Hellenic American Leadership Council

Continuing HALC’s “Best & Worst” of the week series, here are the nominees for this week. Every Friday, HALC’s Facebook community votes on who should win each category. The results are announced on our Facebook page every Monday. The nominees are:

BEST OF THE WEEK NOMINEES

1. Volunteers in Greece

The first spot on our Best of the Week Nominee list goes to volunteers in Greece for providing goods and looking after the health of those affected by the economic crisis:

The economic crisis appears to have generated a new spirit of volunteerism in Greece, a country where this social activity has not been particularly widespread in the past.

A survey made public on Tuesday suggested that there has been a 44 percent increase in the number of Greeks taking part in volunteer projects since 2010, when Greece signed up to the EU-IMF bailout.

The opinion poll, carried out by QED for the Human Grid, a scheme set up by the TEDx Athens discussion forum, found that the most noticeable rises in volunteerism were in providing goods and looking after the health of those worst affected by the crisis. However, taking part in environmental and cultural projects were also popular.

2. Actor Russell Crowe

Our second nomination goes to actor Russell Crowe for visiting the island of Mykonos and praising it via Twitter:

Reports of Oscar-winning Russell Crowe vacationing on the cosmopolitan Aegean island of Myconos earlier this week were accompanied by tweets from the actor himself.

“How is it that I’ve lived 49 years on this planet but never been to the Greek Islands before. So beautiful. Yassou Mykonos I will return,” wrote the New-Zealand-born, Australia-based actor on his Twitter account, which is followed by over 950,000 people, on Tuesday.

3. Journalist Nicholas Burns

Journalist Nicholas Burns rounds out our best of the week nominee list for writing an eye-opening, scathing anti-Golden Dawn op-ed piece in The Boston Globe:

In Athens, a popular far-right party condemns Jews as a source of the country’s misfortune and recycles the ancient lie depicting them as “Christ killers.” In Hungary, the prime minister fails to disassociate himself convincingly from an anti-Semitic and increasingly powerful fascist group. Scenes from Europe in the 1930s? No. Both examples, sadly, of European politics today.

The Greek organization is Golden Dawn, now the third most popular party in the birthplace of democracy. The Hungarian party is Jobbik, which is rising in influence. Nearly 70 years after the defeat of Hitler, Mussolini, and European fascism in the Second World War, hateful, right-wing ideology has returned in nearly every European country. While none of these parties is strong enough to win power, they are often violent and aggressive. And they are intolerant of immigrants, Jews, and other minority groups that don’t fit their twisted definition of what Greeks, Hungarians, and other Europeans should look like.

Vote for your choices now! Click here to vote on our Facebook page!

WORST OF THE WEEK NOMINEES

1. Golden Dawn MP Panayiotis Iliopoulos

Golden Dawn MP Panayiotis Iliopoulos is our first worst of the week nominee for attempting to bring a loaded weapon into Parliament, despite recent warnings against such behavior:

Amid growing concerns that Golden Dawn MPs are attending parliamentary sessions armed, the Eleftherotypia newspaper has reported that one of the extreme-right party’s MPs was asked to put away his gun whilst driving into parliament.The weapon was placed on the passenger seat of the car being driven by the unnamed MP into parliament’s underground parking.

The policeman who guards the area noticed the gun and asked the MP to put it away.

The MP reportedly drove on, replying: “I prefer to get someone first, before they get me.”

Syriza’s Petros Tsatsopoulos and Pasok’s Paris Koukoulopoulos have in the past warned that Golden Dawn MPs have been entering parliament armed.

2. Philosopher Slavoj Zizek

Slovenian philosopher Slavoz Zizek  lands the second spot on our worst of the week nominee list for proposing a ‘gulag’ for those who do not support SYRIZA:

Slovenian philosopher Slavoj Zizek has caused controversy in Greece by suggesting that he would send anyone who does not support SYRIZA to a “gulag”.

Zizek met with SYRIZA leader Alexis Tsipras in Croatia last week when the pair were taking part in the Subversive Festival. Tsipras also met US director Oliver Stone there.

During a panel discussion with Tsipras, Zizek expressed his appreciation for SYRIZA. The academic had appeared alongside Tsipras in Athens ahead of last summer’s national elections as well.

3. The Turkish judiciary

The Turkish judiciary system lands the last spot on our worst of the week nominee list for convicting and jailing an Armenian blogger based on the absurd charge of blasphemy:

A Turkish-Armenian blogger vowed to appeal a day after an Istanbul court sentenced him to more than a year in prison for blasphemy.In a phone interview with CNN, Sevan Nisanyan accused Turkey’s Islamic-rooted government of politically persecuting him.

“When I attacked the Islamist establishment they felt I overstepped my boundaries,” said Nisanyan, who is a member of Turkey’s tiny Armenian ethnic minority. “Here I am an Armenian doing something no Armenian has done in a Muslim country. This is really the height of boldness, of impudence. This is something you are not supposed to do.”

Remarks by Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou  

Hellenic American Leadership Council, Dir. of International Affairs

Harvard University, Affiliate Scholar

 Briefing on “The State of Religious Freedom and Human Rights Abuses in the Eastern Mediterranean”

 Before the Congressional Caucus on Hellenic-Israeli Affairs of the United States House of Representatives

 Rayburn House Office Building

May 15, 2012

Chairman Bilirakis and Chairman Deutch:

Good afternoon.  Let me begin by thanking you and the Caucus for the invitation to brief you on the state of religious freedom and human rights (freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief) in the Eastern Mediterranean. As a former Commissioner and Vice Chair of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom and as a current member of the State Department’s Religion and Foreign Policy Working Group on Strategic Dialogue with Civil Society, I am especially concerned with the egregious violations in religious freedom in some countries of the Eastern Mediterranean.  I particularly appreciate the opportunity to be able to brief you on these violations, against the backdrop of the April 30 release of 2013 Annual Report of the US Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF).

As you know, the Eastern Mediterranean is a region of enormous geo-strategic importance for the United States.  In this regional intersection of the three continents of Europe, Asia, and Africa, US foreign policy concerns of energy security, intelligence gathering, and counter-terrorism cannot be understood apart from religious freedom and human rights conditions.  The stability and security of key US allies and stalwart friends, such as Israel, Greece, and the Republic of Cyprus, is affected by religious freedom and human rights conditions in the region, particularly given egregious violations in countries that have long been considered US allies (Egypt and Turkey) and given the regional spillover effects related to the civil war and sectarian violence that has shattered Syria.

Let me turn to the current state of freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief in three cases of special concern in the Eastern Mediterranean: Syria, Turkey, and Turkish-occupied Cyprus.  I’d like to provide you with basic facts on the ground in these countries, and certainly, in the Q & A, I’d be glad to discuss possible US policy options to address religious freedom and human rights conditions in those cases.

