TSK, GÜLEN, AND ROJ TV

"Thought that is silenced is always rebellious. Majorities, of course, are often mistaken. This is why the silencing of minorities is necessarily dangerous. Criticism and dissent are the indispensable antidote to major delusions."
~ Alan Barth.

He's back. American vice chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff is in Ankara to chum around with Büyükanıt and Saygun, from AFP:

ANKARA (AFP) — A senior US general arrived here Thursday on a a one-day visit for talks with his Turkish counterparts on efforts to root out Kurdish rebels based in northern Iraq, a US embassy official said.

General James Cartwright, vice chairman of the US Joint Chiefs of Staff, will "discuss standard issues that concern both militaries, including the ongoing struggle against the Kurdistan Workers' Party (PKK) and ongoing intelligence sharing," an embassy spokeswoman told AFP.

Cartwright would meet with the head of the Turkish army, General Yasar Buyukanit, and his number two, General Ergin Saygun, she said.

The United States has been supplying Turkey with intelligence to counter the PKK which uses rear bases in Kurdish-populated northern Iraq for attacks on Turkish targets.

With US assistance, the Turkish military has stepped up its campaign against the PKK since December, carrying out several air raids on rebel targets in Iraq as well as a week-long cross-border ground operation targeting a major PKK base.

More from Gülen's daily, Zaman, Friday edition:

This is the third visit to Ankara by Cartwright since November, ahead of Turkey’s first air strike into northern Iraq in order to eliminate the PKK bases there. On Nov. 20, Cartwright, along with Gen. David Petraeus, the top commander of US forces in Iraq, visited Ankara and discussed measures to crack down on the PKK with Turkish Deputy Chief of General Staff Gen. Ergin Saygun.

Cartwright’s next visit to Ankara was in February at a time when talks between the United States, Turkey and Iraq were intensified ahead of Turkey’s ground incursion into Iraq. Cartwright yesterday met with both Chief of General Staff Gen. Yaşar Büyükanıt and Saygun. In November, following a landmark White House meeting between Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and US President George W. Bush, it was announced that Saygun, his US counterpart, Cartwright, and Petraeus would be part of an intelligence network that will work to wipe out PKK bases in Iraq. The network has been facilitating the flow of intelligence information between the military forces.

Expect an intensification of fascist TSK operations in the coming months, bearing in mind that the Şirnak, Siirt, and Hakkari regions have already been experiencing intense operations.

There is more info on Fethullah Gülen's US immigration case, in English, from TDN:

U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania Judge Stewart Dalzell ruled in favor of Immigration Services. Upon the verdict, Gülen, the leader of a religious movement with interests in the media and education sector, needs to leave the United States in one month's time. However, the time Gülen can illegally stay in the country can go as high as six months.

Gülen's financial resources were detailed in the public prosecutor's arguments, which claimed that Saudi Arabia, Iran, the Turkish government, and the Central Intelligence Agency, or CIA, were behind the Gülen movement. It stated that some businessmen in Ankara donated 10 to 70 percent of their annual income to the movement and that it corresponded to $20,000 to $300,000 per year per person. It added that one businessman in Istanbul donated $4-5 million each year and that young people graduating from Gülen's schools donated between $2,000 and $5,000 each year.

The Israeli Memri Blog, disagrees:

Immediately following Fethullah Gulen’s acquittal in Turkey by the Supreme Court in June 24, Turkish media widely reported on the status of Fethullah Gulen’s case pending in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

Reports in mainstream Turkish media stated that the federal court had ruled against Fethullah Gulen and in favor of the U.S. government agencies and that he faces imminent deportation. Court records reveal that the action remains pending and the court has not yet entered a decision on the claims filed by Gulen. In fact briefs were submitted by both parties as recently as June 25, 2008.

Many of the press reports purported to summarize the court’s reasoning in denying Gulen’s claims, whereas a ruling is not expected for several months. These misrepresentations raise questions as to which circles were feeding this news to the media and to serve what purpose.

It appears that MEMRI is defending old Hoca, which raises questions as to what purpose is it doing so? After all, MEMRI never questions the TSK's official media propaganda. MEMRI notes that the news of Gülen's immigration status broke immediately after his acquittal in a Turkish court. The trial had been ongoing for seven years on charges that Gülen had formed a "terrorist organization" (Anti-Terrorism Law, No. 3713).

Gülen himself appeared to be happy with the court's decision, not only for himself, but because the decision may also get Abdullah Gül off the hook in at least part of the closure case against AKP:

Gülen pointed out that with this decision, visiting Turkish schools associated with the Gülen movement would not be considered a crime. He was referring to the closure case filed by the chief public prosecutor against the ruling Justice and Development Party (AK Party) in which President Abdullah Gül was cited as visiting Turkish schools abroad while he was foreign minister, an act that allegedly violated the secular principles of the Constitution.

Of course, now that Gülen has been acquitted, there's no reason for him to remain in the US and he has absolutely no need for an I-140 visa, is there?

In other news, Goran at Mideast Youth has an excellent summary of Nazi Germany's ban of Roj TV. The ban is suspicious to say the least, particularly since Denmark has been investigating Turkish (and American) claims against Roj TV for years now:

However, separate decisions made after investigations in Denmark have denied such claims. After multiple requests from the Turkish Radio and Television Supreme Council (RTSC), the Denmark Media Secretariat - an institution of the Denmark Ministry of Culture - issued a document that concluded that none of the complaints justified closure of the Kurdish broadcast station. Denmark authorities concluded in the document that although the station often shows violent footage in it’s broadcasts as claimed, “they represent the violence that actually exists in Turkey and in Kurdish areas.” They concluded that although the broadcasts may have an “unpleasant effect on the Turkish authorities,” they are completely “unexaggerated” and there are no proofs that the station is causing “incitement” through their reporting.

Bijî Denmark!

How exactly is Nazi Germany going to enforce the ban? Let's see, Roj TV is banned in Turkey, including Turkey's internal colony Kurdistan. Turkey used to go around destroying or confiscating satellite dishes to prevent Kurds watching Roj. Turkey has always attempted to jam Roj TV's frequencies. Yet Kurds continue to watch Roj. We watched Roj every day in Turkish-occupied Kurdistan, so if Turkey is still trying to fight the losing battle by jamming frequencies, it doesn't appear to be working very well.

This brings us back to the question: How exactly is Nazi Germany going to enforce the ban? By destroying satellite dishes? By confiscating them? By jamming Roj's broadcast frequencies? It reminds me of an idiot standing on a beach, trying to hold back the tide.

Perhaps the more interesting question is: What did Nazi Germany get from Turkey in order for it to go to the trouble of standing on the beach and trying to hold back the tide?