Month: September 2006

Author gives us issues to talk about
by Nick Bray

The Courier Mail (Australia)
September 23, 2006 Saturday
First with the news Edition

AN EXTRAORDINARY and dangerous legal case ended with a whimper this
week, when a Turkish court acquitted Elif Shafak, a novelist charged
with insulting Turkish identity in the dialogues of her fictional
characters.

In a trial lasting only 90 minutes, the court decided there was a
lack of substantial evidence and dropped the case.

It had been brought to trial by nationalists who accused Shafak of
insulting Turkish identity when one of the Armenian characters in
her best-selling novel, The Bastard of Istanbul, talked about Turkish
"butchers" killing his ancestors in a 1915 genocide.

The dark episode in Turkey’s history remains a taboo topic in the
country.

The bone of contention in the aborted trial was Article 301 of
the Turkish criminal code, which makes criticism of "Turkishness"
a crime. If found guilty, Shafak faced a maximum of three years’ jail.

Shafak, 34, an assistant professor of Near Eastern studies at the
University of Arizona, did not attend the trial after giving birth
last Saturday.

She marked her acquittal with reservation.

"The verdict is very pleasing in terms of Turkey’s test of democracy
and freedom of expression, but incomplete as long as Article 301
remains as it is, open to manipulation," Shafak told the International
Herald Tribune.

"If the court decided against me, the arts and literature in Turkey
could have fallen victims to censorship. Such a decision could have
gagged artists in general."

That’s a view shared by Lionel Shriver, whose opening address at the
recent Brisbane Writers Festival was on that subject.

"Political correctness is strangling public debate," she warned in
an interview last week.

The London-based American journalist and author believes fiction to
be the one public forum left where outrageous issues can be explored.

"And even fiction is now under threat."

She said the court case in Turkey was not an isolated incident.

"A play and a movie set have been shut down in recent times in England
because minority groups complained that they were offensive to them,"
she says.

"These groups demanded a respect that they have not earned, but
they won.

"If we allow this to happen, how long will it be before I find myself
on trial for something that one of my fictional characters says?"

It’s a subject dear to Shriver’s heart and one that she believes
needs to be urgently addressed, but it’s not the only one.

She also has strong views on other subjects that have been placed
on the taboo list — immigration levels, two-tier health systems and
parental guilt, for example.

Shriver isn’t just being provocative for the sake of it. Her attraction
to the outrageous is driven and informed by a need to promote public
debate on important issues.

She delights in not only observing the elephant in the room that
everyone else is refusing to acknowledge, but then describing it in
technicolour detail.

"I read a lot of newspapers and magazines and I find a lot to be
angry about," she said.

"Any issue that makes me angry, those are the ones where there’s
something going on that no one wants to talk about and they’re the
ones that we need to talk about."

After months on the publicity trail for her 2005 Orange Prize-winning
novel We Need to Talk About Kevin, she’s growing a little weary of
discussing that book and the issues it raises.

Credited with opening up a new front in the so-called Mummy Wars, Kevin
uses the story of a mother’s relationship with her mass-murderer son
to question the unconditional nature of maternal love and to further
explore the nature versus nurture debate.

"I actually don’t have fixed views on parental culpability, nature
versus nurture, or how to discipline children," Shriver said. "It’s
actually quite boring to talk about such issues in general, that’s
why it’s so interesting and important to do it in fiction because
you can deal with things in the particular."

In the particular, Shriver also has her eye on immigration levels in
her birthplace of the US and adopted home of England.

"What interests me is the levels of complexity in that debate," she
said. "If I lived in a poor country I would be inclined to move to
Europe or the US, I’m sympathetic to the impulse.

"I’m also sympathetic to the economic benefits of immigration to
Western economies with age-

ing populations."

Cheap labour performing the menial tasks Westerners no longer want
to perform, for example.

But there’s always a "but".

"Immigration is not a boon, while it does benefit some isolated
commercial interests, the state is paying through the nose," she said.

"I’m even more interested in the complexities of the social issues
immigration raises.

"Modest immigration is good, it stirs things up, introduces new things
to society, which is good for the soul."

It’s the level of immigration, the proportion of migrants to the
natives in society, which is the key to the debate Shriver would like
to have.

"You could probably put a percentage on it quite closely," she
said. "It’s nice to have visitors and to visit the parts of town
they’ve created, but when you feel inundated it stirs up all sorts of
dangerous responses. I know that resentment we feel is often viewed
as right wing, but it’s not, it’s simply about how we react."

Shriver plans to write a novel about the subject.

"The challenge will be to write about the unease of a native who
suddenly finds himself surrounded by immigrants in a way that is
sympathetic," she said. "But you mark my words, when I do write that
book, I’ll be labelled a racist."

In much the same way she’s been branded a narcissistic sociopath with
an anti-motherhood agenda for daring to question common assumptions
about maternal love.

