Month: February 2012

SPEAKER OF AZERBAIJANI PARLIAMENT: IT WILL NOT DO CREDIT TO FRANCE TO POLITICIZE THE HISTORICAL EVENTS THAT HAPPENED LONG AGO AND MAKE THEM THE THEME OF DISCUSSION AT THE PARLIAMENT

APA
Feb 6 2012
Azerbaijan

Delegation of French parliament visits Azerbaijan

Baku. Parvin Abbasov – APA. Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament
Ogtay Asadov received the delegation led by head of France-Azerbaijan
Working Group, Senator Nathalie Goulet. Spokesman for the parliament
Akif Tevekkuloglu told APA that senators Sylvie Goy-Chavent, Jean
Marie Bockel, Herve Maurey, Andre Reichard, Jeanny Lorgeoux also
attended the meeting.

Ogtay Asadov spoke about the relations between Azerbaijan and France.

He said the Azerbaijani government, the head of state Ilham Aliyev
attaches great importance to the development of cooperation with
France. Speaker of the parliament said the Azerbaijanis are concerned
over the bill on the co-called “Armenian genocide” passed in France,
which is considered the cradle of democracy.

“Taking into account that France is a co-chair of the Minsk Group
dealing with the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the concern
of the Azerbaijanis is understandable. We believe that the final step
for the enactment of the bill will not be taken due to the actions of
the progressive persons like you, the French Constitutional Council
will prevent enactment of the bill aiming to restrict human rights
and freedoms,” he said.

Ogtay Asadov said historians must deal with history. He said it
will not do credit to France to politicize the historical events
that happened long ago and make them the theme of discussion at the
parliament. He mentioned the Khojaly genocide, which happened recently,
displacement of one million Azerbaijanis and said the attempts to
close eyes to such cases, discuss a made-up issue, exaggerate it are
not understandable.

“We call on the French politicians to be delicate regarding this
issue,” he said.

The guests expressed their satisfaction with the meetings held in
Azerbaijan. They highly appreciated the visit and expressed their
confidence in the development of Azerbaijan-France relations.

The French senators also met with the members of the parliament’s
committee on international and interparliamentary relations. Chairman
of the committee Samad Seyidov also attended the meeting. The guests
were informed about Azerbaijan’s concern over the bill passed by the
French senate. The guests expressed their regret over the passage of
the bill and said historians must deal with history.

The members of the delegation had voted against the bill criminalizing
the denial of the genocides recognized by the law at the French
National Assembly and Senate.

TURKISH FOREIGN MINISTRY DEMANDS EXPLANATION FROM SWISS EMBASSY IN ANKARA

APA
Feb 6 2012
Azerbaijan

Baku – APA. Ambassador of Swiss Confederation in Ankara was called
to Turkish Foreign Ministry and demanded an explanation.

APA reports that ambassador Raymond Kuntz was called to the ministry
by Turkish Foreign Ministry’s Office Chief Firudin Sinirlioglu.

Sinirlioglu demanded an explanation on the news about launching
of preliminary investigation in relation to Turkish Minister of EU
Affairs Egemen Bagis by Swiss Prosecutor’s Office. Sinirlioglu told
ambassador that he considered this step unacceptable.

Armenian community in Switzerland appealed to the Prosecutor’s
Office after Egemen Bagis said in Zurich last week “There was no
Armenian genocide. Let them come and arrest me for my words”. Zurich
Prosecutor’s Office announced that it started preliminary investigation
on Bagis.

“THE FRENCH SENATE’S LEGISLATION OF THE PAST IN THE PRESENT HAS DIRE CONSEQUENCES FOR THE FUTURE”

APA
Feb 6 2012
Azerbaijan

“Azerbaijan’s approach to the French Senate’s passing of the ‘Armenian
genocide’ bill has been constructive though it is difficult when
Azerbaijan is still at war with Armenia for it to play much more of a
positive role”, Dr. Joshua W. Walker, a Transatlantic Fellow at the
German Marshall Fund of the United States, where he runs the Turkey
Program, told in an interview with APA.

“Obviously Turkey and Azerbaijan must coordinate and work together,
but there are different interests in Ankara and Baku when it comes to
Yerevan, yet ironically the Armenian lobby brings them closer together
which is in direct contradiction to Yerevan’s interest”, he said.

