragments alone would bring several million
dollars each on the open market. The icon collection has been appraised at $3
million.

"This is the most spectacular case we have seen in Germany or perhaps all of
Europe in many years," said Peter Kitschler, chief of the art-theft unit of the
Bavarian police.

The Conquered Island: Disputes Wrapped in Ancient Hatreds

Although Dikman, who is in prison, refused to be interviewed by reporters for
The New York Times who conducted a monthlong investigation of the Cypriot art
thefts, the case being built against him by the German police sheds new light
on the lucrative trade. It may also have effects beyond the art world,
straining the already tense relations between Greece and Turkey and their
respective allies on Cyprus. Greek Cypriots accuse Turkish Cypriot officials
who rule the north of aiding and abetting Dikman's thefts.

"The Turks are waging a war against our cultural patrimony," said Demetrio
Michaelides, associate professor of the University of Cyprus and head of its
archaeological research unit. "They are trying to erase Greek and Christian
heritage from the now largely Turkish, Muslim north."

Turkish Cypriots deny such charges and accuse Greek Cypriots of working to
deprive them of the resources needed to protect their mutual cultural heritage.

Since time immemorial, Cyprus has been a prize sought by contesting nations,
empires and religions. It was a center of early Christianity, and Ottoman Turks
captured it from the Venetians in 1572 after a series of bloody sieges and mass
killings.

Later Cyprus became a British colony and remained so until 1960. When the
British left, they turned it over to what proved to be an unstable
Greek-Turkish partnership. Since then it has been caught in the age-old
conflict between those two nations, which is also a conflict between Islam and
Orthodox Christianity.

After Turkish soldiers landed on northern Cyprus in 1974, following a coup
engineered by the military junta then ruling Greece, Greek clergymen and
custodians of Orthodox holy sites fled southward. A process of "ethnic
cleansing" began on both sides of the border, with the southern two-thirds
becoming almost completely Greek and the northern third nearly all-Turkish.

Turkish Cypriots evidently felt little obligation to preserve Orthodox
churches, which many viewed as remnants of rulers who had oppressed them. Some
churches were converted into mosques and others to nonreligious uses. Still
others were allowed to decay; most were left unguarded. In the next 10 years,
Greek Cypriot officials say, the churches were looted of more than 20,000
religious artifacts.

The Remorseful Client: Guiding Officers to Their Quarry

<Picture: Aydin Dikman. Credit: Michel van Rijn>The trail of the artifacts in
which Dikman dealt stretches through Europe and the United States. It may
extend to the Museum of Beaux Arts in Antwerp, Belgium, which may have
unwittingly displayed several Byzantine icons stolen by Dikman.

That assertion came from Michel van Rijn, a central figure in the unfolding
drama, who says he was once Dikman's principal client. Since he fell out with
Dikman, van Rijn, 47, a burly Dutch art dealer, has been trying to help the
Orthodox and Greek Cypriot authorities reclaim some of the plundered items he
helped sell to art dealers throughout the world.

One of the dealers with whom van Rijn says he worked is Serafim Dritsoulas, a
Greek citizen who lives in Munich. In a raid on Dritsoulas' home several weeks
ago, the German police found what they believe to be several more stolen icons
from Dikman's collection.

Dritsoulas, who did not respond to several requests for comment, was a member
of the "expert committee" that helped organize the Antwerp exhibition. Museum
officials there, citing Belgian privacy laws, refused to say whether he had
lent any of the allegedly stolen icons they displayed. Police investigators
said they expected to charge Dritsoulas with possessing stolen art.

In a series of interviews, van Rijn said that he never stole any Cypriot
artifacts himself, but that he did help Dikman sell icons and frescoes that
police said Dikman systematically plundered from Cypriot churches and
monasteries.

Van Rijn said some Turkish military officers and local officials knew what
Dikman was doing. With their knowledge, he said, Dikman hired and trained a
team of sophisticated thieves; sent the team into northern Cyprus soon after
the 1974 Turkish intervention with lists of precious frescoes and mosaics to be
removed from church and monastery walls; stored his loot in Kyrenia Castle, a
popular tourist site in the northern Cypriot port of Kyrenia, and finally sent
it to Munich.

The Growing Evidence: Artworks Return to Loving Hands

In 1988, van Rijn and Dikman sold four mosaics that had been stolen from the
sixth-century Church of Kanakaria in Lythrangomi, one of the most heavily
looted churches in northern Cyprus. The buyer, Peg Goldberg, an Indianapolis
art dealer, paid $1.2 million for the mosaics and then tried to sell them for
$20 million to the Getty Museum in Los Angeles. A curator there recognized them
and called the police. In 1989 an Indianapolis court, ruling that Ms. Goldberg
had not tried hard enough to determine whether the mosaics were stolen, ordered
their return to Greek-controlled Cyprus.

After that deal, a stint in a Spanish prison on fraud charges that van Rijn
said were later dropped, and further quarrels with Dikman, van Rijn said, he
decided to abandon his world of art theft and work to recover the objects he
had helped fence. Last fall, he approached Tasoula Georgiou-Hadjitofi, the
honorary Greek Cypriot consul in The Hague, and offered to recover three
mosaics stolen from the Kanakaria church plus some 40 frescoes also in Dikman's
possession. The Cypriot government raised $500,000 from private sources and
bought the items from intermediaries working for Dikman.

"I wept with joy when I recognized them," said Athanasios Papageorgiou, a
former director of antiquities for Cyprus who flew from Nicosia to identify the
objects.

Van Rijn's bodyguard videotaped this and several similar transactions and
turned his tapes over to the German police. In October, police teams raided the
apartment where Dikman lived and two others he used as warehouses.

Within secret compartments behind walls, under ceilings and in basements,
Kitschler of the German police said, were more than 4,000 objects from an array
of ancient civilizations. It is that dazzling collection -- including Hellenic
pottery, Roman coins, Mayan objects, ceramics from east Africa and a Coptic
prayer shawl from Egypt -- that now sits locked in the Bayerischer
Landesmuseum.

<Picture: Credit: Yves Sieur/Agence-France Presse, for The New York Times>The
police also found albums of photographs that appear to show how Dikman obtained
some of the Cypriot treasures. Photos show workers standing on scaffolding and
removing frescoes from walls.

There are also drawings of elaborate frescoes that disappeared from northern
Cypriot churches during the 1970s and '80s. The drawings are bisected with
lines that the police say showed workers where to cut the frescoes to preserve
the faces of apostles and other figures.

The albums will be critical evidence in Dikman's trial later this year.
Prosecutors said they planned to charge him with possession and attempted sale
of stolen goods, which carries a penalty of up to 10 years in prison.

"This was professional work," Kitschler said. "It involved making sketches,
erecting scaffolding and bringing in specialized equipment. This kind of thing
must have taken days to complete. It wasn't a matter of slipping into a church
at night and sneaking out with something under your coat."

The Enduring Hostility: Progress Mired in Political Strife

From his stronghold in Nicosia, Europe's last divided city, the president of
the self-proclaimed Turkish Republic of Northern Cyprus, which is recognized
only by Turkey, denied that his government had in any way encouraged or
tolerated looting of Orthodox sites.

"We only learned about Dikman's activities after his arrest," said the
president, Rauf Denktash. "He's not a part of us; he has nothing to do with
us."

Denktash said that his government was eager to protect Greek Cypriot monuments
and churches, and was doing its best, "given our limited resources." He
complained that foreign governments refused to provide aid for preservation
work because they did not recognize his authority.

"They told us to apply through the Greek Cypriot government," he said, "which
is unacceptable to us."'

Two days of visits to Greek Cypriot monuments and Orthodox churches in the
north confirmed that the Denktash government has taken some steps to preserve
religious sites. It has spent thousands of dollars turning the Monastery of St.
Baranabas near Famagusta into an exquisite icon museum, and has handsomely
restored the giant gothic Cathedral of St. Nicholas also in Famagusta, which
has been known to Turkish Cypriots since 1571 as the Lala Mustapha Pasha
Mosque.

But the Turkish military barred a reporter from visiting two revered sites that
were reported to be heavily looted, the monasteries of Chrystosomos and of
Akhiropietos. And visits to the normally closed churches of Antiphonitis and
Kanakaria revealed empty, dilapidated structures that no longer contained a
single icon and were in desperate need of repair.

Several figures in the case agreed in interviews that hostility between the
Greek and Turkish Cypriot authorities, and their desire to use charges and
countercharges for political purposes, helped make the thefts possible and now
complicated efforts to protect remaining treasures.