But that book will have to wait.

Shriver’s next book, The Post-Birthday World, is in her words a much
sweeter book.

"I wanted to write something that people felt they could admit to
enjoying, that they liked," she said.

After that, though, battle lines will again be drawn.

"I’m also concerned about health care, about how . . . we face having
a two-tiered health system, one for the rich whose lives will be
prolonged indefinitely and one for the poor, where decisions will
have to be made on how much a life is worth."

That should be talked about, too.

Istanbul Court Clears Author Of Insulting Turkish Identity
By SEBNEM ARSU

The New York Times
September 22, 2006 Friday
Late Edition – Final

An Istanbul court on Thursday dropped charges against the writer Elif
Shafak of insulting Turkish identity in dialogues by the characters
in her latest novel.

In a 90-minute session, the court decided that substantial evidence
was lacking and abandoned the case. The case had been watched by
academics and supporters of Ms. Shafak in Turkey and abroad. The
European Union criticized the charges and monitored the case.

European Union nations have warned Turkey that putting writers and
intellectuals on trial for their statements could prevent it from
becoming a member.

Despite many measures the Parliament has passed so Turkey can qualify
for membership talks, Article 301 of the criminal code continues to
permit prosecutions for criticism of the state and Turkish identity.

The acclaimed Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk has faced prosecution
under the article, which carries a maximum penalty of three years
in prison. The charges against him were dropped after international
opposition to his prosecution. Ms. Shafak was accused by nationalistic
lawyers of insulting Turkish identity because an Armenian character in
her novel, "The Bastard of Istanbul," speaks of "Turkish butchers" who
killed his ancestors in 1915. The character uses the term "genocide."

Turkey refuses to accept the word "genocide" to describe the killings
of Armenians during that period.

Ms. Shafak, 34, an assistant professor of Near Eastern studies at
the University of Arizona, did not attend the trial after giving
birth to a girl on Saturday in Turkey. "The verdict is very pleasing
in terms of Turkey’s test of democracy and freedom of expression,
but incomplete as long as Article 301 remains as it is, open to
manipulation," she said by phone.

Lawyers who defend the decision to try her say presenting opinions
through fictitious characters should not be an excuse to assault
the state.

Joost Lagendijk, co-chairman of the Turkey-European Union Joint
Parliamentary Commission, said that, regardless of the outcome, every
case filed was a victory for Turkish opponents of the European Union.

Outside the court, a small group of protesters condemned Ms. Shafak.

Asia News, Italy
Sept 22 2006

Turkey starts to admit it has an ‘Armenian Question’
by Mavi Zambak

Despite resistance and opposition by nationalists, books, newspapers
and TV are starting to talk about the hitherto taboo issue. Judges
are helping the process by throwing out cases against writers accused
of insulting the nation and its institutions.

Istanbul (AsiaNews) – Section 301 of the Turkish Penal Code, which
makes it an offence to insult Turkish identity, is outdated, a
leftover from a nationalist past that is still hanging, thanks in
part to groups like the Grey Wolves, who are linked to the Turkish
Nationalist Movement Party (Milliyetci Hareket Partisi or MHP). It
was Grey Wolves’ member Mehmet Ali Aðca who tried to kill Pope John
Paul II in 1981.

Last year famous Turkish writer Orhan Pamuk received death threats
after admitting to a German newspaper that a million Armenians had
been killed in Turkey. He was also charged under Section 301 with
denigrating "Turkishness, the Republic or the Grand National Assembly
of Turkey, [. . .] the Government of the Republic of Turkey, the
judicial institutions of the State, the military or security
organizations". Only after several postponements and Europeans
grumbling about Turkey’s commitment to freedom of expression was the
writer found not guilty on January 24 of this year.

Similarly, elements within the judiciary close to the MHP tried to
ban a conference entitled Ottoman Armenians During the Decline of the
Empire: Issues of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy at
Istanbul’s Bilgi University on September 24-25 2005 after it was
blocked in the previous May because its scientific validity and the
qualifications of its participants were challenged. Also in this
case, protests in favour of academic freedom led Turkish Prime
Minister Erdogan to intervene and so it went ahead.

Elif Þafak, a young Turkish writer who lives in the United States,
went on trial yesterday for the same reason. Charges were brought
again by Kemal Kerincsiz, head of the Executive Board of the Lawyers’
Association, which pretends to defend the country against any writer,
editor, journalist or free thinker opposed its own narrow-minded
nationalism.

On trial with Ms Þafak was her bestselling novel The Bastard of
Istanbul (50,000 copies already sold) in which an Armenian character
accuses "Turkish butchers" of massacring Christian Armenians from
1915 till the end of the Ottoman Empire.

