Month: March 2007

The New Anatolian, Turkey
March 10 2007

Armenian historian bows out of Harput dig

The New Anatolian / Ankara

Yusuf Halacoglu, head of the Turkish Historical Society (TTK), stated
yesterday that despite saying earlier he would participate in the
project, an Armenian historian has now decided against jointly
excavating an alleged mass burial site.

Holding a press conference at the TTK’s offices, Halacoglu said that
he had accepted a proposal by Ara Sarafian to work together to look
into allegations of a mass grave. "We have been in contact via
email," said Halacoglu. "In the email I sent him on Feb. 26, I told
him not to take some stories published in papers into consideration.
I proposed we meet face to face to set a date of the work,
principles, those who will participate in the commission and which
archives will be investigated. I also asked him to write in Turkish
as he speaks perfect Turkish."

Halacoglu said that he got a negative reply from Sarafian. "He wrote
that he has been following the developments in the Turkish media and
was sorry he will not be carrying out the common project," said the
historian. "Sarafian said that he thought the project would be
productive for both sides. He wrote, ‘If, contrary to what you said,
well-kept Ottoman archives are lacking, we can’t make any progress,’
adding that he hopes to work together on new projects. Following his
message I sent him an email, but haven’t gotten an answer."

Stating that he received a press release from the Gomidas Institute
on Thursday saying that they couldn’t conduct the research, Halacoglu
said that they were supposed to conduct the research together in line
with the proposal. "We were planning to examine foreign archives, as
well as Ottoman archives and look at the report of then U.S. Consul
Leslie Davis," he said.

Citing an article from the March 2 issue of the Agos newspaper,
Halacoglu said that there was about him, but more important was
another saying, "The diaspora is opposing Sarafian." "I think this
news clearly shows why Sarafian has given up," he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

PanARMENIAN.Net

RA FM received no proposals from political parties
09.03.2007 15:50 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Minister of Foreign Affairs should be a
non-party man, RA FM Vartan Oskanian told a news conference in
Yerevan. His name is not included in party lists and he is not going
to participate in the forthcoming parliamentary election, he said. `I
haven’t received any proposals from political parties and have never
expressed a wish to run for parliament,’ Oskanian said. After the
parliamentary election he will proceed with his activities at the post
of the Foreign Minister if the President proposes his designation,
Oskanian said.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Karabakh problem is Turkey’s bleeding wound, Erdogan says
09.03.2007 16:21 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ `The Karabakh problem is Turkey’s bleeding wound,’
Turkish Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan said at the First
Conference of Azerbaijani and Turkish Diasporan organizations. When
touching on the Armenian Genocide issue he said, `As you know, we have
addressed the Armenian leadership and the international community to
inform them of our readiness to open all historical archives. Let
historians, archeologists and journalists speak on the issue. However,
the Armenian side has not issued a response so far,’ Erdogan said,
reports Day.az.

The New Anatolian, Turkey
March 10 2007

Perincek guilty over ‘genocide’ remarks

The New Anatolian with AP / Lausanne

A prominent Turkish politician was found guilty Friday of breaching
Swiss anti-racism laws by saying that the early 20th century deaths
of Armenians could not be described as genocide.

Dogu Perincek, leader of the Turkish Workers’ Party (IP), was ordered
by a Swiss court to pay a fine of 3,000 Swiss francs (US$2,450) and
was given a suspended penalty of 9,000 francs (US$7,360).

Perincek was charged with breaking Swiss law by denying during a
visit to Switzerland in 2005 that the World War I-era deaths of up to
1.5 million Armenians amounted to genocide. He has since repeated the
claim, including during his trial earlier this week.
Perincek accused the judge of "racial hatred" toward Turkey and said
he would appeal the verdict with Switzerland’s Supreme Court.

Perincek also said that he would take his case to the European Court
of Human Rights if necessary.

The IP leader, who submitted 90 kg of historical documents, argued
there had been no genocide against Armenians, but there had been
"reciprocal massacres."

"I defend my right to freedom of expression. There was no genocide,
therefore this law cannot apply to my remarks," he said in his
opening statement on Tuesday.

He told reporters he would appeal the sentence, which he denounced as
"unjust and impartial" and "imperialist."

In his closing statement, Judge Pierre-Henri Winzap described the
defendant as an intelligent and cultivated person, but added that to
deny the Armenian genocide was an arrogant provocation because it was
an accepted historical fact.

Switzerland’s anti-racism legislation has previously been applied to
Holocaust denial.

The Turkish Foreign Ministry, in a written statement on Friday,
expressed Ankara’s uneasiness with the Swiss court’s decision.

Noting that the decision would not be accepted by Turkey, the
statement said, "We hope that decision will be corrected by
independent Swiss judicial officials which we believed that there
were in Switzerland.

Turkey strongly opposes the claims that its predecessor state, the
Ottoman government, caused the Armenian deaths in a planned genocide.
The Turkish government has said the toll is wildly inflated and that
Armenians were killed or displaced in civil unrest during the
empire’s collapse and conditions of World War I. Ankara’s proposal to
Yerevan to set up a joint commission of historians to study the
disputed events is still awaiting a positive response from the
Armenian side.

After French lawmakers voted last October to make it a crime to deny
that the claims were genocide, Turkey said it would suspend military
relations with France.