The analyst believes that the French Senate’s legislation of the
past in the present “has dire consequences for the future”. “Every
democracy has its pitfalls and in particular the narrow interests
of lobbies everywhere have negative consequences as we are seeing
in the case of French-Turkish relations. Rather than focusing on
the similarities and convergence of interest between France and
Turkey fellow Minsk Group, NATO, and G-20 allies the French Senate
passing the bill penalizing denial of the “Armenian genocide” has
hurt everyone’s interests rather than gaining anything”.

Speaking about the possible affect of the French “genocide bill” to
the Nagorno-Karabakh adjustment process, Mr. Walker mentioned that
Nagorno-Karabakh unfortunately is a deeply frozen conflict that will
be unaffected by the French bill precisely because this conflict is
not just a problem from the past, but of present realities. Ankara’s
own internal calculations vice-a-vie Baku and Yerevan and competing
international and regional interests will ultimately have far more
impact than anything Paris can legislate.

The analyst also considers that Armenian-Turkish rapprochement has
been stillborn almost from the beginning of the 2009 protocol signing
because of the domestic and regional political realities in Ankara,
Baku, and Yerevan.

“Rather than focusing on a positive agenda in an environment of trust,
we have seen nothing but negatively and insincerity unfortunately. I
think Armenian-Turkish rapprochement is in everyone’s long-term
interest, but the short term ramifications and the ongoing history
issues with Turkey and present day frozen conflict with Azerbaijan
make me pessimistic about the possibilities of genuine reconciliation”,
he added.

According to him, the US has done all it can do and quite frankly
needs to focus on being a more fair and balanced broker given its
own domestic components.

“Armenia’s President got more severely criticized when he came to
Los Angeles and Boston than in his own country for the reconciliation
process which shows how skewed this entire process has been.

Ultimately it is in America’s long-term interest to help Armenia
and Turkey reconcile so they can work out their differences directly
rather than indirectly”.

He also underscored that Turkey as a candidate country for the EU
has never been treated the same as any other country, yet Albania as
another Muslim country that has integrated into European structure
offers some hope particularly for a country like Azerbaijan that has
a more relaxed understanding of religion.

“Turkey is a deeply conservative and religious country that has a role
to play as a leader and spokesman for Muslims around the world, where
as Azerbaijan has less of a role, yet as seen from Europe they will
very much be put in the same category. So how ever far Turkey can go
with Europe is a win for Azerbaijan and vice-versa, so whether it is
in Eurovision or the European Union their destinies will be forever
linked”, he said.

AZERBAIJANI SPEAKER WARNS FRENCH SENATORS ON ARMENIAN BILL

APA
Feb 6 2012
Azerbaijan

Speaker of the Azerbaijani Parliament Ogtay Asadov received the
delegation led by head of France-Azerbaijan Working Group, Senator
Nathalie Goulet. Spokesman for the parliament Akif Tevekkuloglu told
APA that senators Sylvie Goy-Chavent, Jean Marie Bockel, Herve Maurey,
Andre Reichard, Jeanny Lorgeoux also attended the meeting.

Ogtay Asadov spoke about the relations between Azerbaijan and France.

He said the Azerbaijani government, the head of state Ilham Aliyev
attaches great importance to the development of cooperation with
France. Speaker of the parliament said the Azerbaijanis are concerned
over the bill on the co-called “Armenian genocide” passed in France,
which is considered the cradle of democracy.

“Taking into account that France is a co-chair of the Minsk Group
dealing with the resolution of Nagorno Karabakh conflict, the concern
of the Azerbaijanis is understandable. We believe that the final step
for the enactment of the bill will not be taken due to the actions of
the progressive persons like you, the French Constitutional Council
will prevent enactment of the bill aiming to restrict human rights
and freedoms,” he said.

Ogtay Asadov said historians must deal with history. He said it
will not do credit to France to politicize the historical events
that happened long ago and make them the theme of discussion at the
parliament. He mentioned the Khojaly genocide, which happened recently,
displacement of one million Azerbaijanis and said the attempts to
close eyes to such cases, discuss a made-up issue, exaggerate it are
not understandable.

“We call on the French politicians to be delicate regarding this
issue,” he said.