Syria: Current State of Freedom of Thought, Conscience, and Religion or Belief

Conditions of religious freedom and human rights have degenerated precipitously since the Syrian uprising began over two years ago.  The humanitarian crisis in Syria is colossal—almost 80,000 killed, more than 3.6 million internally displaced persons (IDPs), and approximately 1.3 million Syrian refugees (as well as Iraqi refugees from Syria) in neighboring countries.

The international community, including the ICRC, the UN Human Rights Council’s Independent International Commission of Inquiry on the Syrian Arab Republic, and numerous NGOs, concur that the Assad regime has committed wholesale human rights violations, under the 1949 Geneva Conventions and Additional Protocol I, including extrajudicial killings, rape and torture.  These human rights crimes have taken on a sectarian cast, given that the Alewite minority community, a heterodox offshoot of Shia Islam, dominates the Assad regime, while the opposition is overwhelmingly Sunni Muslim.

The conflict has all but eliminated Syria’s religious diversity, as the Christian minority which constitutes 10% of the Syrian population, has been, literally, caught in the crossfire of the Alewite-Sunni violence and as Muslim extremists have labeled Christians as Assad collaborators, simply for having attempted to maintain a neutral stance in what is a Muslim civil war. The ancient Christian cities of Aleppo and Homs have all but been emptied of Christians, who have taken refuge in Lebanon and Jordan (most avoid Turkey, given that country’s record of genocide against its Christian population).  Most Syrian Christians see the choice now as one of leaving the country or of risking an uncertain and dangerous future.

One of the sharpest indicators of the targeting of religious minorities, and especially, Christian minorities, is the abduction of the Syriac Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, Yohanna Ibrahim, and the Greek Orthodox Archbishop of Aleppo, Boulos Yazigi three weeks ago by armed assailants who are believed to be part of the opposition fighting against the Assad regime.  The two religious leaders remain missing, and most evidence points to the work of foreign fighters embedded in the radical opposition, led by the al Nusra Front (officially designated a terrorist organization by the US State Department), an organization that calls for the implementation of a Sharia state in Syria.

Chairman Bilirakis and Deutch, the hemorrhage of Christians from Syria, lands where they have lived for millennia, was prefigured by the earlier flight of Jews from Syria of the Assad dictatorship.  And the current targeting of Christians by jihadi militants masquerading as opposition to the Assad dictatorship is a worrying sign for the future of Sunni and Alewite Syrians who do not subscribe to the extremist vision of an al Qaeda Sharia state in the Eastern Mediterranean.

The 2013 Annual Report of the USCIRF did not designate Syria a CPC, although a recently published USCIRF Special Report on Protecting and Promoting Religious Freedom in Syria suggested this possibility.

And, regrettably, as of this briefing today, the USCIRF has been totally silent on the abduction of the two Orthodox Christian Archbishops.

Turkey & Turkish-Occupied Cyprus: Current State of Religious Freedom & Human Rights

Religious freedom and human rights conditions in Turkey and Turkish-occupied Cyprus continue to be defined by egregious and systematic violations, despite the recent decision of the USCIRF in its 2013 Annual Report to give Turkey what amounts to a free pass on its religious freedom violations.

Whereas the 2012 USCIRF Annual Report had identified “the Turkish government‘s systematic and egregious limitations on the freedom of religion or belief that affect all religious communities in Turkey, and particularly threaten the country‘s non-Muslim religious minorities,” as the basis for designating Turkey a Country of Particular Concern (CPC), there was an unprecedented two-tier upgrade of Turkey in the 2013 Annual Report, across Watch List and to the Other Countries and Regions Monitored category—based on the position that “Turkey is moving in a positive direction with regard to religious freedom.”

This position, Chairman Bilirakis and Deutch, is patently false, if one takes a look at the facts on the ground in Turkey.  Indeed, only this past week, Turkish officials confirmed the discovery of an assassination plot against Ecumenical Patriarch Bartholomew; an investigation is now underway, with one suspect detained and another two suspects at large, in a plot that was designed to murder the Ecumenical Patriarch on May 29, the date marking the 560th anniversary of the conquest of Constantinople by the Ottoman Turks.

More broadly, the persecution of the Ecumenical Patriarch and the Greek Orthodox Christian minority in Turkey has continued unabated over the last year.  The Greek Orthodox theological school of Halki remains closed, despite the regular repetition by Turkish officials to reopen the school 42 years after its closing.  The Turkish government also continues to reject the Ecumenicity of the Ecumenical Patriarch and insists that future candidates for the Greek Orthodox hierarchy and position of the Patriarch be Turkish citizens. (Incidentally, there is no such requirement in the Turkish constitution; instead, Turkey puts forward this claim based on a law on the books for the municipality of Istanbul, which says that all employees of the municipality be citizens; so, by this logic, Turkey considers the Ecumenical Patriarch and members of the Patriarchal Synod to be “employess of the Istanbul municipality).

Given the precipitous decline in the number of Greek Orthodox Christians in Turkey to between 1,700 and 2,000, and the termination of any option for training clergy at Halki, the government of Turkey has effectively designed a formula aimed at the eradication of this ancient Christian community and Patriarchate.

In general, Christians in Turkey continue to face a range of restrictions and violations of their rights of freedom of belief, worship, and practice.  Emblematic examples include the failure of the of Turkish to return the entire territory of the Mor Gabriel Monastery to the Syriac Orthodox Church, as well as delays in permitting the Syriac community to construct another church for their use; and Protestant and Roman Catholic Christians continue to face restrictions under the foundations laws in the use of their foundation properties for religious activities, which effectively prevents them from publicly practicing their faith. Hate crimes against Armenian Orthodox Christians continue seven years after the murder of Armenian journalist and human rights activist Hrant Dink.  Armenian Orthodox Christians report rising fears in the climate of impunity against them, given cases like the recent murder of an 84-year-old Armenian woman who was found dead in her Istanbul home with a cross carved into her chest.

The Turkish government has moved aggressively to send a message that Christian worship is unwelcome in Turkey, given the conversion of the 13th-century Greek Orthodox Church of Aghia Sophia in Trabzon into a mosque, along with threats to hold a referendum on changing the great Byzantine Orthodox Cathedral of Aghia Sophia in Istanbul into a functioning mosque.

The Jewish minority in Turkey also faces increasing state and societal expressions of anti-Semitism, a turn away from the historical trendline of outward tolerance towards Jews in Turkey.  Prime Minister Erdogan and members of his government have been consistent in their insidious use of anti-Semitic language and tropes.  The most recent example is the Turkish Prime Minister’s reference to Zionism as a crime against humanity, at a UN conference on tolerance this past April; this follows on his claims about the participation of Turkish Jews in the Israeli Defense Force actions on the Mavi Marmari flotilla incident.  The Turkish government’s suggestion that Turkish Jews have a dual loyalty to Turkey and Israel has intensified a climate of hatred towards Jews in Turkey.