If Pamuk risked three years in prison for a historical-political
statement, Ms Þafak faced the same prospect for words uttered by a
fictional character in a novel that had nothing autobiographical
about it. But she too was acquitted and case against her was thrown
out of court. Kemal Kerincsiz lost again.

With the exception of a few nationalist lawyers who protested outside
the Istanbul courthouse, no one has questioned the judge’s decision.

The writer was not present at the proceedings because she gave birth
to a daughter over the weekend. But outside the courthouse
nationalist protesters came face to face with her left-wing
supporters. As a shouting match quickly descended into scuffles, riot
police moved to stop them from degenerating.

All this is a sign that Turkish nationalism is no longer what I used
to be: the ban on talking about Armenian issues is increasingly being
violated.

For years, Turkey has tried to tackle its own recent history. The
Armenian Question is undoubtedly one of the hardest and most painful
ones. It is at the core of a process Turkish historian Altuð Taner
Akcam has called the black hole of the Turkish Republic’s identity.
Leading the charge are Turkish journalists and intellectuals.

"There is a silent revolution underway but it is largely the work of
reform-minded political and cultural elites," Ms Þafak said. "The
refusal to acknowledge the genocide inflicted on the Armenian people
stems from collective amnesia, a fracture point in [a people’s]
memory". Several cultural events are however underway to "give back
to the Turkish people its own memory and past".

In early 2005 an exhibit showcasing some 600 old postcards opened in
Istanbul. The purpose was to allow ordinary Turkish citizens to see
how important and rooted the Armenian presence was on Ottoman
territory. The opening of Istanbul’s Armenian Museum, inaugurated by
Prime Minister Erdogan himself, represents another step in the same
direction.

On the 90th anniversary of the genocide (1915-1916), TV stations,
including state-run broadcasters, devoted several programmes to the
Armenian Question inviting historians and intellectuals with
different points of view to round table discussions.

With in-depth reports, interviews and editorials, print media has
also begun covering the Armenian Question and modern Armenia.

The publishing industry has also started to do its part by releasing
many books in Turkish on the issue.

Another element in this trend is the number of Turks of Armenian
origin daring to speak out. For decades descendants of Armenians
converted to Islam to escape the massacres tried to hide their
shameful origins. Now, taking advantage of greater openness in
today’s Turkish society, many are coming out into the open and
reclaim their roots.

Lawyer Fethiye Cetin was amongst the first to do it. In her 2004 book
Anneannem (My Grandmother), she tells the story of her grandmother
who was born in an Armenian village in Elazig province, eastern
Turkey. Based on the old woman’s recollections of her life, the
tragic events of 1915, the massacre of the men of her village, the
deportation of the women, her own adoption by a Muslim family and
conversion come alive again. The book has sold 12,000 copies and is
in its 7th printing.

What is important to Ms Cetin is that hundreds of "people in a
situation like mine called to tell me: ‘Me too, my grandmother . . .
always with a veil of suffering."

"I hope that my book will be a trailblazer. I, too, was afraid to
deal with this because it is so taboo," she said. "Being called an
Armenian was an insult. Armenians are seen as conspirators, but today
there is process of digging out" the truth.

After her book came out others started revealing that they, too, were
partly Armenian according to columnist Bekir Coskun. This set in
motion a new trend as more and more people tried to stir the murky
waters of their past.

Film maker Berke Bas is one of them. She set out to find out more
about of her own old grandmother’s story and interviewed residents of
Ordu, a town on the Black Sea, in north-eastern Turkey.

"Many people provided me with information. They remembered very well
their old neighbours," she said. "Turks in Ordu remember with sadness
and nostalgia a time of peace and coexistence."

For the young woman who learnt about her Armenian ancestry only as an
adult, Turks today are better prepared to look at their past and are
happy to discover a history that is different from the official
version, one in which Armenians were portrayed as cruel enemies.

"In my opinion half of all Turks are of Armenian origin," said Luiz
Bakar, an attorney for Istanbul’s Armenian Patriarchate, as she told
stories of converts who talked to her.

According to Bakar, every year about 20 people or so, who lived most
of their life as Muslims, come to the Armenian Patriarchate to be
baptised finding their way back to the religion of their forebears
before they, too, die.

In order to look at the past with courage the nationalist
stranglehold over history must be broken. Only this way can the
country’s painful and troubled past be brought to light without fear
of losing face or one’s honour.

This is why more and more people want Section 301 of the Penal Code
abolished, a step the European Union has insistently called for. Not
only does it criminalise any affront to Turkishness but it also
stifles freedom of thought and limits the rights of historians to
freely conduct their research.

Prime Minister Erdogan himself welcomed the court’s decision in
favour of Ms Elif Þafak.

He went further and said that parliament must take heart and sit down
to calmly discuss abolishing or at least unanimously amending the
offensive section that has forced to so many Turkish intellectuals to
stand in the defendant’s box.

