February 27, 2008



TANRI'NIN GÖZYAŞLARI

Bu korkunç kuraklık
Boynu bükük buğday başakları
Bu çorak toprak, bu susuzluk
Tanrı'nın kuruyan gözyaşları

Bir büyük gözaltı hayatımız
Ölü çocuklar coğrafyasında
Kayıplar destanı hikayemiz
Melekler anaların dilsiz yasında

Bebeler ergen doğuyor
Ninniler kahramanlık masalları
Yaşayan bu kanlı haritada
Taşırken iki büklüm onca yası

Bu korkunç bataklık
Yutuyor körpe tomurcukları
Dört kitap yazıyor
Eşittir Tanrı'nın çocukları

SEZEN AKSU





Savaş propagandası yaparken az biraz saygılı, edepli olun!!
Gidenlerin anaları, babaları, yakınları var.
Savaş makinesi değil; insan yavrusu, ANA kuzusu onlar.

PERIHAN MAGDEN (26 Subat, Radikal)

February 24, 2008

Doktor Habas'in ardindan



George Habaş ölmeden yaklaşık 2 hafta önce Filistin'in yeni başbakanı Salam Fayyad'ı dinlemeye gittim. Ekonomik gelişme ve kalkinma odakli konusmasinda Fayyad guvenlikle ilgili sorulara cevap vermekten ozellikle kacindi. Arafat'in olumunden sonra goreve gelen Abbas yaptigi atamalarla gerginlik yaratan taraf olmak istemedigini en acik sekilde ortaya koydu. Fayyad'in atamasi artik adim atma sirasinin Israil'de oldugunu gosterir mi bilmiyorum. Fakat emin oldugum bir sey var; Arafat ve Habas gibi isimlerin tarih sahnesinden cekilmeleri ile birlikte Filistin yonetiminde kisiler degil yonetim anlayisi da degisiyor. Misyonlarini tamamlayip ayrilanlarin arkasindan gelenler gerillalardan cok burokratlar. Silahin degil ekonominin dilini daha cok kullaniyorlar. Ama yine de bagimsiz Filistin devleti kuruldugunda ilk hatirlanmasi gerekenler Ebu-Ammar ve El-Hakim.

I had listened the newly appointed Palestinian PM Salam Fayyad at about two weeks before George Habash passed away. By focusing on economy and development, Fayyad spent less time for the questions on security. Coming to the power after Arafat, Abbas, with his appointments, proved that he does not want to escalate the tensions in the region. I am not sure on whether the appointment of Fayyad reveals it's Israel's turn to take the new step. But I am a hundred percent sure that after the leaders like Arafat and Habash, not only peoples but also logic of governance in Palestine is in transformation. The ones who came after Arafat and Habash are more bureaucrats than guerillas. They use the language of economy not the language of arms. However, Ebu Ammar and El-Hakim are the number one figures that we need to remember after the establishment of independent Palestine.

February 21, 2008



Today, we had a small (but not confidential) meeting with an Israeli diplomat in GWU which aimed to discuss Israeli policy in the Middle East. After hearing the meeting, I got excited as it's a good opportunity to learn Israeli point of view from the first hand source. As it can be predicted, the meeting automatically turned a platform on which Israel's policy towards Palestine is discussed.

According to my inferences; shortly; security, land for peace, Hamas, removing some of the Jewish settlements were the key words of his speech. It can be said that these keywords are relevant for all discussions on Arab-Israeli conflict. However, the "deployment" of these words have deterministic effect in providing clues for us to understand the perspectives of discussants, authorities and all the other actors who more or less take part in this conflict.

If Hamas attacks on Israeli towns are responded by heavy air raids which kill innocent Palestinians as well as the Hamas members, we should question the implementation of collective punishment policy of Israel with the same tone that we use when we condemn Hamas attacks.

If Israel desires a real peace in the region, it should realise that respect for territorial integrity of independent countries is one of the "sine quo non"s of peace. Moving from this fact, Israeli decision makers may ask themselves " WHY DID ISRAELI AIR FORCES FLY OVER SYRIA WITHOUT ANY PERMISSION IN 2007?"

Take the policy of the "removing the Jewish settlements" from Gaza and West Bank. If Israel wants to sit at the peace table with Palestinians, it should withdraw from the idea that removal of the Jewish settlements is Sharon's gift to Palestinians. NO! It's a small portion of Israel's requirements before sitting at the peace table ! So, please stop setting inferiority-superiority relation over this requirement! And stop presenting the responsibilities as gifts!

I don't know whether Israel does it consciously but bombing Gaza and killing innocent people after Qassam rocket attacks enlarge the way of radicalization in the region. Radicalization, high level of threat perception, heavy air raids, suicide bombings, societal fear.... How can I define the death circle in Arab-Israeli conflict more accurately?!!

