Month: December 2008

GENOCIDE BECOMES TOPIC OF STUDY IN UMA CLASSROOM
By Matthew Stone

Kennebec Journal
Dec 11 2008
ME

AUGUSTA — Common threads unite each genocidal act, be it the Armenian
genocide, the Holocaust or the genocide in Darfur.

There are perpetrators, victims and bystanders. And each genocide
involves key stages, including classification of people by their
differences, dehumanization of the victims, organization of the
campaign against the victims, and a denial of wrongdoing.

Students in Abraham Peck’s "Genocide in Our Time" class at the
University of Maine at Augusta have examined genocidal acts throughout
the semester, in a first-of-its-kind course offering at the college.

The course is one of a handful UMA students wishing to study genocide
in depth will be able to take as part of a new academic concentration
in Holocaust, Genocide and Human Rights Studies at the college. The
new concentration is likely to begin next September.

Students in Peck’s class Wednesday devoted their final session of the
semester to discussing the 1994 genocide in Rwanda, in which militia
members from the Hutu ethnic group killed 800,000 to 1 million members
of the Tutsi ethnic group.

Approximately 200,000 Hutus took part in the murders, according to
Peck, director of the Academic Council for Jewish, Christian and
Islamic Studies at the University of Southern Maine.

By comparison, nearly 1 million Germans took part in the 6 million
killings of Jews and others during the Holocaust, according to Peck,
the son of Holocaust survivors.

"It’s a groupthink kind of thing," Peck said of genocidal acts.

Peck set a lofty goal for the students in his UMA class.

"I want to change you. I want to change your life and I want you to
go out and change other people’s lives," he said.

Janet Martucci said she enrolled in Peck’s class in an attempt to
better understand history. "Genocides continue and I keep trying to
understand why," she said.

After taking the course, Martucci said, she has a better understanding
of the syndrome.

"We’ll now be cognizant of these threats in ourselves so they don’t
take advantage of us," said Martucci, of Washington.

Karyn Dickey, of Richmond, said the class led her to take a different
view of community service, which she said can be a way of preventing
oneself from becoming a guilty bystander.

"I never thought of the fact that being a bystander is actually making
you be a guilty part in genocide," Dickey said.

Gayle Holden, a pastor at West Cumberland United Methodist Church,
said a desire to better understand religion’s role in genocide led
her to enroll in Peck’s course.

Holden said she is now more conscious about American citizens’ part
even in faraway conflicts.

"Now that we know all this information, we can’t be bystanders,"
she said.

SEVAN TO TURN INTO A "GOLDEN" LAKE?

A1+
[05:02 pm] 11 December, 2008

Lake Sevan is in danger again. The gold-extracting "GeoProMining"
company- owner of the Ararat Gold Extraction Company and the Sotk
gold mine exploitation concession- plans on moving the gold production
unit from Ararat to Sotk.

According to ecologists, the cyanide technologies of gold extraction
and joining of chemical substances will increase the risks for the
lake. Besides that, the wastes such as poisonous metals and elements
that gather in the granary will remain that way for millions of years.

Ecologists consider that as a violation of the law and predict that
in a couple of years it will be impossible to prevent the outflow of
dust that spreads to Lake Sevan through scraps and winds.

"Sevan is in danger because the interests of gold extractors are high,"
said ecologists today during a round-table discussion on "Risks for
Sevan from gold mining" in the UN Office of Armenia.

In the beginning of the discussion, participants watched a film
entitled "Golden mine for Sevan" about the consequences of a
transaction of gold mines in Ararat and Vardenis.

Head of the National Committee of the UN Environmental Protection
Program, president of the "For Stable Development" Association Karine
Danielyan said that the issue must be perceived in the context of
development of the country.

"It is time to think about what course we are going to take,"
said Danielyan. Professor of the Armenian-Russian University Gagik
Sukhudyan said that the pollution of Sevan’s basin is a violation of
the law and the issue must be raised in the European Court.

"I have come to the conclusion that we must allocate peacekeeping
forces between our administration and Mother Nature," said Sukhudyan.

Let us recall that former owner of the Indian gold-extracting factory
"Vedanta Resources" had the desire to move the production unit from
Ararat to Sotk back in 2005. The Armenian administration denied the
proposal, but temporarily. Only in May this year did it become clear
that the new owner of the factory-"GeoProMining"-has restarted the
work of the factory and is getting ready to draft a complete plan
with an evaluation of the influence on the environment.

Ecologists have expressed concerns to the RA Ministry of Environmental
Protection, but it wasn’t until recently that the Minister heard
the government’s decision to not back the project during an outgoing
session in Sevan.