Still another writer, Ipek Calishar, is up for trial on October 5.
She is faced with a possible five-year sentence for writing the story
of Ataturk’s former wife thanks to the latter’s sister. Like the
Armenian Question, the founder of the Turkish Republic is another
issue, too taboo for Turkish nationalists.

en&art=7288

–Boundary_(ID_TUZg8WCBv3HP34PW04 E1DQ)–

Box-WM: Erinnerungen an Alis historische KieferbruchnachtDie Welt

Box-WM
Erinnerungen an Alis historische Kieferbruchnacht

24/1048906.html

Acht Runden mit gebrochenem Kiefer, blutspuckend, schwer atmend, mit
unertraglichen Schmerzen – willkommen in der Holle. Was halt ein Mensch aus?

Das ist die eine offene Frage nach diesem Schlachtfest, das die Grausamkeit
und Faszination des Boxens gleichermaßen belegt. Die andere ist die
Gewissensfrage: Wann stoppe ich einen Kampf?

Von Oskar Beck

Normalerweise platzt jeder Boxer vor Stolz, der mit Muhammad Ali verglichen
wird. Nur der deutsche Mittelgewichts-Weltmeister Arthur Abraham hatte auf
das Kompliment in der Nacht zum Sonntag lieber verzichtet. Es kam vom
Ringarzt.

Walter Wagner sah Abraham und stohnte: "Wie bei Ali." Spontan hat er sich an
"battle of the broken jaw" erinnert, die historische Kieferbruchnacht anno ’73,
als Ali mit dem Kinn voraus in einen Lastwagen namens Ken Norton lief. Und
so war es jetzt wieder. Nur schlimmer. Und blutiger.

Der Ringrichter sah aus, als sei er einem Blutbad entronnen, der
Fernsehreporter konnte seine Notizen kaum noch entziffern, und sogar daheim
vor dem Bildschirm hat man sicherheitshalber das Sofa zwei Meter nach hinten
verschoben und den Regenschirm aufgespannt. Im Ubrigen stellt sich nach
dieser denkwurdigen WM-Nacht von Wetzlar die Frage, ob die ARD fur das Boxen
noch der richtige Sender ist oder ob dieser Sport kunftig nicht
verschlusselt ausgestrahlt werden muss, mit Senioren- und Kindersperre.

Immerhin hat Abraham die Sache uberstanden, und zwar wie durch ein Wunder
so, dass man ihn sogar als Weltmeister zur Notoperation ins Krankenhaus
bringen konnte. Die Krone, mit der er als Konig Arthur vor dem Kampf noch
stolz einmarschiert war, ließ er allerdings achtlos liegen, sie hatte nicht
mehr auf seinen geschwollenen Kopf gepasst.

Auch zum Lachen war ihm nicht mehr zumute – schon im Kampf hatte er aus
Angst vor Schmerzen nicht das Gesicht verzogen, als ihn Ringrichter Randy
Newman in jeder Runde fragte: "You’re okay?" Absurder kann keine Frage
klingen: acht Runden mit gebrochenem Kiefer, blutspuckend, schwer atmend,
mit unertraglichen Schmerzen – willkommen in der Holle.

Was halt ein Mensch aus? Das ist die eine offene Frage nach diesem
Schlachtfest, das die Grausamkeit und Faszination des Boxens gleichermaßen
belegt. Die andere ist die Gewissensfrage: Wann stoppe ich einen Kampf?

Der Ringrichter wollte abbrechen. Er hatte Abraham zum Sieger durch
Disqualifikation erklart, aufgrund eines gemeingefahrlichen, absichtlichen
Kopfstoßes seines Gegners – doch der Oberschiedsrichter ließ weiterboxen.

Das Boxen lebt vom Thrill. Vom Spektakel solcher Manner, die um die Chance
ihres Lebens kampfen. Edison Miranda, der Gegner, Spitzname "La Pantera",
kommt aus dem Ghetto der Armut und des Hungers. Zu seiner Befreiung gehoren
Tiefschlage und Kopfstoße. Aggressiv, gewalttatig, animalisch hat er zwar
kein Ohr abgebissen, aber Abrahams Kiefer gespalten – doch der
Oberschiedsrichter zwang den Verwundeten zum Weiterboxen.

Aufstecken? Den WM-Gurtel an der Garderobe abgeben? Das Gluck wegwerfen? Als
Avetik Abrahamyan ist er einst aus Armenien gekommen und hat sich im
Bezirksamt Berlin-Charlottenburg einen deutschen Pass, einen deutschen Namen
und einen Kunstlernamen besorgt, um die Herzen von uns Deutschen zu erobern,
was schwer genug ist (man muss nur Dariusz Michalczewski fragen) – und dann
aufgeben?

