Month: March 2007

GUL: POLITICIZING ARMENIAN ISSUE JEOPARDIZES TURKISH-US TIES

The New Anatolian, Turkey
March 30 2007

Armenian lobbying groups politicize the past and impose their view of
history with allegations branding a 20th century tragedy "genocide,"
and in so doing jeopardize Turkish-American ties, argued Turkish
Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul yesterday in an guest op-ed in The
Washington Post.

In his op-ed entitled "Politicizing the Armenian tragedy," Gul stated
that the strategic cooperation between Turkey and the United States
is jeopardized by a single interest group that solely pursues its
own political agenda over national interests.

"A recent resolution introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives
makes mention of the events of 1915 as ‘genocide’," wrote Gul. "Its
passage will be tantamount to legislating a skewed version of history,
which will be totally unjust and thus deeply offensive to the Turkish
people who have expressed their readiness to seek out the truth."

Underlining that the Turkish-U.S. strategic partnership spans a wide
range of global challenges, from helping secure Iraq and Afghanistan
to preventing the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction,
promoting energy security and fighting terrorism in our region and
beyond, Gul continued, "Once again, Armenian lobbying organizations
are determined to politicize the past — and impose their view of
history — without any regard to the overriding and lasting interests
of the United States or Armenia."

Stating that the historical period in question centers on 1915, when
immense mutual suffering occurred amid the atrocities of World War I,
Gul argued that countless individual stories have been passed from
generation to generation among Turks, Armenians and others who then
made up the Ottoman Empire.

"But the complex political history and dynamics of that tumultuous
period are yet to be fully grasped," Gul argued. "Each life lost is
one too many, whether it is Armenian or Turk. It is truly regrettable
that there is no mention today of Turkish or Muslim lives lost during
the same period."

Citing’s Turkey’s 2005 proposal to Armenia to set up a joint commission
of historians to find out once and for all what really happened, and
how it took place, Gul stated that whether the Ottoman government
systematically pursued a calculated act of state policy for their
destruction in whole or in part can only be established by scholars
who have the ability to evaluate the period objectively, working with
the full range of available primary sources.

"Turkey has no difficulties in facing its past," he wrote. "All Turkish
archives, including the military archives of the period, are open
to the entire international academic community. However, important
Armenian archives are not." Gul then underlined that Turkey eagerly
awaits a positive response from Armenia, agreeing to establish this
joint commission and declaring its readiness to accept its conclusions.

Gul also called on third parties, including the United States,
to contribute to this commission by appointing scholars who will
earnestly work to shed light on this tragedy, stating that such
a commission would also help shape an atmosphere conducive to the
normalization of Turkish-Armenian relations.

Stating that following the repulsive murder of Turkish-Armenian
journalist Hrant Dink, Turkey invited officials of the Armenian
government and representatives from the Armenian diaspora to share
the genuine grief of the Turkish people, Gul underlined that the
diaspora witnessed the enormous reaction of Turkish citizens, who
poured by thousands into the streets.

"As we today consider ways to create a much-improved atmosphere with
our neighbor, the Armenian government appears to be propagating the
fallacious idea that Turks are missing a chance to recognize their
genocide claims," he stated, underlining that Dink himself also said
in a published interview shortly before his death that he wants the
Armenian diaspora not to make any demands about accepting the genocide,
neither from Turkey, from the Parliament nor any other governments.

Gul stated that there are 70,000 Armenian citizens working in
Turkey, and there are direct flights between Istanbul and Yerevan,
underlining that Turkey is determined to save future generations from
the hegemony of bitter rhetoric and outright hostility, yet is faced
with a non-compromising, unmitigated assault not over a political
matter, but a politicized one.

Stating that he fully understands the pressures imposed by narrow
interest groups, he argued, "However, there is also the imperative
to rise above such pressures and see the national and international
repercussions of one’s choices. After all, the decisions we make return
back to us in this globalized world, where the interests of nations —
especially neighbors — are intertwined."

AZERBAIJANI AIRCRAFTS SHOWN NEAR FRONT LINE

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 30 2007

Azerbaijan’s Military Air Forces made peaceful air-show near the
front line today, APA’s Karabagh bureau reports.

The air maneuvers of the fighter aircrafts and helicopters aroused
interest in local residents and inspired high spiritual mood in them.

The Defense Ministry’s press service said the flights were demonstrated
in accordance with the training program of the Military Air Forces.

AZERBAIJANI AND ARMENIAN FOREIGN MINISTERS TO MEET IN APRIL

Azeri Press Agency, Azerbaijan
March 30 2007

The next meeting of Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers will be
held in April, APA reports. Acting Armenian Foreign Minister Vardan
Oskanyan said that OSCE Minsk Group co-chairs are fixing the date of
the meeting.