The Alewite minority in Turkey, which comprises between 20-25% of the population, continue to experience violations of religious freedom.  The Turkish government continued to impose legal prohibitions on registration of Alewite places of worship as cemevis.  And there was no legal or constitutional resolution of Alewite requests for consistent application of an alternative to compulsory religious education classes in Islam in public primary and secondary schools.  State-funded construction of Hanafi Sunni Mosques in Alevi villages also continued unabated.

Broader human rights violations continue to be reported by rights groups in Turkey.  The July 2012 judicial package that had been expected to address the prosecutorial abuses that make Turkey one of the world’s worst violators of freedom of expression did not make adjustments.  Instead, the Turkish government resorted with greater frequency to the use of Article 216/3 of the Turkish penal code as a blasphemy law, indicated by the conviction of virtuoso pianist Fazil Say for postings to his Twitter account that the government deemed insulting to Islam.

Although Turkey’s Constitutional Reconciliation Commission (AUK/CPC) has currently drafted the fourth version of the new Constitution, human rights experts in Turkey report that that there has been no progress on the whole range of issues that would potentially improve affect the religious freedom rights of the country’s religious minorities.  This is despite the fact that representatives of the Ecumenical Patriarchate, the Syriac Orthodox Patriarchate, the Chief Rabbinate, and the Alewite communities submitted proposals to a sub-committee of the AUK/CPC.  Overall, the pace and content of the Constitutional reform process in Turkey suggests that the Turkish government is unwilling to remedy the human rights and religious freedom violations that earned it a CPC designation by the USCIRF in 2012 and a facts-ignoring, political upgrade in 2013.

Turning to Turkish-occupied Cyprus, let me be succinct: The extent of violations of religious freedom targeted at the non-Muslim, Christian minorities (overwhelming Greek Orthodox, but including, as well, Armenian Orthodox, Roman Catholic, and Maronite Christians) is unrivalled in any part of the Eastern Mediterranean.  Turkey, with assistance from the Turkish-Cypriot local administration, has conducted a systematic, deliberate, comprehensive policy of religious cleansing against Christians, in Turkish-occupied Cyprus, such that all traces of living Christians and the religious and cultural history of Christianity, are being expunged in the occupation zone.

A few facts are illustrative, many of which were reported by the USCIRF on its visit to occupied Cyprus in 2011 and which were reported in detail in the 2012 Report of the UN Special Rapporteur on Freedom of Religion or Belief on his mission to Cyprus.

There has been no progress on rehabilitation of the more than 500 churches, monasteries, and religious sites desecrated in the occupation zone.  The impunity associated with such acts of destruction and vandalism is aggravated by the presence of plainclothes security personnel taking photographs of the enclaved Greek Orthodox Christians when they attend church services.  The UN Special Rapporteur’s report notes such surveillance when he met with Armenian Orthodox Christians; the Armenian monastery in Halefka remains in a state of dangerous disrepair because the Turkish authorities refuse to permit its restoration.  Religious leaders from all Christian communities are prevented from freely crossing the Green Line to visit and minister to the enclaved population, due to a suffocating permission process that is defined by arbitrary decisionmaking on the part of the Turkish-Cypriot authorities and by default, with final decisionmaking in the hands of the Turkish military.  For over one year, the Bishop of Karpass, where the Greek Orthodox enclaved reside, has been placed on a permanent “stop list” that prevents him from serving the Christians under his religious jurisdiction.

Christians who cross the Green Line are not permitted to rehabilitate their churches, cemeteries, and other religious sites.  Maronites do not have access to many of their religious sites, because they are located within Turkish military compounds, and the only Jewish cemetery in the occupation zone remains off limits to Jews because it is located inside the limits of a Turkish military base.

The impact of Turkey’s full control over the occupied north and, therefore, responsibility for religious freedom violations, extends to the Turkish Cypriots, as well.  The UN Special Rapporteur noted in his report that the Turkish Cypriots have been subjected to compulsory religious education in their schools.  This is part of the effort to Islamicize the occupied part of the island simultaneous with the cleansing of any Christian presence there.

Conclusion

To conclude, freedom of thought, conscience, and religion or belief is a universal human right and its vigorous protection for all citizens in the cases that I have mentioned will be a yardstick of political reform in Turkey and a requirement for the transition to a non-violent, post-Assad Syria.  Given this sobering picture of what amounts to a religious freedom and human rights emergency in some parts of the Eastern Mediterranean, the question remains about how the US can help.  We can discuss specific policy options in the question and answer, but above all, I would emphasize a single point: namely, that it is in the moral and strategic interest of the USA to advocate relentlessly, in private meetings, public diplomacy, and via our international aid policies, for the protection of this right for all those living in the Eastern Mediterranean.

Thank you for your attention.

Thought for the week

When President Obama ran for reelection, national security played a central role in his messaging.  Ending the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, killing Osama bin Laden, unprecedented military cooperation with Israel, taking down Muammar Gaddafi and the popularity  of Secretary of State Hillary Clinton were all part of the Obama/Biden 2012 narrative.  With domestic affairs subject to/bogged down in negotiations with Congress, it seemed likely that the Obama Administration would turn to foreign policy for major accomplishments in the second term.

Some of the potential legacy items in Obama’s second term foreign policy include:

• A revived Israeli-Palestinian peace process.  President Obama visited Israel early on in 2013, and Secretary Kerry has on several occasions expressed urgency in negotiating a two state solution in the near term.  Despite all this attention, there has been no breakthrough to indicate that movement on this peace process is imminent, and the Administration’s attention in the Middle East is presently dominated by Syria and Iran.
• Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP).  The search for an economic growth strategy in an age of austerity has led the Obama Administration and European governments to prioritize the creation of a free trade area which at inception would account for about half of global GDP and one-third of trade.  It is estimated that such a trade area would boost U.S. GDP growth by 1.5% annually.
• Reunification of Cyprus.  The second longest standing item before the UN Security Council — after the Israeli-Palestinian dispute — is the Cyprus problem.  There are several factors that point to a new window for progress in the reunification of Cyprus, including the new Anastasiades government in the Republic of Cyprus (featuring a President and Foreign Minister who have taken risks backing previous reunification proposals) and the discovery of natural gas in Cyprus’ Exclusive Economic Zone.  The Cypriot Foreign Minister recently visited Secretary Kerry and senior Members of Congress, and the issue of Cyprus has been raised in joint press conferences between Secretary Kerry and the Turkish Foreign Minister and then between President Obama and the Turkish Prime Minister.  Is a U.S. diplomatic initiative in the offing?