The guests expressed their satisfaction with the meetings held in
Azerbaijan. They highly appreciated the visit and expressed their
confidence in the development of Azerbaijan-France relations.

The French senators also met with the members of the parliament’s
committee on international and interparliamentary relations. Chairman
of the committee Samad Seyidov also attended the meeting. The guests
were informed about Azerbaijan’s concern over the bill passed by the
French senate. The guests expressed their regret over the passage of
the bill and said historians must deal with history.

The members of the delegation had voted against the bill criminalizing
the denial of the genocides recognized by the law at the French
National Assembly and Senate.

From: A. Papazian

THE ARMENIAN CARDINAL AND HIS SERVANT
by Tom Vartabedian

February 6, 2012

Growing up as an altar boy inside the Holy Cross Armenian Catholic
Church in Cambridge, I spent my Sunday mornings assisting its most
reverent pastor Father Luke Arakelian.

Cardinal Agagianian at the Mekhitarist Monastery in 1958, surrounded
by elite clergy of his day, including Archbishop Mesrop Habozian,
left, Abbott General of the Motherhouse.

I would wear the shabig and go through the entire ritual of a Holy
Mass, uttering the responses and smoking out the congregation with
an incensor.

Each Sunday, for over three decades at Holy Cross Church, the celebrant
was Father Luke Arakelian, and he ran a tight ship. His altar boys
were trained like Prussian soldiers, answering every call as if the
Almighty had ordered it.

One day, he took me aside and said, “Thomas. The Cardinal is coming.

You will be his chief servant.”

I thought maybe a glass of water when he needed it or perhaps
fulfilling any request made of him. After all, it wasn’t every day
such a high authority of the church would be visiting your community.

The protocol I envisioned was nothing compared to what was expected.

My altar duties were ready to take a quantum leap. I would serve as
his deacon and give all the responses expected of my role.

His arrival to Greater Boston was met with high anticipation. Cardinal
Gregory Peter XV Agagianian was here to bolster the Armenian Catholic
faithful, stimulate the church populace, and heighten the understanding
of our common heritage.

My nerves stood on edge in the days that followed. Suppose I fell
apart and forgot the prayers? What if I tripped on my robe and took
a dive? Like any sheepish teenager, it was like waiting for a tooth
to be pulled.

The year was 1951 and the big day finally arrived. I remember him
hearing my surname and smiling, “You are the son of a priest. I
couldn’t have a more appropriate assistant.”

Of course, he had two. On the Cardinal’s opposite side was Father
Luke himself and down below, a cadre of other altar boys and candle
bearers-the whole entourage. It went off like a charm.

My thoughts go back to the 1958 papal conclave in Rome following the
death of Pius XII. Cardinal Agagianian was on the verge of being
elected to the highest post in the Catholic Church. He received
a large number of votes from the College of Cardinals, eventually
approaching the majority needed for election. This was confirmed by
the elected Pope himself, Pope John XXIII.

In a talk at the Armenian College in Rome, three months after the
conclave, the new pope admitted that his name and that of Cardinal
Agagianian’s “went up and down like two chickpeas in boiling water”
before he finally got elected on the 11th ballot with the two-thirds
vote required.

Thousands who gathered outside St. Peter’s Basilica in Rome that Oct.
28 had laid witness to a smokestack ritual. At one interval when
the smoke changed from back to white, a new pope had been elected,
thought to be that of the Armenian Cardinal. Before the celebration
began, the smoke reverted to black.

Had Cardinal Agagianian been elected but declined the post? We’ll
never know.

Our paths would cross again two years later at the Mekhitarist
Monastery in Vienna, where I was sent to pursue my studies. Every
morning for one year, the first call to duty was serving the Abbott
General of this vank: His Eminence Archbishop Mesrop Habozian.

And then history repeated itself.

“The Cardinal will be visiting us next week and we would like you
on the altar,” the Abbot General proposed. “You may have met him
in Cambridge.”

One in the same. An old acquaintance renewed. I was psyched. I
remembered the beard, the feisty personality, this passionate disciple
of Christ. But most of all, I remembered the twinkle in his eye. If
there was any haughtiness in his presence, it didn’t show.

At least a half dozen priests accompanied the Cardinal at Mass that
day with me below this time as the altar in Vienna sparkled like
never before. He remembered me from 1951 during his visit to Holy
Cross Church. “The son of a priest,” he had smiled.