Ja, auf sich allein gestellt hatte er mit seinen Schmerzen wohl kapituliert.

Wie sogar der große Ali es einmal am liebsten getan hatte, gegen Joe
Frazier, 1975, im "Thrilla in Manila". Nach der 14. Runde war er fertig, am
Ende, groggy. "Cut them off", flehte der Großte seinen Trainer Angelo Dundee
an, schneid die Handschuhe auf, mach Schluss. "Wir warten noch", sagte
Dundee. Im nachsten Moment gab Frazier, halb bewusstlos, in der anderen Ecke
auf. Boxen ist ein Spiel auf dem Drahtseil, mit der Gesundheit und dem
Gluck. Hinterher sagte Ali: "Ich habe den Tod gesehen."

Was hat Arthur Abraham am Ende noch gesehen im Schmerz? Vermutlich hat auch
er nur noch seinen Trainer Wegner ("Halt durch!") gehort oder den Promoter
Sauerland, der sich vor lauter Schreien ("Du schaffst es!") fast auch noch
den Kiefer gebrochen hatte – und um ein Haar jetzt ebenfalls flussig ernahrt
werden musste, mit Hilfe der Schnabeltasse.

Jedenfalls hat Gevatter Abraham uberlebt. Er hat diesen Straßenkampfer,
seinen inneren Schweinehund und alle Schmerzen besiegt und diese blutige
Nacht des Kieferbruchs zum Durchbruch genutzt in die Heldengalerie des
deutschen Sports – und als nachstes wird er, sagt der Trainer vaterlich,
jetzt gesund gepflegt.

Sobald Konig Arthur dann wieder halbwegs in der Lage ist, die 320.000 Euro
Schmerzensgeld zu zahlen und seinen ersten dicken Kampfvertrag in der
Millionenliga zu unterschreiben, wird er allen danken, die ihn in dieser
Nacht ohne Rucksicht auf seine Gesundheit zum Gluck gezwungen haben.

Das ist Boxen.

Artikel erschienen am 24.09.2006
Artikel drucken
WELT.de 1995 – 2006

–Boundary_(ID_qj8zUHfb98y0nwiofVar7A)–

Die Suddeutsche Zeitung, Munnchen

24.09.2006 15:23 Uhr

Box-Weltmeister im Mittelgewicht

Mit Kieferbruch zum Sieg

Es war ein hasslicher Kampf: Der Berliner Boxer Arthur Abrahams brach
sich den Kiefer und boxte dennoch weiter. Am Ende gewann "Konig Arthur"
– und musste in die Intensivstation.

Walter Frohlich

Das Blut tropfte aus "Konig Arthurs" Mund auf den Ringboden und
hinterließ rote Spuren auf heller Hose. In der vierten Runde brach
ihm der Kiefer gleich doppelt und verursachte hollische Schmerzen,
Arthur Abrahams Gesicht mutierte immer mehr zur gruseligen Fratze.

Doch der Box-Weltmeister aus Berlin gab nicht auf und wurde
belohnt. Mit eisernem Kampfeswillen verteidigte er seinen IBF-Titel im
Mittelgewicht durch einen 3:0-Punktsieg gegen den Kolumbianer Edison
Miranda nach zwolf Runden erfolgreich.

"Ich habe immer noch einen Puls von 200. So eine Schlacht habe ich
nicht erwartet. Arthur hat sich ein Denkmal gesetzt. Wenn jemand
acht Runden mit gebrochenem Kiefer boxt, notigt das mehr als Respekt
ab", sagte Promoter Wilfried Sauerland. Trainer Ulli Wegner erganzte:
"Naturlich habe ich uberlegt, ihn aus dem Kampf zu nehmen. Aber Arthur
hatte es mir nie verziehen, wenn er so den Titel verloren hatte. Das
ist Boxen und nicht Kegeln."

Nach dem Kampf: Ab in die Intensivstation

Abraham selbst war nach dem Fight zu keiner Stellungnahme mehr
fahig. Nach Angaben von Ringarzt Professor Walter Wagner (Bayreuth)
hatte er "0,5 bis einen Liter Blut verloren". In der Kabine mussten
Infusionen gelegt werden.

Danach ging es zur Kieferoperation ins Evangelische Krankenhaus
in Siegen.

Selbst auf der Trage reckte Abraham noch die Daumen in die
Hohe. Spatestens jetzt hatte der ehemalige "Schlumpfboxer" seinem
neuen Kampfnamen "King Arthur" alle Ehre gemacht.

Am Sonntag war Abraham trotz seiner Blessuren erst recht obenauf. "Ohne
den Kieferbruch hatte ich Miranda in der sechsten Runde umgehauen",
meinte der Weltmeister, der Besuch von Sauerland und Wegner im
Krankenhaus empfing.