If all three of these items were achieved, President Obama could go down as one of the great foreign policy presidents.  But there is another legacy in foreign policy that the President must watch out for: going down in history as the Administration that lost the Mediterranean.  In his latest book — The Revenge of Geography: What the Map Tells Us About Coming Conflicts and the Battle Against Fate — Robert Kaplan argues that the Mediterranean Sea is poised to reclaim its status as a “connector” linking civilizations, religions, cultures, as well as Europe and Africa.  But “connections” is not the best way to describe present developments in the Mediterranean.  Among reasons the region should keep the Obama Administration up at night:

• Syria has devolved into one of the scariest and most dangerous places in the world, without an end in sight, and with only bad options available to policy makers.
• The Arab “Spring” has devolved into an Islamic winter, with the Muslim Brotherhood consolidating control in Egypt, the acknowledgement that al-Qaeda is on the rise, and radical Islamists as the chief alternative to Assad in Syria.  The Benghazi controversy highlights the main problems the Administration faces as a result of the Arab Spring: it really can’t trust the new people in charge and it hasn’t yet adjusted assets in such a way to properly address new challenges.
• Proliferation of weapons on the Mediterranean.
• New regimes, and old allies (Turkey), are wiping out historic Christian presences in the region.  The ancient Orthodox Church had four patriarchates — in Constantinople, Antioch, Alexandria and Jerusalem.  Only in Jerusalem can one be confident that Christianity will exist in a decade.  With the 20 year anniversary of the publication of “The Clash of Civilizations?” approaching, this trend may have the most worrisome long term implications and in effect preclude the Mediterranean once again becoming a “connector”.

The Obama Administration’s answer to dealing with all these problems?  Rely more on Turkey.  Turkey — historically Washington’s most significant Muslim ally — is a member of NATO, has the largest armed forces in the region, shares intelligence with the U.S., and hosts the Air Force’s Incirlik Air Base.  The President must have figured that he could build on this alliance by (a) establishing a close relationship with Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan; (b) breaking ALL his promises to Armenian and Greek American constituents; and (c) making Turkey a stop on his first trip overseas.

This surely must have helped American foreign policy on Iran, right?  Nope.  Turkey opposed the unified Euro-American front on harsh sanctions on Iran’s nuclear program and tried to present an alternative deal to Tehran.  At least Turkey could partner with the US’s most stalwart Middle Eastern ally — Israel — as a bulwark against instability in the region.  No luck there either.  Turkey supported/sponsored BOTH flotilla efforts against Israel.  Erdogan attempted to publicly humiliate Israeli President Shimon Peres.  Turkey supports Hamas.  Prime Minister Erdogan is following up his latest trip to Washington, D.C. with a trip to Gaza.  It must be that the President is convinced that Turkey is undertaking impressive democratic reforms and proving that Islam and democracy can flourish together.  Strike three.  Turkey is the world’s worst jailer of journalists, and it has now been 422 days since Prime Minister allowed President Obama to go out during a joint press conference and incorrectly declare the decision to open Halki Theological Seminary had been arrived at.  Depending on your mood, it was either comical or tragic to watch the President’s Ambassador for International Religious Freedom detail “progress” for religious freedom in Turkey by describing loosening restrictions on headscarf regulations.  Meanwhile, the second largest Christian church in the world is being wiped out.

I could go on, but the Administration has struck out.  One may retort that Turkey has been a key in our Syria strategy, but it was not so long ago that Erdogan and Assad were best of friends, their wives spending time together.  Or, one may seek to applaud Turkey’s latest initiatives with the Kurds and improving relations with Iraq’s Kurds as evidence of its contributions to regional stability.  Of course, Turkey’s Kurdish policies are undermining the unity of Iraq — a unity that we spent over $1 trillion and thousands of American lives to attain.

The truth is that Obama’s Turkish investment has not resulted in an adequate rate of return.    The bad news is that it can get worse.  If President Obama cannot turn his relationship with Erdogan and Turkey into real influence over Ankara’s policies, all three of the above legacy items may go for naught.  If Turkey continues to bully Israel and complicate the Israeli government’s negotiations with the Palestinian Authority by continuing to legitimize the Hamas regime in Gaza, there will be no Israeli/Palestinian peace.  If Turkey maintains its economic blockades on Armenia and Cyprus, and continues to violate its 2005 Customs Union with the European Union, a free trade agreement with Turkey that parallels the TTIP  will face quite a battle in Congress and may in fact bog down the main TTIP.  Finally, if the Obama Administration continues to allow the impression to exist that its Cyprus policy is primarily motivated by making Erdogan happy, it will never be able to claim the status of honest broker in a country that is ready for peace and reunification.

President Obama has often claimed that he will tell people what they need to hear, not what they want to hear.  It is long past time that he adopt this attitude with his close friends and allies in Turkey.

What to watch for this week

• Potential privatization initiatives on heels of Prime Minister Samaras’ trips to China and Azerbaijan and meeting with Gazprom
• Anti-Golden Dawn parliamentary measures
• Diplomatic intrigue ahead of Anastasiades/Eroglu dinner on May 29

In the morning of May 20, 1941, Nazi paratroopers began parachuting in from the sky in Crete. The airborne invasion, codenamed Operation Merkur, would become a 10 day long battle that would be studied and commemorated to this day. During the Battle of Crete (η Μάχη της Κρήτης), Hitler’s army faced the wrath of Cretans fighting for their land and their lives.  Civilians joined in the battle — women too — to defend their island. The massive resistence led to heavy German casualties, but eventually, Crete would fall to German hands.  Here are some of the most iconic images from that battle:

(source: militaryphotos.net)

(source: militaryphotos.net)

(Illustration by Brendan Heffernan)

(Illustration by Brendan Heffernan)

(Major-General Freyberg, Allied Commander at the Battle of Crete)

(militaryphotos.net)

(militaryphotos.net)

(Kondomari Firing Squard, German archives)

(historyofwar.org)

(Peter McIntyre, Crashed German glider, Crete, c.1941)

(Peter McIntyre, The Blitz, Canea area defended by NZers, www.nzhistory.net)

In retribution for the Cretan resistance, the Nazis razed the village of Kondanos and erected a sign: ”Here stood Kandanos, destroyed in retribution for the murder of 25 German soldiers, never to be rebuilt again.” The town was indeed rebuilt.

(The Battle of Crete, painting by Vernon Jones)

(source: German federal archives)

(Allied War Memorial, Galatas)

Here are some videos that take a look at various aspects of the historic battle:

(From The Washington OXI Day Foundation)

(From The Pancretan Association)

(From The Pancretan Association)

Continuing HALC’s “Best & Worst” of the week series, here are the nominees for this week. Every Friday, HALC’s Facebook community votes on who should win each category. The results are announced on our Facebook page every Monday. The nominees are:

BEST OF THE WEEK NOMINEES

1. The Cypriot House of Representatives

The first spot on our Best of the Week Nominee list goes to the Cypriot House of Representatives for recognizing the Genocide of Pontian Hellenism:

The Cyprus House of Representatives plenary held one minute silence on Thursday in honour of the anniversary of the Genocide of Pontian Hellenism.

