Month: July 2007

RESTORATION OF YEREVAN LAKE STRONGHOLD TO BE FINISHED THIS MONTH

Noyan Tapan
Jul 03 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Restoration of Yerevan Lake’s stronghold
will finish this month. The restoration is carried out within the
framework of the second credit program of Irrigation Strongholds’
Safety financed by the World Bank. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was
informed at the RA State Committee of Water Economy, the stronghold’s
decayed concrete, hydroknot’s mechanical devices, electric devices’
electricity supply will be restored with 77 mln 363 thousand drams
(nearly 221 thousand USD). Measuring and checking devices will be also
placed. The construction is carried out by the HPP Building company.

It should be mentioned that Yerevan Lake’s stronghold was built on
the Hrazdan river in 1996, its total capacity is 5 mln cubic meters,
maximum height is 30 meters.

LE PROCèS DES MEURTRIERS DE HRANT DINK MET A L’EPREUVE LA JUSTICE TURQUE
Guillaume Perrier

Le Monde, France
3 juillet 2007 mardi

Dix-huit prevenus sont juges a Istanbul pour l’assassinat, en
janvier, du journaliste d’origine armenienne. La famille de la
victime attend que le tribunal eclaire les connexions entre milieux
ultra-nationalistes, criminels et " Etat profond " turc

Le plus jeune des 18 prevenus, Ogun Samast, est âge de 17 ans. Il
a reconnu etre le dernier maillon de la chaîne, celui qui a tue le
journaliste turc d’origine armenienne Hrant Dink, en janvier, de
trois balles tirees a bout portant sur le perron de l’hebdomadaire
turco-armenien Agos. En raison de son jeune âge, c’est a huis clos
que s’est ouvert, lundi a Istanbul, le procès des auteurs presumes
de l’assassinat.

Les 18 prevenus sont originaires de Trabzon, une ville austère de
la mer Noire, reputee pour sa violence ultranationaliste. " C’est
une bande criminelle a but politique, estime Bahri Belen, l’un des
avocats de la famille de Hrant Dink : pour l’enquete, les dossiers du
meurtre du pretre Andrea Santoro – en 2006 – , de l’agression contre
un autre pretre et de l’attentat contre un McDonald’s – en 2004 – ,
ont ete reunis. On retrouve les memes acteurs dans ces attentats commis
a Trabzon. L’assassinat de Hrant Dink faisait partie d’un meme plan. "

Des peines lourdes ont ete requises. Ogun Samast, l’executant,
pourrait avoir plus du double de son âge en sortant de prison. Et les
deux principaux commanditaires, Erhan Tuncel et Yasin Hayal, risquent
la reclusion a perpetuite. Le deuxième est egalement poursuivi pour
avoir menace l’ecrivain Orhan Pamuk, cible des ultranationalistes.

Les quinze autres prevenus seront juges pour complicite, comme
Yasar Cihan, responsable local du Parti de la grande union (BBP) :
un parti qui, avec ses foyers Alperen (un mouvement de jeunesse),
" a servi de structure ", selon Bahri Belen.

Mais le comite de soutien de la famille Dink ne se satisfait pas
d’un procès où seule une partie des responsables se retrouve sur
le banc des accuses. Les avocats esperaient assister au procès de "
l’Etat profond ". Un concept qui, en Turquie, designe une nebuleuse
criminelle et nationaliste gravitant dans les rouages de l’Etat. "
Les forces de securite de Trabzon, où le meurtre a ete planifie,
d’Istanbul, où il a ete execute, et d’Ankara, où les renseignements
sont rassembles, n’ont pas ete incluses dans l’enquete, a deplore
Fetiye Cetin, une autre avocate, au cours d’une conference de presse,
alors que leurs liens avec les suspects, la dissimulation de preuves
et meme l’apologie du criminel ont ete etablis. "

L’enquete judiciaire a montre que des responsables de la police ou
du renseignement etaient au courant des projets d’assassinats. Les
requetes des avocats pour suivre ces pistes ont pourtant ete
rejetees. De meme, le cybercafe où se serait refugie le meurtrier,
tenu par un ancien militaire, a deux pas du siège d’Agos, n’a pas
ete inspecte.