"The exact date of the meeting is not known. I think the meeting with
Elmar Mammadyarov will take place in April," he said.

Azerbaijani and Armenian Foreign Ministers last met in Geneva on
March 14, 2007.

NEXT MEETING OF FOREIGN MINISTERS OF AZERBAIJAN ARMENIA IN APRIL

Trend News Agency, Azerbaijan
March 30 2007

The Foreign Minister of Armenia, Vardan Oskanyan, briefed the media
on 30 March in Yerevan that the next meeting of the Foreign Ministers
of Azerbaijan and Armenia will take place in April.

According to him, at present the Co-chairs of the OSCE Minsk Group
are unable to confirm the exact date of the meeting. "This is due to
the various working schedules of its members, but I think that the
next meeting will take place in April," Oskanyan said.

The Armenian Foreign Minister said that his meeting with the American
Co-chair of the OSCE Minsk Group, Matthew Bryza, in Yerevan assessed
the Nagorno-Karabakh problem and the process of negotiations and
also discussed the bilateral relations and upcoming parliamentary
elections in Armenia, ARKA reports.

The recent meeting of the Foreign Ministers of Azerbaijan,
Elmar Mammadyarov and Armenia, Vardan Oskanyan, regarding the
Nagorno-Karabakh conflict settlement took place in Geneva on 14 March,
with the participation of the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs (Ambassador
Yuri Merzylakov, Russian Federation; Ambassador Bernard Fassier,
France; Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew Bryza, United
States). The meeting was aimed to prepare for the meeting of the
Presidents of Azerbaijan, Ilham Aliyev and Armenia, Robert Kocharyan.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

TANER AKCAM FOUND INNOCENT

PanARMENIAN.Net
31.03.2007 15:13 GMT+04:00

/PanARMENIAN.Net/ The Sisli Office of the Public Prosecutor adjudicated
that historian Taner Akcam who in his article, published in the Agos
journal, wrote the sentence "I believe that what happened between
1915 and 1917 was holocaust," was innocent.

The Office of the Public Prosecutor stated that using the word
‘holocaust’ is within the lines of freedom of speech and does not
contain an expression of insult against Turkey. The decision was
announced 12 days after the assassination of Hrant Dink, who was
judged in violation of Article 301 of the Turkish Penal Code (TCK)
for also expressing the word ‘holocaust.’

Taner Akcam has backed his former colleague, Dink, with the
article which said, "If using the word ‘Holocaust’ is a crime then
I am committing it at least once every single week. I have to be a
collaborator in Hrant’s alleged crime in order to clear this situation
of injustice," Turkish Daily News reports.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

MATTHEW BRYZA: US MAY USE MILITARY AERODROME OF AZERBAIJAN IF NECESSARY

APA
31 Mar 2007 14:37

The United States hopes to use the aerodrome of Azerbaijan for military
purposes if necessary, US Deputy Assistant Secretary of State Matthew
Bryza said a news conference in Tbilisi, APA’s Georgian bureau reports.

Bryza reminded that Georgian and Azerbaijani airspaces were used for
the military operations in Afghanistan.

"Our planes fly passing Georgian and Azerbaijani airspaces. We want to
have the opportunity of using Azerbaijani aerodrome if necessary. US
has a strong cooperation with Azerbaijan in the military sphere,
and we are also cooperating with Armenia in security sector", he
underlined.

PLANNED HOUSE VOTE ON ARMENIAN MASSACRE ANGERS TURKS
By Sebnem Arsu And Brian Knowlton

The New York Times
March 30 2007

Photo: Boats ferried officials Thursday toward an island on which a
ceremony was held for a museum in a restored Armenian church, near
Van, Turkey.

ISTANBUL, March 29 – A planned vote in Congress that would classify
the widespread killings of Armenians by the Ottoman Turkish government
early in the 20th century as genocide is threatening to make bilateral
relations unusually tense.

The speaker of the House, Nancy Pelosi, backs the resolution and
at first wanted a vote in April. But under Turkish pressure, Bush
administration figures have lobbied for the Democrats in charge of
Congress to drop the measure.

Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and Defense Secretary Robert
M. Gates sent strong letters of protest to her and to Representative
Tom Lantos, chairman of the Foreign Affairs Committee, which has not
set a date for the vote. "That has had an impact," said Lynne Weil,
a Lantos spokeswoman, referring to the letters. Copies were also sent
to Representative John A. Boehner of Ohio, the House minority leader.

Turkey vehemently denies the genocide, in which 1.5 million Armenians
died during a period of several years, beginning in 1915. It contends
that the deaths occurred in the chaos of war, as the Ottoman Empire was
falling apart, and that many Turks were also killed when Armenians
sided with Russian forces in the hope of claiming territory in
eastern Turkey.

