Month: November 2009

ARMENIAN MP MEETS FRENCH EMBASSY OFFICIAL

news.am
Nov 20 2009
Armenia

16:22 / 11/19/2009Armenia appreciates France’s mediation in the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, Naira Zohrabyan, Chairwoman of the
Committee on European Integration, RA Parliament, Naira Zohrabyan
stated at her meeting with Christian Bec, First Advisor to the Embassy
of France in Armenia.

The press service of the RA Parliament told NEWS.am that Zohrabyan
made a high appraisal of the Armenian-French political cooperation
and expressed hope that the bilateral economic cooperation will reach
the same level.

Speaking of the Armenian-Turkish relations, Zohrabyan stressed that the
Armenia-Turkey normalization process has nothing in common with the
Nagorno-Karabakh peace process, which has repeatedly been confirmed
by the OSCE Minsk Group Co-Chairs. As regards regional cooperation,
she stressed that Armenia is ready for cooperating with its neighbors
despite the obstacles put by Azerbaijan.

SARKISSIAN: THE PITFALLS OF A HISTORICAL COMMISSION
By K.M. Greg Sarkissian

20/sarkissian-the-pitfalls-of-a-historical-commiss ion/

When reviewing the recently signed Protocols regarding diplomatic
relations between Armenia and Turkey, given that settling the border
is a sovereign right, that Armenia’s elected leaders have never stated
they have territorial claims on Turkey, and that the Karabagh conflict
is not explicitly part of the Protocols, what remains for debate is
the "sub-commission on the historical dimension."

In the words of the Protocols, the purpose of the sub-commission on
the historical dimension is "to restore mutual confidence between
the two nations, including an impartial scientific examination of
the historical records and archives to define existing problems and
formulate recommendations."

It is precisely this mutual confidence that is in question. The
purpose and meaning of this sub-commission continues to generate
heated and divisive debate within both those countries and their
respective diasporas.

There are several reasons for this debate, but one crucial aspect
is the fact that since the announcement of the Protocols at the end
of August 2009, the presidents of the two countries have expressed
diametrically opposing views on the meaning of this sub-commission.

On October 3, in New York, Armenian President Serge Sargsyan explained
to the assembled representatives of the Armenian Diaspora organizations
that the commission is not to judge whether or not genocide took place,
but rather "to discuss the issues of Armenian heritage in Turkey,
issues of restoring and preserving that heritage, issues of heirs of
victims of Genocide."(1)

However, Turkish President Abdullah Gul defines the sub-commission’s
objective as one which will provide a historical judgement. On October
6, in Istanbul, he stated, "There are all sorts of allegations about
what happened a century ago. It is clear that people who do not
know what happened where or how are not able to take decisions on
this matter. What we hope is that historians, archive specialists
study this matter and we are ready to accept the conclusions of
this commission. To show that we are sincere, we even said that if a
third country is interested in this matter, if French historians, for
example, want to take part in this commission, they are welcome."(2)

Given these contradicting interpretations, what would be the outcome,
if a commission were to proceed at this time?

There would be a direct and indirect chilling effect on third party
governments and independent scholars, in addition to added obstructions
to Armenian Diaspora organizations in their work for international
recognition of the Genocide. Some well intentioned parties will
genuinely believe in the guise of progress being made and become
unwitting bystanders to denial. Countries that would prefer not to
get entangled in the genocide issue would have the perfect excuse to
say that recognition efforts are not necessary, as Armenia and Turkey
are in negotiation.

In fact, we already have indications of this trend. Two Swedish
newspapers, Metro and Svenska Dagbladet no longer use the term
"Armenian Genocide." Metro’s Editor-in-chief refuses to place any
article in the newspaper about the so-called "Armenian Genocide,"
because he is "no longer sure if there was genocide or not."(3) During
a visit by Turkish Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu, Spain pledged
its support for Turkey’s accession to the European Union. "We are
watching Turkey and its foreign policy with admiration, especially
in relations with its neighbors," sources quoted Spanish Foreign
Minister Miguel Angel Moratinos as saying.(4)

Many observers believe that Turkey is using this commission as a
ploy, to dissuade third parties, such as the US and UK governments,
from considering resolutions to recognize the Genocide. The logic
of this ploy was explicitly admitted by a Turkish member of the
Turkish-Armenian Reconciliation Commission in 2001.(5)