NOUVELLES REVELATIONS

La saisie, il y a deux semaines, d’un stock de grenades et d’explosifs
dans un quartier d’Ankara et l’arrestation de plusieurs officiers
a la retraite, font toutefois esperer a Bahri Belen de nouvelles
revelations sur l’affaire Dink. " On pourrait trouver des liens
", explique-t-il. Comme par exemple avec le general Veli Kucuk,
fondateur des Jitem (unites de gendarmerie antiterroriste), cite dans
cette affaire ou dans le scandale mafieux de Susurluk, en 1996. A son
procès, en 2006, pour " insulte a l’identite turque ", Hrant Dink
l’avait trouve en travers de son chemin. Le general a la retraite
lui avait lance un briquet dans les pieds en guise de menace.

La semaine dernière, Fetiye Cetin a egalement engage des poursuites
contre le general Karaduman qui, au cours des funerailles d’un
soldat tue par les rebelles kurdes du PKK, avait declare que " le
Senat americain, les Parlements francais et europeen, l’Armenie,
n’ont pas condamne ceux qui vous tuent. Ils ne condamnent que les
meurtres de traîtres ".

–Boundary_(ID_BXIxmLO1MPl+TEya/Mk2Uw)–

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

8 SMALL ARMENIAN HPPs ALREADY RECEIVE CREDITS BY WB RENEWABLE ENERGY PROGRAM

Noyan Tapan
Jul 03 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 3, NOYAN TAPAN. Eight small HPPs of Armenia have
received credits in the total amount of 1.2 mln USD by the World Bank’s
Renewable Energy program. As Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed
by Tamara Babayan, the Director of the Armenian Renewable Energy and
Energy Economy Fund, the credits are provided for not only building
of new HPPs, but also for increasing their capacities. In her words,
the credits are given with 12-14% interest rate and repayment term
of 7 years.

T. Babayan said that for implementation of the Renewable Energy
program, the WB has given 5 mln dollars to the Cascade Credit
credit organization, which, in its turn, finances those receiving
credits. Besides, for providing credits for the purpose of increasing
small HPPs’ capacities and building new ones, the organization has
taken a credit amounting to 7 mln dollars from the European Bank for
Reconstruction and Development and has received another 3 mln dollars
from the Cafesjian Family Foundation.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

IMF OFFICIAL CONSIDERS CBA’S POLICY ON MAINTAINING FLEXIBLE FOREIGN CURRENCY EXCHANGE RATE AND STABLE PRICES APPROPRIATE

Noyan Tapan
Jul 02 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. Marta Castello Branco, the head of
the IMF delegation, which is in Armenia from June 26, at the July
2 press conference, said that the CBA’s policy on ensuring stable
prices and maintaining foreign currency flexible exchange rate
remains appropriate.

In her words, large foreign exchange influx to Armenia, which
is mainly related to remittances and investments in real estate,
has already resulted in a considerable appreciation of the RA dram,
which complicates the conduct of monetary policy. M. Castello-Branco
said that the above mentioned inflows are likely to continue in the
foreseeable future, and further dram appreciation is also inevitable,
which will come in the form of either nominal appreciation or
inflation.

As she evaluated, though export sectors and remittance-dependent
households have suffered from the appreciation, on the whole, the
Armenian economy remains competitive, the evidence of which are high
export rates. At the same time, it was mentioned that for maintaining
competitiveness of RA economy, it will require more efforts from the
RA government aimed at improving the business climate and raising
the productivity.

The IMF official emphasized that though the CBA can limit the nominal
appreciation of the dram, nevertheless, the government should continue
conducting reasonable tax and credit policy and exert efforts in the
direction of implementing such structural reforms, which will limit
appreciation pressures and will help enterprises to more easily adjust
to these pressures.