We look one hundred years back in the period between 1916 – 1923 at northeastern Minor Asia and the Greek Black Sea of ancient times and remember one more Turkish crime against humanity, that of the Pontian Hellenism Genocide, House of Representatives President Yiannakis Omirou said in a statement.

Omirou recalled that in 1994, the Greek House of Representatives recognised the Genocide and declared May 19 as a day of rememberance.

2. U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff and Michael Grimm

Our second nomination goes to U.S. Representatives Adam Schiff and Michael Grimm for introducing the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Act:

As Turkey’s Prime Minister Recep Erdogan continues his official U.S. state visit, a bipartisan group of U.S. Representatives introduced the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Act, a new measure calling upon the President to build upon the U.S. record of having recognized the Armenian Genocide by working toward improved Armenian-Turkish relations based upon Turkey’s full acknowledgement of the facts and ongoing consequences of the Armenian Genocide, and a fair, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime, reported the Armenian National Committee of America.“We welcome today’s introduction of the Armenian Genocide Truth and Justice Act,” said Aram Hamparian, Executive Director of the ANCA. “This innovative bipartisan initiative, building upon the U.S. record of having recognized the Armenian Genocide, calls for a new U.S. approach to Armenian-Turkish ties that reflects our America values and recognizes that our national interests require an end to Turkey’s denials and a truthful, just, and comprehensive international resolution of this crime.”

3. Journalist Jon Henley

Journalist Jon Henley rounds out our best of the week nominee list for researching and creating a documentary on how Greeks are using social media to find ways out of the crisis:

In this video, journalist Jon Henley seeks the headlines behind the headlines by interviewing every day citizens who are going above and beyond to help their fellow Greeks who are in need.

Jon Henley returns to Greece for a second series of his Twitter-led #EuroDebtTales and discovers some Greeks are moving beyond anger and finding innovative ways of helping each other, from tutor pools to food pools.

 

 

 

 

Vote for your choices now! Click here to vote on our Facebook page!

WORST OF THE WEEK NOMINEES

1. Golden Dawn MP Panayiotis Iliopoulos

Golden Dawn MP Panayiotis Iliopoulos is our first worst of the week nominee for being expelled from a parliament debate after insulting other MPs:

An Golden Dawn MP has been expelled from a debate in the parliament after mocking the Syriza leader.Panayiotis Iliopoulos was expelled Friday after referring to Alexis Tsipras as “Mr Alexis,” which in Greek is considered a disrespectful form of address.

The outburst prompted deputy speaker Yiannis Dragasakis (Syriza) to propose a motion of censure against the MP, Panayiotis Iliopoulos, and to ask house officials to remove him from the chamber.

It was the first time the parliamentary rule was applied since Golden Dawn entered parliament a year ago – and considered an unusual step for a parliament where debates are often heated.

The 46-year-old lawmaker shouted, “You are goats. You are jokers,” before the leaving the chamber.

Iliopoulos’ Golden Dawn colleagues protested by walking out on the proceedings.

2. Former Greek official Yiannis Diotis

The former head of Greece’s Financial Crimes Squad, Yiannis Diotis,  lands the second spot on our worst of the week nominee list for providing  false information to a parliamentary inquiry into the Lagarde list scandal:

A day after admitting he had given a parliamentary inquiry the wrong information, the former head of Greece’s Financial Crimes Squad (SDOE), Yiannis Diotis, insisted on Wednesday that he was under the impression the electronic version of the Lagarde list of depositors he received in the summer of 2011 would not be used as official evidence in any legal action against tax evaders.

Diotis is being questioned as part of a parliamentary investigation into whether former Finance Minister Giorgos Papaconstantinou doctored the list of more than 2,000 Greeks with savings at the Geneva branch of HSBC in order to remove the names of his relatives.

3. U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry

The U.S. Secretary of State, John Kerry, lands the last spot on our worst of the week nominee list for referring to Boston as “Bostonbul“:

I don’t know how many of you know this, but Turkey sends more students to America’s colleges and universities than any other European nation. And I am happy to say that includes the children of Prime Minister Erdogan, Foreign Minister Davutoglu, and President Gul. A couple of them actually studied in my hometown of Boston, where you can find so many Turkish students, folks, that we call it Bostonbul. (Applause.)

The long list of successful exchange students includes Hamdi Ulukaya, who is here today. And when he left eastern Turkey’s dairy country to come to study in upstate New York, he didn’t know a word of English, he had $3,000 to his name. Today, Hamdi employs 3,000 people at Chobani, which runs the two largest yogurt manufacturing facilities in the world. And in the great Turkish tradition of philanthropy, every year Hamdi gives away 10 percent of his company’s profits. (Applause.)

Yesterday, President Barack Obama held a press conference with Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan following Erdogan’s meeting with the president. The press availability provided an opportunity for journalists in the White House press corps to address recent controversies, including the revelation that the government has seized certain phone records from the Associated Press while investigating a national security leak. There was a single question during the Q&A on press freedom, from journalist Jeff Mason, who asked whether that seizure “was an overreach.”

The irony of that question is that standing just feet away from Mr. Mason and the president was the world’s worst jailer of journalists.

There has rightly been outrage and shock at the idea that the government seized certain phone records from the AP as part of its investigation, but the fact that the White House press corps had little to say to or about Erdogan’s track record on press freedom smacks of hypocrisy.

Not a single reporter in the White House press corps included Erdogan’s draconian record of imprisoning journalists in their write-up of Erdogan’s visit, even though they often mentioned the AP subpoena controversy. As Amy Davidson at The New Yorker pointed out, “It would have been interesting to follow up the question to Obama about the A.P. with one to Erdogan about press freedom in Turkey.”

Kudos to McClatchy‘s Roy Gutman who seemed to be a lone voice in the wilderness this week when he wrote an insightful, must-read piece on Erdogan’s arbitrary roundup of journalists in Turkey:

Erdogan put pressure on their publications and attacked them by name or indirectly, raising a multitude of questions about whether Turkey has the advanced democracy it claims 10 years into Erdogan’s prime ministership.

“If this is journalism, then down with your journalism,” Erdogan declared in a speech about Milliyet, Cemal’s newspaper, after it published the minutes of Kurdish politicians’ talks with Abdullah Ocalan, the imprisoned leader of the Kurdistan Workers Party, or PKK, a group the government had previously demonized as terrorists but is now negotiating with. [...]

In place of hard-hitting watchdog reporting, the result is self-censorship. Some journalists say 30 percent to 40 percent of their reports are never published.

“Flattery is the key thing in Turkish media,” Mert told McClatchy. “It has never been as bad as it is now.”

Major events go undiscussed.

