Month: November 2009

ISRAEL WANTS TURKEY BACK ON BOARD AS MEDIATOR WITH SYRIA

AZG DAILY
26-11-2009

International

Israeli Minister of Industry, Trade and Labor, Benjamin Ben-Eliezer,
is expected to propose to Turkey that it resume its mediation role
in peace talks between Israel and Syria, in exchange for a return
to more cordial relations between Israel and Turkey, according to
sources in Tel Aviv, almanar.com.lb reported.

The sources said that the policy was coordinated with Israeli Prime
Minister Benjamin Netanyahu and the Foreign Ministry in advance of
Ben-Eliezer’s departure on an official visit to Turkey Sunday evening.

The sources say that Ben-Eliezer will stress that Israel will view
Turkey as a mediator with Syria, but Turkey must first demonstrate
a return to the normal relations that existed with Israel before
a deterioration in ties at the beginning of the year in the wake
of Operation Cast Lead in Gaza. The normalization will have to be
shown through declarations and deeds, they say. Among such gestures,
Ben-Eliezer will propose that Turkish President Abdullah Gul pay a
visit to Israel and meet with President Shimon Peres.

In the course of Ben-Eliezer’s visit, he will attempt to return
economic, military, strategic and diplomatic ties to normal. The
official reason for the minister’s visit is the annual Turkish-Israeli
economic conference. In the course of his trip, Ben-Eliezer will
meet with the Turkish agriculture minister as well as the defense
minister, who heads the Turkish delegation to the conference. Efforts
have recently been underway to arrange a meeting with a high-level
Turkish political figure. In the absence of Prime Minister Recep
Tayyip Erdogan, who is abroad, a possible meeting with President Gul
or with Foreign Minister Ahmet Davutoglu is being explored.

"I hope my economic and political talks will make it possible to
get the important relations between Israel and its Turkish strategic
partner back on track," Ben-Eliezer said, adding, "Turkey has special
ties with Israel, and as a regional and democratic-Muslim power."

In the wake of Operation Cast Lead, Turkey found it difficult to
restrain its criticism of Israel in the face of pro-Palestinian public
opinion in Turkey. This was followed by public pressure, backed by
Erdogan, to halt cooperation between Israeli and Turkish companies.

In October Prime Minister Netanyahu rejected a Turkish proposal,
conveyed through Spain, to resume mediation efforts with Syria. About
a week later, Turkey canceled Israeli participation in air force
exercises on its soil. The anti-Israel Turkish policies have been
led by Prime Minister Erdogan, while President Gul is considered a
pro-Israeli figure in the Turkish leadership.

In reaction to recent declarations by Netanyahu regarding his readiness
to negotiate with Syria without preconditions, Syrian President Bashar
Assad’s senior political advisor, Bothaina Shaaban, said over the
weekend that Syria’s position on opening negotiations with Israel is
clear: Israel must first recognize Syria’s rights in the Golan Heights
and present guarantees that it will withdraw. From Syria’s standpoint,
she said, it is not a matter of preconditions but of rights that it
cannot relinquish.

At a lecture in Syria, Shaaban said the meeting between Assad and
French President Nicolas Sarkozy about 10 days ago dealt with the
peace process, the Iranian nuclear issue and Turkish relations with
Syria. She said Syria is insisting that Turkey serve as mediator in
any negotiations with Israel, and Turkey is an important country
that had a central and rational role in the indirect negotiations
with Israel. Negotiations under Turkish mediation, she said, proved
to the world that Syria wants an agreement and Israel is hindering it.

MEDIA ALLOWED TO USE KURDISH LANGUAGE BUT STILL FORBIDDEN TO DISCUSS KURDISH ISSUES FREELY

AZG DAILY
26-11-2009

Turkey

Reporters Without Borders hails the lifting of the last restrictions
on the use of the Kurdish language by the Turkish news media. "This
is an important and symbolically-charged step but its impact will
be very limited as long as the media cannot tackle Kurdish issues
without risking prosecution," the press freedom organisation said.