"We could work together to protect our cultural patrimony were it not for
politics," a Cypriot cultural official complained. "But if you quote me by
name, I'll lose my job."

[Neo Asteri]

THE PERSECUTIONS OF CHRISTIAN COMMUNITIES

<Picture>

of Nestorians and syrian orthodox of South East Turkey.

A-NESTORIANS. This race lives in the Hakkari province near the border of Turkey
with Iran and Iraq. They are considered descendants of ancient Assyrians. They
are christian monophysites (Nestorians). In the years 1915-1918 they allied
with the armenians and placed their hopes of independence on the Russians. In
1918 the nestorian patriarch was mtirdered. In order to avoid persecutions and
massacres by the Turks, many Nestorians fled to Iraq. In 1920, the Nestorians
were organised and armed by the British to form the so-called assyrian troops,
who tried to reconquer their motherland, but failed.

In 1932, the british mandate of Iraq came to an end. The nestorian community
had difficulties with the Iraqui government and were forced to flee Iraq and go
to Syria, Lebanon (where they live near the city of ZALEH) Cyprus and the
United States. At present, a small number of Nestorians live in S.E. Turkey,
where they have almost no human rights at all. B-SYRIAN-ORTHODOX. In S.E.
Turkey, north of the syrian-turkish border, in the region of the towns of
Mardin and Midyat lived many centuries ago, thousands of people belonging to
the semitic race, speaking ancient syrian (Aramaic) which was spokenin
Palestine on the time when Christ was born, members of the monophysite church
of the Jacobites (from the bishop Jacob Baradai). These people claim to descend
from Asour and Aram, children of Sim, and that their ascendants belonged to the
early christians. These are the geographic, political, ethnological and
religious characteristics of the so-called syrian-orthodox.

After undergoing the Byzantine, Arab, Latin rule (of the Crusaders) and a
period of semiindependence, the syrian-orthodox were under the Ottoman Empire,
in the l6th century. Because of religious difference, they had self-government
with their own laws, courts of justice, and political (clerical ) authority.

After the Ottoman Empire was dissolved, they were not assigned to Syria, as
should have been the case, since, being of Semitic origin, they are related to
the Arab-Syrians. Instead, they remained within the Turkish border. After
Ataturk's westernisation and his attempt to turn the state into a turkish
state, their self-government was abolished and persecutions began.

Some years ago, they had been fiercely persecuted because Turkish hatred, which
in 1915 slaughtered the Armenians, did not always make distinction between the
christians of Anatolia. Thus, because of this <<mistake>> tens of thousands of
Syrian Orthodox were slaughtered at the same time with the armenians, as an
extension of the armenian genocide.

Today in Mardin-Midyat, live approximately 30.000 Syrian Orthodox, though 20
years ago, there lived 100.000 and 70 years ago, 200.000.

Until 1978, there were 50 churches and 10 monasteries, most of which have
ancient gospels in manuscript.

The most important of these is the Mar Gabriel, where is the seat of a bishop,
and where the ancient Syrian language is taught, and the ancient art of
manuscript is practised. In the Mar Yakoub monastery there is an imposing
church if the 5th century and around it churches of the 3rd and 4th centuries,
carved in the rock. The Deir UI Zafaran monastery once had 100 monks and was
the seat of the syrian-orthodox patriarch, who in 1954 was established in
Damascus. In this monastery was taught the ancient syrian language. In 1978,
the turkish ministry of education decreed this teaching illegal and sent away
the teachers in order to obtain the turcification of this minority.

At present, especially since 1974, there are continuously organised
suppressions of the Syrian-Orthodox minority. These suppressions are manifested
with deliberate actions, such as attacks, kidnappings, murders burglaries,
destruction of vineyards, and crops, thefts, forced weddings accompanied by
forced acceptance of Islam. All these persecutions have forced many
Syrian-Orthodox to emigrate. These persecutions are known and approved b the
turkish authorities in violation of the articles 37-45 of the Treaty of
Lausanne, which stipulate the protection of minorities and the non-distinction
among turkish civilians, concerning their civil rights.

More distinctly, the provisions of the articles a) 38 § 1, b) 38 § 2, c) 39 §
3, d) 40 and e) 42 § 5 of the Treaty of Lausanne, stipulate that the turkish
government undertakes the obligation to provide respectively :

1.Total protection of life and freedom, 2.the possibility to exerce in freedom
any faith, or dogma 3.equal civilian rights to every turkish citizen
irrespectively of difference of religion 4.equal rights for the installation of
philanthropic, social institutions and schools for education and 5.protection
of churches, synagogues cemeteries and other religious institutions of the
minorities.

None of all these stipulations and obligations that Turkey has undertaken under
the Treaty of Lausanne have been respected by any turkish government
(democratic or fascist) of any political colour. The minorities in Turkey have
no human rights.

A very interesting research conducted by a Committee of the World Council of
Churches (Avenue d Anderghem 23, Bruxelles) in 1979 reveals that no obligation
is being kept by the turkish government. The guarantor Powers of the Treaty of
Lausanne. i.e. Britain France, Italy and Japan, are thus obliged, according to
article 44 § 2, to attract the attention to these violations that take place
and to ask the turkish government to change its attitude, and respect human
rights and its signature on the Treaty. Otherwise, if the Treaty of Lausanne is
abolished, the Treaty of Sevres must be applied.

[Neo Asteri]

THE NIGHT OF TERROR IN CONSTANTINOPLE

<Picture>

Under the terms of the agreement regarding the exchange of populations in the
1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the Greek population of Constantinople-a thriving
community-and the muslim community residing in Western Thrace were exempted
from the exchange process.

In the beginning of the 20th century there were 300,000 Greeks residing in
Constantinople.

They had managed to survive there despite centuries of oppression and
persecution under the Ottoman yoke. But the Turks were determined to expel all
Greeks from their ancient home using all available means. Thus, the Turks
systematically used the following measures in order to accomplish their
objective :

a) In May 1941, large numbers of young men ranging in age from 18-38. were
conscripted into the Turkish army from the Greek and Armenian communities The
Turkish intention was to exterminate these young men through the well-known
method of <<forced-labour battalions>>. If this extermination plan was not
successful it was due to protests from the Western allies and the defeat of the
Germans in Stalingrad in December 1942. Seeing the tides of war shifting, the
Turkish authorities permitted the discharge of these soldiers.

b) On 11 Noverriber 1942, the Turkish government passed a law regarding
taxation of property of non-muslims, known as the VA RLIK VE RGISI. Through
this !aw non-muslim citiizens had to submit, without the right to appeal, to
the discretion and arbitrary judgment of the tax clerks. The tax clerks, in
turn, were instructed to appraise property at amounts many times over the
actual value of each property. Then, if the individual concerned was unable to
make payments of the enormous tax share (quota), the property was seized and
the unfortunate owners were exiled to ACKALE, in Anatolia.

As a result (of the use) of these harsh and inhuman measures, by 1955 only
25,000 people were left, rather than the 450,000 that should have been their
number given a normal rate of growth in 35 years.

On the night of the 6th September 1955, and using the Cyprus situation as a
pretext, the Turks dealt the coupdegrace to the remaining inhabitants. The
whole story of this pogrom is as follows :

On Saturday the 3rd of September, 1955, the wife of the Turkish Consul in
Thessaloniki asked for, and received, from a photographer in Thessaloniki
supposedly for a keep-sake a series of photographs and films of the Turkish
Consulate and the neighboring home where Kemal Ataturk was born. The very next
day she and her family left for Turkey.

At ten past midnight on the 6th of September,1955, in the garden of the
Consulate, between the two buildings, dynamite exploded resulting in broken
windows in both buildings. The Greek authorities rushed immediately to the
scene. They established that two more explosive devices had been positioned in
the Consulate yard and that within the building there was only one Turkish
guard. In the investigation that followed it was determined that the explosives
were placed there by the guard and his accomplice, a Turkish student at the Law
School of the University of Thessaloniki, Oktai Egin Faik, who had brought the
dynamite from Turkey a few days earlier.

On the 6th of September, Turkish newspapers using forged versions of the photos
of the Turkish consul's wife and even before the explosion took place in
Greece, depicted Kemal's birthplace as totally destroyed. By the evening,
newspapers all over Turkey knew of the alleged destruction of Kemal's home
setting off waves of anger among the Turkish populace.

The Turkish authorities then transported large groups of people in trains and
military vehicles from Anatolia to Constantinople.