Nach dem Einsatz von Titanplatten in den Kiefer darf er das Hospital in
zwei bis drei Tagen wieder verlassen. Die behandelten Ärzte verlegten
ihn bereits von der Intensiv- auf die Normalstation.

Nachdem der Champion und sein Herausforderer Miranda bereits im
Vorfeld des Duells nicht mit Kampfansagen und Drohgebarden gespart
hatten, entwickelte sich von Beginn an ein intensiver Fight, der in
der funften Runde kurz vor dem Abbruch stand. Der immer wieder unfair
agierende Kolumbianer, der wegen seines unsauberen Stils insgesamt
funf Punkte abgezogen bekam, setzte Abraham mit einem Kopfstoß weiter
zu. Ringrichter Randy Neumann (USA) wollte den Kampf auspunkten lassen,
was wohl Abrahams Sieg zur Folge gehabt hatte.

Doch IBF-Supervisor Lindsey Tucker (USA) sah Mirandas Aktion nicht
als ausschlaggebend fur Abrahams Verletzung an und hatte den Abbruch
als technischen K.o.-Sieg fur den Sudamerikaner gewertet.

So hieß es fur den Weltmeister: Zuruck in den Ring. Wegner feuerte
seinen Schutzling in den Pausen immer wieder mit Aufmunterungen
wie "Wir sind doch Krieger" oder "Jetzt entscheidet der Kerl" an –
Abraham gehorchte und wuchs uber sich hinaus.

114:109, 115:109 und 116:109 lautete am Ende das Urteil der
Punktrichter.

Der geburtige Armenier, der seit Ende August die deutsche
Staatsangehorigkeit besitzt, blieb somit auch in seinem 22. Profikampf
ungeschlagen.

Kolumbianer sieht sich um Sieg betrogen

Aufgrund seiner Kieferfraktur muss Abraham nun ein Vierteljahr komplett
pausieren. In den Ring darf der 26-Jahrige fruhestens in sechs Monaten
zuruckkehren. Ob er dann tatsachlich schon zu einer freiwilligen
Titelverteidigung antritt, ließ Promoter Sauerland offen. So konnte
das nachste Duell erneut gegen Miranda steigen. "Miranda wird von der
IBF wohl wieder als offizieller Herausforderer angesetzt. Da konnte
uns also der nachste Kampf bevorstehen", sagte Sauerland.

Der Promoter des Kolumbianers, der zuvor in 26 Kampfen unbesiegt war,
rechnet sich offenbar schon Siegchancen aus. "Miranda hatte in der
funften Runde durch technischen K.o. gewinnen mussen. Dadurch, dass
sie Abraham haben weiterboxen lassen, haben sie einen jungen Champion
ruiniert. Er wird nie wieder derselbe sein", meinte Leon Margules.

–Boundary_(ID_lCRgmsCuA5YAQ4j0k+S3YA)- –

FR online
URL:
/sport/aktuell/?em_cnt=975863

Frankfurter Rundschau

Arthur Abraham verteidigt WM-Titel gegen Miranda

Wetzlar (dpa) – Blut, uberall Blut: Die Boxer in Rot getrankt,
das Blau des Ringrichter-Hemdes rosa gefarbt, Ringboden und Seile
verschmiert. Ende einer Ringschlacht. Box-Weltmeister Arthur Abraham
bezahlte den großten Sieg seiner Karriere in Wetzlar mit einer
schweren Verletzung.

Der 26 Jahre alte Berliner musste nach seinem einstimmigen Punktsieg
(114:109, 115:109, 116:109) uber den Herausforderer Edison Miranda
(Kolumbien) mit einem Kieferbruch sofort in ein Krankenhaus
eingeliefert und operiert werden. Zwolf Stunden spater sah die
Welt fur den Box-Profi schon wieder freundlicher aus. "Arthur ist
schon wieder gut drauf", sagte ein Sprecher nach einem Besuch der
Sauerland-Promotion-Fuhrung im Krankenhaus. Die Operation sei ohne
Komplikationen verlaufen und Abraham in die normale Krankenstation
verlegt worden. Dem Schutzling von Trainer Ulli Wegner war bei dem
Eingriff eine Titanplatte in den Kiefer eingesetzt worden.

Der in nunmehr 22 Kampfen unbesiegte IBF-Champion im Mittelgewicht
hatte in der Nacht zuvor eine starke Willensleistung abgeliefert. "Ich
kann mich nicht an Vergleichbares erinnern, und ich habe schon einiges
gesehen. Das war sensationell von Arthur", sagte Promoter Wilfried
Sauerland nach dem Box-Ereignis des Jahres in Deutschland.