"We know that the owners of that company are lobbying the project
at high levels and according to our data, there are people who are
trying to green light that project. Head of the government’s natural
resources management agency Artashes Zeroyan was supposed to speak
at the discussion, but he didn’t show up. This raises worries that
perhaps there is some pressure," said head of the "Ecolur" information
NGO Inga Zarafyan.

60 YEARS ON, ISRAEL-BASHING DIMINISHES MESSAGE OF UN HUMAN RIGHTS COUNCIL
By Yossi Melman

Ha’aretz
Dec 11 2008
Israel

Even the chairman of the session could not keep silent. The Nigerian
Ambassador to the United Nations in Geneva called on participants
to treat each other respectfully. His request was a direct response
to the speech by the Iranian ambassador who, as is the custom of
his government, called Israel "the Zionist entity," and not by its
official name. The chairman’s words were also meant to protest the
fiery, if expected, speeches of the envoys from the Arab and Muslim
countries who attacked Israel one after the other. The most prominent
was the Yemeni ambassador, who called Israel’s actions against the
Palestinians the greatest atrocities in human history. No less.

He had not heard about the Armenian genocide at the hands of the Turks,
the Holocaust of the Jews, and the genocide in Rwanda, the horrors
of the Balkan wars. He did not remember that 40 years ago, his own
country had been attacked with chemical weapons by the Egyptian army.

The occasion, last Thursday, was a meeting of the UN Human Rights
Council. The discussion was being held close to the date the world
will mark the 60th anniversary of the Universal Declaration of Human
Rights. Out of the declaration grew a number of bureaucratic bodies to
deal with this important issue, among them the Human Rights Commission
and the Human Rights Council, established at the beginning of 2006. One
of its most important instruments is the Universal Periodic Review:
an accounting by each UN member of the status of human rights in
its country: the attitude to ethnic minorities, religions, women,
the gay community, freedom of the press, etc. Other countries respond
and make suggestions for improvement.

Some in Israel thought that the issue of the territories should not
be part of the review, since the matter comes up so often in other UN
bodies, and that the focus should be on Israel within the Green Line.

However, it was eventually decided that it would be improper not to
mention the situation in the territories. Israel’s representatives,
headed by the ambassador to the UN in Geneva, Aharon Leshno-Ya’ar,
told the council that Israel was living with terror and therefore some
human rights are not absolute. Israel’s representatives also said
that the separation wall had proven itself efficient in preventing
suicide bombers.

They noted the large number of human rights groups operating in Israel;
governmental, judicial, and non-governmental. Israel’s representatives
acknowledged there was room for improvement and pledged to seriously
discuss the council’s recommendations The democratic countries
praised Israel’s report, although they expressed reservations about
certain issues, such as the situation of the Negev Bedouin. However,
the blood of the Arabs and the Muslims was boiling. Their central
recommendation was that Israel put an end to the "racist" occupation,
as the Syrian representative expressed it.

"The Human Rights Council is a political body," Leshno-Ya’ar told
Haaretz. "We would like to learn from the experience of others in
this issue, but we do not need the review process to remind us of the
history in the territories. The recommendations of the Arab countries
are political, and not only do they not advance the cause of human
rights, they even do it harm."

The Human Rights Council consists of 47 members, with an automatic
majority of third-world countries, led by Pakistan, Algeria,
Egypt and Cuba. The council appears to be making almost obsessive
efforts to denounce homosexuality and stop texts that are critical
of religions. The Western countries see these steps as attempts to
deflect criticism from the serious human-rights situation in the
other countries. The United States has decided not to continue its
membership in the council.

AZERI PRESIDENT DUE IN KUWAIT
By Ben Garcia

Kuwait Times
Dec 11 2008
Kuwait

KUWAIT: The Azeri President Ilham Aliyev is due to visit Kuwait during
the first quarter of 2009, revealed Ambassador Shahin Sh. Abdullayev in
an exclusive interview with the Kuwait Times yesterday. The Ambassador
made the announcement in an exclusive interview with the Kuwait Times
on the eve of the fifth anniversary of the death of the country’s
founding father, President Heydar Alirza Oglu Aliyev, which falls
this Friday. During President Aliyev’s two-day visit, a number of
agreements will be signed in cluding various accords dealing with
subjects including trade, education, cultural cooperation and the
avoidance of double taxation, said Abdullayev.