The attack by the angry mobs began at 5 : 50 P.M on the 6th of September 1955
and ended at 02 : 00 A.M on the 7th of September 1955. The police calmly
assisted and even guided the mobs, in their relentless path of destruction.

At 00 : 20 A.M on the 7th of September 1955 martial law was finally declared,
at 02 : 00 A.M curfew began and at 02 : 30 A.M the authorities had restored a
semblance of order.

Screaming slogans <<Today your property, tomorrow your lives>> the mobs had
perpetrated terrible crimes. Those who guided them knew that by terrorizing the
last Greek residents of Constantinople they would compel them to desert their
homeland, once and for all. Simultaneously by destroying monuments which were
proof of the glorious Greek past of Constantinople, they would eradicate even
future reminders of the Greek presence.

The results of the vandalisms were :

1.the Theological School of Halki, the Marasleios School, The Monestary of
Valoukli, the Zappeio School for Girls and many other sites, suffered great
damage. 2.of the 83 Greek Orthodox churches in the <<Polis>> 59 were burned and
most others suffered serious damage to the icons and ancient paintings of great
value. 3.the tombs of Patriarchs were destroyed, Christian cemeteries and
ossuaries were defiled ; 4.3,000 homes were looted and destroyed ; 5.4348 Greek
stores were looted and destroyed ; 6.200 Greek women were raped ; 7.hundreds of
Greeks were ill-treated or tortured, such as the old Bishop of Derkon Iakovos;
the metropolitan of Ilioupolis Yennadios, whose beard was cut off and who was
then dragged through the streets so that he would die shortly thereafter from
ill-treatment; and Bishop Pamphilou Yennadios that was thrown into the burned
ruins of Valoukli; 8.15 Greeks were murdered and among them a 90 year old monk
at the Valoukli Monastery, Chrys. Mantas, who was burned alive. Many others in
the monastery were seriously wounded.

After the pogrom a great portion of the Greek population left Constantinople to
save their lives.

On the 20th of September,1975, in a special 35 page Survey section of the
influential English magazine, The Economist, it was written : <<Turkish charges
that the Moslem population in Western Thrace is harried by the Greek
authorities are gross exaggerations. In 1923 there were 300,000 Greeks living
in Constantinople and 110,000 Turks living in Thrace. Today, there are 15,000
Greeks living in Istanbul and 120,000 Turks in Thrace. The Greeks ask, with
some justification, which country has been putting the pressure on which
minority>>. (Survey-15).

It is important for us to realize that today,1982, only 4,000 Greeks still
remain in Constantinople.

In the pages to follow you will find irrefutable photographic evidence of a
typical sample of Turkish cruelty, which managed to destroy the Hellenic
population of Constantinople.

<Picture><Picture><Picture>Saint Sophia in the 10th century (Drawing of an
artist of the 19th cent). Saint Sophia today, a turkish mosque. Ruins of the
church of St Constantine and Helen after having been burnt.
<Picture><Picture><Picture>A picture that even Vandals would envy. Even
cemetries have not been respected. Open graves and bones dispersed. A vision of
the last Judgement.
<Picture>A jubilant turkish mob after looting Greek property.

[Neo Asteri]

THE GREEK HOLOCAUST OF THRACE,ASIA MINOR,AND PONTOS

<Picture>

What thou seest, write in a book, and send it unto the seven churches which are
in Asia, unto Ephesus and unto Smyrna, and unto Pergamos, and unto Thyatira and
unto Sardis and unto Philadelphia and unto Laodicea. (Apoc. I11).

The seven churches, tlie seven torches of light of the Greek-Christian
civilisation are no longer burning. The land of Asia Minor, an area where for
3000 years Greek civilisation flourished is now being trampled by foreign
invaders : the Turks.

The Turks invaded Asia Minor in two waves : The Seljuks were first at the end
of the 11th century and the Ottomans came later, at the beginning of the l3th
century.

Using indiscriminately force, murder, genocide, and turcification they managed
to hold on to a foreign land expelling or exterminating its natural residents :
Greeks, Armenians, Kurds, and Arabs.

In the 8th century, the Oguz Turks, a semi-savage nomadic people moved westward
from their homeland in Mongolia, and settled in what is today West Turkestan.

The Seljuks, a sect of the Oguz Turks, moved further in the direction of Persia
and today's Iraq, where they served as mercernaries for the caliphs of Baghdad.

From this encounter with the advanced Persian and Arab civilisations, they
enriched their poor vocabulary, adopted the Arabic script and became muslims
retaining simultaneously their warring nomad characteristics.

Their king, Alp Arslan (1063-1072), unified the various Seljuk factions,
invaded Armenia, and sacked its capital of Ani in 1064. After that he and his
armies invaded Byzantium and following the critical battle at Manzikert (1071)
where the Byzantines were defeated, the Seljuks occupied a large part of the
Asia Minor provinces of Byzantium. Previous to the invasion, there was not a
single Turk living in these provinces.

In this foreign, for the Turks land there were thus established a number of
Seljuk controlled emirates.

After a short period of time the Byzantines and the Crusaders dissolved nearly
all of these emirates, except one whose capital was Iconium. This had been
named as the Sultanate of Roum in other words the land of the Romans, as was
the official title of the Greek Byzantine Empire, which was a continuation and
succession of the Eastern Roman Empire.

The raids by Genghis Khan's (1167-1227) Mongols forced another Turkish tribe,
led by Suleyman-Shah, to abandon Turkistan and to head towards the west. This
group tried to settle in Eastern Asia Minor, but the Armenians and Kurds ousted
them. In an attempt to cross the Euphrates river, their leader was drowned and
buried there, which ever since has been known as <<Turk-mezari>>, or the <<tomb
of the Turk>> A title which is indicative of how alien the Turks were in these
areas.

The tribe then moved toward the Sultanate of Roum where it settled often
assuming the role of border-guards. Suleyman's grandson, Osman, (1259-1326),
took over the title of Sultan from the Seljuks and he gave his name to the
Turkish people : The Ottomans.

The leaders of the Osmanlis quickly realized that since they comprised a
minority of conquerors it would be difficult for them to control the occupied
lands, and simultaneously to pursue further conquests without taking certain
<<special measures>>.

Thus, they decided to adopt and apply harsh methods previously unknown to the
whole world. Methods which were never repeated again by another nation on
earth. The primary measures taken were as follows :

1.They declared their state a warrior or <<Gazi>> state. In other words, a
state that was bound to declare holy war (Jihad) against the non-believers.
This way, they were able to bring together all kinds of adventurers, who were
willing to fight either for ideological reasons, or for just the spoils of the
war. 2.They adopted the inhumane measure of forcibly recruiting young Christian
children. In other words, they forcibly took male children of the enslaved
Christian families (mainly Greeks. and later also Armenians Bulgarians,
Albanians and Serbs), and brought them up in special camps They conditioned
them to become fanatic Turks and relentless killers to their own people. These
children would grow up to believe that their father was the Sultan and that if
they were to die in battle they would go to heaven. Thus, because of this New
Army, or Janissaries, (Yeni-ceri in turkish) the Turks continued to pursue
their conquests. 3.They slaughtered systematically millions of Asia Minor's
inhabitants, in order to change the ethnic character of the land. It has been
estimated that during the seven centuries of Turkish presence in Asia Minor
several millions of Greeks, at least two-three million Armenians and hundreds
of thousands of Kurds, Syrians, but also Serbs, and Bulgarians in Europe, were
systematically massacred. In the 20th century alone, it has been estimated that
approximately 1,5 million Armenians and more than 1 million Greeks were
extrerminated.

In this manner, the Turks managed to hold on to Asia Minor, a foreign land for
them, where Greek civilisation had flourished for 2.000 years before the
appearance of the Turks.

The Turks just destroyed this civilisation and unfortunately did not even try
to take advantage of its accomplishments.

In two previous occassions the Greek people contributed in civilising their
conquerors as was the case with the Romans and the Franks. One must possess a
cultural identity to be able to absorb what is creative and good from other
civilisations. Unfortunately, the conquering Turks lacked such an identity.

The Turks also failed to administer their subject peoples within the Ottoman
Empire. There were no <<laws>> in the civilised sense of the word. The Sultan's
word was the law in the capital and arbitrary rule of local representatives was
the law in the provinces. The property, honor, and life of the conquered was
completely at the mercy of the occasional Turkish official.

The only bond that kept the multiethnic empire together was the crude use of
force-ultimately the butchery-of the rulers. Slaughter was the rule without
concern for innocence or guilt.