The government gazette published a directive on 13 November
indefinitely lifting all remaining restrictions on the broadcast
media’s use of minority languages. Use of Kurdish had been allowed in
the print media and the national public TV station TRT 6 since January
2004, but privately-owned radio stations were limited to five hours
of Kurdish programming a week while privately-owned TV stations were
limited to four hours.

Furthermore, all Kurdish-language TV programmes had to be subtitled
in Turkish, which made live broadcasts impossible. As a result, only
TV stations offered any Kurdish programmes, the local station Gun TV
and, in the past two months, the satellite TV station Su TV.

"What is the point of broadcasting in Kurdish if coverage of Kurdish
issues from an independent or activist viewpoint is banned in
practice," Reporters Without Borders said. "The lifting of language
restrictions must not be allowed to eclipse the fact that the media
are still the victims of intimidation and self-censorship when they
try to tackle sensitive issues."

The press freedom organisation added: "There will be no real progress
for free expression in Turkey until the repressive legislation has
been repealed and the media are finally allowed to tackle the subjects
that the Turkish state has declared off limits."

More than 15 journalists are currently being prosecuted under
Anti-Terrorist Law No. 3713 and criminal code article 216 (on inciting
hatred) just for referring to the demands of the outlawed Kongra-Gel,
also known as the Kurdistan Workers Party (PKK), or for quoting its
leaders, even in an article that criticises them.

The Turkish legislative arsenal – including criminal code article
301, under which "insults to the Turkish nation" are punishable by
up to two years in prison – imposes considerable restrictions on
democratic debate by defining the limits that cannot be crossed as
regards such subjects as the armed forces, police, judicial system,
torture, secularism and the republic’s founder, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk.

And in practice this legislative arsenal allows many local judges
and prosecutors to resist the government’s declared policy of making
Turkish society more open.

Around 20 charges of "PKK propaganda," condoning criminal activity and
membership of an illegal organisation have been brought against Vedat
Kursun, the editor of the only Kurdish-language newspaper, Azadiya
Welat. Although he has been detained since January, the first hearing
in his trial was not held until 10 September. And he will continue to
be detained until the next hearing, which has been set for 2 December.

His lawyer, Servet Ozen, told Reporters Without Borders, "he is in
prison for comments that his newspaper was the first to make, but
which are now being debated in all the Turkish media."

Pro-Kurdish publications are even silenced online. Access to the
website of the daily newspaper Gunluk was blocked on 18 November.

Gunluk itself, like the weekly Ozgur Ortam, has repeatedly been closed
temporarily under the Anti-Terrorist Law, while Gunluk’s owner, its
editor and one of its journalists are all currently facing possible
sentences of 7½ years in prison.

The newspaper Demokratik Acilim was closed in September, just a
few weeks after it had been launched to replace Gunluk, which was
itself closed at the time. On 20 October, the European Court of
Human Rights ordered the Turkish government to pay several hundred
thousand euros in damages to 26 journalists working for four other
pro-Kurdish newspapers that had been closed – Ulkede Ozgur Gundem,
Gundem, Guncel and Gercek Demokrasi.

Even media that show little sign of sympathising with Kurdish autonomy
demands are exposed to repression. Hasan Cakkalkurt, the editor of the
"Kemalist" daily Milliyet, and one of his journalists, Namik Durukan,
are facing possible 7½-year jail sentences and fines of 9,000 euros
for reprinting a local news agency interview with a PKK leader. The
next hearing in their trial is set for 26 January.

Hulya Avsar, a famous singer, and Milliyet journalist Devrim Sevimay
are being prosecuted on charges of inciting hatred because Avsar,
who has Turkish and Kurdish parents, said in an interview that the
government’s policy of openness should not "under-estimate or ignore
the rights of the Kurds" and that it would be "hard to convince the
terrorists of the separatist PKK to lay down their arms."