The reason for Turkey’s unshakeable denialist position is well
explained by Taner Akcam. The foundation myths of the Turkish Republic
are a deep and integral part of Turkish national identity; revealing
the Armenian Genocide as a fundamental part of the formation of the
Republic would have devastating effects on the national psyche, as well
as on the ability of the "Deep State" to maintain its power.(6) Turkish
Prime Minister Erdogan has been quoted as saying, "During its history,
Turkey has never degraded itself to the vile cruelty of committing
genocide. It’s out of the question for us to accept this."(7)

Some have argued in favour of the sub-commission on the grounds that
since the Protocols state Armenian, Turkish, as well as Swiss and other
international experts will take part in it, and since Switzerland has
already officially recognized the Genocide, therefore the conclusion
of the commission will be favourable to the Armenians.

That argument fails to take into consideration that Turkey has ignored
resolutions by 20 countries affirming the Genocide and successfully
manages to keep other countries from adopting them. The whole point
of these recognitions and affirmations was to show Turkey that
it stood alone and was out of step with the facts in denying the
Armenian Genocide.

Turkey is a powerful country politically and militarily and has
recently also become powerful economically, ranking 17th in the world.

It uses these leverages skillfully in getting what it wants from
other countries. When Israel, the UK and the US avoid recognizing the
Genocide, they do so not because of uncertainty about the historical
facts- there is no serious dispute among scholars that what happened
to the Armenians in 1915 was genocide-they do so for political,
military and economic considerations, in short, Realpolitik.

It seems that Armenia is now also willing to play this game. By putting
the Genocide on the table via a historical commission, in order to
have political and economic relations with Turkey and to enhance its
security, Armenia has sacrificed its only leverage-the incontestable
truth. Now all countries will feel at still greater liberty to play
the game of Realpolitik regarding the Genocide in whatever way they
choose, because even Armenia does it.

In the short term, the Armenian Government’s handling of the
Protocols has exacerbated political divisions within the Armenian
community-especially within the Diaspora, and between Armenia and
parts of the Diaspora. During the Soviet era, the relations of Diaspora
institutions with each other and with Armenia were conditioned along
rivaling partisan lines, not even ideological lines.

This situation continued in the early years of independence, but
eventually more inclusive policies were developed to involve the
Diaspora in Armenia and integrate its relations on a pan-Armenian
basis. It now seems that the Protocols are once again polarizing the
Diaspora and its relations with Armenia. People are no longer debating
the issues, but rather "whose side are you on?"

In the long term, Armenia has compromised the incontestability of
the Armenian Genocide. Even if, for whatever reason, the Armenian
Parliament does not ratify the Protocols, the fact that the Armenian
Government agreed at one point to allow the Armenian Genocide to be
open to debate can be used to further Turkey’s denial.

_________________________________________ ______________________ (1)
"An Interview with Serge Sargsian," Armenian Reporter, October 3,
2009, p. 4.

(2) "Gul Invites Historians to
‘Study’ Genocide," Asbarez, October 6, 2009,
s-historians-to-study-genocide/,
accessed November 18, 2009.

(3) "Swedish newspapers call so-called ‘Armenian
genocide’ into question," Today.Az, October 23, 2009,
, accessed November
18, 2009.

(4) "Spain pledges support for
Turkey’s EU bid," Today’s Zaman, November 16, 2009,
0-102-spain-pledges-support-for-turkeys-eu-bid.htm l,
accessed November 18, 2009.

(5) California Courier Online November 15, 2001, referencing
Azeri newspaper 525-Gazet, July 19, 2001, quoted Turkish-Armenian
Reconciliation Commission member Ozdem Sanberk: "The main goal
of our commission is to impede Armenian Genocide recognition
initiatives put forth every year in the US Congress and parliaments
of Western countries for the ‘genocide issue’ and aimed at weakening
Turkey…. The significant matter for us is that the ‘genocide issue’
is not discussed by the American Congress any more. Because, as long
as we continue the dialogue, the issue will not be brought to the
Congress agenda. If it is not discussed in the Congress, we, being
Turkey, will gain from that. The US Congress will see that there is
a channel of dialogue between Turks and Armenians and decide that
‘there is no necessity for the Congress to take such [a] decision
while such a channel exists.’" (6) See Taner Akcam, "The Armenian
Genocide and the Silence of the Turks," in Taner Akcam, Dialogue Across
an International Divide: Essays towards a Turkish-Armenian Dialogue
(Cambridge, MA and Toronto: Zoryan Institute, 2001), pp. 75-101.