Schon nach vier Runden saß Abraham mit schmerzverzerrtem Gesicht
in der Ecke. Blut schoss aus seinem verletzten Kiefer. Als dann
auch noch ein vermeintlicher Kopfstoß von Miranda folgte, stand das
Duell vor dem Abbruch. Der Ringrichter wollte, der Supervisor aber
nicht. Abraham schon gar nicht. "Arthur hat mir gesagt, er wolle nur
aufhoren, wenn er ganz sicher gewonnen hatte", schilderte Ringarzt
Walter Wagner die dramatische Situation.

Ware der Champion aus dem Ring genommen worden, hatte er durch
Technischen K.o. verloren. Das wollte aber bis auf die gegnerische
Seite niemand. So boxte Abraham ungeachtet der hollischen Schmerzen
mit standig geoffnetem Mund weiter, schlug weiter, punktete weiter
und landete einen Sieg uber sich selbst. "Ich habe noch nie erlegt,
dass einer mit so einer Verletzung acht Runden durchgehalten und dann
noch gewonnen hat. Davor ziehe ich den Hut", sagte Wagner.

Der erfahrene Ringarzt geht davon aus, dass Abraham seinen Titel
fruhestens in einem halben Jahr wieder verteidigen kann. Die nachsten
vier Wochen steht fur den geburtigen Armenier, der seinen ersten Kampf
mit deutscher Staatsburgerschaft bestritt, erst einmal ausschließlich
Flussignahrung auf dem Programm. In etwa drei Monaten ist wieder an
wettkampfnahes Sparring zu denken.

"Selbst die amerikanischen Kommentatoren, die ja einiges gewohnt
sind, waren beeindruckt", berichtete Sauerland. Der Fight war live
im amerikanischen Fernsehen zu sehen. Insgesamt 35 Lander hatten sich
Ubertragungsrechte gesichert.

Miranda und sein Umfeld waren enttauscht. Sie hatten ihren
Mann, der selbst nach Abrahams Verletzung nicht das Format eines
Pflichtherausforderers nachwies, als Abbruchsieger gesehen. "Sie
haben mit der Entscheidung weiterzuboxen, die Karriere eines jungen
Champions zerstort", sagte Promoter Leon Margules.

–Boundary_(ID_CjlTT0/y6s5JiA+0xZa6Tg)- –

Controversial Monument Poses Diplomatic Challenge to Tbilisi

Civil Georgia, Tbilisi
2006-09-23

Plans to erect a monument to Armenian Gen. Gurgen Dalibaltyan in
predominately ethnic Armenian-populated Georgia’s southern city of
Akhalkalaki have triggered Baku’s angry reaction.

Gen. Dalibaltyan a native of Akhalkalaki district, who is currently
80 years old, will reportedly be honored for his contribution in
fight against Azerbaijani’s troops in Nagorno-Karabakh in early 90s.

Local officials in Akhalkalaki say that funding to erect the monument
comes from "the Armenian sources," according to the Imedi television
stations.

A spokesman of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tbilisi Elkhan Polukhanov
said on September 23 that the move will be perceived to be
"non-friendly" by Azerbaijani authorities.

"At first we want to know whether there is a relevant authorization by
the Georgian state agencies on creation of this monument. The monument
will definitely bring negative elements in relationship between the
two states – Georgia and Azerbaijan, which is in a condition of war
with Armenia," Elkhan Polukhanov told Imedi television.

Paruir Hairikyan, Hrant Bagratyan declared to make greatest contribution to formation of Armenia

Regnum, Russia
Sept 23 2006

Leader of the Association for Self-Determination Paruir Hairikyan and
Armenian ex-prime minister Hrant Bagratyan have been acknowledged
as persons who made a greatest contribution to the establishing of
political independence and ensuring economic progress of Armenia. The
two are chosen by a survey conducted by a Club of Economic Journalists
NGO among 60 Armenian journalists.

Figures recognized as having strengthened Armenian statehood are
listed in the survey as follows: first president of Armenia Levon
Ter-Petrossian, acting president Robert Kocharyan, ex-prime minister
Vazgen Manukyan, entrepreneur Khachatur Soukiasyan, US billionaire
Kirk Kirkoryan, and others.

Hrant Bagratyan who attended the conference at which the survey
results were made public Sep 23, said that 15 years is not too long
of a term for a country’s independence, and in the coming 15 years,
the nation should ensure the division between property and politics.

"We need to create a stratum of entrepreneurs who will not interfere
with politics but do private business," he maintained.

Canadian Press
Sept 23 2006

Suspected Kurdish guerrillas set off a truck bomb in eastern Turkey,
17 hurt

Canadian Press

ANKARA, Turkey (AP) – Suspected Kurdish guerrillas set off an
explosive-laden minibus across from a police guest house in eastern
Turkey, injuring 17 people Saturday, the governor’s office said.

The Ford minibus parked across from the police guest house, went off
in eastern city Igdir on the Armenian border, the governor’s office
announced. Two of the injured were in serious condition, he said.

