Friday, July 24, 2020
Turkish gov’t bars events at Atatürk monuments as Hagia Sophia opens for prayers
Turkish authorities closed off the mausoleum of Turkey’s founder Mustafa Kemal Atatürk and other monuments honoring him on Friday, barring non-government organizations from celebrating the 97th anniversary of a 1923 treaty that defined the borders of modern Turkey.
The restrictions on events commemorating the day the Lausanne Treaty was signed came as Istanbul’s Hagia Sophia opened for Muslim prayers. Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan on July 10 ordered the Hagia Sophia open to Muslim worship after Turkey's highest administrative court ruled that Atatürk’s decree to repurpose the Ottoman-era mosque into a museum was illegal.
Representatives from the Kemalist Thought Association (ADD), the Association for Supporting Contemporary Life (ÇYDD), as well as various other NGOs and bar associations were slated to visit Anıtkabir, Atatürk’s final resting place, but found the site barricaded off by Ankara police on grounds of disinfecting the site against Turkey’s COVID-19 epidemic, said Haber 3 reported.
"It has become a crime to speak of Atatürk, the Republic and Lausanne to defend the foundations of the Republic of Turkey. We are barred from entering Anıtkabir,” the news website quoted ADD chairman Hüseyin Emre Altınışık as saying.
“We cannot accept this. Until we are allowed inside, we will wait here and continue our struggle. Today, Hagia Sophia is free, Anıtkabir is banned."
Turks on social media slated the government for the Anıtkabir’s closure. One Twitter user wondered why Turkey’s main opposition Republican People’s Party (CHP) did not comment on the matter.
“There is even better opposition in primary school election,” he said.
Another user tweeted: “Whose idea do you think it is to arrange a mass prayer at the Hagia Sophia, as if in a counter-revolution, and close Anıtkabir because they are ‘disinfecting’ it?”
Throughout his tenure as Turkey’s head of state, Erdoğan and his ruling Justice and Development Party have systematically chipped away at Turkey’s secular foundation by pressing a more Islamist-oriented agenda. The Hagia Sophia’s conversion – a long-standing demand by Turkey’s Islamists – was seen as another step toward the president’s lifelong political goal.
Earlier on Friday, Altınışık said non-government organisations had intended to lay wreaths at Atatürk monuments in Turkey’s 81 provinces but were notified of a ban for such gatherings by provincial and district governors via telephone, according to ABC newspaper.
"There is no official writing, there is only telephone. Our branches wanted to know the rationale for this ban, but they just said, ‘We got instructions by phone’,” Altınışık said. “All our branches had made their applications to their respective provincial and district governors 10 days ago.”
The Treaty of Lausanne was signed in 1923 to officially settle the conflict stemmed from World War I between the Ottoman Empire and Allied countries. The peace agreement defined the borders of the modern Turkish Republic.
Izmir’s Metropolitan Municipality said it would continue on with a series of events to mark the Lausanne Treaty anniversary, which was expected include film screenings, exhibitions, presentations and music performances, starting at 17:00 local time, according to ABC.
Egypt Grand Mufti says Turkey's Hagia Sophia mosque conversion is impermissible in Islam
Egyptian Grand Mufti Shawky Allam said on Saturday that Turkey's conversion of Istanbul's Hagia Sophia into a mosque is impermissible in Islam, Haber 7 news website reported.
“We, as Muslims, are commanded to preserve churches. Prophet Muhammad was always recommending in wars not to destroy temples or kill monks,” Allam said during a televised interview.
Churches and mosques must be preserved around the world, as has been the case during the entirety of Egypt's history, Allam said, making reference to a previous fatwa by Laith bin Saad Fakih of Egypt who ruled that churches are part of earth's architecture in Islam.
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdoğan declared Hagia Sophia a mosque on June 10, after a top court annulled the 6th-century historical site’s conversion to a museum by modern Turkey’s founding father, Mustafa Kemal Atatürk. The president’s decree constituted a major step for his party in fulfilling a long-standing demand by its core Islamist voter base.
https://ahvalnews.com/hagia-sophia/egypt-grand-mufti-says-turkeys-hagia-sophia-mosque-conversion-impermissible-islam
#Pakistan: Protests erupt over #Parachinar bomb attack
A bombing in the majority Shiite town of Parachinar, near the Afghan border, has brought crowds of protesters to the streets. Angry locals say security forces are failing to protect them from Sunni extremists.