RA NA SPEAKER RECEIVES THE PRESIDENT OF THE SUPREME CONTROL CHAMBER OF POLAND

National Assembly of RA
Nov 20 2009
Armenia

On November 19 the Speaker of the National Assembly Mr. Hovik
Abrahamyan received the Chair of the European Organisation of Supreme
Audit Institutions (EUROSAI), President of the Supreme Control Chamber
of Poland Mr. Jacek Jezierski.

Welcoming the guest Mr. Abrahamyan highlighted the visit of the
President of the Supreme Control Chamber of Poland from the viewpoint
of developing the Armenian-Polish bilateral cooperation, as well as
of the participation of our country in the activities of the European
structures. Recalling his official visit to Warsaw in April of this
year, RA NA Speaker asked Mr. Jezierski to convey his warm greetings
to the Speaker of the Senate and Marshal of the Sejm of Poland,
as well as the Prime Minister of the country.

During the talk RA NA Speaker also expressed his satisfaction in
connection with the activity of RA Control Chamaber (CC) and rew the
interlocutor’s attention to the legislative and practical guarantees
directed to providing the independence of the Control Chamber of the
Republic of Armenia. In that context the interlocutors agreed that
from the viewpoint of the effectiveness of the activity of the supreme
audit institutions their independence is the most important factor.

Mr. Abrahamyan in detail presented to his interlocutor the cooperation
of RA NA and RA CC and its importance regarding the purposeful
expenditures of the budget means and effective implementation of RA NA
control towards them. He in particular mentioned that on his initiative
in the series of inspections of RA CC in 2010 the RA NA Staff had also
been included in order to have the public ensured in the transparency
of the activity of the legislative body of the country.

The Chairman of the Control Chamber of the Republic of Armenai Mr.

Ishkhan Zakaryan also attended the meeting.

ANDREI NESTERENKO RESPONDS TO EDWARD NALBANDIAN’S ACCUSATIONS

APA
Nov 20 2009
Azerbaijan

Moscow – APA. Director of the information and press department of the
Russian foreign ministry Andrei Nesterenko responded the accusations
by Armenian foreign minister Edward Nalbandian, APA reports. "Moscow
doesn’t pass over the sensation made by some Armenian press agencies
around the statement of Russian foreign ministry official on November
17. Armenian newspapers said that Moscow supposedly changed its
position and was linking the processes of the settlement of Nagorno
Karabakh conflict and Turkish-Armenian rapprochement now. This is
misunderstanding. Russian foreign minister Sergei Lavrov made a number
of statements about the Moscow’s position. It remains unchangeable.

The question is about two different processes", said Nesterenko.

He said Russia positively appreciated the documents signed between
Turkey and Armenia. "We believe that friendly neighbor relations
between Armenia and Turkey will have objective effect on enhancing
of peace security in the South Caucasus. Regarding the Nagorno
Karabakh conflict, despite existing discords, the sides achieved
certain progress toward the agreement on basic principles of the
settlement process. We see our role in this process in promoting of its
development, assisting the sides to reach common denominator, but we
don’t forcibly suggest any solution recipe to the conflicting parties.

Our position is based on that the Azerbaijanis and Armenians are
responsible to make last choice. Russia is ready to support any
solution option acceptable by all sides and to play a role of guarantor
for the settlement in the case of compromise agreement".

FORMER IAGS PRESIDENTS CONSIDER HISTORICAL COMMISSION AN ATTEMPT TO DENY ARMENIAN GENOCIDE

/former-iags-presidents-consider-historical-commis sion-an-attempt-to-deny-armenian-genocide/
By Weekly Staff
November 3, 2009

Prime Minister Recep Tayyip Erdogan TC Basbakanlik Bakanlikir Ankara,
Turkey

FAX: 90 312 417 0476 Dear Prime Minister Erdogan:

The recent signing of protocols by the governments of Armenia and
Turkey that was brokered by leading states of the international
community marks the beginning of a process that would lead to
establishing diplomatic relations between the two countries.