Under these conditions the Turkish administration was truly detestable to all
the subject people who suffered and patiently waited for each opportunity to
throw off the Ottoman yoke.

The Turks failed to assimilate the various nationalities within their empire.
They could not also administer them efficiently, not even control the economy
because commerce and industry was left in the hands of the Greeks, Armenians
and Jews, while the Turks kept busy with governing and simultaneously
exploiting the profits while terrorizing the inhabitants.

For the enslaved people to be finally liberated from their rulers there took
place a series of revolutions, which led to the establishment of independent
states. In 1908 the Young Turk revolution forced the Sultan to grant a
constitution to the remnants of the Ottoman Empire.

In spite of the apparent liberalism of the formally bourgeois revolution which
was spearheaded by the military without the participation of the people, there
continued to develop additional centrifugal tendencies as they did in the times
of the Sultan's despotism. For those nations still within the Empire whose
fellow nationals had established independent states, e. g. the Greeks- it was
natural for them to seek union with their free compatriots. Those peoples still
within the Empire that had not attained separate statehood, e.g. the Armenians,
and the Kurds, focused all their energies towards the attainment of
self-determination and the establishment of autonomous national homelands.

The Young Turks sought to rid themselves of troublesome non Turkish ethnic
groups so that they could build a homogeneous Turkish state and so they could
avoid iurther mutilation of Turkish controlled territorv in areas where
non-Turks were in the majority, such as Eastern Thrace,

Western Asia Minor and Pontos, where the Greeks were in the majority, Eastern
Asia Minor where the Armenians were in the majority and, Southeastern Asia
Minor where the Kurds were in the majority.

Thus, the supposedly liberal and constitutionally oriented Young Turks returned
to the usual Sultanic abrasiveness and brutality, which now became much more
organised and sylstematic and assumed genocidal proportions.

The massacres were premeditated : It was decided that <<the Ottomanisation of
all Turkish citizens, which never succeeded through persuasion, had to be done
by the force of arms>>,

This was stated in the L o n d o n T i m e s on the 3rd of October 1911
summarizing the proceedings of the Council of Union and Progress (The Young
Turks).

At first, the persecutions took place against the Greeks, made under the
pretext of the Balkan Wars (1912-1913). Persecution took the form of lootings,
expulsions and murders. After the wars, persecution continued even more
intensively, to the point where on the 25 of May 1914 the Ecumenical
Patriarchate was forced to declare that the Orthodox Church was <<under
attack>>.

The Patriarchate, further, in a show of protest and mourning, suspended the
activities of Greek churches and Greek schools throughout Turkey.

After the declaration of World War I, the Turks found the perfect opportunity
to organize more effectively the massacres against ethnic minorities, so that
they could finally transform their empire into a homogeneous搖ation-state.

Prominent officers of the Young Turks movement, while serving as members of the
government, organized the expulsion of the inhabitants as well as the lootings
and massacres that were perpetrated against them. Specifically, Talat Pasha,
minister of the interior, was prominent as the master mind of the pogroms.
However, the entire Turkish state administration participated in the
organization and the execution of the extermination programme.

They began with the genocide of the Armenians, who did not possess a state
which would rush to their aid and followed it up with mass expulsions and
massacres of the Greeks. The victims of this period are over 2.5 million people
of which 1.5 million were Armenians. In the chronological Index one can see
detailed figures regarding the persecution of the Greeks of Asia Minor, Thrace
and Pontos.

After the end of World War I, the Allies recognized that the property, honor
and life of the Greeks in the Ottoman Empire could not be protected by the
Turkish government.

They assigned to Greece the responsibility to administer Eastern Thrace and the
Smyrna district. This arrangenment was contained in the Treaty of Sevres.
Simultaneously, there was established a separate and independent Pontian state.

In 1920, Alexander Millerand, president of the Supreme Allied Council stated :
<<The Turkish government not only failed in its duty to protect its non-Turkish
citizens from the looting, violence and murders, but there are many indications
that the Turkish government itself was responsible for directing and organizing
the most cruel attacks against the populations, which it was supposed to
protect. For these reasons, the Allied powers have decided to liberate from the
Turkish yoke all the lands where the majority of the people were non-Turks>>.

The Treaty of Sevres was signed by the Turkish government but Mustafa Kemal
refused to recognize it.

After 40 long months of war, duringiwhich Kemal's forces secured considerable
foreign assistance, the Greek military front in Anatolia collapsed.

The Turks reoccupied Asia Minor and entered Smyrna on September 8, 1922. In
Smyrna, in the meantime, there was an influx of refugees from various parts of
Asia Minor. And the conquering Turks set the city on fire and unleashed the
last phase of the genocide against the Greeks and Armenians.

These were moments of unbelievable horror. The pier turned red by the blood of
tlhe victims. The bishop of Smyrna Chrysostomos was publicly ridiculed and then
slaughtered. Events were too horrible to even describe. The American Consul in
Smyrna, George Horton, gives a detailed and objective picture of the chilling
Turkish crimes in his book T h e B l i g h t o f A s i a ( Indianapolis : Bobb
and Merryl, 1925).

The Treaty of Lausanne ended the Greek-Turkish war and imposed the unjust and
mandatory exchange of 300,000 Turks from Greece for the 1,400,000 Greeks that
survived the holocaust.

The Greek refugees of Asia Minor, without being consulted had to give up their
ancestral homes to the Turks, after almost 4,000 years of glorious and
productive history.

Through the unjust actions of massacre and persecution of Greeks and Armenians,
the contemporary Turkish state was thus created. It was a state founded on
crime, the state about which French prime minister George Clemanceau said on
the 25th of June, 1919 : <<We do not find even one example in Europe, Asia, or
Africa, where the imposition of Turkislh sovereignty had not been followed by a
decline in material prosperity, and by the impoverishment of its culture. Also
there does not exist one example where liberation from Turkish control was not
followed by the advancement of material prosperity and an improvement of the
cultural level. Whether dealing with Christians or Muslims, the Turk has
managed to bring destruction whereever he conquered. The Turk has never been
able to develop in peace that which he won through conquest>>.

On the 26th of November 1979, the New York Times wrote quite characteristically
: <<According to the most recent statistics, the Christian population in Turkey
was diminished from ( 4.500.000 ) at the beginning of this century to just
about 150,000. Of those, the Greeks are no more than 7,000 Yet, in 1923 they
were as many as 1, 2 million>>. (After the massacres of many hundreds of
thousands ).

In the pages which follow you will find photographs of the cultural presence of
Greeks in Asia Minor and irrefutable photographic evidence of a small sample of
the Turkish atrocities which managed to destroy this splendid civilisation and
to persecute millions of people.

Even though the Turks have not yet been punislied by human justice, we believe
that there is a Divine Justice to which the Turks will sooner or later be
answerable.

<Picture><Picture><Picture>The Temple of Artemis (one of the seven marvels of
the ancient world) as it was in antiquity. Ruins of the Temple of Artemis
today. The church of Taxiarchis turned to a liquor storehouse.
<Picture><Picture><Picture>Photo of Greeks of Asia Minor massacred by Turks
between 1915-1922. Another photo of the massacres of the Greeks of Asia Minor.
Grandfather and grandson slain together.
<Picture><Picture><Picture>The order of Nourredin for the slaughter of the
Greek population. Smyrna in flames. Boats the only hope for salvation.
<Picture><Picture><Picture>The inhabitans in panic prefer drowning to
slaughter. Complete destruction of the French hospital by the fire. Some of the
1.500.000 retugees.
<Picture><Picture>Column marching into death. Inhabitans of Kerasous
slaughtered by Turks.

[Neo Asteri]

THE ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

<Picture>

The massacres of the Armenians in Turkey were quite frequent and extensive in
the last hundred years. The Armenians were the scapegoat of the Turks during
this period of rapid decline of the Ottoman Turkish Empire. The Armenians were
also punished for their ability to be good business-men; and, for being a
christian nationality that worked hard and managed to prosper even under the
oppreasive Turkish administration. The Turks could never forgive such
qualities.

The massacres were systematic and repeated in order to eliminate the entire
Armenian minority and also create vital space for the future development of the
Turks.

Turkey was never ab1e to assimilate the different nationalities which were part
of the empire. Therefore, it became a matter of historical record, the
slaughter of the various minorities throughout the empire, in order to achieve
this goal of a pure national state. Within this political framework the
Armenians have paid perhaps the greateat share of blood tax as one can see in
the chronological index of this publication.