Sunday, July 01, 2007
***************************************
PROVERBS
**************************************************
From 1001 YIDDISH PROVERBS
by Fred Kogos (New York, 1970).
**************************************************
A friend you have to buy; enemies you get for nothing.
*
A half truth is a whole lie.
*
A liar tells his story so often that he gets to believe it himself.
*
One God and so many enemies.
*
One lie is a lie, two are lies, but three is politics!
*
When a wise man talks to a fool, two fools are talking.
*
When God wants to break a man’s heart, he gives him a lot of sense.
*
Truth is the safest lie.
*
The masses are asses.
*
The rich have no sense of justice.
*
The heaviest burden is an empty pocket.
#
Monday, July 02, 2007
*******************************************
NOTES AND COMMENTS
**************************************
We preach freedom of speech to others but among ourselves we practice censorship, and we are too self-righteous and arrogant to see a contradiction or even an inconsistency.
*
Hatred becomes pathological when you hate even those who don’t share your hatred.
*
Born to Armenian parents in Greece, educated in Italy, now a citizen of Canada and living in the shadow of the United States, I know to what extent nationalism and patriotism limit, distort, and even pervert a man’s perception of the world and his fellow men.
*
Anyone who is against us is not necessarily wrong and anyone who is with us is not necessarily right.
*
Adopting an anti-Turkish stance does not in any way strengthen our case. On the contrary.
*
To proceed on the assumption that Turks are bloodthirsty Asiatic barbarians and compulsive liars is to guarantee that we will never reach a consensus with them.
*
We are unaware of our failings because they have become habits.
#
Tuesday, July 03, 2007
******************************************
PHONY PUNDITS
********************************
When a charlatan speaks the truth, he is bound to contaminate it with charlatanism. One reason why I am against phony pundits speaking about the Genocide…or anything else, for that matter.
*
PARADOX
***************
In her acknowledgments to her novel THE BASTARD OF ISTANBUL (New York, 2007), Elif Shafak writes: “I am particularly indebted to Armenian and Turkish grandmothers, who have an almost natural ability to transcend the very boundaries that nationalists on each side take for granted.”
There you have it, the paradox of our collective existence: the generation that experienced the massacres and deportations is more progressive in its thinking than the generation that followed it.
*
PROPAGANDA
***************************
Between writers and politicians, the masses will always choose to trust the politicians not because politicians know better or are smarter but because they control the media and the machinery of propaganda.
*
CENSORSHIP
******************************
Censorship in defense of truth, never. Censorship in defense of lies, always!
*
MORE YIDDISH PROVERBS
********************************************
God protects the poor from expensive sins.
*
God loves the poor and helps the rich.
*
He who is silent means something just the same.
*
The worst libel is the truth.
#
Wednesday, July 04, 2007
************************************************
OBSERVATIONS
*****************************
If you know you are a fool, you are almost smart.
*
We speak the worst lies when we speak of ourselves.
*
A story with a happy ending is an interrupted story.
*
If you believe you are smart no one except reality will make you change your mind, and sometimes not even that.
*
Our Turcocentric pundits write about the Turkishness of Turks. I prefer to write about the Turkishness of Armenians.
*
You tell a fool he is smart and he will believe it.
*
The smarter you are in one thing the dumber you will be in a thousand others. Like all rules this one too has its exceptions – two of them, as a matter of fact: Leonardo da Vinci and Jack S. Avanakian.
*
Three of the paintings in 1001 PAINTINGS YOU MUST SEE BEFORE YOU DIE, Selected by Leading International Critics (New York, 2006) are by Sarkis Katchadourian (1886-1947) (“Three Generations”), and by Arshile Gorky (real name Vostanig Adoian: 1904-1948) (“The Leaf of the Artichoke Is an Owl” and “Betrothal I”).
#