He stuck around the vank for a few days after that. We even got to
play a game of chess during a rare moment of leisure. I didn’t stand
a chance nor did I want to. He could have been the next Pope in Rome,
the first Armenian elected to such a pontifical seat.

Cardinal Agagianian died in Rome in 1971 as the most celebrated
Armenian Catholic in history. And I was proud to be his servant.

From: Emil Lazarian | Ararat NewsPress

ZARAKOLU NOMINATED FOR NOBEL PEACE PRIZE

BIAnet.org
Feb 6 2012
Turkey

Swedish parliamentarians nominated arrested journalist, publisher,
writer and human rights advocator Ragıp Zarakolu for the Nobel
Peace Prize.

Oslo – BÄ°A News Center06 February 2012, Monday Members of Parliament
of the Swedish Left Party Amineh Kakabaveh, Jens Holm, Bengt Berg, Siv
Holma, Marianne Berg and deputies of the Green Party Jan Lindholm and
Valter Mutt applied to the Nobel Prize Committee in Oslo to nominate
Ragıp Zarakolu for the 2012 Nobel Peace Prize.

In their application to the committee, the members of the Swedish
Parliament emphasized that Zarakolu was an internationally recognized
human rights defender who became a symbol for press freedom and
freedom of expression.

The application also mentioned several awards given to publisher,
writer and human rights advocator Zarakolu for his efforts in this
context.

A news article in the Radikal daily also referred to numerous prison
sentences handed down to the publisher on the grounds of books on the
Armenian genocide, the Kurdish question, Mustafa Kemal Ataturk and
Islam – topics considered taboos in Turkey – published by Zarakolu
together with his deceased wife AyÅ~_e Zarakolu.

Despite all pressure and attacks, Zarakolu continued defending freedom
of thought and contributed to the reconciliation between cultures.

The Swedish parliamentarians put forward that Zarakolu became a target
of the state due to his efforts. “If Turkey established a commission
on law and reconciliation one day, Zarakolu should become head of
this commission”, the deputies stated.

Ragıp Zarakolu was arrested on 1 November 2011 in the context of
an operation against the Union of Kurdish Communities (KCK), an
organization founded by Abdullah Ocalan, imprisoned leader of the
Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) recognized a terrorist organization by
the European Union and other countries. The International Publishers
Association (IPA) criticized his arrest and announced, “He does not
deserve imprisonment but the Nobel prize”.

Zarakolu received rewards of the IPA in 1998 and 2008; in 1995 and
2007 he was awarded by the Turkey Publishers Association; in 2003
he was awarded by the Norwegian Ministry of Culture and in 2010 he
received the National Library Award of Armenia. (AS/VK)

From: A. Papazian

BIGOTRY EMBEDDED INSIDE US AND THE DEMOLITION IN MALATYA

Hurriyet Daily News
Feb 6 2012
Turkey

I talked to Malatya Mayor Ahmet Þakýr and European Union Minister
Egemen Baðýþ after the sudden overnight demolition of the annexes of
the Armenian cemetery in this eastern province on Friday.

Egemen Baðýþ was sad. He got my “I could not reach you” note. He said
he had even sent a message, “I called you back; I could not reach
you.” When I reviewed my missed calls, I saw it, he was right. He
had called.

“There was a mistake that I guess was not ill-intentioned. They will
correct it. I will personally monitor the process,” Baðýþ explained.

He also admitted that he was anxious when he first heard of the
incident, thinking, “How are we going to explain it?”

I talked to the Malatya mayor in the evening. “The demolition team went
there just to knock down the guard’s cabin. They demolished all the
annexes because of a communication failure. We, as the metropolitan
municipality, will build the demolished prayer place and the cabin
for washing the dead as soon as possible.”

Old reflexes

It was five years ago that the Zirve Publishing House massacre
happened. (Three Christians were brutally murdered in 2007.) The
“potential” in the city was recognized by the “Ergenekonists.”

Actually, we can talk about a build-up going way back to old dates.

(In the 1970s, the city was turned upside down after its mayor, Hamid
Fendoðlu, died after a bomb package exploded; an Alevi-Sunni conflict
was provoked and one of the stones on the road leading to the Sept.

