Kamil Pasha

Photo from Newsweek, Berthold Steinhilber/Laif-Redux

An exciting new archaeological find in Turkey that might rewrite human history. Click here for the full article from Newsweek. Excerpt:

…The archaeologist Klaus Schmidt has uncovered a vast and beautiful temple complex [in Göbekli Tepe in southeastern Turkey on the Harran Plain near the border with Syria], a structure so ancient that it may be the very first thing human beings ever built. The site isn’t just old, it redefines old: the temple was built 11,500 years ago—a staggering 7,000 years before the Great Pyramid, and more than 6,000 years before Stonehenge first took shape. The ruins are so early that they predate villages, pottery, domesticated animals, and even agriculture—the first embers of civilization….

After a dozen years of patient work, Schmidt has uncovered what he thinks is definitive proof that a huge ceremonial site flourished here, a “Rome of the Ice Age,” as he puts it, where hunter-gatherers met to build a complex religious community. Across the hill, he has found carved and polished circles of stone, with terrazzo flooring and double benches. All the circles feature massive T-shaped pillars that evoke the monoliths of Easter Island. Though not as large as Stonehenge—the biggest circle is 30 yards across, the tallest pillars 17 feet high—the ruins are astonishing in number… 50 of the huge pillars,… according to carbon dating, are the oldest monumental artworks in the world…

[T]he site is almost covered in graceful, naturalistic sculptures and bas-reliefs of the animals that were central to the imagination of hunter-gatherers. Wild boar and cattle are depicted, along with… lions, foxes, and leopards. Many of the biggest pillars are carved with arms, including shoulders, elbows, and jointed fingers…

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(Click here for full article) Excerpt:

In most countries… the number of employed women has gone up significantly since the 1980s. But in Turkey, the number has spiraled downward from 34.3 percent in 1988 to 21.6 percent in 2008. In 2006 there were fewer women participating in the Turkish economy than in any other country in the OECD, or for that matter in Europe and the Central Asian region…

Studies show that increasing the number of women who are actively employed in Turkey would reduce poverty and increase national economic output…

Urbanization and declining agricultural employment are seen as one cause of the shrinking female workforce in Turkey…. Appalling working conditions, low salaries, long working hours and lack of affordable childcare make the situation for urban working women difficult…

The “Female Labor Participation” report argues that the Turkish government can encourage more women to work by removing barriers to businesses hiring women, increasing female education levels and making it easier for women to get out of the home and seek employment….

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On Friday, in a second wave of detentions in thirteen Turkish cities, 17 active-duty military officers and one retired officer were detained by police in their investigation of the Balyoz (Sledgehammer) Operation that allegedly outlined a coup plot against the government in 2003. Two of the top generals arrested in the first wave of (49) arrests were released from detention.

UPDATE SATURDAY:

Two retired generals, including alleged plot leader Çetin Doğan, were charged in court Friday and jailed pending trial.

The number of suspects jailed by the court is 33 out of the 49 arrested on Monday. 15 have been released, including former marine and air force commanders.

Another 18 soldiers, mostly junior officers, were rounded up Friday in a second wave of arrests and were due to appear before prosecutors in Istanbul over the weekend.

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The satirical magazine Leman’s cover this week:

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This morning’s three-hour meeting between Turkey’s top general, İlker Başbuğ, Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and President Abdullah Gül regarding the crisis created by the arrests of nearly fifty military officers, produced no fireworks, only reasoned calm. A statement issued by the President’s Office after the meetings said only that they “discussed the controversial events of the past few days in detail” and that “a solution to the problems will be found in accordance with the law and within the framework of the constitution to ensure the safety of our citizens, and during this process everyone will act responsibly to ensure that institutions are not worn down.” (click here, in Turkish, here in English with video)

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For full CSMonitor article, click here. Excerpt:

Twelve high-ranking Turkish military officers were charged Wednesday with a coup plot to topple Turkey’s Islamic-rooted government… The Istanbul court decision came after the controversial arrest of some 50 senior military officers on Monday on suspicion of discussing plans in 2003 to overthrow the government…

Those facing trial now include five admirals (two retired), an ex-Army general, and two retired colonels. Questioning continues of other senior officers including former chiefs of the Navy, Air Force and Special Forces…The arrests on Monday marked the first time that currently serving military officers have been arrested…

[T]he military appears to be losing the confidence of the Turkish public,” says [Turkey analyst Fadi] Hakura. “In the last opinion poll, 63 percent of Turks expressed confidence towards the military, which compared to previous levels of 80 to 90 percent is a dramatic decline.”..