Aside from Kurdish issues, it is still very difficult for Turkish
journalists to criticise the behaviour of the judicial system, armed
forces or police. Haci Bogatekin, the editor of the fortnightly Gerger
Firat, was sentenced in absentia by a local court on 18 November to
26 months and seven days in prison under criminal code article 125
for allegedly libelling the former prosecutor and police chief of
the southeastern district of Gerger by accusing them of harassing
his newspaper and colluding with Islamists.

Worn out by a legal battle that has dragged on for more than a year,
Bogatekin did not attend the final hearing for health reasons. He
wrote a letter of apology to the court, but the court ignored it on the
grounds that it was not sent by recorded delivery, rsf.org reported.

AKSEL BAKUNTS, ONE OF THE GREATEST SOVIET ARMENIAN WRITERS, NOW TRANSLATED INTO ENGLISH

AZG DAILY
26-11-2009

Culture

Born in Goris, Bakunts was one of the greatest Soviet Armenian
writers. His prose captured the spirit and landscape of Armenian
peasant life in the early Soviet years. Much criticised by Soviet
authorities, his work became a window into early Soviet Armenian life.

The Dark Valley [Mtnadsor] is a series of 18 short stories, first
published in 1927. They were translated by Nairi Hakhverdi with an
introduction by Victoria Rowe.

Like other Armenian intellectuals, Aksel Bakunts was executed during
Stalin’s purges.

Aksel Bakunts, The Dark Valley, translated from Armenians by Nairi
Hakhverdi with an introduction by Victoria Rowe, London: Taderon Press,
148 pp, ISBN 9781903656907, UK£10.00 / US$18.00.

For more information please visit

To order a copy please contact [email protected]

Taderon Press is a division of the Gomidas Institute, 42 Blythe Rd.,
London W14 0HA, England.

MOSCOW’S POLICIES IN CAUCASUS ‘VERY DANGEROUS,’ WARNS ARF

Yerkir
Nov 25th, 2009

Hrair Karapetian, ARF Armenia Supreme Council member and chairman of
the parliamentary committee of defense and national security,

YEREVAN (Yerkir)-Armenian Revolutionary Federation leaders have
expressed concern over Russia’s recent deepening of military
cooperation with Armenia’s main regional adversaries, saying Moscow’s
policies in the Caucasus are becoming "very dangerous" and run counter
to a military alliance between Armenia and Russia.

ARF Armenia Supreme Council member and chairman of the parliamentary
committee of defense and national security, Hrair Karapetian,
told reporters Wednesday that Russia’s posturing goes counter to
the Collective Security Treaty Organization, of which Azerbaijan is
not a member. The CSTO is a Russia-led defense alliance between six
former Soviet States, which was established to counterbalance NATO’s
influence in the region.

Karapetian highlighted a plan of joint military activities for next
year that was recently signed by the defense ministers of Azerbaijan
and Russia. He said, "This makes us wonder, ‘What is the difference
between us and Azerbaijan?’ We are a member of the Collective Security
Treaty Organization, Azerbaijan is not. Is it worth deepening military
cooperation with a country whose representatives periodically make
bellicose statements?"

He said the Russian policy "…is at least strange and unacceptable
to us. It contributes to the development of an even more dangerous
situation," with regards to the Nagorno-Karabakh conflict.

Karapetian went on to deplore Russian-Turkish military cooperation.

Moscow is seeking to forge closer defense links with "a country that
still threatens Armenia’s security," he said.

At a press conference Tuesday, ARF Bureau member Vahan Hovannesian
said that Moscow’s policies related to the South Caucasus are becoming
"very dangerous" for Armenia.

The two ARF leaders urged Armenia’s traditional allies, including
members of the CSTO, of forging military relations with Azerbaijan
and Turkey, as they would shift the balance of power in the region.

KARABAKH PARLIAMENT CONDEMNS AZERI THREATS

Asbarez
Nov 25th, 2009

The National Assembly of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic

STEPANAKERT (Parliament Press Service)-After its Wednesday legislative
session, the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic National Assembly issued
an announcement condemning Azerbaijan’s recent military threats,
warning that Azeri efforts are aimed at derailing the conflict
resolution process.