And over at Foreign Policy, Christophe Deloire and Joel Simon deserve recognition as well for going where few American journalists went this week in their examination of Turkey’s press freedom crackdown:

Despite regular promises that reform is just over the horizon, Erdogan appears to believe in the necessity of his heavy-handed tactics. When U.S. Ambassador Francis J. Ricciardone Jr. expressed concern about Turkey’s press freedom record, for example, Erdogan dismissed the 35-year veteran of the U.S. Foreign Service as a “rookie.” In response to our defense of Turkish journalists, Erdogan has accused Reporters Without Borders and the Committee to Protect Journalists of “supporting terrorism.” [...] Turkey’s poor record on press freedom undermines its credibility as a model and blunts its soft power.

The European Federation of Journalists (EFJ), which has launched an international campaign to set free all journalists in Turkey, estimates that there are some 70 journalists sitting in jail in Turkey for their work.

Just last month, a foreign news editor in Turkey was handed down a conditional 14 month jail sentence for providing  a mocking definition of Abdullah Gül University on Turkey’s version of Urban Dictionary, writing sarcastically that “its graduates would continue to attend the Abdullah Gül’s school of life [marked by] unemployment, bribing, [and] favoritism.”

Earlier this year, Fusün Erdoğan, founder and director of a leftist broadcaster, wrote a powerful letter from jail in which she recounted being snapped up by plainclothes officers, blindfolded, thrown in jail and not told the reason for her arrest and detention for two whole years.

Days before Erdogan’s visit, Max Hoffman and Michael Werz at the Center for American Progress released a chilling brief on the shocking round up and intimidation of journalists by Erdogan’s government. As Hoffman and Werz accurately observe, “Prime Minister Erdoğan has come to view any criticism of his government as a personal attack.”

The abuse of the Anti-Terror Law’s broad provisions has provoked criticism from the U.S. Department of State, the European Commission, the Council of Europe Commissioner for Human Rights, the U.N. Human Rights Committee, the Committee to Protect Journalists, and the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace. [...] As Marc Pierini, former EU ambassador to Turkey, has written, the “judicial system tends to blur the line between the intention to incite, praise, legitimize, or relativize terrorist violence and the expression of an alternative, critical, or even disturbing opinion.”

The man who stood next to President Obama this week has made a habit out of suing reporters for libel for legitimate criticism or parody. He has thrown in jail more journalists than any other leader on the world stage today. He has met international calls for reform with anger and stubborn indignation. He continues with his chilling practices of intimidation because few hold him truly accountable for his undemocratic behavior. After all, when you stand before an elite press corps and the guy next to you is the one getting grilled on press freedom, why shouldn’t you feel like you can and always will get away with it?

HALC is pleased to present a guest post by Alexander Billinis, a Greek American currently living in Serbia. A writer and banker, he has worked in Serbia, Greece, and the UK. His views on the Balkans are further elaborated in his 2011 book, “The Eagle has Two Faces,” available at amazon.com

BY ALEXANDER BILLINIS

“Stay where you are folks, it’s a Hold-In!” If you are a depositor in Cyprus, the European Union’s easternmost bastion, you have just been robbed—by the Cypriot Government, who was made an offer by the EU it could not refuse. Cypriot depositors, or rather, depositors in Cyprus, are being forced to pitch in for Cyprus’ EU-sponsored bailout. The deal is not (as of this writing) still clear, but currently includes big depositors with deposits over EUR 100,000. The first proposal also wanted to include depositors under the (formerly sacred) threshold of EUR 100,000.

Yes, that’s right, the 100K threshold is analogous to FDIC insurance for US bank accounts. And yes, the EU has sanctioned, demanded in fact, that the Cypriots pay for their bailout by raiding deposits. How uncomfortable do you feel about this? Cyprus is far away, but the tiny island country is a member of the Eurozone, the group of countries that use the world’s second most important currency. So if it happens there, it can happen . . . elsewhere/anywhere. How do you feel now?

Of late, Europe has made one mistake after another. The EU is trying to reduce debt, particularly in southern European countries, by destroying their economies’ ability to grow out of the crisis. In the midst of an already questionable policy of austerity, the EU, spurred on for the most part by domestic political concerns in countries such as Germany and the Netherlands, has now resorted to raiding bank accounts. Done once, it can be done again. If you are a depositor in Greece, Italy, Spain, or, eventually, anywhere in Europe, you cannot but feel worried about your money.

This is just what Europe doesn’t need. In the midst of the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression, the last thing needed are bank runs, which cause panic, strip banks of liquidity, and freeze economic activity in terror. Even Third World countries do not raid their depositors without really thinking about the consequences (unless they are criminally insane or just plain thieves); that Bonehead Bureaucrats from Brussels (hereafter “BBB”) concocted this idea is nothing short of terrifying. It may be the beginning of the end for Europe as we know it.

As if realizing after the fact their huge gaffe, the BBBs went to great pains to say that Cyprus is a “one off” and “no template” for future bailouts. I don’t blame you if you lack confidence in these words. Confidence, further, is what banking is all about. As a matter of fact, confidence is what a confederation such as the European Union is all about. When this has been violated, there is very little soothing words can provide. Precedent is precedent, and now we have a Cypriot case where confiscation is going to occur. Despite protesting (“too much,” to quote Shakespeare) that this was a “one off,” and “no template,” now, the BBBs are now proposing an EU law that provides a framework for future confiscations but reinstates the formerly sacred EUR 100,000 threshold. Feel better? I, for one, do not. It feels like watching a train wreck in agonizingly slow motion.

The implications go far beyond the financial and economic. It goes to the heart of the experiment called Europe, one I, as a Greek citizen, believe[d] in. How long will Europeans, well-educated and used to living in prosperous social democracies, tolerate the BBBs’ slash and burn tactics? As for the Cypriots, they are probably going to see their economy drop by 20 percent over the next couple of years. Cyprus is already in existential peril, and the Cypriots, notwithstanding severe corruption and cronyism, did their level best in extraordinary circumstances to develop the their economy since the barbaric Turkish invasion of 1974.

It is easy to fault the Cypriots for cozying up to Russian money, much of it hot, but a small island 40 percent occupied has few choices besides offshore banking and tourism. Any number of small islands or nations runs similar shops for similar types of clients. Further, it is unfair to paint all Russians with a mafia brush; many Russian companies used Cyprus as a low tax haven, just as American companies once used Irish Finance Companies to run their European businesses with a favorable corporate tax. Both Ireland and Cyprus were heavily exposed and suffered as a result of this, but to throw down this boneheaded bail in scheme will serve to destroy in a flash Cyprus’ strongest industry which also has implications for the professional and real estate sectors. Across the Attila Line, the Turks watch with glee.

Europe put Cyprus in a hopeless dilemma. Acquiesce and witness the implosion of your economy, and the potential for severe social unrest in a very rough neighborhood, or refuse and be forced out of the Eurozone, perhaps the European Union and become the southernmost province of the Russian Federation. This is bad enough, but Europe’s BBBs may have set the stage for the demise of the European Union itself.