The president’s visit will be the first high-level contact by
Azerbaijan leader to Kuwait. "Kuwait and Azerbaijani bilateral
relations are still young, but we have high hopes that everything
will be cemented the moment that both countries sign these important
agreements," Abdullayev said.

The president, currently in his second term, succeeded his father
Heydar Aliyev by election when the former died in 2003. Ilham
successfully won re-election in October 2008.

There was no doubt that he was the right person to succeed his
father who has done so much for our country," he noted. Previously,
Heydar Aliyev held position as Secretary General of the Soviet Union
Central Committee until the collapse of the Soviet Union under Mikhail
Gorbachev. He then returned to his native Nakhchivan, where he lived as
a normal citizen, but was eventually selected by his fellow townspeople
to lead Nakhchivan.

Chaos and anarchy reigned in Azerbaijan during those periods and
people were tired and were looking for someone who could lead the
country to national unity and reconciliation. As a distinguished
and experienced man, Heydar was the only Azeri statesman whom they
knew could unite the country. So, after series of talks with Aliyev,
he finally agreed to lead Azerbaijan in a new era of change.

Abdullayev noted that during the transition (from the USSR to free
Azerbaijan) emerging leaders wanted to pursue their own interests,
backed by powers such the Russians, Turkish and Iranians.

Ambassador Abdullayev admitted that political history in Azerbaijan was
quite complicated during these periods and leaders knew that Aliyev
was the only force that could bring Azerbaijan back to stability and
calmness thereby achieved miracles on all fronts.

In just one year, he re-created the country; he reconciled all the
political parties from north to south, east to west. He invited
investors and make millions of jobs for our people. He put our
nation on the world map, established good relations with the rest of
the world such as the United States, Russia, Turkey, Iran, European
countries and Asia. We have also initiated a plan to join international
organizations such as NATO and others. From that time on, we have
improved our relations tremendously in t he international community
and people from all walks of life have a high regard for him, whom
we now call our founding father," Ambassador Abullayev enthused.

Abdullayev also mentioned the founding father’s initiative to sign a
ceasefire agreement with the Armenians. "We only have one problem with
Armenians; they continue to defy United Nations resolution requiring
them to withdraw their troops from our territory," he said.

The ambassador also spoke about Azerbajan’s bilateral relations with
Kuwait, saying that these are going from strength to strength. "Kuwait
has supported us in many forms from our conflict with the Armenians
and we are receiving assistance for our refugees. Our embassy here
opened in 2004 and Kuwait has opened their permanent mission in Baku
[the Azeri capital] in 2006. We know that both countries have many
opportunities and are just waiting for the right time to be tapped.

Kuwaiti companies have visited Azerbaijan and negotiated with our
government. We are open for foreign investors," he explained. According
to Abdullayev, Azerbaijan’s Gross Domestic Products grew three-fold
between 2003 and 2008, leaping from 26 to 36 percent. Growth and
continuous development have slashed the poverty rate from 49 percent
in 2003 to just 16 percent in 2007. Azerbaijan’s current population
is 8.5 million.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ARMENIA OPTS FOR BULGARIAN-MADE GOODS

Standart News
d=2008-12-11&article=26075
Dec 11 2008
Bulgaria

Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan visited Sofia at the invitation
of his Bulgarian colleague Georgi Parvanov

Photo BGNES"Choose the Bulgarian-made goods" will be the motto
of a pre-Christmas promotion campaign of Bulgarian produce in
Armenia. Or at least this is what Armenia’s President Serzh Sargsyan
told his Bulgarian counterpart, Georgi Parvanov while on a visit to
Sofia. Sargsyan said that the market of Bulgarian goods in Armenia
should be restored and said a land route should be constructed to
connect the two countries and encourage the import of Bulgarian goods
to Armenia.

The two presidents were explicit that experience had to be exchanged
on the work of the power plants in the two countries. . Parvanov said
that transport and energy production were among the top priorities
for both countries. Parvanov and Sargsyan signed four agreements in
the spheres of culture, administration, taxation policy and archives.

NATIONAL CHRISTIAN MOVEMENT URGES YEREVAN NOT TO YIELD TO PROVOCATION

Interfax
Dec 11 2008
Russia

Tbilisi, December 11, Interfax – Several dozen of representatives
of the National Christian Movement held an action near the Armenian
embassy in Tbilisi on Thursday.

Certain forces in Armenia have held a several-month-long "provocative
campaign aimed at the return to the Armenian Church of several churches
of indefinite belonging located in Georgia," movement leader Giorgi
Andriadze said.