"Recent developments in the Karabakh conflict resolution process
demonstrate Azerbaijan’s blatant non-constructive approach. By
using various media, the Azeri leadership is creating the illusion of
dissatisfaction with the internationally mediated process. In reality,
however, the policies of that country aim to shift the military and
political balance in the region in its favor by unveiled threats
of future war against Artsakh," read the parliament statement,"
the announcement said.

"Under these circumstance the Artsakh parliament, characterizes recent
public statements by high-ranking officials as an uncompromising
posturing for a party to the negotiations. This is rife with
possibilities for the Karabakh side to lose confidence in the peaceful
resolution of the conflict," continued the statement.

"The authorities of the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic, on numerous
occasions, have warned international organizations and stakeholders
in the conflict resolution process of Azerbaijan’s military-leaning
foreign policy, which completely contradicts the responsibilities, to
which that country has agreed while becoming a members of international
organizations," added the statement.

"All of this points to official Baku’s intentions to derail the
negotiations and undermine the stability of the region, through
continued propaganda about alleged tensions in the Karabakh-Azerbaijan
borders," explained the announcement.

Through the announcement, the Karabakh National Assembly aimed to alert
the OSCE Minsk Group co-chairmen, the legislatures of the mediating
countries, as well as EU and CIS structures of the dangers inherent
in the aforementioned Azeri approach.

"The bold steps by Azerbaijan call into question the success of efforts
by the international community to establish peace and stability in
South Caucasus," warned the announcement.

Citing the will of the people of Artsakh, the National Assembly pledged
that it would take it upon itself to initiate efforts in light of
these developments and called on the Nagorno-Karabakh Republic Foreign
Ministry to inform the OSCE Ministerial Council of this announcement
when it convenes in Athens next week.

JUDGE RULES IN KREKORIAN’S FAVOR, AGAINST ESSEL’S SPECIAL INTERESTS

Asbarez
Nov 25th, 2009

Christine Essel (L) and Paul Krekorian (R)

LOS ANGELES-A federal court judge on Tuesday denied a political
committee’s request to overturn a 24-year-old city ethics law,
reported the Los Angeles Times.

The ruling, seen as a boon for Los Angeles City Council candidate Paul
Krekorian, was a sharp blow to the campaign of candidate Christine
Essel, whose backers brought the lawsuit.

"I was very proud to defend the ethics laws that the voters of Los
Angeles enacted and have relied upon for nearly a quarter century,"
said Krekorian, who defended the ethics law. "Today we won a tremendous
victory for transparency when the Federal Court agreed with my
arguments and completely rejected the frivolous lawsuit brought by
Chris Essel’s special interest supporters to overturn the City’s
ethics laws."

Special interest groups have spent more than $542,000 to boost Essel’s
bid for the San Fernando Valley council seat of former Councilwoman
Wendy Greuel in the last few weeks. Greuel is now city controller.

The group, Working Californians, which is co-chaired by the heads
of the International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers Local 11 and
Local 18, filed the suit to challenge a 1985 city law stating that
a political committee cannot accept contributions greater than $500
if it intends to use that money on an independent expenditure for a
city candidate.

Working Californians claimed that the provision violated its free
speech rights and asked the court to intervene immediately, the LA
Times said.

Krekorian said the lawsuit had nothing to do with the 1st amendment
and "was about nothing but concealing special interest money from
the voters of L.A."

U.S. District Judge Dean D. Pregerson concluded that Working
Californians had "not established a likelihood of success on the
merits of its 1st Amendment claims."

Pregerson said the group had not provided evidence that enforcement
of the restrictions would "effectively thwart its ability to make
independent expenditures" in the two weeks before the runoff, the
LA Times reported. The ruling noted that the group had received
contributions from just six sources since 2007 – including the two
political action committees controlled by IBEW Local 18 and Local 11.

"Working Californians is free to solicit contributions from as many
donors as it likes, and assuming that no individual contribution
exceeds the city’s $500 threshold, it can spend as much as it likes,"
the judge wrote.