L’ECOLE ARMENIENNE INAUGUREE

Le Parisien
Dimanche 1 Juillet 2007

HIER APRÈS-MIDI, la communaute armenienne etait reunie, a
Arnouville-lès-Gonesse, pour inaugurer son ecole bilingue, qui porte
le nom de Hrant Dink, le journaliste armenien, assassine le 19 janvier
dernier, a Istanbul. Avec, pour l’instant, trois classes de maternelle
programmees pour la rentree prochaine, elle a deja recu l’inscription
de seize enfants. " Quand mon mari a decouvert l’interieur, il en
a ete emu aux larmes ", confiait une invitee. Pour cette occasion,
jugee symbolique, Edward Nalbandian, ambassadeur d’Armenie en France,
a fait le deplacement. La ville d’Arnouville abrite l’une des plus
fortes communautes armenienne d’Ile-de-France.

–Boundary_(ID_o5mbRAw1Oeq2F9pZr p3xyg)–

NEGATION DU GENOCIDE ARMENIEN ENQUETE OUVERTE CONTRE DEUX PROCHES DE DOGU PERINCEK
Winterthour ZH

Schweizerische Depeschenagentur AG (SDA)
1 juillet 2007 dimanche 12:45 PM CET

Une enquete penale pour discrimination raciale a ete ouverte contre
deux proches de Dogu Perincek a Winterthour (ZH). Les deux hommes
sont soupconnes d’avoir nie le genocide armenien samedi lors d’une
reunion nationaliste turque, a indique la police.

Ils ont persiste dans leurs propos lorsqu’ils ont ete interroges par
le parquet, a indique la police cantonale zurichoise dimanche dans un
communique. Ces declarations violent la norme penale antiraciste. Le
representant du Parti du travail turc en Allemagne et l’organisateur
de la rencontre a Winterthour estiment neanmoins ne pas etre coupables,
a precise le procureur Andrej Gnehm.

Les deux hommes ont ete interpelles puis remis en liberte samedi
deja. L’enquete se poursuit. M. Gnehm n’etait pas en mesure de dire
combien de temps elle devrait durer.

La police a egalement releve en marge de la reunion les identites d’une
vingtaine de personnes qui defilaient avec des affiches qualifiant
le genocide armenien de mensonge.

Le president du Parti du travail turc Dogu Perincek, condamne a
Lausanne pour negation du genocide armenien, n’a pas pu intervenir
lors de cette conference. Il semble qu’il n’ait pas obtenu de visa
d’entree pour la Suisse. Il n’est toutefois pas clair si un tel visa
a effectivement ete demande.

M. Perincek a ecope en mars de 90 jours-amende (100 francs par jour)
avec sursis pendant deux ans et d’une amende de 3000 francs. Le
Tribunal de police de Lausanne lui a egalement demande de verser
1000 francs "symboliques" a l’Association Suisse-Armenie (ASA), qui
s’etait constituee partie civile. Dogu Perincek a annonce vouloir
faire recours auprès du Tribunal federal.

–Boundary_(ID_Pek1mdkxDI3yh4Bwt/V1dw)–

DEBUT DU PROCèS DES MEURTRIERS PRESUMES DE HRANT DINK EN TURQUIE

La Croix
AFP
2 Juillet 2007

Le procès des meurtriers presumes du journaliste turc d’origine
armenienne Hrant Dink, dont l’assassinat avait bouleverse la Turquie en
janvier, s’est ouvert lundi a huis-clos devant un tribunal d’Istamboul

Le procès des meurtriers presumes du journaliste turc d’origine
armenienne Hrant Dink s’est ouvert avec presque deux heures de retard,
lundi 2 juillet. Les forces de l’ordre avaient boucle la rue menant
au tribunal de Besiktas, dans le centre d’Istamboul.

Quelque 2.500 manifestants, la plupart vetus en noir, se sont
rassembles sur une place avoisinante sous une banderole sur laquelle
on pouvait lire : "Nous sommes tous temoins. Nous voulons la justice".