One can sunmarise the genocide of the Armenian nation by giving the figure of
300.000 dead during the reign of Sultan Abdul Hamid and 1.500.000 killed during
World War I (encyclopedia LAROUSSE). Countless others were crippled or listed
aa missing. The Turkish State used every criminal method in order to complete
this genocide : Oppression, hunger, thirst, walking without stop, murder, rape,
fire, cold, heat, sword. Everything that could exterminate this innocent people
whose only crime was their Armenian Nationality, was used by the barbarian
Turks. We are not referring to those Armenians who were killed fighting the
Turks in the battle-fields during their revolution, but to the non-combatants,
auch as women, children, the sick and the old who perished during this period.

Unfortunately, these Turkish crimes have remained unpunished. An International
Court has not condemned the holocaust of an entire nation to this date, and
this impunity has permitted the Turks to repeat similar crimes against the
Greek inhabitants of Asia Minor, the Syrian orthodox people and recently,
against the Cypriota.

The impunity of the assassins of the Armenian people became the inspiration to
the Nazis in using similar methods of genocide against the Jews, the Poles, the
Rusaiana and the other nationalities.

<<Who remembers the Armenian Genocide?>> said Hilter to justify these latter
crimes.

The Armenian genocide still awaits its <<Nuremberg trials>>. The impunity of
the Turks undermines the concept of International Justice and Moral Law and is
an offense against any civilised man on earth.

We ask that the punishment for the crime of. genocide and the liberation of the
Armenian land which is enslaved by Turkey is impIemented by recognising the
validity of the Treaty of Sevrea by the United Nations.

We ask for your help for the realisation of this project, which is just and
sacred.

<Picture><Picture><Picture>Armenian Intellectuals first victims of the pogrom.
Heads of Armenian intellectuals, first victims of turkish ferocity. The
assassins proud for their plunder: heads of Armenians.
<Picture><Picture><Picture>Armenians massacred in the forest. The executions of
the Armenians provoke horror to their surviving relatives. Turkish executioners
pose in front of their victims.
<Picture><Picture><Picture>1916, Armenians dead from hunger in the desert of
Mesopotamia. Armenians massacred by the Turks in the district of Engiouri.
Human tragedy in the desert, a shame for humanity.
<Picture>Armenian clergymen forming the sign of the cross with the bones of
their martyrs.

[Neo Asteri]

Church turned into Casino

Turks will convert church into casino

Nicosia, Apr 25 1998 (CNA) -- A Greek Orthodox church in the Turkish-occupied
areas of Cyprus will be converted into a casino, according to Turkish Cypriot
newspaper "Avrupa" (Europe).

The newspaper, considered outspoken for its criticism to the occupation regime,
says that the conversion of the Ayia Anastasia church, on the northern coast of
Lapithos, has already begun.

Some 500 churches in the areas of Cyprus occupied by Turkey since it invaded in
1974, have been destroyed, looted or used for other purposes, such as
warehouses, stables or public lavatories.

The Ayia Anastasia church itself is not old, but its icons belonged to an old
church.

Some of the churches that have been destroyed date back to the 12th century,
while most of their priceless relics have been sold on the international black
market.

The systemic plundering of Cyprus' heritage in the occupied areas is considered
part of Turkey's ethnic cleansing policy.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Turks converting Lapithos church into casino

Cyprus Mail Sunday, April 26, 1998

A GREEK Orthodox Church in occupied Lapithos is to be turned into a casino, a
Turkish Cypriot paper reported yesterday.

According to _Avrupa_, a paper critical of the Denktash regime, the conversion
of the Ayia Anastasia church has already begun.

Some 500 churches in the occupied areas have been destroyed, looted or turned
into mosques, stables or public toilets since the Turkish invasion in 1974.

Some of the churches to have been destroyed date from the 12th century, while
almost all their priceless relics have been smuggled out and are now being sold
on the black market abroad.

The Ayia Anastasia church building itself is not particularly old, but its
icons, transferred from an earlier church, are of considerable value.

[Neo Asteri]

Monastery Sacrilege

Campaign to halt conversion of monastery

Cyprus Mail Sunday, March 8, 1998

HOUSE President Spyros Kyprianou has called for international action to halt
Turkish plans to convert an occupied Armenian monastery into a hotel.

In a letter sent to international parliamentary institutions and national
parliaments yesterday, Kyprianou states that the St. Magar monastery is one of
the most important sites of pilgrimage for Armenians worldwide. Recent reports
in the Turkish Cypriot press suggest the monastery is to be converted to a
50-bed hotel.

Kyprianou said the conversion is part of a strategy to eradicate every sign of
non-Turkish culture from the occupied areas.

"The Turkish plans must be considered as part of their long-standing policy of
ethnic cleansing, aiming at strengthening the partition of the island, which is
their main objective," he said.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Cyprus deplores planned conversion of monastery into hotel

Nicosia, Mar 5 1998 (CNA) -- Cyprus has denounced to the UN Turkish plans to
convert an Armenian monastery in the occupied part of Cyprus into a hotel. In a
letter to the UN Secretary-General, which circulated yesterday as an official
document of the General Assembly, Cyprus' Permanent Representative to the UN,
Sotos Zakheos said the Turkish Cypriot press announced plans for the conversion
of the Armenian monastery of St. Makar into a 50-bed hotel.

"This conversion is in violation of the 1954 Convention for the Protection of
Cultural Property in the event of Armed Conflict and the Declaration of the
Principles of International Cultural Cooperation adopted by the General
Conference of UNICEF," Zakheos said.

Furthermore, he noted that the planned illegal conversion of the monastery
"will do irreparable damage not only to the Armenian people and the Armenian
church but also to the cultural and historical character of Cyprus."

The monastery was built in the 10th century and is considered one of the most
significant places of worship for the Armenian people in general. It was
looted, vandalised and partly destroyed after the 1974 Turkish invasion and
occupation of the island's northern third. The St. Makar monastery is situated
in the northern occupied mountain range of Pentadaktylos.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Fury at plan to turn occupied monastery into hotel

Cyprus Mail Wednesday, March 4, 1998

THE ARMENIAN community yesterday denounced a Turkish Cypriot plan to turn an
occupied Armenian monastery into a hotel.

The Armenian monastery of St Makar in the occupied Chalefka region was to
become a 50-room hotel supporting tourism, Turkish Cypriot newspapers reported
on January 21. The decision was also publicised by foreign news agencies.

In a statement issued yesterday, a support committee for the monastery
denounced the move as an attempt to eradicate every cultural and religious
trace of the Armenians in the occupied areas.

"The proposed plan insults and wounds the Armenian Church and Armenian people,
violates... International Law and... Human Rights and exploits religious,
ethnic and cultural values," said the committee.

The committee called for joint Greek and Armenian Cypriot opposition to the
move.

Meanwhile, Council of Europe (CoE) permanent Cyprus representative, Thalia
Petrides, denounced the move in a letter to CoE general secretary Daniel
Tarschys yesterday.

Petrides drew attention also to the desecration of Greek Orthodox churches and
cemeteries in the occupied areas, urging Tarschys to take all necessary steps
to halt the situation.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Armenian monastery to be restored and turned into a hotel

KIBRIS (21.1.98) reports that the historical Armenian monastery in the occupied
Kyrenia range near the village of Khartza, which has been ruined, plundered and
sacrileged, will be restored and turned into a tourist hotel, at a cost of one
million USD.

KIBRIS adds that the so-called council of ministers of the pseudostate has
decided to lease the monastery and its surroundings for 49 years to the so-
called department of museums and antiquities. It reports that restoration work
will be carried out under the full supervision of the so-called department of
museums and antiquities and it will last for three years. Once completed, the
place will be turned into a 50 bed capacity hotel.

KIBRIS reports that in order to lease the monastery the so-called council of
ministers has decided that the area will no longer be a forest area.

The man who wants to lease and operate the site is architect/businessman,
Dervis Sonmezler.
------------------------------------------------------------------------

Historic Armenian Monastery destroyed

According to ORTAM (13.1.97) the historic Armenian Monastery on the occupied
Kyrenia range, near the occupied Chartzia village, has turned into rubbles.

Reporting under the banner headlines "Great Shame", ORTAM says that the small
rooms in the monastery where in the past people used to pray "have now been
turned into rooms of shame", because before this destruction we can only feel
ashamed, says ORTAM.

ORTAM reports that the historic Armenian Monastery St. Magar is in a
dilapidated state and needs urgent restoration.