12, 1980, coup was paved in Malatya.)

We can say there is a thin line between conservatism and religious
bigotry. This line is always open to political abuse; to masses
being diverted into social conflicts. At the end of the 1970s, the
Kahramanmaraþ, Sivas, Corum, Elazýð, Malatya and other incidents are
bitter examples of this phenomenon.

In any case, both the general public and the religious segment
of society have drawn some conclusions and lessons from what was
experienced, and they continue to do so. Those circles that had to
endure the pain of coups have started questioning how much the coup
organizers and those who wanted to drive Turkey into internal chaos
were given credit in the past. The more they question it, the better
they can evaluate the incidents from a wider and unprejudiced angle.

On the other hand, it is obvious that it is not easy for anyone to
get rid of old reflexes. We can say this about the latest demolition
incident in Malatya: We are facing a serious situation that cannot be
circumvented with the word “mistake.” Unless we fully acknowledge this
fact, it will not be quite possible for us to overcome “mistakes.” In
one way, the presence of an Armenian cemetery in Malatya and Armenians,
though only a handful, struggling to exist are sources of hope. We
can say that the number of those who share this stance is gradually
increasing.

Indeed, “old reflexes” and “political-benefit hunters” are right in
front of us as “the other side of the truth.” When I visited Malatya
three weeks ago, I had heard that this new building built at the
Armenian cemetery had sent some segments into action.

Some were collecting signatures and were trying to hit the Justice
and Development Party (AK Parti) municipality in its soft underbelly
by saying, “They are building a church here.” These circles who
are masters at calculating the thin line between conservatism and
“religious bigotry” had the intention of making life difficult for the
municipality by saying “they are cooperating with the infidel.” We can
say these circles, in a sense, have accomplished their goals. I don’t
think the demolition was a coincidence. I am guessing that there was
also a “build-up” behind those who had arrived at the venue for the
demolition. We know and we see that the backward mentality against
“the other” still has significant marks in our society.

We continue to come face to face with examples of all kinds of
bigotry in Anatolia, in Istanbul, in daily life. It is another
dramatic dimension of the picture that “religious conservatism” and
“racist-nationalist bigotry” (these two streams that look as if they
are far apart from each other) provoke each other. The “missionary
activities” paranoia that the Ergenekonists resort to intensively is
not only limited to them; it is a significant fact of my land.

This demolition is not a coincidence; it is not a surprise. This
will probably be the main starting point of those who feel the
need to analyze what is going on. The fact that the municipality
has regretted the demolition and promised to make “compensations,”
despite everything, can be seen as a consolation.

[email protected]

Oral Calýþlar is a columnist for daily Radikal in which this piece
appeared on Feb 5. It was translated into English by the Daily
News staff.

From: Baghdasarian

ARMENIAN CEMETERY DAMAGED

Hurriyet Daily News
Feb 6 2012
Turkey

An under-construction chapel in a historic Armenian cemetery in
Malatya that houses the remains of journalist Hrant Dink’s family
was demolished Feb. 3 by municipal teams, causing incredulity in the
Armenian community.

“If this is deemed suitable for us, what can we do? They are knocking
down our place of last prayer [the chapel]. This is very unfortunate
for Malatya,” Hosrof Köletavitoglu of the Philanthropist Armenians
from Malatya Association (HAYDER) told the Hurriyet Daily News.

Only a few burials a year are still made on the cemetery’s remaining
0.2 hectares, Köletavitoglu said, adding that funerals were processed
at a tent they had named the “place of last prayers.” The demolished
chapel was being built through money raised by Armenians who live in
Istanbul but are originally from Malatya.

“We consulted the office of the governor and the municipality to
build us a small chapel in place of the tent. We asked them to build
it for us. When they said they could not build it, we said, ‘Then
allow us to build it.’ We started the construction as soon as we got
the building permit; we were about to finish it,” Köletavitoglu said.

“Heavy construction equipment is going over the graves of my
ancestors,” Köletavitoglu said, adding that this situation pained him.

“We are not building this tiny chapel for the 50 Armenians living
here. It is our fathers, our ancestors that are buried here.”

Meanwhile, officials from Malatya Municipality told the Daily News that
several complaints and reports had been lodged with the municipality
and that they had determined that a guard’s cabin was also being
built separately to the chapel, leading them to order the demolition
of the cabin.