"The outrageous amount of money pouring into the Second Council
District from so-called independent expenditures by special interests
is perhaps unprecedented in City history," explained Krekorian.

"[Essel’s] voracious fundraising has featured visits to the offices
of virtually every Downtown lobbyist, and the Ethics Commission
is currently investigating an obviously illegal contribution she
accepted from a lobbyist," Krekorian revealed, adding that the ruling
"completely vindicates the effort we made to protect the city ethics
laws that the voters enacted a quarter of a century ago."

"By filing this lawsuit, the Downtown power brokers proved that they
aren’t satisfied just trying to steal this election for Essel-they
want to hide their tracks too," said Krekorian. "But this election
will not be bought and paid for by the monied special interests-it
will be decided by the voters whose lives will be affected by its
outcome for years to come."

"While Essel claims to be a City Hall reformer, and she presents
proposals for strict ethics enforcement, she and her supporters
continue to flaunt every reasonable expectation the voters have about
campaign funding," Krekorian said. "On December 8, I am confident
voters will recognize that Chris Essel represents more of the same
business as usual, and I am the only candidate that will fight for
the kind of fundamental change that City Hall so desperately needs."

MANOYAN SAYS PROTOCOLS A MEANS FOR PRESSURING ARMENIA

Yerkir
24.11.2009 17:35

Yerevan (Yerkir) – Commenting on the meeting of the Armenian and
Azerbaijani president in Munich on November 22, Kiro Manoyan, the
director of the ARF Bureau’s Hay Dat and Political Affairs Office,
has said that he believes the negotiations on the Karabakh settlement
would continue for at least another year without any breakthrough.

The mediators announced a progress without saying in which field,
Manoyan told a news conference on November 24. He called it inadequate
that Azeri President Aliyev’s threats of resuming war were answered
half-heartedly by the Armenian president’s spokesman. He also
criticized the Armenian authorities’ position that Aliyev’s statements
are for the Azerbaijani public only. He added that as the meeting
of the presidents was the first one following the Armenian-Turkish
protocols, Aliyev was trying to pressure Armenia, threatening with
a war.

I WOULD GO FOR A STROLL, BUT I WOULDN’T PARTICIPATE IN A TOURNAMENT THERE: ARONIAN ON BAKU

Tert.am
15:06 ~U 25.11.09

Azerbaijan’s chess players are gradually revealing their talents,
said one of the world’s leading chess players (the fourth in FIDE
rating as of November 2009), leader of Armenia’s team, twice-Olympic
champion Levon Aronian stated in his interview to 1news.az.

Responding to the question whether "the weight of the burden of
the conflict between the two nations influences him when playing
against Azerbaijani chess players," Aroniansaid: "If the opponent
is a man of dignity, gentlemen, then it has no influence. That is,
if you are playing with a regular person, a regular chess player,
then normal relations develop between you also during the game. But
if the opponent is trying to enrage you and isn’t guided by sporting
principles, then naturally the ‘burden’ is felt. But, of course, the
insults made on the basis of nationality are understandable, though I
don’t accept such an approach, in principle. That is, it’s alien to me,
but when I see such behaviour, I understand its reason," Aronian said.

According to the Armenian chess player, from the Azerbaijani chess
players he is in contact with Shahriar Mamedyarov the most. "I have
seen almost his entire family except his mother and I like them all
very much. From the Hashimov family, I know you [Sarhan Hashimova is
the interviewer and sister of Azerbaijani player Vugar Hashimov],
Vugar and your father. I respect all of you, too. I have seen Tima
Radjabov’s parents, but if we’re talking about friends then I have more
friendly relations with Shahriar," the Armenian chess player stated.

Asked whether he would like to visit Baku, Aronian said he would
like to visit the city, to go for a stroll along its streets, but he
wouldn’t like to participate in a tournament in Baku. "Of course, it
would be pleasant to visit, to train or play chess, but the question
is that I wouldn’t feel free in the present situation. If everyone
knows you and has problems with your nation… Imagine, at some point
you would like to go for a stroll, but you know that people have an
initial prejudicial attitude towards you…"

’16 DAYS OF ACTIVISM AGAINST GENDER-BASED VIOLENCE’ IN ARMENIA

Tert.am
15:53 â~@¢ 25.11.09

Today marks the start of an annual campaign "16 Days of Activism
against Gender-Based Violence" in Armenia, which is part of a global
movement to combat gender-based violence.

