Month: February 2023

UN Special Coordinator for the Middle East Peace Process Tor Wennesland on Monday voiced concern over the deteriorating security situation in the occupied West Bank.

"I am gravely concerned by the deteriorating security situation in the occupied West Bank, particularly the violence we have witnessed in the past 24 hours in Huwara, near Nablus," said Tor Wennesland in a statement.

Dozens of Israeli settlers attacked the Palestinian town of Huwara on Sunday and vandalized several Palestinian homes and vehicles. A Palestinian was killed in the attack.

The violence followed the killing of two Israeli settlers in a shooting attack in the town.

"My condolences to the family of the two Israeli brothers killed in a shooting attack yesterday by a Palestinian perpetrator and to the family of the Palestinian killed during a rampage by vigilante settlers in retaliatory attacks," Wennesland said.

The UN coordinator said Israeli security forces are responsible for maintaining security and preventing “individuals from taking law into their own hands," and urged that "all perpetrators of violence must be held accountable."

The Israeli authorities didn't announce any arrest or measures against the perpetrators of the attack on the Palestinian town.

Violence escalated across the occupied territories in recent weeks amid repeated Israeli military raids into Palestinian towns.

According to Palestinian figures, at least 62 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli fire since the start of the year. Twelve Israelis were also killed in attacks by Palestinians in the same period.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Turkish Foreign Minister Mevlut Cavusoglu will attend G-20 foreign ministers meeting to be hosted by India on March 1-2, the Turkish Foreign Ministry said on Tuesday.

"At the meeting, ministers will exchange views on key issues on the global agenda, chiefly, humanitarian assistance and disaster relief, food and energy security, counter-terrorism, strengthening multilateralism and development cooperation," the ministry said in a statement.

On the margins of the meeting in New Delhi, Cavusoglu will host the 23rd MIKTA (Mexico, Indonesia, South Korea, Türkiye and Australia) foreign ministers meeting and hand over the MIKTA chairmanship to Indonesia. Türkiye took over the chairmanship from Australia on March 7, 2022.

Cavusoglu is also expected to hold sideline meetings with his counterparts.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Psychological aid is as important as any other kind of aid provided to disaster-hit people, experts say in the aftermath of the Feb. 6 earthquakes that hit southern Türkiye.

But in order to provide psychosocial support, professionals and volunteers involved in the process must have good communication skills and the patience to listen to the victims’ stories.

To extend such aid to quake-affected Turkish people, nearly three dozen non-governmental organizations collaborated to conduct virtual training sessions for hundreds of volunteers.

Orhan Cokca, chairman of the Istanbul-based Mutlu Aile Mutlu Cocuk Dernegi (Happy Family Happy Child Association), told Anadolu they are working with 33 organizations to prepare for “proper counseling of the traumatized quake-hit people.”

“Our psychology experts and specialists taught volunteers how to behave with these people,” Cokca said, adding they received some 12,000 applications for the recently concluded five counseling sessions.

Given the sensitivity involved around the trauma, Cokca said “sometimes, people even with an intention to do good (for victims) end up hurting the victims. That is why providing psychological aid is significant to know the real requirements of disaster-hit people.”

He said that during the workshops, the specialists explained to volunteers “how to behave with victims during their loss and mourning process. We must understand sensitivity, that someone has lost their loved ones.”

Founded in 2005 and working across Türkiye in 51 cities, the Happy Family Happy Child Association sent its volunteers into the field soon after the quakes.

At its headquarters in Istanbul, the association also engages around 30 students who are pursuing their masters and doctorate degrees as interns and fellows, and are given stipends to support their studies.

'Stand and listen'

Cokca said the volunteers “need to stand and listen to the affected person, which requires patience.”

“We should not try to comfort the victim because consolation can also lead to misdirection,” he added.

Urging against engaging therapists at this stage, Cokca said “victims have to be given ample time to fully understand what has befallen him or her, and after some time … therapy should begin.”

“We are not in a rush. We are waiting and making our preparations based on the backgrounds of the victims,” he said, explaining the strategy to engage with people affected by the twin earthquakes, which resulted in deaths of more than 44,000 people.

He said the professionals and volunteers in the field are “observing the victims -- individuals and families.”

“While our volunteers are playing with children, at the same time, they are noting different reactions from them,” he added.