Constituencies in both countries find some or all of the protocols
problematic. We the former presidents of the International Association
of Genocide Scholars write to you to express our concern about one
of them: the establishment of a historical commission to study the
fate of the Armenian people in the Ottoman Empire in 1915.

We are sending you this amended version of the Open Letter we wrote
you in June 2005 to reiterate our objection to your insistence that
there be a historical commission, in which Turkey would be involved.

Because Turkey has denied the Armenian Genocide for the past nine
decades, and currently under Article 301 of the Turkish penal code,
public affirmation of the Genocide is a crime, it would seem impossible
for Turkey to be part of a process that would assess whether or not
Turkey committed genocide against the Armenians in 1915.

Outside of your government, there is no doubt about the facts of the
Armenian Genocide, therefore our concern is that your demand for a
historical commission is political sleight of hand designed to deny
those facts. Turkey has, in fact, shown no willingness to accept
impartial judgments made by outside commissions. Five years ago,
the Turkish members of the Turkish Armenian Reconciliation Commission
pulled out of the commission after the arbitrator, the International
Center for Transitional Justice, rendered an assessment that the
events of 1915 were genocide.

And, Prime Minister Erdogan, you have repeatedly stated that even
if a historical commission found that the Armenian case is genocide,
Turkey would ignore the finding.

As William Schabas, the current president of the International
Association of Genocide Scholars, said in his letter to you and
President Sarkisian, "acknowledgment of the Armenian Genocide must
be the starting point of any ‘impartial historical commission,’
not one of its possible conclusions."

Our previous letter, which was unanimously approved by the members
of the International Association of Genocide Scholars, lays out
the consensus among historians as to the historical reality of the
Armenian Genocide. We believe the integrity of scholarship and the
ethics of historical memory are at stake.

HELEN FEIN, EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE FOR THE STUDY OF GENOCIDE,
John Jay College, New York City, [email protected];

ROGER W. SMITH, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF GOVERNMENT, COLLEGE OF WILLIAM
AND MARY IN VIRGINIA; [email protected];

FRANK CHALK, PROFESSOR OF HISTORY, CONCORDIA UNIVERSITY, MONTREAL,
AND CO-DIRECTOR OF THE MONTREAL INSTITUTE FOR GENOCIDE STUDIES,
[email protected];

JOYCE APSEL, PROFESSOR OF GLOBAL STUDIES, NEW YORK UNIVERSITY,
[email protected];

ROBERT MELSON, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF POLITICAL SCIENCE, PURDUE
UNIVERSITY, AND PROFESSOR OF HOLOCAUST AND GENOCIDE STUDIES, CLARK
UNIVERSITY, [email protected];

ISRAEL W. CHARNY, PROFESSOR EMERITUS OF PSYCHOLOGY, HEBREW UNIVERSITY,
JERUSALEM, AND EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR, INSTITUTE ON THE HOLOCAUST AND
GENOCIDE, [email protected];

GREGORY STANTON, DISTINGUISHED PROFESSOR OF HUMAN RIGHTS, MARY
WASHINGTON UNIVERSITY, VIRGINIA, and PRESIDENT, GENOCIDE WATCH,
[email protected]

THE HAIRENIK LENDS BOOK TO LEMKIN EXHIBIT

the-hairenik-lends-book-to-lemkin-exhibit/
By Weekly Staff
November 20, 2009

NEW YORK (A.W.)-On Sat., Nov. 16, an exhibition titled "Letters of
Conscience: Raphael Lemkin and the Quest to End Genocide" opened at
the Center for Jewish History in New York.

The exhibition, co-organized by the American Jewish Historical Society,
the Center for Jewish History, and the Yeshiva University Museum, is
on view through May 9, 2010. It focuses on the activities and legacy
of Raphael Lemkin, a Polish-American Jewish lawyer who coined the term
"genocide," working relentlessly and inventively to protect the rights
and survival of groups targeted for destruction.

Organized jointly with the American Jewish Historical Society and the
Center for Jewish History, the Lemkin exhibition, which presents a
fascinating array of original correspondence and documents, serves
as a stirring and important reminder of an individual’s ability to
better humanity and the future.