UN Department of Public Information (UNDPI) Representative in Armenia
Maria Dotsenko welcomed attendees at today’s press conference with
opening remarks on the situation of gender-based violence in the
world today.

The UN Declaration on the Elimination of Violence against Women
defines the term "violence against women" as "any act of gender-based
violence that results in, or is likely to result in, physical, sexual
or psychological harm or suffering to women, including threats of
such acts, coercion or arbitrary deprivation of liberty, whether
occurring in public or in private life."

Statistical datа concerning the state of women in the world is
alarming, said Dotsenko: "At least 1 out of every 3 women is likely
to be abused in her lifetime. It is estimated that, worldwide, 1 in 5
women will become a victim of rape or attempted rape in her lifetime."

The UNFPA (United Nations Population Fund) confirms these statistics.

Its official website states that "Around the world, as many as one
in every three women has been beaten, coerced into sex, or abused in
some other way — most often by someone she knows, including by her
husband or another male family member; one woman in four has been
abused during pregnancy."

Dotsenko noted that the UN has been at the forefront of advocating for
women’s rights and has made an important contribution by creating a
number of international human rights documents that address violence
against women and require states to take action.

The UNDPI representative noted that Armenia ratified the UN Convention
on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (which
differs from the UN Declaration mentioned above), thus "reaffirming
its commitment to combat gender-based violence and to take active
measures to eradicate this phenomenon." (Editor’s note: Armenia
submitted its initial report to the UN committee on November 30, 1994.)

According to Article 4 of the UN Declaration on the Elimination of
Violence against Women: "States should condemn violence against women
and should not invoke any custom, tradition or religious consideration
to avoid their obligations with respect to its elimination. States
should pursue by all appropriate means and without delay a policy of
eliminating violence against women."

Also participating in today’s press conference were Lala Ghazaryan,
Head of Family, Women and Children Department of the RA Ministry of
Labor and Social Issues and Jina Sargizova, UNFPA national coordinator
of "Combating Gender-Based Violence in the South Caucasus" project
and the "16 Days" campaign in Armenia.

Other activities planned for the "16 Days of Activism against
Gender-Based Violence" campaign include a peaceful protest march from
the Women’s Resource Center to Charles Aznavour Square, set to begin
at 4:30 pm today, a candle-lighting ceremony and open stage at Moscow
Cinema (Kino Moskva) at 6 pm today, and a collective art exhibit and
film screening from December 5-7 (also at Moscow Cinema).

ALIYEV’S BELLICOSE STATEMENTS INTENTIONALLY EMPHASIZES TURKEY’S PEACEMAKING ATTITUDE, SAYS ANALYST

Tert.am
22:57 ~U 25.11.09

If we take into consideration European audiences, Aliyev’s bellicose
attitude is connected to underlining Turkey’s peacemaking attitude,
said political analyst Alexander Manasyan, while speaking to
journalists today.

"There is a distribution of roles where, on the background of
Azerbaijan’s threats, Turkey must with certain steps present itself
as a worthy candidate for the European family," he said.

Manasyan didn’t exclude the likelihood that Baku may have sent a
letter to the Turkish forces, who are against the rapprochement with
Armenia, so that the latter complicates the ratification process of
the Armenia-Turkey Protocols, sell it to Europe and the international
community at a more expensive price, so that it is possible to get
concessions particularly in the issue of Nagorno-Karabakh.

According to the analyst, Turkey will delay the ratification process
till April 2010, pursuing an aim to prevent recognition of the
Armenian Genocide by the US. "Besides, Turkey will ‘calm’ Azerbaijan
by presenting itself as an important player in the Nagorno-Karabakh
settlement process," concluded Manasyan.