Hundreds of protesters rallied against government troops in the northwestern Pakistani town of Parachinar on Friday after an explosion ripped through a local market, wounding 18 people.
The blast took place in a mostly Shiite neighborhood on Thursday as people were out buying fruit and vegetables, officials said. No one has claimed responsibility for the attack.
Soon after the bombing, protesters came out onto the streets and staged a sit-in in front of the local press club, where many stayed overnight, protester Ali Turi told German news agency DPA.
DW's correspondent in the provincial capital Peshawar, Mudassar Shah, said protesters hold Pakistani forces directly responsible for the violence. Many question how such attacks can happen when there is a heavy troop deployment in the area and such tight security surrounding the town, he added.
"Several elders are of the view that they have informed the government about the suspicious movements of the terrorists in the area," he said.
'Wave of violence'
Parachinar, which lies in a predominantly Shiite region near the border with Afghanistan, has repeatedly been targeted by Sunni militants in recent years. The town is surrounded by areas that were once controlled by the Taliban and that today still serve as hideouts for the group.
The Pakistani government and army have said the region has been cleared of extremists, despite continuing attacks.
Rights group Pashtun Tahafuz Movement (PTM) said it would call further protests if those behind Thursday's bombing weren't arrested.
"This new wave of violence is going on for several months. We want an end to it," PTM leader Manzoor Pashteen told DPA.
According to Pakistan's Dawn newspaper, this week's blast was the third such explosion in the area in as many months. DW correspondent Shah said it also came after a heavy gun battle last week between local Sunnis and Shiites vying for land.
Ali Begum, the only female candidate from the area to run in Pakistan's 2018 general elections, told DW that an attack always happens when people forget the last deadly incident.
In June 2017, the town was hit by twin blasts that killed at least 80 people and wounded more than 200 others.
#Pakistan - Govt giving NRO to Kulbhushan: #PPP Chairman Bilawal Bhutto Zardari
Saying that the incumbent government gave record number of NROs, Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said the rulers also arranged the same facility for Ehsanullah Ehsan, the spokesman for Tehrik-i-Taliban Pakistan and released him.
The International Court of Justice (Review and Reconsideration) Ordinance, 2020 would allow the Indian spy to file review appeal against military court’s verdict against him.
Bilawal said the PTI government and Prime Minister Imran Khan are giving concessions similar to the National Reconciliation Ordinance (NRO) to convicted Indian spy Kulbhushan Jadhav. “You gave NRO to Ehsanullah Ehsan, Jahangir Tareen, BRT Peshawar accused persons, those responsible for sugar and wheat crises and now extending NRO like concessions to Kulbhushan,” Bilawal said.
The two main opposition parties, the PML-N and PPP leaders came harsh on the government for promulgating the ordinance saying the law, which compromises country’s dignity was not acceptable to them. “The prime minister should tell as to why the government is compromising on country’s dignity by facilitating a terrorist who admitted to have carried out terrorist acts in Pakistan,” the PML-N parliamentary leader Khawaja Asif earlier said.
Later, Bilawal Bhutto prevented the government from laying the ordinance while pointing out lack of quorum in the House after completing his speech. “We cannot sit in the House where such an ordinance is being laid,” Bilawal while announcing to walkout after pointing out lack of quorum said.
Minister of State for Parliamentary Affairs Ali Muhammad Khan while referring to rules said the member who points out lack of quorum, should sit in the House while counting is in progress.
However, the chair first suspended proceedings for a few minutes and then adjourned proceedings till Friday after counting as required number of members were not present in the House.
The PPP chairman said while in opposition, the PTI had taken a stance against accepting the jurisdiction of the International Court of Justice in the case.
On that Shireen Mazari said it was also PPP, which refused to accept jurisdiction of International Court of Justice in Pakistan.