The report says that if properly restored and maintained this monastery could
be a tourist site and a source of income.

The monastery which was used by the Armenian community was plundered and
destroyed after the 1974 Turkish invasion and occupation. The Church in the
monastry was pillaged and reduced to pieces.

[TURK66]

Turk66: see my detailed comments below
however, I believe that this story is more to do with ethnicity not
religion. If you can't differentiate those two, you got a problem.
Do not ever reply to these postings! But go ahead and read my
comments!

Neo Asteri wrote:

> THE NIGHT OF TERROR IN CONSTANTINOPLE
>
> <Picture>
>
> Under the terms of the agreement regarding the exchange of populations in the
> 1923 Treaty of Lausanne, the Greek population of Constantinople-a thriving
> community-and the muslim community residing in Western Thrace were exempted
> from the exchange process.
>

You know why the Greek population was a thriving community! don't you? Because they
wereconsidered minority and exempt from many policies that applied to Ottomons.

> In the beginning of the 20th century there were 300,000 Greeks residing in
> Constantinople.
>

So? what's the point?

> They had managed to survive there despite centuries of oppression and
> persecution under the Ottoman yoke. But the Turks were determined to expel all
>

Let's get the story straight! who is Turk and who is Ottoman? Even today,one of the
most richest people in Istanbul are minorities who lived there
for centuries. They have every freedom to do whatever they want.

> Greeks from their ancient home using all available means. Thus, the Turks
> systematically used the following measures in order to accomplish their
> objective :
>
> a) In May 1941, large numbers of young men ranging in age from 18-38. were
> conscripted into the Turkish army from the Greek and Armenian communities The
>

Turkish military training is mandatory. If you are a Turkish citizen, you have to
serve.The age starts at 18. It is so amazing that you are twisting these stories.
Turkish youth also served and still serves in the military.

> Turkish intention was to exterminate these young men through the well-known
> method of <<forced-labour battalions>>. If this extermination plan was not
> successful it was due to protests from the Western allies and the defeat of the
> Germans in Stalingrad in December 1942. Seeing the tides of war shifting, the
> Turkish authorities permitted the discharge of these soldiers.
>
> b) On 11 Noverriber 1942, the Turkish government passed a law regarding
> taxation of property of non-muslims, known as the VA RLIK VE RGISI. Through
>

Well, "taxation-of-non-muslims"?? I can't believe you say that. If you live in
Turkeyand earn a living, you have to pay taxes. There is no such thing as "Free
lunch."
Unfortunately, EUROPEANS DON'T PAY ANY TAXES! This is why
the Gasoline is pricy in Europe because the European Gov't can't find a way
to collect the tax needed to keep the gov't running. So they have to charge
people at the time of sale!

> this !aw non-muslim citiizens had to submit, without the right to appeal, to
> the discretion and arbitrary judgment of the tax clerks. The tax clerks, in
>

If your so-called "non-muslims" friends choose not to participate in a
freedemocratic process, it is their problem. The elections are open to anyone
who wishes to take part in it.

> turn, were instructed to appraise property at amounts many times over the
> actual value of each property. Then, if the individual concerned was unable to
> make payments of the enormous tax share (quota), the property was seized and
> the unfortunate owners were exiled to ACKALE, in Anatolia.
>
> As a result (of the use) of these harsh and inhuman measures, by 1955 only
>

HARSH and INHUMANE?? So since when paying taxes became harsh andinhuman?? Well,
what makes you think that you don't have to pay taxes just
because you are a non-muslim and living in Turkey!

> 25,000 people were left, rather than the 450,000 that should have been their
> number given a normal rate of growth in 35 years.
>

So they choose not to pay taxes and leave. Who cares? If Greece wantsaccept these
"FREEBIE TAKERS", go ahead!

> On the night of the 6th September 1955, and using the Cyprus situation as a
> pretext, the Turks dealt the coupdegrace to the remaining inhabitants. The
> whole story of this pogrom is as follows :
>
> On Saturday the 3rd of September, 1955, the wife of the Turkish Consul in
> Thessaloniki asked for, and received, from a photographer in Thessaloniki
> supposedly for a keep-sake a series of photographs and films of the Turkish
> Consulate and the neighboring home where Kemal Ataturk was born. The very next
> day she and her family left for Turkey.
>

SO what is the point? Can't trust your enemy when you declare war!

> At ten past midnight on the 6th of September,1955, in the garden of the
> Consulate, between the two buildings, dynamite exploded resulting in broken
> windows in both buildings. The Greek authorities rushed immediately to the
> scene. They established that two more explosive devices had been positioned in
> the Consulate yard and that within the building there was only one Turkish
> guard. In the investigation that followed it was determined that the explosives
> were placed there by the guard and his accomplice, a Turkish student at the Law
> School of the University of Thessaloniki, Oktai Egin Faik, who had brought the
> dynamite from Turkey a few days earlier.
>

Set up the plot! Do you really believe this Bullshit story when you are in war?

> On the 6th of September, Turkish newspapers using forged versions of the photos
> of the Turkish consul's wife and even before the explosion took place in
> Greece, depicted Kemal's birthplace as totally destroyed. By the evening,
> newspapers all over Turkey knew of the alleged destruction of Kemal's home
> setting off waves of anger among the Turkish populace.
>

So What does this story got to do with Turkey and Islam? Once againYou are going
off tangent!!! This story is more about ethinicty not ISLAM
and religion. Boy you are so fucked up!

> The Turkish authorities then transported large groups of people in trains and
> military vehicles from Anatolia to Constantinople.

You mean Turkish gov't offered free train tickets? Boy I know
my grand father would have loved that! He sure missed that deal!
Free tour of Anatolia! Can't beat it!

> The attack by the angry mobs began at 5 : 50 P.M on the 6th of September 1955
> and ended at 02 : 00 A.M on the 7th of September 1955. The police calmly
> assisted and even guided the mobs, in their relentless path of destruction.
>
> At 00 : 20 A.M on the 7th of September 1955 martial law was finally declared,
> at 02 : 00 A.M curfew began and at 02 : 30 A.M the authorities had restored a
> semblance of order.
>
> Screaming slogans <<Today your property, tomorrow your lives>> the mobs had
> perpetrated terrible crimes. Those who guided them knew that by terrorizing the
> last Greek residents of Constantinople they would compel them to desert their
> homeland, once and for all. Simultaneously by destroying monuments which were
> proof of the glorious Greek past of Constantinople, they would eradicate even
> future reminders of the Greek presence.
>

You got it wrong here! Those monuments were stolen by "Ancient ruins
smugglers."Turkey has been loosing its historic ruins to international smugglers
for years now.
They steal and the sell them in Europe.

Sorry, I can't see the pictures!

--
*****************************************************************************

GOD BLESS THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA for the freedom, liberty and justice it
provides for us all and for the protection of democracy and human rights around the
world.

GOD BLESS TURKEY and PROTECT IT from the evil hearted Europeans, Kurds (only the
separatist ones), Armenians (never met a good one), Greeks (some are good & O.K),
Syrians (The Home of the world terrorist trainers), Iranians (only the
fundamentalist SOBs),

(more may be added later depending on the economic condition of Turkey.. :-)

TURK66 // Ilerici Turk Gencligi // Ne Mutlu Turk'um Diyene // YASASIN ATATURK //

YUCE ALLAH TURKIYE'mizi Guclendirsin

*****************************************************************************

[TURK66]

Mr. Asteri,
Please stick to the point! If you can't stay focused,
do not reply to these postings! It seems that you have
a problem with your attention -span.

We are talking about Turkey and Islam here! Not
Cyprus and Islam! I thought you Greeks considered
Cyprus an independent nation.

Neo Asteri wrote:

--

[entr...@hotmail.com]

In every country, Islam is practiced in a different way. In some countries
Islam is practiced in concentrated form, in some countries irt is diluted.
Turkey is amongst the ones where diluted Islam is practiced. In Turkey, women
are free to divorce, wear western type clothings, even mini-skirts, men and
women are together everywhere, alcoholic drinks are produced and sold by even
state companies, everyday life is no dþfferent what it is in USA and Europe
in big cities.. So, Turkey is NOT an Islamic country like yhe rest of Islamic
country. And, effect of Islam will be diluted more to bring Turkey up to a
contemporary western country.