Included in the exhibit is the Jan. 1, 1959 issue of the Hairenik
Weekly (currently, the Armenian Weekly), in which an exclusive
book review by Lemkin was published. Lemkin’s review is a powerful
reminder of the impact the Armenian Genocide had on the person who
coined the term "genocide" and who dedicated his life to fighting
this crime. In the article, Lemkin says, "One million Armenians died,
but a law against the murder of peoples was written with the ink of
their blood and the spirit of their sufferings."

Armenian Weekly editor Khatchig Mouradian, who has written about the
role Armenian newspapers played during the discussions leading up the
Genocide Convention of 1948, said, "We are honored and delighted to
have made a small contribution to this landmark exhibit on Lemkin’s
legacy. Armenian communities on both sides of the Atlantic in the
late 1940’s closely followed the tireless efforts of Lemkin and
supported him. Lemkin himself attests to this in his book review,
as well as in interviews given to the Armenian press."

For more information on the exhibit or to contact the Center for
Jewish History, visit

THE NEW POLICY SHIFT FOR TURKEY
By Azat Oganesian

Conservative-Examiner~y2009m11d19-The-new-policy-s hift-for-Turkey
The Examiner
Nov 19 2009

There are some countries in the world that may be categorized as
transcontinental, both in the geographical and cultural sense. One such
country is the Republic of Turkey. A predominantly Muslim country,
it has been a secular republic since its inception from the ruins
of the Ottoman Empire in 1923. Its first president, Mustafa Kemal
Ataturk, sought to mold Turkey in the European image- going as
far as replacing the country’s Arabic script for a Latin one, and
forbidding the wearing of the fez for men and headscarves in secular
contexts for women. It made one contemporary Armenian novelist, Gostan
Zarian, write during his time at Istanbul in the late 1920’s novel
"The Traveler and His Road", that now the Turks have sold out their
nation and religion. That may not have been the view of the Turkish
elites who grew up in the Europeanized atmosphere of Salonika and
Istanbul, but it must have been for the agrarian majority of Turks at
the time. From that period Turkey has tried to be accepted into the
European family, has been given many promises, yet has been always
kept at arm’s length. The most obvious example of this has been the
dialogue since 1963 about Turkey’s accession to the European Union,
which has been accepted by a few countries in Europe, delayed by most
and rejected as absurd by others. In the last year there has been
a new attitude coming from Turkey, that makes one think that this
country is slowly turning its head back to the East, and guiding its
foreign policy in a new way as a result.

"Why be a third rate European country, rather than a first rate Middle
Eastern one" quipped one British poster on a discussion board about
possible Turkish accession to the EU a few years ago. Why indeed?

Turkish passivity regarding many Middle Eastern issues over the last
80 years has recently turned into active engagement. This became
most noticeable at the World Economic Forum at Davos, Switzerland
last year during the Israeli offensive into the Gaza Strip. As
Palestinian civilian casualties mounted, the Turkish Prime Minister
Recep Tayyip Erdo?an lectured the Israeli President Shimon Peres
about his country’s actions in Gaza, to the glee of the present Arab
League President Amr Moussa. The session ended with Erdo?an leaving
the stage angrily. Recently Turkey has refused to hold scheduled
military exercises that Israel was going to be a part of. Likewise,
Turkey is considering having an open border with Syria, with whom it
has many cultural and historic ties; and on a recent trip to Teheran,
Erdo?an stated that he found nothing wrong with Iran’s nuclear
program, which he deemed to be peaceful. To its northeast flank,
Turkey has been more active in the South Caucasus, beyond being the
transit country for oil pipelines from Azerbaijan. Last year, Turkish
President Abdullah Gul visited the Caucasus and spoke about setting up
a forum to solve regional problems. Most importantly for the Caucasus
has been a thaw in relations between Turkey and Armenia, after Gul
accepted the invitation from Armenia’s President Serge Sarkisian
to watch a soccer match in Armenia between the two countries last
year. In October a protocol was signed between the two historical
enemies that would pave the way for an opening of their borders,
which would change the balance of power in the Caucasus.

With this new "ostpolitik" Turkey is playing a leading role in its
neighborhood and is sending a clear message to Europe that it can do
without it, and may even be an obstacle to European security if it
is in Turkey’s interest. Turkey has not rescinded from its official
policy to be a candidate for membership of the European Union, but
it is also widening its options. This new policy is neither in the
interest of the European Union, which would find a new competitor for
influence in the Middle East, nor for the United States, that has
always had a compliant NATO ally in Turkey during the Cold War and
the two Gulf Wars (though Turkey notably refused the US a "northern
corridor" into northern Iraq during the planning for the Iraq War).