La foule a applaudi l’arrivee de la veuve du journaliste, Rakel,
qui a participe brièvement a la manifestation, se joignant aux chants
proclamant : "Nous sommes tous Hrant Dink, nous sommes tous Armeniens".

Les avocats de la partie civile avaient fait savoir lors d’une
conference de presse vendredi que la procedure risquait de laisser dans
l’ombre des elements cruciaux de l’affaire, d’autres protagonistes,
notamment des forces de l’ordre, n’etant pas poursuivis.

"Une negligence intentionnelle de la police "

L’organisation responsable du meurtre "ne comprend pas que les
accuses", a declare lundi aux journalistes devant le tribunal l’avocate
de la famille Dink, Fahriye Cetin. "Il y a une negligence de la police
et de la gendarmerie que l’on pourrait qualifier d’intentionnelle,"
a-t-elle estime.

"Les forces de securite en activite a Trabzon, où le meurtre a
ete planifie, a Istamboul, où il a ete execute, et a Ankara, où les
renseignements sont rassembles, n’ont pas ete incluses dans le dossier,
alors que leurs liens avec les suspects, le non accomplissement de
leur devoir, leur dissimulation de preuves et meme leur apologie du
crime et du criminel ont ete etablis", avait-elle deplore vendredi.

Au premier rang des accuses figure Ogun Samast, chômeur de
17 ans originaire de Trabzon (nord-est) et proche des milieux
ultra-nationalistes de cette ville, d’où sont originaires la plupart
les 17 autres prevenus.

C’est lui qui, de son propre aveu, a tue de deux balles dans la tete
et une dans le cou Hrant Dink le 19 janvier a Istamboul, devant les
locaux de l’hebdomadaire bilingue turc-armenien Agos, que dirigeait
le journaliste.

De 18 a 24 ans de prison requis contre Samast

Le ministère public a requis a son encontre de 18 a 24 ans de prison
pour meurtre, ainsi que de 8,5 ans a 18 ans de prison pour port d’arme
illegal et appartenance a une organisation terroriste. Le huis-clos
a ete ordonne en raison de son âge.

Aux côtes de Samast, les deux dirigeants de l’organisation et
commanditaires de l’assassinat – selon l’acte d’accusation -,
Yasin Hayal et Erhan Tuncel, encourent des peines de prison a vie
incompressibles.

Hayal a deja passe 11 mois en prison pour un attentat a la bombe
visant un restaurant McDonald’s a Trabzon, qui avait fait six blesses
en 2004. Il est egalement poursuivi pour avoir profere des menaces a
l’encontre du prix Nobel de litterature 2006 Orhan Pamuk, connu pour
ses positions contestataires sur la question armenienne.

Dink militait pour une reconciliation entre Turcs et Armeniens

Des peines allant de 7,5 ans a 35 ans de prison ont ete requises
contre 15 autres comparses supposes, selon leur degre d’implication
dans l’assassinat.

Selon l’acte d’accusation, Tuncel, qui etait egalement informateur
de police, avait a deux reprises en 2006 fait savoir aux forces de
securite que Hayal preparait un attentat contre Hrant Dink. Mais,
poursuit l’acte, faisant partie lui-meme du complot, il n’a pas dit
que l’assassin serait une troisième personne.

Hrant Dink, qui militait pour une reconciliation entre Turcs et
Armeniens, s’etait attire la haine des cercles nationalistes pour avoir
ouvertement qualifie de genocide les massacres d’Armeniens commis en
Anatolie entre 1915 et 1917, une qualification rejetee par la Turquie.