Thought for the week

Last week, the Foreign Minister of the Republic of Cyprus visited Washington, D.C. amidst speculation that new talks on reunifying Cyprus are imminent.  In addition to meeting with Secretary of State John Kerry and Congressional leaders, Foreign Minister Ioannis Kasoulides made a significant proposal to move Cyprus towards peace and end the four decade occupation of the northern part of Cyprus.

(remarks by Secretary Kerry and Minister Kasoulides)

In a public address before the Brookings Institution, Minister Kasoulides advanced two major confidence building measures.  Turkey has used Cyprus’ status as a member of the European Union to block NATO/EU political cooperation on the grounds that Cyprus cannot work with NATO without being affiliated with any of its institutions.  Kasoulides responded to Turkey’s objection by declaring the Republic of Cyprus’ readiness to apply to NATO’s Partnership for Peace program.  Moreover, the Foreign Minister also offered to lift Cyprus’ veto over Turkey’s participation within the European Defense Agency.

The boldest part of Kasoulides’ address was what he termed as a “win-win-win” initiative for Cyprus, Turkish Cypriots and Turkey.  In a nod to the European dimension of the Cyprus problem, Kasoulides proposed an initiative that would advance Turkey’s EU negotiations, increase Turkish Cypriot interaction with the world through the EU, and end one of the most obscene features of the Turkish occupation of the northern part of Cyprus — keeping Famagusta/Varosha as a ghost town.  Indeed, if these confidence building measures were put into effect, the benefits of a reunified Cyprus would no longer be a matter of mere speculation.  A more comprehensive settlement to end the occupation, bring Greek and Turkish Cypriots back together, and advance Turkey’s own EU prospects would become more likely.

The Republic of Cyprus is clearly ready for peace.  The key question becomes, does it have a partner?  Is there an honest broker who can move this peace process forward?  Secretary Kerry’s commitment to a bi-zonal, bi-communal federation serves as a positive rebuttal to two-state solution rhetoric out of Ankara, and President Obama’s first appointee as U.S. Ambassador to the Republic of Cyprus is less than a year into the job, but already considered an improvement over this predecessor.  Officials at the National Security Council and the State Department who were viewed with mistrust by Nicosia and by the Greek-American community have moved onto different portfolios.  At least one more change is needed at this point.  Alexander Downer, the United Nations Special Adviser to the Secretary-General on Cyprus, took the appointment in 2008 with a commitment to reviving the peace process.  Since then, Downer has not brokered any major initiatives that have brought Cyprus closer to peace.  More importantly, Downer has done little (if anything) to engender trust and build the relationships that would help him move a peace process forwards.  Several developments indicate that a drive for peace on Cyprus is possible — it just needs a new quarterback.  It is time for the Secretary General to swap Mr. Downer out.

Development to keep an eye on

David Cameron, the Prime Minister of the United Kingdom, is in Washington, D.C.  Discussing the Transatlantic Trade and Investment Partnership (TTIP) — a proposed free trade agreement between the US and EU — is at the top of the agenda for him and President Obama.  At the same time, Mr. Cameron is coming under pressure from within his own Conservative Party to either renegotiate the UK’s relationship with the EU, or to hold a referendum to withdraw from the EU.  With German elections coming this fall, do all these developments represent a tipping point in the debate about what kind of EU is going to emerge from this crisis?

Last week, the EU celebrated Europe Day.  Austerity policies in Europe have made discord and disunity as likely as peace and unity across the continent.  Three years after the “bailout” in Greece, austerity has failed miserably: the economy has shrunk, unemployment has soared — with youth unemployment crossing 60%, a public health crisis has taken hold, and a brain drain is underway.  While there is a promise of growth through the TTIP, Europeans suffering through austerity must wonder whether those benefits are meant solely for their wealthier, export heavy neighbors.  Next year, Greece will hold the Presidency of the EU on Europe Day.  Will there be a new Europe by then?

What to watch for this week

• Turkish Prime Minister Erdogan visits Washington, D.C.
• Nationwide strike in Greece in face of civil mobilization order issued by Prime Minister Samaras.
• Loan tranches released to Greece and Cyprus.
• Extra security for Ecumenical Patriarch after assassination plot uncovered.

Keep track of all breaking news at www.greekcurrent.com

Not long after HALC was launched, we asked our supporters to define what it means to be of Greek descent. This is a word cloud of their responses:

Today, as we celebrate Mother’s Day, I look back at this and think of how many of the things we take pride in — philotimo, our traditions, our values, and our culture — are handed down to us or strengthened by the Greek mothers in our lives.

Last weekend, millions of Orthodox families around the world celebrated Easter. How many of you posted pictures on Facebook of eggs dyed bright red or τσουρέκι braided by expert hands? Of κουλουράκια that filled the home with the wonderful smell of a Greek holiday?

Greek mothers are special. Beyond possessing the heroic values that are exhibited by all mothers (the balancing of work and family, the steadfast support and unconditional love), Greek mothers form not only the core of our families, they’re the core of our culture as well. It is through their hands — often, literally — that Hellenic culture and tradition are preserved around the world.

What we owe to Greek mothers goes beyond recipes that have survived generations, though. Our Greek mothers give us so much more.

There is a certain strength that radiates from mothers of Greek descent, a certain weight of history that has forged a resilient spirit that can seemingly survive anything life throws in its path. Imagine for a moment all that Greek mothers have witnessed over the course of history. All of the battles, the fallen husbands, sons and daughters, the days of triumph and the nights of tragedy. All of the heart-wrenching goodbyes said on piers throughout Greece as husbands and children went off to foreign shores in search of a better life.  All of the wonderful reunions that followed.

"Grandma's Favorite," by Greek painter George Jakobides

Those reunions happen frequently around this time of year, when many families travel back to Greece. If you want to witness what it means to be Greek, hang around an airport arrival terminal in Greece one summer. There is nothing that captures the importance of family in our culture as much as the grandchild running up to his grandmother, throwing his arms around her neck and beaming “yiasou, yiayia!” as tears of joy steam down her time-worn face.  Witness the tight embrace between a Greek mother and daughter or son that erases the distance between now and ξενιτιά. 

Family. It is the cornerstone of our culture, and it held together by the mothers and grandmothers that dedicate their lives to it.

For many of Greek descent, our mothers gave us a name that has been passed down through generations in that family. When we were children, our mothers taught us to write that name (in English and in Greek).  When we were teenagers, they often yelled it at us. When we became adults, we realized they all along, they were teaching us to respect it.

And that’s the thing about Greek mothers. They never stop teaching. They never stop pushing us to be the best version of ourselves and they never stop giving advice on how to achieve that. Above all,  they never stop inspiring us, even through memories if they are gone.