“Our target was only to knock down the guard’s house, but a
misunderstanding caused the whole construction to be knocked down,”
an official said.

However, Köletavitoglu said they had earlier declared that they were
going to build a building for the guard and that a misunderstanding
was impossible.

Former HAYDER head Garo Paylan agreed with Köletavitoglu and said
he was also very sad that earthmovers were operating on top of his
family’s graves.

“The demolished chapel was over my grandfather’s grave,” Paylan said.

“I think it was because of the ‘genocide denial motion’ in France.

Because when the motion was in question, the municipality first asked
us to lower the roof of the chapel even though the project had been
approved before.”

Last year the Malatya Governor’s Office had discussed plans to restore
a historic Armenian Church in Malatya located in the neighborhood
where Dink was born, Köletavitoglu said.

“On one hand, a tiny chapel is being knocked down; on the other
hand talks on a historic church being restored are continuing. These
contrasts confuse us,” he said.

TURKEY SUMMONS SWISS ENVOY OVER INVESTIGATION INTO MINISTER

Hurriyet Daily News
Feb 6 2012
Turkey

Swiss Ambassador Raimund Kunz was summoned by the Turkish foreign
ministry in Ankara after a Swiss prosecutor launched a probe into
Turkey’s EU minister for saying “the Armenian genocide doesn’t exist.”

Foreign Ministry Undersecretary Feridun Sinirlioglu summoned Kunz to
his office, asking for an explanation. Sinirlioglu reportedly told
Kunz that the incident was “unacceptable.”

“There is no Armenian genocide. Let them arrest me,” BagıÅ~_ had
said last week following a question from a French reporter on the
1915 killings.

Zurich public prosecutor Christine Braunschweig confirmed the probe
and told Dogan news agency that they were looking into whether or
not BagıÅ~_ had said the words.

“We will look into Minister Egemen BagıÅ~_’ immunity,” Braunschweig
further said. “If there is anything illegal and if he does not have
the diplomatic immunity, then we will file the lawsuit.”

BagıÅ~_ has refused to speak on the matter until the initial probe
ends, daily Hurriyet reported.

OFFICIALS PROMISE ARMENIANS DEMOLISHED PLACES WILL BE REBUILT

Today’s Zaman
Feb 6 2012
Turkey

Officials from the Malatya Municipality and governor’s office have
promised the Armenian community that they will rebuild recently
demolished buildings, including a place of worship that was under
renovation, located inside an Armenian cemetery.

Garo Paylan, a member of the board of directors of HAYDER, an
Ä°stanbul-based foundation of Malatyan Armenian philanthropists, said
after having talks with the Malatya Municipality and governor’s offices
in the city over the weekend and on Monday, they are convinced that the
demolished buildings will be rebuilt by the municipality. “We found
out that the prime minister had called the city officials and asked
them to do whatever necessary to compensate for the action,” he said.

A residence for the watchman, a room to bathe the bodies of the dead
and a place of worship were pulled down when nobody in charge of the
cemetery was around on Thursday. Municipality officials said at first
that the place of worship was being built without official permission,
and argued that there was nothing illegal about the demolition, but
later claimed there had been a mistake. Malatya Mayor Ahmet Cakır was
quoted on the website of the Turkish-Armenian Agos weekly as saying
he is sorry for what happened and that the demolition occurred due to
miscommunication among officials and that they will compensate for it.

Citing intolerance towards Armenians as the reason behind the
municipality’s move, Turkish media outlets reported on Friday that
the municipality had the facilities pulled down because of hundreds
of petitions submitted by locals who opposed the construction of a
place of worship for Armenians, thinking that a church was being built.

Mayor Cakır gave verbal permission for the place of worship to
be built on orders by Malatya Governor Ulvi Saran. The cost of the
building was met by HAYDER. The blueprint of the place of worship
was drawn up by renowned Turkish-Armenian architect Kevork Ozkaragöz.

Paylan said in a written statement on Friday that both the governor
and the municipality were fairly warm to the idea of renovating the
demolished buildings at the cemetery four months ago. “Now the Malatya
Municipality has told us they will pay for the cost of the rebuilding,”
Paylan told Today’s Zaman on Monday. “And we will provide technical
support,” he said.