Kivanc

February 20, 2008

addios Fidel



Fidel'in Gelisi Gidisi

fidel cok insan bir dev
agarmis saclari sakallariyla karli bir dag
gozlerinde gulec kardelenler aciyor
sesi titremeyen bir ses
umudun sesi

demirele turkiyeyi ovmusuz
mesut beyi de adam yerine koymusuz
bu laf kitliginda asmalar budamiyor fidel

son konusmasinda
yukari yarim kurenin asagi yarim kureyi ezmesine
kuresellesme dendigini bildirdi

sade konut monut davasi ilede yetinmedi
emperyalizm yuzunden insanligin altindan
topragin nasil kaybini anlatti.
sosyalizmin teslim olmadigini temsil etti.

hosgeldin fidel
gidisinlede bizi yine nahos cakallarla basbasa biraktin.

CAN YUCEL

Resim: www.leftbooks.com/ store/media/fidel.jpg

February 17, 2008

a sound that we have missed for a long time



Australian government said sorry to Aborigines after Australian people did. The picture is the combination of Aborigine and Australia flags.

"We apologise for the laws and policies of successive parliaments and governments that have inflicted profound grief, suffering and loss on these our fellow Australians," Australian PM, Kevin Rudd.

I do not know what Australian racists would think about their PM. But, humanity must be proud of him. Extremely "rational" decisions which are confined by national borders and ethnic identities do not involve the words like SORRY. The ones who internalize the idea that nationalism is constructed and politically artificial thing can break their chains as Rudd did.

Now, we should let Rudd's decison be the first fallen piece of domino stones!

The Muslim Brotherhood: Political Struggle and Disintegration



an article by Kivanc Ozcan

ABSTRACT

This article aims to examine the Muslim Brotherhood organization, which is founded by Hasan Al-Benna in 1928 in Egypt, in relation to its struggle with the Mubarak regime and to the disintegration of the organization itself. Today, in respect to its popular support and political achievements, the Muslim Brotherhood can be defined as the biggest mass opposition movement in Egypt.
First, the repression that the organization has been facing in recent years and the strategies that have been developed to respond to the authoritarian regime are going to be discussed in this article. In this context, political strategies of both the Mubarak regime and the organization are presented for a comparison.
Second, this article, in general, try to read the internal divisions within the organization and factors which led to these divisions. In particular, it seeks to explain the disintegration of the organization between radical, conservative and old guard, and moderate, pragmatic and young generation.
Third, debates, which are continued between the Brotherhood, the Mubarak regime and the West, over the concept of democracy, are taken into consideration under the subtitle Sincerity Tests. In this part, suspicions and main arguments of these actors towards each other are shortly given.

February 16, 2008

The PLO: Dimensions of the Resistance



an article by Kivanc Ozcan

ABSTRACT

Today, generally speaking, Palestinian people are divided into two ideological and territorial camps. This two-headed structure is one of the obstacles for ongoing resistance which has been continued under the PLO leadership for more than four decades. Since 1964, PLO, accepted as the sole and legitimate representative of Palestinian people, has been the main actor in Arab-Israeli conflict.

As a result of Jewish immigrations, which started at the end of the 19th century, Palestinian resistance movement(s) began. However, until the establishment of the PLO, Palestinian people and the struggle had not been represented by one organization. Rather, the Middle East states competed with each other to represent-exploit- Palestinian issue and tried to impose their own goals by using the issue.

PLO, which was established in 1964, became a regional actor in the Middle East and the sole and legitimate representative of Palestinian people by using multi-dimensional resistance strategy which includes the competition with regional actors, the formation of Palestinian identity, and the creation of inclusive discourse to avoid disintegration of the organization.

However, some academic studies tended to perceive PLO’s struggle and resistance against the occupation only as a military campaign. By following a chronological path in which wars and conflicts were considered as turning points, these studies are far enough to understand the PLO's resistance against the occupation.

This article seeks to inquiry the concept of resistance by analyzing PLO’s strategies in coping with aforementioned difficulties which the organization has faced since its establishment. After presenting an overview historical picture of the Palestinian resistance; the PLO’s competition with the regional powers, its efforts to form a Palestinian identity and its discourse to protect the unity of the organization are put emphasis as building blocks of the resistance. With this inclusive approach, it is aimed to draw a “different” picture of the PLO and its resistance against the occupation.

February 13, 2008

mes kids, raki, baklava, kebabs and coffee...



