Cem Karaca
Cem Karaca
The following is one of the most famous songs of Cem Karaca, a Turkish singer. The name of song is “Allah Yar” which simply means “Allah (God) is my love”. Our generation remembers him very well however, not recognised by young people since he had to live abroad after the military cue in 1980 in Turkey. Rest in peace, Cem Karaca.
Note: This song is unique in Cem Karaca’s album as being a tasawwufi (religious, or mystical) one.
Who is Cem Karaca?
He was the only child of Ä°rma Felekyan (Toto Karaca) of Armenian origin[1], a popular opera, thatre and movie actress, and Mehmet Ä°brahim Karaca of Azeri origin.[2] His first group was called Dynamites and was a classic rock cover band. Later he joined Jaguars, an Elvis Presley cover band. In 1967, he started to write his own music, forming the band ApaÅŸlar (Apachees), his first Turkish-language group. In 1969, Karaca and bass-player Serhan Karabay left ApaÅŸlar and started an original Anatolian group called KardaÅŸlar (Brothers).
In 1972, Karaca joined the group MoÄŸollar (Mongols) and wrote one of his best-known songs, “Namus Belası”. However, Cahit Berkay, the leader of MoÄŸollar, wanted an international name for his band, and he left for France to take the group to another level. Karaca, who wanted to continue his Anatolian beat sound, left MoÄŸollar and started his own band DerviÅŸan (Dervishes) in 1974. Karaca and DerviÅŸan sang poetic and progressive songs.
In the 1970s, Turkey’s image was damaged by political violence between supporters of the left and the right, separatist movements and the rise of Islamism. As the country fell into chaos, the government suspected Cem Karaca of involvement. At times he was accused of treason for being a separatist thinker and a Marxist-Leninist. The Turkish government tried to portray Karaca as a man, who was unknowingly writing songs to start a revolution. One politician was quoted as saying, “Karaca is simply calling citizens to a bloody war against the state.” DerviÅŸan was ultimately dissolved at the end of 1977. He later founded in 1978 Edirdahan, an acronym for “from Edirne to Ardahan”; the westernmost and the easternmost provinces of Turkey. He recorded one LP with Edirdahan.
In early 1979, he left for West Germany for business reasons. Turkey continued to spin out of control with military curfews and eventually a military coup on September 12, 1980. General Kenan Evren took over the government and temporarily closed all the nation’s political parties. After the coup, many intellectual people, including writers, artists and journalists, were arrested. A warrant was issued for the arrest of Karaca by the government of Turkey.
The state invited Cem Karaca back to the country several times, but Karaca, not knowing what would happen upon his return, decided not to come back.
While he was in Germany, his father died, but he could not return to attend the funeral. After some time, the Turkish government decided to strip Cem Karaca of his Turkish citizenship, keeping the arrest warrant active.
Several years later, in 1987, the prime minister and leader of the Turkish Motherland Party, Turgut Özal, issued an amnesty for Karaca. Shortly afterwards, he returned to Turkey. His return also brought a new album by him, Merhaba Gençler ve Her zaman Genç Kalanlar (”Hello Young Ones and Everyone Who’d Always Felt Young”), one of his most powerful works. His return home was greeted happily by his fans, but during his absence, Cem Karaca had lost the youthful audience and acquired few new listeners. He died on February 8, 2004 and was interred at Karacaahmet Cemetery in Ãœsküdar district of Istanbul.
Omron Express at IIUM
Omron Express at IIUM
A Bus not to Miss!
Friday (10th April) at Kulliyyah of Engineering Car Park
OMRON AUTOMATION EXPRESS AT IIUM
Omron Automation Express (Omron @Xpress) will visit Kulliyyah of Engineering on Friday, 10th April, 2009. All Engineering Community including Academic Staff, Researchers, and Engineering Students are invited and most welcome for this once-in-life experience.
What is Omron Automation Express?
Omron Automation Express is a mobile demonstration unit, or modern lab carrying the state-of-the art automation solutions. Omron @Xpress will demonstrate the modern Sensing and Control Technologies. You can see a whole range of Omron products on display and can have “hands-on†experience in a testing area available in the bus.
Venue: Arrival of Bus at 09:00~09:30, Kulliyyah of Engineering Car Park,
Date: 10th April, 2009, Friday (Until 17:00)
Obama’s Afghanistan strategy at Risk
Obama’s Afghanistan strategy at Risk
President Barack Obama’s Afghanistan strategy is at risk at a critical Nato summit on Friday because of Turkish resistance to his choice of Denmark’s prime minister for the job of the Alliance’s new Secretary-General.
France, Germany, Britain and the United States had hoped to use the symbolic meeting, marking the Alliance’s 60th anniversary, to install Anders Fogh Rasmussen in the post.
But Recep Tayyip Erdogan, Turkey’s prime minister, has opposed this move because of Mr Rasmussen’s refusal, three years ago, to apologise for Danish newspapers printing cartoons of the Prophet Mohammad which triggered violent protests across the Muslim world.
“Nato needs to think about its image in the Muslim world, especially at an important time for Afghanistan,” said one Turkish diplomat.
Riots over the cartoons also spread to Afghanistan the Taliban have exploited their appearance for propaganda value.
The issue has become highly sensitive at a time when Nato and Mr Obama are stepping up military, policing and reconstruction efforts in Afghanistan, with Muslim Turkey playing a key role.
“There are concerns in Nato that as Secretary-General Rasmussen would face fierce protests when he visited Muslim countries,” said one diplomat.
Turkey, which has 900 non-combatant troops in Afghanistan, takes over the command of Nato forces in the country in August, when Afghans go to the polls for crucial elections.
Ankara has not yet threatened an outright veto of Mr Rasmussen, but the Turkish resistance has overshadowed the summit and prevented an easy transition to a new Nato leader.
Diplomats are concerned that the longer the leadership issue drags on, the less chance Mr Rasmussen has of taking the job, making the Alliance appear disunited.
Jaap de Hoop Scheffer, the current secretary general, steps down in July, after having his term extended to allow a successor to be crowned in Strasbourg during this summit’s 60th anniversary celebrations.
The US must also decide whether to accept a request for another 10,000 American troops from the commander of Nato-led forces in Afghanistan.
The surge of 17,000 troops ordered to the country by Mr Obama in January amount to two of three brigades General David McKiernan originally asked for to stem the insurgency in the south and east of the country.
Up to 30,000 police have been mobilised to protect the summit of 28 Nato countries - their ranks newly enlarged by Albania and Croatia - as tens of thousands of left wing and anarchist demonstrators descend on Strasbourg, and neighbouring Kehl and Baden Baden in Germany.
Border controls and an unprecedented security clamp down came into force on Thursday evening to protect venues on both sides of the Rhine, chosen to symbolise Franco-German reconciliation after the Second World War.
France is deploying 10,000 security forces including riot police, while Germany is positioning 14,600 police and has gone so far as to mobilise 600 soldiers.
Airspace over Strasbourg and Baden Baden will be shut down and access to many major roads is to be cut off on Friday morning.
By Bruno Waterfield in Strasbourg and Ben Farmer in Kabul