But many Armenians have sought acknowledgment from nations around
the world that the deaths amounted to systematic genocide at Ottoman
hands. So far, parliaments of more than 15 countries have agreed.

France and Switzerland went further and called for criminal charges
against those who deny it.

A vote in Congress would be purely symbolic, but Turks have warned that
it would be felt as a bitter slap, and could cause enormous public
pressure on the government in Ankara to chill its cooperation with
Washington, which has strong military ties to Turkey, a NATO member.

In an effort to highlight Turkey’s opposition to a Congressional
resolution, many high-ranking Turkish officials have visited Washington
in recent months. Foreign Minister Abdullah Gul, one of them, says
that the damage would be very deep if the resolution passed.

"It is only natural that the Turkish public who closely follow the
issue would also react to this strongly," Mr. Gul said in a telephone
interview this week. "As the elected government of democratic Turkey,
we would not be able to remain indifferent. However, I am confident
that common sense would prevail at the Congress."

In Turkey on Thursday, the government held an opening ceremony for a
museum in a restored Armenian church near the city of Van in eastern
Turkey that dates from the year 941 and is considered one of the most
precious symbols of the Armenian presence in Anatolia. The renovation
was undertaken as a major step to mend ties with Armenians.

Mr. Gates and Ms. Rice, in joint letters, spoke sympathetically of
"the horrendous suffering that ethnic Armenians endured" and called
for more study of the events. But they also noted that when the French
National Assembly voted last year, the Turkish military responded by
deciding to "cut all contacts with the French military and terminated
defense contracts under negotiation."

The letters, dated March 7, are posted at foreignaffairs.house.gov/110

A similar reaction now by the Turkish government, the letters warned,
"could harm American troops in the field" and constrain the American
military in any number of ways.

Mr. Gates chose a meeting of the American-Turkish Council
in Washington, a business group that promotes American-Turkish
cooperation on trade, security and cultural matters, to make a major
policy speech on Tuesday. Not only did he describe Turkey as an ally
that "I have long believed to be undervalued and underappreciated,"
but he made a point of arguing against the genocide resolution.

"Our two nations should oppose measures and rhetoric that needlessly
and destructively antagonize each other," Mr. Gates said Tuesday.

Daniel Fried, the assistant secretary of state for European and
Eurasian affairs, warned in testimony to Congress in mid-March that
Turkish wrath could be so strong that Turkey might bar American access
to Incirlik Air Base, in eastern Turkey, through which 74 percent of
United States military air cargo destined for Iraq passes.

Turkey’s Foreign Ministry also chided the Senate Foreign Relations
Committee on Thursday for supporting a resolution that would condemn
the killing in January of Hrant Dink, an editor who was a voice for
ethnic Armenians in Turkey.

Asked about the warnings from the two administration officials,
Representative Adam Schiff of California, a lead sponsor of the House
resolution, said, "I don’t see how we can have the moral authority
that we need to condemn the genocide going on in Darfur, if we’re
unwilling to recognize other genocides that have taken place."

Similar Congressional votes have been deferred in the past after
intense lobbying. But with strong support for the resolution from Ms.

Pelosi, and lingering resentment in Congress over Turkey’s refusal to
let United States forces use Turkish soil for the invasion of Iraq,
the bill’s prospects may have grown.

"It has 183 sponsors," said Elizabeth Chouldjian of the Armenian
National Committee of America. "It is very likely that if it came up
for a vote right now, it would pass."

Fueled partly by anger over the Iraq war, a positive view of the
United States among Turks plunged from 52 percent in 2000 to a low
of 12 percent last year, according to a Pew Global Attitudes Survey.

In Istanbul, Etyen Mahcupyan, an intellectual of Armenian descent who
succeeded Mr. Dink at the weekly Agos, said that foreign pressure on
Turkey would only fuel extreme nationalism.

"Turkish people are just beginning to realize that there are things
they were not taught in schools, so we are curious and willing to
talk about not only the Armenian issue but also other things freely,"
Mr. Mahcupyan said. "It is not fair to expect a society to accept
the truths of other societies without having the chance to discuss
them first."

Sebnem Arsu reported from Istanbul, and Brian Knowlton from Washington.

VICTIMS OF "GENOCIDE" COMMEMORATED IN AZERBAIJAN

AZG Armenian Daily
31/03/2007

Official Baku alleges that genocide of the people of Azerbaijan was
committed by Armenians on March 31, 1918. "Armed units of the Armenian
"Dashnaks" (members of "Dashnaktsutiun" – Armenian Revolutionary Union
party members) had committed massacres of the Azerbaijani population
in Baku," Azerbaijani historical science says.