Middle East kids in DC :) It was a great night, full of lovely people. Of course raki, baklava and Turkish coffee and kebabs contributed to its greatness. As I lived in a small house, I could not organize a house party for my extremely-friendly class mates. To compensate this shame :), I organized a Turkish night. I hope my friends liked Turkish food. They said so :) It seems that next meeting is going to be held in Gelman library as our paper dues are coming!! Don't worry, best tables of the library are gonna be reserved for MES kids :)

February 6, 2008




Turbanla ilgili bildiriler havada ucusurken, dusuncelerime en yakin buldugum yazilari Radikal'de Yildirim Turker ve kamuoyuna gonderdigi duyuruyla Ali Nesin yazdilar. Yobazligin her turlusune karsi cikan birisi olarak turbanli kizlarin universitelere alinmamasinin kamplasmaya cok merakli ulkemizde var olan kirilmalari artiracagini dusunuyorum. Turban geriliminin radikal islamcilarin ve uzlasmaz statukocularin degirmenlerine su tasidigi gerceginden hareketle universite ogrencilerinin kilik kiyafetlerine karismamanin ozgurlukcu bir durusun alt basliklarindan sadece birisi oldugunu dusunuyorum. FAKAT, ozgurlukcu bir durusun diger alt basliklarina, -301. madde, secmeli din dersi, Alevilere ve azinliklara karsi dislayici tutumlar- karsi gosterilecek tutumun biz ozgurlukculerle, ozgurlugu sadece turbandan ibaret zanneden sefiller arasindaki cizgileri kalinlastirdiginin da altini cizmek isterim.

Kivanc



Kamuoyuna Duyuru (Ali Nesin)

Universitede kilik kiyafet ozgurlugunu savunan bir metne imza attim diye yer yerinden oynadi. Aldigim hakaret mesajlarinin haddi hesabi yok. Sanki ortada bir suc varmis gibi, varsa da cocuklarimizin bunda bir sucu varmis gibi Nesin Vakfi’na bagislarini kesenler oldu. Bircok kisi “Aziz Nesin’in kemikleri sizlamistir” diyerek sitemde bulundu. Hatta laiklikten odun verdigimi, Aziz Nesin’i Sivas’ta yakanlarla ittifak kurdugumu, bu imzadan mutlaka bir cikarimin oldugunu ileri surenler bile oldu.

En agir kosullarda, baski ve tehditler altinda, henuz 28 ªubat olmadan once, yani herkesin korkudan tir tir titredigi bir zamanda Koktendincilige Karsi Konferans duzenleyenlerden biri olarak, inancsizligini kamuoyunda cekinmeden acik acik dile getirmis biri olarak ve yasaminin yarisini Bati’da gecirmis biri olarak herhangi birinin absurdluge kacmadan laikligimden kusku duyabilecegini sanmiyorum.

Aziz Nesin’in eserlerini yasatmak icin hayatini 180 derece degistirmis biri olarak, Nesin Vakfi’ni bugunlere tasimak icin gecesini gunduzune katan biri olarak, Nesin Vakfi’na yapilan her turlu alcakca hucumu gogusleyen biri olarak, eskiturkce ogrenip sabahlara kadar calisarak Aziz Nesin’in bircok eserini Turkcemize kazandirmis biri olarak, Aziz Nesin’in kitaplarini basmak ve Vakf’a daha fazla gelir saglamak amaciyla Nesin Yayinevi’ni kurmus biri olarak, kimsenin bana “babanin kemikleri sizlamistir” demeye hakki olmadigini dusunuyorum. Kaldi ki, kendine ozgu analiz ve bakis acisiyla bizleri surekli sasirtan Aziz Nesin’in hangi konuda ne dusunecegini ongorecegini varsaymak kimsenin haddi degildir.

Bir matematikci ve bilim adami olarak, Matematik Koyu kurmus biri olarak, tatil yapmayarak on yildir yazlarini genclere matematik ogretmeye adayan biri olarak, gece gunduz calisarak bes yildir Matematik Dunyasi gibi her sayisi 10-12 bin satan bir dergi cikaran biri olarak, arastirmasindan zaman ayirip her biri bircok basim yapmis 6 populer matematik kitabi yazmis biri olarak ve butun bunlari amator bir ruhla, heyecanla, askla sevkle yapmis ve yapan biri olarak aydinlanma derslerine ihtiyacim oldugunu da sanmiyorum.

Arabasi, evi barki, mali mulku olmayan ve varini yogunu, zamanini ve neyi varsa her seyini topluma sunarak komunistligini yasam bicimiyle kanitlamis biri olarak solculuk derslerine de sanirim karnim tok.

Hakaret edenlere hitap eden bu birkac kisa satirdan sonra, bu konudaki dusuncelerimi degisik dusuncelere kulaklarini tikamayan kisilere aciklayabilirim.

18 yasini bitirip rustunu ispatlamis birinin kilik kiyafetinden dolayi universiteye alinmamasini her seyden once etik olarak yanlistir. Etik olarak yanlis olan her durus da uzun donemde ulkeye buyuk zarari dokunur. Nasil bir erkegin esini dovmeye hakki yoksa, benzer bicimde, kimsenin kimseyi, dusuncesinden, inancindan, giysisinden ve yasam biciminden dolayi universiteden men etmeye hakki yoktur. Bu hakki ben kendimde gormedigim gibi bir baskasina da devredemem.

Eger yasaklarla Turkiye’nin daha laik olacagi dusunuluyorsa bu dusunce bastan asagi yanlistir; bu kizlarin dusunceleri ve inanclari universiteden men edilerek degismez ki. Hatta tam tersine...

Kaldi ki dusunce dogru bile olsa amaca ulasmak icin her yol mubah degildir. Verilen mucadelenin her seyden once etik olarak dogru olmasi gerekir. Mucadele yonteminin yanlisligini gostermek icin abartarak bir ornek vereyim: Turbanlilari issiz bir adaya surerek elde edilecek bir laiklikten yana degilim ben.

Bu yasak, toplumu gereksiz yere kamplara boldugunden dogru bir sey degildir.

Bu yasak, toplumun bir kesimini egitimsiz biraktigindan iyi bir sey degildir.

Bu yasak, toplumun bir kesimine “siz universiteye yakismiyorsunuz” diyerek hakaret ettiginden guzel bir sey degildir.

Yani bu yasak, ne dogrudur ne iyidir ne de guzeldir.

Onlar bize ayni hakki tanimayacaklar diyenler oldu. Belki... Olabilir... Mumkundur. Ama aramizda bir fark olsun degil mi? Elestirdiklerimizle , karsi olduklarimizla ayni davranisi gosterirsek o zaman onlardan ne farkimiz kalir?

Bu yasak kalkarsa basi acik kizlarimiz ortunme konusunda baski goreceklerdir diyenler var. Dogrudur, boyle bir olasilik vardir. Ama demokrasi engebeli bir yoldur. Bu engebeli yolu yasaklarla duzlestirmeye calismak beyhude bir davranistir. Gereken mucadele etik olarak dogru bir bicimde verilmelidir. Turkiye bugun bu sorunla daha demokratik yollarla basa cikacak olgunluktadir.

Oyuna gelen ben degilim, asil oyuna gelenler gercekte var olmayan ve artik bir trajikomediye donusen bu sacmasapan turban sorununu siyasetin ve hayatlarinin merkezine oturtanlardir. Elbette bir gun bu yapay sorun tamamiyla ortadan kalkacak ve kiyamet kopmayinca hakli oldugum anlasilacaktir. Umarim o gunler cabuk gelir de toplumun gercek sorunlariyla nihayet yuzlesebiliriz.

Laiklik bu tur yasaklarla elde edilmez. Gericilikle, bagnazlikla, yobazlikla boyle savasilmaz. Bu savas, daha fazla Nesin Vakfi gibi vakiflar kurarak ve yasatarak, daha fazla Matematik Koyu gibi koyler kurarak, daha fazla Matematik Dunyasi gibi dergiler cikararak, zaman ayirip genclere dersler ve konferanslar vererek, populer ve bilimsel kitaplar yazarak, halkin hicbir kesimini dislamayip, kimseye hakaret etmeden herkesi kucaklayarak, en egitimsizlere, en sanssizlara, varoslara ve en ucra koylere ulasarak, yani bir bez parcasiyla ugrasarak degil, isin ozune inilerek yapilir.

Durusumu elestirenlerin once soyle bir cevrelerine bakmalarini oneririm.

Ali Nesin

February 4, 2008

eski...


eski...

zaman duser
durgun saatlerin pesi sira
kaybettiklerim ve soluk fotograflar
eskimis yuzune
bir hicligi resmeder!

yuzun duser
baska hayatlar arasinda
kuflu bir demire calmis icinin rengi
isikli caddelerinde kentin,
ruhsuzluga ucar,

huzun duser
yine de,
payima
ve suskunluk
eski, kayip fotograflara
unutmayi nakseder.

Kivanc
3 Subat 2008, DC

Fotograf: Annecy, 2006

February 2, 2008

jefferson memorial



escape from DC to go "another DC".

Photo:Lela Chakhaia

lincoln memorial



By sitting on the steps, I really would like to read poems in front of this memorial at night. This may be a good reason to wait hot summer days. By the way, if you can find Martin Luther King's speech "I have a dream" which he delivered on the Lincoln Memorial's steps, please watch!

roosevelt memorial



(Roosevelt Memorial) To refresh my brain after the Saturday morning class, I decided to give a short break to "discover" DC with my friends.

Photo: Lela Chakhaia

Kış dönümü...

Yılların ardından… bir merhaba – uzaklarda kalan kendime de! İçtenlikle...   Yazarım belki bundan böyle. Kapattığım kapılar açılır, küfleri ...