The US also has a major military base in Incirlik, Turkey, whose
future may be in question if Turkey chose a policy of a regional
reintegration. So is this new mood a warning shot or a real policy
change? Countries don’t make such drastic changes overnight, so one’s
bound to assume a bluff. But oftentimes a bluff may become a reality
if events unroll in an unexpected manner. All parties involved should
take that into serious consideration.

INSTANBUL SINGER BRINGS HER INSPIRATIONAL STORY TO CORVALLIS
By Nancy Raskauskas,

Corvallis Gazette Times
Nov 19 2009
Oregon

CORVALLIS — Ankine Ugur, a well-known singer from Istanbul, Turkey,
will share her irrepressible and charismatic style of music at a
concert this Friday in Corvallis .

Ankine has performed an old vaudeville style of music called Kanto
for more than 30 years in Turkey.

An unlikely star, she refused to let the conservative culture in her
predominantly Islamic homeland hold her back from her dreams of being
a singer.

Complicating matters, she is a Christian of Armenian heritage. It’s
a fact she hid from most people — including her husband’s Muslim
family for many years — going by the stage name "Aysun Isik."

A few years ago, she was able to reveal her true identity to her many
fans , and since has been on tour to Germany and the subject of a
documentary filmed in 2008.

Ankine will perform traditional Turkish music and Kanto with
Eugene-based Ala Nar and guest dancer Salome at 9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov.

20, at Cloud 9 in Corvallis. Admission is $5.

Corvallis audiences can thank the strong bond between Ankine and
her husband, Omer, and their only son, Arda, for their chance to see
her perform.

Arda, a structural engineer, moved to Eugene in 2005.

Ankine and Omer first visited Oregon a year ago, when Arda and his
wife had their first child, a daughter they named Azra Ankine. The
proud grandparents came back for another visit recently and will be
in Eugene through January.

"My mother has always been very enthusiastic about her music," Arda
said. He agreed to translate an interview with Ankine, who does not
speak English.

"Arda is our only son, and we always had strong family ties," Ankine
said. "Before our first visit, Arda had been living in the States
for three years and seeing him again was a mix of a lot of emotions:
happiness, excitement and a lot of tears."

While visiting this year, Ankine attended a show by Ala Nar.

Leigh Ann Starcevich, a Corvallis musician who plays saz with the
Eugene-based band, recalled seeing Ankine singing along at a recent
concert.

"We were wondering, ‘who is this woman?’" she said.

Ankine was equally surprised to find a group playing Turkish music
in Oregon.

"I was very, very surprised and excited. It made me extremely happy to
see a group of talented Americans who play our music and traditional
instruments, sing our songs in this part of the world," Ankine said.

"I was thrilled. At the end of their concert I met with Leigh Ann,
and that’s how our acquaintance started."

Ankine was persuaded to join Ala Nar for several upcoming concerts
in Corvallis and Eugene. In the meantime, she’s taught the group a
thing or two.

"I found Ala Nar very entertaining when I first listened to them,"
Ankine said. "When I rehearsed with them for the first time, I
introduced some songs they were not familiar with and some songs they
had not performed at their concert but that they were familiar with."

"Most of these songs were old and classic Istanbul songs. On the
other hand, I introduced them to my genre of Kanto, which they seem to
enjoy playing," she added. "I will be sharing a mix of Turkish music,
which mainly consists of classic Istanbul songs and authentic Kanto,
at our upcoming Eugene and Corvallis shows."

"She really whipped us into shape," Starcevich said. "She is such a
charismatic performer. What you see on stage is how she always sings.

This music is such a part of how she thinks and breathes and lives."

Ankine had no problem giving up part of her vacation to the U.S. to
perform with Ala Nar.

"No, I do not mind at all," she said. "On the contrary, I enjoy it
very much, and I appreciate the opportunity to meet and perform with
such talented musicians. I am so lucky that I am able to perform in
the U.S. after Germany and my home country Turkey."