It is that teaching that makes Greek mothers speak of their children with such pride. We are nothing if not their creations, a reflection of their character,  forever carrying within us a sliver of their soul.

For all of those Greek mothers who give us love, hope and inspiration day after day, on this day, on every day, we say ευχαριστώ (thank you). 

This past week, the world news cycle for the Middle East has focused almost exclusively on the red-line fiasco of a US foreign-policy response to the calamity in  Syria and on the possibility that the Arab League’s revival of its 2002 Peace Initiative could jump-start Israeli-Palestinian dialogue.  Meanwhile, comparably little media attention went to the conclusion of a business deal with significant geostrategic implications for the Greater Middle East: On May 3, Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdoğan and Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe inked a $22 billion deal for a nuclear power project that will give Turkey its second nuclear plant.

The new nuclear plant will be built on the Sinope Peninsula of Turkey’s northern Black Sea coast–the first site, contracted to a Russian consortium and scheduled to begin on operations in 2020, is located Akkuyu near the port of Mersin on the Mediterranean coast of southern Turkey–and is targeted to come online in 2023.  The project will be implemented by a Japanese-French consortium, led by Japan’s Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and France’s Areva, and including Japan’s Itochu and France’s GDF Suez.  The consortium also won the rights to conduct the ground studies for Turkey’s third nuclear plant, which will be built in a location still to-be-determined.

On the face of it, this deal is unremarkable.  Turkey’s nuclear energy strategy dates as far back as the early 1970s, and Ankara has been blunt about the national security priority of diversifying the country’s energy sources.  Turkey’s near-complete dependence on foreign sources (Turkey imports 90 percent of its energy, from Russia and Iran, in that order) of energy represents a national-security vulnerability and an economic drain (the 2012 energy-import tab for Ankara was more than $60 billion), so it’s no surprise that the Turkish government places a premium on accelerating improvements in the country’s energy efficiency and energy security.

But there two profoundly disturbing questions worth contemplating when it comes to the development of Turkey’s nuclear energy program, both of which raise worrying concerns about geopolitical stability in the Greater Middle East.

First, isn’t the export of Japan’s nuclear technology to Turkey a stunningly unwelcome development for rational thinkers?  After all, Turkey lies in one of the planet’s most active earthquake zones.  Global seismic hazard maps show that Turkey’s Black Sea littoral runs along a major fault line, while the southern Mediterranean coast is vulnerable to both quakes and post-seismic floods.  In any case, Japanese nuclear technology should come with a neon “buyer beware” sign attached, given that the full facts of Japan’s 2011 Fukushima-Daiichi nuclear disaster–an earthquake-tsunami event whose human and ecological effects were horrific–have yet to be determined.  To make matters worse, the Turkish state (here, we see that the opposing ideologies of Kemalism and Islamism close ranks under the umbrella of Turkish nationalism über alles) has demonstrated a yawning capacity deficit when it comes to managing the country’s regular earthquake disasters, as well as a facile willingness to whitewash failures in developing robust disaster-relief protocols.

Erdogan’s response to criticism leveled against Turkey for the nuclear deal with the Japanese-led consortium is instructive.  About the Fukushima-Daiichi accident, he opined that the event “upset all of us.  But these things can happen. Life goes on.”  Presumably, that same brazen indifference to human tragedy informs the Erdogan government’s continuing campaign (again, a shared rallying point for Turkey’s Islamists and Kemalists) of genocide denial regarding the 2.5 million Armenian, Greek, and Syria Christians who were slaughtered as part of the founding project that transformed the Ottoman Empire into the Republic of Turkey.  Indeed, Turkish media reported that the inclusion of French companies in the Japanese-led consortium for the Sinope nuclear power project had been a deal-breaker–until the French Constitutional Court overturned a bill passed in the French Parliament that had made the denial of the Armenian Genocide a punishable crime.

Second, beyond the risks to human life and regional environmental security posed by Turkey’s nuclear energy program, there are geostrategic red flags associated with the nuclearization of Turkey.  The debate here concerns the strategic intentions of Turkey’s nuclear energy program.  At the heart of any scenario regarding Turkey as a future member of the world’s nuclear club is the regional security matrix in the Middle East, with all assessments pivoting on the implications for Israel’s survival.

In this regard, the relatively quiet conversation about whether or not Ankara is committed to the militarization and weaponization of its nuclear program has been refracted exclusively–understandably, but mistakenly–through the lens of the intense Transatlantic and Israeli focus on what to do about Iran’s evolving nuclear capability.  In a 2012 speech at the annual conference of the American Israel Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC), President Obama argued that an Iranian nuclear capability will likely trigger a nuclear “arms race in one of the world’s most volatile regions,” echoing the concerns of those in the Israeli government of Benjamin Netanyahu who are pushing for a preemptive, military solution to Iran’s nuclear program.

The threat to Israel presented by Iran as a nuclear power is indisputable, but it would be shortsighted and foolish to assume that Turkey’s nuclear ambitions have been birthed as a defensive reaction to what’s happening in Iran.  No.  Analysis of the possibilities that Turkey’s civilian nuclear energy program may morph into a nuclear weapons program must mine the declarations and policies of both Erdogan and his trusted Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, as well as assess Turkey’s activities in the Middle East and beyond.

Erdogan and Davutoglu have been crystal clear about their vision of Turkey as a global power and a regional hegemon in this 21st century.  Erdogan has been unrelenting in his quest to position Turkey as the leader of the Muslim world (to use the formulation of the 57-member-state Organization of Islamic Cooperation, whose Secretary General since 2004 is Turkey’s Ekmeleddin Ihsanoglu).  Turkey has been central to the international effort to broker some sort of a solution to the catastrophe in Syria (don’t be surprised to see Turkish ground troops in Syria sometime soon, using the pretext of stopping spillover in the wake of yesterday’s car bomb explosion in Reyhanli).  Meanwhile, Erdogan has established his credentials with radical Islamists by launching a slew of anti-Semitic rants in global fora, including his most recent characterization of Zionism as a crime against humanity at a UN conference on tolerance.

Many will argue that it’s farfetched to read nuclear military ambitions into Turkey’s civilian nuclear energy program, and that Ankara’s recent nuclear-power-plant deal with the Japanese-French group is a net gain, because it will help to repair Turkey’s frayed relations with European Union member-state France and to slow Turkey’s ballooning current-account deficit caused by demand for energy imports.  Such optimism may be accurate.  But I’d prefer to err on the side of caution, and use this latest step in Turkey’s nuclear energy story to focus on all alternatives.  To paraphrase President Obama in his warnings at AIPAC about Iran, let’s substitute Turkey: “The entire world has an interest in preventing Iran (Turkey) from acquiring a nuclear weapon…It would embolden a regime that has brutalized its own people.”

Dr. Elizabeth H. Prodromou is the Director of International Affairs for the Hellenic American Leadership Council and Affiliate Scholar at Harvard University’s Center for European Studies.