Analysts say the zeal of the judiciary—and the fact that much of the evidence about the alleged “Operation Sledgehammer” has been leaked to the media—have raised alarm bells. Much of the evidence against the arrested men consists of transcripts and audiotapes of a March 2003 seminar.

“[T]here are legitimate concerns that perhaps the government may be pushing for a confrontation with the military, to try to undermine the reputation of the military,” says Mr. Hakura.

“A pattern of events seems to be emerging,” says analyst Hakura. “If we compare the early AKP, when [it] first came to power in 2002, it was a very reformist party. It pursued extensive democratic and legal reforms in Turkey. In comparison to its previous rule, one can see a change toward less reform, and perhaps greater confrontational politics.”..

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This post has been updated three times.

The top brass — generals and admirals — have called an emergency meeting today [Tuesday] to discuss the arrests of their members. (click here, in Turkish) In a brief statement, the army stated that they had discussed this “serious situation”.

UPDATE (Wednesday): Immediately upon returning from his official visit to Spain Tuesday night, Prime Minister Erdogan held a nearly two-hour midnight meeting at his home with Ministers of State Cemil Çiçek and Hayati Yazıcı, Justice Minister Sadullah Ergin and Culture and Tourism Minister Ertuğrul Atalay, who briefed him on the arrests. A joint meeting between Erdogan and the Army Chief of Staff General İlker Başbuğ is expected tomorrow, but may be moved up to today. (click here, in Turkish)

The seven senior generals generals have been formally charged and jailed (Click here) where they are being kept in comfortable rooms and reportedly have college educated police officers assigned to them. (click here)

AKP member of parliament from Çorum, Ahmet Aydoğmuş, is being investigated for saying that “anyone who goes against the government has bad blood” (literally flawed blood: kanı bozuk — meaning either a morally flawed person or a person not sharing the same blood, i.e. race/ethnicity). (click here, in Turkish)

Here’s an overview from the BBC.

Wednesday Update: President Gul has asked for an 11 am (Ankara time) summit meeting tomorrow with PM Erdogan and Army Chief of Staff General İlker Başbuğ.

Unsubstantiated rumors  are circulating in the media and on blogs (like this one) that all current commanders — four-star generals — plan to resign en masse to protest the arrests.

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A minor was sentenced to seven years and six months in prison on charges of stealing a packet of cigarettes, daily Milliyet reported Sunday.

A letter sent by the 13-year-old, identified only by his initials O.G., to a member of the Parliamentary Human Rights Inspection Commission revealed that the minor has been in a prison in the central Anatolian province of Kayseri for two years now… (click here)

There’s some good news. A Diyarbakir court has issued a decision that the children between ages 15 and 17 that had been arrested for throwing stones at a demonstration for the captured PKK leader Abdullah Ocalan were too young to know what they were doing and the consequences of their actions. Prosecutors had requested up to 14 years in prison for the children. (click here, in Turkish) It is not clear whether this will affect the status of other children who have been arrested. (click here)

But when it comes to Kurdish journalists, the court’s response is less than balanced, to put it mildly.

The prosecution has requested 525 years in prison for Vedat Kursun, former head of the daily Kurdish newspaper Azadiya Welat. He is accused of publishing articles “glorifying crimes and criminals” and “helping the PKK in their propaganda.” Kursun has been detained for 13 months and is awaiting the verdict from a court in Diyarbakir, which is in eastern Turkey. Kursun’s successor at Azadiya Welat was sentenced to 21 years in prison on Feb. 12 on similar charges. (click here)

The courts are busy these days.

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Retired Army Lt. Col. Süleyman Oral Özçağatay allegedly shot his wife, Hatice Canan, and his two daughters early Tuesday morning with his service pistol, and then himself. He apparently had been sending text messages shortly before his death. They lived in the town of Çanakkale.

Özçağatay is the eighth member of the Turkish Armed Forces to have committed suicide since January 2009. (There also have been attempted suicides, and some suicides are thought to have been suspicious. See my post here.) Several of the others had been linked to the suspected Ergenekon gang, which allegedly sought to topple the government. Özçağatay retired from active duty four years ago. There have been no reports of links between Özçağatay and the Ergenekon case. (click here)

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