"If these forces have the right to demand the return of Armenian
temples, we have the right to demand the return of Georgian temples
in Armenia. Yet our action urges our Armenian brothers not to yield
to the provocation for fear of breaking the status quo and causing
very negative events," he said.

In the words of Andriadze, there are up to ten Georgian temples dating
back to the 10-11th centuries in northern Armenia, and the Georgian
Orthodox Church has no jurisdiction over them.

More than 2,000 Armenian students protested against an encroachment
on Armenian churches in Georgia in Yerevan on December 3.

Two tombs of the Armenian benefactors Tamamshevs were profaned at the
initiative of Georgian priest Tariel Sikinchelashvili on the premises
of the St. Norashen Church in Tbilisi on November 16.

"The problem of Armenian temples in Georgia should be resolved in a
dialog between the Armenian Apostolic Church and the Georgian Orthodox
Church," Armenian Diaspora Minister Granush Akopian said.

"Yet there is still no decision concerning the status of Armenian
temples in Georgia," he said.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ASK ALBERT GRIGORYAN

A1+
[05:49 pm] 11 December, 2008

Assistant to RA Premier Albert Grigoryan is in charge of
information-gathering and relations with applicants in the operative
headquarters created with the purpose of discussing programs for aid to
the private sector and those interested may contact Albert Grigoryan
at [email protected] with their business plans, proposals,
or call 52-92-39, informed today Armenian Premier Tigran Sargsyan.

The prime minister marked that the ministries and departments will
submit the telephone numbers and e-mail addresses of those in charge
of the abovementioned issue and the Assistant to the RA Premier will
be in everyday contact with them.

"I believe that the ministries must also work according to the
regime. It would be right if the ministers and department heads assign
tasks or register those who will work with the operative headquarters
so that we can send our gathered information to you and you can then
respond quickly to the letters," said Tigran Sargsyan.

WRITER DEFENDS HIMSELF AGAINST MINISTER’S ACCUSATIONS IN A FREEDOM OF EXPRESSION CASE

BIA
Dec 11 2008
Turkey

Writer Temel Demirer, who was made a target of hate by the latest
statements of Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin, Minister of Justice, about his
case, defended himself by claiming that the minister has distorted
his words. The minister has just recently given the permission for
the trial of the writer under article 301, designed to restrict the
freedom of expression.

Temel Demirer, who is on trial under article 301 of the Penal Code
(TCK) because of the permission granted by Mehmet Ali Å~^ahin,
Minister of Justice, said the minister was distorting his words.

Demirer is accused of "denigrating the Turkish Republic" and "inciting
to hatred and hostility" for saying that Hrant Dink was not only
killed for being an Armenian, but for recognizing the genocide as well.

The Justice Minister had claimed that Demirer’s words were inviting
everyone to commit crime against the state by calling the state
murderer, having a negative influence on people.

Previously, the minister had made the following comment about Demirer’s
case that "They do not pay attention to the things this person has
been saying, but when a lawsuit is filed they feel sorry for him. This
person said Turkey was a murderous state. He says the Turkish state
first murdered the Armenians and will now murder the Kurds. Sorry,
but I cannot let anyone call my state a murderous state. This is not
freedom of expression. This is what this article describes as the
crime of insulting the person of the state."

Å~^ahin who cannot let anyone call the state murderer apologized
for Ceber’s death Demirer’s lawyers had accused the minister for
putting their client’s life in danger by making him a target of hate
and interfering with the trial process. Demirer is facing two years
in prison.

Saying minister’s latest statement does not reflect the reality,
Demirer claims that he did not talk about his thoughts, but actual
facts within their historical context and the state was disturbed
by this.

"Everyone knows how I speak and write about the facts; how can writing
about the facts be hurtful and provocative?"

Demirer says minister’s attitude is contradictory since the same
minister who makes him a target by saying that he calls the state
murderer apologized about the murder of Engin Ceber while he was
detained.

Article 301 permission to the cases trying the "marginal and radical
leftist" magazines So far 462 files have been sent to the Ministry
of Justice and Å~^ahin gave permission to 58 of them. Some of them
are still not decided and about 260 of them were denied.

The minister says that those that are given permission to be tried
under article 301 make up only 19 percent of the total and those
cases that target the press members are only 8 percent. He says these
numbers were much higher before.

Saying some of the cases for which he granted permission are marginal
and radical leftist magazines, Å~^ahin says, "Some of the statements
are so mean that only one’s enemy can write them. Only the enemy can
write those statements against the State and the Armed Forces. We allow
the trial to go on in these cases. One writes such comments that they
disturb you, I mean they insult. That is why we grant permission,
but it is the judiciary that will make the final decision. I do not
decide, I cannot say if he is guilty, because I am not the judge."