Ankine was 25 years old when she started her professional singing
career. She competed in five major singing competitions in Turkey,
and placed first in four of them and second in the other.

"That was absolutely one of the highlights in my career," she said.

Last year, during Ramadan 2008, she performed Kanto in Berlin,
Germany. During the tour, she had interviews with top newspapers and TV
channels from Turkey which are also published and broadcast in Germany.

She was also the subject of a documentary on her personal and
professional life called "Hayatin Ritmi: Aksak" directed by Yasin Ali
and translated by Bob Beer. The film received an award last year from
the Turkish National Television and Radio Network.

"As I look back at my 31 years of performing, the thing that I am
most proud of is my role of keeping authentic Kanto alive and doing
this without taking the easy way out by performing popular music,"
Ankine said, adding that she is also proud of "successfully preserving
my family and marriage."

"As long as I recieve offers and get opportunities to perform Kanto I
wish to continue singing Kanto whether I am in Turkey or the U.S.,"
she said. "As you would appreciate, authentic arts such as Kanto is
a dying part of our culture."

CHECK IT OUT WHO: Ala Nar with Istanbul Kanto singer Ankine and
dancer Salome

WHAT: Traditional Turkish music and Kanto

WHEN: 9:30 p.m. Friday, Nov. 20

WHERE: Cloud 9, 126 S.W. First St., Corvallis

COST: $5.

INFO: or

KANTO

The word "kanto" comes from the word "cantare" in Italian, which
means "to sing," and it was adopted from an Italian vaudeville that
was visiting Istanbul in late 1800s. From the early 1900s to the
first years of the Republic (1930s), Kanto was the most important
entertainment element of Istanbul’s night life. In fact, introduction
of the western musical instruments into Turkish music started with
Kanto. Back then, it was forbidden for Muslim women to take to the
stage and sing, therefore most of the kanto singers were non-Muslim
women, particularly Armenians.

FAIT ACCOMPLI STRATEGY AGAINST NON-MUSLIMS

Today’s Zaman
Nov 20 2009
Turkey

Michel Foucault says you can understand a society from what it
excludes. We generally tend to look at what a society includes,
what they are willing to embrace.

But Foucault draws our attention to a different angle. I agree with
him. When it comes to Turkey, I believe, not only what it excludes
but also how it does this are important factors to look at in order
to have a better understanding of this country.

What does Turkey exclude? Without any doubt it excludes non-Muslims.

This non-Muslim identity is rejected by secular state elites who
are the founders of the Turkish republic. This is another tricky
part which confuses outsiders and they have a serious difficulty
to understand. In Turkey so called "secular people" have a much
stronger allergy towards non-Muslims than devout Muslims have towards
non-Muslims. This is important to understand because of the complex
policy towards non-Muslims developed by the secular elites and so
called secular state apparatuses. Today’s so called "secular elites"
are just the inheritors of the Committee of Union and Progress (CUP)
which orchestrated massacres against Armenians. If devout Muslims
could play a quite dynamic reformist role in Turkey, they can do that
because they do not have any historical linkage with this political
movement. On the contrary, the same political movement has always
oppressed them in Turkey.

While the Ottoman Empire was collapsing, the CUP decided that
they should create a homogenous society in the remaining part of
the empire. Because they believed if they did not do that they
would have lost more territory, even Anatolia would be broken into
smaller pieces. On the orders of Talat Pasha, in 1915, Armenians
were forcefully expelled to the Syrian deserts, massacred and all
their belongings were seized. Turkey’s history of getting rid of
non-Muslims is also the history of the Turkification of capital. It
is not a coincidence that the richest Turkish families in Turkey
are from the cities and regions in which the biggest massacres were
carried out; Adana, Kayseri and so on. This may also explain why we
have such an obedient bourgeoisie in Turkey.

After this initial and brutal blow, a certain policy was vigorously
and relentlessly applied towards non-Muslims during the Republican
era in Turkey. If you look at the history of non-Muslims, you can
clearly see the repetition of certain patterns. Sudden and unexpected
attacks followed certain periods of inaction and after a while, another
unexpected attack followed this inactive period. This is called a
‘fait accompli’ strategy. A fait accompli strategy works like this:
You want to get something. You take it without discussion or warning
and you give your enemy/opponent a choice, they will either fight back
or accept the loss. You also act upon the conservative attitudes of
your opponent; you know that they will act to protect what is left
to them rather than fighting for what has been taken from them. After
a while what you have taken becomes a part of the status quo. Sooner
or later you take something else from your opponent, but again they
do not react believing that they have a lot to lose if they fight back.