In article <35fcd55a...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>,

s...@hotmail.com (New Yorker) wrote:
> An Average Turk Discribes Himself a Person with Muslim Heritage But
> Not currently Practicing Islam.
>
> Can we consider Turkey an Islamic Country?
>
> I think not, we should Consider Removing Turkey from The UN's Islamic
> Countries Alliance.
>
> Comments ?
>

-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum

[TURK66]

Mr. Asteri,
You certainly seem to have a vast collection of bogus news. Or should I say that
news that only reflects one side of the coin. Keep in mind that every story has
two versions.

In short, the posting here has nothing to do with Turkey and Islam. It talks about
art smuggling out of Cyprus! Wow! I guess Mr. Asteri can't stick to the subject.
But read on.. My comments are below:

Neo Asteri wrote:

> >From: TURK66
>
> >Turkey has a rich Islamic heritage; however, it does not mean that.
> >Turkey is an Islamic country. Turkey recognizes the "freedom of
> >religion." There are many christians, jewish, atheists and even satanic
> >cults/worshipers living in Turkey. However, consider the fact that
> >majority of population living in Turkey are Muslims. In Turkey, the state
> >and the mosque/church/synagogue are separate. The state officials are
> >elected through democratic elections. There are no religious requirements
> >for a state official. I don't recall reading anywhere that you have be a
> >muslim to be elected. The condition is same as anywhere else: you have to
> >be a Turkish citizen to serve in any branch of the gov't. There is
> >however, heavy Islamic tradition in the country and among the Turkish
> >people. Iran for years now has been funding Islamic fudamentalist movment
> >in Turkey. They even funded the political party "Refah Party (RP)" which
> >is now disolved. The goal of this political party was to demolish the
> >current democratic gov't and establish (actually impose) an Islamic
> >regime instead. They have failed. However, Iran does not stop (just like
> >Europeans keeping their promise to keep Turkey "the sick man of Europe")
> >their effort.
> >
> >It would be correct to say that "Turkey has a Muslim population" than
> >calling Turkey "an Islamic country." It is Europeans who would like world
> >to see Turkey as an Islamic country so that they can undermine any
> >economic growth in Turkey to stop foreign investment coming in.
> >
>

> "Freedom of religion"???????!!!!!!, you have been in the United States to long.
> Read this:

> The Plunder of Cyprus
>
> Massive Plundering of Early Christian Art Exposed
>
> By JUDITH MILLER and STEPHEN KINZER
>
> New York Times 1/4/98
>
> <Picture: Monastery of Antiphonitis. Credit: Yves Sieur/Agence-France Presse,
> for The New York Times>KALOGREA, Cyprus -- Nestled among rugged hills
> overlooking the sea near this ancient village, the Monastery of Antiphonitis
> once held some of the world's finest Orthodox frescoes and icons. But today the
> monastery is deserted, and there is no trace of the masterpieces that once
> graced its walls.
>

This is Cyprus. Not TURKEY! Are we confused again? Cyprus =/= Turkey!! Turkey
can't be responsible for Cyprus actions. Besides, World doesn't recognize Norther
Cyprus so why complain! If you are concerned about the condition of historic ruins
and artifacts, you should work with Northern Cyprus not against it.

> To the northeast, at the Church of the Virgin of Kanakaria in the village of
> Lythrangomi, the scene is even more stark. Almost every window has been broken,
> and as a result rain and dust have poured into a building that once possessed
> some of the most important and beautiful works of early Christian art. Pigeons
> and rodents now make their homes where the faithful worshiped for centuries
> amid works of mystic beauty.
>
> These scenes reflect what European police investigators now say is one of the
> most systematic art-looting operations since the Nazis plundered the countries
> they occupied during World War II. The looting of Greek Orthodox churches in
> northern Cyprus, since the region was placed under Turkish military occupation
> in 1974, has brought hundreds of magnificent artworks onto the international
> art market and, in recent months, resulted in a series of spectacular raids by
> the police in Germany.
>
>

Of course! The art-looting operations is a money making operations for many
Europeans. They smuggle these arts to sell in many different auctions in Europe.
Boy, some Europeans sure became millionaires just by smuggling artifacts from
Turkey and Northern Cyprus.

> For years, the whereabouts of many stolen artifacts from northern Cyprus has
> been a subject of rumor and speculation. The answer to some of these mysteries
> may now be found in a locked room behind the antique statuary and Renaissance
> paintings that fill the salons of the Bayerischer Landesmuseum in Munich.
>

You just made my point! Great!

> That room holds one of the world's most impressive collections of stolen Greek
> Orthodox icons. Some are less than a foot square, while others are nearly
>

You said it! not me!

> life-size images of Jesus, the apostles, saints and other holy figures. All
> reflect the spiritual beauty that has made such pieces treasured not only by
> the Orthodox clergy and faithful, but also by art collectors around the world.
>
> This collection was recovered in October by the Bavarian police in the course
> of arresting Aydin Dikman, a 60-year-old Turkish citizen who has lived in
> Germany since 1961. German authorities say he is one of Europe's most prolific
> art thieves. The trove includes more than 140 icons, as well as 10 fragments of
>

Oh Boy! what can I say? Good job by Bavarian Police. Gotta give them credit that
they can catch Turks a lot faster than they can catch Kurdish Terrorist trained by
Syrians and living in Germany for years or the Nazi who burn live Turkish women and
childern.

>

So, do you think Germans will ever return those stolen Goods to Northern
Cyprus?Nope! don't think so!

> Byzantine frescoes depicting Jesus' disciples, carved wooden portals, silver
> crosses, prayer books and 250 other treasures from Orthodox churches on Cyprus.
>
> The Munich collection, which the German police showed to a reporter, is part of
> a hoard of art treasures that officers found when they closed in on Dikman, who
> is accused of systematically plundering the churches' heritage. Appraisers have
> told the police that the fresco fragments alone would bring several million
> dollars each on the open market. The icon collection has been appraised at $3
> million.
>
> "This is the most spectacular case we have seen in Germany or perhaps all of
> Europe in many years," said Peter Kitschler, chief of the art-theft unit of the
> Bavarian police.
>
> The Conquered Island: Disputes Wrapped in Ancient Hatreds
>
> Although Dikman, who is in prison, refused to be interviewed by reporters for
> The New York Times who conducted a monthlong investigation of the Cypriot art
> thefts, the case being built against him by the German police sheds new light
> on the lucrative trade. It may also have effects beyond the art world,
> straining the already tense relations between Greece and Turkey and their
> respective allies on Cyprus. Greek Cypriots accuse Turkish Cypriot officials
> who rule the north of aiding and abetting Dikman's thefts.
>

"Greek Cypriots" accuse. The burden of proof is on your shoulder. Accusing only
won't do any good!

> "The Turks are waging a war against our cultural patrimony," said Demetrio
> Michaelides, associate professor of the University of Cyprus and head of its
> archaeological research unit. "They are trying to erase Greek and Christian
> heritage from the now largely Turkish, Muslim north."
>

Now, give me a break! If there is market for a product, there will be a supply for
that product! This is simple Economics. So obviously, the museum in Munich is the
buyer of stolen goods. Do you think the thieves would continue to steal if they
made no money on the products they stole?

Again, this story is way off tangent here! Why are you posting off the wall issues
(i.e. art smugglers) when we are talking about Islam and Turkey? Just don't make
any sense! Stick to the subject.

> Turkish Cypriots deny such charges and accuse Greek Cypriots of working to
> deprive them of the resources needed to protect their mutual cultural heritage.
>

"Turkish Cypriots"? I thought Greeks and Europe always claimed that there were no
such thing as Greek and Turkish Cypriots. Cypriots are a nation by themselves.
Again the subject is not Cyprus. It is Turkey and Islam.

You know.. I am tired of reading this bullshit off the wall posting.

--

[-Surensoy,E.]

One can practice Islam or any other religion in Turkiye anyway one
wishes to practice as long as one does not use Islam or any other
religion to harm fellow citizens or the security of the republic.

Therefore, Turkiye is not a Muslim, or a Jewish, or a Christian
country, or a country of any religion, even though most of its
citizens are considered Moslem. All citizens of Turkiye have equal
and unaleinable rights and freedoms under the law to practice any
religion any way they wish as long as they do not exploit religions
in any shape or form for their petty benefits.

This still may not 100 percent perfect, but no one country can get
better than that. 99 perecent of the citizens, except for a few
who like to exploit anything and everything for their petty benefits,
are quite happy with that. For all practicall purposes, there is no
such thing as 100 percent perfect any way.

../..