"He is making a call for committing crime, violence and terror…He
said ‘I expressed my opinion, and they gave trial permission against
me’. Then I asked what he said, why I allowed for this trial. I
explained what they said. I interpreted them as an invitation to
violence and terror. Of course the court itself will decide."

Demirer is on trial for the speech he gave at the 7th Munzur Culture
and Nature Festival in the province of Tunceli and is accused of
"doing propaganda of a terrorist organization." The next hearing of
the case will be on February 12, 2009.

–Boundary_(ID_MweY7TvIlotov64PfY6Gzw)–

ARMENIAN POLITICAL SCIENTIST: "I DO NOT SEE THE DRIVING FORCE WHICH COULD MAKE ILHAM ALIYEV ACCEPT INDEPENDENCE OF NAGORNO KARABAKH"

Today.Az
politics/49512.html
Dec 11 2008
Azerbaijan

"Karabakh conflict will hardly be settled in the near future",
considers Armenian political scientist Sergey Shakaryantz.

"Though serious people announce the soonest resolution of the Karabakh
conflict, I do not think that this issue will be settled within half
a year or even within a year or five", said Shakaryantz at a press
conference Thursday.

He considers that the very important moment today is that the issue
will be settled peacefully. Yet, he said there is no factor, which
may influence Azerbaijan for it to make concessions.

"In this situation Azerbaijan must make concessions, as it is alone
against Armenia and Karabakh. If superpowers are ready to influence
on Azerbaijan so that to make it recognize independence of "NKR",
the issue will be settled very quickly. But I do not see any driving
force, which could make reelected Ilham Aliyev accept independence
of Karabakh", said he.

HE BECAME BRAVER AFTER MARCH 1

A1+
[08:25 pm] 11 December, 2008

When former professor of the Armenian affiliate of the University
of State Service of Russia Karine Davoyan was participating in the
national movement rallies, she was sure that she was fighting not only
for her rights, but for the rights of her students and the rector of
the university.

In the wake of the events of March 1, the rector of the university
Mushegh Asoyan fired Davoyan, who had been working at the university
for 8 years and was considered one of the best professors. She
was always a member of the admission exams for her honesty and
professionalism.

During the pre-election period, the rector suddenly began to suspect
the professionalism of one of his best professors.

It all started when Mrs. Davoyan answered one of her students’
questions and said that the people gathered in "Freedom Square"
on February 20 were not "homeless" people, but freedom fighters.

"Students are also citizens of this country. They also have the right
to raise questions and I am obliged to answer them. Our rector found
out about this and warned me not to talk about democracy, human rights
or else I would be fired. When I asked him how he would fire me when
my students loved me, he said that he could find a couple of students
and make them write a complaint against me," said Mrs. Davoyan.

At first, Davoyan didn’t pay attention to this and didn’t think that
he was capable of such a thing. Before finding the two students,
two National Security Service officials attended the university and
called Davoyan to the rector’s office. Davoyan didn’t understand what
her lectures had to do with the NSS officials.

"I told them that I had no party affiliation. I told them that I was
going to elect Levon Ter-Petrosyan and that I would answer the same
if my students ask me. The NSS officials told me that I had the right
to do that and left."

After that, the rector warned Davoyan that she wasn’t doing the
right thing and prohibited her from participating in the rallies. He
didn’t like this administration either, but he was ready to fire some
professors for them. So, he was afraid to show his professors at the
rallies. After Davoyan disobeyed the rector, her issue was discussed
in the presence of 60 other professors.

"They claimed to have taken surveys from students on a scale of one
to ten. The highest score was "1" and the rector put my issue up
for discussion."

Later, the rector offered Davoyan to return, accept her guilt with
a final warning. Mrs. Davoyan refused, didn’t show up to class and
taking advantage of this, the rector marked the absences to prepare
ground for firing her for absences.

Although Mrs. Davoyan is currently unemployed, she doesn’t regret it.

"I was teaching students how to express themselves. If I were to
continue lecturing for a salary, how I was going to talk to those
students about dignity and individuality? I would lose my students
with whom I am in contact," said Davoyan.

Why did they fire you after the events of March 1? After all, you
were participating in the rallies before March 1. In response to that,
Mrs. Davoyan said:

"On March 1, I was near the Myasnikyan statue, but that was not the
reason for firing me. They fired me after March 1 because until then,
the rector thought that Levon Ter-Petrosyan might win and he might
turn out to be the bad guy. He became braver after March 1."