In a speech dedicated to the "event" President of Azerbaijan Ilham
Aliyev noted that this date is related to the robberies and massacres
of Armenian armed units against Azerbaijanis in March, 1918 and
have a broad chronology. "Within nearly 200 years, Armenians carried
out military, political, ideological campaigns aimed to oppress the
Azeris and remove from their native lands, to occupy new lands and to
build "great Armenian state." Removal of great number of Armenians to
Karabakh and Zangezur from Iran and the Ottoman Empire in early 19th
century, mass massacres and robberies committed by Armenian forces in
different parts of South Caucasus in 1905 and 1918, deportation of our
compatriots from their native lands in Armenian territory during 1948
-1953, the large-scale war for occupying the Nagorno Karabakh province
of Azerbaijan, which started in 1988 and its, and the Khojaly genocide
in 1992 are the bloody pages of a planned genocide policy committed
by Armenian aggressors against Azerbaijani people. At present 20%
of Azerbaijani territory is under Armenian occupation," Azerbaijani
president declared.

Aliev President has expressed his confidence that Azerbaijan will
achieve restoration of territorial integrity and sovereignty and
exposure of the ones who carried out genocide policy against the
Azeri people.

FORMER TUFTS TRUSTEE JOHN MUGAR PASSES AWAY AT 92
Sarah Butrymowicz

Tufts Daily, MA
March 30 2007

John Martin Mugar (A ’37), a Tufts alum and former Tufts trustee,
died on March 23 of natural causes at the Seacoast Rehabilitation
Center in Gloucester, according to an obituary in the Boston Globe.

He was 92.

Mugar graduated magna cum laude from Tufts in 1937. He was elected
as an alumni trustee in 1966 and held that position for 10 years,
according to Secretary of the Trustees Linda Dixon. "In 1976, he
became a Charter Trustee and served 13 more years, for a total of
23 years of service, before stepping down and being named Trustee
Emeritus in 1989," she told the Daily in an e-mail.

While on the Board of Trustees, Mugar served on a variety of committees
including the Administration and Finance Committee, the Honorary
Degree Committee and the Executive Committee, in addition to chairing
the Development Committee from 1969-1972 and again from 1977-1979.

He was also involved with the Fletcher School of Law and Diplomacy.

"During the latter part of his trustee service, he focused on the
international aspects of Tufts through membership on the Fletcher
Board of Overseers," Dixon said.

"Mugar helped to raise significant funds to support the work of
the university and lent his considerable business skills to helping
university systems function effectively," she said.

He also used these skills to lead the Star Market grocery store
chain as its president and chairman. He worked for over 40 years at
the company before retiring in 1978. At the time of his retirement,
there were 61 Star Market stores in New England, according to an
obituary in The Boston Globe. The company, however, is now a part of
Shaw’s Supermarkets Inc.

According to a press release issued by his surviving family members,
"John Mugar was a leader in the supermarket industry in the 1950’s
and 1960’s.

"He introduced many merchandising and management innovations,
including unit pricing before it became mandatory in Massachusetts,
and was the first in the industry to introduce in-store banking,
florists and book sales," the press release said.

In addition, Mugar served on the boards of the National Associate
of Food Chains and the Food Marketing Institute. Born to Armenian
immigrants, he was active in multiple Armenian organizations and
was a founding member of the Armenian Library and Museum of America,
which is located in Watertown, Mass.

In addition to his wife of 60 years, Helen Gienandt Mugar, he
is survived by three daughters, a son, two sisters and seven
grandchildren.

com/media/storage/paper856/news/2007/03/30/News/Fo rmer.Tufts.Trustee.John.Mugar.Passes.Away.At.92-28 14400.shtml

AKDAMAR IS NOW A MEMORIAL MUSEUM

Sabah, Turkey
March 30 2007

The Akdamar Armenian church, joined by a committee of 19 from Armenia,
was officially opened as a ‘Memorial Museum’ yesterday. The Armenian
Patriarch Mutafyan, suggested that a ritual ceremony be held each year.

The Akdamar monumental museum is opened with the request for a
ritual ceremony

The Minister of Culture Koc, the Armenia Deputy Minister of Culture
Gyurjyan and the Turkish Armenians Patriarch Masrob II opened the
memorial museum yesterday. Mesrob II said he communicated to Erdoðan
his request to hold a ritual ceremony every year on September 16th.

The Akdamar church on Akdamar Island in Van was converted into a
memorial museum with a glorious inauguration ceremony held yesterday.

The Minister of Culture Koc, Armenia’s Deputy Minister of Culture
Gyurjyan and Turkish Armenians Patriarch Masrob II were there to
officially open the monumental museum.

Turkish Armenians Patriarch Masrob II attended the ceremony and said
the church could be a religious tourism center. "I hope our government
will provide the opportunity for an annual traditional celebration
and will take steps towards enabling this," said the Patriarch.

–Boundary_(ID_DOMthcYkRvuRm5QZv91POw) —

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress