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Monday May 21

Statement by Mitat Celikpala

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STATEMENT by MITAT ÇELİKPALA*

22 SEPTEMBER 2011

The statement that is circulated by e-mail, entitled “Candemir is using KAFFED: Wikileaks - Mithat Celikpala: Cihan Candemir is using his KAFFED leadership for his company” and introduced with the remarks, “The details of the US diplomats’ meetings with Abkhaz and North Caucasian diaspora are being revealed in Wikileaks cables” does not reflect the truth.

As is known to all, Wikileaks cables are reports produced by American diplomats that are based on meetings they have and observations they make on subjects they find of interest in the countries they work. It is also known that these reports are special service documents that do reflect diplomats’ own personal opinions, which also include speculative comments to improve their standing in the eyes of the Centre [in Washington].

There is an ongoing debate throughout the world about the documents contained in Wikileaks cables. To an extent, this is a productive debate provided that this is done within a framework that is objective and free from misleading information. Having said that the document in question, which is introduced in the way it is and released as part of a specific agenda, has now become slanderous and far from being objective. Leaving the discrepancies, incorrect data and one-sided assessments contained in it, I cannot accept the fact that my name is being used to settle scores in the power struggles and personal vendettas that dominate the organisations [North Caucasian Diaspora] in Turkey. Furthermore it is important to be known that the remarks attributed to me in the later part of the report are not mine. I would like the general public to know that I am deeply disturbed and worried by the way my name and the remarks untruly attributed to me are being used to put personal grudges and ambitions to work.

I am assuming that the hundreds of articles and reports I have written and the speeches and presentations that I have made on Abkhazia, the Caucasus, the organisations [North Caucasian] and diaspora since the early 2000s, should by now have given a true impression of me, my personality and the way I work to all the Abkhaz and Adyghe in Turkey.  And when it comes to Abkhazia, Caucasus and diaspora, I have supported, to the best of my abilities, not only KAFFED but also, first and foremost, the Caucasus-Abkhaz Solidarity Committee and all the other organisations, associations, initiatives and groupings regardless of their differing views, disparate world outlooks and political stances. Many will also know how this has affected my professional, including my academic, life. Consequently I am deeply upset by this attitude, which is in such a contrast with the respect I have towards the relationships that I have cultivated over the years without having a second agenda. In this regard publishing, without my knowledge, a document that is known to be untrue and one-sided with an introduction in the manner of a tabloid newspaper demonstrates that some institutions and individuals do not value the concepts of trust and honesty, which I thought governed the relationships in question, as much as I do.

Therefore I strongly condemn those who prepared this document and circulated in communication networks and respectfully inform the general public that I will not be part of this disinformation campaign and personal rivalry.

Mitat Çelikpala

*This statement is published in Turkish on KAFFED's website at http://kafkasfederasyonu.org/haber/federasyon/2011/220911_kamuoyuna.htm on 23/09/2011 and translated into English by CircassianWorld.