The injured included five police officers and some officials of a
small soccer club who travelled from Ankara to Igdir for a match,
private Dogan news agency said. The blast shattered the windows of
the police guest house and other buildings in the area.

"Thank God, we don’t have any loss," Dogan quoted deputy governor
Mehmet Yilmaz saying.

The explosion coincided with complaints by imprisoned guerrilla chief
Abdullah Ocalan about his prison conditions, which were relayed by
his lawyers, the pro-Kurdish news agency Firat reported on its
website Saturday.

The attack also comes after recent declaration of co-operation
between Turkey, the United States and Iraq in fighting the
guerrillas, who are based in northern Iraq.

The guerrillas have recently intensified their attacks across the
country and have so far ignored a recent call by the pro-Kurdish
Democratic Society party to declare a unilateral ceasefire in the
hopes of establishing dialogue with the state.

Earlier Saturday, autonomy-seeking Kurdish guerrillas detonated a
remote-controlled bomb, derailing a freight train in southeastern
Turkey, officials said. No injuries were reported in that attack
which occurred in Elazig province. Seven train carriages derailed and
a total of eight were damaged.

The guerrillas have also carried out bomb attack in Mediterranean
resorts, killing at least three people and wounding dozens, including
10 Britons in a minibus bombing in the popular resort town Marmaris
in late August.

Ocalan’s guerrilla group has long demanded Ocalan be moved out of
solitary confinement. Ocalan has been in prison on the prison island
Imrali, off Istanbul, since his capture Feb. 15, 1999 in Kenya.

His guerrilla group and supporters have long expressed concern about
Ocalan’s health. But a delegation from the Council of Europe’s
committee for the prevention of torture, which visited Ocalan on the
island in 1999, said the leader’s cell was well lit and suitably
equipped.

Turkey also maintains doctors closely monitor Ocalan’s health.

The conflict has claimed the lives of more than 37,000 people since
the guerrillas took up arms for autonomy in 1984.

The United States and the European Union have called on Turkey to
improve the economy of the war-ravaged southeastern Turkey to end the
22-year-old conflict, which has killed 37,000 people. Turkey insists
it will not negotiate with terrorists, threatening to fight until all
guerrillas are killed or surrender.

Gen. Yasar Buyukanit, chief of the Turkish military, recently ruled
out any compromise and said negotiations with "terrorists" are out of
question. Buyukanit said the new co-operation with the United States
was aimed at finishing off the guerillas.

A special U.S. envoy, retired air force general Joseph Ralston,
visited Ankara earlier this month and assured Turks of Washington’s
commitment to helping Turkey and Iraq confront the Kurdistan Workers
party, or PKK, which the United States lists as a terrorist
organization. The PKK is also labelled as a terrorist group by the
EU.

Ralston, the former NATO supreme allied commander, stressed however
the use of force against the autonomy-seeking group should be a last
resort.

The bulk of the PKK’s estimated 5,000 guerrillas are thought to be in
Turkey but many operate in Iraq and Iran.

The guerrillas have benefitted from the years of a power vacuum in
northern Iraq to stage cross-border offensives in Turkey’s
Kurdish-dominated southeast, as Turkey complained of lack of U.S.
support in fighting the guerrillas while Turkish soldiers served in
Afghanistan to support the U.S.-led war against global terrorism.

The appointment of Ralston came after Turkey issued thinly veiled
threats to stage a unilateral cross-border offensive into northern
Iraq to hunt down Kurdish guerrillas.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and other U.S. officials have
repeatedly warned Turkey against entering northern Iraq, one of the
few stable areas in that country, fearing an incursion would alienate
Iraqi Kurds, the most pro-U.S. group in the region.
From: Baghdasarian

Controversial Monument Poses Diplomatic Challenge to Tbilisi

Civil Georgia, Georgia
Sept 23 2006

Plans to erect a monument to Armenian Gen. Gurgen Dalibaltyan in
predominately ethnic Armenian-populated Georgia’s southern city of
Akhalkalaki have triggered Baku’s angry reaction.

Gen. Dalibaltyan a native of Akhalkalaki district, who is currently
80 years old, will reportedly be honored for his contribution in
fight against Azerbaijani’s troops in Nagorno-Karabakh in early 90s.

Local officials in Akhalkalaki say that funding to erect the monument
comes from "the Armenian sources," according to the Imedi television
stations.

A spokesman of the Azerbaijani Embassy in Tbilisi Elkhan Polukhanov
said on September 23 that the move will be perceived to be
"non-friendly" by Azerbaijani authorities.

"At first we want to know whether there is a relevant authorization
by the Georgian state agencies on creation of this monument… The
monument will definitely bring negative elements in relationship
between the two states – Georgia and Azerbaijan, which is in
a condition of war with Armenia," Elkhan Polukhanov told Imedi
television.