WORLD BANK ALLOCATES 22.5 MLN DOLLAR CREDIT FOR REFORMING ARMENIAN
COURT AND LEGAL SYSTEM

YEREVAN, MARCH 9, NOYAN TAPAN. The World Bank allocated 22.5 mln USD
credit for reforming the Armenian court and legal system. The
respective agreement was signed on March 9 by the RA Minister of
Finance and Economy Vardan Khachatrian and the WB Yerevan Office Acting
Director Naira Melkumian. The credit is provided for 20 years, with
10-year grace period and 75% interest rate. V. Khachatrian said that
the Japanese government will also provide a 3 mln dollar grant.
According to him, the program’s aim is to improve administration in the
Armenian court and legal system and form high-quality infrastructures.
Under the program, repairs of courts in marzes will be completed, and
construction of the RA Cassation Court will start.

ISTANBUL GOVERNOR’S OFFICE REFUSES TO ENSURE SECURITY OF ARMENIAN
ESTABLISHMENTS

ISTANBUL, MARCH 9, NOYAN TAPAN – ARMENIANS TODAY. As reported from
Istanbul governor’s office, they cannot ensure security of numerous
Armenian establishments. This statement was made in response to
application of the Armenian Patriarch of Constantinople Archbishop
Mesrob Mutafian. The governor office’s letter says that each
establishment shall ensure its own security. Archbishop Mesrob Mutafian
on March 8 inviated heads of Armenian establishments to the
Patriarchate in order to discuss this issue. According to the newspaper
"Marmara" (Istanbul), the patriarch noted that cooperation with private
security services is quite expensive so it is necessary to create a
fund for this purpose. It was decided to form a commission to deal with
the problem of funds.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

DeFacto Agency, Armenia
March 10 2007

IN 2007 4 MORE PLAYGROUNDS TO BE BUILT IN STEPANAKERT YARDS

A decision to build 4 more playgrounds in the capital city of NKR was
rendered in the course of Stepanakert Fund Board of Trustees sitting,
Stepanakert Fund Director Naira Petrossian told KarabakhOpen.
According to Naira Petrossian, in 2006 Stepanakert Fund financed
works on yards’ improvement and flats’ repairs carried out in the
capital city of Nagorno-Karabagh.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Exact number of Armenian historical monuments in Turkey unknown
09.03.2007 17:32 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Akhtamar is a universal property. That is why the
Turkish government decided to reconstruct it, historian Samvel
Karapetian told a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, the Akhtamar
Church has no analogs in the world’s architecture and
sculpture. `Akhtamar is unique and the Turkish government will receive
fantastic profits from the flow of tourists. The contents of the
inscription on the wall of the temple is a question of minor
importance for them. Greek, Armenian and Assyrian monuments are being
reconstructed throughout Turkey presently and Turks themselves decide
whether or not to mention their belonging,’ Karapetian said.

The Armenian historian also noted that the exact number of historical
and cultural monuments in Turkey in not known. `According to the data
furnished by the Constantinople patriarchy, about 2100 churches
functioned in Western Armenia in 1912-1913. 3000 out of 8000 villages
in Western Armenia were inhabited by Armenians only. Thus, each
village had a church, sometimes even two churches. I think we can
speak of thousands of Armenian monuments throughout Turkey. Akhtamar
was lucky to avoid the fate of churches in Mush and Kars which were
transformed into mosques,’ Karapetian said.

PanARMENIAN.Net

CSTO Sec Gen arriving in Armenia next week
09.03.2007 17:38 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ CSTO Secretary General Nikolay Bordyuzha is arriving
in Armenia next week, RA MFA Acting Spokesman Vladimir Karapetian told
a PanARMENIAN.Net reporter. In his words, Nikolay Bordyuzha is
scheduled to meet with the Armenian leadership on March 13 to discuss
the prospects of the Armenia-CSTO cooperation.

PanARMENIAN.Net

Barrier dividing Nicosia demolished
09.03.2007 17:58 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ Greek Cypriots have demolished a key section of the
barrier dividing the island’s capital city, Nicosia. The Green Line
has separated Cyprus’s Greeks from the Turkish population since 1974,
when Turkish troops occupied the north. The work in Ledra Street began
under cover of darkness and had not been publicised in advance. But
the Greek Cypriot authorities say Turkish troops must pull back before
people can cross in either direction.

Ledra Street – a pedestrianised shopping area – would be the sixth
crossing point on the divided island. The street was cordoned off to
allow heavy equipment and demolition crews to move into position. A
small crowd watched the action, applauding when work on tearing down
the barrier began. "This is a show of goodwill on our side to
contribute positively to opening Ledra Street," government spokesman
Christodoulos Pashardes told state television.

It used to be a bustling road in the heart of Nicosia’s commercial
district but for more than 40 years it has been blocked by a large
wall and a viewing platform overlooking the demilitarised strip
separating north from south. The structures have been replaced by
plastic barricades. In December the Turkish Cypriot authorities
dismantled a controversial footbridge on Ledra Street, which was built
in 2005. It had angered Greek Cypriots, who said it encroached into
the UN buffer zone separating the two sides. The Green Zone is policed
by United Nations troops, amid barbed wire and dilapidated buildings
with sand bags still sitting in the windows. Cyprus was partitioned
after a Turkish invasion in 1974, which came shortly after a Greek
Cypriot coup backed by the military junta ruling Greece at the
time. Shortly before joining the European Union in 2004 the Greek
Cypriots rejected a United Nations plan to reunify the island. First
the disused ordnance and derelict buildings will have to be made safe
and then UN forces will have to establish a checkpoint to police the
crossing, reports the BBC.

Nicosia was the only divided capital city in the world after the fall
of the Berlin Wall.