–Boundary_(ID_eVXnJFTr4w9gnz8AW+GTfQ)–

ALLEGED KILLERS OF ETHNIC ARMENIAN JOURNALIST GO ON TRIAL IN TURKEY
By C. Onur Ant, Associated Press Writer

AP
Published: 03 July 2007

More than six months after the killing of an ethnic Armenian
journalist, 18 suspects went on trial yesterday in a case widely
seen as a test of whether the country’s judiciary will be able to
investigate allegations of official negligence in the slaying.

Hrant Dink was gunned down on 19 January and his killing led to
international condemnation and debate within Turkey about free
speech. Dink was hated by hardline nationalists for describing the
mass killings of Armenians early in the last century as genocide.

The trial was taking place behind closed doors because the alleged
teenage gunman, Ogun Samast, is a minor.

But lawyers, speaking on condition of anonymity because they were not
allowed to report details of the case, said two of the key suspects,
Yasin Hayal and Erhan Tuncel, claimed they worked for the security
forces. The alleged gunman had remained silent during the trial.

Critics accused authorities of failing to act on reports of a plot to
kill Dink, and it is unclear whether allegations that could potentially
be embarrassing for top officials will be explored in the trial.

Hayal, accused of providing gun and money to Samast, wrote some 20
letters to court officials and police explaining his links to security
forces, according to his lawyer, Fuat Turgut.

"The police manipulated us, now they should protect us," Turgut quoted
Hayal as saying in his letters.

Tuncel, who is suspected of masterminding the killing, reportedly
told the court that he was paid by police for gathering intelligence,
according to a lawyer who attended Monday’s hearing.

Turkey had vowed a thorough investigation, and the governor and police
chief of the Black Sea city of Trabzon, the hometown of Samast, were
removed from office because of negligence. Some security officials
who posed for photographs with the gunman as he held a Turkish flag
were also dismissed.

There has been no evidence that directly implicates any police or
government officials in the slaying of Dink outside his office.

Amnesty International, whose request to be an official observer in the
case was turned down by the court, called on the Turkish government
to investigate officials accused of negligence.

"If people within the state didn’t perform their duties correctly,
then they too have to be brought to justice," said Andrew Gardner,
the organization’s researcher in Turkey.

Many Turks are convinced that a so-called "deep state" – a network of
state agents or ex-officials, possibly with links to organized crime
– periodically targets reformists and other perceived enemies in the
name of nationalism.

"This trial will be a test of whether this quagmire will be dried
up or not," lawyer Kezban Hatemi, representing Dink’s family, told
reporters before the hearing Monday. "The indictment lacks evidence
and there is a need to find out real culprits."

Dink sought to encourage reconciliation between Turkey and Armenia. But
he was prosecuted under Article 301 of Turkey’s penal code, which bans
insults to Turkish identity, for his comments on the mass killings
of Armenians by Turks in the early 20th century.

PSYCHOLOGICAL AND PHYSICAL FORMS OF FAMILY VIOLENCE MAINLY SPREAD IN ARMENIA

Noyan Tapan
Jul 02 2007

YEREVAN, JULY 2, NOYAN TAPAN. All forms of violence exist in Armenian
families, but its phychological and physical forms are mainly
spread. Noyan Tapan correspondent was informed about it by Arusyak
Avagian, the Vice-Chairwoman of the Armenian Maternity Fund. She
added that cases of economic violence are also registered lately
(for instance, when the husband does not give money to his wife). In
her words, the "victims" of family violence in Armenia in most cases
do not wish to speak about that.

More than 1000 people have applied to the Huys (Hope) crisis center
so far.

The center was created in 2002 on the initiative of the fund and for
the purpose of assisting those who suffered from family violence. The
latters have received psychological, legal, medical and social
assistance at the center.

In the words of the fund’s Vice-Chairwoman, a Mother and Child house
also functions attached to the fund. It gives shelter to those who
suffered from family violence. That house is intended for settling
12 people for 2-3 months’ term. In A. Avagian’s words, currently
the Mother and Child house does not work due to serious financial
problems. At the same time, she said that it is envisaged to provide
money to the center by the 2010 mid-term program of the RA government.