Cokca said the current times are “challenging for everyone, including those who went to the quake-hit regions to physically extend help.”

“So it is important that these volunteers and helpers should have psychological endurance,” he said, stressing that “proper communication and know-how of psychological crisis management in the field is a basic requirement of engaging with the victims.”

“Never raise the voice. Volunteers must know how to listen,” he said, warning that interactions with victims will “have negative results if unexperienced volunteers engage in psychological support.

Need for motivation

Volunteers working on the ground also pointed to the need for "motivation and psychological support" to the quake-affected people.

Ismail Ozdemir, who volunteered with the Hasene Vakfi (Foundation) in quake-hit southern Türkiye, told Anadolu: “People have everything like food, water, mobile medical clinics, mobile kitchens and electricity, but what people need is motivation."

Source: Anadolu Agency

Two aircraft carrying relief supplies from Finland have landed at Türkiye's Incirlik Air Base in the aftermath of the Feb. 6 twin earthquakes centered in Kahramanmaras province, according to the Finnish interior minister.

After the 7.7 and 7.6-magnitude quakes struck 11 provinces, aid materials were donated by Finland at Türkiye's request at the base in southern Adana province.

Krista Mikkonen told Anadolu that Finland had already helped immediately after the devastating earthquakes.

"We sent experts to help Türkiye. Seven Finnish experts arrived in Türkiye, while the EU’s civil protection response was led by a Finnish expert. In addition to the experts, we sent shelters for 3,000 people during the week of the earthquakes," she said.

"Türkiye has sent help requests, and Finland has answered these requests and sent help from both the EU and NATO mechanisms, and we have found these mechanisms very efficient. Through these mechanisms, we know what kind of help is needed in the area, so we can send that kind of help, which is needed," she said.

Mikkonen noted that the recent quake relief included shelters for 2,000 people along with assistance packets of heaters and generators as well as supplies of food. She said that additionally, the aircraft included the same kind of material assistance to Syria.

She noted that Syrian aid would pass from the Turkish border.

Despite Finland not being in NATO, Mikkonen stressed that the relief arrived at Türkiye's NATO base thanks to NATO’s friendship program.

"So we can use this NATO mechanism also through sending to help, as we are also using the EU mechanism," she said.

She said the EU and Finland would help Türkiye and Syria for as long as there was a request for help.

"I just want to add that we really want to support Türkiye's people, and I know that the situation over there is very serious and difficult, and we hope the help that we are sending will help people over there," she said.

The devastating Feb. 6 twin earthquakes have claimed more than 44,300 lives in Türkiye’s southern region.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 quakes have impacted some 13 million people across 11 provinces, including Adana, Adiyaman, Diyarbakir, Gaziantep, Hatay, Kahramanmaras, Kilis, Malatya, Osmaniye, Elazig, and Sanliurfa.

Over 10,200 aftershocks have been reported, including a 5.6 magnitude earthquake that jolted Malatya on Monday, killing at least one person and injuring 110 others.

The quakes also caused widespread devastation in parts of northwestern Syria, where the death toll has climbed to at least 5,840.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Baku has filed an arbitration case against Yerevan under the Energy Charter Treaty (ECT), an international agreement focusing on cross-border cooperation primarily in the fossil energy industry, for exploiting energy resources in the Karabakh region, which was under 30 years of Armenian occupation.

“In a Notice of Arbitration served on Armenia, Azerbaijan seeks redress and financial compensation for Armenia’s violation of Azerbaijan’s sovereign rights over its energy resources during Armenia’s nearly 30-year illegal occupation of Azerbaijan’s territory from 1991 to 2020,” a statement by the Azerbaijani Foreign Ministry said on Monday.

The statement said Armenia breached multiple provisions of the ECT, as well as fundamental principles of international law, by denying Azerbaijan from accessing its energy resources in the region, exploiting Azerbaijan’s energy resources for its own benefit and depriving Azerbaijan of further developing its energy resources.

Armenia’s initiatives in this regard include the exploitation of the Karabakh region’s hydropower resources and facilities, and the construction of at least 37 additional unauthorized hydropower facilities, the statement added.

“To facilitate its illegal exploitation of Azerbaijan’s hydropower, Armenia established a ‘whole unified system’ of electricity distribution from the formerly occupied territories to Armenia, ‘regulated from Armenia’ the ‘daily volume of electricity production,’ and granted putative ‘licenses’ to energy companies to operate the region’s existing facilities,” the ministry said.

According to the statement, Armenia also exploited Azerbaijan’s coal resources by “constructing additional energy infrastructure on Azerbaijan’s territory” and damaged existing facilities.

“This arbitration case is an effort to secure justice and reparations for nearly 30 years of illegal exploitation and expropriation of Azerbaijan’s energy resources by Armenia, on Azerbaijan’s internationally recognised sovereign territory,” the statement said.

Relations between the two former Soviet republics have been tense since 1991, when the Armenian military occupied Nagorno-Karabakh, a territory internationally recognized as part of Azerbaijan, and seven adjacent regions.

In the fall of 2020, during 44 days of heavy fighting, Azerbaijan liberated a significant part of Karabakh, and a Russian-brokered peace agreement was subsequently signed. A normalization process is ongoing since then, but several bilateral issues still remain unresolved.

Last month, Azerbaijan filed a similar lawsuit for inter-state arbitration under the Bern Convention, aimed at holding Armenia accountable for the "extensive destruction" of the environment and biodiversity in Karabakh.

Source: Anadolu Agency

Syafiq Mardi, 29, has just finished his meeting with friends in Singapore on a sunny Sunday.

The group decided to finalize target of food packets to be shipped to Türkiye, as Ramadan, a holy fasting month for Muslims, is just weeks away.

“But this is short term and in coming days, we are working on sustainable donation to be part of rebuilding Türkiye,” Mardi told Anadolu from Singapore.

A graduate of ukurova University in the southern Adana province, Mardi first landed in Türkiye back in 2013 for studies.

After studying Islamic theology, art and history, he graduated last year under Türkiye Scholarships, a government-funded higher education scholarship program run by Türkiye’s Presidency of Turks Abroad and Related Communities (YTB).

Back home, Mardi is involved in volunteer work to ship relief, in cash and kind, for earthquake-hit people in Türkiye.

As part of Be Kind Project, a local Singaporean organization, “we collected more than $20,000 in just one week besides other necessary items including food, clothes,” Mardi said.

“Now we are working on a long-time project like in education and social building activities,” he said, adding: “Now is my time to repay kindness of Türkiye. It is in a sense of gratitude to pay back to Turkish society.”

Türkiye provides necessary funding, facility for stay and other activities to international students for studies ranging from high school to post-doctoral degrees.

Many of these international students are funded by the YTB. Currently, there are more than 170,000 international students pursuing various degrees in the country.

Soon after the twin earthquakes struck southern Türkiye on Feb. 6, many international students jumped into search, rescue and relief operations.

The death toll from the massive tremors has climbed to 44,374, according to the latest official figures. Thousands of others have been injured.

Türkiye’s Disaster and Emergency Management Presidency (AFAD) said the quakes, centered in Kahramanmaras province, have been followed by 9,136 aftershocks so far.

The magnitude 7.7 and 7.6 tremors struck 10 other southern and southeastern provinces including Hatay, Gaziantep, Adiyaman, Malatya, Adana, Diyarbakir, Kilis, Osmaniye, Sanliurfa, and Elazig. Some 13.5 million people have been affected by the devastating quakes.

‘Can’t resist helping affected people’

From the Turkish capital Ankara, Sherhan Upahm Abas, 27, joined a group to help people in the quake-hit region.

A native of Bangsamoro, southern Muslim-majority autonomous region of the Philippines, Abas, along with the group which consisted of students from Malaysia, Bangsamoro, Indonesia, and a Rohingya, travelled to Hatay, Kahramanmaras and Gaziantep.

“Whenever we are in need, Türkiye is always there for us,” said Abas, who is studying master’s in information system at Ankara’s Gazi University.

“It is not just about religion, we are brothers, we have to help each other,” he stressed, recalling “sad situation” from ground zero of Türkiye quakes.

Abas said: “I don’t think anyone can resist helping these quake-affected people.”

Led by Yilmaz Balcin of Türkiye-based International Youth Forum, the group distributed blankets, food parcels, shoes, solar panels, and jackets among quake-affected people.

‘Türkiye has provided us education which is very important for my community’

Aung Naing Shwe, 31, has not visited his family, victim of Myanmar’s persecution of Rohingya, since he landed in Türkiye in 2018.

A PhD candidate at Ankara Yildirim Beyazit University, Shwe told Anadolu that he helped the quakes-affected people in psychosociological needs.

“I visited camps and talked to quake-affected people, who needed psychosocial support,” said Shwe, who has worked for four years as a psychological counselor.

“Türkiye is supporting people everywhere around the world, especially our Rohingya community in every aspect … be it medical or education,” Shwe said, as he recalled support extended by the Turkish Cooperation and Coordination Agency (TIKA), a state-run development aid agency, and AFAD to Rohingya community living in Bangladesh.

“It has been very effective for our people,” he said, adding: “Providing education to us is everything for a community like ours.”

Shwe, a YTB scholar, said quake-affected people need psychosocial support because some lost parents, some their home and properties.

“This is a traumatic event and we need to reduce such kind of trauma from their minds,” he said.

‘Even with small contributions, we want to be with Turkish people’

A popular social media influencer, Musaib Afzal, is a fresh YTB graduate who has returned home in Indian-administered Kashmir.

He is busy organizing and helping individuals and organizations in the Himalayan region by shipping relief to Türkiye.

Recalling an emotional incident from Srinagar, the capital of Kashmir, Musaib told Anadolu: “A vendor said he did not have enough cash to give.

“This is all I have, the baby caps, please send them soon to Türkiye,” Afzal quoted the vendor as saying.

“We people want to be there with Turkish people (in times of need) even with our small contributions,” said Afzal, who has gained thousands of social media followers for his digital content spreading awareness about educational, cultural and other opportunities provided in Türkiye.

A graduate of Islamic sciences from Recep Tayyip Erdogan University, Afzal recalled time he spent volunteering with different student and civil society organizations in Türkiye’s Black Sea province of Rize.

Working with local civil society organizations and students’ groups helped him understand Turkish culture well, he acknowledged.

“It helped me develop deep communication with local Turkish people and see their love toward Muslims from other parts of the world.

“They are always there for us, anywhere in the world,” said Afzal, referring to Türkiye’s humanitarian organizations including the Humanitarian Relief Foundation (IHH).

In Kashmir, he guided people and organizations to contact the Turkish Embassy in New Delhi, India’s capital.

“Lots of people sent support in kind and cash,” he said.

On his digital work, Afzal said: “I can clearly see people recognizing my little efforts on social media where I have become a bridge to connect people who face problem of language barrier besides other issues.

“It has helped us, here in Kashmir, in Türkiye’s post-quake relief operations.”

Iraqi students contribute in cash and kind

Amjad Yasir led a group of international students from Iraq to Kahramanmaras and Hatay.

“We have founded an all-Iraqi student organization in Türkiye to assist earthquake-affected people,” Jawdat told Anadolu.

He said the group of around 50 students works in coordination with organizations “back home (which) send us material and help us raise funds.”

“We drove to Kahramanmaras and Hatay to hand out humanitarian aid. Iraqi students made large amount of cash donation to the Turkish Red Crescent as well as to AFAD, and provided aid to more than 1,000 families,” said Yasir, adding the group’s humanitarian work was coordinated by Istanbul-based youth board of Union of NGOs of the Islamic World.

The Iraqi group is also procuring around 1,000 tents which will be distributed to quake-affected people in Kahramanmaras.

Ayodele Akin-Adamu, who studies structural engineering at Dokuz Eylul University in the Aegean coast city of Izmir, joined a group of students to help with packaging and distribution of food in Kilis.

Besides witnessing the situation on the ground himself, Ayodele told Anadolu that his trip to Kilis helped him “understand impact of the earthquake firsthand.”

Studies of Ayodele, a native of Nigeria, are supported by the YTB.

“I left Izmir for Kilis because I wanted to help the people which were affected by the earthquake in whatsoever capacity I have,” he told Anadolu while his friend Rizwan uz Zaman from Kashmir was distributing food packages among the quake-hit people.

The duo has joined the Istanbul-based IHH which runs one of the biggest relief centers in the province, close to the border with Syria.

Ayodele said working experience with the IHH enabled the international students to “see how they operate, … , prepare food, provide temporary shelter, clothing, and other essential items” to quake-affected people.

Source: Anadolu Agency