In article <6sv1kk$pre$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com), <entr...@hotmail.com> wrote:
)In every country, Islam is practiced in a different way. In some countries
)Islam is practiced in concentrated form, in some countries irt is diluted.
)Turkey is amongst the ones where diluted Islam is practiced. In Turkey, women
)are free to divorce, wear western type clothings, even mini-skirts, men and
)women are together everywhere, alcoholic drinks are produced and sold by even
)state companies, everyday life is no dþfferent what it is in USA and Europe
)in big cities.. So, Turkey is NOT an Islamic country like yhe rest of Islamic
)country. And, effect of Islam will be diluted more to bring Turkey up to a
)contemporary western country.
)
)
)In article <35fcd55a...@nntp.ix.netcom.com>,
) s...@hotmail.com (New Yorker) wrote:
)> An Average Turk Discribes Himself a Person with Muslim Heritage But
)> Not currently Practicing Islam.
)>
)> Can we consider Turkey an Islamic Country?
)>
)> I think not, we should Consider Removing Turkey from The UN's Islamic
)> Countries Alliance.
)>
)> Comments ?
)>
)
)-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----
)http://www.dejanews.com/rg_mkgrp.xp Create Your Own Free Member Forum

[safa...@shaw.wave.xyz]

s...@hotmail.com (New Yorker) wrote:

>An Average Turk Discribes Himself a Person with Muslim Heritage But

>Not currently Practicing Islam.

>
>Can we consider Turkey an Islamic Country?

Roughly to the extent that we can consider, say, Canada a Christian
country - depends on what exactly the qualifier is understood to mean.

--
To reply, remove 1st xyz, replace 2nd w/ com.

[Tkhoma]

>An Average Turk Discribes Himself a Person with Muslim Heritage But
>Not currently Practicing Islam.

well if turkey is not moslem then what are they? in my opinion it is better to
embrace stupid moslem religion than no religion,

[entr...@hotmail.com]

No religion is better than a stupid religion. Infact, all religions are
stupid.

In article <199809070609...@ladder01.news.aol.com>,

-----== Posted via Deja News, The Leader in Internet Discussion ==-----

[hamdi Ogut]

entr...@hotmail.com wrote:
>
> No religion is better than a stupid religion. Infact, all religions are
> stupid.

If so, your religion (life style) is also included in,
You cant be that stupid claiming that you have the clever one(?)

hamdi

[MACREAU]

>Well, "taxation-of-non-muslims"?? I can't believe you say that. If you live
>in
>Turkeyand earn a living, you have to pay taxes. There is no such thing as
>"Free
>lunch."

Turk66,

You are very ignorant men. Why don't you ask your elders i.e. your father, your
grand dad, etc. about VARLIK VERGISI and ASKALE?

The taxation of "Gayri muslims" (non-Muslims) had nothing to do with paying
regular taxes. It was a tax just for the minorities in order to break them
further.....

[TURK66]

But Of course! for centuries, minorities were exempt from many laws and
regulations that were applicable to local natives. When Turkish people travel
priviliges were limited, minorities were given a special privilige to travel
abroad. Many Import & Export companies today in Turkey belong to minorities.
When local population could barely find employment, minorities were cashing-in
the big bucks by way of exports. It is only fair to tax those who have never
been taxed before.

VARLIK VERGISI meaning "personal asset taxation" which was new at the time
is proper and legal. If you don't have much, you should not complain much.
Or if you are wealthy, it is only proper for you to pay your fair share. After all,

where and how did you make your wealth?

MACREAU wrote:

> >Well, "taxation-of-non-muslims"?? I can't believe you say that. If you live
> >in
> >Turkeyand earn a living, you have to pay taxes. There is no such thing as
> >"Free
> >lunch."
>

[Nevzat Akdemir]

MACREAU wrote:

> Turk66,
>
> You are very ignorant men. Why don't you ask your elders i.e. your father, your
> grand dad, etc. about VARLIK VERGISI and ASKALE?
>
> The taxation of "Gayri muslims" (non-Muslims) had nothing to do with paying
> regular taxes. It was a tax just for the minorities in order to break them
> further.....

On the other hand a Turkish man went to military duty for fifteen years and
your people stayed home just pay that extra tax.

If you have just a bit of brains you can see the outcome of these practices.

nevzat

[never...@my-dejanews.com]

> GOD BLESS TURKEY and PROTECT IT from the evil hearted Europeans, Kurds (only
the
> separatist ones

And god help the Kurds who have no right to speak their own language in
Turkey. Who are 15 million people out of 60 million in Turkey (thats 1/4 if
you don't know some math) and don't have a sigle TV channel for them. That
kurdish children don't even study the history of the kurdish people in
Turkey.

But i would n't blaim you, you are a racist person.

>, Armenians (never met a good one),

Good Turk oglu, don't forget to include me ;) azizem.

[Robert Perrett]

> Turkey has a rich Islamic heritage; however, it does not mean that.
> Turkey is an Islamic country. Turkey recognizes the "freedom of
> religion." There are many christians, jewish, atheists and even satanic
> cults/worshipers living in Turkey. However, consider the fact that
> majority of population living in Turkey are Muslims. In Turkey, the state
> and the mosque/church/synagogue are separate. The state officials are
> elected through democratic elections. There are no religious requirements
> for a state official. I don't recall reading anywhere that you have be a
> muslim to be elected. The condition is same as anywhere else: you have to
> be a Turkish citizen to serve in any branch of the gov't. There is
> however, heavy Islamic tradition in the country and among the Turkish
> people. Iran for years now has been funding Islamic fudamentalist movment
> in Turkey. They even funded the political party "Refah Party (RP)" which
> is now disolved. The goal of this political party was to demolish the
> current democratic gov't and establish (actually impose) an Islamic
> regime instead. They have failed. However, Iran does not stop (just like
> Europeans keeping their promise to keep Turkey "the sick man of Europe")
> their effort.

Some thing tells you not to trust Europeans. The Europeans wanted Turkey to
be a Colony. It did not become one. The Europeans like to think of themselves
better than anyone in the world. The Japanese and Turks prove them wrong.

>
>
> It would be correct to say that "Turkey has a Muslim population" than
> calling Turkey "an Islamic country." It is Europeans who would like world
> to see Turkey as an Islamic country so that they can undermine any
> economic growth in Turkey to stop foreign investment coming in.
>

Why?

[KEY2LIGHT]

Turks are in reality not muslims but come from ansestry. Islam is the perfect
way of life and many people realizing this convert to Islam which is why it is
the fastest growing religion in the world.

[KEY2LIGHT]

Turkey is an insult to Islam.

[Tkhoma]

let me correct you islam is not the fastest religion in the world,and also is
not the way of life , look what is going on in afganistan,saudia,iran
arabia,sudan and other country that adapt islam,
islam religion is based on violence,unfair toward minorities,women,and
democracy,
if islam was perfect way of life then why would 99% of moslems choose to live
in christian counties and one of them is yourself even though moslem
countries tend to be richer than christian countries, if you go to any moslem
country you would see the christian embassies are croweded with moslem seeking
to leave ,and how many christians you have seen seeking to live in a moslem
countrie the answer is none, my friend i suggest you should live in afganistan
or iran or other moslem country to realize how bad it is to live under islam
even though iran and afganstan adapt sharia( islamic law) ,islam does not
bring life but certain death,when would you realize that islam is nothing but
hell!!!!!!!!

[InSearc...@webtv.net]

http://www.hizb-ut-tahrir.org/leaflets/english/turkey-070897.htm

[RALPETT]

you are an insult to Islam

[SALIHA1]

You know it all explain why not.. because they don't close their hair.So what
are you?Cristian

[-Surensoy,E.]

Turkiye is not a Muslim, or Jewish, or Christian country, or a
country of any religion what so ever; Turkiye is country of
religious freedom. The rights and freedoms of a person under the
law in Turkiye is not determined by any religion or by race,
language, color of skin, gender, et cetera.

In Turkiye it is unlawful to exploit any religion for personal,
political, racial, national, et cetera benefits.

[Ayhan Demiriz]

>
> In Turkiye it is unlawful to exploit any religion for personal,

^^^^^^^^

> political, racial, national, et cetera benefits.
>
>

So where is the freedom of religion? if they don't even allow personal
exploit or understanding the religion personally and telling other people.
I like this country (I mean US), because It does not misinterpret the word
secularism as atheism like Europeans do. So go and live in Europe young
man. Leave this country to us.

regards,

[Hamuton]

You dont know anything about our religion, please read koran and think.

ROJDA