These actions and waiting periods follow each other; after a while your
opponents start to see the pattern, but this time, if they react, they
would have lost most of their material possessions and freedoms when
you set out for a new attack; they think it will not be worth fighting
back because they did not fight while most things were taken from them.

This is exactly what happened to non-Muslims during the republican
era. They were scared away with pogroms. They were condemned to poverty
by wealth taxes. Their properties, their foundations were taken from
them one-by-one by carefully calculated legal tricks. They were never
given any legal status and they suffered from this ambiguity. Their
schools were closed and so on. Attacks followed inaction. Inaction
was followed by new attacks. The so called Lausanne minorities
suffered from these policies a lot and they have come to the verge
of extinction. I have already explained the plight of the ecumenical
patriarchate in this column before. And as I said earlier, minority
groups are also a part of this game with their submissive and passive
attitude. They never sufficiently use and benefit from existing
remedies; they have never developed any strategic litigation to gain
new rights to loosen the noose around their necks. This fait accompli
strategy has been applied on automatic pilot since the republic was
established. Its aim is obvious. It will be repeated until non-Muslims
completely vanish. This strategy is one of the biggest stumbling
blocks to democracy in this country. We need to develop awareness,
an understanding of it first and then a serious struggle for its
eradication can be started. There is no place for fait accompli in
any democracy!

ERGENEKON PROBE EXPOSES SURVEILLANCE OF ARMENIAN COMMUNITY

Today’s Zaman
Nov 20 2009
Turkey

The investigation into an alleged illegal network known as Ergenekon
has revealed that a civilian who was formerly employed by the Turkish
Armed Forces (TSK) had collected detailed information on Turkey’s
ethnic Armenian population.

Ergenekon investigators found that Fatma Cengiz, who is currently
a suspect in the case against Ergenekon, collected various dossiers
regarding the Armenian community in Turkey. The file included a list
of subscribers to the bilingual Armenian weekly Agos.

In addition, there were lists of names and members of Armenian
foundations and churches, which were classified as "active" or not,
as well as the balance sheets of Agos.

Cengiz had been in the limelight before after claims that she gave
information to Ä°brahim Å~^ahin, a former deputy head of the National
Police Department’s Special Operations Unit, to establish "S-1 and
S-2 teams" to assassinate intellectual leaders in society.

According to sources, Cengiz also tracked the names of academics,
writers and journalists who participated a two-day academic
conference held on Sept. 24-25, 2005, at Istanbul Bilgi University
titled "Ottoman Armenians during the Decline of the Empire: Issues
of Scientific Responsibility and Democracy." The conference openly
disputed the official Turkish account of the Armenian massacres.

In the files allegedly belonging to Cengiz, who is also known as Asena
Ozturk, there are several famous names, with notes next to their names:
Halil Berktay, "professor, he had publicly said that Armenians were
massacred"; Kazım Akıncı, "secret Armenian, he applied to a court
to change his religion after Dink [Turkish-Armenian editor Hrant
Dink who was assassinated by an ultranationalist teenager in 2007]";
Ece Temelkuran, "she said that if something happens to her the prime
minister is responsible for it, she is a graduate of the Ankara faculty
of law"; Herkul Milas, "he is not an Armenian"; Sevan NiÅ~_anyan,
"writer at Taraf, maybe from Agos, needed to be investigated"; Markar
Esayan, "Taraf writer, information regarding him will come together
with Etyen Mahcupyan"; Aytac İlhan, "he might be a student in Igdır,
he should be investigated, he had applied to change his religion";
Baskın Oran, Adalet Agaoglu and Elif Å~^afak.

Investigators have also found a PowerPoint presentation which was
allegedly prepared by Cengiz, who signed it as Asena Ozturk. In that
presentation, pictures of Å~^ahin and Korkut Eken, a former officer of
the TSK Special Operations, are placed side by side. There is also a
photograph of former Chief of General Staff Gen. YaÅ~_ar Buyukanıt,
in addition to the expression "Everything is for the country,"
written in blood on a background of weapons and the Turkish flag.