“If you are not accepting the jurisdiction of the international courts, it should not mean that you give NRO to Indian spy through the Pakistani laws,” Bilawal in response said.
He said Imran Khan who used to say that he would not give NRO to anybody, extended NRO to Indian pilot Abhinandan after offering him tea.
Bilawal said the government promulgated the ordinance when Parliament was in session. Neither the issue was made public nor the opposition parties were taken into confidence. “Now you are laying the ordinance in the assembly following our protest,” he said.
He said that Ehsanullah Ehsan was also given NRO and was released questioning whether any action was being taken to arrest him. “Who will be answerable to martyrs of APS Peshawar,” he said.
Earlier, the PML-N leader Khawaja Asif said the PTI leadership, which used to abuse their government on issue of Kubbhushan, now was acting as facilitator for the Indian spy.
The PML-N leader said the Indian forces were carrying out genocide of Kashmiris but on the other hand, the Pakistan government is opening trade with India and promulgating ordinance to facilitate Indian spy. “You made Kulbhushan as an abuse for us and now you are before him,” he said.
He made it clear that the ordinance was not acceptable to them as Kulbhushan confessed to his crime of terror activities in Pakistan and as a result he was awarded the death penalty.
“The prime minister should tell as to why he is compromising on dignity of Pakistan and as to who is friend of Modi,” he said adding the law was against country’s dignity and respect and was not acceptable to them.
The opposition members raised slogans as the minister for human rights Dr Shireen Mazari attempted to respond to opposition members. “For God’s Sake, listened to me,” she said.
Meanwhile, Minister for Information and Broadcasting Shibli Faraz informed the House that 50 percent outstanding payments of the media for PTI government’s two-year tenure have been cleared.
Minister for Information told the House during question hour that the remaining fifty percent will be cleared in a week time as Prime Minister Imran Khan has given special directions on the matter. He said the outstanding amount of the last two years was Rs1.15 billion. “The remaining 50 percent amount will be cleared in the next one week,” he said.
The Minister for Information and Broadcasting said the present government has not recruited any person in state-run TV except the top management to uplift the national broadcaster. He regretted that the institutions such as state-run TV, PIA and Pakistan Steel Mills were destroyed by previous governments through political appointments.
The PML-N member Chaudhry Birjees Tahir who raised question of payment of dues to media houses, however, expressed his concerns over restrictions on media and anchors and closure of television channels. “For how long such restriction on media will continue,” he questioned.
The House today passed a motion authorising the Speaker to appoint a Parliamentary Committee in consultation with the Chairman Senate, making recommendations to the National Assembly and Senate regarding legislative business pending before both the Houses.
The motion was moved by Adviser on Parliamentary Affairs Babar Awan.
Bilawal calls Matiullah’s Jan’s abduction ‘attack on freedom of speech’
The abduction of journalist Matiullah Jan was an attack on Pakistan’s democracy and media, which is in all ways against the country’s laws, PPP Chairperson Bilawal Bhutto Zardari said on Friday.
In a media briefing at the journalist’s house in Islamabad, he said that one can dislike Matiullah Jan and his views but kidnapping him was an attempt to snatch the freedom of speech from the public.
“An attack such as this one is not only unlawful and against the Constitution, but also inhumane,” Bilawal said.
“I have come here today to extend my support to Matiullah Jan because what happened with him can happen with you or me as well,” he added.
Responding to Bilawal, the journalist thanked the PPP chairperson and other political parties for supporting him. “Freedom of speech is not only important for journalists but also Parliament and the judiciary,” he said.
Matiullah Jan was abducted on Tuesday from Islamabad’s Sector G-6. He was picked up from outside the school his wife works at around 11:10am.
A CCTV camera installed at the school has captured the incident and it showed people wearing black uniforms taking the journalist away.
He was released 12 hours later. His abductors left him near Fateh Jang after driving him around in a car for 11 hours blindfolded, according to his lawyer Shahid Abbasi.
Matiullah Jan, an outspoken journalist, has often come under attack on social media for his views. Last week, the Supreme Court had initiated contempt proceedings against him over a ‘derogatory’ tweet against the court and its judges.
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